Country Plough Research Articles

Establishment Techniques on Yield and Economics of Pigeon Pea [Cajanus cajan (L.)] in North Western Zone of Tamil Nadu

Field experiments were conducted to study the effect of establishment techniques on yield and economics of red gram [Cajanus cajan (L.)] under irrigated condition at Regional Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Paiyur - 635 112,Tamil Nadu, India during Kharif season of 2013-14 and 2014-15 respectively in randomized block design with four replications. The treatments are line sowing/dibbling of seeds, sowing behind the country plough, sowing in polybag and transplanting at 25 and 40 DAS, sowing in portrays and transplanting in 25 and 40 DAS. The redgram variety LRG 41 was used for study. The results revealed that, dibbling of seeds in lines recorded higher grain yield of 2351 kg ha-1, net income of Rs.99495/- and B:C ratio of 3.39. Thus, dibbling of seeds in lines recorded 6% higher over sowing in poly bag and transplanting at 25 DAS and 27% higher yield over sowing behind the country plough. Considering yield and economics, line sowing seems to better option for the farmers followed by sowing in polybags and transplanted in 25 DAS. Under transplanted situation, transplanting of seedlings at 30 DAS was more suitable where the monsoon was delayed for 30 to 45 days under rainfed situation.

HUMAN ENERGY UTILIZATION AND EFFECTIVENESS IN SMALL AND MARGINAL FARM HOLDINGS

In India, small and marginal farmers have emerged as a distinct and dominant category. While farm mechanization represents a rapid transformation from traditional to modern methods of farming, it is not uniform across the crops and regions. The level of mechanization, however, remains scattered due to the compulsiveness to the situation dominated by the economic layout of farm holdings, land size, and large-scale deprivation of access to the technology suitable to small holdings. This present contribution elucidates the extent of use tools and machinery among the rice farmers of the state of Wes Bengal, India. Analysis revealed that the total number of man-days involved in paddy cultivation was 120-140 per ha, i.e., 900-1000 man-hours depending upon the availability of labour, tools, and machinery used for the individual operation. Analysis of farm work in small and marginal holdings evolved that over 90% of the total number of farmers use either tractor or power tiller for land preparation. Use of the animal-drawn country plough is gradually phased out in the study regions. For sowing and transplanting operations are primarily manual methods using hand tools. The study provided an insight of the issues of work methods and practices of the farmworkers in small and marginal farm holdings.

Influence of Sowing Time and Methods on Growth and Yield of Rainfed Chickpea

A field experiment was conducted during Rabi 2017-18, to evaluate different sowing time and methods for enhancing the productivity of rainfed chickpea. The experimental design used was strip plot and the treatment combinations were replicated thrice. Sowing time and methods were taken as vertical and horizontal factors, respectively. Sowing time includes October last week, November first week, November second week and November third week and sowing methods comprises of broadcast, line, seed drill and country plough sowing. November first week sown crop produced the higher plant height (38.4 cm) dry matter production (2046 kg. ha-1), number of pods per plant (12.3) and grain yield of 861 kg. ha-1. Among sowing methods, country plough sowing resulted in the maximum plant height (38.9 cm), dry matter production (2006 kg. ha-1), number of pods per plant (12.9) and grain yield (808kg. ha-1)..

Tillage effects on weed biomass and yield of direct-seeded rice

Field experiments were conducted during the rainy seasons of 2011 and 2012 in Odisha, India to evaluate the efficiency of different tillage practices at beausaning on weed flora and yield of direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.). Two passes of ploughing at 5 cm depth and 15 cm spacing with country plough at ‘beausaning’ showed the highest yield of grain (4.06 t/ha) and straw (4.66 t/ha), which was associated with higher weed control efficiency, effective tillers/hill, panicle length, number of filled grains/panicle, 1000-grain weight and with lower number of non-bearing tillers/hill and sterile spikelet/panicle. The lowest value of all parameters was found in 1 and 2 passes with tractor. Two passes by power tiller was as good as 2 passes by country plough in controlling weeds and achieving higher yield. Though 1 and 2 passes with country plough and power-tiller showed statistically identical result, but the B: C ratio (2.25) was more in later treatment than the former (2.10).

