Plough - Works and Types of plough

 Plough is an essential machinery and plays a very crucial role in preparing the land for seed sowing. Traditionally plough was made up of the wooden frame and was drawn by oxen or horses, but nowadays all the plough are made of steel or iron and is driven or pulled with tractor power.

 

Types of ploughs

 

Different types of ploughs are designed and used in different kinds of farming operations based on their features. Here we have mentioned about the most used or most popular types of plough such as disc plough, mould-board plough, reversible mould-board plough in detail.

After the invention of different types of tractors with powerful engines, the ploughing methods and techniques also changed with the generation of various types of ploughs.

 

Disc Plough

 

It is used for deep ploughing in soil by cutting, breaking, mixing and loosening the soil. It consists two to five or more individually mounted disc blades that work even in hard, trashy and stony areas.

 

Tractor Mounted Mould-board Plough

 

The tractor mould-board plough consists of large curved bottoms, known as mould-board that are fixed to a frame, shears located on the bottom of the moldboard while large curved wings on the top edge. The key purpose of using this kind of plough is to cut through the top layers of soil and thoroughly modify the soil structure to make a seedbed.

 

Reversible plough or Reversible Mould-board Plough

 

The reversible mould-board plough is basically used to turn the soil up and down which is important in the tillage process in order to bring fresh nutrient-rich soil upward. Moreover, it is also used to bury the weeds and previous crop residue so that they do not complete for the nutrition provided to the new crop. The reversible plough consumes less fuel and therefore, is considered more efficient for the farm.

 

Ploughing is an essential activity which is done using different types of plough to increase the fertility of the soil yet it is important for farmers to choose the right one among so many available varieties.

Combine Harvester Machine – Uses and Advantages

A combine harvester is versatile harvesting equipment and also helps in reducing lots of time and costs associated with harvesting. A combine machine is able to perform all the harvesting steps automatically by driving it into the crop field as it cuts, threshes and separates the grains by using its rotating blades, sieves, wheels and elevators.

 

The grain is gathered in the tank inside the combine, whereas the stalks drop down on the through the pipe. The combine is quite complex that includes different parts and processes. Different grains require different types of headers, which is generally placed at the front of the combine. It cuts the crops with a wide cutting tool to start further processes such as threshing and cleaning the grain. Here is a brief about the process:

 

·         Header churns in the field to collect the crop

·         A reel drives the crop into the cutter, running along the cutter bar

·         The cutter snips the crop at its base

·         Crops are fed into the threshing drum to worn out the crops and shake grains free

·         The grains fall through sieves into a gathering tank

·         Unwanted material is passed back of the combine and falls back into the field

·         Grain yields are conveyed up an elevator and shoot out unloaded into a trailer

 

The adoption of combine harvester in the past few years has brought a drastic change in the production of crops worldwide. The requirement of human labour is reduced considerably. Mechanization of the farm operations not only has helped in increasing the production but also created a good scope for commercialization in agri-sector. Farm mechanization also increased the employment opportunities, both on farms and in related sectors by increasing farm area under ploughing, cropping, growth of agro-industries and other related services.

 

On the other hand, because of the mechanization, demand has also increased for semi-skilled labour like a mechanic to maintain farm machines. A combine harvester is very expensive farm equipment that needs to take good care from the starting, with service and maintenance on time. Thus a very important fact to keep in mind for farmers and owners before they buy it, is the cost with all the maintenance and storage. Buying a combine harvester can be a good deal for those farmers that grow different types of grains on their farms all through the year.

 

Rotavator Overview : How it Helps Farmers to Save Production Cost

 Soil preparation is one of the most energy and time-consuming activity in farming. Soil preparation is one of the keys to achieve successful cultivation. The objective of soil preparation is to provide the essential environment and soil conditions for the proper growth of the plants. Soil preparation is also a costly process as it requires many steps to work on the soil in order to create good soil conditions.

To reduce the soil compaction and the operating cost of soil tilling many farm equipment and machinery manufactures have tried to decrease the number of passes required for soil preparation. Machinery like a rotary tiller and a power harrow are potential devices to work as a subsoiler.

