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Unpuddled transplanting of rice as a part of conservation agricultural practice has become significant due to its protective behavior for soil properties and economic profitability. Mechanical transplanting in unpuddled soil using hybrid rice variety leads to a high yield with minimum transplanting time and cost, securing soil nutrients. A study was conducted in Bangladesh Agricultural University to evaluate the efficacy of mechanical transplanting of hybrid rice in unpuddled soil considering field and financial performances of rice transplanter. The experiment was conducted during Boro-2018 season with a Daedong DP-480 rice transplanter. Hybrid rice seed Moyna (HTM303) of Laal Teer seed company Ltd. was used for transplanting at a seed rate of 120g per tray and seedling per hill was adjusted to 2-3 nos. In unpuddled soil, transplanter possessed an effective field capacity, fuel consumption and efficiency of 0.16 ha/h, 4.8 l/ha and 67.48%, respectively. Transplanting time included an idle time of 11% due to clogging with mud. Missing hill percentage was found as 6.1% with a floating hill of 7.36%. Plant heights were 15.72 cm and 86.19 cm at the day of transplanting and at the day of harvesting, with tiller per hill of 18 nos. The average panicle length of plants was found as 23.6 cm where traditionally transplanted rice has panicles of 21.2 cm average. The yields of mechanically transplanted rice in unpuddled soil condition was 5.21 ton/ha and the yield of mechanical transplanted rice in unpuddled soil was found to be 27.07% higher than traditionally transplanted rice. The BCR and IRR of mechanical transplanting in unpuddled soil was found 1.57 and 55% considering 10% discount factor. The payback period, after which the transplanter will overcome its costs, was found 1.68 years. Financial analysis reveals that mechanical transplanting with this field capacity will be beneficial if the transplanter is used to transplant 19.77 ha annually. Progressive Agriculture 30 (4): 405-413, 2019

Bangladesh secured the third position in freshwater fish and fisheries product producing country where around 4.134 million metric ton of fish is extracted annually. Fish transporting in traditional method reduces fish freshness and thus causes serious economic loss. Further, for live fish transportation, maintaining water quality is a challenge, with the course of time, oxygen, pH and temperature of water deteriorate. Considering this issue, a study was undertaken to construct simple, low energy consumed aerator-cum-oxygen accumulator for live fish transport. A 12-volt 3-ampere DC motor operated 1100 GPH bilge pump was modified with the venturi principle to construct the aerator. The experiment was conducted to evaluate its performance for live fish transport and compared with the results in a condition of with and without an aerator. 45 (forty-five) numbers of Rohu fish (Labeo Rohita) with an average weight of 378 g were put in a tank of 650 liters for this experiment.  After six hours of the test, different parameters were measured in both conditions. With the device, dissolved oxygen and pH level were found as 9.3 mg/l and 7.8 and without the device, dissolved oxygen and pH level were found 6.2 mg/l and 7.1, respectively in six hours of operation. On the other hand, without the device, the dissolved oxygen level decreased from 6.5 mg/l to 2.2 mg/l and pH level increased from 8.30 to 9.70 in six hrs of the test. Besides, by using, the device mortality rate of fishes was zero but without the device, the mortality rate was 11.11%. Water temperature changing was insignificant during the experiment. Results indicate that for reducing losses of fish and increase the income of fisherman, this device might be suitable for live fish transport. J Bangladesh Agril Univ 17(4): 592–598, 2019

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A motor-operated maize seeder was designed and fabricated. The performance of the seeder was tested in laboratory and compared with a manual-operated seeder. Hybrid maize seed variety, Sunshine NK40 by Syngenta, was used for the performance test of the seeder during January to April/2017. The two seeders, manual-operated and motor-operated, provided an average seed spacing of 22.48 cm and 20.94 cm, respectively, while the standard seed spacing for maize is 20 cm. The seed spacing of the motor-operated seeder varied from the standard value because of the trapping of seed between the seed hopper and metering device. The missing rate of the manual seeder was 13.2% while the motor-operated seeder provided a missing rate of 5.9%. Due to constant forward speed, the motor-operated seeder resulted in 2.3 times lesser missing rate than the manual seeder. The seed rate of the manual- and motor-operated seeder was found to be 30 kg/ha and 25.7 kg/ha, respectively, although both the seeders were calibrated to maintain a constant seed rate of 25 kg/ha. The field capacity and field efficiency of the existing manual seeder was found 0.128 ha/h and 76.65%, respectively, whereas the field capacity and field efficiency of the motor-operated seeder was found 0.135ha/h and 74.76%, respectively. The motor-operated seeder has a limitation of time loss during turning and the required time loss resulted in low field capacity and field efficiency. Break-even analysis shows that at the yearly use of 0.23 hectares, the operation cost of manual seeder and hand application method were the same. Therefore, manual seeder will be beneficial to the farmers when the annual use exceeds 0.23 hectares of land. Compared to manually-operated seeder, the motor-operated seeder can reduce seed requirement by reducing missing rate and save labor and time of operation if the time loss during turning can be minimized. J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 17(2): 251–257, June 2019