Development and Performance Evaluation of Tractor Operated Cotton (Gossypium spp.) Stalk Shredder-Mixer
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MPUT, UDAIPUR
Abstract
Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is an important fibre crop. It is grown in about
seventy countries in the world and in an area of 31.8 million hectares. India is the
largest producer of cotton in the world. As per the Cotton Advisory Board the area
under cotton in India in 2016-17 was 108.45 lakh ha and the production was 345 lakh
bales of 170 kg each. Rajasthan had 4.71 lakh ha land under cotton in year 2016-17.
After final picking of cotton, plant stalks remain standing in the field. It is
essential to remove them from the field for cultivation of the next crop. Their early
removal suppresses pests, diseases and insects. It also provides more time for deep
tillage at optimum soil moisture content.
The present practice of removing cotton stalk from the field is pulling them by
using a locally manufactured cotton stalk puller. Removal of cotton stalk by this
puller is a cumbersome task and requires more time and labour.
On an average about 2 to 3 ton of cotton stalk is generated in one hectare of
land. About 15 per cent of these stalks are utilized as fuel and the remaining part goes
as waste. Organic matter is lost due to this burning. It is also hazardous to the
environment. It also affects biological equilibrium adversely. Cotton stalk can also be
used for industrial purposes in manufacturing boards, boxes and microcrystalline
cellulose. They are used to grow edible oyster mushrooms. However, their use for
industrial purposes is limited. Another way of disposing cotton stalk is to shred and
mix it with soil for its decomposition. Scientist have reported that when shredded
cotton stalks are mixed with the soil they return 48 per cent of the N, 41 per cent of
the P and 74 per cent of the K they had taken from the soil during their cultivation.
Removing and chopping the cotton stalk manually is a very time consuming
and cumbersome job. Therefore, mechanization of this operation is necessary.
However, no machines are available for this work. Therefore, a tractor operated cotton
stalk shredder-mixer was developed and it was evaluated in the field. The developed
cotton stalk shredder-mixer consisted of different units which included plant
converging unit, cutting and conveying unit, shredding unit, uprooting unit and
mixing unit.
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The field evaluation of the machine was conducted by taking speed of tractor
(2, 3, 4 and 5 km/h), number of knives (2, 3, 4 and 6) and shredding plate speed
(38.57, 45.58 and 52.60 m/s) as independent parameters. The dependent parameters
were field capacity, average length of cut pieces, uprooting efficiency, mixing
efficiency and material capacity.
The best combination of the independent parameters was found to be tractor
speed 4 km/h, four numbers of knives and 45.58 m/s shredding plate speed. At this
combination field capacity, average length of cut pieces, uprooting efficiency, mixing
efficiency and material capacity were found to be 0.40 ha/h, 54 mm, 96.80 per cent,
91.89 per cent and 2467 kg/h respectively. Cost of use of developed tractor operated
stalk shredder –mixer was found to be Rs. 2281/- per ha. The profit with the use of
tractor operated cotton stalk shredder-mixer over traditional method was found to be
Rs. 38458/- per year. The payback period of the machine was found to be 3.9 years.
Mixing of shredded cotton stalks to the soil in terms of organic manure provides
nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus to the soil worth Rs. 6820/-. It also provides
humus to the soil which improves physical soil properties. It also helps in reducing
environmental pollution and controlling pests
Description
Development and Performance Evaluation of Tractor Operated Cotton ( Stalk Shredder-Mixer
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Citation
Vyas S.S. And Mathur S.M.