Farmers adopting higher seed rate in case of chick pea resulting in terminal moisture stress due to excess plant population and non-uniform distribution of seed. To reduce drudgery and to cover large areas in a short time, to overcome soil moisture depletion under rainfed conditions and to save seed, a ferti cum seed drill tractor drawn was developed at RARS, Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh and tested. There is a saving of 18 to 20 kg of seed per hectare when sown with the newly developed seed drill, which amounts to a saving of Rs.550 per hectare. The optimum population (34 to 37 plants per sq m) with the help of seed drill will help reduction in competition for nutrients and the available soil moisture, because of uniform distribution of seed throughout the field.
Ferti cum seed drill – chickpea
