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Dr Zahid Hussain Muhammad Irfan Ghani Akbar
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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
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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