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Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa

In the imperial Gazetteer of India 1878, Pusa was recorded as a government estate of about 1350 acres in Darbhanba. It was acquired by East India Company for running a stud farm to supply better breed of horses mainly for the army. Frequent incidence of glanders disease (swelling of glands), mostly affecting the valuable imported bloodstock made the civil veterinary department to shift the entire stock out of Pusa. A British tobacco concern Beg Sutherland & co. got the estate on lease but it also left in 1897 abandoning the government estate of Pusa. Lord Mayo, The Viceroy and Governor General, had been repeatedly trying to get through his proposal for setting up a directorate general of Agriculture that would take care of the soil and its productivity, formulate newer techniques of cultivation, improve the quality of seeds and livestock and also arrange for imparting agricultural education. The government of India had invited a British expert. Dr. J. A. Voelcker who had submitted as report on the development of Indian agriculture. As a follow-up action, three experts in different fields were appointed for the first time during 1885 to 1895 namely, agricultural chemist (Dr. J. W. Leafer), cryptogamic botanist (Dr. R. A. Butler) and entomologist (Dr. H. Maxwell Lefroy) with headquarters at Dehradun (U.P.) in the forest Research Institute complex. Surprisingly, until now Pusa, which was destined to become the centre of agricultural revolution in the country, was lying as before an abandoned government estate. In 1898. Lord Curzon took over as the viceroy. A widely traveled person and an administrator, he salvaged out the earlier proposal and got London’s approval for the appointment of the inspector General of Agriculture to which the first incumbent Mr. J. Mollison (Dy. Director of Agriculture, Bombay) joined in 1901 with headquarters at Nagpur The then government of Bengal had mooted in 1902 a proposal to the centre for setting up a model cattle farm for improving the dilapidated condition of the livestock at Pusa estate where plenty of land, water and feed would be available, and with Mr. Mollison’s support this was accepted in principle. Around Pusa, there were many British planters and also an indigo research centre Dalsing Sarai (near Pusa). Mr. Mollison’s visits to this mini British kingdom and his strong recommendations. In favour of Pusa as the most ideal place for the Bengal government project obviously caught the attention for the viceroy.

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20205
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Subject: Farm, Machinery and Power × End date: 2020 × Start date: 2017 ×
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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Development of laboratory calibration test rig cum sticky belt seed pattern device
    (DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Bansod, Shashank; Kumar, Manoranjan
    The mechanization era of Machineries are contributing to higher yield in current farming scenario of sowing and planting implements such as seed drill. The seed drill is the most commonly used machine to plant seeds in India. Increasing of productivity of any crop can be obtained by genetic improvement or by the use of efficient production practices or by the combination. Precise amount of seeds in rows is an important factor in crop production, which can affect growth and yield so this is to a great extent depends on the performance of the metering mechanism of the seed drill and planter. The important criterion in evaluating seed drill performance is seed spacing uniformity. A laboratory test for calibration of the seed drill was conducted on a test rig. Different rotational speeds (rpm) were selected for the seed metering drive shaft. Then simulating speed in the laboratory speeds of kmh-1 were chosen for the movement of the test rig. So testing of a seed drill/planter is an essential job to show the performance characteristics which affect seeding rate, seeding distribution etc. There are different factors like travelling speed, tire inflation, seeder drive wheel slippage; differences in the seeds affect the seeding rate. A uniform distribution of seeds provides maximum space for each plant and increases yields due to the reduction of intra-specific competition. It helps also in weed controls, Weeds are suppressed due to the prevention of misses. There would be benefits from improving the uniformity of seed distribution such as increase in the yield of cereals. The most astronomically immense part of the upsurge in spawning is credited to increased use of mechanical power and the development of widely effective machines and implements too. Between the machines that contribute to higher yields in today's agriculture are sowing implements such as the planter and seed drill. For the seeding purpose, seed drills are the most widely used machines for planting seeds in India as well as other countries too. An increase in the productivity of any crop can be obtained through genetic improvement or through the use of efficient breeding practices or through accumulation. In addition, the precise magnitude of seeds in rows is a consequential influencer in crop generation, which can affect growth and yield and this is highly dependent on the performance of the sowing implement i.e planter and seed drill measurement mechanism. Consequently, testing of a planter / seed drill is vital important roll work to show performance and properties that influence seeding distribution, seeding rate, etc. In addition, every element of a sowing implement such as planter or seed drill, including the furrow openers, pressure wheels ground wheel and seed metering device, disturb the support of the crop. Mounted the seed cum fertilizer drill on the developed test rig post and allow 10 meter long belt to travel under the furrow openers or seed tubes in such a way that the speed of the belt to the equal to running speed of the power drive wheel of seed cum fertilizer drill. Apply the sticky layer of grease to the belt to facilitate the proper embedding of seeds without any displacement. The tests were piloted with the support of the developed test-rig cum seed pattern device as stationary test happened. The test rig was definite horizontal travel (not slop at any directions). Operated the drill and observation were recorded the number of seeds dropped and the average distance