Development of Tractor Operated Multipurpose Tool Frame with Attachments for Sugarcane Cultivation

A prototype of tractor operated multipurpose tool frame with different attachments for furrow opening, interculture, herbicide spraying and fertilizer application in sugarcane crop was developed at ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow. A provision for height adjustment of intercultural tynes in the range of 500 to 650 mm was made as per the crop and field condition. The field performance evaluation of the prototype was carried out in sandy loam soil. A trapezoidal 250 mm deep furrows having top and bottom width of 320 mm x 180 mm was formed with the furrower. The effective field capacity and field efficiency were 0.28 ha/h and of 85%, respectively. During combined intercultural, spraying and fertilizer application, effective field capacity was 0.57 ha/h with field efficiency 86.3%. The weeding efficiency, depth of interculture and herbicide application rate was 83.2%, 100 mm and 265 l/ha, respectively. The cost of combined operation of inter-row interculture, intra-row weeding through herbicide spraying and fertilizer application with the developed equipment was reduced from Rs. 4328 to Rs. 1841/ha (57.4%) compared to conventional practice of using tractor operated cultivator for inter-row and manual hoeing for intra-row weeding and manual broadcasting of fertilizer. The corresponding labour saving was 129.2 man-h/ha (97%).