International Journal of Agricultural Engineering

M. Veerangouda ¹, K. V. Prakash ¹, Jagjiwanram ¹, M. Anantachar ¹, G. Neelakantayya ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering, Raichur Karnataka, IN

Abstract

The performance evaluation of untreated, untreated thick and treated hoof shoes fixed to bullocks for carting work was carried out in Raichur region The experiment on different types of hoof shoes fixed to the bullocks was carried out for 28 days to assess the wear and tear in terms of weight and thickness of hoof shoes. The weight loss of untreated hoof shoe was found to be 15.8 per cent. The average wear loss of treated hoof shoe was found to be 11.68 per cent. The wear loss in thickness of untreated thick hoof shoes found to be 12.58 per cent. The wear loss in weight was found to be 14.53 per cent. The wear loss in thickness of treated hoof shoe was found to be 29.15 per cent. The total cost of untreated, untreated thick and treated hoof shoes including the labour charges were Rs. 95, Rs. 102 and Rs. 151 per pair, respectively. The total cost incurred in hoof shoeing in a year for untreated hoof shoes, untreated thick hoof shoes and treated hoof shoes were Rs. 1239, Rs.1064 and Rs. 1081, respectively. The feed back information on use of different hoof shoes was collected and it revealed that due to the non-availability of sophisticated technology for hardening treatment on hoof shoes, bullock cart operators preferred to use untreated hoof shoes. The untreated thick hoof shoes were accepted as an alternate by the farmers as they can be locally fabricated and also there was a saving in cost and lesser number of shoeing.

Keywords

Hoof Shoes, Bullock, Carting, Wear Loss

Full Text

     

M. Chowda Reddy ¹, K. V. Prakash ², M. Veerangouda ², R. S. Yarnal ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering,University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur Karnataka, IN
2 Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur karnataka, IN

Abstract

FYM is the oldest organic manure used by man ever since involved in farming. It consists of litter, waste products of crops mixed with animal dung and urine. Therefore, it contains all the nutrient elements present in the plant itself and returns these nutrients to the soil when it is applied to the field for the benefit of succeeding crop. Development of animal operated manure applicator include the different components viz.,bullock cart chassis and frame, main axle shaft, steel wheels with rubber padding, agitator, manure box, sliding plate and power transmission system. A pair of bullock acts as power sources for hauling purpose. Power is transmitted by 1:3 ratio of power reduction (main axle shaft: agitator shaft).The animal walking speed is mainly decided to the power transmission of manure applicator, because agitator rotation is directly related to the main axle shaft.This research work briefly describes the development and evaluation animal operated manure spreader.

Keywords

Bullock Cart, Agitator, Pair of Bullock, Power Reduction, Animal Walking Speed

Full Text

     

M. Veerangouda ¹, D. Asokan ², T. Guruswamy ³

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering, Raichur (Karnataka), IN
2 Agricultural Machinery Research Centre, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore (T.N.), IN
3 College of Agricultural Engineering, Raichur (Karnataka), IN

Abstract

Cotton is one of the major commercial crops being cultivated both in irrigated and in rain fed conditions in many states of the country. India ranks third in global cotton production after China and the USA. In India harvesting of cotton is done manually by hand picking. Manual picking is not only tedious and labour consuming but also costlier than other agricultural operations. In recent years it has been observed that labour availability is scarce during peak periods of cotton harvesting. The use of mechanical picking by machine is, therefore, considered to be a viable option in minimizing the drudgery involved in hand picking. By keeping these factors in view, the present investigation was undertaken to study the mechanism involved in picking of cotton by the rotating spindles. The spindles were fabricated with the materials selected for the study and they were evaluated for their performance in picking cotton from bolls under laboratory conditions. The cotton left over and cotton spilled under variable conditions ranged from 0 to 30.33 per cent and 0 to 41.35 per cent for the selected varieties. The cotton left over and cotton spilled over were observed to be minimum with hylum spindle for all the varieties. The cotton left and cotton spilled over were minimum upto the speed of 2000 rpm and increased greatly with the increase in speed of rotation of 2500rpm and higher speeds. The cotton spilled over was minimum at higher level of moisture and cotton left over was minimum at lower moisture levels. The surface texture of the spindles did not show any particular trend of increase or decrease of cotton left over and cotton spilled over.

Keywords

Cotton Picking, Picking Spindles, Cotton Leftover, Spindle Speed.

Full Text

     

Siddesh Marihonnappanavara ¹, M. Veerangouda ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur (Karnataka), IN

Abstract

A tractor operated plastic mulch laying equipment was developed to mechanize the conventional plastic mulching. A plastic mulch roller was mounted on the main frame of equipment and drip roll carrier assembly also mounted on main frame. The soil covering unit and press wheel assembly have been attached to it with the help of clamps. A 35 hp tractor was used as a power unit for both plastic mulching and drip laying operation. Various parameters such as soil moisture content, draft, fuel consumption and soil temperature were measured. The average soil moisture of the plastic mulched beds was 19.20, 19.30 and 19.20 % at forward speed of 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 km h^-1, respectively. The average values of draft were 3139, 3193 and 3222 N at forward speed of 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 km h^-1, respectively.

