Selective Mechanization in Rice Cultivation for Energy Saving and Enhancing the Profitability T. Vidhan Singh 1, R. Mahender Kumar 2 and B.C.Viraktamath 3 1. Senior Scientist, Agril. Engineering, 2. Principal Scientist, Agronomy 3. Project Director Rajendranagar Hyderabad-500 030 Page 1
Introduction Rice is cultivated in 44 million ha in India and is largest area in the world. During the past 55 years there has been a remarkable increase in the production of rice. The area under rice increased by 1.5 times while the production increased by over four times to the tune of 99 million tones. The productivity has increased from 0. 7 t/ha to 2.40 t/ha. To mitigate the growing population rate rice production should rise to 120 million tones by 2020. This could be achieved only through selective mechanization and increase of productivity as the area is plateaued. With depleting natural resources, deteriorating soil health and declining input use efficiency achieving the target of 120 million tones is an uphill task. Increase in rice production is achieved mainly due to the improvement of irrigation facilities, introduction of high yielding varieties and judicious use of critical inputs. Agricultural mechanization is one critical input which not only facilitates timely completion of operations and thereby increases the production, labour saving, energy efficiency, productivity and profitability. Benefits of Mechanization An expert committee on the agricultural mechanization observed that the productivity is influenced by mechanization as follows: 1. 5-10% improvement in yield by proper and timely seed bed. 2. 5-30% improvement in yield by efficient control of weeds. 3. Reduces losses by 4-5% through efficient harvesting and threshing. 4. 8 10% losses reduction by proper post harvest process and storage. 5. Upto 2.5 per cent increase in head rice recovery by efficient milling.. Page 2
Labour saving Rice is a labour intensive crop. About 850 to 900 man hours of labour is required for cultivating one hectare. The following table gives the operation wise labour requirement in rice cultivation. S.No. Operations Percentage of total labour requirement 1. Puddling 11 2. Transplanting 38 3. Weeding 19 4. Harvesting 20 5. Threshing 12 Transplanting, weeding and harvesting operations consume most of the labour requirement in rice cultivation and hence thrust should be given for this mechanizing these operations in order to reduce the labour requirement in rice cultivation. High labor demand during peak periods adversely affects timeliness of operation, thereby reducing the crop yield. The steady drift of agricultural labor to industrial sector is adding more to the woes of the rice farmer. Because of drudgery and notion that the farm operations are below the dignity, labor availability, in general, has decreased considerably to farm operations. To offset these problems stress on mechanization is the need of the hour. Energy in agriculture. The power consumption for agriculture in developed countries is 3-5 times higher than what we consume in India. Farm power availability should be raised to 2 2.5 KW/ha from the present 1.15 KW/ha for achieving targeted level of mechanization. Page 3
Percent mechanization of rice production operation Percent mechanization of field operations Land Nursery Fertilizer Spraying Harvesting Threshing Irrigation preparati raising & application by pump on Trans- planting 60 00 25 100 3 20 50 It is satisfying to note that almost all the operations of rice production viz., land preparation, irrigation and plant protection attained the desired level of mechanization. However transplanting and harvesting are yet to be fully mechanized to attain the desired level of power utilization and to ease the rice cultivation Relief from drudgery: Farm women contribute significant labour input in various operations of rice cultivation. The following table gives percentage of women labour contribution in various of rice cultivation. Sl No. Operation Per cent input 1 Transplanting 80 2 Weeding 80 3 Harvesting 60 Page 4
Transplanting, weeding and harvesting are done in the bending posture resulting in spinal cord related health problems in women. Reducing cost of cultivation After the advent of WTA there is every need of competing with the other rice growing countries and as a result reducing the cost of cultivation takes top priority. Cost of cultivation could be reduced by using alternatives techniques like direct sowing. There is also every need to increase the input use efficiency. Placement of urea at appropriate place reduces volatilization and leaching losses and thereby saving urea up to 30 per cent without compromising on the yield level. Constraints of Mechanization of rice farming Smaller land holding is one of the major constraints for mechanized farming in India. In India 78.2% of farmers hold cultivable area upto 2 ha.(1990-91) Number and area of operational holdings by type of holding Major Size Classes Marginal (below 1 ha) Small (1 to 2 ha) Number Area 1980-81 1990-91 1980-81 1990-91 50,122 63,389 19,735 24,894 (56.4) (59.4) (12.0) (15.1) 16,072 20,092 23,169 28,827 (18.1) (18.8) (14.2) (17.4) (Figures in parenthesis indicate percentage contribution.) Page 5
