Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF HORIZONTAL PLATE PLANTER FOR RAIN-FED CONDITIONS

Satyanarayan, M. Anantachar, B. Sanjeeva Reddy, T. Nagesh Kumar1 and N. B. Mareppa

Abstract

Rainfed crops like castor and maize play a major role in Indian economy and these are sown by dropping the seeds behind the plough under rain-fed conditions and manual dibbling at a required spacing which involves extensive labours compared to other operations, and it result higher time consuming, cost of cultivation and delay in sowing during sowing season where soil moisture is crucial in the rain-fed conditions. Crop and machine parameters were studied and the tractor operated horizontal plate planter was developed and evaluated for its performance in actual field conditions. The seed rotor was designed and fabricated for selected castor and maize crops based on physical dimensions of seed for horizontal plate metering mechanism. The consistent seed spacing and seed rate were observed for castor and maize seeds at a forward speed of 3.5 km h-1. The average draft requirement and fuel consumption recorded was 2350 N and 2.92 × 10-3 m3 h-1 during testing of horizontal plate planter. Field capacity of horizontal planter obtained was 0.46 ha/h.