Future Requirements of Agricultural Machines for Mechanizing ...

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Table 1. Population Growth Trends in Mechanical Farm Power Sources in India additional functions with the help of proper attachments. Large farm machines are often self propelled with built in power source. These farm power sources are commercially available but their distribution and availability and use in certain regions like E and NE and hilly areas can not be considered satisfactory (Table 3). There is close nexus between farm power availability and agric productivity (Fig. 1). The level of farm power availability during 2001 was about 1.35 kW/ ha (Table 2). At the present level of sophistication in ◆ 178 ◆ STATUS OF FARM MECHANIZATION IN INDIA (number in million) 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1997 2000* Growth rate (%) Base year 1970 Tractive power Tractor 0.008 0.031 0.148 0.518 1.222 2.037 2.471 9.84 Power Tiller - - 0.003 0.021 0.040 0.085 0.110 12.7 Stationary power Electric pump 0.020 0.100 1.629 4.330 6.019 8.254 9.525 6.06 Diesel pump 0.083 0.230 1.546 3.101 4.659 5.899 6.465 4.88 Others Power sprayer/duster - - 0.045 0.124 0.200 0.245 0.311 6.66 Note: *Estimated Source: Singh, et al., 1999 Table 2. Availability of Farm Power in India Year Total Power, Source-wise% KW/ha Animal Mechanical Electrical 1951 0.25 97.4 2.1 0.5 1961 0.31 94.9 3.7 1.4 1971 0.36 79.2 16.3 4.5 1981 0.63 48.2 32.3 19.5 1991 0.92 34.5 34.7 30.8 2001 1.35 18.0 55.0 27.0 (36.68) Note: *Figure in parenthesis is mobile farm power Power, kW/ha 1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 Animate power, kW/ha Mechanical power, kW/ha Total power,kW/ha Productivity, kg/ha Fig. 1. Trend of farmpower availability and land productivity in India 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 Land productivity, kg/ha Table 3. Farm Power availability in NEH Region State Availability farm power, hp/ha of cropped area Arunachal Pradesh 0.23 Manipur 1.40 Meghalaya 1.44 Mizoram 0.77 Nagaland 0.45 Tripura 0.99 agriculture for taking two crops per year an average farm power available of 2.0 KW/ha is considered essential. Agriculturally advanced states and regions in the country have farm power availability of 2-4 kW/ha. Law of diminishing return is also applicable in farm power availability and mechanization. Excessive mechanization does not bring rewards instead block the capital, add to overhead costs and at times cause indebtness and its negative impacts. 2.1 Status of Farm Implements and Machines 2.1.1 Land and Water Resource Development Equipment: It involves clearing of land of the unwanted vegetation, levelling and grading so as to perform field operations properly and apply seed, fertilizer/manure, and irrigation water uniformly. It also involves creating access to field and mobility of machines through farm roads with irrigation and drainage ditches, creating irrigation water resources both surface and ground water. Most ancient practice of land development was use of fire and later on slash and burn a practice still vogue in a few remote areas. However, axe, hoe, pickaxe, spade, crowbar, and heavy duty ploughs have come in use and still in vogue where mechanization has not advanced. Subsequently not long ago animal drawn buck scraper, floats, V-ditchers, bund formers were developed and got in use for levelling, smoothing, land shaping. With industrial revolution and development of IC-engines and
FUTURE REQUIREMENTS OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINES FOR MECHANIZING AGRICULTURE advancements in mechanization the tractor drawn scrapers, levellors, terracers, floats, smoothers have come in use and are available in the market. However, for the large scale mechanized land clearing, land development, construction of farm ponds, laying of irrigation and drainage systems there are bulldozers, motor graders, excavators, dumpers, trenchers, trenchercum-subsurface drainage pipe systems available in the Indian market. Heavy earthmoving machinery are costly. Laser guided land levellors are in the process of introduction in India and may be indigenised soon. For laying tubewells to tap ground water (GW) there are percussion and rotary rigs along with casing and strainers of steel and plastics and submersible pumps available. Where GW tables are low and rich aquifers available at lower depths centrifugal pumps installed in dugwells are in use. Shallow tubewells in many states rich in GW have paid rich dividends like Assam, West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana, Western UP, and pockets elsewhere. 