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ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF A SWIVELING HEAD TYPE POWER BRUSH CUTTER 2943(JAU, JUNAGADH, 2019-09) KACHHADIYA DIVYESH MANSUKHBHAI; V. K. TiwariGrass cutting is an important operation in agriculture field. In India, agriculture has facing serious challenges like scarcity of agricultural labour in peak seasons and almost throughout the year. In India, grass is cut in two ways i.e manual method (conventional method) and mechanized way. In the past and even until now, cutting of grasses in the field surface, forest, sports tracks, industries, hotels, public centre, etc. are being cut with a cutlass. Manual cutting is time consuming and stressful operation. In addition, inaccuracy in cutting level was also observed in manual cutting method. In India, for the design and development of most of the agricultural machines have been given less attention towards ergonomic aspects. While to get more work from a worker it is must to consider ergonomic design. A swiveling head type power brush cutter was developed and test results were analyzed in terms of, cutting efficiency, field efficiency, heart rate, oxygen consumption rate and energy expenditure rate. Three different forward speed: 1 km/h, 1.5 km/h and 2 km/h and three different swiveling shaft speed of 15 rpm, 20 rpm and 25 rpm with three different nylon wire length 10 cm, 15 cm, 20 cm were used for the test performance. For the experiment, alfalfa grass was used for cutting. The field capacity of existing brush cutter is 0.098 ha/h, but in case of developed brush cutter it is 0.123 ha/h. The maximum field efficiency was found 91.47 % at 1 km/h forward speed, 15 rpm swiveling shaft speed and 10 cm nylon wire length. The maximum cutting efficiency was found 94.81 % at 1 km/h, 25 rpm swiveling shaft speed and 20 cm nylon wire length. Minimum heart rate, oxygen consumption rate, energy expenditure rate were found at 1 km/h forward speed, 15 rpm swiveling shaft speed and 10 cm nylon wire length. The energy consumption of developed brush cutter was observed 185.13 MJ/ha while by existing brush cutter operation it was 235.27 MJ/ha.ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF TRACTOR OPERATED AUTOMATED INTER AND INTRA ROW WEEDER 2938(JAU, JUNAGADH, 2019-07) JAKASANIA RONAK GORDHANBHAI; R. YadavWeed management is a tedious task especially in organic crop production since synthetic herbicides are prohibited, and manual weeding is relatively costly and time consuming. However, mechanical weed control is one of the options that can be implemented by growers to control weeds but the main challenge to both practical farmers and researchers is the selective control of the intra-row weeds. Based on this challenge the objective of the study was to develop a tractor operated inter and intra row weeder. In this research work static structural analysis of inter row weeder was carried out using Creo and ANSYS software. If a inter row weeder is unable to handle with high magnitude reaction forces from the soil during weeding operation, they become useless due to plastic deformation or parts breaking. Therefore, proper design of inter row weeder is necessary in order to increase their working life time and reduce the farming costs. 3D models of inter row weeder was made using Creo software and static structural analysis was carried out using ANSYS software. Main components of the automated weeder was ultrasonic sensor, D.C. motor, microcontroller, battery, frame, tine, inter and intra row blade. Ultrasonic sensor was used to differentiate crop plant from weed. When the ultrasonic sensor detect a crop plant then intra row blades rotate in anti-clockwise direction and when there are no plants then intra row blades rotate in clockwise direction and come into the working position to remove the particular weed. The performance of automated weeder was evaluated in the field for determining weeding efficiency, percentage of plant damage and field efficiency. These parameters are mainly affected by the forward speed of the tractor and the rake angle of the blade. Different forward speeds of the tractor were 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 km/h where, three different rake angles 18º, 20º and 22º were selected for evaluating it in laboratory as well as in field. Results of simulation of inter row weeder showed that maximum deformation was observed as 0.65 mm at the given boundary conditions while maximum equivalent (von-mises) stresses of 42.39 MPa was observed. Maximum equivalent stresses was found to be very low as compared to yield strength of material so inter row weeder satisfy the safety conditions. Weeding efficiency, plant damage percentage and field efficiency were found 93.65%, 11.48% and 94.04%, respectively. The optimum forward speed and best rake angle were found as 1.5 km/h and 22º respectively, looking to minimum plant damage and maximum field efficiency. From the experimental results, the depth and with of cut of automated inter and intra row weeder was found as 30 mm and 600 mm, respectively. The draft requirement was 49.13 kgf at 1.50 km/h speed of operation. The power required for weeding operation was 0.93 hp with fuel consumption of 1.21 l/h and 9.57% wheel slip at 12.07% moisture content (d.b.). The theoretical field capacity of weeder was found as 0.09 ha/h while effective field capacity was 0.084 ha/h with the field efficiency of 94.03%. By adapting this automated weeder, problems of the labor crises can be reduced in terms of time reduction 88.44% and cost reduction 35.73% as compared to manually weeding. The payback period and B-C ratio of developed weeder was found as 4.93 years and 2.02, respectively. The results indicate that the tractor operated automated inter and intra row weeder is viable proposition and usful in reducing time as well as cost of operation.ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF BATTERY OPERATED SEED DRILL 2940(jau,junagadh, 2019-09) Mr. N.P. Delvadiya; Prof. A.L. VadherPulses is one of the important crops. The food value of pulses is essential due to its high protein content. The pulses crop is mainly grown for its grains which are consumed either whole or in split form (dal). Properly and timely sowing has a dominant effect on germination of seed, plant growth, plant population in the field and ultimately on the total production. In general, pulses is sown by animal/tractor drawn seed drill or manually. Tractor drawn seed drills are suitable for medium or big farms with high seed rate. Draft animals are not only becoming costly but they are diminishing also. More than 75 % of Indian farmers belong to small and marginal category and doing all operations manually. Manual sowing is a highly labour intensive, tedious, time consuming and not technically suitable. Therefore, a double row battery operated seed drill for pulses seed was developed and tested. During the study, the required physical properties of chickpea seed was determined. The developed seed drill was tested for laboratory and field test. The overall size of developed seed drill was 2030×1150×1050 mm. It was operated by 24V, 28Ah battery. A DC motor of 400 watt 24V was used as power source. Ground wheels have 14 lugs. It sowed seeds in two rows at a time. The overall weight of developed seed drill was 54 kg. In the laboratory test, seed rate, and mechanical damage of the developed seed drill were found as 63.20 kg/ha, and 1.20% respectively. The overall performance of the developed seed drill was found satisfactory. While in the field, draft of implement 37.19 kgf, missing index 2.46%, depth of seed placement 6.10 cm, germination per cent 84.49%, and cost of operation of the developed seed drill were ₹350.22/ha. And the field test of manually existing seed drill for draft of implement 14.51 kgf, missing index 3.63%, depth of seed placement 6.20 cm, and cost of operation were obtained ₹ 426.20/ha. The field efficiency of the developed seed drill and manually existing seed drill were found as 83% and 75% respectively.ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF HYDRAULIC OPERATED TRACTOR MOUNTED HAY RAKE CUM LOADER 2935(JAU, JUNAGADH, 2019-08) SAVITA KUMARI; K. K. JaiThe tractor trolley is suitable for on road transportation of agricultural produce, livelihoods and implements. But for transportation within the territory of agricultural fields and farmers place is not suitable, therefore this hydraulic operated hay rake cum loader was developed for 500 kg carrying capacity. The device was tested for loose (green / dry fodder) and bulk (grain / seed bags) loads on farm road and tar road, respectively. The performance parameters considered for its evaluation were loading/unloading efficiency, handling efficiency (handling time percentage index, driving time percentage index and handling to driving time percentage index), loading/unloading losses and spillage losses during transportation. The device can be used for transporting loose and bulk loads on farm and tar roads. The field testing of the developed device was found satisfactory under various operating conditions. The subjective evaluation of the device was also carried out as per the Borg scale i.e. in terms of Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), which indicated the operating feasibility of the device. In the research conducted, the bulk load gave better results in terms of all the parameters. The comparison between bulk load and loose load was found highly significant for every performance parameter. The total cost of operation of hydraulic operated hay rake cum loader was determined as ₹ 60.37/h. The payback period and benefit-cost ratio was obtained as 2 years and 2.8, respectivelyThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF MANUAL DRAWN ENGINE POWERED LEAFY CROP HARVESTER 2922(JAU, JUNAGADH, 2019-08) BHEDA ASHISH KALUBHA; Pramod MohnotDifferent leafy crops such as leafy vegetables are important class of agricultural products at the national and international levels. Coriander is one of the spices used by mankind and has been cultivated since antiquity. India ranks first in the production of coriander. As far as area under cultivation and production of coriander are concerned, Gujarat occupies third position in the