Feasibility and economic viability of raised bed planter in western plane zone of Uttar Pradesh, India

The high seed rate and labor requirement are common problems associated to traditional sowing of bold seeds. For bold seeds such as maize, cotton, groundnut and pigeon pea planting and fertilizer placement are the two different unit operations performed either by tractor drawn planter or manually. Performance of tractor-drawn, commercially available raised bed planter for planting of wheat at the bed was tested. The machine has trapezoidal hopper and an inclined plate type metering unit. A suitable furrow opener system was equipped with the machine to place the seeds at the bed at desired depth. The power transmission to the metering unit is through a ground wheel by chain-sprockets system. The field trials were conducted for sowing of different seeds at farmers’ field. The performance indicators of the planter viz. field capacity and efficiency were calculated by using the observed data in the field. An average field capacity of 0.28 ha/h to 0.31 was obtained for continuous operation of raised bed planter at an average speed of 2.27 km/h. A field efficiency of 71–73% was observed which was in the prescribed range of 65–75% for row crop planter. The average depth of placement of seed of 10 observations randomly selected was 4.1 cm. The field machine index was recorded at an average of 77.38%. The seed rate obtained was 91 kg/ha for wheat and depth of sowing was 38–45 mm. Average plant population (plant/m2) after germination was found under the prescribed range i.e. 141–171.

► Crop establishment using bed planting system is a new technique in the farming system of India.
► The raised bed planter machine consists of fertilizer box, furrow openers, ridger, and leveler.
► Feasibility testing of planter was undertaken at the farmer's field and research stations for its utility and efficacy.
► Extent of achieving timeliness of operation and contribution of the equipment in enhancing productivity for wheat is significant.
► Planter with a field capacity of 0.28 ha/h costed Rs. 1008/ha (20$) as against Rs. 1488 (29.6$) required for manual line sowing.