between two seeds for each meter of belt length Repeated the test ten times. The laboratory experimental work and measurements were carried out in the Farm Machinery Testing Center, CAE, DRPCAU, Pusa. The Physical properties of wheat and paddy where the Bulk Density of wheat is average of 10 samples; it is 0.83 g/cm3. The 1000 g average weight of wheat seed was found 43.4 g. Similarly the average bulk density of paddy was recorded 1.5 g/cm2 and average weight of 1000 paddy seed was found 48.2 g. The dimensions of wheat and paddy seed of 100 samples were taken. The average dimensions of used seeds were length, width and thickness in wheat sample was 5.87 mm, 3.34 mm and 2.75 mm and in case of paddy it was observed 7.62 mm, 2.51 mm, and 2.17mm respectively. During sowing of seed by seed cum fertilizer drill,dropping of seed effect the speed. In seed cum fertilizer drill, seed dropping from seed metering mechanism to field by gravitational force hence dropping of seed in field does not effect on quantity of seed because when sowing in field the vibration occurred in the seed cum fertilizer drill due to this vibration neglect the effect of quantity of seed in the seed box. The spacing between seed to seed in case of wheat and paddy affects the speed of seed cum fertilizer drill. The in number of grain also affect the speed of grain. The speed of seed cum fertilizer drill will be more the dropping in number of seed will be higher and vice versa. 11 tyne seed cum fertilizer drill, fluted roller seed metering mechanism was not suitable for sowing of paddy seed. Recommended that 11 tyne seed cum fertilizer drill with fluted roller seed metering mechanism and inverted T type furrow opener is suitable for sowing of wheat for zero tillage. Not recommended for sowing of paddy seed due to very much damage in percentage.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Development of real time soil EC sensing system
    (DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Singh, Ajit; Patel, S. K.
    Productivity and production of the major crops has increased many folds since the independence. Simultaneously, the use of chemical fertilizers has also increased which have caused negative impact the on-soil‘s health. The extensive use of chemical fertilizers can be reduced by their precise application. Nitrogen is one of the most important among chemical fertilizers. Some researchers have found that nitrogen fertilizer can be applied on the basis of soil‘s electrical conductivity. Mostly, the soil‘s electrical conductivity is measured in laboratory which takes more time. If EC is managed to be measured within the field on real time basis then it can be employed at the time of sowing the crop. Therefore, a project on development of real time soil EC sensing system was taken. Four electrodes were used to measure electrical conductivity of soil. Out of four electrodes, outer two electrodes were used for current flow in the soil which is kept 6 cm deep and voltage (potential difference) between inner two electrodes were measured which was also at same depth. Two methods i.e. soil-salt and salt-water were used to vary the EC of soil as well as water. Two relationships i.e. EC vs V were developed for soil-salt and salt-water which were used for the calibration equations. The coefficients of determination (R2) were 0.849 for EC vs V (soil-salt method) and 0.793 for EC vs V (salt-water). The Pearson‘s coefficients of correlations were 0.921 and 0.891 for the same which were significant. A multiple regression equation (EC, V and MC) was also determined. The coefficient of determination was 0.793 for the same which was also significant. Using above equation program was written to measure EC in real time. The developed sensor was validated in actual field condition. To validate the developed sensor, sensing system was operating in the field and measure EC in real time. Simultaneously, soil samples were also collected to measure EC in lab. The measured data by sensor was validated lab data. The coefficient of determination was 0.651 Therefore, the developed sensing system is very simple, easy to use to measure EC in real time which will reduce the time and drudgery substantially.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Development of Battery Operated Mini- Harvester for Wheat and Paddy
    (DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Kumar, Brijesh; Pranav, P.K.
    A battery operated, manual push type, mini harvester of 53 cm cutterbar has been developed for paddy and wheat crop. It consists of main frame, two wheels, an 85 A-h battery, two DC motor, pushing handle, cutterbar and vertical conveying unit. The forward movement is to be given by human push from back. One motor is used for operating the cutterbar with cranking mechanism to convert rotary motion into translatory motion, however, another motor is used to meet the power requirement of the crop conveying belt and crop guiding stars. The battery placed in the chassis in such a way that the CG of the harvester lies in the line of wheel axle. V-belts and different pulleys were used to get the desired speed at cutterbar as well as crop conveying unit. The developed harvester was evaluated in the laboratory condition compared the cutterbar speed, conveying speed, stroke length etc. with that of commercially available reapers. It was found that the cutterbar speed, conveying belt speed and stroke length was close to the commercially available self-propel reaper corresponding to forward speed of 2 km/h. The power requirement of the harvester was about 160 W out of which cutterbar and conveying unit take about 80 and 20%, respectively. It was also calculated that a fully charged battery will be able to run 5.6 h and within this duration 0.45 ha land can be harvested. Further, Push force requirement was also found in the confortable range of male and female for transport and wheat crop harvesting, however, female has to apply 815 of maximum push strength for paddy harvesting. The developed harvester could not be tested in wheat field due to national lockdown due to Covid-19 during April 2020. The is well predicted that the developed machine will be efficient for wheat and paddy harvesting and it will be economically viable for small and marginal farmers in comparison with tradition harvesting by sickle.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Sensor based in-situ measurement of depth of operation for mounted implement
    (DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Kumar, Anmol; Pranav, P. K.
