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Prototype Feasibility Evaluation of Tractor Operated Green Pea Crop Harvesting System
(Punjab Agricultural University, 2023) Gill, Gagandeep Singh; Dr. Rajesh Goyal
In Punjab, pea crop is cultivated in an area of 43,860 ha. Due to lack of mechanization for harvesting and threshing of green peas, farmers have to depend on labour for picking of pea pods. To increase the area under pea cultivation, there is a need of mono picking varieties of pea crop and machines for harvesting and threshing of pea crop. To access the mono picking characteristics of pea variety (PB-89), studies on physical characteristics (plant height, pod maturity, number of pods per plant, weight of pods per plant, weight of peas per pod, angle of repose and bulk density of green pea crop) with different sowing dates was observed. Efforts has been done by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana for harvesting, threshing and depoding of green pea crop by developing tractor operated green pea crop harvester and thresher cum depoder. The developed tractor operated green pea crop harvester consists of header, conveyors, hydraulic motors & actuators, supporting roller and wiping roller, chain and sprockets unit and jack mechanism for fitting with tractor. As the green pea harvester moves in the field the rotating reel strips out the green pea crop and wiping roller conveys the green pea crop to conveyer. The pea crop harvester was evaluated in terms effective field capacity (ha/h), fuel consumption (l/h), crop left over by machine (%), machine throughput capacity (kg/h), damage to crop (%) and efficiency of machine (%) at different independent parameters like forward speed 1.26 km/h (S1) and 1.90 km/h (S2), reel rpm 240 rpm (RR1), 200 rpm (RR2) and 160 rpm (RR3) and number of fingers 18 (F1) & 25 (F2) mounted on reel of header. Forward speed showed significant effect on fuel consumption, effective field capacity, crop left by machine and efficiency of machine. The maximum efficiency (83.62%) of green crop harvester having minimum damage (2.29%) and minimum crop left in field (14.04%) was observed at a forward speed of 1.26 km/h (S1), number of fingers mounted on reel 25 (F2), and reel rpm 200 (RR2). Physical characteristics of pea variety shows that PB-89 variety cannot be harvested once as it matures in stages.
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Development and Evaluation of UAV-based Variable Rate Applicator for Fertilizers
(Punjab Agricultural University, 2023) Dhillon, Prabhsimran Kaur; Verma, Aseem
Excessive and continuous chemical fertigation has ill effects on human and animal health, and the environment and it also increases agricultural production costs. Application of the right amount of nitrogen (urea) in crops is vital for enhanced productivity. With the application of variable rate application technology, the right dosage of nitrogen (N) at the spot could be specified exactly as per the crop requirement. Aerial application technology for spraying liquid fertilizers allows more stable growth of plants and decrease pollution in the environment. Drones/UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), fitted with automated pre-programmed GPS (Global Positioning System) systems, can be used effectively for this purpose. In present study, a UAV-based Variable Rate Applicator (VRA) spraying system for the application of fertilizers was developed and evaluated by creating NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetative Index) based field maps and a decision-making algorithm. The VRA system consists of a microprocessor (Raspberry pi), ESC (Electronic Stability Control), BEC (Battery Eliminating Circuit), and GPS (NEO-M9N). The algorithm for the system was developed using Python language (Version 4.0). The field imaginary was collected using UAV mounted multispectral camera (RedEdge MX) and thereafter, processing of images to generate NDVI maps was done in Pix4Dmapper (version 4.0) software. The field evaluation of the VRA was conducted for the wheat crop (Variety: PBW1) at two crop growth stages (42 DAS, 52 DAS) and four nitrogen levels (N1: Healthy, N2: Moderate, N3: Low and N4: Very low) as independent parameters and NDVI, spray coverage (%), droplet density (droplets/ cm2) and in swath spray deposition (µl/cm2) as dependent parameters. There were found no significant difference between spray coverage, droplet density, and in-swath spray deposition at 5% level of significance and a significant difference was found between the NDVI values at different crop growth stages at 5% level of significance (p<0.05). It was also found that significant difference between NDVI values before and after spray at crop growth stage I at 5% level of significance. Similarly, at crop growth stage II, there were a significant difference between NDVI before and after spray at 5% level of significance. The spray coverage (%) at crop growth stages I and II were non-significantly different at respective nitrogen application levels. The droplet density (droplets/cm2) and in-swath spray deposition (µl/cm2) for crop growth stage I and II was non-significantly different at respective nitrogen levels at 5% level of significance
