Power Wee=
der
- An effective tool in SRI
R. Durai<=
/span>
Singh, Berty Edwin and P.V=
eeramani
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, AC&RI, TNAU, Madurai
The
SRI system, apart from incre=
asing
rice productivity, also facilitates the usage of simple machineries for
transplanting and weeding. Due to the wide spacing between the tillers, the=
use
of cono or rotary weeders<=
/span>
in SRI is extensive. But one=
of
the major constraints in using these hand operated wee=
ders
is the physical effort that is needed to push the weed=
er
in the wet and highly resistant clay soil. As a result the farmer has to st=
rain
a lot which leads to fatigue and ineffective and reduced frequency of weedi=
ng.
To
overcome this problem, a power operated hand held weed=
er
has been developed by the Krishi Vigyan
Kendra, M=
adurai.
In this weeder, the weeder=
drum draws its power from a knapsack power sprayer through a flexible
transmission cable. This design not only reduces the physical effort on the
part of the farmer in operating the weeder but =
also
does away with the expensive alternative of buying a separate power source =
as almost all farmers have their own power sprayers.
Further,
in the case of existing power weeders, it was
observed that due to heavy weight the equipment sinks deeper into the wet s=
oil and
as a result the forward motion is impeded. Whereas, this
light weight power weeder, which is highly port=
able
and carried on the knapsack, could be effectively used in SRI systems where square planting is adopted.=
Field
trials are being conducted with the power weeder and
the efficiency of the weeder is being tested. <=
o:p>
<=
/span>
****