A Novel Tractor Operated Grass Seed Harvester Developed in India

The demand of green and dry fodder in India is estimated to increase to 1170 and 650 m tonne whereas availability is expected to be at 411.3 and 488 m tonne in 2025, respectively, depicting deficit of about 64.9% green fodder and 24.9% dry fodder (Vision 2030, ICAR - IGFRI, Jhansi, 2011). In forages, availability of quality seed is only 25-30% in cultivated fodder and less than 10 % in range grasses and legumes (Vision 2050, IGFRI). Prices paid for grass seeds of native species vary from Rs.5,000 to 6,500 per kg for clean, un-haired seeds due to excessive use of manual labour in seed collection and removing hairy portion. In order to increase the capacity of collection of grass seeds from standing crop, A tractor operated grass seed harvester was developed under a collaborative research project of Indian Council of Agricultural Research two Institutes viz. Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute and Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, keeping in view the requirements of common grasses used as feed material in Indian context. This grass seed harvester was made using nylon brushes arranged in specific fashion on a rotating cylinder and a winding reel in front of rotating cylinder to collect grass seed from the grasses standing in the fields, where tractor can operate. The specific features of this machine were variable speed of rotating cylinder brush, helical arrangement of brushes on the cylinder to carry the detached seed in to the seed box, variable height of operation and front mounting of the machine on tractor. This machine was tested for seed collection in Pennisetum pedicellatum (Dinanath grass), Cenchrus cilliaris (Anjan grass ) and Megathyrsus maximum (Guinea grass). Seed collection capacity of the machine was 4.24 to 7.12 kg/h in Dinanath grass during 2nd operation, 2.10 to 3.56 kg/h in Anjan grass and 1.61 to 3.56 kg/h in Guinea grass at the full maturity of the grass seeds in two passes of the machine in to and fro direction. The field capacity of seed collection operation ranged from 0.21 to 0.47 ha/h for the grasses in which it was operated

Semi-Mechanized Harvesting Solutions for Cultivated Fodder Crops

In case of harvesting and threshing, the level of mechanization in India is 60-70 per cent for wheat and rice and less than five per cent for other crops (Mehta et al., 2014) that include fodder also. Herrmann et al.(2011) established that overall area capacities of machine decreased the by 4-24 per cent on taking finer chopping length of 4-6 mm compared to common chopping length of 8-10 mm in the ensiling chain of maize - establishing that finer work in ensiling commands less capacities and higher input costs. Since there is a strong correlation between effective field capacity and both crop yield and field area (Amiama et al., 2008), it is advisable to go for appropriate machine for fodder harvesting depending on the requirement of crop and field. Semi-automatic machines provide comparatively low cost workable solution in such conditions. In semi-mechanized harvesting of fodder, cutting of crop is done by machine and subsequent operations of collection, gathering, feeding to chaffing machines and feeding to animals are done manually. Such machines are discussed here

Gum Exudation in Relation to Depth of Incisions on Stem-Bark of \u3cem\u3eButea monosperma\u3c/em\u3e L.: A Dominant Interspersed Tree Species in Grazing Lands

