AGRICULTURAL

ENGINEERING
TODAY

ISSN : 0970-2962 Vol. 37(1), 2013

January-March, 2013

Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers

 Agricultural Engineering Today
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Prof. Surendra Singh

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Energy in Agriculture Training & Testing

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 Vol. 37(1), 2013

Study on Physiological Response of Malvi Breed Bullocks

in Rotary Mode Power Transmission System for Electricity
Generation
C D Singh (LM-10202) and R C Singh (LM-9577)
Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering
Nabi bagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal-462038, India
Email: cdsingh@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
In this paper physiological response of Malvi breed of bullocks in rotary power transmission
system for electricity generation are described. The status and scope of various parameters
of rotary power transmission system like torque, load/draft on animals and charging time of
batteries for electricity generation are also discussed. It has been found that efficiency of
rotary power transmission system is 58% and the bullocks were not fatigue after 6 hours
of work as they scored 16 points against the fatigue level score of 20 points.
Key words: Bullocks, Rotary power, Physiological response, Draft, work load

INTRODUCTION the pump was capable of delivering water at rate

India is endowed with a significant score of the world
population of animals. Use of draught animals as
source of energy is very dominant and will continue
to be so for many more years (Srivastava, 2000).
There are about 56 million draught animals in the
country. These animals, cultivate about 60 to 65%
of total cultivated area (approximate 85–93 million
ha). The animals give stability to agriculture by
subsidizing the income of the farmers. Draught
animals are known to be widely used for selected
crop production operation during cropping season
and left idle for the rest of period. This is possible
through employing animal in the rotary mode of
power to operate different agro processing machines
(Srivastava, 2000). These results in enhance unit cost
of draught animal energy. The unit cost of draught
animal power could be brought down by increased
use. Therefore one of the potential areas of draught
animal power could be application to operate low
hp post harvest machines. The machines are chaff
cutter, grain grinder, grain cleaner-cum-grader,
water lifting and generation of electrical power for
lightening and domestic use. A chaff cutter can be
operated with a pair of bullock (Hallikeri et al., 1995).
An animal drawn reciprocating pump was developed
that used two units of hand pumps and reported that
of 7 l/s at a head of 6 meter (Khepar et al., 1975).
Due to disparity in demand and supply of electric
power, mainly for rural areas, it is desirable to utilize
animal power up to maximum possible extent. Malvi
breed of bullocks were used for operation of grain
grinder, cleaner cum grader, chaff cutter and water
lifting effectively and their draught ability is higher as
compared to crossbred bullocks (Singh and Singh.
2009, Upadhyay and Madan, 1985). One of the ways
of utilizing the bullocks power could be for electricity
generation in remote villages in hills or plain areas
where either the electric supply not regular or
erratic to meet out the demand of the house hold
for lighting. The average speed draught animal on
a circular track is 0.6 m/s for oxen and 0.7 m/s a
donkey. The power output by a single animal is about
0.16 hp for donkey, 0.25 hp for horse or light ox and
0.32 for a bullock of 400 kg body weight. In practice
one may expect with a pair of animals an output of
0.3 and 0.6 hp while utilizing buffalo in rotary mode
of operation for the operation of paddy thresher
and other stationary work. They have successfully
demonstrated electricity generation in rotary mode
of operation also. In this paper, effective use of Malvi
breed of bullocks for electricity generation in rotary
mode has been described. The electricity generated

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Agricultural Engineering Today
could be stored in a battery to be used as per the
need. This will make the farmers self sufficient on
one hand and on the other hand lessen the load on
national power supply.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
An animal driven electricity generation system was
procured from M/s Shri Durga Engineering Works
Pvt. Limited 18 C, Pokharpur, Lal Bangla, Kanpur
(U P). The details of the unit after some modification
are given below:
Rotary power transmission unit: The unit has
bevel and spur gears to raise the slow moving speed
of animals (average 2 rpm) to 20 rpm. Output shaft
of bevel and spur gear transmitted power to the
input shaft of gearbox. The gear box unit consists
of a box of size 970 mm x 560 mm x 510 mm made
out of 10 mm thick M.S. Plate. In the gear box one
input shaft, two intermediate and one output shaft
with helical gears were arranged in such a way that
they raised rotational speed of bull gear to 20 times
(speed ratio 20: 1). The gears were made of EN 353
material. The pitch of gear was 6 mm. At the end
of output shaft of gearbox V-groove pulley of 600
mm diameter was provided and connected with the
V-groove pulley of 100 mm diameter mounted at the
alternator. This gave the speed ratio of 6:1 between
pulley of alternator and outer shaft of gearbox.
System resulted about 2400 rpm of alternator, when
animals made one revolution around the rotary track.
A wooden beam of length 4.2 m was used at the
input shaft of the power transmission system to give
drive to gearbox through animal power.
An alternator 24 Volt- 45 amperes was used to
generate electricity. The alternator was driven by 100
mm diameter pulley fitted on the output shaft by the
driver pulley of 600 mm mounted at the output shaft
of gearbox. The relative motion between magnetic
field and armature induces electromotive force,
which further causes the establishment of electric
potential, i.e. voltage. This alternating current (AC)
produced was conveyed to output wires with the help
of commutator of alternator. The electricity generated
by alternator was supplied to two batteries and the
same is stored in the battery in the form of chemical
energy. This stored chemical energy gets converted
into electrical energy to give useful work when the
electrical load is applied between the two terminals
2
of the battery. Two batteries model AMCO, ABP
1600 P, 17 plate, 12 V, 150 Ah were used to store
the electric generated by the alternator. The two
batteries were charged to know the specific gravity
of batteries at full charge. At full charge specific
gravity of battery was 1250. The charged batteries
were discharged by lightening 4 nos 100 watts bulbs
for 5 hours and specific gravity of batteries was
measured. The discharge batteries were used to
charge with animal driven electricity generator. The
specific gravity of battery was measured at the start
of experiment and after each hours of operation
Installation: The power transmission unit was
installed on a flat surface with RCC. The alternator
was placed near the output shaft of the gearbox
unit. It was fixed on RCC foundation using nuts
and bolts to secure it firmly. The bullocks were
hitched to beam at the time of operation. A pair of
Malvi breed of bullocks was used for this study.
The body weights of animals used to operate the
rotary power transmission system was measured
using an electronic weighing machine (capacity
0-1000 kg). The average heart girth, average body
length, average height and body weight of the
experimental bullocks No.1 was 1460 mm, 1480
mm, 1320 mm and 460 kg respectively and that of
bullock No. 2 was 1570 mm, 1660 mm, 1380 mm
and 498 kg respectively. 21x micro logger and load
cell (0-1000N) was used to measure the pull force of
the bullocks operating the rotary power transmission
unit. The load cell was mounted between the beam
and yoke through the rope. The values of pull were
recorded after every 5 min (Figure1). The angle of
line of pull (50) and angle of inclination of rope (200)
with the line of travel were determined by use of
abeney level. The speeds of operation, bull gear
rev./min were recorded at the start and after every
hour of work. The horizontal component of pull
resulted draught force value. Speed of bullocks
was determined by recording the time to travel one
circle in rotary test track. The power requirement
was calculated by using the equation,
P = FS/3.6 …(1)
Where, P = power in kW; F = draught force, kN and
S = Speed, km/h
For rotary power transmission drive it is important
to determine torque as well as the number of

Fig. 1: Pull and speed recording of bullock by
using 21 X micrologger and load cell.
revolutions (rpm). Accurate torque measurement
can provide data for optimizing control and diagnosis
of rotary drive systems. For measurements of
accurate torque, speed and power output at the
output shaft of gear box a DATUM electronics
torque transducer (Model DAO3TSP-D), Range-0-
200 N-m was used. The set up for measurement of
torque is shown in the Fig. 2. During the test, values
of torque, speed and power out put at the output
shaft of box, rpm of bull gear and pulley mounted
at armature shaft of alternator were recorded. The
physiological parameters of working bullocks such
as heart rate, respiration rate, rectal temperature
and fatigue symptoms were recorded at the start of
work and after every hour of work. A work rest cycle
of 2 h W – 1 h Rest – 2 h – 1 h rest – 2h work was
Fig. 2: Set up for measurement of torque, speed
and power output
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Vol. 37(1), 2013
followed to measure the physiological responses of
bullocks. Observations on physiological parameters
were taken by following standard methods i.e.
Heart rate (beats/min): By sensing palpitation/min of
the animal at coxyoal artery at the rear of tail.
Breathing rate (breaths/min): By counting nos. of air
exhaled/min by the animal.
Rectal temperature (0C): By inserting a clinical
thermometer in the anus 50 mm inside.
The sequence of observations on visual fatigue
symptoms were recorded as per the fatigue score
card (Upadhyay, 1987).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The initial torque and rotational speed of shaft were
19 N-m and 50 rev/min (Table 1). However the
torque reduced as the rotational speed increased
from 50 to 450 rev./min. Due to higher initial torque
the draft force produced by the animal was higher
and speed of operation was lower at the start of
work..The draft force of animals reduced as the
torque reduced. Power output was maximum 3.0 kW
at 350 rev./min of output shaft of gearbox. Draft force
and speed of bullocks were 748 N and 2.6 km/h at
350 rev./min of output shaft of gearbox.
The speed steps up in the rotary power transmission
system and so the speed of armature pulley of
alternator (Table 2). The table revealed that the
rotational speed of alternator increased from 1720
rev./min to 2370 rev./min as the speed of bullocks
increased from 2.2 to 3.0 km/h. At bullocks speed
of 2.4 km/h the alternator gave the 1900 rev./min.
and produced 26 V, which is sufficient for charging
of two battery of 12 V. Below 1800 rpm the alternator
produced about 24 V and from this voltage batteries
were not charged properly due to drop of voltage in
electrical circuit. For proper charging of battery the
animal speed would be 2.4 km/h or more.
Considering the limitation of speed, the animals
were operated in sustained working following the
work rest cycle of 2 h work -1 h rest – 2 h work – 1 h
rest – 2 h work in day. During the operation of rotary
power transmission system to generate voltage
for charging of battery the bullocks gave average
speed of 2.50 km/h and power output of 0.50 kW
under sustained working of 6 h in a day. The animals
Agricultural Engineering Today

Table 1: Variation in torque and rotational speed of output shaft of gearbox with the draft force and speed of
bullocks.
Bullocks speed Draft Power Torque Rotational speed of Power output
(km/h) (N) (kW) (N-m) shaft (rpm) (kW)
0.68 1165 0.22 19 50 0.10
1.40 926 0.36 15 144 0.21
2.60 748 0.54 8 350 0.30
2.80 630 0.49 7 380 0.28
3.00 558 0.46 6 400 0.26
3.15 470 0.41 5 420 0.23
3.32 340 0.31 2 450 0.12

Table 2: Speed steps up in rotary power transmission system operated with a pair of Malvi breed of bullocks.
Speed of Rotational sped Rotational speed at Speed of armature Voltage
bullocks of bull gear (rpm) output shaft of gearbox pulley of alternator produced (V)
(km/h) (rpm) (rpm)
3.00 20.0 400 2370 28
2.70 18.0 360 2136 28
2.50 16.5 330 1960 26
2.4 16.0 320 1900 26
2.3 15.0 300 1784 24
2.2 14.5 290 1720 24

were not fatigued as they scored 16 points, 4 points
below the fatigue limit i.e. is 20 points. The average
power output at the output shaft of gearbox was 0.28
kW at 350 - 400 rev./min. The torque output at this
speed varied from 6-8 N-m. A pair of Malvi breed of
bullocks gave average power output of 0.48 kW at
the 350-400 rev./min of shaft. Substitution of input
and output power in equitation (2) resulted power
transmission efficiency of system as 58 %.
Physiological responses of bullocks: Physiological
parameters and fatigue score of Malvi breed of
bullocks for 2 h work – 1 h rest – 2 h work – 1 h rest
-2 3 h work are given in Table 3. The pulse rate,
respiration rate and body temperature of bullocks
increased with increased in duration of work. The
increase in pulse rate, respiration rate and body
temperature were 77%, 150% and 3.4% from their
initial levels of 48pulse/min, 18breaths/min and
37.7 0C after 6 hours of work. The bullocks were not
fatigue after 6 hours of work as they scored 16 points
against the fatigue level score of 20 points.
The effect of speed and duration on voltage
generated by alternator and specific gravity of
batteries: The alternator was powered at different
speed to study its effect on voltage generation (Table
4). It is clear from the table that as the speed of the
armature pulley increased the voltage so generated
also increased. For charging two batteries of 17
plates, 12 volt, having specific gravity of 1150, the
voltage produced (26-28 V) by the alternator was
supplied for 8 hours. After 8 hours of charging of
battery, the voltage and specific gravity were 12 V
and 1245, respectively. At the start of work specific
gravity of battery was 1150. The specific gravity of
battery increased with charging time (Table 4). The
first stage showed that there is gradual increase in

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 Vol. 37(1), 2013

Table 3: The increase in physiological parameters of Malvi breed of bullocks during the operation of animal
driven electricity generator.
Duration of Pulse rate (beats/min) Respiration rate (breaths/ Rectal temp. Fatigue
work (h) min) (0 C) score
Initial Increased (% Initial Increased (% Initial Increased
increase over increase over (% increase over
initial) initial) initial)
1 48 64 (33) 17 31 (82) 37.7 38.2 (1.3) 06
2 48 72 (50) 18 36 (100) 37.7 38.3 (1.6) 11
I hour rest
3 52 75 (56) 20 38 (111) 38.1 38.5 (2.1) 07
4 52 80 (67) 20 42 (133) 38.1 38.7 (2.7) 13
1 hour rest
5 58 82 (70) 22 40 (117) 38.4 38.8 (2.9) 09
5 58 85 (77) 18 45 (150) 38.4 39.0 (3.4) 16
Note: When the total score is 20, the bullock is fatigue

Table 4: Variations in D C voltage of alternator and specific gravity of battery during charging.
Duration (h) Speed of Speed of armature D C Voltage Specific gravity
bullocks (km/h) pulley (rpm) generated (V) of battery
1 2.70 2136 28 1150
2 2.50 1960 26 1155
3 2.55 2000 28 1165
4 2.44 1912 26 1180
5 2.50 1960 26 1210
6 2.39 1874 26 1235
7 2.6 2040 28 1240
8 2.55 2000 28 1245

specific gravity (1150 -1165) during first three hours CONCLUSIONS

of charging. The second stage showed a rapid
increase in the specific gravity (1180 - 1235), which
occurred after 4 hours of charging. The third and final
stage showed slight change in specific gravity (1240-
1245). At this stage battery was approximately at full
charge and the specific gravity become constant.
The results showed that two batteries of 17 plates
12 V having initial specific gravity of 1150 can be
charged (specific gravity 1245) after 8 hours of
operation of animal driven electricity generator. The
charged battery was discharge by using an inverter
(Model: UPS-Microtek- 1500 EB) and 5 nos. 100
watts bulbs for 4 hour. After discharge the specific
gravity of battery was about 1150.
The average speed, draft force and power
requirement of a pair of Malvi breed of bullocks
were 2.5 km/h, 730 N and 0.50 kW to operate the
animal driven electricity generator for electricity
generation and battery charging. The batteries are
fully charged after 8 hours of operation of animal
driven electricity generator. It was also found that
the mechanical efficiency of animal driven electricity
generator was 58%.
REFERENCES
Hallikeri R C M; Nelkanthaya A; Kumathe S. 1995.
Performance of a bullock power operated chaffcutter.
Agricultural Engineering Today, 19: 39–46.

