Modifications and Development of Critical Components of Rotary Tiller for Improving Biomass Incorporation Efficiency (In-situ) in Dryland Situations

Abstract

Biomass incorporation in soil, though beneficial is not widely adopted by farming community due to non-availability of suitable machines. The present study is an improvement over the existing model of rotary tiller through introduction of three mechanical interventions viz., (i) eight sets of rotary blades with critical bending angle, (ii) 1200 mm long compression reel ahead of rotar assembly and, (iii) discs. Both modified and existing models were tested for in-situ incorporation of legume crops. It showed that with modified rotary tiller, incorporation efficiency increased to 80, 86 and 72% from the earlier 54, 60, and 44% in case of cowpea, horsegram and sunhemp crops, respectively. Chopping efficiency increased to 81, 78, and 69% from the earlier 38, 32 and 21%, respectively with these crops. Both these models were tested at 5 soil moisture content levels viz., 6,12,18,24, and 30% to determine the moisture level for obtaining maximum efficiency. Results showed that maximum efficiency of rotary tiller was attained at 18% of soil moisture. These machines were also tested under two soil types i.e. Alfisols and Vertisols. Higher efficiency of rotary tiller registered in Alfisols than Vertisols. It was concluded that design modifications of critical components in rotary tiller resulted in greater performance on improving biomass incorporation efficiency.