3-Happy Seeder

Transcript

We learnt about CASI in the previous session. We studied the three main principles of CASI – minimum soil disturbance, crop residue and crop diversification.

Now, we will look at crop residue. We require machines to manage crop residue like how to do seeding and planting.

We now move to crop residue management. After using combine harvest we have around 10 to 12 tonne of crop residue in the field. When manual harvesting is practiced then there is no crop residue and we can use simple machines. But where a combine harvester is used like in ricewheat or any other cropping systems, then we have a lot of crop residue and face a lot of problems during seeding. If we use a general machine for seeding, then all the crop residue is dragged by it and the machine cannot even cover 2 metres and we face a lot of problems.

To overcome this problem and develop a new machine, both Indian and Australian governments, PAU, CIMMYT, Rice- Wheat Consortium and IRRI worked together on a project to develop a new machine called Happy Seeder.

Happy Seeder project started in 2001 and over the years till 2019, there has been 15 different iterations of this machine. The first prototype had a seeding mechanism but it had lots of problems. The first problem in this prototype was that it required a lot of power, almost 80 to 100 % horsepower. The second problem it had was that it would first lift the residue, then the seeding mechanism would work and then it would throw it and this created a lot of germination problems. A lot more work was done on this machine and finally we got a very good prototype.

Happy seeder is a machine that can sow seeds and fertilizer in a single operation at the right place without any kind of tilling and soil disturbance. It works on any field with evenly distributed crop residue be it rice or wheat or maize and that has a load of 8 to 12 tonnes.

These are pipes where seeds and fertilizers go and these are our furrow openers and flails. This is a power operated machine. These are flails and if any residue gets stuck then this runs reverse and then places the seeds and fertilizers. After placing the seeds, the residue is not above the furrow so there is no problem during germination. This machine can work easily with every type of crop residue of any crop with a load of 10 to 12 tonnes and without any problem.

Like I mentioned earlier, this machine is power operated. This is our Power take off (PTO) and this gets connected and we get the power transmission supply. But the Happy Seeder, needs a double clutch tractor to work and it cannot work with a single clutch tractor. It has RPM that is adjusted so we need a double clutch tractor. This is the gearbox and it provides us with the needed force which is between 400 to 500 rpm to run it. If the rpm is less or more, then either it  won’t cut the residue or it would require a lot of energy. So to adjust this, we require these gears and they push them forward in a uniform force of 400 to 500 rpm.

This is the gear box and it has rotor flails in it which rotate against the forward motion of the tractor. So they runs and rotate in the opposite direction. If it rotated forward, then all the residue would fall in front and that would have created a safety issue. All the other rotary and tilling machines work with forward movement but this one works in reverse.

This is called the driving wheel and as it rotates, it powers the seed and fertilizer seeding system. It has chains and has different gears. If we want to change speed, then we have sprocket of different sizes. If we want to increase the speed, then we use a small sprocket and if we want to decrease the speed then we use a large sprocket.

This is the seed and fertilizer box. There is also a third box attached called inclined plates that is used for multi crop planter. Right now, we just have two boxes i.e. a seed and a fertilizer box.

Now the back portion of our seed and fertilizer box has a fluted roller system which is used for seed and crops. This is only used for crops that have continuous seeding for drill type seeding. For spacious crops, we have another box attached from which an inclined plate comes out. This is a pipe and it attaches the seed and fertilizer with the furrow opener. This is a T inverted type furrow opener and it is exactly in the shape of T. It makes a slit and only disturbs 3 to 5 cm soil and drops the seed and fertilizer.

These are flails that are attached to the rotavator. When this runs on the residue field, all the residue gets dragged on the tine. This rotates in reverse and then either it will cut or remove it by heating and thus clear our line. Where the seeds and fertilizer are placed, the line is clear and we get good germination and we don’t face any problem as we have removed the residue.

This is the structure or frame and it is well covered because it rotates around 400 rpm and if at that rotation speed any stone or stubble sneaks in then it can get damaged. So we have to cover it.

We also have these rubber flails and it stops all kinds of stones and stubble. Now the specifications of this machine are mentioned here. Its name is Happy Seeder. It has nine tines which means that it can seed nine rows in one operation. It needs a minimum of 45 horsepower double clutch tractor and its weight is around 740 kg. Wheat is mentioned as the crop but we can also do other crops with it like oilseeds, mustard, lentils, chickpeas, maize and even rice. To do all these crops, we have to attach a multi crop planter box. This is the shaft of fluted seed and fertilizer and it has a mechanism to increase and decrease.

Now, we look into the seed and fertilizer calibration. This is for fertilizer. If we increase it then more of it will drop and it is in terms of per acre. If we want to drop 22 kg per acre, then we have to increase it and it is in the fraction of 1:5 so 1 multiplied by 5 kg. There is a calibrated version of it as well but we cannot trust that and instead calibrate on our own in the field. I will explain how to calibrate ii later.

This is calibration for the seed and it is exactly the same as for fertilizer. There is also a manual guide that comes with it. We don’t have that with us right now but we can provide that to the farmer or operator and he can make his decisions based on that.

These are the depth wheels and these are very important. Every crop has to be sown at different depths. Some crops have to be sown at 2 cm depth and others need just 1 cm. So for that we have to adjust the depth from here. If we want to increase the depth, then we have to raise it and if we have to decrease the depth then we have to lower it. By lowering it, the tine goes up and the depth falls. But for that we have to maintain the same level of both these depth controllers, otherwise one of the sides will seed more and the other less due to variations in depth of controller. So it is important that seeds and fertilizer drop at the correct depth in all the nine rows.

