Journal of Global Agriculture and Ecology

In this study, a zero-till planter matching to mini tractor for small farm mechanization was designed, developed and its operating parameters were optimized in the laboratory for planting of mustard (L. Brassica nigra). Sowing of mustard is done in between 15 October to 15 November, majorly sowing of mustard is done by broadcasting method in which 8 to 10 kg seed is needed for sowing one hectare and if the sowing of mustard is delayed it affects the germination rate of seed as well as productivity of crop. Several designs of planters operated by various sources of power are available worldwide. Due to very less (0.01-0.03 ha h^-1) work rate of animal drawn planters, farmers of north-eastern hilly (NEH) region of India are reluctant to use them. The available tractor drawn planters are mostly designed for cereal crops and there is paucity of their performance evaluation for pulses and oilseeds. Moreover, they are large in size (11-13 tynes) making them unsuitable for narrow terraces and valley lands prevalent in NEH region. To reduce the cost of operation by saving seeds, minimizing the sowing time through timely sowing by planter and enhance the productivity of mustard crop by placing the mustard seeds at uniform depth, seed to seed spacing and row to row spacing zero till planter for small tractor was designed and developed according to the drawbar horsepower of mini-tractor besides considering the limitations of the small size hill farms of NEH region of India. To meet all these requirements three operating parameters with three levels namely seed metering cell diameter(A) (3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 mm), three hopper fill levels(B) (10, 20 and 30 mm) and three operating speeds(C) (2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 km h^-1) was optimized to get the best combination of operating parameter. Responses considered in this study were missing index (I_miss), multiple index (I_multi), quality of feed index (I_q), and degree of variation (I_v). Twenty-seven experiments (3×3×3) got from Taguchi experimental design were performed in the laboratory using sticky belt method and responses were recorded and evaluated thereafter. Lowest I_miss (9%), I_multi (10%), and I_v (12.3%) and highest I_q(81%) were observed at 3.5 mm cell diameter, 10.0 mm hopper fill and 2.0 km h^-1 forward speed at p < 0.05 significance level.