Biometric Properties of Plug Vegetable Seedlings Relevant to the Design of Vegetable Transplanter

Abstract

In the present study, biometric properties of chilli (Pusa Jwala) and tomato (Abhilash) plug seedlings of 30-, 45- and 60-day old relevant to design of vegetable transplanter were investigated. The parameters determined were weight, stem diameter, height, critical canopy diameter, drop shatter height, compressive strength and coefficient of static friction of the plug seedlings. The average weight of chilli seedlings was 13.1, 15.2 and 15.9 g for 30-, 45- and 60-day old, respectively; whereas, that for tomato seedling was 13.4, 14.1 and 14.5 g for 30-, 45- and 60-day old, respectively. The optimum drop shatter height with minimum shattering of plug media for both seedlings was 400 mm. The critical canopy diameter for chilli and tomato seedling was 68.2 mm and 70.4 mm, respectively. The mean coefficient of static friction for canvas belt, mild steel, aluminium and galvanized iron varied from 0.63 to 0.89. The compressive strength of stem of seedlings ranged from 1.2 kgf to 1.6 kgf. These properties of vegetable seedlings are critical in designing and selection of different components of vegetable transplanter.