Reduce soil compaction with Michelin ag tires

MICHELIN Ultraflex Technologie advantages soil saving

Soil compaction is one of the principal soil damage processes: it is caused by increasingly heavy agricultural machines passing over it, often in difficult climatic conditions.

Compaction is linked to the very nature of the soil, its water content, types of crop and the load applied to the surface. Repeated passes by agricultural equipment creates soil compaction and shear.

The economic impact of soil compaction is significant: decrease in agronomical yield, risk of development of disease and a need to do regeneration work such as plowing and/or de-compaction which consume considerable fuel and time.

Testimonial YieldBib : Soil protection

How to minimize soil compaction

The superiority of Radial technology tires over bias tires

Michelin Ultraflex Technologies: wheel pass areas become zones of growth

Inflate your tires to the right pressure

A rut is a longitudinal deformation of the soil characterized by a deep recess when run over by machines. Rut formation is extensive on muddy ground.

The consequences are catastrophic for agronomical development: nothing grows in a rut so it represents a net loss of yield.

Ruts encourage water stagnation which can asphyxiate plants and encourage the development of disease.

Nothing grows in a rut !

Ruts also mean agricultural machines consume more energy.

The depth of a rut is similar to a “step” that an agricultural tire needs to constantly climb. This results in increased fuel consumption.

A field with a lot of ruts has to be reconditioned. In this case, soil regeneration work has to be carried out, using up time and fuel.

A tire in direct contact with the ground provides a solution that helps to limit compaction and rut formation.

In this field, the quality of an agricultural tire lies in its ability to carry very heavy loads at very low pressure. In fact, the pressure in the tire is close to the mean pressure exerted on the soil. (E.g.: If the pressure in a tire is 14.5 psi - the pressure exerted on the soil by the tire will be around 1Lbs/Sq.In)

Therefore, the higher the tire pressure the greater the pressure on the soil with more extensive compaction and rut formation.

Soil compaction is amplified by a slip: its traction capability is therefore fundamental to limit this phenomenon.

Testimonial YieldBib : Soil protection

How to minimize soil compaction

The superiority of Radial technology tires over bias tires

Michelin Ultraflex Technologies: wheel pass areas become zones of growth

Inflate your tires to the right pressure

Michelin^® develops agricultural tires that enable soil compaction to be considerably reduced and the traction capability of various machines improved.

Recommendation No. 1: Choose Radial rather than Bias technology

Already widely used in the automobile and transport sector, radial tire technology has demonstrated its advantages in the world of agriculture. Compared with Bias technology, Radial technology helps to reduce compaction and increases machine traction capability thanks to:

the ability to carry heavy loads with lower pressure.
a wide footprint surface that enables better distribution of the load on the ground with more tread blocks to grip and improve traction.

Recommendation No. 2: Opt for wide and “large volume” series

The objective of “wide” and “large volume” tires is to reduce pressure for the same load and provide a better level of traction, at the same time retaining the same external diameter and rolling circumference as a “standard” tire.

The same tractor originally equipped with standard tires can be fitted with wide or large volume tires. Michelin has developed wide and large volume series tires:

Michelin OMNIBIB 620/70R42 160D TL et 480/70R30 141D TL.
Michelin MULTIBIB 650/65R42 158D TL et 540/65R30 143D TL.
Michelin MACHXBIB 650/75R38 169 A8 /169B TL et 600/65R28 154A8 / 154B TL

E.g.: For a 200 hp tractor with a load of 3,900 lbs per tire at the front and 8,800 lbs per tire at the rear with a maximum speed of 25 mph on the road. Original equipment:
Michelin® Agribib (standard) 520/85R42 157 A8 /157B TL and Michelin® Agribib 16.9R30 137 A8/134B TL

PRESSURE	Michelin AGRIBIB	Michelin OMNIBIB	Michelin MULTIBIB	Michelin MACHXBIB
Front pressure	14.5 psi	11.6 psi	10.1 psi	8.7 psi
Rear pressure	23.2 psi	17.4 psi	17.4 psi	14.5 psi

On average, compared with the Michelin AGRIBIB the pressure in Michelin OMNIBIBs and Michelin MULTIBIBs is at least 20% lower and the pressure in Michelin MACHXBIBs is on average 38% lower.

Recommendation No. 3 Opt for Michelin Ultraflex Technologies

Thanks to MICHELIN Ultraflex technology, the optimization of agronomical yield starts at the level of the tire. The secret? An innovative, particularly tough casing, which allows for greater flexion.

Result: tires with MICHELIN Ultraflex technology can carry heavy loads even at low pressure (1), regardless of the work speed (2).

And this is not all: the flexible structure of this casing generates a greater surface imprint which, in turn, increases traction capability.

You save time and fuel;
You preserve the soil;
You increase your agronomical yield.

Testimonial YieldBib : Soil protection

How to minimize soil compaction

The superiority of Radial technology tires over bias tires

Michelin Ultraflex Technologies: wheel pass areas become zones of growth

Inflate your tires to the right pressure

Michelin Ultraflex Technologies

Greater soil protection

More savings on fuel

Greater endurance and longer service life

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Reducing compaction