The evaluation of soil tillage quality parameters, such as cloddiness and surface roughness produced by tillage tools, is based on traditional methods ranging, respectively, from manual or mechanical sieving of ground samples to handheld rulers, non-contact devices or Precision Agriculture technics, such as laser profile meters. The aim of the study was to compare traditional methods of soil roughness and cloddiness assessment (laser profile meter and manual sieving), with light drone RGB 3D imaging techniques for the evaluation of different tillage methods (ploughed, harrowed and grassed). Light drone application was able to replicate the results obtained by the traditional methods, introducing advantages in terms of time, repeatability and analysed surface while reducing the human error during the data collection on the one hand and allowing a labour-intensive field monitoring solution for digital farming on the other. Indeed, the profilometer positioning introduces errors and may lead to false reading due to limited data collection. Future work could be done in order to streamline the data processing operation and so to produce a practical application ready to use and stimulate the adoption of new evaluation indices of soil cloddiness, such as Entropy and the Angular Second Moment (ASM), which seem more suitable than the classic ones to achieved data referred to more extended surfaces.

Agricultural tractor drivers’ health preservation and comfort represent important aspects of the evolution of agricultural machinery and led to the development of devices aimed at improving working conditions, such as soundproof cab and driver seat suspension, nowadays commonly adopted in tractors. The vibrations are one of the factors mostly affecting health and comfort conditions, resulting from the characteristics and interaction of specific tractor’s parts (tyres, axles, chassis, cab). Trying to improve their products, manufacturers developed a cab prototype equipped with an automatic self-levelling system, whose goal is to maintain the driver’s vertebral column in a correct position during heavy agricultural operations such as primary soil tillage. A tractor with a such a prototype was tested to assess its effectiveness in maintaining the cab horizontal and any effects on the transmitted levels of whole-body vibration, during soil primary tillage carried out by means of a mouldboard plough and a subsoiling plough, both in plain and hilly surfaces. The results showed that the device worked well at a slope lower than the operating limits of the system, keeping the cabin horizontal through progressive adjustments. A slight reduction of the level of vibration was observed with a self-levelling system working during the tillage tests in the plain, compared to the traditional condition.

The use of lubricants and hydraulic fluids of both mineral and synthetic origin in agricultural processes could have a deep impact on the environment as a result of their possible dispersion in the ground and aquifers. Replacing them with bio-based fluids, developed to provide good tribological properties and high biodegradability, could contribute to reducing their negative effects. The evaluation of the capacity of such innovative fluids to replace the conventional ones is based on work cycles lasting as long as their lifetime, during which their characteristics must prove to be at least equal to those of the fluids they replace. To shorten the evaluation process, CREA (Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia Agraria) developed a fluid test rig (FTR) and related test method, able to apply severe work cycles on small oil volumes, thereby accelerating the aging of the fluid beyond what typically occurs. This paper reports the results of the tests on FTR’s functionality carried out comparing two UTTO (Universal Tractor Transmission Oil) fluids: a widespread conventional fluid and an experimental vegetable-based oil. The FTR will permit, in a relatively short time, the assessment of the most promising formulations to be tested later under real working conditions, e.g., in agricultural tractors, reducing the risk of damage, before their ultimate introduction into the operating reality.

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an underestimated and multipurpose crop resistant to environmental stresses. Its oil presents useful chemical–physical properties, potentially exploitable for industrial purposes as a bio-based lubricant. In this work safflower oil was applied as a less toxic alternative to mineral-based hydraulic fluids. The extracted oil was partially refined and the antioxidant tert-buthylhydroquinone (THBQ) was added at two concentrations (0.25 and 3.00 mg kg⁻¹). Efficiency tests of the obtained oil were carried out using an experimental test rig capable of simulating a real hydraulic system and performing severe short-duration work cycles with the aim of strongly accelerating the ageing of the tested oil. Oil performance was verified by monitoring hydraulic and chemical–physical parameters, which were correlated to the main lubricant properties through sensor detection and laboratory analysis in parallel. The results indicated that the safflower oil behaved well at both THBQ concentrations and showed good technical performance (operating pressure and temperature; flowrate and transmitted hydraulic power), though a higher THBQ concentration was necessary to protect the oil’s chemical–physical properties from worsening. In fact, the higher THBQ concentration allowed the test to be extended to 270 h, an improvement compared to the 150 h that was achieved with the lower THBQ concentration. Finally, the use of safflower oil for industrial and agricultural purposes seems feasible and would contribute toward the sustainability of the whole crop rotation in a prospective valuable circular economy.

This work reports the results of a study on the behaviour of five sensors recently developed for oil conditions monitoring, installed in-line in an experimental test rig for lubricants. The tests were carried out on seven oils of different origins (one synthetic ester, two bio-based synthetic esters, four vegetable oils) and use (two UTTOs and five hydraulic oils), under controlled working conditions, according to a specially designed test method. At first, the study concerned the identification of the conditions for the correct sensors’ installation. Then, the tests started applying to the fluids severe work cycles intended to accelerate oil ageing. The data of viscosity, permittivity, relative humidity, electric conductivity, particle contamination, and ferro-magnetic particles provided by the sensors were compared to the results of laboratory analyses made on oil samples taken during the tests with the aim of verifying the sensors measurements accuracy and reliability and selecting the more suitable ones to in-line oil conditions monitoring, in the perspective of introducing them also in field applications, e.g., on agricultural tractors, for preventing damages due to oil deterioration, and in managing the machine maintenance.

The performance of agricultural tires varies with the characteristics of both the terrain and the tractors on which they are mounted, which differently affect the rolling resistance, the traction capacity, and the slip. To reduce the variability of test conditions, CREA developed an original mobile test (MTB) bench which consists of a dynamometric single axle trailer pulled by a tractor and can be used both in traction performance tests (driving wheels) and in rolling resistance tests (driven wheels). A control system alternatively operates the adjustment of traction force or slip, so that each test is performed maintaining constant the desired values. The MTB underwent tests under different conditions (type of surface, pre-set values of force of traction and slip) aimed at verifying its accuracy and reliability. In a final test, two pairs of identical new tires were simultaneously mounted on the MTB and on the rear axle of the 2WD tractor that pulled it, to discover information on the different interactions occurring, under the same traction conditions, between the soil surface and each pair of tires, with reference to the relationship between the slips and the load transfers observed on the MTB and on the tractor rear axle. The results evidenced the capability of the MTB to guarantee repeatable test conditions, including field conditions, allowing comparison among the performance of different tires.