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Zero-till Drill for the Establishment of Mungbean and Comparison of Its Performance with the Conventional Method

Md. Hamidul Islam
Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh

Md. Shamshad Ansari
Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh

Rajesh Nandi
Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh

Md. Mosharraf Hossain
Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh

Md. Enamul Haquee
Agricultural Engineer, Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Khamarbari, Kurigram 5600, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The conventional method of mungbean (Vigna radiata) cultivation is direct broadcasting involves land preparation and seeding which is laborious, time-consuming and cost-intensive. Conservation agriculture-based technologies are becoming increasingly popular among the farmers due to having early planting scope, the minimum cost of production, improving soil health and sustainable environment. This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of a power tiller operated zero-till drill for the adoption in mungbean cultivation. Overall performance was evaluated based on seed rate, number of plants per unit area, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and grain yield, net saving and benefit-cost ratio, and compared with the conventional method. Results showed that average seed rate was 30.0 kg/ha and 35.5 kg/ha for zero tillage and conventional method respectively, which indicates that 5.5 kg of seed per ha was saved with zero tillage system. Besides, zero tillage system could maintain a uniform depth of planting with better seed-soil contact. The average number of plants, pods per plant, seed per pods and yield per hectare were higher in zero tillage system compared to the conventional method. Mungbean yield under zero tillage system was 30.4% higher than the conventional method. Furthermore, from an economic viewpoint, zero tillage system is suitable for mungbean cultivation because it could save the production cost by 20.9% and increased net saving by 60.9% than the conventional method. Furthermore, a higher benefit-cost ratio was obtained from the zero tillage system (BCR = 3.2) than the conventional system (BCR = 1.6) which indicates that zero tillage system is profitable than the conventional method.

Keywords: Zero tillage, Broadcasting, Reduced tillage, Conservation agriculture, Zero-till drill

Location: Bangladesh Agricultural University farm, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Crop-Soil-Water Management

Commodity: Mungbean

Objectives:

The specific objectives of this research are to evaluate the field performance of power tiller operated zero-till drill for the establishment of mungbean and compare the field and economic performance of zero-till drill with the conventional method.

Methodology:

Field tests were conducted at Bangladesh Agricultural University Farm to evaluate the performance of a zero-till drill for the establishment of mungbean. During planting operation, the zero-till drill was attached with a 12 HP Dongfeng power tiller which is very common in Bangladesh to complete the planting operation. Binamoog-5 was used as test variety of mungbean. Planting depth and seed covering mechanism were kept constant throughout the planting operation. Before planting operation, a herbicide named “Roundup” was applied to kill the existing weed at the rate of 100 ml in 10-litre water for 5 decimal lands. Zero-till drill machine: An isometric diagram of BARI developed power tiller operated zero-till drill is shown. Technical detail of zero-till drill is given. The overall performance of the zero-till drill for the establishment mungbean was also compared with the conventional broadcasting system. Before the actual planting operation, the zero-till drill was calibrated for correct seed rate. During calibration for seed rate, two-third of the seedbox was filled with seed and transparent polythene bags were tagged with each of the seed delivery tubes. After that zero-till drill was operated on a pre-measured 20 m travel distance with a sowing width of 80 cm. Then, seed collected in polythene bags that passed through tubes were weighed and seed rate was determined according to the equation (1) as described by Michael and Ojah (1978). This procedure was repeated by adjusting the seed metering device until the desired seed rate obtained. The seed rate was kept at 30.0 kg/ha for zero-till drill. S_d = 10W_s / A_m. Where, S_d = Seed rate (kg/ha), W_s = Total weight of seed (gm), A_m = Measured experimental area, m², Land preparation, Land preparation was not required for the establishment,of mungbean under zero tillage system. However, land preparation was a precondition for the cultivation of mungbean in the conventional method. The land was ploughed by 3 passes of power tiller followed by 2 passes of laddering with straight alternation pattern. Land size of 11.20 decimals with 3 replication plots for each cultivation method was prepared. Fertilizer application: As mungbean is a leguminous crop which can store nitrogen in its root zone from the air. So only TSP fertilizer was applied at the rate of 100 kg/ha during planting followed by the broadcasting method in both zero-tillage system and conventional method. Experimental procedure: During mungbean planting time, the average moisture content of the soil for the top 50 mm was 25% (dry basis). In the case of zero tillage system, the seed was applied in an untilled previously harvested rice field. Straight alternation pattern was used for sowing. For proper seed placement, the speed of operation was maintained at 2.5 km/hr. In the conventional system, both seed and fertilizer were sown by manual broadcasting after the second pass of ploughing followed by laddering. After sowing/planting operation, all the cultural practices such as fertilizer application, irrigation and plant protection were done in all the plots as per the agronomical requirement. A photographic view of mungbean establishment using a zero-till drill and conventional method were shown. Benefit-cost ratio (BCR): It is a ratio used in a cost-benefit analysis to summarize the overall relationship between the relative costs and benefits of a proposed project. If a project has a BCR greater than 1.0, the project is expected to deliver a positive net present value to a firm and its investors. It was calculated using equation (9). BCR = {(Net saving from a project) / (The total cost of production)}

Source of Information: J Bangladesh Agril Univ 18(2): 509–515, 2020

Article Link (Online Journal): https://doi.org/10.5455/JBAU.81033

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

This research focused on the performance evaluation of zero-till drill for the establishment of mungbean and comparing with the conventional method. Zero tillage system showed distinct advantages over the conventional method which was evaluated based on seed rate, planting cost, cost of production, yield, total income, net saving and BCR. Zero tillage system could save 5.5 kg of seed per hector and maintains uniform line to line spacing and depth of planting. Mungbean yield under zero tillage system was found 30.4 % higher than the conventional method. Besides, mungbean planting cost and production cost under zero tillage system were 65.3% and 20.9% less than the conventional method. Also, zero tillage system increased net saving by 60.9% than the conventional method. Furthermore, a higher benefit-cost ratio was obtained from the zero-tillage system (BCR = 3.2) than the conventional system (BCR = 1.6) which indicates that zero tillage system is profitable than the conventional method. Therefore, it can be concluded that mungbean establishment using zero tillage system is better than the conventional method.

Knowledge Management: Journal