DOI 10.36461/NP.2024.70.2.010
UDC 631.171

DIMENSIONAL AND MASS CHARACTERISTICS OF MISCANTHUS RHIZOMES
K.Z. Kukhmazov, I.E. Karasev, A.R. Nazirov, M.A. Alderbegov
Penza State Agrarian University
Penza, Russia This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In many regions of the Middle Volga region, a high–yielding energy crop with good thermal conductivity and high cellulose content is cultivated - giant miscanthus. In the climatic conditions of Russia, this crop does not form seeds, so the propagation of the plant is carried out in a vegetative way. To do this, in spring, the clumps of rhizomes of miscanthus are dug out, divided and stored until planting.
Currently, there are no special machines for digging out the rhizomes of miscanthus. Various potato diggers are used. However, in order to ensure high-quality digging of rhizomes, the digging and separating working organs of diggers require modernization. And for this, it is necessary to know the operating conditions of the unit, including the size and mass characteristics of the rhizomes of miscanthus.
The article presents the methodology and results of research to determine the depth of the rhizomes of miscanthus (H), the diameter of the rhizomes (d) and the mass of the rhizome of one plant with soil (M). A site was selected for the study, along the diagonal of which the studied parameters were measured in 25 plants selected randomly. As a result of processing the experimental data, histograms and distribution polygons were constructed. The research results show that the maximum depth of the rhizomes of miscanthus plants varies between 123...178 mm, and in most plants the maximum depth of the rhizomes is 145...160 mm. The diameter of the rhizomes of miscanthus gigantus is in the range of 283...398 mm with an average value of 345 mm, and the maximum mass of soil within rhizomes of one miscanthus plant entering the separating operating parts of the digger is 16.98 kg.
Keywords: miscanthus, miscanthus rhizomes, rhizome, depth of rhizomes, diameter of miscanthus rhizomes, harvesting of miscanthus rhizomes, potato digger, histogram, distribution polygon.

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