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Adaptive Trial of a Battery Operated Rotary Type Low Cost Weeder (2019-20)

M A Gulandaz
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh

M A Hossain
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh

N Amin
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh

M A Matin
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The overall goal of this experiment was to reduce the production cost and drudgery of labor in weeding purpose and use of renewable energy for upland crop production. The main objective of this research is to do adaptive trail of improved weeder at the different locations of Bangladesh through OFRD. The overall goal of the research is to evaluate the performance of a DC motor operated rotary type weeder instead of fossil fuel operated mechanical weeder in upland crop production and reduces the cost of farming as well. The specific objective of this weeder is to remove weeds by using battery power rather than other weeding practices to reduce time, save money and increase work effort of labor. Adverse effects on environment and cost of chemical weeding are making farmers to consider and accept mechanical methods of weed control. Manual weeding is common practices in the farming system of Bangladesh. It is the most widely used weed control method but it is labor intensive. The mechanical weeder is to reduce drudgery and cost which ensure a comfortable posture of the farmer or operator during weeding. The costs associated with mechanical weeding such as operating cost can be lowered; as such mechanical weeding can represent a viable and cost effective option to majority of medium and small scale farmers in developing countries like Bangladesh. According to the last year field test, we have found couple of recommendations which are: incorporate forward speed in wheel, increases the wheel size, earthing up soil to make furrow. This year we are working on these recommendations and want to develop modified version of upland weeder. We will also evaluate the performance of weeder in the different locations of Bangladesh through On Farm Research Division (OFRD). We made fields trial on maize at FMPE Research field of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute and On Farm Research Division (OFRD), Kishoregonj. Weeding index of battery operated weeder for maize is 99.52% which is very close to chemical weeding. Again effective field capacity i.e. area coverage of battery operated weeder for maize is 0.04852ha/hr. Plant damage ratio is very limited for maize which is only 0.010%. Cost of weeding by battery operated weeder is almost half compare to BARI weeder and just about one third compare to manual weeding but equivalent to chemical weeding. Significant difference is found in yield among these four methods, and height yield is found in battery operated weeder due to more nitrogen infestation in soil. Adaptive trail in farmers’ field will continue next year.

Keywords: Battery Operated weeder, Weed Management, Low cost weeder,

Location: FMPE Research field, BARI and OFRD, Kishoregonj

Start Date: 00-00-2019

End Date: 00-00-2020

Program Area: Farm Mechanization

Commodity: Weeder, Maize

Objectives:

Adaptive trail of battery operated weeder at the farmers field through OFRD
Evaluate the performance of weeder in farmers’ field and do necessary improvement

Methodology:

