Role of Mechanization in Effective Management of Time and Labour in Ragi (Eleusinecoracana L.) Cultivation

Mechanization plays an important role in timely operation, reducing labour and drudgery in Indian agriculture. Front line demonstration on mechanization in Ragi from sowing to post harvest operation was conducted by KVK, Ramanagara during kharif 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 covering 17ha. Improved implements and machinery namely cultivator, tractor drawn seed cum fertilizer drill, cycle weeder, Ragi reaper and thresher were used for various farm operations from land preparation to harvesting. Awareness was also created through trainings, demonstrations and media coverage. The Results of the demonstration showed that mechanization reduced time of operation by 76 percent and the cost of cultivation by 58 percent per hectare with respect to conventional farming. The conventional farming included land preparation by bullock drawn harrow, sowing by bullock drawn seed drill, manual interculture and weeding, manual picking and harvesting of Ragi using khurpi. This also helped in timely operations which in turn helped to get higher yield. Farmers opined that usage of improved implements helped them to overcome drudgery involved in the field and also reduction in cost of operation. Field capacity of seed drill, cycle weeder and Ragi reaper was observed to be 0.34,0.05,0.32ha/h respectively.