country. Junagadh ranks first in the production of coriander in Gujarat. Other districts in the Gujrat cultivating coriander are Porbandar, Gir Somanth, Amreli, Devbhumi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Patan, Mehsana, etc. Coriander is an annual herb. The plants attain heights from 0.2 to 1.2 m and flower 45 to 60 days after sowing. Row to row distance for coriander was generally taken 0.2 to 0.3 m. Coriander leaves are harvested, the plant will continue to produce new foliage until it goes to seed. That usually occurs around 40 days after the seed germinates. In India, mostly harvesting of leafy crops is done manually with the help of sickle which results in considerable amount of labour drudgery, time and cost to harvest, which reflects on total production cost of the crop. Timely harvesting is important to reduce damage due to moulds and insects. The shortage of labour is thus to be bridged by mechanization. A suitable mechanized harvesting of leafy crops is an immediate need which can reduce drudgery, minimize losses and increase productivity, avoid weather risk, achieve low cost of harvesting and derive benefit from early marketing of produces. Therefore, manual drawn engine powered leafy crop harvester was developed which is suitable to a large group of the farmers of the country and their fields. The major components of the machines include the cutting unit (reciprocating cutter bar), the slider crank mechanism, the reel, conveyor, storage crate and the frame. Cutter bar type blade was used. Leafy crop stem was cut by the cutter bar blade which was powered by engine. The slider mechanism was an arrangement of crank and connecting arm which convert the rotary motion of eccentric wheel to reciprocating motion of the cutter bar. Leafy crops were guided to conveyer belt by reel. Leafy crops were conveyed to crates by inclined conveyer. Cutter bar, reel and conveyer were powered by engine which was supplied through gear box and belt and pulley arrangement. Experiments were conducted in the coriander field by varying crank speeds (200, 300 and 400 rpm) and forward speed ranges (0.9-1.2, 1.3-1.6 and 1.7-2.0 km/h) in different combinations. Two factorial completely randomized design was adapted for the experiment by taking three replications. The results were analysed statistically. The performance of the device was evaluated by determining effective field capacity, field efficiency, cutting efficiency, fuel consumption, heart rate, oxygen consumption rate and energy ii expenditure rate. The cost of harvesting with developed harvester was also calculated. The highest effective field capacity of developed harvester was found to be 86.42×10-3 ha/h for the combination of crank speed at 200 rpm and 1.7-2.0 km/h of forward speed. The highest field efficiency and cutting efficiency were found to be 87.29 % and 96.28 % respectively with the combination of crank speed of 400 rpm and forward speed of 0.9-1.2 km/h. The lowest fuel consumption was found to be 0.56 l/h with the combination of crank speed of 200 rpm and forward speed of 1.7-2.0 km/h. Increase in heart rate, oxygen consumption rate and energy expenditure rate were found lowest of 26.54 %, 0.33 l/min and 7 kJ/min respectively with the combination of crank speed of 200 rpm and forward speed of 0.9-1.2 km/h. Economic point of view, it was found that hourly cost of operation of ₹ 129.73/h and cost of harvesting of ₹ 1907.79/ha.ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF TRACTOR OPERATED GARLIC (Allium sativum L.) CLOVE PLANTER 2921(JAU, JUNAGADH, 2019-08) ZILPILWAR SHUBHAM RAMESH; R. YadavGarlic is commonly known as Allium sativum L. and it belongs to “Alliaceae” family. Due to the lack of appropriate planting, cultivation and harvesting machinery for mechanizing its production, it is still grown in relatively small fields using traditional methods. It requires about 60 to 65 man-days to sow one hectare and costing around ₹ 5200 per hectare. In this study, an innovatively designed tractor operated, ground-wheel driven, nine row crop precision planters capable of planting nine rows of garlic cloves at a spacing of 10 × 15 cm was developed and tested. Some of the engineering properties like average length, width, thickness, sphericity, 1000 seed weight, angle of repose and bulk density of GG-4 and GG-5 garlic clove were determined at moisture content of 48.92% and 58.38% (w. b.) respectively, as 26.36 mm, 11.82 mm, 10.32 mm, 0.54, 544 g, 38.16o and 497.82 kg/m3 ; 28.28 mm, 12.81 mm, 10.96 mm, 0.55, 667 g, 37.19o and 529.71 kg/m 3 respectively. The spoon type metering mechanism was designed and developed considering the physical properties of cloves. 