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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Intercultivation and fertilizer application are an important practice to be carried out during the different stages of crop growth. Delay and negligence of intercultivation and fertilizer application operation reduces the crop yield. In present scenario the availability of enough labour and the bullock power for intercultural and fertilizer application operations do not synchronize with the ideal season. Hence, majority of the farmers could not complete the intercultural and fertilizer application operations in time. Considering these points related to intercultivation and fertilizer application an attempt was made to develop equipment which would be able to perform both the operations of intercutivation and fertilizer application simultaneously and more efficiently in row crops. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the field performance of developed an intercultivator cum fertilizer applicator for small tractor with high clearance was carried out Main Agriculture research station Raichur. The modified small tractor with the developed intercultivator cum fertilizer applicator prototype was evaluated in terms of weeding efficiency, plant damage and draft. The performance of small tractor operated intercultivator cum fertilizer applicator was evaluated at three different forward speeds (1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 km h-1) with three soil moisture contents (12%±1, 14%±1 and 16%±1) for three types of blades (Straight type, V-shape type and crescent type) in cotton crops. Recommended fertilizer application rate of 50 kg ha-1 was observed at a forward speed of 2.0 km h-1, 0.078 ms-1 of feed shaft and 3/4th of hopper level and these parameters were as considered optimum for applying fertilizer. Both the intercultivation and fertilizer application operations can be simultaneously done in single operation. The better performance of small tractor operated intercultivator cum fertilizer applicator was achieved at a forward speed of 2.0 km h-1 with a moisture content of 14% ±1 for V-shape type blade.