Machine For Sowing and Interculture

Sowing: -

Sowing is an art of placing seed at right time, at predetermined depth and predetermined spacing in the soil to obtain good germination. The oldest method of sowing is broadcasting, in which seeds are uniformly spread on ploughed field, having less advantages and more disadvantages. The indigenous implement for sowing is desi plough, i.e., behind the plough and plough with malabasa in which a funnel with pipe attached to it is used. The lower end of which opens behind the tongue of the desi plough, Two men required, one for balancing plough and other for dropping seed in the malabasa which covers 0.4 to 0.5 hec/day. Then the dibbler was designed which has pegs at variable distances, mounted. Then the dibbler was designed which has pegs at variable distances, mounted on rectangular frame. With dibbler seed to seed and row to row distance can be adjusted. It has reduced the seed rate tremendously but uplifted labour cost to very high. Sowing by cultivator with nari or tifan attachment is becoming very common in villages. It is simple and average size of bullock can be used efficiently. In this wah wah junior or wah wah senior cultivators (removing two tines) are used. The funnel with tifan for seed is used in which seed rate is operated manually. Two men can cover 1.2 to 1.5 hec/day. Thenafter the seed drill was introduced in which the seed rate is mechanically controlled between the rows and within the rows.

Many improved automatic seed drills are in the market to sow only seeds and also seed cum-fertilizer drills (to sow seed and fertilizer at a time) which act as a device to place fertilizer at side of seed, above the seed, below the seed and seed at required depth. Mc-Cormic seed drill, Master seed drill, Gunti seed drill and Kirloskar seed drill are common. Mostly they have fluted roller seed and mettering devices. A bullock drawn seed drill consists of a seed and fertilizers box wooden or mild steel or galvanised iron sheet, placed at the top on the frame. The frame is of mild steel angle iron, rectangular in shape, which is mounted on the axil of two metalic wheels on bearings. All other parts like fertilizer dropping device, seed dropping device, seed and fertilizer tubes, furrow openers and covering devices are directly or indirectly mounted on the frame. The power to run the mechanism is being given by the wheel of the seed drill. A lever with clutch is also provided to stop and start the sowing as desired. About 5 to 7 rows at a time can be sown by bullock drown seed drill.One man with a pair of bullocks can sow 2.4 to 3 hec per day.

Tractor drawn seed drill is exactly similar as of animal drawn in construction. The size and driving mechanism is the main difference between the two. In this type three seed metering devices are used: 1) Fluted rollers which carries grooves throughout its periphery. When the groove is at the top during rotation, it is filled with seed and delivers it into the tube when comes down. 2) Double run type is found in American seed drills. It consists of a cast iron disk corrugated at both sides by fine and coarse pockets to Suit different sizes of seeds. The seed rate varies with speed of disk. 3) Cup feed type is found in English drills. It consists of a series of disks with ring of cups throughout its periphery. The seed rate depends on the size of cup and speed of disk. The cell feed and brush feed mechanism is common in foreign drills. The common furrow openers used in tractor drawn seed drills are shoe types, single disk and double disk types. Draw chain, hook rod, wheel roller and plank types of seed covering devices are commonly used in seed drills. Tractor drills can cover 6 to 10 hec/day with about 13 to 18 furrow openers.

Hoes: -

It is a versatile form of implement used for all the operations which a cultivator can do, but it is hard operated and recommended for smallholdings, like kitchen garden. With slight change in design, size and working they are named as wheel hoes, single hand hoe, Sharma hand hoe, Naini hoe, and rotary hand hoe. Except wheel hoe and rotary hoe which works on forward stroke or motion, rest of all other hoes works on backward stroke or motion, Naini wheel hoe has three interculture attachments: three pegs rake, sweep and reversible shovel with broad and narrow sides. It can cover about 0.20 hec/day/man.

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