10 elliptical spoons were fitted on the periphery of a metering roller of diameter 235 mm. The final operational parameters of the metering mechanism were decided based on average seed spacing, miss index, multiple index, quality of feed index, precision, seed rate, and mechanical seed damage. The spoon size 10 and 20% more than the maximum seed dimension for metering unit showed better results for GG-4 and GG-5 garlic clove with operating forward speed of 2.5 km/h. Further, a tractor operated planter was fabricated with the designed and developed spoon type metering mechanism. The overall length × width × height of the machine is 1600 × 1350 × 1300 mm. The developed planter was tested in laboratory and field conditions. During lab test, seed distribution and seed damage were observed. The variation of seed distribution among the furrow openers was found negligible for both the seed varieties. The visible mechanical damage was found to be 5.51 and 5.70% for GG-4 and GG-5 garlic cloves respectively. During the field test, field performance and seed metering efficiency were evaluated. The effective field capacity was found to be 0.33 and 0.32 ha/h for GG-4 and GG-5 garlic seeds respectively. The average field efficiency was observed as 80.33 and 79.02% for GG-4 and GG-5 garlic variety respectively. The seed metering efficiency was obtained through germination count by comparing the germination obtained in seed damage test and germination obtained in the field. The results of seed metering efficiency for GG-4 and GG-5 garlic seeds were 96.35 and 96.75% respectively. Finally, the results obtained in laboratory experiment were compared with the results obtained in field experiment and found that both miss and multiple index were more at field conditions than laboratory condition for both the variety of garlic. The seed rate obtained was near about similar for both laboratory evaluation and field evaluation. The total cost of planting with the developed planter was found to be ₹ 553.63 per hour and ₹ 1677.67 per hectare. The payback period of the developed planter is 2.27 years. It was concluded that the developed spoon type metering mechanism for garlic planting shows the better result with less miss and multiple index with high quality of feed index. The developed machine was minimizing the cost of cultivation due to bed formation, planting and fertilizer application simultaneously with a single machine.ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF MANUALLY DRAWN BATTERY POWERED REAPER 2909(JAU, JUNAGADH, 2019-07) TANTI DIXIT PRAFULKUMAR; K. B. JhalaHarvesting of crop is one of the important agricultural operation. The availability and cost of labour during harvesting season is the serious problem. Timely harvesting of the crop is vital to achieve better quality and higher yield of the crop. Indian agriculture faced serious challenges like scarcity of agricultural labour, not only in peak working seasons but also in general time. Therefore, it is essential to adopt the mechanical methods so that the timeliness in harvesting operation could be ensured and field losses could be minimized and consequently productivity and production could be increased. In mechanical method of harvesting self-propelled reapers and combine harvesters are developed but they are out of reach of small farmers due to their initial cost, complex design, land fragmentation and lack of skilled labour. The developed manual operated reaper (ground wheel powered) do not work satisfactory due to less available power developed by human beings. Thus, to ensure efficient and timely harvesting operation manually drawn battery powered reaper was developed at CAET, JAU, Junagadh, which was very simple in construction, low maintenance and easy to operate. The machine includes main frame, two batteries, DC motor, gear box, crop dividers, cutter bar and conveyor belts. It is capable of cutting two rows of wheat crop placed 22.5 cm apart. After cutting the crop is conveyed towards one side of the machine with the help of conveyor belt. After development of battery powered reaper, it’s performance was evaluated in the field of wheat crop. Performance evaluation of developed machine was carried out at different forward speeds (1 km/h, 1.5 km/h and 2 km/h) anddifferent cutter bar speeds (200 rpm, 300 rpm and 400 rpm). The performance of the machine was observed in terms of cutting efficiency, conveying efficiency, field capacity, field efficiency and also in ergonomical parameter like heart rate, oxygen consumption rate and energy expenditure rate. Overall best performance of reaper was obtained at 1 km/h forward speed and 400 rpm cutter bar speed. The maximum effective field capacity and field efficiency was found 0.074 ha/h and 90.77 % respectively. The maximum cutting and conveying efficiency of the developed reaper was found 95.01 % and 89.66 % respectively. The developed reaper could harvest one hectare in 17.12 hours while by manually harvesting it required 158 man-hours. The energy consumption of developed reaper was observed as 31.97 MJ/ha. The cost of operation for developed reaper was found to be 1421 ₹/ha while manually harvesting it was 5925 ₹/ha. The developed machine could reduce 75.86 % cost of operation and 89.16 % of time as compared to the manual harvesting.ThesisItem Open Access DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MINI TRACTOR OPERATED ROTARY WEEDER 2884(JAU, JUNAGADH, 2019-07) VALA VIMALSINH SAMATBHAI; R. K. KathiriaEvery year India faces the total loss of 33% of its economy from weeds which accounts an average of 1980 Cr of rupees is