Design and Development of Manually Operated Single Row Planter for Groundnut Seeds

Abstract

India is one among the most important producers of oilseeds within the world and occupies a crucial position within the Indian agricultural economy. Groundnut is also called as wonder nut and cashew nut of poor man. Groundnut is one among the foremost important cash crops of our country. Farm mechanization is an important element of agriculture. Mechanization of groundnut farming is an essential input in modern agriculture. The level of farm mechanization in India stands at about 40-45 per cent with states such as UP, Haryana and Punjab having very high mechanization levels, but north-eastern states having negligible mechanization. This level of farm mechanization is still low as compared to the countries such as the U. S. (95%), Brazil (75% and China (57%). While the level of mechanization lags behind other developed countries, it has seen an average agriculture growth rate of 3.56 per cent through the last decade.A single row planter for groundnut seeds, operated by hand, was designed to enhance planting effi ciency and reduce drudgery involved in manual planting method of groundnut seed. The major components of the planter are seed hopper, seed metering device, jaw clutch, seed delivery tube, furrow opener, furrow covering wheels and drive wheel. The diameter of seed metering device was found as 11.66 cm and number of cells on the periphery of seed metering device was found as 6. The theoretical volume of designed seed hopper was found as 0.024472 m3. The overall dimensions of the designed planter were found as 1474 × 960 × 330 mm. The average speed of operation was found as 2.24 km/h during the fi eld testing. The average theoretical fi eld capacity, eff ective fi eld capacity and fi eld effi ciency was found as 0.101 ha/h, 0.081 ha/h and 81.35 per cent respectively. Average seed rate was found as 65.08 kg/ha during the fi eld testing of developed planter. This planter is considered economical with ease of operation, requiring no special skill to operate and can be adopted by the farmers for the planting of groundnut seed.