M A Wohab
Principal Scientific Officer
Farm Machinery and Post harvest Process Engineering Division
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute
Gazipur-1701
M Arshadul Hoque
Scientific Officer
Farm Machinery and Post harvest Process Engineering Division
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute
Gazipur-1701
M A Razzaque Akand
Principle Scientific Officer
Spices Research Centre
Shibpur, Bogra
To achieve optimum yield of onion by placing the seeds at a certain depth in lines, a manually operated drum type onion seeder 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 to practice 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, four units of the seeder was fabricated in divisional workshop and tested in experimental plot, BARI, Gazipur, Spices Research Centre (SRC), Bogra, SRC, Magura, SRC, Faridpur and farmers field at Rajbari. Seed rate of the seeder was 4 kg/ha and field capacity was 0.08 ha/h. Weight and cost of the seeder were 5.5 kg and Tk 2500 per unit, respectively.
Drum seeder, field capacity, germination, onion, seed
Bogra, Faridpur, Magura, Rajbari
Farm Mechanization
(ii) To test the seeder in field conditions in different locations of Bangladesh
(iii) To study the economics of drum seeder in farmers socio-economic conditions
Materials and Method
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.
Machine operation: Before putting the seeds inside the drum, seeds were soaked for 24 hours for sprouting. Then small amount of seeds (100 gm) were put inside the drum in each chamber. Seeding operation was started from a corner of the land.
Machine test: During robi season in 2009, four units of the seeder were fabricated in divisional workshop and tested in experimental plot, BARI, Gazipur, Spices Research Centre (SRC), Bogra, SRC, Magura, SRC, Faridpur and farmers field at Rajbari.
Research Report
Width of the seeder was within the reach of an operator to pull it at 1.5 cm sowing depth. Seed rate of the seeder was 4 kg/ha which was very high. But 45 days after sowing, plants were thinned out keeping optimum plant population. The field capacity of the seeder was 0.08 ha/hr. Weight of the seeder was 5.5 kg which was comfortable for the operator to turn at head of land. The cost of the seeder (Tk 2500) was also reasonable for an onion growing farmer. The yield of onion (10660 kg/ha) was higher than the national average (6.94 ton/ha). The seeder should be developed for multi-crop use.
Report/Proceedings