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Development and evaluation of Battery assisted Eweeder for narrow row crops
(Punjab Agricultural University, 2023) Gurkanwal Singh; Khurana, Rohinish
This study presents a comprehensive investigation into the development and performance assessment of an electric weeder tailored for efficient agricultural weed management. The primary focus of the research was to develop and evaluate an electric weeder to be used in narrow row crops. The weeder's innovative design encompassed features enabling weed control in narrow row crops, adjustable rotor speeds, and adjustable depth of weeding blade. The weeding mechanism of weeder was powered using a 1000W 48V BLDC motor, traction was provided using a hub motor of 250W and 48V. A li-ion battery of 25Ah 48V was used as a energy source for both the motors. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the weeder's operational capabilities across a diverse range of parameters. The study revealed substantial correlations between rotor speed, forward speed, and moisture content with both weeding efficiency and plant damage. An upward trend in weeding efficiency was consistently observed with higher rotor and forward speeds, highlighting the potential benefits of increased operational intensity. In contrast, plant damage demonstrated an escalating trend at elevated rotor and forward speeds. Plant damage also increased with decrease in moisture content. Battery performance was also comprehensively evaluated, with discharging and charging times serving as critical operational metrics. Optimal parameters for maximum weeding efficiency and minimal plant damage were identified as a forward speed of 3kmph, rotor speed of 300 rpm, and a moisture content of 18%. These parameters not only contributed to substantial labor savings of 72.9% but also resulted in noteworthy cost reductions of 50.7%. The developed electric weeder exhibits potential for weed management in narrow row crops, offering enhanced efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The study's comprehensive insights contribute significantly to the field of agricultural mechanization. through alternate sources of power on the farm.
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Development and evaluation of spinning type granular fertilizer spreader attachment for drone applications
(Punjab Agricultural University, 2023) Choudhary, Vishal; Saimbhi, V.S.
A study was conducted for the development and evaluation of a granular fertilizer broadcasting platform for applications with drones. The component of the developed system were a fertilizer handling hopper, spinning disc, fluted roller type metering mechanism and electronic control unit. The electronic control unit comprised an ATmega325P Arduino Uno based microcontroller, direct current (DC) motor driver board, two 12 v geared DC miniature motors, flysky FS CT6B transmitter-receiver remote control (RC) unit, a printed circuit board (PCB), and need based wires & connectors. The drone made by Joyance Tech Private Limited, Shandong, China, available in the department was used for the study by detaching its spraying system. Fluted feed roller and spinning disc was operated by DC motors. A compute program was written using Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) open source software and electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) of microcontroller was programmed using universal serial bus (USB) cable through a personal computer. The speed of fluted roller motor and spinning disc motor was controlled through RC unit for the defined values. The developed system was attached to the drone and its performance its performance was evaluated for uniformity of broadcasted fertilizer. The combined system was operated with two RC units, one for drone and second for broadcasting attachment. The developed system was tested for 2 levels of disc revolutions (300 rpm and 400 rpm), 3 levels of flow rate (2 kg/min, 2.5 kg/min and 3kg/min), 2 levels of height (1.5m and 2.5 m) and 3 levels of forward speed (1 m/s, 2 m/s and 3 m/s). The swath width and coefficient of variation (CV) for free swath width were in range of 3.39m to 4.67 m and 55.65 % to 79.08 %, respectively under all the treatment combinations. Theoretically, free swath widths were overlapped, stepwise, to find the swath widths with minimum CV under different treatment combinations. At selected minimum CV swath width, field capacity, application rate and field efficiency were found in range of 1.10 m to 2.20 m, 0.40 ha/hr to 2.38 ha/hr, 50.51 kg/ha to 378.79 kg/ha and 36.72% to 51.28%, respectively under all the treatment combinations. Minimum CV was found to be 9.4 % after overlapping. The highest field efficiency of 51.28 % was found at treatment combination H1F1N2S1 (1.5 m, 2 kg/min, 2.5 m and 1 m/s).
