International Journal of Agricultural Engineering

S. H. Thakare ¹, D. M. Kadam ², V. V. Saraf ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola (M.S.), IN
2 Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, IN

Abstract

A 3-row bullock drawn cotton planter was evaluated on field of the Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Dr. PDKV, Akola using NHH-44 variety of cotton. The average moisture content of soil was 33 per cent. The field performance tests conducted over an 0.182 ha area revealed that the average horse power for the planter was 0.467 for an average draft of 48.53 kgf and average speed of 2.6 km/hr. The theoretical field capacity, effective field capacity, field efficiency obtained for continuous operations of planter were 0.47 ha/day, 0.34 ha/day and 72.51 per cent, respectively. In view of the above performance it can be concluded that newly developed bullock drawn cotton planter is suitable for cotton planting.

Keywords

Spacing Adjustment, Gear Ratio, Hopper, Seed Plate, Ground Wheel.

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U. R. Badegaonkar ¹, Anil K. Kamble ², S. H. Thakare ³

Affiliations
1 Technology Transfer Division, Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal (M.P.), IN
2 AICRP on Renewable Energy Sources, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola (M.S.), IN
3 Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola (M.S.), IN

Abstract

The performance of the straw cutting mechanism equipped with plain blade straw cutting disc and a pair of twin press wheels assembly was evaluated in soil bin laboratory on a wide range of straw densities from 3000 to 5000 kg/ha at forward speed of carriage 2.5 km/h and speed ratios of 5.20, 6.94 and 8.67. The relative effect of the variables of speed ratio, pair of press wheels and straw density on the responses of horizontal force (F_h), vertical force (F_v), power consumption, straw cutting percentage and clogged straw were studied. The F_h requirement was observed to be 12.16, 12.50 and 13.59 kgf at 3000, 4000 and 5000 kg/ha straw density, respectively at 5.20 speed ratio and the F_v requirement was observed to be 27.58, 29.91 and 32.82 kgf at the same straw density levels and speed ratio. The draft and vertical forces increased with the increase in the rotational speed and straw density. The power consumption of straw cutting mechanism was estimated to be 192.66, 280.23 and 356.33 W and straw clogged was found to be 7.58, 4.51 and 6.22 kg/ha at the same straw density levels and speed ratios. The observations and data indicated that the straw cutting performance of the plain blade disc straw cutting mechanism was 100per cent at all straw density levels and speed ratio.

Keywords

No-Till, Paddy Straw, Plain Straw Cutting Disc And Press Wheels.

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U. S. Kankal ¹, D. S. Karale ¹, V. P. Khambalkar ¹, S. H. Thakare ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Power and Machinery, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, AKOLA (M.S.), IN

Abstract

A proper placement of seed in field is most important operation in order to obtain optimum yield of crop. Day by day the land fragmentation was increased and which resulted near about 65 pre cent of the land holders are small and marginal land holding capacity in the region. Considering the limitations due to costly seed, traditional method of manual dibbling, labour shortage and small marginal land holding pattern there is need of small manual planter for small and marginal land holders. In view of the above, the manually operated seed planter was tested at Deptt. of Farm Power and Machinery, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola. A single row cotton planter was evaluated for performance by conducting laboratory and field tests. In laboratory test calibration of planter for seed rate, uniformity of seed planting and percentage of seed damage was determined at three cell plate, two gear ratio and level of seed in hopper. Based on the laboratory test cell plate, gear ratio and level of seed in hopper were selected for field test. The three trials of planter were taken for planting Bt-cotton crop. The field tests comprised of determination of effective field capacity, average depth of placement of seeds in the furrows and mean spacing of seeds within each row. The rate of work was observed to be in the range of 0.18 to 0.21 ha/h at forward speed of 2.24 to 2.5 km/h in well prepared seed bed along with the opened furrows. The average depth of planting was observed in the range of 4.5 cm to 5cm. The field efficiency of the planter was observed in the range of 88.88 to 91.1 per cent.