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Agricultural Engineering Today
Khepar S D. 1975. Development of animal drawn lift
irrigation pump. Journal of Agricultural Engineering,
12: 42-47.
Srivastava N S L. 2000. Animal energy in agriculture.
Agricultural Engineering Today, 24: 24-26.
Singh R C; Singh C D. 2009. Effect of age and body
size on the workoutput of Malvi and crossbred oxen.
Indian Journal of Animal Sciences, 79: 850-852.
6
Upadhya R C; Madan M L. 1985. Draught performance
of Hariana and crossbred bullocks in different
seasons. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences, 55:
50-54.
Upadhya R C. 1987. Work capacity, speed and
efficiency of sustained work of crossbred and
Haryana bullocks. Journal of dairy Science, 40:
28-31.
 Vol. 37(1), 2013

Predicting Tractor Power Requirements Using Decision Support

System – A Tool for Farm Machinery Management
Vishal Bector (LM-10047), Surendra Singh, P K Gupta
College of Agricultural Engineering & Technology, PAU, Ludhiana
Email: vishalbector@pau.edu

Abstract
The adoption of information and communication technologies for knowledge-based
agricultural production is becoming necessary tool in order to respond to numerous
challenges of agricultural sector. The importance and needs of developing decision support
systems for farm management have already been recognized by the policy makers and by
the end users i.e. the farmers also. A decision support system PAU_TRACPWR has been
developed using detailed data information on crop production parameters for major crops
being grown in India, tractor prices, crop values, labour charges and crop-wise adoption
level of various farm technologies. The critical tractor power requirements would increase to
56.22 million kW by 2025.The adoption of improved technologies in tillage and sowing, new
harvesting equipment like tractor operated cotton picker, sugarcane harvesters, crop residue
managing equipment would help in bringing down the total tractor power requirements in
the region with immediate interventions by farmers, developers and policy makers.
Key words: Farm management, decision support system, crop production, power
requirement

INTRODUCTION to deal with issues surrounding quality and the value

Knowledge has remained core strength of the life
since ages and there is an ongoing change towards
knowledge-based societies and economies in which
research and innovations are the major components.
The adoption of information and communication
technologies for knowledge-based agricultural
production is becoming necessary tool in order to
respond to numerous challenges of agricultural
sector. Consumer demands on food safety and
security, sustainable development, environmental
protection, sustainability of farmers’ revenues
and a competitive advantage and power in both
domestic and global markets are the thrust areas
for making agriculture a significant contributor in
Indian economy. The adoption of information and
communication technologies as a unique challenge
in rural areas has long been a specific public concern
with regional, national and international strategic
significance. Farm and crop management integrated
with information systems will allow farmers not only
to maximize profits or minimize input costs, but also
of production.
Agriculture continues to remain a significant sector
of the Indian economy, which contributes 14 per cent
of GDP, provides 65 per cent of employment and
continued to be the primary source of living for 70
percent of the population in India. Out of an estimated
142.4 m ha net cultivated area in India only, more
than 50 m ha are under double cropping. About 60%
of the Indian agriculture is rain fed which contributes
44% production of total farm output of country and
is prone to vagaries of monsoonal aberrations like
drought. The progress of agricultural mechanization
has been closely linked with the overall development
in production agriculture. Till 1950, very few farmers
possessed prime movers like tractors, engines and
motors. Heavy agricultural tractors and machinery
were imported by government organizations mainly
for land reclamation and development of large
government farms.
Availability of adequate farm power is very crucial
for timely farm operations for increasing production

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Agricultural Engineering Today
and productivity and handling the crop produce to
reduce losses. Agricultural labour, draught animals,
tractors, power tillers, diesel engines and electric
motors are the major sources of power used for
farm operations. Tractorisation, as backbone of farm
mechanization, has played a pivotal role in bringing
green revolution in the country. Diverse utilization
and adoption of tractor power in the country is due
to varying sizes of farm holdings (average farm
holding size 1.6 ha) and socio-economic disparities.
The contribution of animate power and tractor
power to total power available (0.40 hp/ha) was
65.4% and 7.6% respectively in 1971-72. As the
usage of tractors in Indian agriculture accelerated,
the animate power contribution reduced to 14%
by 2007-08. The contribution of tractor power
increased to 40.0% in 2007-08. However, the total
power availability at farm increased to 1.60 kW/ha
in 2007-08. An interesting feature of increase in
farm power availability and consequent enhanced
mechanization in India is that the quantum of power
availability and the proportion of mix of animate and
mechanical power have, however, been different in
various parts of the country and over time.
The importance and needs of developing decision
support systems for farm management have already
been recognized by the policy makers and the end
users i.e. the farmers also. Several decision support
systems have been developed for management of
agricultural production system. Butani and Singh
(1994) developed a DSS for optimization of farm
machinery system with the flexibility to incorporate
regional variations in crops and cropping practices,
farm characteristics, sizes of farm equipment and
costs of the resources and outputs. Lazzari and
Mazzetto (1994) developed a farm machinery
selection and management model as a decision
support system (DSS) for farmers and extension
services. Ismail (1998) developed a Crop Production
Machinery System (CPMS) to predict the size of
tractors and implements required to complete the
farm operations during a specified duration of time.
The machinery cost analysis model was able to
evaluate machinery costs to determine the most
profitable combination of crops in relations and to
evaluate different farming alternatives either to up-
scale or down-scale farm operations. Panesar and
Fluck (2001) developed a framework for regional
8
energy planning of agricultural production system
using GIS. Sidhu (2001) developed a system
dynamics simulation model to assess the energy
requirements in crop production system in Punjab
for the period from 1980 to 2010. Jaskaran (2001)
developed a decision support system (DSS) for farm
machinery and energy management in spatially
changing and complex crop production system.
Keeping in view the needs of timely decisions to be
taken on farm power requirements in crop production
systems for making it not only sustainable but also a
profitable venture as one of the significant contributor
on country’s economy, a Decision Support System
was developed.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Decision-making is an activity common to all
levels of management, and often considered to be
management itself. Within both the planning and
the controlling processes, the planner or manager is
required to make decisions. The quality of decision
is related to the information available to the decision
maker. Decision may also be regarded as a ‘choice’,
representing a course of behaviour selected from
a number of (more than one) possible alternatives.
An orderly process of arriving at a decision contains
a series of steps to be followed as shown in Fig. 1.
These decision supports systems have become
necessary for today’s agricultural crop production
system mainly due to fast computation, enhanced
productivity, data transmission, better decisions and
competitive edge. Decision Support System (DSS)
provides support for decision-makers in mainly semi-
structured and unstructured situation by bringing
together human judgments and computerized
information at almost every level of decision-making
required by individuals or groups.
To understand the current status of different
farm power sources and their relative usage in
crop production system, the information in form
of secondary data was collected from statistical
abstracts of Punjab and India, tractor and farm
machinery manufacturing organizations, government
reports and ICAR data books. Various departments
mainly, Department of Soils, Agronomy, Economics
& Sociology, PAU Ludhiana were visited personally
to have experienced suggestions regarding the
facts collection and utilization in required decision
 Vol. 37(1), 2013

Fig. 1: Use of information in the decision making process.

support system. Wherever the approximation was
used it was framed in consultation with the relevant
experienced faculty from the concerned departments
of the PAU Ludhiana.
After the conceptualization of a decision support
system, for predicting total tractor power requirements
of a particular region, the study was undertaken to
determine the tractor power requirements of India.
Since the power availability i.e. the size of tractor
power was not considered to be the constraint or
limiting factor for the period under study, the variation
of soil types in the region considered were classified
broadly in three types i.e. light, medium & heavy
soils. The total cropped area on yearly basis by
utilizing the net sown area suitable for agricultural
purposes was recorded since 1990-91 onwards
to have trend of land utilization pattern of country.
The distribution of net sown area in three major
soil types i.e. Light, Medium & Heavy soils was
also recorded to determine the multiple passes of
farm equipment usage for various farm operations
using tractor as power source. Keeping in view the
present scenario of Indian agriculture, eight major
crops i.e. wheat, paddy, maize, oilseeds, pulses,
cotton, potato and sugarcane were considered.
The all oilseeds crops and pulses were collectively
considered as oilseeds and pulses respectively. The
crop parameters mainly, area under crops, yield
and production were recorded on yearly basis from
1990-91 to 2005-06. The extent of use of different
farm implements and its multiple passes depending
upon the soil conditions were determined. Further,
year-wise, and crop-wise tractor operated area was
also estimated.
Labour shortage and its uncertainty for timely
availability, natural resource conservation, need for

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Agricultural Engineering Today
eco friendly farm technologies were observed to be
significant factors for varied level of different farm
technologies being used/preferred by the farmers in
different regions. The extent of use of advanced farm
equipment was considered to be most significant
factor towards the total tractor power requirements
in present scenario of a region and prediction of its
future requirements. Tillage and sowing had been
considered to be the major farm operation among
all the operations consuming most of the energy.
Conventional tillage and sowing using traditional
tractor operated implements like MB plough,
disc harrow and planker and drills were the most
adopted technology. But with the advancement
of technologies, improved tillage and minimum
tillage technologies had also been observed to
be increasing for better profitability and timely
operations. Managing previous crop residue by
simple means of burning was the traditional method
in the past but introduction of residue management
technologies and implements like baler, straw
combine etc the use of tractors has also increased.
Interculture and plant protection equipment like
tractor operated weeders, earthing up equipment
and sprayers had also been picking up. Combination
of tractor operated reapers and threshers have
also observed to be increasing in various crops
enhancing total power requirement of any region
for timely completion of farm operations.
Timeliness of farming operations were considered to
be the most significant characteristic of agriculture
and various farm implements to be used in a fixed
time period of its growing season right from residue
management of previous crop, land preparation
and sowing to harvesting and threshing and then
timely transportation of farm produce to reach
market avoiding any loss. A detailed farm calendar
of various farm operations for crops taken into
considerations in the present study and intended
to be grown in regions was framed for the country.
This farm calendar was prepared to determine the
critical period of farming operations in India where
the multiple farming operations are to be carried out
simultaneously requiring the total tractor power for
timely field operations. The use of tractor operated
farm implements in particular fortnight or month of
an year under various technologies, i.e. residue
management, tillage and sowing, plant protection,
10
harvesting & threshing, transportation was defined
for the country. Two critical periods in Kharif and
Rabi season each were framed as May 1 to July 30
and October to December. Since crops like paddy,
maize, oilseeds, pulses, potato and sugarcane
which were scheduled to be grown in more than
one season in a year, the %age area to be grown
in each season out of total crop area under these
crops was also estimated to determine the critical
tractor power requirements. Multiplicity of cropping
systems had been considered to be the one of the
main features of the Indian agriculture.
A computer based Decision Support System
PAU_TRACPWR was developed in 2009 for making
decision on technology interventions by the user with
full of information in the form of historical database
files on various variables involved. A user-friendly
interface was also developed for making future
predictions. The DSS was developed in Visual
FoxPro at the front end and all data files were
managed in Dbase. The decision support system
PAU_TRACPWR was designed to get the outcome
as total tractor power requirement for all the farm
operations to be carried out while growing each
crop considered under the study for a particular
region. Provision was also made to get the output
as tractor power requirements in a particular
month or selected time frame or critical time period
considering the multiple farm operations for multiple
crops to be grown in that period. To have the user
intervention and provide some guidelines to feed
the realistic values on various input variables as
contributing factors for determining the tractor
power requirements of a region, a detailed data
help line in the form of data files along with trends
on various crop production parameters were also
made available in the decision support system
PAU_TRACPWR accessible at any time of its use.
These data files act as a guiding tool for a user
to make best use of the decision support system
developed.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Predicting tractor power in India using PAU_
TRACPWR: Based on the existing data, interaction
with economists, agronomists, engineers working
and associated with crop production system
and government policies and priorities, a future
 Vol. 37(1), 2013

