[Dineshkumar, 3(9): September, 2014] ISSN: 2277-9655

Scientific Journal Impact Factor: 3.449

(ISRA), Impact Factor: 2.114

IJESRT
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES & RESEARCH
TECHNOLOGY
Performance Evaluation of Manually Operated Single Row Cotton Planter
Rangapara Dineshkumar1, Pandya Jaimin2
*1
M. Tech. Student, Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engg. AAU-Anand, Godhra, India
2
M. Tech. Student, Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engg. JAU-Junagadh, Junagadh, India
[email protected]
Abstract
Cotton plays a major role in Indian economy and offers employment for more than 60 million people. The
yield of cotton in Gujarat state about 758 lakh bales. In Gujarat the sowing of cotton is labour intensive as its plating
requires 12-15 hr/ha. The single row cotton planter was tested and calibrated in laboratory as well as in field as per
Indian Standard Test Code No. 6316:1993. The field evaluation of manually operated cotton planter was done by
pulling the cotton planter in which, speed of planter was 1.62 km/h, actual operating time in 4.53 minute was
required to cover area of 0.01 ha with actual field capacity of 0.132 ha/hr and field efficiency was 79.52%. The
percentage damage in cotton seed is 1.236% more by planter compared to conventionally manual dibbling. The
average time requirement by manually operated cotton planter was 7.57 hr/ha while manually sowing around 11.12
hr/ha. The average seed rate in manual cotton planter was 3.031 kg/ha. The cost of planting cotton by manually
method is approximately 209 Rs/ha, where as the cost by this machine is 168 Rs/ha.

Keywords: Calibration, Conventional method, Cotton, Cotton planter

Introduction
Cotton (Gossypium spp.), the "King offibre" better coverage. About 70 to 80 % of total cropped
and "White gold" is one of the most important crops area of Saurashtra region of Gujarat is covered under
commercially grown over 111 countries throughout cotton crop. Generally, person who sow the seed by
the world. In India, cotton is cultivated in an area of hand dibbling walks along the row and sow the seed
about 117.27 lakh hectare area with a production in the soil, which is very labour intensive, tedious,
potential of 390 1akh bales (1 bale =170 kg) [1]. costly and improper seed distance.
Cotton plays a major role in Indian economy and Now a day, there is scarcity to find labours
offers employment for more than 60 million people. in required numbers and at desired price. Even if one
Around 30% per cent of the foreign exchange gets it, then there is no guaranty to timeliness in
earnings are from the export of cotton and cotton operation and proper plant to plant distance. On
based textile produce. another side this Single Row Cotton Planter have
The yield of cotton in Gujarat state about 758 lakh labour requirement of one and have more accuracy in
bales. In Gujarat the sowing of cotton is labour sowing, time saving and cost effective as compare to
intensive, ultimately resulting in higher cost of manual dibbling. Hence manually operated single
cultivation. The labour requirement for planting row cotton planer was evaluated.
cotton seed is high (15%) which is next to harvesting Sharma (1983) et al. developed a bullock
operation (44%) [6]. Thus, it results in higher cost of drawn single row seed cum fertilizer drill with
cultivation. combined furrow opener for seed cum fertilizer drill
Modern farming calls for carful sowing to placement and suitable for wheat, cotton and gram
get the highest yield. The sowing operation involves crops. Kathirvel (2001) et. al. evaluated that the till
opening the furrow to the proper depth, meter the planter machine for cotton has forward speed of
seed, placing the seed in the furrow in an acceptable operation was optimized as 1.4m/s. The average draft
pattern and covering the seed and compact the soil and fuel consumption unit as 2300 N and 3.82 X 10 -3
around the seed to proper degree. However, the m3 / hr, respectively. The field capacity of the unit
selection of any type of sowing equipments depends was 0.81 ha / hr. with field efficiency of 71.43 %.
upon is ability to place the seed at proper distance The till planter resulted in 23.65, 90.09 and 18.25 %
and depth without clusters with minimum draft and saving in cost, time and energy respectively when
http: // www.ijesrt.com (C)International Journal of Engineering Sciences & Research Technology
[40]
[Dineshkumar, 3(9): September, 2014] ISSN: 2277-9655
Scientific Journal Impact Factor: 3.449
(ISRA), Impact Factor: 2.114

