Optimization of Tine Spacing of Seed Drill for Dual Banding of Fertilizer

Dual banding of fertilizer is one of the most effective techniques for plants, which is achieved with a combination of tines mounted on seed drill. Optimization of spacing between tines is essential for band placement of fertilizer and ease of operation of machine. The experiments were conducted in soil bin to optimize the spacings between tines using response surface methodology (RSM). The lateral, vertical and longitudinal spacings between tines were 50–100, 25–75 and 250–300 mm, respectively. Analysis of variance and Pearson's correlation analysis showed that tines spacings significantly influenced the draft, soil disturbance area, specific draft and seeding depth. The optimum lateral, vertical and longitudinal spacings between dual tines were found to be 50, 53 and 250 mm; 50, 51 and 279 mm; and 50, 45 and 283 mm for soil compaction levels of 400, 600 and 800 kPa, respectively. The RSM successfully optimized the spacing between dual tines and predicted the soil-tool interaction parameters with an error of 0.12 to 5%. Dual banding of fertilizer can be accomplished by mounting this dual tine system to an existing seed drill at optimal spacing. It will aid in the performance of seed drill by reducing soil disturbance and power requirement

Design, development and evaluation of furrow opener for differential depth fertilizer application

A differential depth furrow opener for tractor-drawn seed-cum-fertilizer drill under raised beds sowing was designed, developed and evaluated at ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, MP, India. The basic aim of this development was to apply fertilizer at different depth in crop root zone to enhance the fertilizer use efficiency. The furrow opener was evaluated based on draught and power requirements under soil bin at four depths (5, 10, 15, and 20 cm), four forward speeds (1.8, 3.2, 4.3 and 5.4 km/h) and three compaction level (200, 400 and 600 kPa). The field performance evaluation of furrow opener was done in two wheat crop varieties; HI-1544 (Triticum aestivum L.) and HI-8663 (T. durum) under raised beds. The experiment consisted of different fertilizer placement depths, i.e. application of NPK mixed fertilizer on surface (T1) and 5 cm (T2), 10 cm (T3), 15 cm (T4) and 20 cm (T5) below the surface in split-plot design. The root weight/plant shows significant results under all treatments, maximum and minimum root weight/plant were observed 16.01 and 9.63 g in T3 and T5, respectively. Highest grain yield was observed in treatment T4 (6 048 kg/ha) followed by T3 (5 611), T2 (5 223), T1 (4 739) and T5 (4 493 kg/ha). Higher NDVI values were observed in T3 (0.95) and T4 (0.96) at heading stage of wheat crop. From crop attributes point of view, parallel results were observed for T3 (10 cm) and T4 (15cm). But considering the draught and power requirement, 15 cm deep fertilization required 47% and 42% higher draught and power, respectively as compared to 10 cm deep fertilization

Socio-Economic Inequalities in the Use of Postnatal Care in India

OBJECTIVES: First, our objective was to estimate socio-economic inequalities in the use of postnatal care (PNC) compared with those in the use of care at birth and antenatal care. Second, we wanted to compare inequalities in the use of PNC between facility births and home births and to determine inequalities in the use of PNC among mothers with high-risk births. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Rich-poor ratios and concentration indices for maternity care were estimated using the third round of the District Level Household Survey conducted in India in 2007-08. Binary logistic regression models were used to examine the socio-economic inequalities associated with use of PNC after adjusting for relevant socio-economic and demographic characteristics. PNC for both mothers and newborns was substantially lower than the care received during pregnancy and child birth. Only 44% of mothers in India at the time of survey received any care within 48 hours after birth. Likewise, only 45% of newborns received check-up within 24 hours of birth. Mothers who had home births were significantly less likely to have received PNC than those who had facility births, with significant differences across the socio-economic strata. Moreover, the rich-poor gap in PNC use was significantly wider for mothers with birth complications. CONCLUSIONS: PNC use has been unacceptably low in India given the risks of mortality for mothers and babies shortly after birth. However, there is evidence to suggest that effective use of pregnancy and childbirth care in health facilities led to better PNC. There are also significant socio-economic inequalities in access to PNC even for those accessing facility-based care. The coverage of essential PNC is inadequate, especially for mothers from economically disadvantaged households. The findings suggest the need for strengthening PNC services to keep pace with advances in coverage for care at birth and prenatal services in India through targeted policy interventions