A rotary tiller is very significant tillage equipment that is not only capable of performing primary but also secondary tillage and reduces the cost of seedbed preparation. A rotary tiller is made of a simple structure that is highly efficient and consists of a series of blades which swirl up the earth to plough the land.

In the agricultural land, where the crop is produced regularly, the soil becomes poor in nutrients because of nonstop productivity, resulting in inefficiency. Thus, farmers use fertilizer in the soil, chemicals to fight pests, irrigation and other processes of agricultural to make it more efficient.

A Rotavator can play a very important role in double or different crop systems in agriculture where the time for soil preparation is very less or limited. It is best used for mixing fertilizers or manure into the soil and preparing a seedbed. It offers an advantage of better pulverisation, superior soil mixing, fastest seedbed preparation and reduced draft in comparison to conventional tillage. More or less Rotavator is the best alternative for the extreme chemical fertilizers use and to improve benefits to cost ratio for farmers.

What is the Use of a Seed Drill in Agriculture

It has been observed that the use of seed drills has largely increased in recent times in northwest and eastern India. With the labour scarcity, development and refinement in the agriculture sector and weed management with seeds drills has played a major role in the increased use of this technology. A multi-crop planter and its ability to place both seed and fertilizer have helped improve crop setting up.

When placing seeds manually into the soil seeds are not placed evenly sometimes, but with the seeds drills a farmer does not need to worry about the alignments and rows as it is done in a very systematic manner.

 

The use of seeds drills also reduces soil erosion thereby preventing loss of nutrient from the soil and making better availability of both natural and applied nutrients to the soil. It also has been noticed that if crop residues are added to soils, the growth of plants can be improved. 

The seed drills are preferably used in the areas where soil erosion caused by water and the wind is a major issue, as it does not create any disturbances in the soil while placing the seeds. The seed drill sows the seeds at the same distances ensuring the proper depth and that the seeds get covered in the soil perfectly.

Mould Board Plough – Overview and Advantages

A mould-board plough or MB plough plays a vital role in soil management which is one of the most crucial farming operations. It is one of the most popular farm machinery used in the process of preparing the soil before sowing the seeds. An MB plough is also used for preparing the ground for grass seeding. 

The body of an MB plough or mould-board plough consists of a large curved bottom or mould-board, fixed to a frame, shears placed at the bottom edge of the mould-board while large curved wings on the top edge. It runs through the farm attached to a tractor and cuts the top layers of soil completely and thoroughly.

What are the advantages of a mould-board plough?

Some of the remarkable advantages of the mould-board plough are given below.

• Efficiency

When adjusted perfectly an MB plough can automatically seek the desired depth and does not need to apply extra weight to attain desired depth. The complex structure of the plough clears the ground after harvesting perfectly and helps in creating a more levelled surface for sowing seeds with higher accuracy.

The plough increases the drainage capacity of the soil. A farmer can prepare a field much faster with a mould-board plough comparatively to a conventional plough. The faster ploughing helps farmers to cover larger areas of the field.

•  Various Models for Versatility

Different types of models of an MB Plough come with different types of features ensuring high efficiency in the preparation of the land. Few models have two mould-boards or more. The width of a cut usually reaches one to two feet. Yet most of the models are able to achieve a depth of one and a half feet. Some models integrate a reset mechanism.

• Helps in Weed Control

An MB plough buries the weeds entirely that tend to spring up after harvesting. The plough completely inverts the soil where there are weeds. This specifically helps to save the time and labor cost where weed regrowth is a frequent issue.

•  Pest Control

The MB plough also helps to get rid of the pests inhabited on a farm. Eliminating pests provides plants with a more favourable environment for faster and healthy growth. Least presence of pests contributes to a bountiful yield.

• Better-quality Soil Health

The MB plough buries crop remains deeper into the field enabling decomposition. Crop residues on the soil surface warm up faster by reduction of the crop residues. Evaporation of excessive moist or water is also improved providing a more favourable environment for soil to observe natural elements like sun and air making to make it more fertile.

Tractor Rotavator – An Overview and Advantages

The use of farm equipment does not only increase the value of production but also saves time and improves the quality of the harvest. The modern farm equipment is used everywhere in farming operations from cultivation, seedbed preparation and harvesting. Tilling the soil is one of the most important operations performed in agriculture for loosening the upper layer of soil, to make seedbed and mix fertilizer in the soil, removing the weeds and old crops residue. 

