Loading...
Theses
Browse
1 results
Search Results
ThesisItem Open Access Design and development of resource conservation machine for sugarcane cultivation(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2016-08) Adhikari, Himanshu; Pateriya, R.N.Intercultural operations are done to remove the weeds, which are harmful for the growth of the plants as they utilize all the moisture and organic matter which was used for better growth of plants. It was reported that poor yield of sugarcane was because of weed can range from 15 to 75 % depending upon conditions. The initial 90 to 120 days are very critical for poor yield of sugarcane because of weed. Therefore these days are very important for weed management to ensure higher yield. In case of sugarcane crop although machinery has been developed, however the adoption of these machinery and implements has not been up to the desired level. Therefore there was a considerable mechanization gap, especially in the area of sugarcane, intercultural operation. Thus it was necessary that concentrated efforts be made for adoption, popularization and development of sugarcane machinery for various cultural operations. In order to remove the weeds and inversion of the soil a system has to be developed which was capable of weeding as well as inversion and smoothening of soil. A frame of 2440 mm length and 510 mm wide was designed, the square pipe selected for frame was of 5 mm size. Holes of 13mm were drilled at equal spacing for adjustment of the tines. The tines which are 6 in numbers are attached at the front side and blades of trapezoidal shape with rounded corners were attached at the rear side of the frame. The length of blade was 650 mm and thickness was 5 mm. the blades were attached with the help of L shaped shanks which were clamped to the frame. The adjustable clamps helps to adjust the depth of blades during the operation. The main objective of this study was to examine the dimensions calculated mathematically and to examine the influence of depth of cut on different parameters of the developed machine and to find mathematically the thickness of the blade used at the rear end of the machine. The machine works efficiently up to height of about 900 to 950 mm of the crop without damaging it. The tines attached at the rear side of the machine uproots all the unwanted plants and the blade at the rear side causes mulching operation by inversion of the soil. Thus, the blade levels the soil and avoids the weeds to re grow. The operating speed of the machine was about 4 to 5 km/h and can be driven by a 35 hp tractor very easily. The depth of operation of tines was about 170 to 200 mm. The height of the blades was adjustable by providing number of holes in the shank in which the blades was welded. The machine was able to perform the intercultural and mulching operation efficiently without damaging the sugarcane crop. Hence it very useful for the growth of sugarcane and saves both money and time as compared to manual and other intercultural methods.