Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: Studies were conducted to evaluate the influence of seed drill sowing on productivity and resultant seed quality of rainfed horsegram at Regional Research Station, Paiyur, Krishnagiri district (12.6257° N, 78.0195° E ),Tamil Nadu. Horsegram cv.paiyur 2 was sown using cup feed seed drill modified with the cup size of 6 mm, which was derived based on the major and minor axis of the seeds. The seed drill was compared with the conventional method of sowing. The field test conducted with the cup feed seed drill showed the average effective field capacity as 0.44 ha/h with 78.6 per cent field efficiency. The seed rate of 9.46 kg/ha was registered for the cup feed seed drill. The results revealed that seed drill sown recorded 75 and 74 per cent increase in plant height, 41 and 29 per cent increase in number of leaves, 346 and 180 per cent increase in number of plants per square meter at important crop growth stages of 30 and 60 days after sowing when compared to broadcasting/ conventional method. The seed quality characters measured in terms of germination and vigour expressed a non-significant difference between the methods of sowing. The additional cost of operation using cup feed seed drill along with tractor is only Rs.1102/ha but it enhanced the cost benefit ratio to1:2.3 compared to broadcasting/conventional sowing (1:1.7) technique.
Authors: R. Thiyagarajan, B. Suthakar, M. Manoharan
Institution: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3014226547