Butea monosperma (Palas), a medium-sized deciduous tree belonging to the family Leguminosae-Papilioneae (family Fabaceae), is a native to tropical South Asia, especially from the regions of India (Indo-Gangetic plains). B. monosperma is a gum yielding tree, found naturally in most of the rangelands and grasslands particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. It is an important multipurpose tree for the rural population providing fodder, fibre, fuel wood, gum, medicine and shade. In Bundelkhand it is most widespread species and mainly found in open woodlands, degraded/ pasture lands and forest and farmer’s lands. It is adapted to survive under harsh environmental conditions such as low and erratic rainfall, and intense solar radiation. The green leaves are lopped for fodder and the yield of milk in buffaloes fed with Butea leaves has reportedly improved. The digestibility of butea leaves is comparable to that of straw and caloric content is reported to be 3.761 cal/g dry weights. Gums and resins are almost ubiquitous in plant Kingdom and many of them continue to play an important role in our daily lives. Numerous plants produce some kind of gum and resin, but only a few are commercially important. They have been used as adhesives, emulsifiers, thickening agents, added to varnishes, paint and ink; for aromas added to perfumes and cosmetics and even play a role in pharmacy and medicine (Howes, 1959; Fernandes, 1964; Kaushik and Dhiman, 2000). India is the producer of different gums in international market. Gum-butea is a minor gum. Traditionally, tapping of gumbutea (known as kamarkas) is one of the key livelihood option for tribes particularly the Saharia community in Central India. The gum is collected by Saharia tribe by making incisions or cuts on stem-bark of butea trees (Prasad et al., 2014). They collect the gum and sell it at very nominal price in local market. It has been found that on an average 10-15 trees/ha of B. monosperma are available in farmer’s field which are used by saharia tribe for collecting gum (Prasad et al., 2014). Traditionally, tribal collects gum during November to February, once in a year. The selection of trees for gum collection is done judiciously and only those trees which have at least 25-30 cm girth are marked for gum tapping. For inducing gum oozing, tribal first remove bark or dead bark from the stem. Thereafter, with the help of a special designed bill hook (having three side sharp edges) incision or cuts or tapping are made to depth 1 to 2 cm. After two days of tapping, trees are visited again for collecting gum. The juice or tears are removed from bark with hand or with the help of small knife. The complete process of gum collection is a labour intensive as the tribal family has to visit every tree twice in a season. However, much information is not available about the tapping possibilities of B. monosperma for gum production. Therefore, study was conducted at Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi to investigate the effect of different depths (0.5 cm, 1.0 cm and 1.5 cm) of incision or cuts made on stem-bark on yield of exuded gum from B. monosperma

Design and testing of a metering system for fodder seed treatment

Quality of fodder seeds can be maintained by seed treatment for better production and productivity. It refers to the application of specific physical, chemical, or biological agents to the seed prior to sowing in order to suppress, control, or repel pathogens, insects, and other pests that attack seeds, seedlings, or plants. In this study, the efficient seed and chemical metering system for fodder seed treatment was designed which can be used in different seed coating/treatment machine. Seed metering mechanism was calibrated mechanically and manually at four positions (Full, 3/4th, Half, and 1/4th openings). For manual calibration, it was observed between 0.19 kg/s to 1.08 kg/s for Berseem seeds and 0.15 kg/s to 1.00 kg/s for Cowpea seeds. For mechanical calibration, it was observed between 0.24 kg/s to 1.17 kg/s for Berseem seeds and 0.11 kg/s to 1.04 kg/s for Cowpea seeds. Designed system is useful in developing high capacity, efficient and cost effective seed treaters for treatment/coating of fodder seeds as well as other crop seeds

Comparative Performance of Hay Densification Machines

Densification and baling of hay material is required to reduce its volume for easy transport. Three types of densification machines viz. i) stationary baler; ii) movable baler; and iii) field baler were evaluated for densification of different hay materials. The output from stationary, movable and field baler were 0.045, 0.21 and 0.86 t.h-1, respectively. Densification with stationary baler needed all the hay material to be carried to the densification yard, thus increasing man power requirement and costs while movable baler could be moved to the place of availability of raw material. Field baler could collect and bale the harvested hay material spread on field. Field baler also operated under stationary condition with manual feeding of hay material heaped at one place. The cost of operation with stationary, movable and field baler were Rs.14400, 4700 and 1500 Rs.t-1 of bales formed, respectively

Modification in the microstructural and electrochromic properties of spray-pyrolysed WO3 thin films upon Mo doping