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Evaluation of different types of super seeders for sowing of wheat in combine harvested paddy fields
(Punjab Agricultural University, 2022) Sunil Kumar; Narang, Mahesh Kumar
The super seeder machine with different blades and furrow openers was evaluated at three forward speeds (gear IA, IB and IC at 2400 rpm) in the combine harvested paddy fields. The experiment was conducted in two types of soils 1.e., sandy loam soil and sandy clay loam soil. During the evaluation of super seeder having different independent parameters like different types of blades (LJF type and L. type) and furrow openers (Single disc and Double disc). The dependent parameters were emergence count, plant height, grains per ear head, tillers per meter square, thousand grains weight, grain yield, field capacity and depth of seed placing. It was found that with an increase in forward speed, the field capacity of the super seeder was increased. Field capacity was found higher in the case of LJF type blades than the L type blade. The average field capacity at gear 1A, 1B, and IC at 2400 rpm were calculated 0.32 ha/h, 0.38 ha/h, and 0.46 ha/h respectively. The maximum grain yield was found 49.4 q/ha for the LJF type blade with double disc type furrow opener at a speed of F2 in both the soil sandy loam (SI) and sandy clay loam (S2) followed by 49.2 q/ha by L type blade with double disc type furrow opener at speed F1 and F2 in sandy clay loam (S2) and sandy loam soil (SI) respectively. It was recommended that LJF type blade, double disc furrow opener at forward speed of F2 (1B at 2400 rpm) for super seeder for both the soils. The super seeder was also compared with happy seeder machine at three forward speeds and two type of soils. All the dependent parameters like emergence count, plant height, grains per ear head, tillers per meter square, thousand grains weight, grain yield and field capacity were found nonsignificant effect in case of happy seeder and Super seeder Depth of seed placing was found more in case of happy seeder than super seeder. Maximum grain yield found in case of happy seeder was 49.9 q/ha and in case of super seeder was 49.4 q/ha.
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Refinement of wheat straw harvester for paddy straw harvesting and bruising
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Goel, Neetika; Singh, S.K.
A wheat straw harvester was refined for chopping of paddy straw by replacing blower arrangement with two bruising cylinders and a concave. Knife guards of the cutter bar were removed and V-shaped serrated blades were fixed below cutting blades. The developed machine was operated at 2 levels of straw loads (6.25 t ha-1 and 8.58 t ha-1), 3 levels of cylinder speeds (640, 725 and 810 rpm) and 3 levels of forward speeds (2, 2.5 and 3.5 km h1). The percentage of chopped straw of size up to 12.5 cm, the weighted mean size of the chopped straw, mulch thickness and coefficient of variation of the uniformity of straw spread were in range of 71.29% to 86.40%, 5.76 cm to 8.12 cm, 5.17 cm to 6 cm and 20.29% to 22.17%, respectively under all the treatment combinations. The fuel consumption and field capacity of the machine were in range of 11.35 to 19.47 l ha-1 and 0.27 to 0.55 ha h-1, respectively. The treatment C3F1 (810 rpm and 2 km h-1) and C3F2 (810 rpm and 2.5 km h-1) at both straw loads gave better results in case of percentage distribution of chopped straw of size up to 12.5 cm and weighted mean size of chopped straw but the fuel consumption (l ha-1) in case of C3F2 was less as compared to C3F1. The percentage of the chopped straw of size up to 12.5 cm of refined machine was lower than the existed double cylinder paddy straw chopper and weighted mean size was higher. Fuel consumption of the refined machine was lower and field capacity was higher than an existed double cylinder paddy straw chopper.
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Effect of straw management practices on spectral based measurement of soil organic carbon
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Joshi, Raghav; Bector, Vishal
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important soil health parameter, which helps in determining additional inputs to be added in soil. Various straw management practices improve soil organic carbon of fields. Determination of SOC in laboratory by chemical analysis is time, labor and resource consuming. VIS-NIR spectroscopy offers simple, accurate, quick and effective methods for measurement of soil organic carbon. Therefore, in the present study, spectral signatures were captured from soil samples of different straw management fields using spectroradiometer, with the aim of determining soil organic carbon. Straw managed fields, where same practices were followed from the last three years, used in the study were residue incorporated fields, conventional tillage fields and mulched fields. Partial least squares regression (PLSR), random forest regression (RF) and cubist regression model (CRM) were developed for estimation of soil organic carbon using spectral signatures. Predictive performances of the developed models were evaluated using different indices like coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and ratio of performance to deviation (RPD). Spectral signatures for dried fields at depths 0-5 cm, 5-10 cm and 10-15 cm were then measured. The field data were fed into the developed models for prediction of SOC, and compared with the laboratory SOC values. Results showed that residue incorporated fields had highest mean SOC of 0.65 %, whereas mulched field had mean SOC of 0.61 % and conventional tillage field had mean SOC of 0.55 %. While checking the model performances in validation, CRM obtained highest linear R2 (0.76) and RPD values (2.02); with PLSR obtaining R2 as 0.74 and RPD as 1.98; and RF obtaining R2 as 0.63 and RPD as 1.52. For field data, highest accuracy was attained for residue incorporated fields at 5-10 cm depth when PLSR model was used for prediction.
