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Open Access
Development and evaluation of system for torrefaction of paddy straw
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Gurpreet Singh; Soni, Rajesh
The disposal of surplus paddy straw is a serious problem in North-West India. About two-third of the 22 MT paddy straw produced in Punjab is openly burnt in fields. All the existing onsite and offsite methods to manage paddy straw have met with limited success. Biomass co-firing with coal in large thermal power plants is a promising technology for its utilization. Agricultural residues including paddy straw are herbaceous type of biomass. This herbaceous biomass have several unfavorable characteristics that hinder their use in power plants. These include low bulk density, hydrophobicity, high moisture content, and degradation during storage, and low energy density. Pre-treatment of biomass through torrefaction (followed by pelletization) can resolve most of these problems. In this study, the paddy straw was torrefied in an oven at various temperatures viz 230, 240 and 250°C and various durations viz 20, 30 and 40 minutes. The effect of torrefaction on paddy straw properties were studied. Thereafter, a bench scale reactor for torrefaction of around 0.8 kg of paddy straw was designed and fabricated. The unique feature of this reactor was the division of the reactor into four vertical zones. The lower most zone was meant for combustion of the paddy straw to provide additional heat to the upper zones and to assist heat transfer to the upper zones. On the basis of lab studies done earlier, the duration and temperature of 30 minutes and 250°C respectively were selected for bench scale studies. With proper insulation of the reactor, the desired torrefaction condition could be achieved in the lower 10 cm of the reactor. The studies show that with the existing mode of heating, the height of the torrefaction reactor should be limited to 10 cm only. The grinding energy reduced to 6-7 kW/kg. The average particle size decreased, moisture content of straw also decreased to less than 6.4% while the gross heating value increased to 17.07 MJ/kg, mass yield and energy yield of torrefied paddy straw was 0.87 and 1.05 respectively. Thus torrefied straw acquired more coal like properties. This improves the suitability of torrefied straw co-firing with coal in unmodified thermal power plants.
Open Access
Development and evaluation of chain pot paper type onion (Allium cepa L.) transplanter
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Kamalpreet Singh; Thakur, S.S.
The present study was conducted to develop and evaluate the chain pot paper type transplanter for onion crop. The transplanter was developed using Solid Edge V20 and then fabricated with the help of local manufacturer. Two varieties of onion were selected i.e Punjab Naroya and PRO 6. Two ages of seedlings were kept i.e 30 days and 40 days. Evaluation of the developed transplanter was performed using two surface treatments i.e flat and raised bed. Performance was evaluated on the basis of field capacity, plants per metre length, damage to seedlings, seedling height, bulb size and yield. There was significant effect of age of seedlings on their height. The average height of seedlings after 80 days from transplanting observed were 31.50 cm, 25.93 cm, 31.17 cm, 24.27 cm, 34.00 cm, 28.17 cm, 34.63 cm and 27.97 cm for treatments S1V1A1, S1V1A2, S1V2A1, S1V2A2, S2V1A1, S2V1A2, S2V2A1 and S2V2A2 respectively. The average plants per metre length was found to be 10 in all the treatments. The effect of varieties and age of seedlings on the bulb size was found to be significant. The average bulb size observed were 5.18 cm, 5.10 cm, 5.51 cm, 5.60 cm, 5.70 cm, 5.70 cm, 5.61 cm and 5.55 cm for treatments S1V1A1, S1V1A2, S1V2A1, S1V2A2, S2V1A1, S2V1A2, S2V2A1 and S2V2A2 respectively. The effect of varieties of onion and field surface on the yield was found to be significant. The average yield observed were 33.5 t/ha, 32.8 t/ha, 29.5 t/ha, 28.5 t/ha, 34.9 t/ha, 34.1 t/ha, 30.9 t/ha and 29.8 t/ha for treatments S1V1A1, S1V1A2, S1V2A1, S1V2A2, S2V1A1, S2V1A2, S2V2A1 and S2V2A2 respectively. Theoretical field capacity of the transplanter was 0.024 ha/h and actual field capacity of the transplanter was 0.016 ha/h.
Open Access
Design, Development and Evaluation of Manual Drum Seeder for Onion Seeds
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Verma, Kanishk; Thakur, S.S.
Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the major vegetable crops grown throughout the country. The labour requirement in manual transplanting of onion seedlings is as high as 100-200 man-days/ ha as 8.9 lakh seedlings per hectare are to be transplanted. Because of the high requirement and shortage of labour, the area under onion cultivation is low. To increase the mechanization of this crop at low cost a prototype of the manual onion drum seeder was developed and fabricated. Three drums were developed and fabricated with three different hole size i.e. 3.0mm, 3.5mm and 4.0mm based on the physical properties of onion seeds. The drums of the seederwere evaluated in laboratory at three speeds 1 km h-1, 1.5 km h-1and 2.0 km h-1.In the laboratory evaluation it was observed that average seed rate for drum D1, D2 and D3 was 6.60, 6.77 and 12.73 kg ha-1. The average seed spacing was 6.7, 7.7 and 4.10 cm for drum D1, D2 and D3. Average missing index was 11, 11 and 6% for drum D1, D2 and D3. Average multiple index was 14, 14 and 27 % for drum D1, D2 and D3. Average singulation was 75, 74 and 66 % for drum D1, D2 and D3. The developed onion seeder was then evaluated in the field.It was found that forwarding speed of onion seeder was 1.2 to 1.5 km h-1. The field capacity observed was 0.05 ha h-1 and field efficiency was 83%.Seed rate of drum D1 (7.3kg ha-1) and D2 (7.4 kg ha-1) was less than the manual sowing (8.2 kgha-1) and drum D3 (13.4 kgha-1) have higher seed rate than recommended seed rate (10-12 kg ha-1), drum D1 and D2 was found suitable in maintaining plant to plant spacing (7-8 cm).Missing index of Drum D1 and D2 was (11%) more as compared to the data of drum D3 (9%). Multiple index of drum D1 and D2 (14%) was less than drum D3 (28%). Singulation was higher in drum D1 and D2 (74%) as compared to drumD3 (67%). The yield obtained was 28tonnes ha-1, 26 tonnes ha-1 and 21 tonnes ha-1 from drum D2, D1 and D3 respectively.
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Design, development and evaluation of a tractor operated paddy straw bale shredder
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Sunil Kumar; Dogra, Baldev
Paddy is a major cereal crop of Punjab. Paddy cultivation is practiced on more than 3 Mha area of the state. Paddy straw burning is major issue of Punjab and its adjoining states. More than 20Mt of paddy straw is generated annually in Punjab, out of this farmers burn approximately 15 Mt paddy straw in the fields. Paddy straw burning releases a number of pollutants such as particulate matter, sulphur and carbon oxides, besides degradation of soil health. Paddy straw can be used as a mulch for next season crops. Mulching reduces weed emergence, reduces water evaporation from soil surface and improves soil properties. A paddy straw bale shredder cum mulcher was designed, developed and evaluated to use baled paddy straw as mulch. Theoretical design of paddy straw bale shredder cum mulcher was done. Thereafter its 3-D model was developed. This machine was fabricated in Dr S. R. Verma Research Hall of Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering. Performance of the developed machine was evaluated at three levels of forward speed (F1= 2.25, F2= 2.65 and F3= 2.95 km/h), three levels of shredding rotor tip speed (S1= 30.71, S2= 36.47 and S3= 41.84 m/s) and three levels of deflector angle (A1= 25°, A2= 30° and A3= 35°) on garlic planted on 1m wide beds. The selected dependent variables were mat thickness, uniformity of spread, weed count, plant damage, fuel consumption and effective field capacity. The effect of forward speed and rotor speed on mat thickness, coefficient of variation and fuel consumption was significant at 5% level of significance. CV was minimum (43.62%) at treatments combination F1S3A1. CV increased with increase in forward speed and decreased with increase in rotor speed. Maximum mat thickness of 59 mm was obtained for F1S3A1. It decreased with increase in forward speed and increased with increase in rotor speed. The weed count was minimum (10) for treatments combination F1S3A1. Weed count decreased with increase in mat thickness. Yield of the crop increased with the increase in mat thickness. Maximum yield of 47.31 q/a was observed for F1S3A1 that had maximum mat thickness of 59 mm. It was 8.98 % higher than control (without mulch). No plant damage was observed due to machine operation in the field. Average effective field capacity of the machine was 0.25 ha/h. The average fuel consumption during machine operation was 4.61 l/h.Net savings by using the developed machine increased by Rs 6665 per hectare.
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Development and evaluation of tractor operated pebble digger cum collector machine
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Tola, Abreham Arebe; Narang, M.K.