The fragmentation of land holdings limits the free movement of the machinery. This results in loss of time in turning. It is feared in certain quarters that there will be labour displacement due to mechanization. Poor investment capacitiy of small and marginal farmers to purchase the machinery and lack of after sales and services restrict the spread of mechanization. Considering these aspects, there is a need to adopt selective mechanization to benefit all kinds of farmers. Improved farm implements and machinery for rice cultivation: A) Land Preparation Equipment Puddling is the most important operation in the preparation of soil bed for transplanting rice. The soil physical properties like soil structure, viscosity, bulk density etc changes due to puddling. Puddling creates an impervious layer and this assists in reducing the deep percolation losses. Prerequisite for puddling is preparatory dry tillage. The indigenous plough is the most prevalent implement used as a puddler in spite of its poor efficiency. An indigenous plough can cover only about 0.15 ha/day. There are several animal drawn and power operated puddlers developed in India. Among the power operated puddlers, power tillers and tractors are popular. A.P.A.U. Puddler: It is a bullock drawn implement. With the movement of the bullocks, the shaft rotates the blades, which in turn churn the soil. It is suitable for all types of soils. It is advisable to puddle the soil twice or thrice. The implement set up has provision for seat for the operator. Cono puddler: The puddler utilizes a new concept of conical shaped rotors for puddling in soft paddy soil. Page 6
Cono puddler It operates in the soil in a horizontal back and forth movement. It can be operated in all types of soils since this is a lightweight and modular implement. Power tiller: It is a 12 hp self propelled machine specifically useful for rice fields and orchards as it can take short turns. It comes with a package of implements like rotavator for puddling, cultivator for land preparation. It can be used for operations like pumping, threshing and for farm transport. It takes about 5h to puddle one hectare. Its cost is approximately 1 to 1.5 lakh rupees. Tractor: Tractors are available in two power ranges. Small power range tractor with 18 HP is meant for rice cultivation. It is a lightweight tractor with four wheel drive with rotavator used for puddling. It has a small turning radius. Trafficability problem can be avoided with this tractor due to its light weight. It can puddle one hectare in 2.5-3h. B) Seeding and planting Equipment Direct sowing Row seeder: A row seeder (also known as drum seeder) sows the pregerminated paddy seeds in the rows at spacing of 20 cm in puddle soil. There is saving in the cost of cultivation to the tune of 35 per cent by using this device. Page 7
DRR 8 Row Drum Seeder The advantages of the machine are Lightness of the machine, Ease of fabrication at any local workshop, Ease of operation with one operator, Low cost, Direct sowing Row seeder with wider spacing ( 25 cm X 25 cm) SRI - drumseeder: A row seeder (with a spacing of 25 cm row to row ) sows the pregerminated paddy seeds in the rows at a spacing of 25 cm in puddle soil. The other principles of SRI can be well adopted with this seeder to enhance the productivity. The drum seeder is under testing at DRR to save seed and enhance profitability 6 row drum seeder (SRI drum seeder ) 8-Row paddy transplanter (Chinese design): It is a self-propelled machine driven by 3-4 hp diesel engine. The machine transplants at a row spacing of 23 cm with a provision to vary the plant to plant distance of 10-12 cm and vary the depth of planting and number of plants per hill. It requires mat type nursery. DRR has standardized the size of the mats to be used with this Page 8
transplanter and developed a suitable frame to prepare the mats, which saves labor in nursery preparing and cutting of mats and ensures uniformity of seedling density over mats. The machine can cover about 0.8 ha in a day with a net saving in labor of about 40 per cent. The machine is more suitable for light textured soils. Further at present, the mechanical transplanters can plant 2 seedlings per hill at a spacing of 24 cm ( row to row ) and 12-24 cm ( plant to plant) for adoption of other SRI principles. This will be a very good development in promoting SRI in large scale. Chinese model of transplanter Korean model of transplanter C) Weeding Equipments Weeds are serious menace to crops as they reduce the yields and farmers income as they affect crop growth and development in many ways.. Problems associated with weeds can be enumerated as Reduction in yield and quality.increase problems with pest and diseases Page 9