Razvoj i selekcija kašika za merni uređaj sadilice luka

Engineering properties of onion bulblets of variety Agrifound Dark Red were determined for development of metering device of onion bulblets planter. The raw sample of onion bulblets was graded in three groups as small, medium and larger size sample according to their diameters (Polar and equatorial). The engineering properties like polar diameter, equatorial diameter, unit weight, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, shape factor and bulk density of onion bulblets of each sample size were determined at 74.00 % m. c. (w. b.) and found as 23.62 mm, 13.2 mm, 1.87 mm, 15.58 mm, 0.66, 0.56 g, 607.82 kg/m3 respectively for small size sample, 27.9 mm, 19.54 mm, 3.91 mm, 21.30 mm, 0.70, 0.70 g, 664.47 kg/m3 respectively for medium size sample and 31.58 mm, 28.71 mm, 5.70 mm, 28.64 mm, 0.91, 0.91 g, 685.60 kg/m3 respectively for large size sample. The angles of repose for small, medium and large size sample were found to be 36.200, 34.210 and 33.510 respectively and values of rolling angle were as 10.21⁰, 10.25⁰ and 10.45⁰ for small, medium and large size samples respectively. The values of shape factor were found as 0.56 (oblate in shape), 0.70 (oblate in shape) and 0.91(spherical in shape) for small, medium and large size sample onion bulblets respectively.Tehnička svojstva crnog luka su određena radi razvoja mernog uređaja za sadilicu luka. Sirovi uzorci su bili podeljeni u 3 grupe: mali, srednji i krupni. Osobine su: polarni i ekvatorijalni prečnik, težina, sferičnost, factor oblika i rasuta gustina. Uglovi mirovanja za male, srednje i velike veličine uzorka su 36.200, 34.210 i 33.510, a vrednosti ugla kotrljanja su bili 10.21⁰, 10.25⁰ i 10.45⁰ za male, srednje i velike uzorke veličine respektivno. Vrednosti faktora oblika su bili 0.56, 0.70 i 0,91 za male, srednje i velike uzorke, respektivno

Optimization of Tine Spacing of Seed Drill for Dual Banding of Fertilizer

1073-1086Dual banding of fertilizer is one of the most effective techniques for plants, which is achieved with a combination of tines mounted on seed drill. Optimization of spacing between tines is essential for band placement of fertilizer and ease of operation of machine. The experiments were conducted in soil bin to optimize the spacings between tines using response surface methodology (RSM). The lateral, vertical and longitudinal spacings between tines were 50–100, 25–75 and 250–300 mm, respectively. Analysis of variance and Pearson's correlation analysis showed that tines spacings significantly influenced the draft, soil disturbance area, specific draft and seeding depth. The optimum lateral, vertical and longitudinal spacings between dual tines were found to be 50, 53 and 250 mm; 50, 51 and 279 mm; and 50, 45 and 283 mm for soil compaction levels of 400, 600 and 800 kPa, respectively. The RSM successfully optimized the spacing between dual tines and predicted the soil-tool interaction parameters with an error of 0.12 to 5%. Dual banding of fertilizer can be accomplished by mounting this dual tine system to an existing seed drill at optimal spacing. It will aid in the performance of seed drill by reducing soil disturbance and power requirement

