The Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute at Aduthurai organised a field demonstration recently for demonstrating the important implements such as land levelling, bund former, drum seeding for rice alone and rice cum daincha seeder, transplanter and fertilizer spreader in view of complete mechanisation for rice cultivation.
Seperate fieldThe institute has allotted a field exclusively for demonstrating this to delta farmers. More than 75 farmers participated in the demonstrations and discussed about the complete possibility of mechanising rice cultivation in the delta regions since labour shortage has been an acute problem for the past several years.
Direct puddling simultaneously levelling by rotavator rice harrow followed by machine transplanting of rice were demonstrated.
The demonstrated field will be maintained subsequently under complete mechanisation programme and weeding will be done by motorised weeding followed by machine harvesting.
Other methods such as basal fertilizer broadcasting and trimming and plastering of bunds were also demonstrated. Demonstration on direct drum seeding of rice and daincha (green manure) with 25 and 30 cm row spacing was also done.
In the 25 cm row spacing the daincha plants will be trampled by manually operated cono-weeder at 30 days after sowing and in the 30 cm row spacing plot motorised weeder will be used for trampling the daincha into the soil to convert it into manure.
On the inauguration day sowing alone was demonstrated to the farmers and further field operation will be carried by using machineries available for rice cultivation.
ExposureFarmers were also taken around the SRI and other field experiments for their exposure.
About 10 final year B.Sc. (Ag) students from Anbil Dharmalingam Agriculture College & Research Institute, Tiruchi also participated.
At the end of the day farmers shared their opinions about the demonstration and expressed suggestions for improvement.
(Dr. R. Rajendran is Director-in charge, Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute (TRRI) TNAU, Aduthurai 612 101, Tamil Nadu, email: dirtrri@tnau.ac.in, Phone : 91-435 2472098)
