Farm equipment are the machines used on farms to assist farmers with farming work. Earlier, most of the time hand-held equipment and animal-drawn machinery were widely used on farms. Farmers in some remote areas or small farms still use such machinery. But larges farms in modern times prefer mechanized farming using the advanced tools ad farm machinery. Modern technology based electric or fuel-powered machinery is used worldwide to carry out most of the farming tasks. Few most commonly used farm equipment we are going to discuss here. Plough Various types of Plough are used to till the soil before planting seeds for better the plant growth. As the land in many areas is not leveled and smooth for farming thus it needs to be managed to make a proper seedbed. The process of managing soil is done by using disc plough, mould-board plough, chisel plough, reversible mould board plough etc. These ploughs breaks and aerates the soil so that it can absorb the natural nutrients from the environment. Once the soil tilling is done, other secondary tillage are used to create seedbed. Harrow Harrow is secondary tillage equipment used to break up the soil and create a smooth surface to prepare perfect seedbed for planting seeds. A harrow is used after initial ploughing has been done. Choosing a harrow for your farm depends on the types of soil conditions in any area. Various types of harrows are used in farming to prepare the seedbed. Disc Harrow, Heavy Duty Hydraulic Harrow, Mounted Offset Disc Harrow and Compact Model Disc Harrow are the most common types of harrows. Each one is appropriate for certain type of job. Tillers and Cultivators
Tillers are generally used to break up hard clods in the soil giving it a smooth structure. Various tillers are used for digging and mixing hard soil into a loose seed bed. Rotary tillers also known as rotavator are one of the most commonly used tillage equipment that ensures perfectly leveled seedbed. A Cultivator is used for accurate cutting and aeration of soil that makes it finer for better plantation. Combine Harvester A combine is one of the most popular of modern farm equipment that is designed to harvest, thresh, and clean grain as it runs through the field. A Combine harvester is capable of harvesting a large amount of crop in a very short time that reduces the overall cost for the harvesting making it more efficient. Many farms around the world use multi-crop combine harvester machines to save labour cost and getting good quality harvests
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A rotary tiller popularly known as rotavator is a farming equipment used for preparing soil before planting seeds. This is a perfect example of advanced farm machinery generally used as a tractor attachment to break up top soil. Its rotating blades are attached to either the rear or front of the body. These rotors or blades cuts the clods of the soil. A rotary tiller is one of the most common and useful tillage equipment to be used for tilling the farms. These are some basic use of a rotary tiller.
Choose the right rotary tiller as per your requirements when you need a tiller, considering the jobs are to be performed with this farm machine. Farm machinery is the equipment and tools used to accomplish farming work on farms. Previously farmers used to work with handheld implements and animal-drawn machinery. In modern times, farm has been modernized with mechanization. Fuel-powered or Electric machinery perform most of the tasks that earlier used to carried out by humans and animals. Using machinery makes farming operations less time-consuming and more cost-effective than to work with handheld tools like scythes or animal drawn ploughs. An improvement in technology driven farm equipment has revolutionized the farming industry. Be it a family farm, a small farming business or a commercial farming industry, an extensive range of farm machinery is used. Although commercial farmers use more advanced farming equipment than the others. Not only farming methods improved but modern farms are mechanized, and that also includes use of computerized systems with equipments. Farmers regularly use satellite imagery, GPS guidance and electric sensors in their farm work. Progressive farming machinery reduces waste and ensures a profitable use of fertilizer, seeds, irrigation and fuel that has also improved the production and transportation of farm produce. Tractor and Plough – These two are the most common and popular farm machinery worldwide. Tractors are used to pull a range of farm equipment and machines that includes from plough, power tiller, the spike, drag and disc harrows, chisel plough for soil cultivation to cultivator, spading machine and rock picker etc. These farm machines help in clear the land of weeds and stones to loosen the soil in preparing it for planting. Planters and Seeders - Planting is done through planters, seed drill, broadcast seeders, transplanters and mulchers etc. Planters help farmers in planting seeds evenly in rows at precise intervals. Disc seed drills plant seeds much closer together than planters. Transplanter spread seedlings into the field, and can be partial or fully automated. Fertilizer, manure and spray spreaders help in spreading fertilizers for growing plants. Irrigation System - Irrigation is made a lot easier by the use of irrigation machinery. Rapid and equipped mechanized irrigation systems have made it possible to cultivate high yields of crops in even dry areas. Harvesting Machines - Harvesting machinery includes the well-known combine harvester and threshers. Usually called Combine, a combine harvester saves a lot of time and effort of farmers as it cuts, threshes and separates grain working through the crop fields. Many farmer use multi-crop harvester for crops like cane, wheat, rice, sunflower, corn and bean and many uses cotton pickers. Balers and Mowers - Mowers, round balers, square balers and bale movers are used to make hay bales. Front tend loaders and Backhoe are used for loading purposes. With the increased use of modern no-till