 

It is important to improve the soil structure before sowing seeds for healthy crops. With the help of different types of tillage equipment, the organic nutrients and other components of the soil are improved.

 

Ploughing the field using a mould-board plough is one of the most traditional ways of ploughing. Through the ploughing, the soil is deformed and pitched to the furrow end. However, the traditional method of the ploughing is not enough, as the upper layer is not modified in the desired structure, thus needed some additional operations like disking, harrowing and cultivation with the use of tractor cultivator, disc harrow etc. 

 

The steps are also known as primary and secondary tillage to give a final finish to the soil. Tractor Rotavator or Rotary Tiller is a very effective tool for tilling the soil beating all the limitations of traditional mould-board ploughs.

 

What are the Advantages of Using a Rotary Tiller or Rotavator?

 

Once the harvesting is done of the crop, sometimes it seems difficult to prepare a perfect seedbed for another crop in the thick soils. Due to the growth of deep cracks in the soil, the traditional tilling tools such as the mould-board plough, tractor cultivators and disc ploughs are not good enough to prepare the seedbed. Clod development and crop remains are other difficulties experienced using them. But the use of a Tractor Rotavator or Rotary Tiller helps overcome all these problems. These are a few advantages of using rotavator:

 

·         The rotating blades or rotors have increased weight and length that enables it to cut the soil much deeper than the mouldboard plough.

·         The rotors of a Rotary Tiller make an impact on the soil surface and toss the soil upward. The rotating action of the blades breaks the clods and soil can be pulverized easily.

·         The width of the rotors ensures a long-lasting effect and reduces the cost of tilling the soil per hectare.

·         Allows quick and smooth tilling of soil for different types of crops.

·         The use of rotary tillers improves the soil fertility as the fertilizers can be easily mixed.

·         Removes weeds and crop residues effectively and completely.

Benefits of Zero-tillage Seed Drills in Agriculture

Use of Zero tillage and no-till seed drills has a number of advantages as it eliminates soil erosion and offers improved budget of the production. There are some significant benefits of zero tillage and no-till farming in modern agricultural practices one of these is soil protection.

 

Zero-tillage seed drills have offered a solution to many problems in modern agriculture but the main aim to introduce it on a large scale was to fight soil erosion in some regions. Soil as in its natural state without human influence is much more resistant to water and wind erosion. Which is why ploughing is not always fruitful in many areas but its impact is opposite on the soil. The development of a no-till seed drill followed an adaptation of existing conventional tillage seeding equipment to the specific requirement of no-till.

 

Farmers nowadays use a number of farm equipment to improve the efficiency ad save time and money. The seed drill not only offers higher yield and better nutrient use efficiency but also saves the time and costs when in terms of the number of rounds are decreased. Additionally, the final result for a farmer is reliable crop production with better profits.

 

·         Offers improved economy of production

·         Increases organic content and the quality of the soil

·         Reduces labour costs of ploughing and planting seeds.

·         Reduces other costs related to assets, farm machinery and fuel lubricants

·         Improves water balance in the soil

·         Reduces soil erosion

·         Increases percentage of plant nutrients

·         Saves and improves the environment

 

In order to accomplish proper farm practices with soil protection, farmers need farm machinery like seed drills that are capable of matching their requirements. It is necessary to consider all the features and functions properly to see the effectiveness of a seed drill of any brand before choosing a suitable drill for the task. The efficiency of a seed drill can be checked by the biological and economic risks of its usage for farming in any area.

Ploughing and Its Advantages

A Plough is the primary tillage equipment, used to cut, break and turn the soil partially or entirely. Ploughing is an ancient practice that is done to break the upper layer of the soil and its clods, to make it suitable for sowing new plant seeds.

 

This ancient farm equipment has transformed farming ways in modern times as it got improved with modern technology. Earlier farmers used human-made iron-tipped, wood wedge-shaped equipment pulled by oxen to till the soil. Modern plough such as disc plough and mould-board plough are used as an attachment to the tractor and let a farmer to plough even larger fields in minimum time. It also works very efficiently to control weeds and bury previous crop residue.

