*Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

Engineering Research Farm and farmer's fields during 2014–2020. The field was prepared with mould board plough, two operations of disc harrow followed by two operations of cultivator and one operation of planker and laser leveler to get the best sowing uniformity, the most uniform sowing depth, and maximum emergence percentage with various planters [60]. The various specifications of planters used for this study are shown in **Tables 2** and **3**. The maize crop was sown with various planters during 2014–2020 and sowing was done in East-West direction and North South directions. The seed rate was kept as 20 kg ha<sup>1</sup> and 275 kg ha<sup>1</sup> urea and 137.5 kg ha<sup>1</sup> DAP (N, P & K as 125, 60, 30 kg ha<sup>1</sup> ), 50 kg ha<sup>1</sup> muriate of potash was applied. The weeds were controlled by chemical attrazine which was applied for weeds control (within 10 days of sowing) @2000 g ha<sup>1</sup> in 500 l water and mechanically by tractor operated 3-row sweep type weeder when crop height was 300 mm and during further stages of growth. Urea was applied in three splits 1/3 rd at sowing, 1/3 rd at 300 mm height and rest at silking stage. For fall armyworm insect control 1.0 ml corazen 18.5 S.C. per litre was applied for 20 days crop in 300 l water and later on according to stage of maize crop water upto 500 l was used (per ha area).



#### **Table 2.**

*Specifications of machines used for raised bed planting of maize crop and their operational parameters.*


**Table 3.**

*Various energy equivalents for input operations and sources.*

#### **2.2 Meteorological data**

The average minimum and maximum temperatures were 17.59°C and 29.67°C, respectively, whereas the mean temperature was 23.53°C based on meteorological data. The average annual rainfall was 653.84 mm. The mean sunshine duration was 7.43 h, mean number of rainy days recorded was 1.91 and mean wind speed was 3.53 km h<sup>1</sup> (**Figure 2**).

### **2.3 Planter dimensions, specifications and material description**

The specifications of various planters are shown in **Table 2**. The inclined plate with cells and vertical plate with spoons/holes were used as metering mechanisms for seed metering. The furrow openers of planters were made of steel alloy hard. The power transmission to metering plate was given through bevel gear for raised bed inclined plate and flat plate planter and was through chain for raised bed vertical plate planter. In case of raised bed vertical plate planter the hopper size was 140 300 mm (l b) and horizontal distance between inner side of plate to outer side of spoon/spoon length/diameter were 35/15/Φ11 respectively. The hopper size for flat plate planter was 100 110 mm (1 hole Φ30mm).

*Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

**Figure 2.** *Mean annual meteorological data from 2012 to 2016.*

Runner type opener was used as the fields were well prepared, comprising of sand to loam soils and free from weeds and residue etc. The front section of the opener is 'V'-shaped (in transverse cross section) and extends below the wider rear portion (**Figure 3**). Runner openers are not used in soils with high clay content as the sliding action of the opener causes 'smearing' along the base and walls of the furrow which severely restrict subsequent root development. Similarly reversible shovel type furrow openers causes less disturbance in soil, requires less draft and are easy in construction, cheaper and easily repairable. The seed covering device like mild steel strip (light weight), cast iron roller (for seed covering and bed shaping), zero pressure pneumatic press wheel were used. Zero pressure pneumatic press wheels are continual flexing which makes them self cleaning. The function of covering device in planter is to place the seed in contact with the moist soil, cover them to the proper depth, press the soil firmly around the seeds and leave the soil directly above the row loose enough to minimize crusting and promoting easy emergence. Agitator & sliding orifice type metering mechanism was used for fertilizer metering. Material used for ground wheel, bed former and fertilizer metering mechanism was mild steel. The material used for Pneumatic raised bed/flat planter was mostly Aluminum to make it light weight and cause less compaction of soil. The germination data were recorded for the different rows planted by planters/method and were analyzed for quality, missing, multiples and precision indices. The data was also analyzed statistically. Similarly maize yield and water requirements were also recorded during these experiments. The raised bed inclined plate (**Figure 4**) planter (4-row), raised bed vertical plate planter (2-row) (**Figure 5**) were designed to sow one line of maize on each bed. The mean maize grain length, width and thickness were 9.0, 7.80 and 5.60 mm, respectively. Therefore, cell radius in planter plate was kept as 10 mm and thickness as 8 mm. The angle of repose was 27.64° [16]. Therefore, plate was inclined at 45° i.e. more than angle of repose for free fall of maize seed during field operation. The flat inclined plate planter (**Figure 6**) and pneumatic planter were able to sow 4 rows of maize at a spacing of 675 mm. The ridger was used to make ridges at 600 mm and 675 mm distance and manual plating of maize was done at plant to plant spacing of 200 mm. In case of manual planting around 160 man-h ha<sup>1</sup> were involved in sowing operation.

#### **Figure 3.**

*(a) A view of reversible shovel furrow opener in inclined plate planter, (b) metering plate and full runner opener for pneumatic planter, (c) bed former for pneumatic raised bed planter and (d) ridger.*

**Figure 4.** *Line diagram for metering plate of raised plate planter.*

The manual planter (**Figure 7**) is cheap, suitable for hilly/plain regions or for land with undulating topography. One persons pulls this machine from front with the help of a rope and other person pushes it from ergonomically designed handle for uniform movement of metering plate and placement of maize seed in soil at proper depth. The physical power output of a male agricultural worker is approximately 75 W and for female worker is 60 W sustained for an 8–10 hours work per day [61]. A furrow opener is provided for opening of soil in manual planter (Mvp) and ground wheel is provided for easy movement of planter. The metering plate is driven by it through

*Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

#### **Figure 5.**

*Raised bed vertical plate planter and bed inclined spoon type vertical metering plate.*

#### **Figure 6.**

*Flat inclined plate planter with U shaped inclined plate planter.*

**Figure 7.** *Manual planter with spoon type vertical metering plate.*

#### *New Prospects of Maize*

**Figure 8.**

*View of chain transmission system, press wheel and bed maker for low cost Pneumatic precision planter.*

#### **Figure 9.** *Chain and sprocket mechanism for varying plant to plant spacing.*

chain sprocket transmission. In this planter the metering system used is vertical plate with spoons system. The approximate weight of manual maize planter is 20 kg and mean depth of seed placement was 22.35 mm. The view of chain transmission system to metering plate, press wheels, bed former for pneumatic raised bed planter are shown in **Figures 8** and **9**.

*Indices for planter performance analysis—*All the row crop planters were calibrated in lab for desired seed rate and plant to plant spacing and variation in field was compared with theoretical spacing.

Various indices were used to calculate accuracy of planting of various planters, the description of each index is given below.