Open Access
Studies on tractor operated back-pack type axial flow combine harvester for mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.))
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Talukdar, Dipika; Dogra, Baldev
Mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.)) alternatively known as green gram is an ancient and popular pulse crop in India. Pulses serve as a major source of dietary protein of vegetarians. Cultivation of summer mung bean will also help in reducing the rate of depletion of natural resources, which is a prime concern in Punjab at present. Efficient mechanized harvesting is one of the constraints in the adoption of summer mung bean. Grain losses while combine harvesting of mung bean can be reduced by using an axial flow combine harvester. Recently low cost tractor operated back-pack type axial flow combine harvesters have been introduced in local market. Attachment and detachment of tractor is much easier than tractor on top combine harvester. These have the potential to reduce harvesting losses during harvesting. Performance of this machine was evaluated at three forward speeds (FS1=2.1, FS2=3.0 and FS3=4.8 kmh-1), three cylinder speeds (PS1=11.08, PS2=13.16 and PS3=14.79 ms-1) and days (2, 4 and 6) after last irrigation. The selected dependent variables were threshing efficiency, broken percentage, cleaning efficiency and shattering losses. The results indicated that the threshing efficiency increased with increase in days after last irrigation and cylinder peripheral speed, whereas it decreased with increase in forward speed. Similarly, the grain breakage increased with increase cylinder peripheral speed and days after last irrigation, however it decreased with increase in forward speed. The cleaning efficiency increased with increase in forward speed, whereas it decreased with increase in cylinder peripheral speed and days after last irrigation. The non-collectable loss increased with increase in forward speed and days after last irrigation, however, cylinder peripheral speed did not affect it. The shattering loss increased with increase in forward speed and days after last irrigation. However, cylinder peripheral speed did not affect it. The best combination of operational variables for threshing operation was DAI3PS3FS2 i.e. six days after last irrigation, at cylinder peripheral speed of 14.79 ms-1 and at forward speed of 3.0 kmh-1. At this combination, threshing efficiency, non-collectable losses, grain breakage and cleaning efficiency were 99.28%, 4.53%, 2.96% and 95.89%, respectively. The tractor operated backpack type axial flow combine harvester saved 90.26% labour cost and 53.71% cost of harvesting compared to combination of spike tooth type thresher and manual harvesting.
Open Access
Development and Evaluation of a solar photo voltaic assisted sprayer mounted on a self propelled carrier
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Dhar, Tushar; Rajesh Soni
India is gifted with a vast potential in solar energy. Punjab has an average annual solar radiation is about 5.32 kWh/m?/day. This can be utilized to produce electricity using solar photo voltaic (SPV) system for running various farm devices/operations. A SPV assistedsprayermounted on a self propelledcarrier wwas developed which uses solar energy to charge the battery which simultaneouslyoperates the spray pump while the carrier was engine operated. Selection of solar panels was based on the solarradiation availabilityduringthe winter season in Ludhiana, Punjab. Hollow cone nozzles were selected for the sprayer. This was testedat pressures (2, 3 and 4 kg/cm) and heights (45, 50 and 55 cm) in a patternator for selection of best operational parameters for evaluation of field and spray parameters. The sprayer was operated at two forward speeds (0.6 and 0.7 m/s) in wheat. The application rate of the sprayerwas 156.23 1Vha at forward speed of 0.6 m/s whichwas within the recommended application rate for aphids in wheat. The actualfieldcapacitywas 0.49 ha/h and 0.59 ha/h at forward speeds of 0.6 m/s and 0.7 m/s respectively. The field efficiency of the developed sprayer was about 75-80%o. Spray parameters were determined at two different locations of the canopy(top and middle). Smaller droplets were observed at higherpressure. Uniformity coefficient variedfrom 1.59-2.32. Pressure and forward speed had a significant effect on the droplet density. The droplet density and spray coverage area was lesserat the underside of the leavescomparedto the upperside of leaves. Ground losses decreasedwith the increase in nozzle pressure.

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