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Not AvailableIndian agricultural bears heavy labour and cost in the straw handling process after harvest. During peak harvesting season, unavailability of labourers and need of timeliness of operation, burning of straw in field have been a conventional practice. Mechanization in this field has been low but loading/unloading of loose straw is a tedious work. These operations can be performed efficiently using a tractor operated pneumatic loader and with less effort. Present study was aimed at optimizing the working of pneumatic loader at varying suction, delivery length and power take-off (PTO) speeds for wheat, soybean and pigeon pea straws. The optimized suction and delivery lengths for all the three straws were obtained as 2 and 10 m, respectively. The PTO speeds of 302, 366, and 373 rpm were identified as optimum for wheat, soybean, and pigeon pea straws, respectively. The operational cost of the machine with tractor was calculated as Rs. 228 for loading one tonne straw which resulted in heavy savings.Not Availabl

Development and Evaluation of Garlic Harvester for Raised Beds

493-503Harvesting is considered one of the most time-consuming and laborious agricultural operation in garlic cultivation. This work can be easily done by mechanical means, thereby saving time, labor and money. Working of a mechanical garlic harvester in vertisol soil is difficult under flat conditions but it can be made easier by making raised beds. There is a need for a machine that can perform the intended harvesting task with its uniquely designed blade that penetrates vertisol soil easily and is able to pull out the garlic without damaging the bulb. Therefore, a garlic harvester has been developed and its operating parameters were optimized for harvesting the garlic crop sown in raised beds. An experiment was carried out in the field to investigate the effect of forward speed, conveying speed, and dropping height of a garlic harvester on digging efficiency, bulb damage, and fuel consumption using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). A forward speed of 1.53 km/h, dropping height of 0.47 m and conveying speed of 0.65 m/s were found to be optimal for operation of the machine on raised bed. The RSM successfully optimized the operational parameters of machine and predicted the performance parameters with less error. The optimum operating parameters improved the performance of machine in field by lowering bulb breakage, reducing fuel consumption and increasing garlic digging efficiency. The effective field capacity of harvester was 0.21 ha/h at field efficiency of 72.1%. The savings in cost and labor requirement were found to be 63.4 and 96.2% respectively as compared to manual method of garlic digging. The developed machine with triangular point blade and optimized operating parameters makes it better for working in black cotton soil. It will help farmers, garlic growers and agricultural machinery manufacturers to increase mechanization in garlic cultivation

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Range Management and Agroforestry

Not AvailableIndian agricultural bears heavy labour and cost in the straw handling process after harvest. During peak harvesting season, unavailability of labourers and need of timeliness of operation, burning of straw in field have been a conventional practice. Mechanization in this field has been low but loading/unloading of loose straw is a tedious work. These operations can be performed efficiently using a tractor operated pneumatic loader and with less effort. Present study was aimed at optimizing the working of pneumatic loader at varying suction, delivery length and power take-off (PTO) speeds for wheat, soybean and pigeon pea straws. The optimized suction and delivery lengths for all the three straws were obtained as 2 and 10 m, respectively. The PTO speeds of 302, 366, and 373 rpm were identified as optimum for wheat, soybean, and pigeon pea straws, respectively. The operational cost of the machine with tractor was calculated as Rs. 228 for loading one tonne straw which resulted in heavy savings

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Not AvailableThe concept of integrating both food production and energy generation through agrivoltaic system (AVS) has been evolved in recent times considering the increasing demands for the land resources and energy, especially electricity. At ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, India, an AVS of 105 kW capacity has been established with three experimental designs in three separate blocks. In all these three blocks, two different designs were followed: few arrays with gap in between PV modules and few arrays covered fully with PV module which allows receiving different amount of intercepted solar irradiation on ground surface, which is required for crop cultivation in between PV arrays and also below PV panel areas. For cultivation in areas below PV modules, aromatic grasses viz. Cymbopogon citratus (lemon grass) and Cymbopogon martini (palmarosa) were grown. Apart from different arable crops, medicinal plant, e.g. Aloe vera and vegetables Solanum melongena (brinjal), Spinacia oleracea (spinach) and snapmelon (Cucumis melo L. Momordica group) were grown.Not Availabl