. Cono weeder Weeding requires 120 man hours per hectare. Most work on weeding emphasizes on the timeliness of operation. Timeliness is the key factor for successful and effective weeding. System of Rice intensification is paddy cultivation using less seed, less water and less fertilizer. This system encourages farmer participation and innovation to make it more appropriate to local conditions and more owned by the users. Weeding Process in SRI: In SRI, first weeding is done after 10-12days of transplantation. Subsequently weedings are done every 10days, until the crop permits operation. Weeding at 10day interval is necessary. The field is irrigated one day before weeding and atleast half inch water is retained for easy operation. Weeder is moved front and back between every two rows both vertically and horizontally. Mechanical weeding alone increased the plant height and enhanced the grain yield by 10.9% as compared to manual weeding. Page 10
Different types of weeders used in SRI Tamil Nadu Weeder Four Row Weeder Jharkand Weeder Single drum weeder Nepali Terai Weeder Srilanka Weeder Tefy Saina Weeder Mechanized Weeder Cambodia Weeder Adjustable tow row weeder Rotating hoe Cuba weeder Rotary weeder, Northern India Ariyaratna motorized weeder Cono Weeder, IRRI design Mandava Two Row Weeder Mandava Single Row weeder Star (Tarimella) Row Weeder Kollur Weeder Three Row Raichur Weeder KVK Weeder English Weeder Japan Weeder Mad double cono-weeder ATS weeder 4 Row Weeder Gopal, TN Senegal weeder Rotating hoe Srilanka and Madagascar Wolf-fang weeder Rotating hoe (China) Use of appropriate weeding equipments coupled with suitable weedicide gives the best results against weeds. Cono weeder can be used as a package implement for row seeder and extensively used in the SRI type of cultivation Page 11
D) Harvesting Equipment Delayed harvesting due to non availability of labours will lead to yield losses on account of shattering. Various equipments used for harvesting are as follows Sickles: In the improved sickles the cutting edge is serrated instead of being plain. The serrated edged blades facilitate self sharpening and better quality of cut. The handles are made light with a better grip to improve the operators comfort. Some of the commercially available sickles are 'MAIDC', 'Vaibhav' and 'Naveen'. These sickles harvest 17% more area in a given time in comparison with traditional sickles Vertical conveyor reaper: Vertical conveyor reaper (VCR) harvests and windrows the crop to one side. This augurs well with the farmers' practice where the paddy is left in the field for some time for proper drying. One of the commercial models available in the market is operated with 3 hp petrol start- kerosene run engine. It has better maneuverability in the field. It can harvest about half an acre in one hour. The fuel consumption is only 2 liters of kerosene/acre. The shattering losses are also minimized. The machine is fully commercialized Page 12
Combine Harvester: This is self propelled (105 bhp at 2200 rpm) machine which cuts, conveys, threshes, cleans and bags the produce from the field.. It can harvest even a lodged crop. Wheel and chain combines are available. The chain combine is having more maneuverability by having lesser turning radius. It has working width of about 4.2m. It can harvest 0.8-1.2 ha/h of paddy. The straw disposal and utilization seems to be problematic with the use of combines. E) Threshing Equipment: Traditionally threshing is done by treading by bullocks or trampling by tractors. It takes more time and loss of yield through unthreshed paddy is more. This has been replaced by power operated threshers of 5 to 15 HP with either diesel or electrical power driven source. Pedal Operated Thresher It consists of wire-loop type threshing cylinder operated by foot pedal. It is suitable for threshing rice. It saves 20 percent labour and 40 per cent operating time compared to conventional method of hand beating on a wooden platform. Pedal operated thresher Multicrop thresher Page 13
Technical Specifications of threshers S.No. Equipment Developed at Power source Total Weight (Kgs) Output Capacity (Kg/h) 1. Pedal Thresher IIT, Kharagpur Two persons 36 44 2. Portable rice CIAE-IEP 3 hp motor 100 100 thresher Coimbatore 5 hp engine 3 Axial flow multicrop GBPUAT, 25 to 30 hp 500 1200-312 thresher Pantnagar tractor 4. Axial flow rice PAU, 35 hp tractor 730 1300 thresher Ludhiana 5. Plot thresher CIAE, 1 hp motor 120 6.5-35.2 Bhopal 6. Multicrop thresher APAU, 5 hp motor 350 350 Conclusions: Carrying out timely operation and reducing cost of cultivation is the prerequisite for enhancing the production and productivity of rice and as well as to make rice cultivation commercially viable and profitable enterprise for the farmers. Selective mechanization can help to achieve this goal. There is a need to develop suitable weeders for different soil conditions especially row planted (SRI cultivation) and motorization of the weeder will help for large scale adoption. The effective utilization of inputs like irrigation water and fertilizer is a necessity. Reducing losses while in operation of various activities of rice production and reduction of post harvest losses is essential. Page 14