 

Ploughing being one the primary and most important soil management practices is used for centuries to form a grained, structural and straight planting layer on the upper part of the soil. This simple yet effective farm practice is done to cut, refine, and upturn the soil and to make furrows and ridges with the use of disc plough and mould-board plough. The use of any type of plough is decided as per the depth and structure of the soil.

 

Advantages of Ploughing

 

• Improves air circulation inside the soil to enables the routes to respire with ease.
• The root can enter deeper into the soil so that it can hold the crop plants firmly.
• Ploughing increases the water-absorbing capability of the soil.
• A Plough digs up the weeds developing in the land and helps in the growth of microbes.
• Supports in growing worms and microbes.
• Dig up and bury the old crop weeds.
• Brings the nutrient-rich soil to the upper layer of the soil so that the crop can use those nutrients to grow well.

 

Different types of plough such as disc plough, mould-board plough, reversible mould-board plough is used in modern farming practices. The use of various types of plough in modern farming practices is making farming more profitable for farmers.

Plough – Overview, Types and Advantages

A plough is a farm implement used in agriculture for initial cultivation or tilling the soil and preparing it for sowing seeds by loosening and turning it. Ploughs were used to be drawn by animals like oxen and horses traditionally, but in recent times these are drawn by tractors. The procedure of loosening the soil for farming is known as ploughing. 

The key purpose of ploughing the soil is to turn over its upper layer, getting fresh nutrients to the upper surface, burying weeds and the remains of last crops same time to let them break down creating natural compost.

Types of Plough

Based on their need in the steps of creating a perfect seedbed, different types of plough are used in the process of ploughing the soil. These can also be divided into primary and secondary tilling tools. And a few can be used as primary as well as a secondary tool.

Disc Plough

A disc plough is compatible to work in all types of soil for the purposes of breaking, raising, turning and mixing it. This type of plough is mostly used in hard, dry and trashy land conditions and where scouring is a major problem and can be directly mounted to the tractors.

Mould-Board Plough

Using Moldboard plough provides soil pulverization and buries the weed seeds and residue completely. A Mould board plough turns soil completely to bring nutrients to the surface. The mould-board plough reduces the amount of time required in preparing a field significantly, as a consequence, allowing a farmer to work a larger piece of land in less time.

Rotary Plough or Rotavator

Also known as Rotary tiller in various parts of the world, a Rotary plough or Rotavator is compatible to work with different soil conditions and applications. Its rotating blades or rotors loosen and aerate the soil to ensure a perfectly levelled and finished seedbed. This piece of tillage equipment is quite popular as modern farm equipment among farmers.

Chisel Plough

Chisel Plough and subsoiler are used as deep tillage equipment to break up hardpan and packed soils.

Advantages of ploughing the Soil:

These are the advantages of ploughing the Soil:

• ·         Loosening of the soil improves its quality by exposing it to the sun and increasing air circulation.
• ·         The roots can enter deeper into the soil that allows it to hold the plant firmly.
• ·         Ploughing enhances the water preservation capacity of the soil.
• ·         Ploughing helps in uprooting the weeds growing in the field and supports the growth of microbes.

Farm Equipment to Make Farming More Easy and Efficient

From decades traditional methods are being used to perform agricultural activities. In a country like India where the majority of the population is depended on farming for a livelihood, a significant amount of energy is spent doing all agricultural practices. However, the production is no that great in numbers and it is necessary to improve it to use advanced methods in the agriculture sector.

Soil testing, perfect irrigation system, weather forecasting, data science can provide a good future to this industry. Additionally, modern agricultural machinery and equipment can effectively lead to good crop yield and increased profits for the farmers. A variety of implements are used in modern agriculture from the most basic implements like a sickle, spade, pickage, desi plough, patella and to other modern farm implements like mould-board plough, harrows, rotavator, cultivators, seed drill, combine harvester etc.

These various types of farm implements are designed to suit different operations in farming, few of them explained here.

Mould-Board Plough

Designed to work in all types of soil it breaks, mix and turn the soil. The part in a mould-board plough that breaks the soil is known as bottom or base and includes share, the landside, and the moldboard. The share works as the cutting edge of the moldboard plough.

