Tractors are devices
used for pulling,towing,pushing anything that can not propel itself.The word
Tractor comes from the latin word Trahere which means To Pull. They can be
used for different purposes like Farming, Loading and engineering activities.
The farm tractor has its steering wheel in the centre and two driving wheels
that are very large are in the front. The engine is in the front. The clutch
and the brakes are below the wheels. The clutch is used for disengaging the
transmission to shift gears or to stop the tractor completely. The Brake
pedals are for stopping the front and back wheels. The left brake pedal stops
the left front and back wheels and same holds true for the right brake
pedal. T his helps the driver in making sharp turns. The accelerator is hand
operated and is also used to provide power to tractors that are stationary
and are running some implement. Nowadays the tractors are also provided with
an additional pedal that controls the acceleration and gives the driver more
control. Moreover, the driver can also change gears without pressing the
clutch.
Farm tractors can reach
speeds upto 25 miles per hour. The slow speeds are necessary to give the
farmer more control while doing field work. The tractor can go as slow as
half a mile per hour. These tractors can be used for a variety of tasks like
harrowing, landscaping, pulling agricultural equipment etc. The tractors also
come equipped with a Roll over protection system or ROPS that protects the
operator from being crushed in case the tractor upturns. The ROPS is
basically a steel beam over the driver’s seat.
The tractors use belts or pulleys to transfer power from the engine to the
machines like reapers and balers. A mechanism called Power Take Off is part
of the modern tractors and provides rotary power to implements that can also
be pulled. Apart from this the tractors can also provide hydraulic and
electrical power.
In India,the market leader has traditionally been Mahindra and
Mahindra. Other tractor manufacturers include Bajaj Auto and HMT. Tractors
that have tracks and are used for work on the roads are called
Bulldozers. The tracks give them excellent grip on the ground. They can be
seen doing pulling and pushing work on the roads of Indian cities, usually
made use of by the municipal corporations.
Tractors can also be modified to do excavation work in areas like alleys and
narrow roads where the movement is restricted. Such tractors are called skid
steer loaders.
Tractors also find application in defence where they are used to tow heavy
artillery pieces and equipment.
Interesting India Tractor Facts
India accounts for one-third of total production of tractors in the world. Average growth of Industry is about 9%.
The national average of tractor density is 14 tractors per 1000 hectors of gross cropped area. Presently, 9 companies are producing tractors.
author L.S.Batra. copyright data 2004 Indianchild.com
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