Tillage is the manipulation of the soil into a desired condition by mechanical means; tools are employed to achieve some desired effect (such as pulverization, cutting, or movement). Soil is tilled to change its structure, to kill weeds, and to manage crop residues.
Even when oilseeds (esterified, partially refined or crude) are used as diesel fuel extenders, the economic difficulty still persists and will continue until such time as diesel oil supplies begin to dwindle or until a more appropriate substitute fuel (renewable or nonrenewable) should emerge. Should diesel fuel supplies run out and an appropriate substitute fuel fail to emerge, tractors and other engine-driven equipment could convert to spark-ignition engines. These are more versatile in terms of fuel use (e.g. renewable alcohol, as well as nonrenewable hydrocarbons) even if less suited to the heavy workloads in agriculture.

Thus mechanical milling is even more widespread than mechanical threshing. But where the green revolution raised wages and increased harvests (as in Indian Punjab, Philippines, and central Thailand), the small threshers were rapidly adopted once efficient designs were available. Different crops vary widely, however, in the type of labor required-that is, in their power- and control-intensity. Harvesting of root crops is probably the most power-intensive, although it still requires significan control. At the other extreme, cotton, fruit, and vegetables require intensive control: in the case of apples, the threat of damage is so large that their harvesting has still not been successfully mechanized.

Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3

Video

Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3