Development and Performance Evaluation of a Spinning Disc Spreader Using Four Organic Manures

Background and Objective: Manual application of manure directly to the field is hazardous, uneconomical and inefficient due to attendant health, uneven distribution and high labor involvement. To considerably minimize these challenges, mechanical spreading had become popular. This study, therefore, investigates the performance of a developed tractor-mounted spreader consisting of a disc with two conventional vanes, a reduction gear attached to the tractor PTO shaft, an agitator, a hopper and points of attachment to the tractor. Materials and Methods: The machine was constructed of locally sourced materials from scrap metals and tested for field performance. The spreader was calibrated and evaluated for field performance using four organic manures, poultry, cow dung, pig and goat droppings. Results: The developed tractor-drawn manure spreader has desirable functional and field performance results with hopper discharge efficiency of 99.99%, a maximum disc width throw of 4.84 m at an angular velocity of 12.57 rad, particle velocity of 138.2 m sec‾¹ and a discharge capacity range of 828.11 and 934.12 kg hr‾¹ for all manure samples. The particle size distribution characteristics and density of the selected manures showed that poultry dropping has a larger percentage of fine particles and the least coefficient of variation (0.95). Cow dung has the highest coarse particle sizes, highest coefficient of variation (1.38) and particle density (1785.33 kg m‾²). Conclusion: The spreader provided technical solutions to the challenges of hazards in manure application, uniformity in distribution and low cost of equipment acquisition. Cow dung has the best uniformity spread, while poultry droppings had the least uniformity spread.