projected/estimated values for crops and tractor estimated to grow up to Rs. 20,000 per kW. The
related parameters were established in details shortage and timely availability of farm labour in
for major crops presently being grown on tractor future is big threat in agricultural production system.
operated area in India (Tables 1 to 3). These values This may increase the labour charges to level of Rs.
were used in the DSS PAU_TRACPWR to predict 60 per hour by 2025 (Table 2).
tractor requirements for India during the years 2010-
Tractorization is considered to be backbone of farm
11, 2015-16, 2020-21 & 2025-26. Keeping in view
mechanization for increasing the overall production
the food requirements of growing population, it was
level of agricultural sector contributing to Indian
estimated to maintain the level of net sown area of
economy. Crop- wise tractor operated area is
140.0 million ha in India by 2025. In India, area under
estimated to grow around 90, 70, 75, 75, 75, 70, 85
wheat was estimated to grow and reach up to 30,182
and 90% by 2025 (Table 3). Presently, conventional
thousand ha producing 94.89 million tonnes of wheat
tillage and animal-drawn implements are being
by 2025. Paddy will remain one of the leading food
used mostly in various regions of the country.
grain crops in Indian agriculture, so the area under
However, the farmers have also preferred improved
paddy was estimated to reach 44,411 thousand
technologies in their crop production systems. Use
ha by 2025. The overall production of paddy was
of improved tillage technologies like rotavator in crop
estimated to be 174.5 million tonnes by 2025. The
production is estimated to cover almost 20% area.
area under maize was estimated to grow up to 9,330
Minimum tillage and tillage combine using zero-till
thousand ha with overall production of 22.52 million
drills and roto-tilll drills for wheat is also estimated
tonnes. The declining trends of oilseeds crops
to cover about 30% of area under crop (Table 3).
estimated to go down to 22,458 thousand ha with
Adoption of advanced farm technologies would help
28.86 million tonnes of production. The area under
in reducing the total tractor power requirement in
pulses was also estimated to be around 19,309
crop resulting into lowering the overall tractor power
thousand ha producing 12.94 million tonnes by 2025.
requirement of any region. This would also help in
The area under cotton may reach 9,743 thousand
reducing the total cost of crop production due to
ha with production level of 5.50 million tonnes by
economical use of tractor power by the farmers in
2025. Potato and sugarcane would also cover 1,922
a region through sharing resources and cooperative
and 4,623 thousand ha area respectively by 2025
farming facilities.
with production of 38.27 million tonnes and 319.14
million tonnes respectively (Table 1). Keeping in view the estimated values of area
under various crops, their production levels using
Relatively better market price in comparison to
advanced farm technologies/implements and price
total crop production costs are the key factors
values in the market, the tractor power requirements
among the farmers to opt for crops to be grown by
were predicted for both the seasons i.e. kharif and
them in a region. Presently, wheat, paddy, maize,
rabi using DSS PAU_TRACPWR for the years
cotton and sugarcane produce are picked up by the
2010-11, 2015-16, 2020-21 and 2025-26. The
government agencies directly at minimum support
maximum tractor power requirements out of these
prices, helping farmers to get assured income. But
two seasons were recorded as critical tractor power
due to open market and global economy these days,
requirement of India. This would increase the
the crop prices of Indian produce is estimated to
critical tractor power requirements of India for the
grow continuously. The crop prices (Rs/q) of wheat,
crops considered under this study to 55.82, 58.66
paddy, maize, oilseeds and pulses are estimated
and 59.19 million kW by 2010-11, 2015-16 and
to reach around 2000, 1500, 1500, 4000 and 5000
2020-21 respectively. This will go down to 56.22
respectively by 2025. Whereas, the cash crops like
million kW in 2025-26 which would be lower than
cotton, potato and sugarcane are expected to get
the requirements of 2020-21 mainly due to desired
comparatively higher market returns in global market
shift of tractor power utilization and use of energy
and reach to increased level of around 5000, 2500
conservation technologies. The number of tractors
and 300 Rs/q respectively. Similarly the tractor
would increase to almost 2.15, 2.26, 2.28 and then
prices in terms of price per unit power are also
reduce to 2.16 million for the major crops considered

11
 Table 1: Year-wise estimated crop area, production & yield of major crops grown in India.
Area under crop out of Crop production (million
Area under crop (000 ha) Crop yield (q/ha)
Crop net area sown (Percent) tonnes)
2010 2015 2020 2025 2010 2015 2020 2025 2010 2015 2020 2025 2010 2015 2020 2025
Wheat 27779 28580 29381 30182 19.8 20.4 21.0 21.6 79.18 84.42 89.65 94.89 28.50 29.54 30.51 31.44
Paddy 43755 43974 44192 44411 31.2 31.4 31.6 31.7 145.27 155.02 164.76 174.50 33.20 35.25 37.28 39.29
Maize 7768 8289 8809 9330 5.5 5.9 6.3 6.7 16.36 18.41 20.47 22.52 21.06 22.21 23.23 24.14
Agricultural Engineering Today

Oilseeds 24063 23528 22993 22458 17.1 16.8 16.4 16.0 24.88 26.20 27.53 28.86 10.34 11.14 11.97 12.85
Pulses 21084 20492 19901 19309 15.0 14.6 14.2 13.8 13.09 13.04 12.99 12.94 6.21 6.36 6.53 6.70
Cotton 8932 9203 9473 9743 6.4 6.6 6.8 7.0 3.98 4.49 4.99 5.50 4.46 4.88 5.27 5.64
Potato 1527 1659 1790 1922 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 28.68 31.88 35.08 38.27 187.83 192.19 195.91 199.12
Sugarcane 4314 4417 4520 4623 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.3 291.22 300.53 309.84 319.14 675.05 680.36 685.43 690.28

12
Table 2: Year-wise estimated crop price, tractor price, labour charges.
Year Crop price (Rs/q) Tractor Labour
Price (Rs/ Charges
Wheat Paddy Maize Oilseeds Pulses Cotton Potato Sugarcane kW) (Rs/h)
2010-11 1200 850 800 2500 3000 2500 800 150 13000 15.0
2015-16 1450 1100 1000 3000 3700 3000 1500 200 15000 20.0
2020-21 1700 1300 1200 3500 4500 4000 2000 250 17000 40.0
2025-26 2000 1500 1500 4000 5000 5000 2500 300 20000 60.0
 Table 3: Year-wise estimated % tractor operated area and technology adoption level for major crops grown in India.
Crop Year Area under Area under different tractor operated farm technologies (%)
cultivation
using Conventional Improved Minimum
Residue Tillage Plant
tractor tillage & tillage & tillage & Harvesting Threshing
management combine protection
as power sowing sowing sowing
source (%)
Wheat 2010-11 85 20.0 89.5 1.0 5.0 2.0 0.0 12.5 12.5
2015-16 87 25.0 79.0 5.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 15.0 15.0
2020-21 89 30.0 63.0 10.0 15.0 7.5 0.0 17.5 17.5
2025-26 90 35.0 50.0 20.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 20.0 20.0
Paddy 2010-11 62 0.5 99.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 12.5 12.5
2015-16 65 2.0 95.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.0 15.0
2020-21 67 5.0 90.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 17.5 17.5
2025-26 70 10.0 80.0 20.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.0 20.0
Maize 2010-11 70 0.0 99.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 35.0
2015-16 72 0.0 95.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 2.5 0.0 40.0
2020-21 74 0.0 90.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 0.0 45.0
2025-26 75 0.0 80.0 20.0 0.0 0.0 7.5 0.0 50.0

13
Oil 2010-11 67 0.0 99.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 5.0
Seeds 2015-16 70 0.0 95.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 7.5 7.5
2020-21 72 0.0 90.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 10.0
2025-26 75 0.0 80.0 20.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.0 15.0
Pulses 2010-11 67 0.0 99.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 5.0
2015-16 70 0.0 95.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 7.5 7.5
2020-21 72 0.0 90.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 10.0
2025-26 75 0.0 80.0 20.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.0 15.0
Cotton 2010-11 55 0.0 99.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 92.5 0.0 0.0
2015-16 60 1.0 95.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 95.0 1.0 0.0
2020-21 65 2.0 90.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 97.5 5.0 0.0
2025-26 70 5.0 80.0 20.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 10.0 0.0
Potato 2010-11 70 0.0 99.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 50.0 0.0
2015-16 75 0.0 95.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 55.0 0.0
2020-21 80 0.0 90.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 60.0 0.0
2025-26 85 0.0 80.0 20.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 65.0 0.0
Sugar 2010-11 60 0.0 99.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Cane 2015-16 70 2.0 95.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0
2020-21 80 5.0 90.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 0.0
Vol. 37(1), 2013

2025-26 90 10.0 80.0 20.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 0.0

Agricultural Engineering Today
Table 4: Tractor power predicted using PAU_TRACPWR for major crops under study in India.
Tractor Power 2010-11
Rabi (million kW) 55.82
Kharif (million kW) 41.22
Critical Power of Region (million kW) 55.82
Number of Tractors (million) 2.147
under this study during 2010-11, 2015-16, 2020-21
and 2025-26 respectively (Table 4).
The tractor power requirements for conventional
tillage and sowing would be reducing continuously
and reach to level of 41.73, 67.05, 74.05, 64.69,
52.99, 54.03, 43.07 and 75.55% and for improved
tillage and sowing operations would increase to
16.38, 17.65, 15.19, 17.39, 14.24, 10.71, 11.19 and
19.62% for wheat, paddy, maize, oilseeds, pulses,
cotton, potato and sugarcane respectively by the
year 2025. Tractor operated harvesting equipment
would also contribute at higher rate in total tractor
power requirements with 18.25, 11.84, 17.89, 32.73,
2.88, 45.62 and 4.43% for wheat, paddy, oilseeds,
pulses, cotton, potato and sugarcane respectively
by 2025.
Hence, the tractor power utilization as discussed
above revealed that adoption of improved
technologies in tillage and sowing, new harvesting
equipment like tractor operated cotton picker,
sugarcane harvesters, crop residue managing
equipment would help in bringing down the total
tractor power requirements in country. The tractor
power requirement would be increasing initially,
but definitely by adopting such planned farm input
resources in terms of tractor power utilization in crop
production system would help Indian farmers also to
see the desired reverse trend/shift of lower tractor
power requirements by the year 2025.
CONCLUSIONS
In India, the critical tractor power requirements
would increase to 55.82, 58.66 and 59.19 million kW
by 2010-11, 2015-16 and 2020-21 respectively, but
further reduce to 56.22 million kW by 2025-26 due
to use of advanced farm technologies. The number
of tractors for crops selected under study would
increase to almost 2.15, 2.26, and 2.28 million by
14
2015-16 2020-21 2025-26
58.66 59.19 56.22
45.1 47.16 46.28
58.66 59.19 56.22
2.256 2.277 2.162
2010-11, 2015-16 and 2020-21 respectively and then
reduce to 2.16 million by 025-26. The tractor power
requirements for conventional tillage and sowing
would be reducing continuously and reach to level
of 41.73, 67.05, 74.05, 64.69, 52.99, 54.03, 43.07
and 75.55% and for improved tillage and sowing
operations would increase to 16.38, 17.65, 15.19,
17.39, 14.24, 10.71, 11.19 and 19.62% for wheat,
paddy, maize, oilseeds, pulses, cotton, potato and
sugarcane respectively by the year 2025.
References
Butani K M; Singh G. 1994. Decision support system
for selection of agricultural machinery with a case
study in India. Computers and Economics in
Agriculture 10: 91-104.
Ismail W I W. 1998. Cost analysis model for crop
production machinery system. Agricultural
Mechanization in Asia, Africa and Latin America
29 (4): 56-60.
Jaskaran. 2001. Decision support system for farm
machinery and energy management in crop
production. Ph. D. Dissertation. PAU, Ludhiana,
India.
Lazzari M; Mazzetto F A. 1994. Selection and
management model for farm machinery systems.
Proceedings of XII World Congress on Agricultural
Engineering, Milan, Italy, Vol. 2: 1061-1071.
Panesar B S; Fluck R C. 2001. Regional energy planning
frame-work for spatially variable agricultural
production system using GIS. Proceedings of the
International Conference on Agricultural Science
and Technology, Session 6: Information and
Technology of Agriculture, November 7-9, Beijing,
China.
Sidhu H S. 2001. System dynamics modeling of
energy use in crop production in Punjab. Ph. D.
Dissertation. PAU, Ludhiana, India.
 Vol. 37(1), 2013

Development of Indigenous Yield Monitoring Device for Grain

Combine Harvester
Karun Sharma, Manjeet Singh (LM-7756), Gursahib Singh (LM- 7773) and Ankit Sharma
Department of Farm Machinery & Power Engineering,
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141004, Punjab, India.
Email: manjeetsingh_03@rediffmail.com

ABSTRACT
Assessing variability, managing variability and evaluation are three basic steps for precision
farming. Therefore, to assess the yield variability or to get the first step of precision
farming, there was a need to develop yield monitoring device to assess the variability
within a field. To spread the use of yield monitoring combines in India, it was necessary
to develop an indigenous yield monitor for locally manufactured combines. An indigenous
yield monitor was developed by assembling the designed/selected components on the
combine harvester. The developed indigenous yield monitor was evaluated for paddy crop
to measure yield variability of crop within the field.
Key words: Precision Farming, Indigenous Yield Monitor, Combine Harvester, Yield
Variability.

INTRODUCTION There is a logical first step for those who want to

begin practicing site-specific crop management
Precision farming is the application of technologies
or ‘precision agriculture’. A yield monitor used in
and principles to manage spatial and temporal
conjunction with a Global Positioning System (GPS)
variability associated with all aspects of agricultural
receiver records field and crop information during
p r o d u c t i o n fo r i m p r o v i n g p r o d u c t i o n a n d
harvest and give user an accurate assessment
environmental quality. The success in precision
of how yields vary within a field. Yield maps
farming depends on the accurate assessment of
provide feedback for determining the effects
the variability in crop production. Spatial, temporal
of managed inputs such as fertilizer and lime,
and predictive aspects of soil and crop variability are
seed and pesticides and cultural practices such
the vital elements of precision farming. It involves
as tillage irrigation and drainage. Monitoring of
the sampling, mapping, analysis and management
crop yield is the most interesting operation to any
of specific areas with-in a field in recognition with
farmer. Scientists and researchers can also use
spatial and temporal variability with respect to soil
yield monitors to measure the yield of experiment
fertility, moisture availability, crop characteristics,
research plots of the crops. Combine operators
insect-pest population and yield. There are three
operating the combine on custom hiring basis can
basic steps in precision farming. These are
also use the yield monitor in combine for fixing the
Assessing Variability, Managing Variability and
charges on actual basis i.e. weight basis rather
Evaluation. Therefore, to assess the variability within
than on area basis. It can also help the planners
the field or to get the first step of precision farming,
and decision makers to implement the food policies,
there is a need to develop a device which gives an
price regulation and storage of food grains.
accurate assessment of yield variability.
A yield monitor is a recent development in precision Requirement of Indigenous Yield Monitor
farming and agricultural machinery that allows In India, the total yield is measured during marketing
farmers to assess the yield variability in the field of harvested crop as a gross yield of the land owned
during harvesting of crop (Shearer et al., 1999). by the farmer. In advanced countries, Combines for

15
Agricultural Engineering Today

large farms are available with yield monitors fitted
as an accessory for measuring the yield during
harvesting. However, these yield monitors are very
difficult to install on indigenous combines directly,
because the sensors and systems are usually
designed for those combines. The cost of these
monitoring systems is also very high. Hence, these
sensors and systems are not economically feasible
for indigenous combines. Consequently, to spread
the use of yield monitoring combines in India, it was
necessary to develop a low cost indigenous yield
monitor for small indigenous combine harvester to
measure the gross yield and yield variability with in
the field.
signal to the conditioning element. In this element,
analogue signal was converted into digital form and
impurities of signal were removed. The digital data
was sent to the micro-controller for processing the
data. Micro-controller stored and converted the
data into understandable form. Display unit was
the data presentation element which showed yield
data in kilogram (kg) and distance in meter. Fig. 1
shows the block diagram of working operation of
yield monitor.