Assumptions: Design of the modified rotary weeder is depends on field conditions, crop and soil types and energy requirement of the machine. The machine is to be powered by a 48 volt 750-watt motor which is operated by 48-volt rechargeable dry cell battery. Chain and sprocket arrangement is used for transmission of power. Motor speed is 700 rpm. Design Process: Power requirement of motor, chain and sprocket selection and design and arrangement of tines are needed to be considered in the design process. In modified version, power is provided to the wheel as same as the walking speed of human (50 rpm). The power supply on rotary shaft should be taken into consideration. There are two parts of the weeder, one is body and another is handle. Body part consists of motor, battery, reducer gearbox, wheel and rotary shaft but handle consists of auto switch and converter. Machine Description: The powers to the rotary hoe are supplied from the motor through chain and sprocket. The most of the components of weeder were fabricated at the Farm Machinery and Post-Harvest Process Engineering Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) while other standard components, such as motor and transmission elements were picked up locally and the parts were assembled at the same workshop. Adaptive Trials: Site and experimental condition- The experiment was conducted at FMPE division research field of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and farmer’s field under OFRD Kishoregonj during kharif season 2019-20. The soil was clay loam and soil penetration was recorded before each treatment imposed. Crop and weeds: Maize- Hybrid Maize (Elite) was planted manually in the experimental plot (6.5 x 7 m each) with 60 cm row to row spacing and 25 cm plant to plant spacing. Each plot accommodated 6 rows. The planting date was 14th December, 2019. Density of weed was recorded before and after treatment imposed. The weed sampling was done randomly in middle three rows in 1.2 x 1 m quadrants. Width of cut is 20 cm, so three pass is done to cover 60 cm width. Number of plant damage is recorded and Inter plant weeds were removed by mechanical method. The common species of weeds were recorded. a. Fertilizer, Irrigation and earthing up: Fertilizer and irrigation was applied as BARI recommended dose. And earthing up for maize was done manually at 45 days after sowing. b. Experimental Design: The study included three treatments replicated four. The experiment was designed in Randomized Complete Block. The treatments were: T₁ - Weeding by BARI Battery Operated weeder at 15 and 30 DAT; T₂ - Weeding by BARI push and pull weeder at 15 and 30 DAT; T₃ - Manual Weeding at 15 and 30 DAT; and T₄ – Chemical Weeding by herbicide (Gramoxon-3ml/lit) spray at 15 and 30 DAT. c. Test Procedure: The performance of weeder is examined by the following indicators: 1. Weeding Index- Weeding index is a ratio between the number of weeds removed by a weeder and the number present in a unit area and is expressed as a percentage (Rangasamy, et al., 1993). Three randomized selected area of 1m x 1m in each replication were marked out for sampling. Weeds in each plot were counted before and after weeding using the battery operated rotary weeder. The time taken to perform this operation was noted. 2.Plant Damage- Plant damage was observed in mechanical method and recorded. Plants, damaged completely or uprooted were counted as 'damaged' and expressed as percent of each plot the plant damage percent was evaluated. 3. Field efficiency- The ratio of actual or effective field capacity (EFC) to TFC is called the machine's field efficiency (FE). Theoretical Field capacity: Theoretical field normal capacity (TFC) depends only on the full operating width of the machine and the average travel speed in the field. Field capacity: The weeding tools were tested on the same plots to determine the field capacity of each of the practices. Field capacity is the amount of area that a weeding tool can cover per unit time as shown in equation 3 (Hunt, 1983). Cost parameters for economic analysis: a. Depreciation cost- The ratio between salvage values deducted from purchase price and life of a machine. b. Benefit cost ratio (BCR)- It refers to the ratio of gross/total return to the gross cost or total cost. It indicated the amount of taka a farmer receives for every taka he spent. c. Payback period- The length of time required to recover the cost of an investment. Statistical Analysis: All statistical analyses in this experiment were carried out using statistical package “R 3.4.4” for Windows Version 2010. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), Coefficient of variance (CV) and least significant difference (LSD) between mean values were calculated at 5% significance level.

Source of Information: Annual Research Report 2019-2020, BARI, Gazipur, Bangladesh

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Modified battery operated weeder is designed by solidwork software and fabricated in view of methodological steps. For performance evaluation of battery operated weeder, field trials are done in Farm Machinery and Postharvest Process Engineering division research field and OFRD kishoregonj among battery operated weeder, BARI push and pull weeder, manual weeding and chemical use of weeding. Due to COVID 19 pandemic situation, adaptive trial cannot be dine in different locations. The performance of battery operated weeder is found quite satisfactory and it is an excellent weeding technology for farmers. We found a significant difference in weeding Index, time of weeding, plant damage due to weeding among four weeding method. And there is no significant difference in yield among the treatments. But battery operated weeder shown better performance among all treatment. Weeding index of battery operated weeder is very close to manual weeding. Effective field capacity and plant damage ratio is acceptable. Though Cost of weeding of battery operated weeder is almost equal to chemical weeding but very low compare to other two weeding method. Though inter plant weed removal is not possible but it has no significant effect on yield. But multipurpose use of battery can ensure the sustainability of weeder. Adaptive trail in farmers’ field can help this technology more acceptable to the farmers.

Knowledge Management: Report/Proceedings