Improved sugarcane productivity with tillage and trash management practices in semi arid tropical agro ecosystem in India

Sugarcane productivity at the farm level has been stagnant in India, at around 54–72tha−1. One of the main reasons for this low productivity is the yield gap between ratoon and plant cane yield. To improve the ratoon yield and bridge the yield gap, a field experiment was conducted for two seasons with different tillage systems and trash management practices. The treatments in main plots were T1—tillage by tractor drawn off barring (TT), T2—conventional tillage by the bullock drawn country plough (CT) and T3—no tillage (NT) along with seven types of trash management practices (viz., mulching, shredding combined with micro organisms etc.) as sub plots. The results revealed that Tillage by Tractor drawn off barring, (TT) combined with adoption of trash shredding+composted pressmud+wonder life (S4) treatment significantly improved the germination percentage, tiller number, number of millable canes and ultimately the ratoon cane yield in both the seasons. Similarly, soil physical parameters such as bulk density, mean weight diameter, water stable aggregates, soil moisture content were also significantly influenced by the above treatment when compared to control. Besides, root weight of cane, quality parameters of cane juice, soil available N and P, organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) population also were significantly improved by the adoption of tillage and trash management practices. The results suggest that the tillage with adoption of trash management practices assisted in improving the profitability by way of higher sugarcane ratoon productivity and also in sustaining the soil fertility.

Effect of Tillage on Soil Moisture and Energy Conservation in Production ofToriain an Inceptisol of Assam

An experiment was conducted with four treatments viz. T1: Minimum tillage (harrowing once by tractor drawn harrow), T2: Harrowing twice by tractor drawn harrow, T3: T2 + pulverization once by tractor drawn rotavator and T4: Farmers’ practice (five times ploughing by country plough + one planking). The soil moisture was reduced during the seasons in the order of T4 > T3 > T2 > T1. The highest seed yield of toria was recorded when land preparation was done by tractor drawn harrow twice followed by pulverization by tractor drawn rotavator once (T3) which remained significantly superior to all other tillage methods. However, the difference in yield was at par between minimum tillage (T1) and farmers’ practice (T4). The average seed yield of toria ranged from 4.19 q/ha in minimum tillage to 7.46 q/ha in T3 i.e harrowing twice by tractor drawn harrow followed by pulverization once by tractor drawn rotavator. A similar trend was observed with respect to B-C ratio which varied from 2.28 to 3.42 for the same treatments. Results revealed that treatment T3 recorded the highest energy output (18633 MJ/ha) and T2 recorded the highest output-input energy ratio (3.46 MJ/MJ). Therefore, in terms of energy coversion T2 (Two harrowing by tractor drawn harrow) was considered the best treatment which also recorded better moisture conservation and B-C ratio as compared to farmers’ practice.

Simulation of runoff and sediment yield from a hilly watershed in the eastern Himalaya, India using the WEPP model

Summary A study was undertaken to develop appropriate vegetative as well as structural measures to control sediment yield from a 239.44 ha small multi-vegetated watershed in high rainfall and high land slope conditions of eastern Himalayan range in India using a physically based distributed parameters Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model. The model was calibrated and validated using field-measured data pertaining to 86 storms of monsoon season 2003 and 98 storms of 2004. The daily simulated runoff and sediment yield of the Umroi watershed for the calibration and validation periods were found to match with their measured counterparts at 95% significance level as shown by the Student’s t-tests. The model simulated daily runoff quite well as corroborated by reasonably high Nash–Sutcliffe simulation coefficients of 0.94 and 0.87, low root mean square errors of 1.42 and 1.77 mm, and low percent deviations of −1.71 and −3.01, respectively for calibration and validation periods. The performance of the model for simulating daily sediment yield was also quite good with Nash–Sutcliffe simulation coefficients of 0.95 and 0.90, root mean square errors of 0.08 and 0.09 Mg ha−1 and percent deviations of 3.05 and −5.23, respectively for calibration and validation periods. Subsequently, the calibrated and validated model was used to simulate vegetative (crop, level of fertilization and tillage) and structural (rock-fill check dam and trash barrier) measures and combinations of vegetative and structural control to evaluate their impacts on runoff and sediment yield reduction. Simulations of different vegetative management scenarios indicated that replacing traditional bun agriculture and upland paddy crop with maize, soybean, and peanut would reduce sediment yield by 18.68, 29.60 and 27.70%, respectively. Field cultivator and drill-no-tillage systems have the potential to reduce sediment yield by 13.14 and 21.88%, respectively as compared to the existing practice of spading and country plough. Installation of 8 check dams and 18 trash barriers in the drainage line was predicted to reduce sediment yield from the Umroi watershed substantially with reduction of 54.67%. Simulations of combinations of management practices indicted that soybean and peanut in upland situations with field cultivator or drill-no-tillage system, and structural control in the drainage line has potential to make agriculture sustainable in the Umroi watershed with sediment yield reduction up to 78.40%. The results of the study indicate that the WEPP model can be successfully used for developing conservation management practices in high rainfall and high slope conditions of eastern Himalaya.