Keywords

Cotton, Planter, Performance Evaluation, Field Tests, Spacing, Depth, Efficiency.

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D. S. Karale ¹, U. S. Kankal ¹, S. H. Thakare ¹, V. P. Khambalkar ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, AKOLA (M.S.), IN

Abstract

This paper covers work carried out at Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Dr. PDKV, Akola. This paper discussed about the performance of the exiting bullock cart on various roads by using the different kind of materials. Drawbar test, track test and haulage test were carried and evaluated the performance of bullock cart. It was found that the pull increased as the laden mass of cart increased on various kinds of roads with the different types of loading materials. The forward speed decreased with continuous work as the laden mass of cart increased on various kinds of roads with the different types of loading materials. The wheel slippage increased as pull increased with laden mass of cart increased for various type of roads. It was observed that the bullock could pull one tonne load at a forward speed of 2 to 3 km/hr with continuous work of 3 hrs. At turning it needs to reduce speed of travel and more attention should give by operator, when cart is fully loaded in order to avoid accident.

Keywords

Bullock Cart, Comfort, Drawbar Test, Haulage Test, Performance Track Test.

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Smita N. Solanki ¹, S. H. Thakare ¹, R. T. Ramteke ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Power and Machinery, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Dr. P.D.K.V., Akola (M.S.), IN
2 Department of Electrical and Other Energy Sources, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, V.N.M.K.V., Parbhani (M.S.), IN

Abstract

In recent years, it is imperative to improve sowing techniques through preferred seedbed preparation and early crop growth. Sowing techniques and type of seeding machines play an important role in seed placement and seedling emergence which ultimately affect crop growth and grain yield. The selection of suitable planting methods is dependent upon the time of planting, irrigation methods, amount of residue in the field and type of planting machines. The present work deals with the review of research work done by using broad bed furrow (BBF) worldwide to study the effect of raised bed planting on soil health, yield, water saving, fertility of soil etc. From the study it is revealed that raised bed (RB) farming systems combine most of the elements of conservation agriculture and have produced encouraging production results under various environmental conditions. RBs offer the opportunity of reducing field compaction and restoring physically degraded soil structure, as well as, the potential to reduce irrigation water and increase crop yield while reducing the risk of water logging. Different raised planting configurations are used throughout the world depending on soil type, available machinery, farmer preference and expertise. In general, increasing the width of the bed reduces total water used and increases land use efficiency and yield by reducing the uncropped furrow area.

Keywords

Broad Bed Furrow, Permanent Raised Beds, Crop Growth, Seedbed, Yield.

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Smita N. Solanki ¹, S. H. Thakare ¹, R. T. Ramteke ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Farm Power and Machinery, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola (M.S.), IN
2 Department of Electrical and Other Energy Sources, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani (M.S.), IN

Abstract

Mechanization ensures timely farm operation that brings numerous benefits to garlic growers apart from increased crop yield. Among various farm operations performed in onion and garlic cultivation only land development and bed making has been successfully mechanized. Semi-automatic transplanters have been successfully demonstrated but its adoption by farmers has been very limited. There is need to further refine these transplanters for more precision and accuracy and develop automatic transplanters to reduce the labour cost. Intercultural, fertilizer application, plant protection are some of the operations in onion and garlic cultivation, which needs immediate attention for mechanization, Tractor operated garlic planters are being widely used by large farmers. Harvesters and diggers for onion and garlic are still to be adopted by farmers at a large scale. In onion and garlic cultivation, mechanization is mainly limited to the land preparation machines and to some extent planting machines. Other machines to mechanize the operations like transplanting, intercultural, harvesting/digging, which involve a lot of human drudgery when performed manually, need to be developed, demonstrated and popularized amongst the garlic growers. This paper briefs about the current status of development of different types of machines useful for garlic cultivation and expected to be useful for mechanization in garlic cultivation in order to facilitate garlic cultivating farmers.

Keywords

Metering Device, Mechanization, Garlic, Planter, Drill Planter.

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