wasted due to weeds. The Losses are due to some of the following reasons; total loss of 26% from Crop Diseases, total loss of 20% from Insects and Worms, total loss of 6% from Rats has been surveyed (Sridhar, 2013). Removal of weeds consumes 25% labour i.e. 900-1200 man–hour during the cultivation season (Kumar et al., 2002). Average weeding cost by traditional method is nearby Rs. 945/ha out of the total cost of cultivation Rs. 3000/ha for agricultural crop (Tajuddin et al., 1991). In 2019, a mini tractor operated rotary weeder was developed in department of farm machinery and power engineering, CAET, JAU Junagadh as research project. The overall dimension of rotary weeder was 1200×600×760 mm and fabricated with square pipe of 40 × 40 × 5 mm. Based on the row to row distance and other parameter to solve the problem of weeding. The development of fabrication work was carried out at workshop of department of farm machinery and engineering department. The weeder was tested with ‘L ‘type blade and three different rotor RPM of 40, 60 and 80 RPM. The cutting blade was bolted with flange which joined with shaft of 38mm with keyway mechanism. Whole cutting unit consist cutting blade, flange with hub, rotor shaft. The rotational movement provided with help of chain and sprocket mechanism. Dimension of the chain i.e. pitch, roller width, sprocket thickness and working Load of chain were 15.875mm, 9.525mm, 8.71mm and 635 kgs respectively. The output PTO rpm was 540 transmitted through primary reduction unit through cardan shaft. Output RPM from primary reduction unit to chain and sprocket mechanism was 180 RPM. It was ii compared with animal drawn weeder. The comparative performance has been assessed on the basis of weeding efficiency, plant damage, effective field capacity and fuel consumption. Field experiments were conducted at vegetables research station, Junagadh agricultural university, Junagadh. For three different of 40,60 and 80 rotor rpm at operating speed of 1.5 km/h weeding efficiency were 98.28 %, 96.70 % and 96.28 % respectively and plant damage were 1.12% , 3.36% and 4.48 % respectively. Fuel consumption was obtain 2.10 l/h at operating speed of 1.5 km/h and effective field capacity and field efficiency were obtain 0.14 ha/h and 82 % respectively. Fabrication cost of rotary weeder was ₹ 39,700 and operational cost ₹ 328.25 /h and benefit cost ration and payback period were 3.54 and 2.84 year.ThesisItem Open Access DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MINI TRACTOR OPERATED ROTARY WEEDER 2884(JAU,JUNAGADH, 2019-07) Vala Vimalsinh S.; Dr. R. K. KathiriaEvery year India faces the total loss of 33% of its economy from weeds which accounts an average of 1980 Cr of rupees is wasted due to weeds. The Losses are due to some of the following reasons; total loss of 26% from Crop Diseases, total loss of 20% from Insects and Worms, total loss of 6% from Rats has been surveyed (Sridhar, 2013). Removal of weeds consumes 25% labour i.e. 900-1200 man–hour during the cultivation season (Kumar et al., 2002). Average weeding cost by traditional method is nearby Rs. 945/ha out of the total cost of cultivation Rs. 3000/ha for agricultural crop (Tajuddin et al., 1991). In 2019, a mini tractor operated rotary weeder was developed in department of farm machinery and power engineering, CAET, JAU Junagadh as research project. The overall dimension of rotary weeder was 1200×600×760 mm and fabricated with square pipe of 40 × 40 × 5 mm. Based on the row to row distance and other parameter to solve the problem of weeding. The development of fabrication work was carried out at workshop of department of farm machinery and engineering department. The weeder was tested with ‘L ‘type blade and three different rotor RPM of 40, 60 and 80 RPM. The cutting blade was bolted with flange which joined with shaft of 38mm with keyway mechanism. Whole cutting unit consist cutting blade, flange with hub, rotor shaft. The rotational movement provided with help of chain and sprocket mechanism. Dimension of the chain i.e. pitch, roller width, sprocket thickness and working Load of chain were 15.875mm, 9.525mm, 8.71mm and 635 kgs respectively. The output PTO rpm was 540 transmitted through primary reduction unit through cardan shaft. Output RPM from primary reduction unit to chain and sprocket mechanism was 180 RPM. It was ii compared with animal drawn weeder. The comparative performance has been assessed on the basis of weeding efficiency, plant damage, effective field capacity and fuel consumption. Field experiments were conducted at vegetables research station, Junagadh agricultural university, Junagadh. For three different of 40,60 and 80 rotor rpm at operating speed of 1.5 km/h weeding efficiency were 98.28 %, 96.70 % and 96.28 % respectively and plant damage were 1.12% , 3.36% and 4.48 % respectively. Fuel consumption was obtain 2.10 l/h at operating speed of 1.5 km/h and effective field capacity and field efficiency were obtain 0.14 ha/h and 82 % respectively. Fabrication cost of rotary weeder was ₹ 39,700 and operational cost ₹ 328.25 /h and benefit cost ration and payback period were 3.54 and 2.84 year.