2.1.2 Irrigation and Drainage Equipment: Mechanization in lifting of the irrigation water was the first important land mark in modernization of Indian agriculture when in late 1950s and early 1960s the efforts to adopt engine and electric motor operated centrifugal pumps led to indigenous manufacture of small diesel engines (5 hp) and 3-5 hp agricultural motors, and matching centrifugal pumps by mid 1960s. It expanded rapidly and today about 0.90 million irrigation pumps are manufactured annually, one-third engine operated and two-third electric motor operated. With over exploitation of GW and water table going down, the use of submersible pumps is on rise. Solar- photovolteric water pumping sets are also available which at this point of time involve high capital cost but operating cost is very low. With irrigation waters getting scarce and costly their efficient application has become essential. As a result the pressurised irrigation systems - sprinklers, microsprinklers, and drip systems have come in use that save about 35-50% of irrigation water with 25-35% increase in the yield. Through fertigation drips improve the fertilizer use efficiency also. Efforts are on to improve the water use efficiency in Indian agriculture. In ricewheat cropping zero-till drill and raised bed planting are found to reduce water require about 35-50% with about 5-10% yield advantage. 2.1.3 Surface and subsurface drainage systems, and vertical drainages have been designed, installed and studied in actual farming conditions which have facilitated crop cultivation in otherwise water logged areas and increased yields substantially where water tables were close to the root zone or soils are saline or acidic due to adverse geo-hydrological situations ◆ 179 ◆ preventing yield potentials being realised. Lowlift high discharge pumps have been developed for vertical drainage. Command areas of several medium and large irrigation or multipurpose projects have been studied and remedial areas evolved to improve water distribution and productivity through better water management. 2.1.4 Energy audits, however, in many of the irrigation and drainage installations can not be considered favourable. There is considerable room of improvement of system efficiency through improved design, manufacturing, installation and upkeep of these systems tackling corrosion and encrustation problems. 2.1.5 Seedbed Preparation: Leaving deltaic areas of the perennial rivers where rice-rice may be dominant crop rotation, most of India has crop cultivation in both upland and low land situations. For marginal farms, traditional animal drawn wedge plough (Desi Hal) which can be used as primary and secondary tillage implement, with a seeding tube as a seed drill and as an interculture device continues to be still in use. With over 76% holdings marginal (below 1 ha) and small size (1-2 ha) dominating the scene, it is not surprising that the Desi Hal and other traditional equipment continue to be in use. Wooden plank as an accessory does pulverization, land smoothening and seedbed compaction. In vertisols Bakhar (blade harrow) are used. In wet land seedbed preparation, wooden pegtooth harrows are also used. 2.1.6 For primary tillage, better weed management and incorporation of organic and green manuring, bullockdrawn mould board ploughs of 10-20 cm size, long and short beam types, reversible MB ploughs were introduced and are still in use. For secondary tillage animal drawn disc and pegtooth harrows were introduced and got in to indigenous manufacture. However, these could never gain a popularity as compared to Desi Hal which is a versatile multipurpose implement, made and repaired by local craftsmen. For wet land seedbed preparations there are various animal drawn puddlers which increase field capacity. Agricultural mechanization process is gradually changing the scenario. In Punjab, Haryana traditional farm equipments have practically disappeared. With tractorisation getting in vogue, 9/11 tyne tillers with reversible shovels in alluvium and alfisols and duckfoot type in vertisols, tractordrawn mouldboard and disc ploughs became popular. For secondary tillage trailing and mounted type tandem and offset disc harrows are in use and manufactured in large numbers through SSIs. However, versatility of 9/11 type tillers have made them most popular tillage implement with the tractor owners like that of Desi Hal in the past. In some places tandem disc harrows are widely used for seedbed preparation with occasional or no ploughing.
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