Keywords

Plastic Mulch Roller Units, Drip Roll Carrier Assembly, Soil Covering Unit, Press Wheel Assembly.

Full Text

     

M. Veerangouda ¹, K. V. Prakash ¹, Jag Jiwan Ram ², M. Din ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering (U.A.S.), Raichur (Karnataka), IN
2 AICRP on Utilization of Animal Energy, College of Agricultural Engineering (U.A.S.), Raichur (Karnataka), IN

Abstract

In Karnataka, bullock drawn wooden carts are generally used for transportation of agricultural produce and other goods in areas. An improved steel cart suitable for operating with bullock and single bullock power have been developed and fabricated at College of Agricultural Engineering, Raichur. The steel cart power by double bullock and single bullock were tested both on asphalted road and murrum road for carrying the goods. The physiological response of bullocks were noted and analyzed. The wooden material is completely replaced by mild steel and the wheels were provided with protruded rubber to make good contact with road surface. The road surface was not damaged and problem of puncturing the wheel was avoided. The double bullock (515 kg body weight) steel cart fitted with bush bearing is capable to carry a load of 8 to 9 quintals safely. The single bullock steel cart fitted with bush bearing is capable to carry a load of 6 quintals safely. The performance of the steel carts drawn by bullock power was satisfactory.

Keywords

Bullock Drawn Steel Cart, Draft, Hauling, Loading Capacity, Road Surface.

Full Text

     

H. Manjunath ¹, Vijayakumar Palled ², M. Veerangouda ¹, Devanand Maski ³, C. T. Ramachandra ⁴

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering (UAS), Raichur (Karnatak), IN
2 Department of R.E.E., College of Agricultural Engineering (UAS), Raichur (Karnatak), IN
3 Department of REE, College of Agricultural Engineering (UAS), Raichur (Karnatak), IN
4 Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru (Karnatak), IN

Abstract

Agricultural and forest biomass material were reported to be the potential feedstock for gasification by various researchers. The physical, chemical and thermal properties of biomass material play very important role in order to characterize the feedstock for energy conversion process. The physical properties (moisture content and bulk density), chemical properties (volatile matter content, ash content and total carbon content) and thermal properties (calorific value) of selected agricultural and forest biomass viz., pigeonpea stalk (Cajanus cajan), cotton stalk (Gossypium hirsutum) and vilaytee babool (Prosopis juliflora) for different length of sizes ranging from 25-50, 50-75 and 75-100 mm were determined using standard procedures. The moisture content of pigeonpea stalk, cotton stalk and vilaytee babool were found to be 3.28, 6.98 and 9.45 per cent, respectively. While the bulk density of these feed stock were reported to be 501, 465 and 556 kg m-3, respectively. The volatile matter content, ash content and total carbon content of pigeonpea stalk were 80.67, 1.39 and 17.94 per cent, respectively. While for cotton stalk these were 80.20, 1.43 and 18.37 per cent. Whereas, vilaytee babool these were 80.81, 1.83 and 17.36 per cent, respectively. The calorific value of 16.44, 16.05 and 17.49 MJ kg-1was observed for pigeonpea, cotton stalk and vilaytee babool, respectively. The results obtained from the study indicated that the selected agricultural and forest biomass material were found to be potential for thermal gasification.

Keywords

Ash Content, Biomass Material, Bulk Density, Calorific Value, Total Carbon Content, Volatile Matter Content.

Full Text

     

M. Veerangouda ¹, D. Asokan ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering (UAS), Raichur (Karnatak), IN
2 Agricultural Machinery Research Centre, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore (T.N.), IN

Abstract

Manual picking of cotton is commonly done in India and it is not only tedious and labour consuming but also costlier than other agricultural operations. Machine picking is, therefore, considered to be viable in minimizing the drudgery involved in hand picking and reducing the cost of cotton picking.The present investigation was undertaken to study the mechanism of picking cotton by the rotating spindles. The spindles were fabricated with the materials selected for the study and they were evaluated for their performance in picking cotton from bolls under laboratory conditions. The spindles were evaluated with the help of the test rig developed for the purpose and the different parameters were recorded. The trash content in the picked cotton ranged from 0 to 74.96 per cent for the selected varieties. The trash content was observed to be minimum with hylum spindle for all the varieties. The trash content was minimum upto the speed of 2000 rpm and increased greatly with the increase in speed of rotation of 2500 rpm and higher speeds. The trash content was minimum at higher level of moisture. The surface texture of the spindles did not show any particular trend of increase or decrease of trash content. The laboratory trials of the spindles revealed that, the hylum spindle of tapered shape with grooves and knurl gave better performance as trash content in the picked cotton was minimum. The speed of rotation within the range of 1000 to 2500 rpm was found to be better in which the trash content was minimum.

Keywords

Cotton Picking, Picking Spindles, Trash Content, Spindle Material.

Full Text