Now, we will look at calibration, adjustment and maintenance. When we use a traditional combine harvester, all the residues come in one or two metres and in the rest of the area there is no residue. In 1 or 2 metres within the line strip, there is a lot of residue and in the rest of the places there is standing residue. In such a case, the performance of the machine decreases and there are germination problems in places where there is moreresidue.

So, it is a prerequisite that the residue should be equally uniform on the field. Now, we can do this equally uniform by employing labor but then we go into labor issues. So to overcome this a new development was done and we call it the SMS i.e. straw manager system. Its job is that when a combine harvester is at work, this works with it and equally distributes the residue on the field in a uniform manner. So this is the calibration and adjustment of the machine where it uniformly distributes the residue.

The second adjustment is that both locks of the PTO shaft should be properly locked.

Third adjustment is that when we place the machine then it should be uniformly balanced. If it is forward leaning or backward leaning, then there will be problems. If it is forward leaning, then these flails will touch to the soil and the soil can get stuck and break. We have to make sure that these should not touch the soil and ideally should remain 4 to 5 cm above the soil. If we raise it more than what was required, then the penetration part of tine will also rise and then either it can get blocked or it won’t penetrate. So it is important to have a proper balance.

Depth wheel has a big part to play in adjustment. For different crops there are different depths. First we will talk about wheat. We need 4 to 5 cm depth in wheat. If it is more than that, then our germination and tillers will be affected. For Maize, we can go deeper from 5 to 7 cm. In the case of chickpeas, we can even go 8 to 10 cm deep. So it all depends on the crop. For rice, we only need 2 cm. For Mustard also, the depth has to be low. The depth wheel depends on many things and the same depth cannot apply for every field. The same depth on a moist field will seed deeper because the tine will go deeper as the soil is moist. So, we have to adjust for that. So, field to field depth is important and the same depth cannot be applied to every field.

Now, we come to calibration. We can do adjustment with this and it has values written. But it is not necessary that what is written is correct. We should double confirm it. Suppose if we want to  add 40 kg seeds in 1 acre then how do we do it? We can do two types of calibration, one in the lab and the other on the field. We always prefer field calibration as it is more precise. We put seed and fertilizers in it.

There are pipes which we remove and tie a polythene over them. We drive the machine for 30 metres or 50 metres. Collect them again. Now we should know how manytines we have on your machine. So, if we have nine tines and the distance between them is 20cm i.e. the distance between lines. Then 9 multiplied by 20 equals 180. So, 180 cm or 1.8 metreis the width. Then, we multiply 50 into 1.80 and from this we can calculate how much seed is required. If this much was required in one metre then in an acre there are 4000 square meter and we can know how much total seeds, we require for that. So this is the way we do calibration and if once we can do this calibration for a crop then we can make a mark and suggest other farmers about the quantity needed of a particular seed and also do the same for other crops.

Now, we look into the maintenance. If we want our machine to work longer then its maintenance is very important. We know this machine is power operated and a lot of its parts like bearings and gears rotate. So what should we do for its maintenance? First we have to check if the gearbox has gear oil or not. All the bearings and gears should be well greased. These springs have to be properly in place and see if it has got any rust or not. We have to also see if the belt is not too tight or loose and then adjust it accordingly.

Another important point is that after using any machine for an entire season we have to properly wash and clean the fertilizer and seed box otherwise the residue fertilizer can rust the box and then we cannot use it in the next season. We also wash all the flails and tine after the season is over so that there is no rust and blockage.

So these are the main points that we should keep in mind for the maintenance of our machine. Thank you.

So we just looked at the detailed explanation of the machine on the field and learnt about its various parts. Now we will show how this machine works on the field. Before doing anything we first check if all the parts are working properly. Even after doing this, we first try it out in one or two lines just to check how our seeds and fertilizers are falling and what is its pattern and depth. Once we are sure with the pattern, depth, continuation and if the seed rate is according to what we had calibrated then we can run it on the field. If we still face any problem in the field like if there is any residue drag, or any loose machine part then we should stop and fix it. This machine can work from 8 in the morning to 8 at night. But at times if the rice is cut and there is early morning dew then it can face problems. Now the new models have flails that are zig zag so we do not face problems regarding residue but still we prefer to avoid using this machine in the first two hours of the morning. This machine can cover 10 to 15 hectares if it works for 10 hours in a day. Its cost to the farmer is 1000 rupees per acre or 2500 rupees per hectare.

So we have discussed the differences between a happy seeder and zero tillage multi crop planter. Both these machines are used in zero tillage but the normal zero tillage planter cannot what work where there is anchored or loose residue as the tines drag the residue and after covering just 2 to 5 metres then the seed and residue do not drop properly and instead get dragged with the residue.  The machine also gets choked and it becomes very difficult to operate the tractor. So to overcome this problem we developed the Happy seeder. The benefits of happy seeder over the zero tillage multi crop planter is that it can work on any type of field be it a normal zero tillage field or combined harvested field with lots of residue. It has many advantages. With zero tillage multi crop planter either we have to remove or burn the residue or cut it to a very short height. But with a happy seeder, we can keep all the residue inside the field and turn it into fertilizer and do direct sowing. Zero tillage multi crop planter can be used with many crops and the Happy seeder can also work with many different crops provided it has a multi crop seeding device attached to it known as an inclined box.

So we learnt about various aspects of this machine and its different advantages, operations and quality. Taking all these into consideration, this machine will be highly beneficial to the farmer. It will help to increase their yield, clean our environment and help with the water table and soil health.

Thank you.