Comparative Performance Evaluation Of Bullock Drawn Maize Planters

Comparative Performance Evaluation Of Bullock Drawn Maize Planters

Raghvendra Sachan

Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering SV College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology & Research Station

IGKV, Raipur 492012, Chhattisgarh, India

S V Jogdand

Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering SV College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology & Research Station

IGKV, Raipur 492012, Chhattisgarh, India

Abstract This study was carried out during winter season of 2015-16 at Sant Kabir College of Agriculture and Research Station, Kabirdham (CG). A single row maize planter and three row inclined plate planter were compared for laboratory test and field test. In lab testing seed rate of both planters were found as 26.34 kg ha-1 and 27.65 kg ha-1, respectively. The theoretical seed rate (Rst) and the seeding mass rate (Rsm) of a single row maize planter and three row inclined plate planter were found as 74074 seeds ha-1, 83333 seeds ha-1 and 19.3 kg ha- 1, 21.7 kg ha-1 respectively. Draught, operation speed, power requirement, depth of seed placement, field efficiency and effective field capacity of both planters were recorded as 56.89 kgf, 1.32 km h-1, 0.204 kW, 5.56 cm, 68.33 %, 0.041 ha h-1 and

47.54 kgf, 1.50 km h-1, 0.194 kW, 5.44 cm, 66.66 %, 0.12 ha h-1

respectively where the theoretical field capacity was found to be

1. and 0.18 ha h-1, respectively.

   Keywords Maize, single row maize planter, three row inclined plate planter, draught, power requirement

   1. INTRODUCTION

      Maize in Chhattisgarh is one of major cereal crop as it contributes (102.70 area in thousand hectares which have production 177.82 thousand MT and productivity 1655 kg per hectare in Kharif and 30.88 area in thousand hectares which have production 50.18 thousand MT and productivity 1624.90 kg per hectare in rabi) in the year 2012-2013 (Directorate of Agriculture, Raipur).

      It is basically grown in Sarguja and Jagdalpur region. In Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh maize is highly preferable by the farmers after rice. Sarguja contributes 12272 thousand hectares area and the productivity of maize in Sarguja district is 2200 kg per hectare, production is about 26.99 Mt in the year 2012-2013 (Deputy Director of Agriculture, Ambikapur).

      Chhattisgarh has the total geographical area 137.9 lakh hectare, in which 46.04 percent forest, 4641 thousand hectare area kharif cropped, 1542 thousand hectare area rabi cropped. Chhattisgarh has average annual rainfall 1200-1300 mm. (Banjare, 2015). Animals are the largest contributor of farm power in India and yet, the major source of marginal, small and even medium farmers who account for more than 80% of total agricultural holding and 40% of total cultivated land (Nirala, 2011). Planters are used for row drilling (hill dropping) or check row planting of larger seeds than those which normally go through seed drills. They give more accurate results with larger seeds. They may be tractor operated or animal drawn. In the state of Chhattisgarh the average height of bullocks is less as compared to other states

      and most of the field operations are done by bullocks. So a single row maize planter and three row inclined plate planter are taken to the performing in the field.

   2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

      The study was carried out during winter seasons of 2016 at Sant Kabir College of Agriculture and Research Station, Kabirdham (CG).

      Table 1. Specification of planters

      Particulars	Single row maize planter	Three row inclined plate planter
      Length, mm	2614	1820
      Width, mm	790	1270
      Height, mm	475	940
      Weight, kg	7.5	80
      Number of rows	1	3
      Power source	Pair of bullock	Pair of bullock
      Developed by	SVCAET and RS, IGKV, Raipur	C.I.A.E. Bhopal

      Planters

      A single row maize planter (Fig 1) and bullock drawn three row inclined plate planter (Fig 2) were used for sowing of maize crop where combinations of various tillage operations were done.

      Fig 1. Single row maize planter

      Where,

      D = Draught, kg;

      P = Pull (dynamometer reading), kg;

      = Angel between line of pull and horizontal, degrees.

      Operating speed of maize planters

      The speed of operation of planter was determined in test plots by putting two marks 30 m apart (A & B). The time was recorded with the help of stop watch to travel the distance of 30 m. The speed of operation was calculated in km h-1 as given below:

      S = 3.6 x distances traveled (m) / T

      Fig 2. Three row inclined plate planter

      Laboratory test

      Calibration of maize planters

      A single row maize planter and three row inclined plate planter were calibrated according to the IS: 8956-1981 test code of planter.

      Theoretical seeding rate (Rst)

      The number of maize seeds planted per hectare was calculated by using the following relationship (Bakhtiari and Loghavi, 2009):

      Rst =

      Where,

      Rst = Theoretical seeding rate, seeds ha-1; W = Row width, cm; and

      Xs = Seed spacing along the row, cm.

      Seeding mass rate (Rsm)

      The total mass of maize seeds planted per hectare expressed in Mg ha-1 was calculated by using the following relationship (Bakhtiari and Loghavi, 2009):

      Rsm=

      Where,

      Rsm = Seeding mass rate, Mg ha-1; M = Average mass of one seed, g; W = Row width, cm; and

      Xs = Seed spacing along the row, cm.

      Field-test

      The 3-row inclined plate planter and a single row maize planter were tested in the field at Sant Kabir College of Agriculture and Research Station, Kabirdham (CG) during the month of February, 2016 for sowing of maize. The shape of field was rectangular and the area of each plot was 40 x 11 m2.