compare to conventional method. Kamarajl and 7 Power transmission Chain and sprocket
Kathirvel (2008) developed a belt type cotton planter. A. Laboratory test
The use of belt type cotton planter for planting cotton a. Calibration
resulted in 68.62 and 98.46% saving in cost and time, The calibration of the unit was carried out in the
respectively when compared to the manual planting. laboratory with a test rig to obtain the seed rate at
Raghavendra (2013) et. al. developed a ridge planter various speeds of planter.
for cotton. The cost of operation of ridge planter for b. Determination of mechanical damage test.
sowing cotton was found to be 433 Rs/ha compared For each of the tests conducted in calibration test,
to 1013 Rs/ha for conventional method. seeds were taken from each tests. The number of
seeds with visible damage seeds in above sample was
Materials and methods taken and percentage of damaged seeds after the test
In present study manually operated was determined.
total no. of damaged seeds
single row cotton plante was calibrated at Farm % mechanical damage = (1)
total no. of seeds
Machinery and Power Department, College of
c. Seed uniformity test by sand bed method
Agricultural Engineering and Technology,
Prepare an artificial leveled bed of 25 cm depth from
Junagadh Agricultural University Campus.
In laboratory test calibration of fine sand and of a length of at least 2 m. and width
manually operated single row cotton plante was equal to the nominal width of planter. Allowed the
conducted as per IS-6316:1993 [7]. The field planter to travel over this bed with furrow openers or
performance test was conducted in order to seed tube lower to 3 to 5 cm from the top surface of
obtain actual data for over all machine the bed. Observed the number of seeds dropped and
performance operating , accuracy, work capacity, the average distance between 2 seeds for each meter
field condition and field efficiency. In field of bed length. Repeat the test at least three times.
testing soil parameter and machine parameter B. Field test
under desired field condition during field testing Set the planter in a well prepared seed bed that was
the parameter like Draft, speed of operation, field 15 to 20 cm deep, firm the fine structure smooth and
capacities field efficiency ,power requirement, leveled, respectively free of surface trace and at
and depth of seed placement were measured. Fig. appropriate moisture content. In the field a distance
1 shows manually operated single row cotton was marked when traversed represented a convenient
planter and Table 1 shows its specification. part of hectare. The same identical adjustment setting
as in calibration test was used. The performance of
cotton planter was compared with manual planting
techniques. The planter was evaluated with optimized
forward speed of 1.62 km/hr at 14 % moisture
content (db) of the soil.
a. Placement of seed test
The planter was operated in the field under the good
seed bed conditions and with avg. depth settings of
the furrow openers. Cover 10 m of row length. Then
the soil was removed carefully without disturbing the
seed at several spot in each row. The depth of the
seed below the soil surface was measured. A plank
was laid across the row and measurements were
taken downwards.
Fig.1: Manually operated cotton planter
b. Power requirement test
Table 1. Specification of manually operated single row To check the draft in kg dynamometer was inserted in
cotton planter. the hitch. The draft is defined as horizontal
Sr. No. Parameter Specification component of the pull, Parallel to the line of motion.
No. of observations were taken for the first meter
1 Length 2057 mm
from the boundary line, so as to ensure the
2 Width 508 mm
adjustment and stability of the observations then the
3 Height 635 mm observations for the next 5 m. were taken. The
4 Transmission ratio 1:1.5 performance was repeated till the least 5 m from the
5 Furrow opener type Shoe type boundary, average of these given the pull in kg and
6 Metering Mechanism Cell feed horizontal component of these draft.
http: // www.ijesrt.com (C)International Journal of Engineering Sciences & Research Technology
[41]
[Dineshkumar, 3(9): September, 2014] ISSN: 2277-9655
Scientific Journal Impact Factor: 3.449
(ISRA), Impact Factor: 2.114

