Field performance of different manually operated weeding equipments for paddy crop

The efficient and economical method for weeding plays a significant role in reducing cost of operation and enhancing timeliness of operation. In this study, to manage the weeds in transplanted rice, three mechanical weeders were tested and their efficacy was compared with hand weeding. The rice variety namely PS-4 (Pusasungandha-4), was selected for this study. The results reaveled that among the mechanical weeders, the highest work efficiency was found to be 0.050 ha/h in power weeder and the corresponding lowest value of 0.0094/ha was obtained with rotary weeder. Among the mechanical weeders the highest weeding efficiency (85.13%) was obtained with power weeder and weeding operation cost was reduced by 67.8% as compared to hand weeding. No doubt, the results of hand weeding were significantly better but as it is time consuming and laborious hence cannot be recommended at large scale. Among the weeding method, power weeder gave the best field performance; this suggested that engine powered weeder could be useful equipment in modernizing agriculture for small farm holders.