Seed Drills:

Seed drills are used for placing seeds on the ground with the least disturbance in the soil and are often used for grain crops or grasses or forage.

Combine Harvester:

The modern combine harvester is versatile machinery that makes it easy for a farmer to harvest a variety of crops. A combine is able to perform all the operations of harvesting like reaping, threshing and winnowing into a single operation.

Cultivator

The key purpose of using a cultivator is to remove the weeds from cultivation. Cultivator aerates the soil in set patterns before seed planting in the soil, and it removes the weed after the crop has grown.

Rotary Tiller:

Rotary tiller also is known as the rotavator, rotary plough or rotary hoe is used to cut the soil deep through the rotating blades.

Balers:

This farm machinery is used to compress a cut and raked crop into compressed bales that are easy to handle, transport or store.

Modern farm machinery can help a farmer to meet the demands of the increasing population. For the growth of the economy of our country agriculture needs to prosper. And it will prosper only when we use advanced farming methods and equipment.

Combine Harvester - An Overview

 

The crops farmers grow in the fields, such as barley, wheat, and rye, are partly edible. The seeds at the top of each plant also known as grain are used to make products like cereal and bread, but the dry coatings of the chaff are not edible and have to be discarded, with their stalks.

 

Before modern machines were developed, farmers had to harvest crops by carrying out many laborious operations one after another. Initially, they had to cut down the plants with a cutting tool like a scythe. Then, they had to separate the eatable grain from the non-edible chaff by hitting the cut stalks—the operation known as threshing. Lastly, they had to clean any left-over debris left from the seeds to make it suitable to use in a mill. This was all the time-consuming process done by a lot of people.

 

Gratefully, the modern combine machine or the multi-crop harvesters do the entire job automatically. A farmer merely drives them in an entire field of crops and the combine machine cut, thresh and clean the grains all together themselves using wheels, rotating blades, sieves, and elevators. The grain assembles in a container inside the combine harvester and periodically emptied into wagons hauled by tractors that drive alongside. Whereas the dry coatings of the seeds and the stalks spurt from a large exit pipe at the back and fall behind onto the field. 

Modern harvester has made it easy the crucial job of harvesting to a great extent, adding to the efficiency of any farm business and providing greater profits farmers in India and worldwide.

Tillage Equipment & Machinery– An Overview and Uses

Tillage is the term that refers to modification of soil properties for crop production. Tillage equipment is tools used to manage soil before planting seeds.

 

We can say that the process of preparing of land before sowing seeds is called tillage. And in this process a farmer uses various farm equipment to modify the soil properties, these equipment are known as tillage equipment. Tillage is required to provide the plants natural nutrients for an ideal growth.

 

Nowadays farmers use various tilling methods and equipment like plough, mould-board plough, rotavator or rotary plough, disc harrow, seed drill, cultivator, planters etc. The use of such modern tillage equipment helps farmer reduce time and accomplish ploughing in largest lands in minimum time. Here we are going to discuss some of the modern agricultural machinery used in tillage for smooth operations.

 

Mould Board Plough

 

A mould-board plough is mostly or commonly used in heavy rain or canal irrigated areas where the weeds grow-up easily. The main purpose of using a mould-board plough is to invert and pulverize the soil completely by breaking the clods in soil. It also digs up the roots of weeds, crop residues and trash and buries them under the surface where they convert in organic compost.

 

Power Harrow

 

A Power harrow is used to break, turn, refine and level the soil all over the farming area to turn it into a perfect seedbed. A power harrow is a significant piece of agricultural machinery used in tillage which is capable of working in even the harshest and most solid grounds when it comes to preparing a perfect land for plantation.

 

Disc Seed Drill

 

This versatile farm machinery is used for spreading seeds and fertilizer in the fields. The disc seeds drill consists of multiple boxes to store seeds and fertilizer and is attached with tubes. The tubes are used to spread crop seeds directly into the soil with comparatively less disturbance in the soil.

 

Rotavator or Rotary Tiller

 

Rotavator also known as a rotary tiller or rotary plough is a piece of tillage equipment used for deep tillage. It turns, mixes and aerates the soil to increase its nutrients count, making it perfect for seeding and harvesting. A rotavator consists of an assembled set of rotating blades or rotors connected to the engines that break through the soil and turn it.