The power is computed as damaged seeds after the test was determined. Seed
Draft (kg)×Speed(m/s) damage determination test indicates the mechanical
Metric h.p. = ………..…..…. (2)
75 damage was 1.236 %.
Draft = p x cos θ, θ = Angle of draft with horizontal
Seed uniformity test by sand bed method: The
c. Field operation:
uniformity in sowing of seed is more than manually
The field performance test was conducted in order to
sowing. The average distance between two seeds is
obtain actual data for over all machine performance
about 38 to 39 cm which is near to 40 cm recommend
operating, accuracy, and field capacity. The field
plant to plant spacing for cotton. The alignment of
performance test was conducted according to
seeds in furrow is near to the center line of furrow
recommended plant to plant spacing for Saurashtra
which is harder to maintain in manual sowing.
region of Gujarat is 1.25 m row to row and 0.4 m
Field test
plant to plant for Bt-cotton (American).
The field efficiency of planter for sowing cotton is
Field capacity was calculated by following
79.52 %. Theoretical field capacity and Actual field
expression:
capacity were observed 0.166 and 0.132 ha/hr
TFC = (W × S) / 10..................................................(3)
respectively.
Where, TFC = theoretical field capacity, W =
Power requirement test: Angle of draft with
theoretical width of implement, m and S = speed of
horizontal θ was calibrated as 26.56° and speed at the
operation.
time to cover 10m run were shown in Table 2. The
Actual field capacity was determine by expression
observation made during the power measurement test
given as
shows the maximum draft calculated was 8.8 kg and
AFC = A / T.............................................................(4)
average draft ranges from 8.75 to 8.85 kg. The result
Where AFC = Actual field capacity, A = actual area
shows that the number of furrow openers and depth
covered by implement, ha and T = effective time in
of sowing were increased, the draft requirement was
hr (hours). Field Efficiency is determine by the ratio
more and field efficiency was less and vice-versa.
of actual field capacity and theoretical field capacity.
The average power required was ranged from 0.050
In Saurashtra region of Gujarat person who sow the
hp to 0.055 hp.
seed by hand dibbling walks along the row and sow
the seed in the soil, which is very labour intensive, Table 2: Field Operation Data Sheet
tedious, costly and improper seed distance. Time
required to cover 0.01 ha area is measured and Sr. Speed Pull Draft TFC
calculate cost economics. H.P.
no. (m/sec) (kg) (kg) (ha/hr)

Results and discussion 1 0.45 9.85 8.81 0.052 0.194

According to I.S. Code No. 6316:1993
planter has been tested in laboratory condition as well 2 0.43 9.78 8.75 0.050 0.185
as in field condition. The soil was clay loam and the 3 0.47 9.89 8.85 0.055 0.203
bulk density and the moisture content of the soil was
Avg. 0.45 9.84 8.80 0.052 0.194
1.3 gm/cc and 14 % respectively during the field test.
In laboratory, calibration of planter, mechanical Cost Economics: In cost analysis the value of
damage determination test and seed uniformity test Purchase Price (P) in Rs, Working hour per year (h),
by sand bed method were carried out. In the field Life in year (L), Life in working hour (H), Salvage
tests, placement of seeds, power measurement, field value (S) in Rs of planter were consider as 2000, 80,
efficiency and labour requirement and field 12, 960, 200 respectively. Cost of operation and time
efficiency tests were performed. saving of cotton planter and manual planting was
Laboratory Test shown in Table 3. It was observed that the cotton
Calibration: The planter was calibrated as per planter for planting in 88.14 and 94.74 per cent
recommended seed rate of cotton i.e. 3 kg/ha. The saving in cost and time respectively compared to the
observations obtained from the calibration test were manual planting.
that the effect in seed rate due to the level of seeds in Cost analysis:
the hopper is negligible. The calibrated seed rate was For planter:
found as 3.031 kg/ha. A. Fixed cost per hour
𝑃− 𝑆 2000 −200
Seed damage test: For each of the tests and 1. Depreciation = =
𝐻 960
conducted in one above, seeds were taken from each = 1.87 Rs. / hr
tests. The number of seeds with visible damage seeds
in above sample was taken and percentage of
http: // www.ijesrt.com (C)International Journal of Engineering Sciences & Research Technology
[42]
[Dineshkumar, 3(9): September, 2014] ISSN: 2277-9655
Scientific Journal Impact Factor: 3.449
(ISRA), Impact Factor: 2.114

