A study on mechanization of rice-green gram cropping system using animal power on small farms in Odisha following conservation farming with cost-economics

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted in farmers' fields in village-Govindpur, Mohana, Gajapati district, Odisha where rice-green gram cropping system is the prevailing practice. For conservation agriculture point of view, performance evaluation of the CIAE bullock drawn 3 row seed drill under zero till condition was conducted for line sowing of green gram during Rabi season following kharif paddy and it was compared with conventional method of twice ploughing by local wooden plough followed by manual broadcasting of green gram seeds. Performance evaluation of OUAT bullock drawn mb plough, OUAT bullock drawn puddler and OUAT bullock drawn 8 row drum seeder was conducted for line sowing of pre-germinated paddy seeds during kharif season which was compared with conventional random transplanting method for wet land paddy cultivation.The overall performance CIAE seed drill with zero till tynes was superior to the conventional method considering the higher yield and B:C ratio and lesser labour requirement along with plant growth parameters.Considering the plant growth parameters and yield parameters and cost of operation the bullock drawn drum seeder was found superior to conventional random transplanting method.