Design and Development of Indigenous Yield

Monitor
Conceptual design of indigenous yield monitor
was about the theoretical planning of how this yield
monitor could be developed physically. Combine
mounted continuous type indigenous yield monitor
was developed by using a load cell, an auxiliary
tank, inductive sensor and display unit with micro-
controller (Sharma, 2011). Load cell of single point
Fig. 1: Block diagram of working of indigenous
parallel type with measuring capacity of 700 kg, fitted
yield monitor
at the bottom of the auxiliary tank of size 125 x 85 x
85 cm in the main tank of combine. Inductive sensor
A yield monitor used in conjunction with a Global
used to measure the harvested length or area.
Positioning System (GPS) records field and crop
Micro-controller used to store the data and a display
information during harvest and gives user an
unit to display the yield and distance travelled by
accurate assessment of how yields vary within a
the combine harvester. Because of its low cost, the
field. For constructing the yield map, yield locations
system is very useful for small & marginal fields
data stored by GPS receiver and corresponding
and it can also be used by custom hiring operators
yield data recorded by yield monitor were required. A
of combines. The yield data is displayed over the
GPS receiver is a location device that calculates its
display unit having bright Red LED display Unit EPS
position on earth from radio signals broadcasted by
301 with 24 bit sigma delta converter installed near
satellites orbiting the earth. Location data stored in
the seat of the driver. Software developed for grain
GPS was in the form of latitude and longitude which
weight measurement for one revolution of the rear
needs to convert in degree form. This converted
wheel of the combine. Methodology is developed
location data in degree form and corresponding yield
for harvested area calculation by using GPS. The
data is then transferred to Arc GIS software to create
variable yield maps for the harvested rice crop were
yield map. Yield maps were created with the help
generated by using indigenous yield monitor fitted
of Arc GIS provide feedback for determining
combine.
the effects of managed inputs such as fertilizer
Harvested/processed grains coming through the & lime, seed, pesticides and cultural practices
elevator fall in the auxiliary tank and impact on such as tillage, irrigation and drainage.
load cell, fitted at the bottom of auxiliary tank. Load
cell sent an analogue signal to signal condition Evaluation of Yield Monitor
element. Similarly speed/inductive sensor sent the Evaluation was done for rice crop harvesting at

16

university farms as well as at farmer’s field. Combine
harvester was operated at different speeds and in
different patterns. The measured yield with yield
monitor was also verified by weighing manually to
validate the measured yield. The initial errors in
measurement were about 2 - 5%. The variable yield
data was calculated from the measured cumulative
yield data in each grid size of 10 m2. Three strips
of area 4 x 40 m2 were randomly selected in the
field and harvested at optimum speed of combine
harvester.
The minimum yield i.e. below 2500 kg/ha was in
the maximum area i.e. 37.5% followed by the yield
having range 3750-5000 kg/ha in the area of 31.25%
in the first strip. The maximum yield i.e. more than
6250 kg/ha was only in 12.5% area. In second strip,
the yield in the range of 2500-3750 kg/ha occupied
37.5% area followed by the yield range of 5000-6250
kg/ha in the area of 18.75%. The maximum yield
i.e. more than 6250 kg/ha was only in 12.5% area.
In the third strip, the minimum yield i.e. below 2500
kg/ha was in the maximum area i.e. 37.5% followed
by the yield range of 3750-5000 kg/ha in the area
of 25%. The maximum yield i.e. more than 6250
kg/ha was only in 6.25% area. It can be concluded
that the yield variability exists even within the small
field which is the basis of precision farming. The
coefficient of variance of yield for three harvested
strips was 57, 51 and 45% respectively.
Economic Analysis/Viability of Technology
In Punjab, the total area under combine harvesting
for rice and wheat is 91% and 82% respectively.
Combine harvesters are also popular in other parts
of India especially on custom hiring basis. About
90-95% of total 425 thousands combines operated
in India are on custom hiring basis. Custom hiring
operators can charge from the farmers on actual
basis i.e. weight basis rather than area basis.
Scientists and researchers can also get yield data
from the custom hiring operators for data analysis
that will give spatial and temporal variability
with respect to soil fertility, moisture availability,
crop characteristics and insect-pest population.
Ultimately farmers will be benefited to know the exact
17
Vol. 37(1), 2013
productivity of each part of his cropped area along
with advisory note to further manage his fields.
Prevailing custom hiring charges for rice and wheat
harvesting are approximately Rs. 2500/ha. If a
custom hiring operator retrofits the yield monitor over
his existing combine harvester and if error in getting
the harvesting charges on area basis assumed to
be 10%, then operator will recover his entire cost of
this instrument by harvesting 200 ha in one season
of rice or wheat.
CONCLUSIONS
There are three basic steps in precision farming.
These are Assessing variability, Managing
Variability and Evaluation. So, to assess the
variability within a field or to get the first step
of precision farming, there is a need to develop
yield monitor. An indigenous yield monitor was
developed by mounting a load cell, auxiliary tank,
inductive sensor and display unit with microcontroller
on locally manufactured combine harvester. The
developed indigenous yield monitor was evaluated
for paddy crop to measure yield variability within
the small plots. The average value of coefficient of
variance (C.V.) of measured yield for harvested area
was 51%. Hence, it was also concluded that yield
variability existed within the small plots.
REFERENCES
Shearer S A; Fulton J P; McNeill S G; Higgins S F.
1999 Elements of precision agriculture: basics of
yield monitor installation and operation. University
of Kentucky.
Sharma K. 2011. Design and development of indigenous
yield monitor for grain combine harvester, M.
Tech. dissertation, Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana, India.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
A grant for the research was provided by the World
Bank through Indian council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR) under the umbrella of National Agricultural
Innovation Project (NAIP) through a sub-project
sanctioned to Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana as a lead centre.
Agricultural Engineering Today

Bio-control Measures to Manage Soil and Water Salinity for

Sustainable Agriculture
D K Singh1 (LM-9901) R M Singh2* (LM-9899) and K V Ramana Rao3 (LM-7897)
1
IIVR, Shahanshahpur, Varanasi, India
2
Dept. of Farm Engineering. Ins. of Agril. Sciences, BHU, Varanasi
3
Irrigation and Drainage Engineering Division, CIAE, Bhopal
Email: mandirsingh@rediffmail.com

Abstract
The waterlogged and saline soils are found all over the country. About 9.03 M ha of land is
affected by salinity and alkalinity problem in India. Due to improper management of water
in agriculture, the area under problematic soils increasing every decade. Inorder to meet
food security of nation on sustained basis, both salt affected soils and waters need to be
managed using appropriate techniques. These techniques employ mechanical, chemical
and bio-control measures. Bio-control measures involve selection of more salt-tolerant
crops, residue management, and bio-drainage. Sugar beet, sugar cane, dates, cotton and
barley are among the most salt tolerant crops. Crop residues left on the soil surface reduce
evaporation. Thus, less salt will accumulate towards soil surface and thereby managing
salinity. The bio-drainage concept is based on utilizing the consumptive water use of plants
with aim to remove excess groundwater through the process of transpiration by salt tolerant
vegetation and thereby reducing problem of salinity. This is achieved by enhancing the
transpiration capacity of the area by introducing high-water use vegetation in large areas
to maintain groundwater balances below the root zone of the crops. Therefore, bio-control
could be utilized to manage soil and water salinity for sustainable agriculture.
Key words: Soil salinity, salt tolerance, residue management, bio-drainage, bio-control
measures

INTRODUCTION 2005 -2030 as well as reducing share of water due to

The problems of water logging and soil salinity are
common world over. About 10-50% of the irrigated
lands in various countries have been affected and
1.5 million hectare (M ha) area is lost annually due
to these problems. The waterlogged saline soils are
found all over the country. About 9.03 M ha of land
is affected by salinity and alkalinity problem in India,
which reduce agricultural productivity. About 8.5 M
ha area has been waterlogged and 5.5 M ha affected
by salinity in the country. The irrigation development
expected sustained benefits in the country, but big
constraint is the problems of waterlogging and salinity
development over large irrigated areas. Salinity from
irrigation can occur over time since almost all water
even natural rainfall contains some dissolved salts
(ILRI, 1989). At the same time agriculture is facing
increase in water demand at 2.4% annually during
competing demand from industry and urbanizations.
Therefore, to fulfill food and nutritional security of
nation on sustained basis, both salt affected soils
and waters need to be managed using appropriate
techniques.
Severity of Problem
Water logging and salt problem have been
experienced in irrigation projects all over the country.
The examples are Chambal Command areas in
Rajasthan and M.P., Indira Gandhi Canal Project
in western Rajasthan, Kosi and Gandak Project
Commands in Bihar, the Tungabhadra Project area
in Karnataka, the Nagarjunasagar Project area in
Andhra Pradesh and the Kakrapar Project area
in Gujarat. Construction of drainage canals, field
drains and avoiding wastage of canal supplies have

18
 Vol. 37(1), 2013

been adopted as remedial measures. However, lack Excessive soil salinity affects the soil structure and
of maintenance, operational constraints of large can reduce crop yields. High concentrations of
irrigation projects, and construction of highways, salt in the soil can result in a physiological drought
railway embankments and other obstructions, condition. That is, even though the field appears to
without providing for adequate drainage facility are have plenty of moisture, the plants wilt because the
still the major factors for water logging (Singh et al., roots are unable to absorb the water. Thus, salinity
2011). In the Chambal Command area soils became control of irrigated land is necessary to prevent yield
water logged with a few years of introduction reductions where saline water is used for irrigation or
of irrigation. In many coastal areas excessive where saline shallow water tables exist. This paper
groundwater exploitation has caused seawater discusses bio-control techniques for addressing
intrusion, worsening the salinity problem. The status the issues of salinity management for sustainable
of water-logging and soil salinization problems in agriculture
irrigation command area and country as a whole
as estimated by MOWR, Working Group (1991) is Sustainable Management of Salinity
presented in Table 1. Extent of waterlogged and salt The salinity problems adversely affect the targets
affected areas for some states in India (Tyagi, 1999) of food production and reduced efficiency of capital
has been presented in Table 2. investment in irrigated agriculture as well as have
become an environmental concern. Sustainable
Table 1: Water logged and Salt affected areas in million agriculture could be achieved if its all components,
hectares viz. environment, society and economy remain in
balance (Ott, 2003 and Adams, 2006). Adequate
Source Irrigated Command Area
drainage is required to improve soil health and
Water Salt affected Total soil water plant interaction for enhanced water
logged productivity to ensure sustainability (Singh et al,
Saline Alkali
2009 and Rao et al., 2009).
MoWR 2.46 3.06 0.24 5.76
(1991) (8.53) (5.50) (3.58) (17.61) Techniques for controlling salinity require more
frequent irrigations, selection of more salt-tolerant
Note: Values in parenthesis are by MoA, GoI country as a whole. crops, pre-plant irrigation, bed forming and seed

Table 2: Geographical, waterlogged and salt affected areas ( mha) of some states in India
State Geographical area Waterlogged area Salt affected area

A.P. 27.44 0.339 0.813

Bihar 17.40 0.363 0.400
Gujarat 19.60 0.484 0.455
Haryana 4.22 0.275 0.455
Karnataka 19.20 0.036 0.404
Kerala 3.89 0.012 0.026
M.P. 44.20 0.057 0.242
Maharashtra 30.75 0.111 0.534
Orissa 15.54 0.196 0.400
Punjab 5.04 0.199 0.520
Rajasthan 28.79 0.348 1.122
Tamilnadu 12.96 0.128 0.340
U.P. & Uttaranchal 29.40 1.980 1.295
Total 258.43 4.528 7.006

19
Agricultural Engineering Today
placement. Alternatives that require significant
changes in management are changing the irrigation
method, altering the water supply, land-leveling and
modifying the soil profile. Soil salinity control involves
water table control and flushing in combination with
tile drainage or another form of subsurface drainage
(Abrol et al., 1988; and Bureau of Reclamation,
1993). Many studies have revealed that saline
soils can be used successfully for crop growth
without long-term hazardous effects on crops and
soils if proper practices such as adoption of furrow
irrigation on salt leaching, selecting appropriately
salt-tolerant crops, and artificial subsurface drainage
(Oosterbaan 1990; Rao et al. 1990; Moreno et
al., 1995; Hanson and May, 2004; Hanson et al.,
2006; Roberts et al., 2008) are established. The
salinity management techniques require either or
combination of mechanical, chemical and bio-control
measures.
Bio-Control Measure
There is a wide range in plant species with
respect to response to salinity which could be
used to control salinity. The properties of residue
to reduce the evaporation could be utilized to
reduce salt accumulation. Problem of salinity
could also be managed utilizing the principle that
excess groundwater may be removed through the
transpiration by vegetation in the area. Bio-control
measures may involve selection of more salt-tolerant
crops, residue management, and bio-drainage.
Salt tolerant crops: In general, salinity
decreases both yield and quality in crops. Many
crop species and varieties have been identified as
salt tolerances (Mass and Grieves, 1987; Maas,
1990). Sugar beet, sugar cane, dates, cotton
and barley are among the most salt tolerant;
whereas beans, carrots, onions, strawberries
and almonds are considered sensitive (Maas,
1986). However, as salinity increases beyond
some threshold tolerance, yield decline is
inevitable. When salt concentrations in the soil
water reach toxic levels, leaves or shoots may
exhibit visible symptoms of tip or edge burning
or scorching due to high internal concentrations
of salts. Other visible symptoms may be
associated with nutrient imbalances caused by
20
competitive interactions between Na+ and Ca2+
or K4+, or between Cl- and nitrate (Grattan and
Grieve, 1992). Depending upon crop species
and salinity concentration, salt in the crop
root zone may also influence the rate of plant
development by increasing or decreasing the
time to crop maturity (Shannon et al., 1994).
In some crops, salinity changes plant growth habit
or increases succulence (Luttge and Smith, 1984;
Shannon et al., 1994). Many crops have little
tolerance for salinity during seed germination, but
significant tolerance during later growth stages.
Some crops such as barley, wheat and corn are
known to be more sensitive to salinity during the
early growth period than during germination and
later growth periods. Sugar beat and safflower are
relatively more sensitive during germination, while
the tolerance of soybeans may increase or decrease
during different growth periods depending on the
varieties.
Salinity could be categorized from non- saline to
very strongly saline (Table 3) for the purpose of crop
selection for saline soils. At relatively low salinity,
especially among crop species such as cotton or the
halophytic sugar beet, some salinity may actually
improve crop production. This effect has been
attributed in some instances to an improvement
in water use efficiency of the plant (Letey, 1993).
High levels of soil salinity can be tolerated if salt-
tolerant plants are grown. Sensitive crops lose
their vigor in slightly saline soils, most crops are
negatively affected in moderately saline soils, and
only salinity resistant crops thrive in severely saline
soils (Blaylock, 1994).
Table 3: Salinity rating and electrical conductivity,
deci-Siemens per metre (dS/m)
Soil Depth NS WS MS SS VSS
(cm)
0-60 <2 2-4 4-8 8-16 >16
60-120 <4 4-8 8-16 16-24 >24
Note: NS: Non Saline; WS: Weakly Saline; MS: Moderately Saline;
SS: Strongly saline;
VSS: Very Strongly Saline
There is potential yield reduction with increasing
 Vol. 37(1), 2013