Tillage effects on soil microbial biomass in a rainfed agricultural system of northeast India

In an agricultural system, tillage intensity can influence soil biological properties and relevant soil processes including C sequestration. Microbial biomass often responds quickly to changes in soil management and is known to be an indicator of soil quality. A field study was conducted from 2006 to 2007 in the rainfed agricultural system of northeast India with variedly tilled implements (indigenous spade, Country Plough, Bose Plough and Mouldboard Plough) to study the latter's effect on soils’ microbial nutrient concentration during different growth phases of Oryza sativa. No-till plot of the study site recorded comparatively higher values for microbial C (498.17 μg g −1) microbial N (71.01 μg g −1) and microbial P (44.50 μg g −1). Three-way factorial ANOVA (duration, tillage type and soil depth) for microbial nutrients too showed significant variation with each of these factors. Total organic C and available P showed significant correlation with microbial biomass C ( R 2 = 0.6348, n = 120, p < 0.01) and microbial biomass P ( R 2 = 0.916, n = 120, p < 0.005), respectively while total N showed significant correlation with microbial N ( R 2 = 0.5952, n = 120, p < 0.01). Thus our results suggest that for the rainfed agricultural systems conservation tillage, especially no-tillage can improve the substrate availability and the microbial nutrient accumulation rate throughout the crop's growing season; the nutrient pool of which can find its dependence on the replenishment of the labile substrate from the bulk organic matter pool.

Influence of conservation tillage on soil physicochemical properties in a tropical rainfed agricultural system of northeast India

In agricultural systems, especially where the soils are highly erodible, there is always a need for a better synchronization of nutrient release and nutrient demand by the growing crops. Management practices, such as conservation tillage could serve as a viable alternative to the mounting crisis and could enhance SOM besides other physicochemical properties. A field study was conducted in the rainfed agricultural system of northeast India with variedly tilled implements (indigenous spade, Country Plough, Bose Plough and Mouldboard Plough) from 2006 to 2007 to study the effect of these implements on the soils’ physiochemical properties during different growth phases of Oryza sativa in a rainfed valley agricultural system. A marked change in the bulk density values was observed up to 15–20 cm depth only in the Mouldboard Plough tilled plots. Over all, bulk density showed a significant positive correlation only with total N ( r = 0.263, n = 30, p < 0.01). In all the study sites, a significant variation ( p < 0.01) of soil moisture content with respect to time duration, tillage type and soil depth was observed. In Sites I and II, pH showed significant variation ( p < 0.01) with time duration ( F = 6.6, 3.0, d.f. = 5) and tillage type ( F = 73.0, 48.5, d.f. = 4), respectively. Amongst all the study sites, Site II had comparatively higher value for soil organic matter followed by Sites III and I. Total N too showed variation with duration, tillage type and soil depth with ANOVA for the factors showing significant variation between and amongst them across the sites. Available P of the soil too varied remarkably along the crop's growing duration, its depth and upon the tillage method followed. Thus, our results suggest that conservation tillage, especially no-tillage, could serve as an effective tool with respect to increasing soil C and N sequestration in the subtropical agroecosystem of northeast India.

