Advanced Design of Permanent Raised Bed Machinery in Pakistan

• Dr. Zahid Hussain• Muhammad Irfan • Ghani Akbar

Pakistan Agriculture Research Council

Presentation Outline

• Introduction • Material & Method• Results• Conclusions

• Mechanical power use in Pak. Agric. commences in 1950s

• Tractor & tillage was introduced in 1960s

• Currently available tractors 593334 nos.

• 77% tractors (46-55hp) are available to farmers

• 23.8 million hectares cultivatedWith 6.62 million total farms

• 47.6 hectares/tractor • 0.14 ha/capita agricultural

land

Introduction

Permanent Raised Beds in Pakistan

• 1998 Permanent Raised Bed system/machinery was introduced under a collaborative research project of ACIAR and PARC.

• Research findings were very encouraging:– Saving water, operating time and

labour– Improving grain yield and WUP– Achieving uniform distribution seed

and fertilizer – Improving soil health

Introduction

Maize crop on PRB

Wheat crop on PRB

Cont…

However,• Large scale adoption of the system was

limited due to:– Two separate heavy machines (Bed

former and seeders) – Imported machinery cost was very

high– Obstacles in local manufacturing of

these machines

• Thus, GOP supported PRB system through a national project where ACIAR was again a partner:– Machines were subsidised and locally

manufactured– Farmer and manufacturer trainings

were conducted– Research component was further

strengthenedIntroduction

Bed former cum renovator

Seed drill

• To develop an Advanced Design of Permanent Raised Bed Machine (ADPRB) suitable for local socio economic, available tractor power, cropping and environmental conditions of Pakistan.

Objective

Material and Methods

• After completion of three years of national project on PRB a survey was conducted to check:– Farmers Satisfaction with the available technology– To evaluate the performance of current PRB machinery

distributed & to identify issues

• Survey revealed:– Farmers satisfied with the system as compared to

traditional farming system

• However, two key issues identified– 1: Capital cost (RS 320,000/set) and heavy machinery

weight– 2:Operating cost of twice machinery operation

• Advanced design of PRB (ADPRB) machinery was developed with features of:– Bed forming and sowing in a single

operation– Adjustable bed size from 90cm

(single bed) to 25cm (double bed)– Maximum capacity of six rows

(wheat, rice etc) per 90cm bed and 2 rows (maize, cotton etc) per 25cm bed

– Light weight (175 kg) and low cost (RS 120,000 per set)

– Precision planting and inter row hoeing

Advanced Design of Permanent Raised Bed Machinery

Material and method

ADPRB Machinery details

• ADPRB machine comprises of four parts

– i) The front bar with three furrow openers, two blades and one shaft with four cutters (Cutters are used for hoeing on beds between rows of cotton and maize)

– ii) Fertilizer and seed boxes, a shaft with five cutters and one roller

– iii) six tines with double disk furrow openers for wheat and rice seed

– iv) A precision seed metering system for maize and cotton to maintain plant to plant distance

3rd Par

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4th Par

t

2nd Par

t

1st Par

t

Material and method

Machinery Testing

Material and method

• Testing of machinery was performed at Gujjar farm, Haripur, KPK Province

• Six rows of wheat was sown on 90cm wide raised beds in comparison with traditional flat basin under a replicated trial on 25th Dec. 2010

• Machinery operation was closely observed and grain yield data was collected at harvest

Machinery testing and operation

• 55 hp tractor satisfactorily operated the machine due to light weight and better performance

• Low tractor fuel consumption was observed as compared to early machines

• Bed making and sowing was smoothly performed in a single operation

• Seed germination was satisfactory

• Up to 33% increased grain yield was observed under PRB than flat basin

Farmers interest in adoption

• Farmers interest in purchasing this machine can be evidenced by 20 applications so far received throughout the country which includes– 10 from KPK– 5 from Balochistan– 5 from Sindh

• However, due to financial constraints the project could hardly meet any more demands

• The machines needs to be further tested for its impact on soil health

Results

• Adoption of conservation agriculture techniques in developing world depends on availability of suitable technology according to their specific socio economic and environmental conditions

• Preliminary results of ADPRB is encouraging. However, more research is needed to identify its impact on soil hydro-physical, chemical and biological health

Conclusions

PRB machine for different crops

Wheat & Rice

Maize & Cotton

Seed OutletFertilizer Outlet

4th Part

Six Rows for Wheat & Rice

Two Rows for Maize and Cotton

Furrow Opener

Blades

Cutters for Hoeing and Renovation

Machinery Parts

Cutter Shafts

Roler

Seed metering driving Wheel

Cutters

Seed Dropping Double Disk System

Adjustable Furrow Opener

Seed metering System for Cotton and Maize

AdilIrfan

Crop Sown with ADPRB Machine

THANKS ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR

KIND ATTENTION