Ways to Modernize Agriculture in India

Farm Mechanization

 

Farm Mechanization enables farmers to make more and more land compatible for planting and contributing to increased yields. With the use of right farm machinery, a farmer can accomplish farming tasks in less time with high efficiency. For instance, in place of manually seeding, using a disc seed drill can reduce hard work and time while increasing efficiency. Using a tractor plough or mould-board plough helps the farmer to plough the fields by reducing the weeds at the same time.

 

A tractor is the most versatile farm machinery offers the power and traction to mechanize agricultural jobs, mostly tillage. Agricultural equipment can be pulled behind or mounted to a tractor, and if the implement is mechanized, a tractor can work as a source of power.

Tractors are most commonly used as a farming vehicle. A farm tractor is generally used for pushing or pulling agricultural machinery or tractor-trailers, for tilling or ploughing, planting, disking, harrowing, harvesting and other similar tasks. Planting, growing and harvesting any crop necessitates both a major amount of power and an appropriate range of farm equipment and tools.

Identifying soil for specific crop

It is important for a farmer to be aware of the fact that each crop needs a different soil and atmospheric conditions to grow; though, finding accurate soil conditions for a crop can be a tricky thing. Conducting a survey before planting in the agriculture fields can help a farmer.

 

Use of Smart Irrigation System

 

Crops need an accurate amount of water at the correct time for normal growth. Hence, it is essential to manage the irrigation system of the field in a proper way. It can be a challenging where farmers face a shortage of water and depend on rainwater, yet it is the priority for a farm. Modern smart irrigation systems help to save water, with accurate use in the fields and minimum waste of water.

 

Conclusion

 

A farmer can improve their efficiency and productivity by following these tips and get their hands on right farm equipment such as tractors, land levellers, rotary mulcher, fertilizer spreader, baler, Disc seed drill, mould-board plough, zero tillage etc. The time has come when, instead of depending on animals, the farmers should go for the use of mechanized farm equipment to produce great results with less manual power.

Benefits Of Buying New Farm Equipment For Your Farming Business

It is assumed that farming human being started farming since 12,000 BC, the area of early civilizations. Initially farming was mostly about sowing and taking care of some specific plants, however, as the human need for food increased, the need for tools and farming equipment also increased with it. For example, ploughing initially was originally done by hand made tools instead of using quality tractor ploughs, but with the development, all farming methods, techniques and farming equipment have been improved to increase productivity and reduce labour time and cost.

 

Agriculture is one of the largest human-managed ecosystems in the world. But it is not easy to run a farm without using quality farm equipment, no matter how hard a farmer works. To increase productivity and profitability and reducing the costs, it is essential to invest in quality equipment such as a tractor, latest tractor implements, sprinkler systems, and other efficient tools. These are the major benefits of buying high-quality farming equipment.

 

Reduces production time

 

The time of production can be significantly reduced by using quality equipment. Human hands can do everything, but since time is money, farm tractors and various tractor attachments help a farmer in completing the task in a short time. For example, without using some essential farm equipment like harrows, tractor ploughs, seed drills, combine harvester etc. a farmer can lose a lot of time they could otherwise use to increase production. Investing in agricultural machinery may seem a costly investment at the moment, but in the long run, it is worth it.

 

Increase in the efficiency

 

When it comes to buying farm equipment like the more expensive does not necessarily mean equal quality. You can find various brands that produce high-quality farm equipment or tractor attachments that are very efficient. The money a farmer spend on regular hiring of extra labour can instead invest in buying farm equipment to increase efficiency with lower fixed costs. A farmer should maintain the farm equipment in order to increase its performance and service life.

 

Buying new equipment saves money

 

If you are thinking about buying second-hand equipment for your new farming business it can be a huge mistake. If you buy used farm equipment it can lower your initial cost but will also lower your return on investment since such equipment have the risk of getting damaged soon and you will have to purchase new again. Instead, purchase new farm equipment that will be able to serve you at least a decade.