farming techniques the requirement for routine spring and fall ploughing have reduced to some extent. The farming cultivator has replaced the moldboard plough in lots of cases. Additionally, the use of chemical such as weed killers have also increased to clear0 fields moderately clean of past seasonal crop residue. But when it comes to turn a densely sodded ground into a seedbed, a plough is the machinery to start with. The purpose of using a plough is to pulverize or break up the soil, letting it absorb air and light, the two essentials needed for normal plant growth. The plough inverts the soil, covers trash such as stalks and manure, mixing with the soil to decay and provide plant food. The ploughed soil has good contact with the subsoil to enable it to hold moisture. Below are the most used types of plough in farming. Mould-board plough – Using Mold-board plough provides soil pulverization and buries the weed seeds and residue almost completely. Disc Harrow – Using disc harrow for secondary tillage operations allow incorporation of fertilizers and pesticides evenly and smoothly. Disc Plough – A disc plough is compatible to works in all types of soil for the purposes of soil breaking, soil raising, soil turning and soil mixing. This type of plough is mostly used in in hard and dry trashy land conditions and where scouring is a major problem. Cultivator – Cultivators are used for smoothening the hard surface and deep ploughing that allow soil to uniformly incorporate fertilizers and pesticides. Rotary Tiller or Rotary plough – Also known as Rotavator in many parts of the world, a Rotary tiller is ideal to be used in different soil conditions and applications. It rotating blades or rotors loosen & aerate soil up to ensure a perfectly leveled and finished seedbed. Farm mechanization helps farmers in hard laborious works and saves time, reducing the crop production costs in the long run, post-harvest losses and increases crop output and farm income altogether. Realistic evidence proves that there is a quite strong correlation between farm mechanization and agricultural productivity. States and Countries with a greater available farm power show higher productivity compared to others. The increasing threat to natural resources, particularly to land and water, has further increased requirement of switching to machine assisted conservation techniques such as zero-tillage, raised-bed planting, precision farming, sprinkler irrigation etc. Farm mechanization has now become more significant in justifying the effect of climate change by re-adapting crop sowing schedules. For example, the climate change-driven early onset of summers in the northern states has often resulted in a drop in wheat yield and also one week’s delay in its planting after middle of the November. This loss can be prevented by sowing wheat seeds early, and it can be possible only by harvesting previous paddy crop mechanically and wheat can be planted with zero-till seed drills that do not require to plough the land using a mould-board plough or disc plough. A greater amount of farm equipment can also solve the issues of shortage of farm labor during peak seasons of sowing and harvesting in agriculture. Many farm equipment like a tractor and combine harvester, even being high in cost are very popular in farmers for buying or even hiring on rent. Farm machinery like Power tillers are much popular in lowland flooded rice fields and other hilly terrains. Steady growth can be seen in manually operated tools, tractor implements and other equipment operated by mechanical and electrical power sources. If we talk about the manually operated equipment, the sale of sprayers has almost doubled in past few years Approximately 700-800 combine harvesters are sold per year in India. Tractor driven combine harvester, costing and self-propelled combine, both are ideal to own individually by farmers, however self-propelled multi-crop combine harvester are comparatively high in cost. Farm mechanization has become a dire necessity to reduce labor work in agricultural operations in recent years significantly, but still in India, we can it is still in its early stages. Ploughing is one of the basic farming practice needs to be done before plantings seeds and human being learnt to plough before they could even write. In old agriculture practices, farmers used to plough farms with hand-held tools like the hoe and the digging stick which was labor-intensive with women also actively participating in this work at farm. Plough agriculture is considered more capital-intensive in modern times as well, using the plough to prepare the soil. Unlike the use of hoe or digging stick, the modern plough requires substantial upper body strength, grip to hold, and lots of power, needed to pull the plough. Following are types of Tractor plough commonly used to a greater or lesser degree in farming today.
4. Mould board Plough - The Mould-board Plough is often used as primary tillage equipment when it comes to till the land. Typically used after harvesting to bury as much as 80-90 percent of crop residue, it is exceptionally aggressive in lifting and inverting 9-12 inches of soil. It may need to run once or twice with a secondary tillage tool to make the soil suitable for planting. Mould-board plough are considered most effective weed killers. 5. Disc Harrow – Various types of Harrows like a disc harrow falls into the category of primary tillage in some cases, and is also used as secondary tillage equipment in some operations. Disc Harrows are primarily used to level the soil of upper surface, reallocate surface residue, crush clods and disturb germination of weeds. 6. Cultivators – Cultivators are the tillage equipment that can be considered in category of secondary tillage and are categorized as conventional, or horizontal, tillage tools. The cultivator or tillers are designed for slight tillage, field finishing and incorporating herbicides. |
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February 2022
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