salinity of soils for field and vegetable crops (Table Bio-drainage: Salt balance is one of the most
4). Soil salinity levels and yield potential of salt- important issues addressed by bio-drainage.
tolerance classes of horticultural and landscape The aim of bio-drainage is to remove excess
plants indicate 100% loss of relative growth or yield groundwater through the process of transpiration
at 8, 16, 24 at 32 dS/m for sensitive, moderately
by vegetation and thereby reducing problem
sensitive, moderately tolerant and tolerant crops,
of salinity. This is achieved by enhancing the
respectively (Blaylock. 1994). Yields of most crops
are not significantly affected where salt levels are 0 transpiration capacity of the land by introducing
to 2 dS/m. Generally, a level of 2 to 4 dS/m affects high-water use vegetation types in large areas
some crops. Levels of 4 to 5 dS/m affect many crops to balance recharge and discharge processes
and above 8 dS/m affect all but the very tolerant to maintain groundwater balances below the
crops (Cardon et al., 2011). root zone of the agriculture crops. The rates
Residue management: The exposed soils have higher
of transpiration and groundwater uptake by
evaporation rates than those covered by residues. trees underlain by relatively shallow (5-8 m
Residues left on the soil surface reduce evaporation. below surface) water tables, were very high,
Thus, less salt will accumulate and rainfall will be more exceeding the annual evaporation from pasture
effective in providing for leaching. Evaporation and by a factor 3-6 (1200-2300 mm/yr) (Greenwood
resulting salt accumulation, tends to be greater in bare et al. 1985). Bio-drainage crops need to be salt
soils. Fields need to have 30 to 50 percent residue tolerant. The water use capacity of trees and
cover to significantly reduce evaporation. Under crop
residue, soils remain wetter, allowing fall or winter
other crops decreases with increase in water
precipitation to be more effective in leaching salts, salinity.
particularly from the surface soil layers where damage The Eucalyptus species are suitable for biodrainage.
to crop seedlings is most likely to occur. Plastic mulches Other suitable species for biodrainage may be
used with drip irrigation reduce salt concentration from Casuarina glauca, Terminalia arjuna, Pongamia
evaporation. Sub-surface drip irrigation pushes salts
pinnata and Syzygium cuminii, etc. In the case
to the edge of the soil wetting front, reducing harmful
of Eucalypt species, it reduces to about one-half
effects on seedlings and plant roots.
of potential when the water salinity increases to
about 8 dS/m (Oster et al. 1999). In high-salinity
Table 4: Potential yield reduction from saline soils for
environments plant salt uptake might be negligible
selected crops
in relation to the salts present in the system, under
Relative yield decrease (%) low-salinity scenarios salt balance by plant uptake
0 10 25 50 and removal might be achievable (Heupermanet et
al., 2002).
(ECe, dS/m)
Field crops Properly designed parallel strip plantations of E.
tereticornis should be raised on farmers’ field and
Barley 8.0 10.0 13.0 18.0
in block plantation along canals for the uniform
Wheat 6.0 7.4 9.5 13.0 reclamation of waterlogged areas of semi-arid regions
Sorghum 4.0 5.1 7.2 11.0 having alluvial sandy loam soils in Haryan, India. These
Soybean 5.0 5.5 6.2 7.5 plantations also be raised on potentially waterlogged
Vegetables
areas to prevent their conversion into waterlogged areas
(Jeet, et al., 2008). Bio-drainage may be attributed to
Broccoli 2.8 3.9 5.5 8.2 reclamation of waterlogged area, controlling of water
Cucumber 2.5 3.3 4.4 6.3 table, providing shelter belts, provide additional wood
Spinach 2.0 3.3 5.3 8.6 and forest products, biodiversity, and limited salinity
Cabbage 1.8 2.8 4.4 7.0 control. It is having limitation that a relatively large
area of land requirement at about 10% of irrigated
Potato 1.7 2.5 3.8 5.9
area is required.

21
Agricultural Engineering Today
CONCLUSIONS
Bio-drainage removes excess groundwater through
the process of transpiration by vegetation and
thereby reducing problem of salinity. The plantation
of some species suitable for bio-drainage are
Eucalyptus, Casuarina glauca, Terminalia arjuna,
Pongamia pinnata and Syzygium cuminii, E.
tereticornis. These plantations may also be raised
on potentially waterlogged areas to prevent their
conversion into waterlogged areas. Bio-drainage
may be attributed to reclamation of waterlogged
area, controlling of water table, providing shelter
belts, provide additional wood and forest products,
and biodiversity. Therefore, bio-control measures
could be utilized to manage soil and water salinity
for sustainable agriculture.
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Adams W M. 2006. The Future of Sustainability:
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the Twenty-first Century. Report of the IUCN
Renowned Thinkers Meeting, 29–31 January
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Blaylock A D. 1994, Soil Salinity and Salt tolerance of
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Grattan S R; Grieve C M. 1992. Mineral element
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Hanson B.R., May, D.M., 2004. Effect of subsurface
drip irrigation on processing tomato yield, water
table depth, soil salinity, and profitability. Agric.
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Hanson B R; Hutmacher R B; May D M. 2006. Drip
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and biochemical aspects of the role of leaves
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Agricultural Engineering Today

Characterize Bulk Hardening of 80 C 6 Grade Steel Blade

for Service Life Extension of Serrated Sickle
A C Saxena (LM - 101284), K P Mishra and G S Chouhan
Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal- 462 038, India.
E-mail: acs@ciae.res.in

Abstract
The cutting edge of the sickle blades (plain or serrated) is subjected to high impact
and friction which results into abrasive wear. Improper material and heat treatment by
manufacturers results in to frequent resharpening or replacement of sickle blades. This
study focused on appropriate bulk hardening treatment on BIS recommended 80 C 6 grade
steel for serrated sickles mainly to optimize mechanical and micro structural features in
terms of wear rate of the steel. Four bulk hardening methods were imparted on selected
steel to evaluate their mechanical properties and microstructure features and their effect
on wear rate determined through dry sand rubber wheel abrasion test. The austempering
with lower bainite formation produced lowest wear rate at 50N and 99N loadings. The field
trials on austempered (lower bainite) serrated sickle blade showed 3-4 times life extension
for harvesting wheat and soybean crops compared to plain edge sickle.
Key words: Sickle: Bulk hardening; Heat treatment; Wear rate; Abrasive wear

Introduction damage could be resisted through improvement in

Plain and serrated edge sickles, produced in
millions, are widely used hand tools in India for
harvesting crops. The plain cutting edge sickles,
produced by local black smiths, cut the crop stalk
on impact principle and the blade cutting edge
requires frequent re- sharpening. The serrated edge
sickles (Fig 1), developed by CIAE and produced by
small scale manufacturers, cut crop stalk on friction
(impact + abrasion) principle with less efforts. Avery
(1961) reported impact and abrasion as severe factor
responsible for surface damage. Several studies
such as Severnev, 1984 reported that such surface
Fig. 1: A view of serrated sickle
metallurgical variables. The metallurgical variables
such as chemical composition, micro structure
and mechanical properties have direct influence
on abrasive wear. Xu et al. (1991) reported that a
high carbon steel showed higher wear resistance
compared to medium and low carbon steel.
Landsdown and Price (1986) suggested tool grade
steel best suits to cutting blades subjected impact
and abrasion. Bureau of Indian standard (BIS
4358:1967) recommends carbon tool steel (80 C 6
grade) as one of the material for sickle blade.
This study aimed to optimize bulk hardening method
on 80 C 6 grade steel. Selected steel as in received
condition as well as bulk hardened in four ways were
evaluated in dry sand rubber wheel abrasion test set
up at 50N and 99N loadings. The influence of various
bulk hardening methods in terms of their mechanical
and micro structure features were analyzed for wear
rate to identify the best bulk hardening method.
The best method was imparted on serrated sickle
blades for field evaluation in harvesting soybean
and wheat and compared for life extension with
plain edge sickle.

24

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The 80 C 6 grade steel in 1.6 mm thick sheet and
Indian standard flat 80x8 mm size were procured
for the study. The sheet was used for fabricating
serrated sickles for field trials. The average chemical
composition of the steel (sheet / Flat section) was
determined as 0.76%C, 0.65% Mn, 0.25% Si, 0.035%
P and 0.035% S using portable spectrometer.
Specimen for metallographic observation (20 mm x
20 mm x 6 mm), dry sand abrasion test (76.2 mm x
25.4 mm x 6 mm), and tensile tests (50 mm gauge
length, 10 mm gauge width and 6 mm thick) were
prepared from the ISF 80 x 8 mm size section of
the steel. The following four heat treatments were
carried out on tensile, hardness, abrasion and
microstructure specimens in order to identify an
appropriate process for sickle blades with reference
to virgin steel as reference treatment (T1).
Annealing (austenite at 8300 C in neutral atmosphere,
soaking 15 minutes, Furnace cooling) (Treatment
code -T2)
Quenching and tempering (austenite at 8600 C,
soaking 15 minutes, Quenching in oil at 600C;
Tempering at 430 0 C, soaking 75 minutes; Air
cooling) (Treatment code -T3)
Austempering (lower bainite) (austenite at 8600 C,
soaking 15 minutes, Quenching in fluidized bed
furnace 4000 C; soaking 15 minutes; Air cooling)
(Treatment code –T4)
Austempering(upper bainite) (austenite at 8600 C,
soaking 15 minutes, Quenching in fluidized bed
furnace 5500 C; soaking 15 minutes; Air cooling)
(Treatment code –T5)
Wear Test: A rubber wheel dry sand abrasion test
ring (DUCOM make) was used for low stress abrasion
test as per ASTM G-65: 1994. This test simulates
the working condition of fast wearing components
of agricultural machinery in the field. A schematic
representation of the wear test apparatus is shown in
Fig. 2. In this test, a stationary rectangular polished
specimen (76.2 mm x 25.4 mm and 6 mm thick) was
pressed at 50 N and 99 N loadings against rotating
rubber wheel (177.8 mm diameter and 12.7 mm
width) for specified wheel travel. The quartz silica
sand particles (size 212-300Fm) were fed between
wheel and specimen at a rate of 370 g/min. The
25
Vol. 37(1), 2013
Fig. 2: Schematic representation of the dry sand
rubber wheel abrasion test apparatus.
applied load, sliding speed and test length for each
test were taken as 3.29 m/s and 4308 m (143.6 m
x 30 nos.) respectively. Weight loss after each test
run was measured with electronic balance. Thirty
such tests were carried out on each treatment at
50 and 99 N loading to achieve steady state wear
rate of the specimen
Mechanical properties and micro structure:
The bulk hardness, ultimate tensile strength
and micro structure of the specimens were
determined with Rockwell hardness tester using
C scale, computerized universal testing machine
and optical microscope respectively. The micro
structure of treated and un treated 80 C 6 grade
steel were observed in optical micro scope at 500
x magnification with NITAL as an etching agent The
mechanical and tribological properties and micro
structure features are presented in Table 1.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Effect of bulk hardening on wear rate: In case of
all treatments, higher wear rates were observed at
99N compared to 50N loading in dry sand rubber
wheel abrasion test. The maximum wear rate of
0.56 & 0.82 mg/m at 50N and 99N loadings were
observed in annealed (T2) followed by as received
(T1) steel. The minimum wear rate of 0.16 and
0.22 mg/m at 50N and 99N loadings respectively
were observed in austempering (lower bainite) (T4)
followed by quenched and tempered steel (T3). The
austempering with upper bainite formation performed
better than as received steels but remained inferior
to T3 and T4 treatments. So, austempering with
lower bainite treatment on 80 C 6 steel produced
Agricultural Engineering Today

Table 1: Mechanical and tribological properties and micro structure features of treatments
Sl Code Microstructure Hardness Ultimate Elongation Wear rate
No. HRc Tensile % at different
loads, mg/m
Strength (MPa) 50N 99 N
1 T1 Coarse lamellar pearlite and ferrite 20 740.83 18.86 0.46 0.81
structure
2 T2 Spheroidized cementite in the 17 713.97 32.34 0.56 0.82
matrix of ferrite
3 T3 Tempered martensite (precipitated 49 1210.12 5.91 0.17 0.33
carbides are uniformly
distributedand bigger in size)
4 T4 Bainite micro structure (discrete 44 1130.63 8.35 0.16 0.22
cementite particles are uniformly
distributed in a lathe like matrix of
ferrite)
5 T5 Coarse ferrite in tempered 36 1024.32 10.66 0.33 0.47
martensite

minimum wear rate. This could be attributed to
hardness, ductility and micro structure of the steel
after austempering (lower bainite). Fig. 3 represents
a linear relationship between wear rate and bulk
hardness at 50 N and 99 N loadings in 80 C 6 steel.
It is evident from Fig. 3 that the wear rate decreased
with increase in bulk hardness. A higher slope of the
equation was observed at 99 N compared to 50 N
loadings. These findings of the study are in line to
established facts in the literature.
Effect of ductility on wear rate: Fig. 4 gives the
variation of wear rate with ductility of steel resulted
due to various treatments. The variation was best fit
in second order polynomial equation with excellent
R2 values. Higher wear rates were observed at higher
elongation percentage i.e. T1 and T2 treatments.
The minimum wear rates at 50 and 99 N loadings
were observed in austempering with lower bainite
formation (T4) due to higher ductility despite low
bulk hardness compared to quenched and tempered
(T3) at lower ductility and higher bulk hardness
values. The effect of ductility is more pronounced in
austempering with lower bainite formation.
Relationship of ultimate tensile strength and
hardness: Maximum values of ultimate tensile
strength and hardness were observed when