India is a large country and shows the diversity of climatic and natural conditions. The nature of the soil in one place is strongly affected by climate, natural vegetation cover and rocks. In arid and semi-arid areas, the soil contains several small pebbles that hinder agricultural activities, such as land preparation and intercultural operations. The stones in the soil interfere with growing plants, damage tillage tools and harvesting machinery. Mostly women are engaged to remove pebbles in dry agriculture before the start of the cropping season and experience intense physical stress while performing field work. Manual removal of stones/pebbles is also practically ineffective since some pebbles buried below the surface which aren't easily seen by workers. Hence, by knowing all these problems, a pebble digger cum collector machine was developed and evaluated which can be an alternative solution to overcome the problem faced in such areas. The pebble digger cum collector developed by using CAD model and it consisted of digging blade, belt pulley mechanism, conveying unit, shafts, gearbox and pebble collecting and unloading systems. The machine was evaluated in terms of percentage of pebbles collected, field capacity, fuel consumption and size of pebble collected at different independent parameters like level of tillage operations (cultivator and moldboard plow), depths of operations (12 and 18 cm) and different forward speeds (1.0,1.5,2.0 and 2.5 km h-1). The machine was capable of collecting pebbles ranges from 3.55 to 8.79 cm size from depth of 18 cm. The average optimum values of percentage of pebbles collected, field capacity and fuel consumption of 88.40 %, 0.09 ha h-1 and 3.35 l h-1 respectively for tillage operation by cultivator at a depth of 12 cm and forward speed of 1.5 km h-1.
Open Access
Development and evaluation of seed drill for small seeded fodder crops as attachment with walk behind tractor
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Moges, Smegnew; Khurana, Rohinish
Integrated dairy farming and livestock production have been intensively increase in India. The main challenges are the un-availability and high cost of production of green fodder crops throughout the year. Cultivating legumes, however, provide a nutritious, palatable feed that will satisfy the growing demand for milk and other sources of animal protein, maintain the soil health and increase soil fertility. At present, sowing of small-seeded fodder crops like berseem and lucerne is being done manually. To save manpower, time and energy for fodder production, a machine for sowing small-seeded fodder crops as an attachment with the walk behind tractor was developed to suit local condition farming system and to fill mechanization gap. Physical properties such as size and shape, thousand-grain weight, coefficient of static friction, angle of repose, bulk density and true density are important for the development of seed drill have been investigated. Based on the properties of the seed, two fluted rollers having trapezoidal and asymmetric grooves and cell type roller metering mechanism was developed for berseem and lucerne seeds. Preliminary evaluation with four metering device including inclined plate was performed in the laboratory for both crops at forward speeds of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 km/h. The performance was evaluated on the basis of seed rate, seed damage percentage, seeds per meter length, seed to seed distance and missing index. The observed data were statistically analyzed by using statistical software ´SAS`. It was found that there is a significant effect of metering device, forward speed and crop type on dependant parameters studied at 5 % of level significance. Based on consideration of seed rate and seed damaged percentage value as a major factor, the trapezoidal grooved fluted roller performed better for both berseem and lucerne crop. For trapezoidal grooved fluted roller at forward speed 2 km/h and for berseem and lucerne crop, the seed rate was 10.14 and 13.97 kg/ha, seed damage percentage (1. 49 and 2.78%), seed to seed distance (6.96 and 7.17 mm), seeds per meter length (153 and 150) and missing index (0.18 and 0.18), respectively. Thereafter, the field evaluation of the seed drill was carried out by selecting trapezoidal grooved fluted roller, the same three forward speeds (1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 km/h) and two crops (berseem and lucerne). The selected dependent variables were seed rate, seedlings per meter length and missing index. Seed rate was considerably increased as compared to laboratory results due to the vibrational effect of the walk behind tractor. The number of seedlings were in the range of 123-136 per m length for both the crops. The missing index for both crops at same speed was in the range of 23 to 27 %.
Open Access
Development of Relationships between Spectral Reflectance Data and Selected Biotic-abiotic Stresses in Cotton Crop
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Soni, Rishabh; Singh, S.K.
The present study was conducted to develop the relationships between spectral reflectance data and biotic-abiotic stresses in cotton crop. Four levels of urea application with rate of 225, 275, 325 and 375 kg ha-1 were applied in experimental plots. Row to row spacing for cotton crop were kept as 67.5 and 80 cm for the experiment. All the plots for the experimental field were georeferenced using GPS device. Data was collected at various growth stages of cotton crop using drone mounted cameras and Green Seeker for computation of variations in NDVI at different nitrogen levels. NDVI obtained from different sensors were increasing from vegetative stage (Mean NDVI = 0.454) till bud formation stage (mean NDVI = 0.7089) and decreased at boll opening stage (mean NDVI = 0.5232) till maturity stage (mean NDVI = 0.1432) of cotton crop. It was evident from the regression analysis that NDVI values obtained from NIR+R camera and Green Seeker had a good relationship having R2 = 0.74. Study also revealed that when mean insect population varied from 7.18 to 23.027 mean NDVI values obtained from NIR+ R camera after image processing varied in the range of 0.477 to 0.5441 and mean NDVI obtained from Green Seeker varied from 0.801 to 0.831. It was also found from the spatial maps and drone imagery that part of crop having more vigour, NDVI values in the vegetative stage was most affected by whitefly attack.