    The precision agriculture is the prime need of India for overall improvement in agricultural productivity. The precise application reduces the input cost as well as enhances the crop yield. Depth of operation is one of the important parameters of precision agriculture. Placing the seed at the correct depth is critical for maximizing crop’s yield. The tillage and weeding depth are also recommended according to crop and season. In absence of any depth indicating mechanism in tractor, operators are unable to fix the proper depth of operation. Therefore, a project was undertaken to develop a digital display of depth of operation on tractor’s dashboard. A rotary potentiometer was used to detect the rotation of rockarm of tractor’s hydraulic because of change in depth of operation. A calibration equation was developed between rotation of rockarm and depth of operation using three point linkage geometry parameters. A real time digital display was provided on tractor’s dashboard by analyzing calibration equation with depth detection signal in a microcontroller. An electrical switch was also provided to nullify the display of rockarm angle when implement just touches the ground. It was evaluated that the error in depth measurement was found maximum of ± 1 cm in laboratory condition and up to ± 13 per cent with respect to manual depth measurement. Hence, the developed system will be very useful, handy and cost effective in providing the information of depth of operation to the operator.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Development of battery operated push type cabbage (Brassica oleracea. L.) harvester
    (DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Kumar, Vasu; Patel, S. K.
    Vegetables production is one of the enumerative as well as job creative farming. Cabbage production is one of the most important vegetable crops in abroad as well as India. It has high nutritive values, high productivity and wider adaptability. India is second largest producer of cabbage in the world. Harvesting of cabbage crop is one of the most difficult tasks for cabbage growers because cabbage crop is harvest at proper maturity stage for higher production and more income. Traditionally, the well matured cabbages are harvested manually by sickle which is time consuming and inefficient. More over manual harvesting is done in a bending position which is arduous to the farmer and causes backache. Therefore, a project on development of battery-operated push type cabbage (Brassica oleracea. L.) harvester was undertaken. The biometric parameters of the cabbage relevant to the cabbage harvester were determined. The average row to row and plant to plant spacing was 520 and 505 mm. The average plant height and head height was 281.1 and 106.85 mm. The average values for plant diameter, head diameter, plant weight and head weight were 389.05 mm, 128.05 mm, 1.75 kg and 1.41 kg, respectively. Whereas, the average values for stem diameter, length of leaf stem and length of stem were 27.5 mm, 58.35 mm and 44.7 mm, respectively. Based on above measured parameters, a battery operated push type cabbage harvester was developed which consisted of main frame, battery, DC motor, circular saw blade, belt conveyor, storage unit, handle and supporting wheel. The major components of cabbage harvester were cabbage cutting and conveying unit. Cabbage cutting unit consist of circular saw blade of 20 cm diameter. Cabbage conveying unit consisted of belt conveyor with lugs which convey the cabbages to storage unit. Cabbage cutting and conveying was done mechanically by means of electric motor which is powered by battery. The push force required for transportation and field condition were 44 N and 88 N, respectively. Whereas, the power required for cutting and conveying were 108 W and 84 W, respectively. The performance of the developed cabbage harvester was evaluated in the field at three forward speed. It was observed that the average cutting efficiency, conveying efficiency and head damage were 94.24%, 90.16% and 9.84 % respectively. The effective field capacity and field efficiency of developed cabbage harvester was of 0.0058 ha/h and 82.85%, respectively at forward speed of 0.14 km/h. The field capacity by traditional method i.e. by sickle was 0.0041 ha/h. The labour required per hectare was 172.4 man-h and 241.54 man-h by developed cabbage harvester and traditional method, respectively. The total cost of developed cabbage harvester was Rs. 15072/-. The estimated cost of harvesting per hectare was Rs 7768.79/ha and Rs. 9057.97/ha by developed cabbage harvester and traditional method, respectively. Hence, net saving in harvesting cost was Rs. 1289.18/ha as compared to manual harvesting of cabbage. The cabbages cut per hour was 253 and 180 by cabbage harvester and traditional method, respectively. The developed cabbage harvester was able to cut 73 more cabbage per hour as compared to traditional method.