Fig. 3: Variation in wear tare with bulk hardness Fig. 4: Variation in wear rate with ductility

26

subjected to quenching and tempering (T3), followed
by austempering with lower and upper bainite
formation (T4 & T5). Fig. 5 represents a linear
relationship between ultimate tensile strength and
hardness with excellent R2 values. This is the line of
established facts in the literature. The austempering
with lower bainite formation produced best-optimized
combination of hardness and toughness in term of
wear rate.
The microstructure of as received steel specimen
shows coarse lamellar pearlite and ferrite.
On annealing, the micro structure changed to
spheroidized cementite in the matrix of ferrite.
When this steel was quenched and tempered, the
micro structure shows tempered martensite. The
precipitated carbides were uniformly distributed and
bigger in size. The Austempering at lower bainite
range produced bainite type microstructure. Because
of fine dispersion of carbide, its strength exceeds
that of fine pearlite, and ductility is retained because
of soft ferrite in continuous phase. The ferrite matrix
is very fine in this micro structure. By increasing the
tempering temperature to 5500 C, (upper bainite
range), the microstructure revealed coarse ferrite in
tempered martensite. The treatment T4 performed
better over T3 despite lower strength properties due
to the presence of uniformly distributed cementite
particles in soft matrix of ferrite. The soft matrix of
ferrite has enhanced the impact toughness of the T4
treatment. The presence of tempered martensite in
T3 yielded highest ultimate tensile strength and bulk
hardness but lowest impact toughness. As a result
Fig. 5: Variation in ultimate tensile strength with
bulk hardness
27
Vol. 37(1), 2013
of this, this treatment acquired second position. The
maximum wear in T1 & T2 treatment could also be
attributed to coarse pearlite and the presence of
soft matrix of ferrite.
Field Trials of serrated sickles: The serrated
sickles with 80 C 6 grade steels blades austempered
for lower bainite formation were fabricated. These
sickles were compared for life extension (cutting
edge resharpening time) with plain edge sickles in
the field by actual users for harvesting soybean and
wheat crops. The field trials revealed a life extension
of 3 to 4 times in wheat and soybean crop harvesting
respectively compared to plain edge blade sickle.
CONCLUSIONS
The type of bulk hardening methods affects the wear
rate of the selected grade of steel. Austempering
(lower bainite) produced minimum wear rate at
50N and 99 N loadings followed by quenching and
tempering. The increase in bulk hardness reduces
the wear rate in selected steel. At higher elongation
% (ductility), a higher wear rates were observed. The
reasonable values of wear rate were observed below
10% elongation. The increase in bulk hardness
increased ultimate tensile strength. The mechanical
properties showed a valued relationship with wear
rate; however, microstructure played the vital role
in resisting abrasive wear at the cutting edge of the
blade. The field trials in harvesting soybean and
wheat crops with sickle blades of 80 C 6 grade
austempered for lower bainite formation gave 3-4
time life extension compared to plain edge blade
sickle.
REFERENCES
Avery H S. 1961. The measurement of wear resistance,
Wear, 4(6), 427-449.
Landsdown A R; Price A L. 1986. Materials to resist
abrasive wear- A guide to their selection & use,
Paragon Press Ltd., New York, 59-78.
Prasad N; Kulkarni S D. 1980, Relationship between
micro structure and abrasive wear of plain carbon
steel, Wear, 63,329-338.
Severnev M M. 1984. Wear of agricultural machine
parts, Amerald Publishing Co. Ltd. New Delhi.
Xu L; Kennon N F. 1991. A study of the abrasive wear
of carbon steels, Wear, 148,101-112.
Agricultural Engineering Today

Rural Electrification: A Survey on Karnataka’s Prospects

B A Anand1 (M-121078) and Y R Manjunatha2
SJB Institute of Technology, B.G.S. Health and Educational City, Bengaluru
1

2
Bangalore University, Electrical Department, College of Engineering, Bengaluru
Email: ymreddygat@rediffmail.com

Abstract
Karnataka is the 8 largest state in the country with 5.83% of geographical area, comprising
th

of 30 districts, 176 Taluks, 745 Hoblies consisting of 30,000 villages inhabited. State
Government has planned to stipulate the projected target of National Electricity Policy [NEP],
the planned initiatives are providing quality power supplies to villages, hamlets, Harijans
Bastis and thandas. This paper explains rural electrification as a component of National
Electricity Policy which had a target of zero unelectrified inhabited villages in the state
by implementing various electrification schemes at rural areas of Karnataka, with special
references towards dedicated feeders, renewable energy sources and various flagship
programmes by various agencies. The 11th five year plan initiatives have been brought in
discussion in this paper.
Keyword: National Electricity Policy [NEP]

Introduction Importance of electricity as a crucial infrastructure

India is one of the fastest growing economies of the
world and having per capita power consumption of
779 units per annum on 2009-10. India being the
part of third world country with majority of population
residing at rural ares i.e. 82.3% in 1920-21 to 68.86%
in 2011 India consists of 60,000 inhabited villages
with thousands of them are not electrified mainly
due to lack of connectivity, remoteness, and very
low population. Power Generating sources in India
are hydro, nuclear, coal, diesel, and biomass [1].
The rapid growth in Karnataka has necessitated
fresh investments to augment core economic
infrastructure of the state. The state has created
new infrastructure in the power sector to meet the
higher demand for electricity. While shortages have
reduced, the increasing dependence on thermal
sources of energy has increased the average cost of
power. State of Karnataka has trying hard to create
institutional support for rural electrification to meet
the National Electricity Policy target. Karnataka
has 30,000 inhabited villages which need to be
electrified completely with any sources of energy
such as conventional and non conventional of
energy sources [2].
input for economic development of the country
has been well established. Recent studies of rural
electrification indicate the following broad consensus
concerning the impact of electrification in the rural
areas [3]. Urban and rural Electricity Disparities in
India is because of the following reasons:
a. Villages may be located far from reach from
existing grid.
b. Villages may be located in difficult terrain areas
like forests, hill areas and deserts.
c. The number of households may range between
2 to 200, with a majority of villages having a
population below 500.
d. Power demand in villages is quite low due
to dispersed distribution of loads. Also rural
domestic consumers are mainly peak time
consumers, contributing for poor load factors
of 0.2-0.3.
e. Rural electrification policy by Government of
India has identified the importance of this.
Electricity is an essential requirement for all
facets of our life and it has been recognized as
a basic human need. It is the key to accelerating

28
 Vol. 37(1), 2013

economic growth, generation of employment,

elimination of poverty and human development
especially in rural areas.
f. Previous definition of village was - A village
will be deemed to be electrified if electricity
is used in the inhabited locality, within the
revenue boundary of the village, for any purpose
whatsoever.
The Government of India notified National Electricity
Fig. 1: Installed Capacity [MW]
Policy in February 2005. This policy aims to
accelerate the development of the power sector,
to provide supply of electricity to all areas and Power Transmission Corporation Limited, and
to protect the interests of consumers and other further it as been distributed to consumers end
stakeholders, with attention on the availability of by 5 ESCOMS as on model of restructure Power
energy resources, the technology available to exploit Corporation [5].
these resources, the economics of generation using Karnataka government gets its share from Central
different resources and energy security issues [4]. Generation Plants [CGP] as shown in the Fig. 2.
The salient features of National Electricity policy These powers are mainly from nuclear, thermal
includes: and tidal plants which is governed, maintained and
operated by central governments [6].
a. the access to electricity for all households in the
next five years from the date of the policy;
b. the availability of power to fully meet demand
by 2012;
c. the supply of reliable and quality power in an
efficient manner and at reasonable rates;
d. the increase of per capita availability of electricity
to over 1,000 units by 2012;
e. minimum lifeline consumption of 1 unit per
household per day as a merit good by year
2012;
f. the financial turnaround and commercial viability Fig. 2: CGP’S share of Karnataka in MW
of the electricity sector; and
g. the protection of consumer interests. Power Consumption Pattern of Karnataka: The
At the nearing end of 2012, NEP as not been Table 1 gives the data of 2010-11 of electricity
achieved completely due to many reasons such as consumption of Karnataka in terms of Million Units
technological and economic constraints, installation and Percentage share [sources of Ministry of
and execution of project constraints. Power, Karnataka]. Power consumption pattern of
Karnataka clearly indicates that Irrigation pump sets
Power Scenario of Karnataka: Fig. 1 gives the in the state is highest consumer of electricity with
total installed capacity of power generators in having share of 34.77%, which shows the urgent
Karnataka maintained and operated by Karnataka need for electrification in rural area to increase per
Power Corporation Limited [KPCL] in the state. capita income of the state and country. Awaking
KPCL has the objective of Power Generation. Power with situation Karnataka government had formulated
Generated are been Transmitted by Karnataka many schemes and programmes based on the

29
Agricultural Engineering Today
guidelines of National Electricity Policy [7].
Table 1: Electricity Consumption Pattern (2010+11)
Category of Consumers Million Units % up by 4 Distribution Companies of KPTCL. NJY
Industries 7047 18.93
Irrigation Pump Sets 12940 34.77
Domestic 8061 21.66
LT Industries & Water 2463 6.62
Works
Water Works 1171 3.15
Commercial Lighting 4595 12.35
Public Lighting 743 2.00
Others 197 0.53
Total 37217 100
Rural Electrification Schemes of Karnataka:
Karnataka state has taken many initiatives in
electrifying rural areas of the state through various
schemes target all category of consumers such as
irrigation Pump Sets, Domestic, Rural Industrial,
Adoptability of Renewable Energy Sources and
implementation through government agencies.
Beneficiaries of these schemes are rural population,
where cost for implementation of these schemes
has been shared by state and central government.
Flagships Programmes of Rural Electrification in
Karnataka are discussed below:
Niranthara Jyothi Yojane [NJY]: Niranthara Jyothi
Yojane is a major project that aims to segregate
the rural area load into agricultural and non
agricultural loads so as to provide 24 hours of quality
power supply to rural households, drinking water
supply, rural industries and irrigation pump sets.
These Yojane as targeted 120 dedicated feeders,
bifurcate into agricultural and non agricultural,
provides uninterrupted power supply to households,
industries, grama panchayatis and for irrigation
pump sets it provides 6 hours of quality power
supply during the day. These Yojane has been
implemented in two phase, and it covers 70 Taluks in
phase I and 56 Taluks in Phase II. The Government
of Karnataka has approved the implementation
of the Niranthara Jyothi scheme at a cost of Rs.
2123 crores with 40% equity and remaining 60%
30
are acquired by loans from respective Distribution
Companies. A NJY scheme has 12,764 villages of
70 Taluks in Phase I covering 905 Niranthara Jyothi
Feeder with 3 phase 24 hours power supply taken
scheme in phase II is covering 56 Taluks estimated
to cover 10,000 villages with dedicated 668 NJY
Distribution Feeders. Up to now 171 feeders work
has been completed and 90 feeders have been
commissioned.
Kutira Jyothi Yojana [KJY]: Government of
India had objective of providing electricity for rural
households who possess Below Poverty Line [BPL]
Card with the thought of developing infrastructure
of rural electrification in tribal area, remote areas,
villages and inhabited villages. Originally launched
by the Government in the late 80s, the Kutira
Jyothi programme envisaged extending single
point light connections to households of rural BPL
families. Kutira Jyothi Yojana was renamed as Rajiv
Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikarana Yojana launched
in 2005 under the flag ship programme of Central
Government. At the time of inception, the scheme
aimed at electrification of 1 lakh un-electrified villages
and free electricity connections to rural population
who poses BPL Card. Under these Scheme Central
Government provides 90% financial assistances and
remaining 10% is taken loan by Rural Electrification
Corporation Limited.
In Karnataka these scheme is being implemented
in 2 phases, 10th plan phase covering 17 districts
and 11th plan phase covering remaining 11 districts.
Under 10th plan in both phases it had covered
631321 BPL households and 46 villages were
electrified. Under 11th Plan, electricity connections
were provided to 173465 BPL households and 15
Villages were new electrified. Kutira Jyothi Yojana
have been implemented in one point electricity at
villages, provision of solar lamps at remote areas,
providing solar led lamps in villages and many new
thought has been added to meet targeted rural
electrification in the state. State of Karnataka has
provided Rs 234 crores financial assistance to the
scheme. State Power supply companies provided
free 100 units of power to the individual households
belonging to SC/ST family. The Table 2 indicates
progress in Rural Electrification in Karnataka:
 Vol. 37(1), 2013

Table 2: P r o g r e s s o f R u r a l E l e c t r i f i c a t i o n i n generating more power to accumulate power to

Karnataka population in future. These schemes of both central
and state government are been the best idea and
Year Irrigation Pump Sets Number of
component in the rural areas to achieve inclusive
Electrified [lakhs] hamlets
growth of the country.
2008-09 17.53 1300
References
2009-10 17.91 408
India year book 2012. Ministry of Information and
2010-11 18.66 621 Broadcasting, Government of India.
2011-12* 15.86* 219* Economy Survey of Karnataka 2011-12. Ministry of
Finance, Government of Karnataka
*indicates up to October 2012
Mohan Munasinghe, Rural Electrification in the third
Conclusion world, July 1990, power engineering journal, pp-
189-202
Rural Electrification in all the rural areas of Karnataka Rural Electrification Corporation Limited: Industry
will be electrified by 2020 by any means in the form Overview
of conventional power, or non conventional power.
Ministry of Power, Government of Karnataka
Hence this rural electrification would certainly
increase the gap between supply and demand, so www.karnatakapower.com
state should also address the primary concern of www.kptcl.com

31
Agricultural Engineering Today

Seventy Years of Agricultural Engineering Programmes in India -

Highlights of Achievements and Priorities
Nawab Ali (F-88)
Former DDG (Engg.), ICAR
Email: alinawab11@gmail.com

Abstract
The academic programmes in the disciple of Agricultural Engineering in India was first
started in 1942 at the Allahabad Agricultural Institute (Now a Deemed University) and
later on by a number of Central Institutions and State/Central Agricultural Universities.
The Agricultural Engineers in India during the last 70 years or so have made a significant
contribution towards mechanization of Indian agriculture and almost changed the animate
Indian agriculture to power farming using tractors, power tillers, mechanical engines, electric
motors, solar gadgets, biofuel and appropriate location & commodity specific agricultural
tools and machines for various production and post-production agricultural operations.
The agricultural mechanization in India, so far, has contributed along with inputs like, high
yielding varieties, fertilizer, pesticides, irrigation and management in enhancing the total
production of the staples i.e. food grains from 50 Mt in 1950-51 to about 250 Mt in 2010-
11, a five fold increase in about 60 years. The present challenge is to consolidate small
and marginal farms into a cooperative farm to get the advantage of economy of scale and
mechanization. It would facilitate planned and judicious use of natural resources and other
inputs including agricultural machines and lead towards an economic farming and thereby
rural prosperity and food & nutritional security for one and all, rural or urban.
Keywords: Agricultural Engineering

Introduction the Central Agricultural University, Imphal. The

The first academic programme in Agricultural
Engineering in India was started in 1942 at
Allahabad Agricultural Institute (Now a Deemed
University), Allahabad and later on by a number of
Central Institutions and State/Central Agricultural
Universities such as Indian Institute of Technology,
Kharagpur; Govind Ballabh Pant University of
Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar; Punjab
Agricultural University, Ludhiana; Banaras Hindu
University, Varanasi; Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University, Coimbatore; Mahatma Phule Krishi
Vishwa Vidyalaya, Rahuri; Odisha University of
Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar; and
many others. The latest addition is the College
of Agricultural Engineering and Post-Harvest
Technology, Gangtok, Sikkim under the aegis of
academic programmes offered by such Universities
are B. Sc. / B. E. / B. Tech., M. Sc./M. Tech. and Ph.
D. in Agricultural Engineering with an appropriate
specialization.
The major activities of Agricultural Engineering
Programmes in India, besides the academic
programmes are Research, Development and
Diffusion of technologically feasible, economical
viable and socially acceptable tools, technology
and products to the potential users namely farmers,
industry and governments. Agricultural Engineering
is a blend of many basic engineering disciplines
and more difficult to control and handle due to a
greater variability in soil, climate and commodity
conditions and, therefore, demands real scientific
talents to wok with.