Open Access
Development and evaluation of multi-nozzle backpack type power sprayer
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Avesh Kumar Singh; Manes, G.S.
The study deals with the development and evaluation of multi-nozzle backpack type power sprayer, which can be used to spray at all stages of cotton crop by using the boom both in horizontal (during early stages of crop) and in vertical (during maturity stage) position. Three types of nozzles N1, N2 and N3 were evaluated in laboratory using patternator at three nozzle pressures P1 (3.0 kg/cm2), P2 (4.5 kg/cm2) and P3 (6.0 kg/cm2) and at three target distance D1 (540 mm), D2 (340 mm) and D3 (250 mm) respectively. Based on laboratory results, rate of discharge, angle of spray and swath width were found non-significant for nozzle N1 & N3. Thereby, Nozzle N1 and Nozzle N2 were selected for mounting on the boom according to overlapped pattern (minimum CV) of nozzle N1 and Nozzle N2 at a pressure of 3.0 kg/cm2 at different target distance. The sprayer was evaluated in the field for spraying on cotton crops at four different stages of growth (60,75,90 and 105 DAS) by fixing water sensitive paper on the plant at three locations of plant canopy (up and down of leaf). Uniformity coefficient and droplet density varied from 1.19 to 2.91 and 34.33 to 76.67. However, at a particular stage of crop the uniformity index and droplet density for some combination of locations was found non-significant thus depicting uniform spray. Field capacity for Nozzle N1 and N2 decreased from 0.34 ha/h to 0.09 ha/h and 0.28 ha/h to 0.09 ha/h when the position of boom was changed from or horizontal to vertical positions. Fuel consumption for spraying with nozzle N1 and nozzle N2 increased from 0.42 l/h to 0.60 l/h and 0.37 l/h to 0.50 l/h when the position of boom was changed from horizontal to vertical positions.
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Refinement and evaluation of sugarcane trench planter to suit local conditions
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Mohit Kumar; Dogra, Baldev
Trench planting of sugarcane is being popularized by PAU as it gives better net returns, requires less water and management to avoid cane lodging is easy. At present, trench planting is practiced by making trenches using tractor operated trencher and remaining operations are done manually involving 200-250 man-h/ha. To reduce labour requirements, no such machine is being utilized by farmers in Punjab for planting sugarcane in trenches. There is shortage of labour Therefore, a sugarcane trench planter, which was commercially available in Uttar Pradesh, was modified according to suit local condition of Punjab to bridge this mechanization gap and thereby increasing the level of mechanization in Punjab. The preliminary evaluation of sugarcane trench planter was carried out at three different cutting rollers peripheral speeds (0.93 m/s, 0.81 m/s and 0.69m/s) and three forward speeds (2.26 km/h, 2.6 km/h and 3.0 km/h) on three varieties of cane (Co118, CoPb93 and CoJ-85). Thereafter, the field evaluation of modified sugarcane trench planter was carried out by selecting one cutting rollers peripheral speed 0.69 m/s and two forward speeds (2.26 km/h and 3 km/h) on same three varieties of cane (Co118, CoPb93 and CoJ-85). The selected dependent variables were cane length, cane diameter, set length, bud damage, set damage, number of set cut, overlap/ gap and germination count. The observed data was statistically analyzed by using statistical software ´SPSS`. The average cane length observed during field evaluation in Co118, CoPb93 and CoJ-85 was 212.33, 193.80 and 173.68 cm respectively. The average cane diameter observed during field evaluation in Co118, CoPb93 and CoJ-85 was 2.65, 2.35 and 2.73 cm respectively. Set length increased with the decrease in diameter of cane and cutting roller peripheral speed. Bud damage increased with the increase in cutting roller peripheral speed. Bud damage in variety Co118 was higher due to relatively more toughness of cane. Number of set cut increased with the increase in cane length and decrease in set length. Average overlapping decreased with the increase in forward speed. Practically no set damage was observed. Germination percentage on left side of trench observed in Co118, CoPb93 and CoJ-85 was 50.71%, 43.00% and 48.50% respectively, whereas, on right side of trench observed was 48.11%, 38.68% and 43.15% respectively. Germination of cane observed by machine planting was more than the conventional planting. There was 20 to 30% reduction in cost of planting and 55 to 60% reduction in labour cost as compared to conventional method.

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