Machinery for cultivation of horticultural crops

Arshdeep Singh, 

Aseem Verma and 

Manpreet Singh

Mechanization of agriculture operations is an essential input in modern agriculture. It enhances productivity, besides reducing human drudgery and the cost of cultivation. Mechanization also helps in improving the utilization efficiency of other inputs, the safety and comfort of the agricultural worker, and improvements in the quality and value addition of the produce. Efficient machinery helps in increasing production and productivity, besides enabling the farmers to raise a second crop or multi crop making agriculture attractive. Mechanization of horticultural crops can help improve the area under these crops by reducing dependency on labor thus increasing profit margins and realizing the goal of crop diversification. Some farm machinery developed and evaluated by PAU is discussed below that can be adopted for the cultivation of horticultural crops.

1. Laser Land Leveler

It is used for precise land levelling with desired grade. It helps in using water efficiently, reduced irrigation time and enhanced productivity per unit input not only of water but also of other farm inputs. This 2 meter wide automatic leveling operation can be successfully carried with 50 hp or above tractor. It saves water to the tune of 25-30%, enhances efficacy of chemicals and fertilizers and improves productivity.

2. Tractor operated Offset Rotavator

Tractor-operated offset rotavator has an automatic side-shifting mechanism and it is used for seedbed preparation and inter-culture operation for intercrops in fruit trees and agroforestry fields. In this rotavator, a hydraulic-powered side shift mechanism is activated by a feeler sensor activated by the touch of the tree trunk. As the sensor touches the tree/plant stem, the hydraulic system brings the rotavator behind the tractor, and after crossing, it again operates in the plant row. The offset rotavator can be operated by any tractor of 45 hp or above. Offset rotavator can be used in different orchards of kinnow, pear, peach, etc. A weeding index of up to 98% can be achieved. Plant damage due to abrasion to tree trunks was limited to 1.5- 3.5%. The field capacity of the machine is 0.50 acres per hour.

3. Tractor-operated Post Hole Digger

This equipment is used for digging pits of size ranging from 15 to 75 cm in diameter and up to 90 cm in depth. This machine is operated by the tractor PTO through a gearbox and is mounted on the 3-point linkage of the tractor. Under average conditions, it is capable of digging 60-70 pits per hour.

4. Tractor-drawn bed former-cum-plastic mulching machine

It is a tractor-drawn machine that accomplishes four operations in one go i.e. bed forming, laying of drip pipe, laying of plastic sheet to act as mulch, and punching the plastic sheet at the desired spacing for transplanting of the nursery. It requires a 45-50 hp tractor to operate. The field capacity of the machine is 0.6 acres per hour. The machine saves up to 75 percent of labor in comparison to the manual method.

5. Vegetable Transplanter

A vegetable transplanter has been developed for transplanting seedlings of brinjal, cauliflower, cabbage, tomato etc. The machine consists of a picker wheel-type metering mechanism, a water tank, and a bed-forming attachment. Two persons one for each row sitting on the machine are required to place the seedlings in the flappers. The machine can transplant seedlings both on the beds and on flat surfaces. There is a saving of labor up to 75-80 percent in comparison to manual transplanting.

6. Vertical Cup Type Vegetable Transplanter for Cell Feed nursery

It is a two-row semi-automatic vegetable transplanter having a type metering mechanism for transplanting cell type nurseries like brinjal, tomato, chilli, etc. raised in trays. The metering unit consists of 5 vertical cups mounted over a disc. A cam is provided on the periphery of the plate which controls the opening and closing of vertical cups. Row-to-row spacing is 67.5 cm and row spacing is adjustable from 30 to 60 cm. Plant missing is less than 4%. The field capacity of the machine varied from 0.27 to 0.37 acre per hour. Saving in labor over manual method for transplanting vegetable nurseries is around 85 %.

7. Rotary power weeder

It is a self-propelled engine-operated power weeder developed for inter-culture operation in horticulture and wider row crops and in orchards. The depth of operation varies from 4-7 cm. The weeding efficiency of the machine varies from 80-94 percent depending upon the type of crop. The field capacity ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 acres per day.

8. Tractor Operated Pick Positioner

Pick positioner is used for harvesting fruits from orchards and also used for pruning trees. The pick positioner is a tractor-mounted machine. It consists of a movable platform for the stand of a person which can be lifted up to the height of 9.60 m (32 feet) for harvesting and pruning of fruits. The platform can be moved in a vertical plane only and the horizontal movement of the platform can be achieved by changing the position of the tractor. A tractor-powered, double-acting hydraulic cylinder is installed between the main bar and the vertical bar. Support from the front axle is also given to the vertical bar. There is a saving of 75 % labor in fruit harvesting using a Pick positioner and fruit at the end can be easily harvested.  

Farmers can adopt these technologies according to suitability to reduce dependence on labor and increase profitability.

Writers are from the Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, PAU, Ludhiana