Combine Harvester — An Overview & Importance in Agriculture

A combine harvester is one of the most significant and versatile farm machinery that plays a very crucial role at harvesting time. Harvesting is the most important part of farming operation for farmers that grow grain crops as all their hard work pays off at this time. From cutting to separating grains from the chaff is a challenging process and needs to be done very carefully maintain the quality of grains.

Harvesting is done in different steps from reaping or cutting to threshing and separating grains. Earlier all these operations used to be done manually. Some small farm owners even today get all these activities done by the human labour or different machines for different tasks like thresher and winnowing machines. 

But large scale producer and commercial farmers prefer using combine harvesters to get best outcomes and to avoid damaging the quality of grains. Many farmers use a combine harvester in India as well for harvesting of different types of grain crops like wheat, rice, corn, soybean etc. Below we have mentioned some advantages of using a combine harvester for commercial and large-scale farming –

·    A Combine harvester lets a farmer to complete harvesting in minimum time even in the largest farms.

·         A farmer can save the labour cost by using a combine machine for harvesting.

·         A multi-crop harvester India is most suitable for farmers who grow various types of grains.

·         A multi-crops harvester is compatible for harvesting different grain crops.

·         Timely harvesting saves the crops from any damage by natural disasters like unseasonal rains, hailstorm and floods. The agriculture sector including crops like cereal, pulses, vegetable and fruit etc. has to face approximately twenty-two percent of the economic loss caused by several medium to large-scale natural disasters in developing countries like India. A farmer can only take some precautions to save him from such losses by natural disaster as there is no control over it.

• It is also seen that the quality of grains gathered by a combine harvester remains better than the grains harvested manually by labours. Even the markets offer quite high prices for the grains collected by a harvester machine.

With the increasing mechanization in agriculture, farmers are using new methods of farming and upgrading themselves with the use of modern technology-based farm equipment for higher productivity and safety in the fields. We can say that a combine harvester is one of the most modern agricultural machinery that not only minimizes the hard work for a farmer but also saves his time by letting them accomplish harvesting in minimum time.

All You Need To Know About Farm Equipment

Formerly, old tools constructed of stones and sticks were used by the human beings to till the soil. However, today in the agriculture industry farmers are able to sit in the air-conditioned cabins of sophisticated machines during the harvesting of their crop.

 

When it comes to producing a significant amount of food and reducing workload, the requirement for advanced agricultural equipment always exists. But one question that most every farmer's face is that what and how much equipment they should have.

 

Well, the answer to this question about the type of equipment they need depends on some economic factors, geographic location and the crop type being raised.

 

There is an extensive range of agricultural equipment available all across the world as the industry has expanded widely in recent years. There many manufacturers available at multinational, and regional levels based on the market. While the multinational farm equipment manufacturers export equipment globally, regional manufacturers offer the same either to a particular region or country for different smaller countries. Some of the local manufacturers provide agricultural equipment to the limited region, generally within a country.

 

Be it pick and carry compact tractors or other farm machinery, majority of farmers purchase them from the local dealers or manufacturers. However, some farmers often also prefer hiring the equipment from fellow farmers or dealers to carry out required operations, mostly in case of costly machines like a combine harvester for harvesting. While this was earlier used to be common for harvester machines only, now the system has gained importance for other farm machines as well.

 

To own agricultural machines a farmer has to also spend a sufficient amount of money for its utmost care and maintenance.

 

The cost of owning equipment can be is fixed or variable. While the fixed cost remains unchanged throughout the year for the use of the machine. On the other hand, variable costs can vary as per the use of the machine.

 

However, type of use a machine and the amount majorly affects the cost of agricultural machinery. Plenty of equipment becomes technologically outdated even before their value depreciates, the reason being its less annual usage. Therefore, it is worthwhile to treat depreciation as a fixed cost, in place of the variable. Also, insurance and shelter both the requirement for any equipment, come under fixed cost.

 

The variable cost includes fuel, repair and maintenance. The more a machine is used, the more repair, fuel and maintenance are required.

 

Today, the farming industry has become highly tech-friendly and many agricultural machinery manufacturers are offering state of the art machines to cater to advanced needs of their clients.