32

Achievements
The discipline of Agricultural Engineering has
achieved many successes during the last 70 years
(1942-2012). The animate agriculture has changed
to power farming using tractors, power tillers,
mechanical engines, electrical motors, solar gadgets
and biofuels for various production and post-
production agricultural operations. Intensive primary
and secondary tillage operations and equipment are
being replaced by conservation agriculture using
minimum tillage. Zero-till drill and rotary tillage along
with sowing attachment to do tillage and sowing in a
single operation have become popular on account
of savings in energy, time and cost of production.
Green house technology for intensive and round the
year cultivation of vegetables and flowers has been
developed and are being used. Flood, furrow and
basin irrigations have been replaced by pressurized
irrigation systems like sprinkler and drip to save
water and enhance water use efficiency. Efficient
and comfortable plant protection equipment has
been developed and is being used on large scale
including services on custom-hire basis. Manual
harvesting has been replaced by harvesters and
combines. Cotton pickers, potato diggers and
sugarcane harvesters have been developed and
have become popular as there is a considerable
saving in labour and reduction in drudgery of
farm workers. Technology, tools and gadgets for
horticultural crop harvesting have been developed.
Milking machines have come in operation along
with on-farm primary processing, cold storage and
refrigerated transport systems from farm to markets
to minimize losses, maintain quality and get higher
prices. Bulk handling and storage systems for
food grains have been developed and being used
throughout the country. Improved and modernized
milling systems for food grains and oilseeds are
being used to enhance recovery and quality of main
and byproducts. Primary and secondary processing
of agricultural produces in the production catchment
is being promoted to minimize post-production
losses and maximize product recovery and farmers
income through employment generation and better
prices to their produces and products.
A post-harvest losses (PHL) study conducted by
the All India Co-ordinated Research Project on
Post-harvest Technology (AICRP on PHT) under the
33
Vol. 37(1), 2013
aegis of The Indian Council of Agriculture Research
(ICAR), using stratified multistage random sampling
technique, acquired and analyze data from 10,600
farmers of 106 districts of India making about 20% of
rural districts and two each of whole seller, retailer,
processing industry, fish pond, slaughter house,
dairy plant and poultry unit, from each district. The
results of the study, released in September, 2012,
show that post-harvest losses range 4-6% for food
grains (cereals & pulses); 3-10% for oilseeds; 6-18%
for fruits; 7-13% for vegetables; 1-8% for plantation
crops & spices; 2-9% for sugar & jaggery and 0.8-7%
for livestock produces/products. The magnitude and
range of data on PHL for different food commodities
show that there has been an appreciable reduction
in PHL as compared to the values reported by earlier
studies. About 65-70% of PHL in cereals, pulses and
oilseeds occur during farm level operations such as
harvesting, threshing, collection, cleaning, drying,
and transportation.
Economic utilization of agriculture residues and
processing by products is being encouraged
for feed, fuel and organic manures. Tools and
technology for crop residue management have been
developed to facilitate higher agricultural productivity
on sustainable basis. A number of designs of biogas
and solar cooker have been made, commercialized
and being promoted. Most of the agricultural tools
and equipment used by men and women have been
ergonomically designed and safety provisions made.
Specifications and safety measures for a number of
agricultural tools, machines and power sources for
production and post-harvest agriculture have been
standardized in association with the BIS. Efforts are
continuing to modernize and mechanize the Indian
agriculture for higher productivity and profitability.
The future of the profession is very bright and full of
promises, new challenges and ideas. When pursued
sincerely, it would lead to greater innovations and
achievements resulting into higher agricultural
productivity and better utilization of harvested
biomass to achieve food and nutritional security for
the people of India at an affordable cost.
Indian Agriculture and Mechanization
Agriculture in India is the largest private enterprise.
There are about 120 million operational land
holdings of different sizes, varying from less than
Agricultural Engineering Today

one hectare to 10 ha and above, comprising
marginal, small, medium and large farms (Table 1).
In India, as of now, agriculture contributes 15-20%
to the national GDP, sustains livelihood of 65-70% of
the population, provide direct employment to about
230 million people and forms the backbone of the
agro-based Indian industry. Agriculture is a social
sector where non-trading concerns like house-hold
food & nutritional security, employment & income
generation, poverty alleviation, gender equity,
ecology and environment play a significant role.
The prosperity of Indian rural population hinges on
the progress and profitability of agriculture which
is, at present, not very profitable because of 80%
of land holdings belongs to the marginal, less than
one ha (60%) and small, 1-2 ha (20%) farmers.
These tiny and small units of cultivation reflects
serious imbalance in the people-land ratio which
is the primary cause of setting in traditionalism
in farming, misallocation and improper utilization
of human and other resources, low and marginal
productivity of land & labour, small savings and
subsistence oriented character of farm organization
and management. A well planned and judicious
combination of all natural resources and other
inputs, using appropriate location and commodity
specific tools and technology, could lead to an
economic farming and thereby resulting into rural
prosperity. Such situation, in Indian agriculture,
could be created by introducing cooperative and
mechanized farming which would ensure effective
measures for expansion of production, improvement
of techniques, proper utilization of land and most
desirable allocation of human resources.
Mechanized cooperative farming using energy
efficient and ergonomically designed, commodity
and location specific farm tools and technology
packages with a proper blend of conventional and
renewable energy sources would augment and
strengthen the food and nutritional security of India.
The major goals of a Cooperative Farming Society
are to increase agricultural productivity, employment
and income of each member of the Cooperative,
on a sustainable basis. The other advantages
are that the total agricultural outputs of the area
are increased, fragmentation of land holding is
halted, implementation of Government policies and
programmes becomes easier, facilitates in fixing of
correct & remunerative prices of various agricultural
commodities by the Agricultural Cost and Price
Commission, MOA, GOI.
The Future Challenges
As of today, India produces enough food (Table
2), but physical and financial accessibility to it by
one and all is not there as a majority of Indian
population are below poverty line (BPL). In order to
make India hunger-free, a strong fusion of political

Table 1: Approximate distribution of operational land holdings in India

Category of Number, Area, million Average Remarks
holdings millions, (%) ha, (%) size, ha
Marginal 75.0 30.0 0.4 • About 80% land belongs to resource
(less than one ha) (62%) (19%) poor marginal (60%) and small (20%)
farmers, getting poor agricultural
Small 23.0 32.0 1.4
productivity
(1-2 ha) (19%) (20%)
• Large (1%) and medium farms (19%)
Semi-medium 14.0 38.0 2.7 cover about 20% of total land holdings
(2-4 ha) (12%) (24%) having better productivity.
Medium 7.0 38 5.5 • The need is to pool the land and
(4-10 ha) (6%) (24%) resources of marginal (62), small (19)
and semi-medium (12) farmers for
Large 1.2 21 17.2 cooperative and mechanized farming
(10 ha & above) (1%) (13%) to take the advantages of the economy
All holdings 120 160 1.34 of this sector.
(100%) (100%)

34
 Vol. 37(1), 2013

wills, professional skill and people’s participation is to save electricity and fuel, needs to be prompted.
needed. Brain and brawn in rural sector have to be Watershed approach for conservation of water and
put together to enhance agricultural productivity by its later use need to be promoted on priority. Identify
narrowing the gap between scientific know-how and plant and animal based food commodities that have
field level do-how. The Cooperative farming would higher nutritional water productivity and use them in
play a greater role to fulfill such goals as it can derive human diet. Create awareness about the true cost of
the benefits of economy of scale by pooling land, water in food products and the relationship between
water and other resources of the village and get diet and health among consumers.
higher productivity at a lower cost of production.
Priorities
Table 2: Present Level of Food Production and its There is a great need to develop and/or adapt
projected demands in India by 2020-21. the precise and focused Agricultural Engineering
Technologies for production and post-production
Food Production, Projected
Agriculture. Some of mechanization priorities are land
commodity Mt, During Demand, Mt,
for
leveling using laser guided technology for precision
control; minimum tillage and raised bed farming;
2004-05 2010-11 2021 precision sowing, planting, fertilizer and pesticide
Plant Based application; mechanical weed control and mulching;
mechanization of hill agriculture, horticulture &
Cereals 193 220 260
commercial crops; efficient use of various sources
Pulses 14 15 20
of energy and minimizing drudgery involved in
Foodgrains 207 235 280
farming; on-farm primary processing and model
Oilseeds 36 30 55
Fruits 53 50 85
agro-processing centers in production catchment;
Vegetables 91 120 130 standardization and establishment of testing and
Sugarcane 262 300 345 evaluation facilities and referral laboratories;
training and entrepreneurship development using
Livestock Based IT; R&D in partnership mode, industrial liasoning
Milk 91 110 142 and commercialization of technology. Engineering
Meat 6 8 11 inputs to agriculture enhances productivity and
Fish 6 8 12 profitability of land, labour and other input such as
Egg 2 4 5 seed, fertilizer, pesticides, water & management and
Total 754 865 1065 also reduce the drudgery of farm workers involved
in carrying out various agricultural operations. Some
Total demand for major food items by 2021 will be: of the suggestions are:
Plant based – 895 Mt
Livestock based = 170 Mt a. Promote Cooperative Farming by pooling land,
water, labour and other resources and inputs of
The challenge for feeding the Indian population farmers and landless cultivators of a production
in 21st century is to find a balance between the catchment to facilitate the rational user of
growth of the population, evolution of diets and resources and economy of scale and adopt
likely availability of water resources. The optimum scientific method of cultivation.
population of the planet earth depends to a large b. An integrated approach focusing on land
extent on the availability of water for agriculture to preparation, input use efficiency and farm
grow crops and produce food, in the most efficient management through appropriate and selective
way. Water is one of the major inputs for agriculture mechanization for higher productivity and no
and need to be conserved through in-situ and ex-situ drudgery to farm workers.
water harvesting technology and make best use of
c. Rain water conservation through in-situ and
it by adopting sprinkler and micro-irrigation system.
ex-situ water harvesting technology and to
Use of appropriate design and size of pump-sets

35
Agricultural Engineering Today
make best use of it through sprinkler and
micro-irrigation system to enhance water use
efficiency.
d. Identify plant and animal based food commodities
that have higher nutritional water productivity and
make use of them in the human diet and study
the nutritional profile of fresh and processed
agricultural produces & products as affected by
agricultural inputs, agronomical practices, post-
harvest management, product development,
storage, preparation and consumption, in
respect of loss of nutrients and its bioavailability,
in order to take corrective measures through
appropriate processing and fortification to derive
the full nutritional benefit from a diet.
e. Primary and secondary processing of agricultural
produces in the production catchment for
better economic returns to farmers and rural
entrepreneurs; better human, animal and soil
health and to check migration of rural people to
urban areas.
36
f. Develop and promote use of biomass, solar and
wind based energy technology and gadgets,
as these energy sources are widely available,
renewable and have socio-economic benefits.
g. Engineering tools and technology having
economic viability and social acceptability need
to be promoted and commercialized for higher
productivity & profitability of Indian agriculture
leading to food and nutritional security.
In the fast changing world scenario, a synergy
between demand–driven and technology–led
agricultural growth would open new vistas for
agricultural transformation in India and alleviate
poverty in marginal and fragile eco-system. It is only
technology-led growth that would be sustainable and
distribute benefits to a wider section of the population
dependent on agriculture. Engineering interventions
and Cooperative Farming would play very important
role in making Indian agriculture high productive &
profitable on sustainable basis and augment and
strengthen its food and nutritional security.
 Vol. 37(1), 2013

Performance Study of a Low Cost Manually Operated Cup Feed

Metering Seed Drill for Sowing Green Gram
M K Ghosal (LM - 9168) and S C Pradhan
Department of Farm Machinery and Power,
Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha-751003
Email: mkghosal1@rediffmail.com

ABSTRACT
A low cost manually operated multi crop seed drill with suitable dimensions of cup in cup
feed metering mechanism for a particular crop has been developed and evaluated in the
field condition to study its seed pattern characteristics and economic viability for small and
marginal farmers in the state of Odisha. The seed drill developed was evaluated with the
prevailing green gram variety ‘PDM-54’ in the Central farm of OUAT, Bhubaneswar in the
year 2008. From the experiments it was found that the dimensions of cup i.e. 6 mm x 2.89
mm was found to be best and was used successfully up to a peripheral speed of 18.84
m/min. considering seed rate deviation, seed distribution and seed damage. The actual
field capacity of the seed drill was 0.063 ha/h with a field efficiency of 78.75 per cent and
there was a net savings of Rs. 1780.00 per hectare for green gram in comparison to the
local traditional practice. This seed drill costing of Rs. 1850 and total operating cost of Rs.
13.85 per hour may solve the problem of line sowing of seeds particularly for the small and
marginal farmers to enhance production and productivity as a whole.
Key Words: Farm Mechanization, Seed drill, Cup feed metering mechanism, Green
gram

