5-Allied CASI Machineries

Transcript

Friends, this week, we learnt about the different machines we use for sowing and transplanting that fall under CASI. We mainly looked at the use of Happy Seeder, Multi Crop Planter and Paddy transplanter. Now in this class, we would look at the other supporting machines that fall under the purview of CASI. These machines include Combine Harvester with Super Straw Management System, Straw Reaper, Paddy Straw Chopper, Reaper Combiner, Sprayer and Raise Bed Planter.

First, we will look at the Combine Harvester with super straw management system. As its name suggests, it is commonly used for harvesting crops and it can do three operations at the same time. Its first job is to harvest rice. Secondly, it threshes and finally it does winnowingand the farmer directly gets the grain. It has a capacity to harvest 21 to 22 acres per hour. Combine harvester usually had the problem of distributing residue unevenly. To overcome this problem, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana developed the super straw management system which can be attached at the back of Combine Harvester. It evenly distributes the cut straw and thus facilitates the possibility of using other supporting machines that fall under CASI. This is possible as the residues are evenly distributed so machines like multi crop planter or happy seeder do not choke when being operated on such fields and the seed and fertilizers fall at right time and at the correct depth.

Now, we look at Straw Reaper. One of the main shortcomings of the combine harvester was that the residues were unevenly distributed during its operation. The Straw Reaper cuts and chops these stalks in little pieces in one operation and converts them into straws which get stored in a netted trolley. These stored straws can then be used as fodder for livestock. The biggest advantage of a straw reaper is that the straw it prepares is of better quality than the straw from a thresher. Also, we get an extra 50 to 100 kilograms per hectare of extra grain from our farm.

There is another similar machine called Reaper Combiner. Even today, farmers generally harvest their crop using conventional tools like sickle. But this is a very labour intensive method and we know that in today’s time, labour is a precious input and we regularly face labour shortage problems. To overcome this, we have a Reaper Combiner machine which cuts our crop and then with a binding device binds our crop in a bundle and discharges it. Its capacity is 1.3 hectare per hour and thus it saves a lot of time. So this machine saves a lot of time under CASI.

Now, we move to Paddy Straw Chopper. This machine chops all the standing remains in the field in one operation be it Rice, Wheat and Maize crop and converts them in small pieces that can be buried in the soil using a machine like Disc Harrow. This buried residue helps with the sustainability of the soil which is also an important objective of CASI after which we can easily use and do sowing with machines like multi crop planter, zero till machine, no till ferti drill and seed cum fertilizer drill.

Rotary Mulcher is a device with which we can use the residue in our farms as mulch. It has knives which vertically rotate and chops the residue into small pieces. So this machine is used in farms as a mulch stock and we know that if we keep mulch in our soil then our soil temperature and water holding capacity remains maintained.

Now we talk about Baler. Usually after using a combine in a farm, the residues are scattered all over the field. With Baler, we can collect the residues at one place and then it produces prepared compact cylindrical and square shape bales. We can use these prepared residues that come out of a baler as fodder for livestock or as a bio fuel and farmers even sell them to the biofuel industry to earn a good income.

Now, we look at a weeder. This device is very important in farming. Weed is a common problem and even under CASI it is a big issue. We can use any machine as a mechanical weeder like Disc Harrow but an important thing to keep in mind is that we can only use weeder if the sowing is done in a line with proper space maintained. Also, this is more useful where the row to row distance of crop is high.

Another device we look at is a Sprayer. It is a machine which uses liquid as a droplet. To use a sprayer some precautions, have to be taken and it also has some advantages. Sprayer is commonly used to spray herbicide, pesticides, fungicide and weedicide and also to spray micronutrients. Its advantages are that it evenly distributes whichever liquid we are spraying. The most commonly used sprayer is a hydraulic sprayer. It has a pumping device which we can always operate with our hands and it has a capacity of 15 litres. This spray is preferred for any kind of blanket application of any liquid. There is another spray that we use and it is called a centrifugal spray. In this, we keep the liquid in the pump and then inject the pump to spray the pesticides. The sprayer nozzle also has an important role to play. The most commonly used nozzles are flat fan nozzle, flat cut nozzle and hollow nozzle. We use the flat fan nozzle to spray pre-emergent herbicide. The hollow cut nozzle is used to spray fungicide and insecticide. As far as the efficiency of an herbicide is concerned, the role of sprayer management system is very important and also the type of nozzle that we are using. The effectiveness of the herbicide is dependent 50% on the herbicide itself and 50% on the way we are operating are spray.

Now let us take a look at the raised bed planter. We will go to Dr. Mahesh as he is going to explain to us about the raise bed planter. In CASI, the raised bed planter is used to make a permanent bed. If we make a raised bed and maintain it for 10 to 15 years then that is called a raised bed planter. Its main function is

If you see it has the same multi crop raise bed planter. We can do direct seeding like for wheat and also precious planting like for maize and vegetables. Its functions are the same as that of multi crop zero tillage planter. The difference is that it has a frame which has two shapers that lifts soil and makes a bed. So as it makes fresh beds, it simultaneously does the sowing as well. The furrow openers and the two pipes containing seeds and fertilizers drop the seeds in the freshly made bed.

This is a water saving technology as water is required only in the furrow and is not required in the surrounding area. We can save 30% – 40% water through this method. The water logging  sensitive crops like Maize, vegetables or potato can die if we do flood irrigation because of anaerobic situation. So for less water requiring crop, we provide water in the furrow and it gets water and the crop remains dry and we get good yield.

This also has more input use efficiency like fertilizers and seeds are only provided on the bed and crops get exactly these things at their place. This also benefits intercultural operations because there is space between crops and we can easily do intercultural operations mechanically. We can operate a tractor on a standing crop or a weeder. So it has a lot of benefits. Because the crops are planted in a row, the crops get good air flow and because of that disease and insects also infest less.

This technology is very useful in vegetables, cereals, legumes and even oil seeds. If we do this permanently then its efficiency increases by 5 to 10% and it saves energy and tilling cost. We would only have to do seeding. This machine is very economical.

Thank you