2. Interest on average investment @ 13 % planting cotton by manually method is 209 Rs/ha,

per year where as the cost by this machine is 168 Rs/ha.
𝑃+𝑆 13 1 Hence it’s better than conventional manual dibbling.
= 2 × 100 × 80
2000+200 13 1
= × 100 × 80 References
2
= 1.79 Rs. / hr 1. Anonymous, 2014, The Cotton Corporation
3. Housing rate: - @1 % of India LTD., Govt. of India.
𝑃+𝑆 1 1
= 2 × 100 × 80 2. Kamarajl P. and Kathirve K.(2008)
2000+200 1 1 “Development and Evaluation of Tractor
= × 100 × 80
2 Operated Belt Type Cotton Planter”
= 0.14 Rs. /hr Journalof Agricultural Engineering, 45(1) :
Total fixed cost = 1.87 + 1.79 + 0.14 69-72
= 3.8 Rs. /hr 3. Kathrivel, K., Shivaji, K.P., and Manian, R.(
A. Variable cost:- 2001) “Development and evaluation of till
Labour charge @ 150 Rs/day planter for cotton crop” Agric.
= 150/8 @ 8 hours for one day Mechanization in Asia, Africa and Latin
=18.75 Rs / hr America. 32(1) : 23-27.
Total operating cost per hour 4. Raghavendra, M. Veerangouda, K. V.
= Fixed cost + Variable cost Prakash, Vijaykumar Palled, Sharankumar
= 3.8 + 18.75 Hiregoudar and Devanand Maski. (2013)
= 22.05 Rs/hr “Development and evaluation of ridge
= 168 Rs/ha (with effective field capacity = planter for cotton” Karnataka J. Agric. Sci.,
0.132 ha/hr) 26 (1) : 88-91
For manually dibbling: total time required to cover 5. Sharma, D.N., Bansal, N.K. and Jain, M.L.
1 hectare land was 11.12 hr. (1983) “Design, development and testing of
Labour charge @ 150 Rs/day a Bullock Drawn single row seed cum
= 18.75 Rs / hr @ 8 hours for one day fertilizer drill” Agric. Mechanization in
Total operating cost per hour Asia, Africa and Latin America. 14(2): 37-
= Total Rs per hour X Time required to 40.
cover per hectare 6. Vaiyapuri K. (2004) “ Studies on inter
= 18.75x11.12 cropping unconventional green manures in
= 209 Rs/ha irrigated hybrid cotton.” Unpublished Ph.
Table 3: Comparative performance in terms of D. thesis. Dept of Agronomy, TNAU,
saving Coimbatore. 72
Treatments Cost, Time, Per cent saving 7. IS 6316:1993 Sowing Equipment – Seed cum
Rs/ha hr/ha Fertilizer Drill.
Cost Time Author Biblography
Cotton 168 7.58 19.61 31.83
Planter Rangapara Dineshkumar
Manual 209 11.12 - - Er. Rangapara
planting Dineshkumar, B.Tech
(Agril. Engg.) from
Conclusion junagadh agricultural
The tests were conducted in laboratory and Univesity, M.Tech (Agril.
field at Farm Machinery and Power Department, Engg.) with specialization
College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, in Farm Machinery and
Junagadh Agricultural University Campus. Efficiency Power Engineering from
of the manually operated cotton planter was more anand agricultural
effective as compare to manual dibbling as the university. He has been
effective field capacity of planter was 0.132 ha/hr, awarded Vice-
the field efficiency of planter was 79.52 %, the cost chancellor’s Gold Medal
of sowing of cotton by this machine was 22.05 Rs./hr for the best overall
and 168 Rs./ha The average power required was performance (Best Student
ranged from 0.050 hp to 0.055 hp. The cost of of the Year) in B.Tech
http: // www.ijesrt.com (C)International Journal of Engineering Sciences & Research Technology
[43]
[Dineshkumar, 3(9): September, 2014] ISSN: 2277-9655
Scientific Journal Impact Factor: 3.449
(ISRA), Impact Factor: 2.114

(Agril. Engg.) Degree.

Email:
[email protected]
m

Pandya Jaimin
Er. Pandya Jaimin, B.Tech
(Agril. Engg.) with o.g.p.a
of 7.37/10 and M.Tech
(Agril. Engg.) with
specialization in Farm
Machinery and Power
Engineering with o.g.p.a.
7.43/10 from Junagadh
Agricultural Univesity.
Junagadh
Email:
[email protected]

http: // www.ijesrt.com (C)International Journal of Engineering Sciences & Research Technology

[44]