      Draught of maize planters

      If the line of pull through the dynamometer is not horizontal, measure the angle which the line of pull makes with the horizontal and calculate the horizontal component (draught) by the following formula (IS: 11235 – 1985):

      D= P Cos

      Where,

      S = Speed of operation, km h-1;

      T = Time needed to cover 30 m distance, sec.

      Power requirement of maize planters

      The power requirement was determined from the draught and speed of operation using the relation (IS: 11235 – 1985):

      HP =

      Theoretical field capacity (TFC)

      It is the actual area covered by the implement, based on 100% of time at the rated speed and covering 100% of its rated width. Field capacity was calculated by following expression (Bainer et al., 1960):

      TFC (ha h-1) = (W × S) / 10

      Where,

      W = Theoretical width of implement, m; S = Speed of operation, km h-1.

      Effective field capacity (EFC)

      The actual field capacity is the actual rate of coverage by the implement. The total time required to complete the operation was recorded and effective field capacity was calculated followed (IS 6288-1971):

      EFC =

      Where,

      EFC = Effective field capacity, ha h-1;

      A = Actual area covered by implement, ha; T = Effective time, h.

      Field efficiency

      The field efficiency is the ratio of effective field capacity to the theoretical field capacity and expressed in %.

      Field eficiency = EFC / TFC × 100

      Where,

      EFC = Effective field capacity TFC = Theoretical field capacity

   3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The observations and results obtained during the study are presented in this chapter.

Testing of the maize planters Laboratory Test

Calibration of planters

In lab testing seed rate of a single row maize planter and three row inclined plate planter were found as 26.34 kg ha-1 (74074 seeds ha-1) and 27.65 kg ha-1 (83333.33 seeds ha-1), respectively.

Theoretical seeding rate (Rst)

The number of maize seeds planted per hectare was calculated by using the following relationship;

Field capacity and field efficiency

The field efficiency was calculated using standard method as described earlier and results are presented in (Table 3).

Table 3. Field performance results of planters during planting operation

Rst = =

planter)

= 74074.07 74074 seeds ha-1 (for single row maize

Rst = =

= 83333.33 83333 seeds ha-1 (for three row

The effective field capacity of single row maize planter

inclined plate planter) Where,

Rst = Theoretical seeding rate (No. of seeds ha-1); W = Row width (cm); and

Xs = Seed spacing along the row (cm)

Seeding mass rate (Rsm)

The total mass of maize seeds planted per hectare expressed in Mg ha-1 was calculated by using the following relationship;

Rsm = =

= 0.0193 Mg ha-1 = 19.3 kg ha-1 (for single row maize planter)

Rsm = =

= 0.0217 Mg ha-1 = 21.7 kg ha-1 (for three row inclined plate planter)

Where,

Rsm = Seeding mass rate, Mg ha-1; M = Average mass of one seed, g; W = Row width, cm; and

Xs = Seed spacing along the row, cm.

Field-test

The planters were field tested for their mechanical and functional performances in field area of 0.10 ha.

Draught of maize planters

The average draught was recorded of single row maize planter and three row inclined plate planter was 56.89 kgf and

47.54 kgf for maize, respectively.

Operating Speed of maize planters

The average speed of operation for sowing was found to be 1.32 and 1.50 km h-1 respectively, for both the planters.

Power requirement of maize planters

The average power required for single row maize planter and three row inclined plate planter was found to be 0.204 kW (0.27 hp) and 0.194 kW (0.26 hp) (Table 2).

Table 2. Draught, Speed of operation and Power requirement of maize planters

and three row inclined plate planter were found to be 0.041 and 0.12 ha h-1, respectively, whereas the theoretical field capacity was found to be 0.06 and 0.18 ha h-1, respectively. From the effective and theoretical field capacity, the field efficiency of both planters was calculated as 68.33 and 66.66

%, respectively.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Author is thankful to Dr. S.V. Jogdand, Professor, Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Swami Vivekananda College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology and Research Station, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, IGKV, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) India for his meticulous guidance, motivation and unconditional support for this work.

REFERENCES

1. Anonymous. 2012. Area, production and yield of maize crop, Directorate of Agriculture, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

2. Anonymous. 2012. Area, production and yield of maize in Sarguja district, office of Deputy Director of Agriculture, Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh.

3. Bakhtiari, M. R. and Loghavi M. 2009. Development and evaluation of innovative garlic clove precision planter. J. Agric. Sci. Technol, 11: 125-136.

4. Bainer, R., Kepner, R.A. and Barger, E.L. 1960. Principles of Farm Machinery. 2nd Edition, Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York (1960).

5. Banjare, M. 2015. Design, development and evaluation of single row animal drawn maize planter cum fertilizer applicator as an attachment with desi plough. M. Tech. Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur (C.G.): 1.

6. BIS 1981. Bureau of Indian Standard, Test code of planter, IS: 8956- 1981.

7. BIS 1985. Bureau of Indian Standard, Test code for groundnut digger, animal drawn, IS: 11235-1985.

8. Nirala, S.K. 2011. Performance Evaluation of Bullock Drawn Multi Crop Inclined Plate Planter.International Journal of Agricultural Engineering, 4(2): 193-199.