Tractor-Free Agriculture as an Intersectoral End-to-End Technology of Agriculture

We have conducted this study to identify the advantages of tractor-free farming as a cross-sectoral, integrative technology using industrial horticulture and nursery farming as case studies. The tractor-free farming paradigm rejects the use of conventional tractors based on traction and traction-energy concepts, advocating instead for a transition to mobile energy transformer modules operating under the energy concept. The principles of the energy concept prioritize the maximum utilization of engine power for productive movement and execution of work processes, ensuring the high efficiency of tractor-free farming. Replacing tractors with sets of mobile energy transformer modules of the electric drive type, combined with technological modules, provides the highest level of equipment for agricultural sectors under various conditions and for a wide range of technological operations. This capability is particularly valuable in industrial horticulture and nursery farming. The cross-sectoral nature of this new technological approach enables the effective application of tractor-free farming systems in other agricultural fields, including vegetable production, breeding, and seed production, as well as in municipal and urban logistics. A practical example of specific elements of tractor-free farming in industrial horticulture is the operational prototype of the garden e-Drone, provisionally called the “Russian Shuttle,” developed at the InTech Engineering Center of the Michurinsk State Agrarian University. This system, with a payload capacity of up to 1000 kg and an operating speed ranging from 0 to 30 km/h, is designed for fruit harvesting and transportation. A key distinguishing feature of the Russian Shuttle garden e-Drone is the use of two mass-produced electric drive axles, each with a power output of 1.2 kW, which lowers its cost by a factor of ten compared to existing foreign self-propelled orchard platforms.