5 Most Common Farm Equipment For a Farm

Used in the production of multiple food products like vegetable, grains and fruits through crops the farm equipment play a major role in our modern farming. Use of technology in farming and advanced farming techniques have given farmers the ability to increase crop production by reducing time and cost of manual labour. We will discuss here some most popular or commonly used farm equipment used for the tilling, seeding, fertilization, irrigation, planting, pest control and harvesting of crops. From the ancient use of plough and livestock to the modern diesel-powered tractor, we have come a long way in agriculture sector and below we have mentioned a few of the machines used in agriculture nowadays:

 

1.     Cultivator – A Cultivator is used to break up and mix the upper layer of the soil. The purpose of this action is to aerate the soil before the seeds are planted.  It improves the nutrients in the soil to help the crop grow. It is also used after seeds are planted to kill weeds which interrupt the crop growth. Cultivators can be a small single self-propelled unit or a tractor implement pulled behind a tractor for large crop farming areas.

2.       MB Plough -MB plough or mould-board plough, is one of the primary tillage equipment used to prepare the soil for sowing by breaking up the soil and burring weeds or competing plants. With the increasing mechanization, there are many farm equipment manufacturing companies that offer different types of Plough with various functionalities including MB plough or Mould board plough, disc plough etc. 

3.      Seeders and Planters – Modern seeders and planters such as disc seed drills let a farmer plant seeds by towing the seed drills in a box with tractors and spread over a larger area in a minimum amount of time. The seeds drills or planters align seeds in rows which vary in width and release seed in a very precise method. 

4.        Field Sprayer – To protect crops from insects and other pests, fertilizer sprayers like a boom sprayer works for multipurpose plant protection in a large field to disperse herbicides and pesticides over large crop beds. Commonly these are pulled by the tractor.

     5.        Harvester – A harvester one of the most popular farm machinery used to gather grains from crops very conveniently. This is a large motorized vehicle with an attachment on the front that can vary depending on the crop type. Being versatile machinery this equipment is highly valuable. A combine harvester can do three jobs at one time, it reaps, threshes, and winnows at the same time. There are also special multi-crop harvester machines used for beans, carrots, potatoes, and corn. Additionally, once the crops are gathered it leaves behind the chaff which can be gathered by balers like round balers or square balers to feed livestock.

Modern Tillage Equipment for Contemporary farmers

Before a farmer plant a new crop, he needs to first till the land. New improvements in conservation and proficiencies have created additional options than earlier, as farmers use modern farming methods and equipment to get the most from their land.

Modern Tillage Equipment

New tillage equipment for effective and efficient tilling such as disc plough, mould-board plough, disc harrow and rotavator have come in the market as new technology advances that are designed to break up, mix, level soil, even in heavy crop residue areas. Some of these we have explained here -

Plough – Various plough such as disc plough, mould-board plough, chisel plough is the most modern equipment when it comes to discussing most modern tilling tools. A moldboard plough is most suitable for breaking many soil types for turning and covering crop residues. Various designs are intended to function best for some specific tasks in specified soil conditions. The part in a mould-board plough that breaks the soil is known as bottom or base and includes share, the landside, and the moldboard. The share works as the cutting edge of the moldboard plough.

Rotavator or Rotary Tiller - Used for stirring the soil at depths, a rotary tiller is equipment generally used for deeper primary-tillage operations. In some areas, however, this is used for secondary tillage.

Harrow – Known as secondary tillage equipment it is used to improve the seedbed by increasing soil pulverization, to conserve moisture by destructing weeds, and cutting crop residues. The process of making final seedbed is accomplished by the use of various types of harrows like disc harrow, power harrow, heavy-duty hydraulic harrow, compact model disc harrow, offset disc harrow etc.

Seed Drills or Seeders – These are the equipment used in areas where minimum to zero-tillage is required due to the risk of soil erosion. No-till is actually is considered as the best tillage practice for conserving water. Another reason for using no-till equipment is that while performing tillage or deep ripping, the pores created by earthworms and microorganisms that serve as a conduit for water to go down deep into the soil are destroyed. It reduces the water-absorbing capacity of the soil, causing erosion. Most common no-till equipment are disc seed drill, zero till drill or planter.

Above mentioned a few to mention as most modern agricultural machinery that helps farmers in increasing efficiency of their farm