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Development and Evaluation of a Drum Seeder for Onion

M.A. Hoque
Senior Scientific Officer
F M P Engineering Division, BARI, Gazipur, Bangladesh

M.A. Wohab
Principal Scientific Officer
F M P Engineering Division, BARI, Gazipur, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

To achieve optimum yield of onion by placing the seeds at a certain depth in lines, a manually operated drum seeder for onion has been designed, fabricated and tested in Farm Machinery and Postharvest Process (FMP) Engineering Division of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI). The seeder is suitable for the small farmers who have practice of direct seeding of onion under dry land cultivation. The seeder consists of a frame, a PVC drum, furrow openers, furrow closer, wheels and handle. In 2009-2010, the seeder was fabricated in FMP Engineering divisional workshop and tested in experimental plot, BARI, Gazipur. Seed rate of the seeder was 4 kg ha^-1 and field capacity was 0.08 ha hr^-1. Weight and price of the seeder were 5.5 kg and Tk 2500 per unit, respectively. In 2010-2011, a drug chain was added in the seeder and field performance evaluation of the seeder was repeated comparing with manual line sowing and traditional broadcasting methods in experimental plot of BARI, Gazipur. There was no significant variation between average yield of onion by using the seeder (13.26 ton ha^-1) and in that of manual line sowing (12.90 ton ha^-1) but there was significantly higher yield of onion by using the seeder than that in traditional (10.25 ton ha^-1). But sowing time (6 h ha^-1) was significantly lower for seeder use than manual line sowing (48 h ha^-1) which contribute to reduce the cost of sowing for direct seeded onion.

Keywords: Onion, Drum Seeder, Field Capacity, Yield and Sowing Time

Location:

Start Date: 00-00-2009

End Date: 00-00-2010

Program Area: Farm Mechanization

Commodity: Seeder

Objectives:

a) To develop a manually operated onion seeder by using locally available materials.

b) To test the seeder in laboratory and field conditions.

Methodology:

A drum seeder for onion was designed and fabricated in Farm Machinery and Postharvest Process Engineering Division of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Joydebpur, Gazipur during 2009-2010. The design of the drum seeder was drawn by AutoCAD software 2004 and then constructed according to drawing dimensions in the FMP Engineering divisional workshop. The seeder is made of locally available materials like M S flat bar, M S sheet, M S pipe, M S hollow square bar, M S rod, PVC pipe and M S nut bolts etc. The seeder consists of a frame, a drum, furrow openers, wheels and handle. Functional views of the drum seeder for onion. To ascertain various design parameters of the seeder, laboratory test was carried out in the FMP Engineering division, BARI, Gazipur. The drum seeder was tested in lab bed to determine the performance parameters. The seeder was calibrated to appraise seed rate and seed depth. Before putting the seeds inside the drum, seeds were soaked for 24 hours for sprouting. Then small amount of seeds (100 g) were put inside the drum in each chamber. Seeding operation was started from a corner of the land. After placement the seeder in a corner, the seeder was pulled forward. When the seeder moved forward, wheel as well as the drum rotated and seeds dropped in the furrows made by furrow openers. Then the seeds were covered by drug chain and leveled the land.

Source of Information: ISSN: 2224-0616 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 3 (1): 26-28, June, 2013 Available online at http://www.ijarit.webs.com

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The seeder was capable to use for onion seed sowing in particular depth (10-15 mm). The field capacity of the seeder for onion was 0.08 ha hr^-1. Onion yield of seeder sown field and that of manual line sowing was statistically identical though sowing time was significantly varied. The seeder should be further developed for multi crop use like cucumber, amaranth, carrot, radish etc.

Knowledge Management: Journal