Development and testing of tractor operated bed former for seed bed preparation in Kaipad region

Abstract

Paddy cultivation in Kerala is mainly done in dry and wet lands. Kuttanadu, pokkali, Kole and Kaipad lands are mainly lying below sea level and needs much attention especially during bund preparation and nursery raising periods. Kaipad is a land lay in Kannur district of the state extending to an area of 600 ha. It is under the tidal effects of sea water carrying severe salinity and high pH. Paddy cultivation in this region is made on seed beds of about 45 cm height to bring down the salinity and acidity of the soil through leaching. However, manual method of mound making is very laborious intensive and has become a deterrent for the farmers to continue rice farming. Keeping this in view, a tractor operated Kaipad bed former was developed to prepare the seed beds and field tested. Also the cost of operation was compared with the conventional and tractor operated ridger. The height of the seed beds was dependent upon the angle of the plough bottom, speed and depth of operation. To optimize these three factors, tests were conducted under dynamic condition in a test plot. The height of the seed bed was observed to be the maximum at 40 degrees of the plough bottom. The maximum height of bed was formed at a speed of 2.0 km hˉ1 and depth of 20 cm. To reduce the draft of the implement the speed was set at 1.5 km hˉ1 and depth of operation at 15 cm. The field performance of the bed former based on the optimized machine parameters, the Kaipad bed former was evaluated and compared with the tractor operated ridger and conventional method. The average height and top width of the seed bed obtained with the Kaipad bed former and ridger were 34.7 cm, 18.4 cm and 29.4 cm and 23.2 cm respectively. The minimum draft required for the Kaipad bed former and tractor operated ridger was 402.6 kg f and 398.6 kg f and draw bar power was 8.03 hp and 7.8 hp respectively.The fuel consumption with the tractor operated Kaipad bed former was found as 6.8 l hˉ1; while it was 6.6 l hˉ1 with the tractor operated ridger. Field efficiency of the Kaipad bed former was 73.9 percent compared to 70.5 percent for the tractor operated ridger. Wheel slippage was found out as 19.79 percent for Kaipad bed former and 17.7 percentages for tractor operated ridger. With the tractor operated Kaipad bed former, the soil acidity and salinity could be reduced from a pH value of 5.7 to 6.5 and 15.7 mmhos cmˉ1 to 2.1 mmhos cmˉ1. Yield obtained from the plots operated with conventional method, tractor operated ridger and Kaipad bed former was respectively 2625 kg haˉ1, 2766 kg haˉ1 and 2800 kg haˉ1. Total cost of operation for mound making by conventional method and tractor operated bed former are respectively Rs.12000 and Rs. 2480. The cost of the tractor operated Kaipad bed former is Rs. 18875.