Introduction of latest technologies and adoption of farm mechanisation and good agriculture practices not only help progressive farmers in Cumbum Valley scale down production costs and water use, but also help overcome growing labour shortage, boost production and productivity.
Laser levelling technology, is a proven technology that arrests the dangerous trend of over exploitation of irrigation water.
Traditional method is very cumbersome and time consuming. Under the old method, farmers have been losing large quantum of water in the farm owing to unevenness of the field. This problem is high in paddy fields. Unevenness of the soil surface will have an impact on germination. Moreover, such fields increase weeds and uneven crop maturing owing to uneven supply of inputs, oxygen and sunlight. Ultimately, these hurdles will lead to reduction in yield and quality of grain, says Department of Agro Engineering Assistant Engineer R.S. Velmurugan. The laser leveller, that comprises a laser receiver, laser eye receiver, laser transmitter and drag scrapper, levels the field using a guided laser beam throughout the field. The scrapper moves up and down automatically to level the field with the help of guided laser. One control unit will suffice to cover 300 square metres of area and guide several levellers.
Laser levelling is the basic process for all other mechanisation process like machine transplantation, weed removal and machine harvesting. It is very successful in Thanjavur district because of nil gradient fields, he adds.
The government has given two levellers for Theni and Uthamapalayam. “We will buy more machines on the basis of demand from farmers. Better distribution of water, improvement in nutrient-use efficiencies, reduction in weed problems, uniform crop maturity and option for precision farming are the other benefits of laser levelling, says the Collector N. Venkatachalam, while inspecting a demonstration field in Chinnamanur on Saturday. It will also improve the yield and scale down quantum of water required for land preparation and for transplanting.
To take this technology to several farmers in Cumbum Valley, the Department of Agro-Engineering has developed a model field in Chinnamanur and has conducted field demo. In the laser levelled field, uniform storage of water throughout the field can be ensured, he adds.