WO3 thin films were grown onto the glass and fluorine-doped tin oxide-coated glass substrates using chemical spray pyrolysis technique. X-ray diffraction analyses reveal that all the films possess orthorhombic phase of WO3. Morphologies of the films have been found to vary with Mo-doping concentrations. Three-dimensional atomic force micrographs reveal that the 5 at% Mo-doped film has the maximum image surface area and is optimal for improved electrochromic performance. Cyclic voltammetry studies show that the cathodic and anodic peak current densities have the highest values for the 5 at% Mo-doped WO3 film. Relative to the undoped film, the change from coloured to bleached state is faster for the 5 at% Mo-doped WO3 film. Considering the reversibility and the switching response from chronoamperometry and the coloration efficiency from cyclic voltammetry, it has been concluded that the 5 at% Mo-doped WO3 film has an optimal electrochromic response. GRAPHICS]

Supercapacitive performance of electrochemically synthesized nanocrystalline MnO2 films using different plating solutions: A comparative study

In this paper we report the comparative supercapacitive performance of the electrodeposited MnO2 films prepared using different plating solutions, namely KMnO4, MnSO4 and Mn(CH3COO)(2). All the MnO2 films possess the hexagonal phase of epsilon manganese dioxide (epsilon-MnO2, akhtenkite), consistent with the JCPDS card no. 12-0141. The analyses of SEM images reveal that the electrodeposited MnO2 film prepared from the plating solution KMnO4 has a porous microstructure comprising of sparsely distributed grains, whereas that prepared from MnSO4 has a uniform morphology covered with nanofibers having porous spaces between them, and that prepared using Mn(CH3COO)(2) exhibits a dense morphology comprising of nanofibres. The galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements show the maximum specific capacitance 325.6 F/g for the MnO2 film prepared using KMnO4, followed by 275.2 F/g and 174.5 F/g for the films prepared by MnSO4 and Mn(CH3COO)(2)., respectively. The variation in specific capacitances of the films is attributed to varying morphological features of the films. (X) 2018 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved

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Not AvailableTillage is an important agricultural operation which influences soil properties, crop yield and environment. Nine combinations of three tillage practices including conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and zero tillage (ZT) were evaluated in fodder sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) + cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) – wheat (Triticum durum) cropping system for 5 years (2009–2014) on clay loam soil under limited irrigation. Continuous ZT practices significantly improved surface soil organic carbon, bulk density, infiltration rate and maximum water holding capacity. Carbon sequestration rate, soil organic carbon stock and soil enzymatic activities were relatively more under ZT than CT-CT practice. Higher fodder yield of sorghum + cowpea was recorded with CT (kharif) while wheat grain yield with ZT (rabi). However, the system productivity was statistically similar in all the tillage treatments on pooled data basis. The economic benefits were also maximum under ZT-ZT practice. The ZT-ZT practice recorded significantly lowest energy input (17.1 GJ ha−1 ) which resulted in highest energy use efficiency (13.6) and energy productivity (518 kg GJ−1 ). Thus, adoption of ZT significantly improved soil health, stabilized crop yield, increased profitability and energy use efficiency in the semi-arid agro-ecosystem.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableTillage is an important agricultural operation which influences soil properties, crop yield and environment. Nine combinations of three tillage practices including conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and zero tillage (ZT) were evaluated in fodder sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) + cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) – wheat (Triticum durum) cropping system for 5 years (2009–2014) on clay loam soil under limited irrigation. Continuous ZT practices significantly improved surface soil organic carbon, bulk density, infiltrationrateandmaximumwaterholdingcapacity.Carbonsequestration rate, soil organic carbon stock and soil enzymatic activities were relatively moreunderZTthanCT-CTpractice.Higherfodder yieldofsorghum+cowpea was recorded with CT (kharif) while wheat grain yield with ZT (rabi). However, the system productivity was statistically similar in all the tillage treatments on pooled data basis. The economic benefits were also maximum under ZT-ZT practice. The ZT-ZT practice recorded significantly lowest energy input (17.1 GJ ha−1) which resulted in highest energy use efficiency (13.6) and energy productivity (518 kg GJ−1). Thus, adoption of ZT significantly improved soil health, stabilized crop yield, increased profitability and energy use efficiency in the semi-arid agro-ecosystem.Not Availabl