An Improved Row Seeder for Seeding Granular Seeds THE SEEDER
Direct seeding by free broadcasting of paddy seed is adopted by many paddy farmers because of the inadequate and expensive labour cost in
transplanting. Currently, manual and mechanical free broadcasting of pre-germinated seeds under puddle soil is a common practice. Free
broadcasting seeding has caused many field management problems such as inefficient nutrient application, and ineffective weed, pest and
disease control especially weedy paddy and golden apple snail. Failure to effectively control weeds in broadcasted crop can result in a yield
loss of 10% to 85%. Manual weed control is effective but difficult to implement in broadcasted crops due to problems in field accessibility and
weed identification at early stages of crop growth. This practice is also very labour intensive. Herbicides have been used but it has difficulties
especially during the post-establishment phase of crop growth.
To overcome the problems of free broadcasting, seeding pre-germinated seeds in rows onto a field has been introduced. The advantage
includes good seed germination, early weed control, accessibility, easy application for pesticides, herbicides and nutrients, and is more
uniform. Moreover, there is less plant competition resulting in healthier plants than using free broadcasting, and it also allows early detection for
intervention of golden apple snails. These practices can result in a higher crop yield than wetland free broadcasting.
However, current tractor-mounted seed drilling row machines are not suitable under puddle soil conditions as they are designated for dry land
operation. Manually pulled row seeders are very slow and causes drudgery of pulling the seeder in wet and sticky fields. Therefore, there is a
need to provide a row seeder that best operates at large field areas on wetland. Researchers at Malaysian Agricultural Research and
Development Institute (MARDI) have come up with a row seeder capable of operation on wetland, which is mounted on a motorised vehicle so
that it will be a lot easier to operate for vast fields with high outputs. The row seeder of the present invention is also provided with a sensor for
detecting blockage in the nozzle so that when there is a blockage, the device will be attended to immediately to reduce the need for replanting.
It is also provided with an auxiliary sprayer for simultaneously spraying water, herbicides, fertiliser or even pesticides. Besides, seeds are
consistently seeded firmly in rows on the wet soil surface.
• This breakthrough in rice cultivation, which
includes paddy seeding, is needed to
increase labour, land, cost and return
efficiencies
• The current invention is applicable to seed
growers, farmers, estate owners and
custom operators. It is capable of
increasing work rate by 48% per ha, and
can save costs by RM70.00 per ha
• A major seed producer in MADA has
requested a row-seeding machine. There
are also very encouraging responses from
China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar and
Thailand
A row seeder for seeding granular seeds such as paddy or the like has been filed for a Malaysian patent.
www.platcomventures.com
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
WHAT’S NEXT?
The inventors would like to speak to companies interested in licensing the technology.
E: [email protected] T: 03-8319 3116
PROJECT CODE:P133
CONTACT
THE OPPORTUNITY
• Level soil surfaces enable good
seed germination and weed
control.
• Light and excellent for wet, soft
and uneven paddy fields
• Save labour time and seed
inputs
• No more drudgery of work by
inland smoothing using power
tiller and walking in wet and soft
soil to spray chemicals using
knapsack sprayer, and no more
crop damages due to chemical
drift
• Better worker safety from
chemicals
• Enable large scale operations
• Easy operation and fast
assembly
• Low maintenance cost with
durable materials and few
moving parts
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
© 2014 PlaTCOM Ventures. All rights reserved.
! Multi-purpose ! Increase Work rate by 48 % per ha ! Save cost by RM 70.00 per ha ! Excellent for MARDI MR220 CL1 & CL2
padi direct seeding ! No more crop damage due to OnDuty#TM
chemical drift ! Versatile – Light (~120kg), excellent for
wet, soft & uneven padi fields ! Fast assembly in 10 mins ! Easy operation ! Low maintenance cost with durable
materials and few moving parts ! Low machine investment cost
! Multi-purpose ! Increase Work rate by 48 % per ha ! Save cost by RM 70.00 per ha ! Excellent for MARDI MR220 CL1 & CL2
padi direct seeding ! No more crop damage due to OnDuty#TM
chemical drift ! Versatile – Light (~120kg), excellent for
wet, soft & uneven padi fields ! Fast assembly in 10 mins ! Easy operation ! Low maintenance cost with durable
materials and few moving parts ! Low machine investment cost