INTRODUCTION contact varied the seed rate to a great extent under

The seed metering mechanism is the most vital
component of the seed drill. The performance of
a seed drill is mainly dependent on the type of
metering device. In addition to this, the type of soil
and field condition, preparation of seed bed, speed
of operation and power source also affect the
performance of the seed drill (Kepner et al, 2000).
The crop yield is affected by plant population, row
spacing, plant to plant spacing, type and variety
of seed and their emergence (Ojha and Micheal,
1978). The fluted roller feed type metering device is
very popular in India. This type of metering device is
very much suitable for grain crops and not for bold
seeds. Moreover there is a concern for this type of
metering device when the seed damage exceeds
three per cent (Goel and Verma, 2000). Another
metering device used was of cell feed type for
manually operated seed drill. In this type of metering
device, controlling of the seed rate was difficult. It
was reported that the slightest displacement of brush
the field condition. In recent past, cups having semi
circular type have been introduced for seed metering
device in seed drills (Sahoo and Srivastava, 2000).
Due to vibration and shock, the seed retention and
release for these cups were poor. So the cups were
modified to cylindrical at top and conical at the
bottom for better retention of seeds.
The socio-economic conditions of the farmers in
the state Odisha (Anonymous 2005) do not permit
them to have different seed drills for different crops.
They are therefore bound to follow the traditional
practice and face difficulty in intercultural operations
and overall management of their crop. As the yield
rate is low, farmers derive marginal benefit out of
these crops. However the seed drills having cup
feed metering mechanism can be suitably utilized
for various crops only by changing the cups and
with minor modifications (Garg and Dixit, 2003).
Hence, the seed drill having cup type metering

37
Agricultural Engineering Today
mechanism can be suitably used as a multi crop
seeder for the crops like paddy, groundnut and
green gram. Considering the above aspects, the
present study was undertaken to optimize the
dimensions of the cup of seed drill, to evaluate seed-
pattern characteristics of seed rate deviation, seed
distribution, seed damage etc and economics for
sowing of green gram seeds. The spatial dimensions
of the seed of the promising variety were measured.
The dimensions of cup and peripheral speed of
cup disc were optimized using the developed test
rig (Goswami 2001) to achieve the desired seed
pattern. A seed drill was then fabricated, evaluated
(Anonymous, 1993) and its economics was studied
for its feasibility for the small and marginal farmers
in the state of Odisha.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The spatial dimension of green gram variety,
PDM-54, was studied and accordingly the cup
dimensions were fixed. The peripheral speed of
cup disc was varied from 6.28 m/min to 23.56 m/
min. The experiment was conducted using the test
rig developed in the laboratory. The experiment
was designed on 2 factors C.R.D. The independent
factors were cup dimension and peripheral velocity
of cup disc. The dependent parameters were seed
distribution efficiency, seed rate deviation and
seed damage. A manually operated seed drill was
developed having cup feed-metering device as per
the results obtained from the test rig. Subsequently
the seed drill was evaluated under the field
condition.
Details of Test Rig of Testing: The test rig
developed to evaluate the cup feed metering device
consisted of two major sections. The section one has
hopper, pickup chamber funnel in feed shaft with cup
discs and 65 watts power source suitable belt and
pulley for power drive. A stroke counter was used to
measure the revolutions of feed shaft. Section two
has 1492 watts power source with speed reduction
unit, suitable belt and pulley for power drive, endless
canvas belt 10.8 m length and 80cm width, frame
rollers and idler.
A thin layer of grease was applied to the belt so as to
facilitate the proper embedding of seeds without any
displacement. The belt used was demarcated for
four rows and one side was marked in centimeters
38
for easy reading. A stroke counter was used to
measure the revolutions of driving shaft. The test
rig was used to get the peripheral speed of cup
disc from 6.28 m/min to 23.56 m/min with a belt
speed from 0.97 km/h to 2.4 km/h to get the desired
spacing. The results obtained on green gram variety
PDM-54 are presented in the Table 1. Five different
sizes of cups of 6.52 mm, 4.17 mm, 2.89 mm, 2.13
mm and 1.63 mm depths with diameters of 4mm,
5mm, 6mm, 7mm and 8mm respectively were
prepared and used for studies. The five different
peripheral speeds of the cup discs i.e. 6.28 m/min,
9.42 m/min, 12.55 m/min, 18.84 m/min and 23.56
m/min were chosen. The belt speed was calculated
and maintained to study the seed rate deviation,
seed distribution and seed damage. The suitable
size of cup for the promising variety of green gram
i.e. PDM-54 was standardized using the test rig. This
variety was selected as it is generally grown under
upland conditions in Odisha having yield potential of
580 kg/ha. In order to develop and evaluate a multi
crop seeder, the standardized cups were used as
cup feed metering mechanism and the cups were
made replaceable. Thousand grain weight, Bulk
density, Seed rate deviation, Seed distribution,
Seed damage were measured following standard
procedures. The seeds before metering were tested
to ensure their invisible damage and the seeds after
passing through metering were tested for visible
damage. There after the internal damage of seeds
were found out from the germination test.
Manually Operated Seed Drill: A manually operated
seed drill was developed using ten numbers of cups
on the cup disc for green gram variety, PDM-54.
The main components of seed drill were hopper,
pickup chamber, feed shaft, cup discs, furrow
openers, funnels, and ground wheels and handle
(Fig. 1). The technical specifications of the seed
drill developed have been presented in Table 2. The
manually operated seed drill was fabricated as per
the prescribed test codes (Anonymous, 1993).
Evaluation of Seed drill: The seed drill was evaluated
at the Central Farm, O.U.A.T., Bhubaneswar, Odisha
in the year 2008-09. In order to evaluate the seed
drill for green gram, three plots were taken having
12.5 m x 8 m. size each. The physico chemical
properties of soil sample from the experimental
field were collected and recorded. The crop was
 Vol. 37(1), 2013

Table 1: Evaluation of cup feed metering mechanism of green gram variety PDM-54
Peripheral speed of Average seed rate Average seed Average percentage
cup disc (m/min) deviations (%) distribution (%) of breakage of seeds
Cup Dimensions 6.28 3.62 80.80 0.59
4mm diameter and 9.42 3.78 80.66 0.63
6.52mm depth
12.55 3.90 80.20 0.67
18.84 4.03 79.96 0.73
23.56 4.17 79.70 0.85
6.28 3.51 81.39 0.45
9.42 3.63 81.09 0.51
5mm diameter and
12.55 3.77 80.84 0.61
4.17mm depth
18.84 3.92 80.56 0.69
23.56 4.06 80.20 0.85
6.28 1.68 82.40 0.36
9.42 1.83 82.15 0.41
6mm diameter and
12.55 1.97 81.90 0.48
2.89mm depth
18.84 2.15 81.67 0.54
23.56 2.34 81.36 0.66
6.28 3.55 81.79 0.47
9.42 3.71 81.48 0.54
7mm diameter and
12.55 3.88 81.19 0.63
2.13mm depth
18.84 4.05 80.96 0.72
23.56 4.21 80.73 0.88
6.28 3.70 81.21 0.54
9.42 3.87 80.92 0.67
8mm diameter and
12.55 4.00 80.62 0.70
1.63mm depth
18.84 4.16 80.32 0.79
23.56 4.32 80.02 0.92

replicated thrice in three fields and the mean of

the observations were taken. The seed bed was
prepared by twice rotatilling the soil. The overall
performance was evaluated for the green gram as
per the prescribed test codes and economics of
the use of the seed drill was also calculated for its
feasibility for the small and marginal farmers. The
seed pattern characteristics were observed after
germination of seeds under field conditions.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Fig. 1: Field evaluation of manually operated seed
drill
The seed rate varied from 1.56 to 4.41 per cent.
The results indicated that the minimum seed rate
deviation occurred with cup No. 3 having 6 mm
diameter with a peripheral speed of 6.28 m/min.
This may be due to improper filling of cup when the

39
Agricultural Engineering Today

Table 2: Technical specifications of manually centrifugal discharge as the seeds possess more
operated seed drill having cup-feed-metering kinetic energy. The seed damage varied from 0.21
Mechanism. to 1.06 per cent. It was found that the minimum
seed damage was attributed with cup No. 3 with a
Parameter Values
peripheral speed of 6.28 m/min.
Overall dimensions
The manually operated seed drill was calibrated in
Length 630 mm the laboratory and the seed rate was fixed at 25 kg
Width 600 mm per hectare. The field performance of the manually
operated seed drill was observed at the Central
Height 410 mm
Weight 12 kg (Empty Weight)
Table 3: Field performance of manually operated seed
Ground drive details drill
No. of wheels Two
Sl. Particulars Observed
Type of Wheels Lugged wheel No. values
Effective dia 320 mm 1 Crop Green gram
Lug height 40 mm 2 Variety PDM-54
Seed metering Cup feed type 3 Date of sowing 24.06.2008
Hopper capacity Volume 0.0187 m 3
4 Type of soil Sandy loam
Row spacing Green gram 25 cm 5 Size of plot 12.5m × 8m
No. of rows 2 6 Soil moisture, % (db) 21.02
Suitability for crop Paddy, groundnut, 7 Mean weight diameter of 0.37
black gram and green clods, mm
gram
8 Average speed, km/hr 1.60
No. of person engaged One
9 Coverage width, m 0.50
Seed covering Scraper type
10 Depth of seed placement, 2.43
mechanism
cm
Special feature Cups are easily
11 Actual seed rate observed, 24.16
replaceable
kg/ha
12 Deviation form laboratory 3.36
cup diameter was less than 6 mm and when the cup rate setting, %
diameter was more than 6 mm seed retention was
13 Draft, kg 15.8
difficult because of the slippage. It was also found that
the seed rate deviation increased with the increase 14 Effective field capacity, ha/h 0.063
in peripheral speed. This may be due to improper 15 Field efficiency, (%) 78.75
filling at higher speed and scattering of seeds during
centrifugal discharge due to the increase in kinetic 16 Field machine index, (%) 80.96
energy of seeds. The seed distribution efficiency 17 Seed distribution efficiency, 80.01
varied from 80.87 to 82.47 per cent. It was found that (%)
the maximum seed distribution efficiency was found 18 Average number of plants / 1.04
with cup No. 3 with a peripheral speed of 6.28 m/ hill
min. It was also observed that the seed distribution
efficiency decreased with increase in the peripheral 19. Seed pattern observed Precision
speed. This may be due to scattering of seeds during drilling

40

Farm O.U.A.T., Bhubaneswar. During the field test
mean actual seed rate was found to be 24.16 kg/
ha (Table 3). The lower seed rate obtained was
due to skidding of ground wheel while operating
in the field. Average depth of placement of seeds
was found to be 2.43 cm. The average seed
distribution efficiency was 80.01%. The effective
field capacity of the seed drill was 0.063 ha/h
with field efficiency of 78.75 per cent. The overall
performance of the manually operated seed drill
was found satisfactory for green gram.
The cost of manually operated seed drill was Rs.
1850.00 with an operating cost of Rs.13.85 per hour.
In case of green gram, the local practice followed
is line sowing manually using rope and trench hoe.
The labour requirement was 160 man-h per hectare
with a cost of operation Rs. 2000.00 per hectare. But
the cost of sowing by manually operated seed drill
was only Rs. 220.00 per hectare with a net saving
of Rs. 1780.00 per hectare compared to the above
traditional method.
CONCLUSIONS
A manually operated seed drill was developed
having cup-feed metering device. The green gram
variety PDM-54 was evaluated and the dimensions
of the cup i.e. 6 mm x 3.29 mm was found to be best
at a peripheral speed of 18.84 m/min, considering
seed rate deviation, seed distribution and seed
damage. The actual field capacity of the manually
operated seed drill was 0.063 ha/h with a field
41
Vol. 37(1), 2013
efficiency of 78.75 per cent. There was a net savings
of Rs. 1780.00 per hectare by using the seed drill
for green gram in comparison to the local method
followed. The research findings are expected to
help developing a multi-crop seed drill economically
using the cup feed metering device for the sowing
of other major crops like paddy, groundnut, black
gram, etc.
REFERENCES
Anonymous. 2005. Orissa agricultural statistics.
Directorate of Agriculture and Food Production,
Bhubaneswar.
Anonymous. 1993. Indian standard test code for seed-
cum-fertilizer drill. Manak Bhavan, New Delhi.
Garg I K; Dixit A. 2003. Development and evaluation
of manually operated garlic planter. Agricultural
Mechanization in Asia, Africa and Latin America
34 (2): 19-22.
Goel A C; Verma K S. 2000. Comparative study of
direct seeding and transplanted rice. Indian J. Agri.
Res. 34(3): 194-196.
Goswami M D. 2001. A laboratory set up for testing
planters and seed drills. J. of Agril. Engg. 38(4):
69-72.
Kepner R A; Bainer R; Barger E L. 2000. Principles of
Farm Machinery. CBS Publishers and Distributors,
New Delhi.
Sahoo P K; Srivastava A P. 2000. Development and
performance evaluation of okra planter. J. of Agril.
Engg. 37(2): 15-25.
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 Agricultural Engineering Today
Vol. 37 January-March 2013 No. 1

Contents
Page No.
Study on Physiological Response of Malvi Breed Bullocks in Rotary Mode Power Transmission 1
System for Electricity Generation
— C D Singh and R C Singh

Predicting Tractor Power Requirements Using Decision Support System – A Tool for Farm 7
Machinery Management
— Vishal Bector, Surendra Singh and P K Gupta

Development of Indigenous Yield Monitoring Device for Grain Combine Harvester 15

— Karun Sharma, Manjeet Singh, Gursahib Singh and Ankit Sharma

Bio-control Measures to Manage Soil and Water Salinity for Sustainable Agriculture 18
— D K Singh, R M Singh and K V Ramana Rao

Characterize bulk hardening of 80 C 6 grade steel blade for service life extension of serrated sickle 24
— A C Saxena, K P Mishra and G S Chouhan

Rural Electrification: A Survey on Karnataka’s Prospects 28

— B A Anand and Y R Manjunatha

Seventy Years of Agricultural Engineering Programmes in India - Highlights of Achievements and 32

Priorities
— Nawab Ali

Performance Study of a Low Cost Manually Operated Cup Feed Metering Seed Drill for Sowing 37
Green Gram
— M K Ghosal and S C Pradhan

Guidelines for authors 42

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