PADDY TRANSPLANTER

PADDY TRANSPLANTER

A PROJECT REPORTIn partial fulfillment for the award of the degreeOfBACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGYIn MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Jawaharlal Nehru Govt. Engineering CollegeSundernagar, Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) - 175018ABSTRACT

Rice production inIndiais an important part of thenational economy.India is one of the world's largest producers of whitericeand brownrice, accounting for 20% of all world rice production. Rice is India's pre-eminent crop, and is the staple food of the people of theeasternandsouthernparts of the country.The most important factors that influence the performance are soil moisture contentsystem of raising seedlings in nurserydegree of land leveling finally the size of planting clawINTRODUCTION

A rice transplanter is a specialized is a machine fitted with a transplanter mechanism (usually having some form of reciprocating motion) driven by the power from the live axle, in order to the transplant rice seedlings onto paddy field.

A common rice transplanter comprises:The mechanical rice transplanter is fitted with a tin/aluminium based tray on which mat type nurseries are placed during the operation.Multiple pickup forks that pick up a seedling from mat type nursery on the seedling tray and put the seedling into the earth, as if the seedling were taken between human fingers.Machine transplanting using rice transplanters requires considerably less time and labor than manual transplanting. Advantages

Efficient use of resources by saving on labour, cost saving, water saving. Timely transplanting of seedlings of optimal age. Ensures uniform spacing and optimum plant density with 2-3 seedlings/hills). Higher productivity compared to traditional methods. Less transplanting shock, early vigor of seedling, better tillering and uniform maturity of crop that facilitates timely harvest and reduces harvest losses. Less incidence of disease in seedlings due to less root injury. Improving soil health through eliminating puddling. Generates employment and alternate sources of income for rural youth through custom services on nursery raising and mechanical transplanting

Limitations:Transplanting is tedious and time-consuming (up to 30 man days/ha) Planting laborers can suffer from back problems (health risk)Difficult to get enough labor at peak periods to plant on timeDifficult to maintain optimum spacing and uniform plant density, especially with random transplanting and contract laborLow plant density with contract transplanting on area basis lowers yieldsPossible Risk that in rain fed areas seedlings (especially of modern varieties) may get too old before rain falls and the field is ready to be planted

COMPONENTS OF PADDY TRANSPLANTERThe self-propelled mechanical rice transplanter has two detachable parts i.e. front and rear portions.

The front portion has Diesel/petrol engine range of 4-8 HP depending on the make Gear box Lever for adjusting hill spacing Propeller shaftToothed iron wheel for field operation and two sheets for helpers while feeding nursery.

The rear portion has Floating board Nursery platform Transplanting fingers with screws for adjusting plants/hillDepth setting lever Linkage for height adjustment of float board.

CATEGORISATION OF PADDY TRANSPLANTERSTransplanters classification based on two parameters:a) Type of nursery requirements.b) Nature of prime mover.

On the basis of nursery, 1) Washed seedling transplanter 2) Mat-type seedling transplanterI)Washed seedlings: Use washed roots seedling on mat that has four to six leaves appearance about 20 to 30 cm long washed at time of transplanting. In some instances overgrown roots are pruned to facilitate easier transplanting operation requiring about 175 people per hour per hectare.II) Mat-type: The seedlings are nursed on a mixed soil sample with a known quantity of nutrients additives fallowed by sprinkling a pre-germinated seeds on the soil of thickness 1.5-2.0 cm and allowed to grow for a period in between 20-25 days in the nursery before uprooting to permanent field. The method is preferred because it requires less labor about 50 workers in an hour per days work

On the basis of prime mover requirements Manual transplanterSelf-propelled transplanterAnimal drawn transplanterTractor mounted transplanter

1 )MANUAL TRANSPLANTER :-

Fig: Hand powered mechanical transplanter

Fig: Hand cranked rice transplanter2) SELF PROPELLED TRANSPLANTER

Fig. Self-propelled type rice transplanterADVANTAGESSimple and easy to operate, Conforming ground undulation Better management of the crop.3) ANIMAL DRAWN 4) TRACTOR MOUNTED TRANSPLANTERIn this type of transplanter animals such as oxen are used to draw the transplanter.

Multiple rows of seedlings can be transplanted with variable depth and spacing.

Such type of transplanter is found to have a limited amount of accuracy in terms of plant to plant spacing.

This type of transplanter is powered by a tractor engine of 25 h powers via power take-up shaft connected to arrangement of linking mechanism of pulley/belts.Has a capacity of transplanting 6-10 rows width variable width in-between rows. Provision at tractor rear wheel and transplanter are made to remove soil in puddle soil condition to facilitate smoother operation.DISADVANTAGEPoor quality of work in undulated fields reaching up to 50% missing transplantations.DESIGN OF RICE PADDY TRANSPLANTER(MANUALLY PROPELLED)

1) Moving pathway

Figure 6: Dimension of the planting armII) Plant Catching Mechanism

Fig.Planting arm at the lowest positionII) Plant Catching Mechanism

Man walking speed = 1.5 km/ hourDiameter of the ground wheel= ( 1.5 km/ hour)x(1000m/km)x(1 hour/60min)= 25m/min=30cmPerimeter of the ground wheel= 2rThere are several parameters were considered in designing the plant catching mechanism:Place of catchingNumber of plant per catchingDistance of travel x Releasing Point x Tension on plants x Angle of PlantingPlant should not be damaged while catching and releasing by the planting arm. Thus suitable speed, position and angle of catching and angle of planting, height of tray, width and length of figures are the factors governing the proper planting mechanismDistance of travel can be calculated according to walking speed of a normal man

Designing of Tray

Tray is to carry the dapog mat and to direct the plants to planting arm. Basic factors (width, length, angle, speed of movement) were considered in designing the tray mechanism. Power transmission to planting arm

17 teeth sprocket wheelGear reduction between 47 teeth sprocket and 18 teeth sprocket wheel= 47/18= 2.6111Gear reduction between 21 teeth sprocket and 17 teeth sprocket wheel=21/17=1.2352Total gear reduction between ground wheel to planting arm=2.6111+1.2352 =3.8463

ChainsPower transmission to trayImage of the Final Product (Manually operated paddy transplanter)

RESULT

Recent surveys conducted revealed that the machine transplanting works better in no-till/unpuddled conditions compared to puddled conditions. This suggests that transplanting machine requires distinct soil characteristics that prevent the sedimentation of soil. Under puddled conditions, soil cannot make a strong grip on the seedlings. Even excess water (more than 1cm) coming from top at the time of transplanting will loosen the soil grip on the seedlings. Thus it performs very well under no-till conditions but not under puddled conditions. In a way unpuddled or zero till reduces the risk of empty spaces which is common in puddle fields due to less anchoring of seedlings.CONCLUSIONRice paddy transplanter is highly recommended for the local farmers of Sundernagar though beforehand the farmers need to be educated regarding its proper use since mechanized transplanter requires mat type nursery. Since the farm land is of the average size in the area thus a mechanized paddy transplanter would highly aid in the rice transplantation. It would also decrease the high dependence of farmers upon labourers for transplantation. The transplanter machine can be easily coupled to a weed remover mechanism which could further help farmers in the weeding process of paddy plantation.