Efficiency and energy use in puddling of lowland rice grown on Vertisols in Central India

Transplanting of rice seedling in puddled soil is one of the most widely used cultivation practices. The present research is aimed at determining what specific implements are needed to obtain optimal puddle bed for transplantating. Puddling experiments were carried out by the use of pair of bullocks with traditional country plough (T 1), pair of bullocks with lug wheel puddler (T 2), power tiller with rotary puddler (T 3), tractor with cage wheel and 9-tine cultivator (T 4) and tractor with cage wheel and rotavator (T 5). One summer ploughing was done at friable moisture condition (18.6% db) and then tilled soil was flooded to saturation (24 h) for preparation of puddled bed. Weeding efficiency, puddling depth, percentage increase in bulk density, puddling index, percolation rate and grain yield of paddy were studied for the above treatments. Puddling performance by different implements in comparison to the traditional animal drawn country plough (T 1) shows that there is a definite reduction in time requirement for field preparation. Increase in weeding efficiency, bulk density, grain yield and puddling index were also observed. The highest values of weeding efficiency and puddling index were found 98.6% and 79.3, respectively, for rotavator (T 5). The total time requirement for preparation of puddle field for treatment T 4 (tractor with cultivator) was found to be the lowest (9.4 h ha −1) with 67% weeding efficiency and 62.7 puddling index as compared to all other alternatives tested. Energy requirement for preparation of puddle field was found highest (2390 MJ ha −1) for rotavator (T 5) followed by T 3, T 4, T 1, and T 2 treatments.

Soil reactions of selected bullock drawn ploughs in two extreme soils

Establishing relations between the plough reactions and the soil constituency help in designing better soil working tools. It leads to minimized energy cost in tillage operations. A hydraulic six cell dynamometer was developed and used in a standard soil bin to compare the mechanics of four bullock drawn tools, namely country plough, iron plough, Tenkasi plough and semi digger. The trials were conducted in two extreme soils namely black cotton and sand, at three levels of soil moisture content and three operating depths. The measurements yielded the complete picture of plough mechanics. The country plough had substantially lesser horizontal reaction of 250 to 460 N in black soil and 165 to 270 N in sand. The iron plough had the maximum horizontal reaction of about 1000 N in black soil and 750 N in sand. But the unit drafts were 3.5 to 4.8, 5.3 to 6.6, 4 to 6.1, and 2.65 to 4.25 N em for the iron, semi digger, Tenkasi and country ploughs respectively in black soil. This indicated that the semi digger demanded the maximum specific draft among the ploughs tested. The vertical soil reactions were all downward indicating a suctional force and they generally increased with depth of operation in both the soils. Clock-wise couples were present only for the iron plough and the semi digger. In the semi digger, it increased non-linearly from 4000 Nm at 8 cm depth to 5000 Nm at 16 cm.

Effect of tillage method on groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) yield in a rice ( O m sativa)-based cropping system

A field experiment was conducted during 1989_91 to find out the effect of tillage practices on yield of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in a rice (Oryza sativa L.&amp;based cropping system on a sandy-loam soil. Stand establishment, growth and yield were improved with an increase in intensity of tillage practices. Seed bed prepared with tractor drawn M.B. plough once supplemented by rotovator resulted in 131 and 47.9% higher pod yields over zero tillage and conventional system (ploughing twice with country plough).

Effect of different organic manures, tilage methods and crop residue management on the availability of micronutrients

Field experiments were conducted with sorghum (Co26) soybean (Co.1) cropping sequence in Typic Ustropeat oil with different tillage operations and manure treatments The post harvest soil samples of soybean Swere analysed for DFPA-Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn content. The results showed that incorporation of organic manures (coirpith, poultry manure, goat manure and FYM) increased the available Zang Fe content, while the availability of Cu was not influenced by the incorporation af organic manures. Ploughing with country plough and burning the stubbles in situ significantly increased the Zn content, while for Fe it was footatry ploughing and composting the stubbles in site) and for Mn, C, and C, recorded the highest value A regards DTPA-Cu, disc ploughing under dry condition recorded the highest value. A the four macronutrient cations were higher in the surface soil than in subsoil.

Effect of Tillage on the Yield of Potato

The experiment was conducted at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, Rahmatpur, Barishal during rabi season of 1992-1993 and 1993-1994. Three tillage implements such as country plough, BARI plough and power tiller were compared in loamy sand soil at 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 number of ploughings. There was no significant effect of tillage implements on the yield of potato but the effect of number of ploughings were significant. The highest BCR values were found for 5-6 number of ploughings by country plough and BARI plough and that of 4 - 5 number of ploughings by power tiller. Considering yield, timeliness of land preparation and economic return, 4 ploughings by power tiller was found to be the best tillage system for potato cultivation in loamy sand soil.

