The present study was carried out at the Farm of the University of Khartoum, Sudan during March 2017, to investigate the effect of different tire inflation pressure and extra front ballast on tractor performance in a clay loam soil at 23% moisture content. 2 WD tractor (62 kW) and three bottom disc plough were used for this study. The treatments included three values of tire inflation pressures (124.2, 165.6 and 207kPa) and two front ballasts (70.5 and 117.5kg). These treatments were arranged in a split split plot design with three replicates. The parameters tested were field performance, fuel consumption (l/ha) and wheel slippage (%). The results revealed that tractor power performance was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affected by the different treatments. Fuel consumption (l/ha) and wheel slippage (%) were significantly increased due to the increase in tire inflation pressures. The pressure 124.2 kPa gave the lowest value of fuel consumption (9.07 l/ha) and wheel slippage (6%) as compared to the pressure 207 kPa which ranked the highest values (15.67 l/ha and 9%, respectively). The increase of extra ballast from 70.5 to 117.5 kg increased fuel consumption from 15.67 l/ha to 31.67 l/ha, while it decreased wheel slippage from 9% to 8%, respectively. The results indicated the importance of tire inflation pressure and ballast for better performance of the tractor in clay loam soils.

Keywords: Tractor Performance; Tire Pressure; Front Ballast; Fuel Consumption; Slip