MECHANIZATION
Sugarcane is one crop in which there has been little mechanization in India, all farm operations from planting to harvesting being labour dependent. This is one of the reasons for higher cost of cultivation of this crop and lower yield. Recently a mechanized tractor drawn cane planter has been developed by Khalsa Farm Equipment Works, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh which can plant two hectare area in eight hours.
All the operations of seed treatment with organo-mercurial fungicides like Emisan for hastening and improving germination; soil treatment with Lindane (Gamma BHC 20 EC)/ Chloropyriphos for the control of termites and shoot borer, fertilizer placement, cutting seed cane into pieces, placing these into furrows and planking are done simultaneously with the planter; resulting in significant decrease in the cost of planting. The germination, growth and stand of the crop is also quite uniform. The two, three and four furrow planters are available depending upon the horse power of the tractor available.
A paired row planting ridger has also been developed which draws two furrows at 30:30 cm row spacing, the third furrow at 150 cm and the fourth one again at 30 cm. This paired row planting has proved useful in propping up the two closely planted rows easily which helps in saving the crop from lodging. Besides this, an intercrop can also be grown successfully and cane yield of the plant and ratoon crop is higher.
Another tractor drawn implement developed by this company does interculture to control weeds, applies fertilizer along the root zone for more efficient fertilizer use and does earthing up of the crop to save it from lodging in grown up plant and ratoon crop in May and June. This three in one arrangement can greatly help in reducing the cost of cultivation of sugarcane.
CANE PLANTER
THREE IN ONE IMPLEMENT FOR INTER-CULTURE, FERTILIZER PLACEMENT AND EARTHING UP