Effect of Tillage on Yield and Economic Return of Wheat

The present study was conducted at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, Jamalpur during the period from 1987-88 to 1990-91 to find out the suitable tillage method and number of passes for wheat cultivation under irrigated condition. Three tillage methods (Tractor, Power tiller and indigenous) each with 2, 4, 6 and 8 number of passes were tested. The effect of tillage methods on wheat yield were not significant. Four and six number of passes gave the higher yields over 2 and 8 passes. The highest beneft-cost ratio was obtained from the tractor method. The tractor and power tiller were found 14 and 4 times faster than the animal drawn country plough in land preparation, respectively. Considering the economic return, speed of work and timeliness of land preparation, 2 passes by tractor and 4 passes by power tiller were suitable for wheat cultivation under irrigated condition.

Effects of deep tillage on dryland production of redgram ( Cajanus cajan L.) in central India

The effects of deep tillage on soil properties, weed control, root growth and yield of dryland redgram ( Cajanus cajan L.) were evaluated on a shallow, gravelly, sandy loam soil (alfisols) of the Bundelkhand region in Central India. Deep tillage, viz. mouldboard ploughing (0.20 m deep), discploughing (0.25 m deep) and sub-soiling (0.40 m deep), were compared with shallow tillage, viz. bullock-drawn country ploughing (0.075 m deep), bullock-drawn blade ploughing (0.10 m deep) and disc harrowing (0.125 m deep) for two different rainfall distribution seasons. Deep tillage operations were found superior to shallow tillage treatments. Disc ploughing and sub-soiling improved soil properties, suppressed weed growth, reduced water and nutrient losses through weed uptake and enhanced profile water storage compared with shallow tillage. Deep tillage with disc ploughing and sub-soiling also induced deeper root penetration by 34 and 39 cm resulting in 89 and 127%, respectively, more grain yield than the shallow tillage by country plough.

Influence of root pruning and cutting interval ofLeucaena hedgerows on performance of alley croppedrabi sorghum

The influence of root pruning and cutting interval ofLeucaena hedgerows on alley croppedrabi sorghum was investigated. Paired (60 cm)Leucaena hedgerows spaced 6.6 m wide were subject to either root pruning, using a country plough during mid-kharif season, or no root pruning. The cutting frequency ofLeucaena hedgerows ranged from one month to six months during therabi cropping period. The effect on soil moisture, crop growth, yield and yield components ofrabi sorghum was examined.

OPTIMUM SEED RATE AND METHOD OF SOWING FOR PRE-MON- SOON SOWING OF SORGHUM UNDER RAINFED VERTISOLS

Experiments conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Kovilpatti for three years from 1984-1985 to 1986-1987 Rabi season indicated that pre-monsoon sowing i.c., two to three weeks before the onset of monsoon (October 15th) by fertiseed drill or Gorru or Country plough with a seed rate of 15 kg ha¹ have recorded the highest grain and straw yield as it could utilise fully the monsoon and pre-monsoon showers.

A comparison of work outputs of draught oxen

A sophisticated data acquisition system has been used to investigate the work performance of oxen and cultivation implements in field conditions. In trials where steady state conditions had become established the mean operating power of a pair of oxen ranged from approximately 210 W for relatively light work with a country plough to 1010 W for a wheeled toolcarrier. Trials with a loading car increased the range of operating conditions and facilitated the examination of ox-implement interactions. Mean heart rates and stepping rates were found to be well correlated with mean power and mean speed respectively. Evidence was found that the nature of the draught force, whether erratic or smooth, in addition to its magnitude, influenced physiological stress. The implications are discussed.

Effect of Minimal Tillage in Deccan Hybrid Maize

Field experiments were conducted in two seasons to compare the efficiency of various types of tillage treatments combined with different weed control methods. There was no significant difference in yield among conventional tillage (two ploughing with country plough), minimal tillage (one cultivation either with country plough or mould board plough or power tiller) and no tillage. One ploughing with mould board plough (minimal tillage) combined with atrazine band application and intercultivation recorded the maximum yield.