An Ergo-economical Study on Paddy Transplanting Methods in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh

Manual rice transplanting operation is one of the drudgery prone activities in paddy cultivation process. Mechanized farming is slowly picking up pace in the hilly state of Himachal. In the present study, mechanized transplanting of rice seedling was done by hill farm women through use of manually operated six row paddy transplanter and was compared for ergonomic aspects with conventional method of transplanting. There was not much difference in the anthropometric measurements of the subjects. Heart rate of the subjects at rest was 75 beats/min which increased to value of 131 beats/min using six-row paddy transplanter. Subjects using traditional method of hand transplanting recorded resting value of 78 beats/min which soared to 114 beats/min during uprooting and transplanting of paddy seedlings. Majority of the respondents complained of wrist/hand pain and of back pain as well as stretching and tenderness in legs and thighs. The subjects were satisfied with the technology as it avoids bending postures which is required in traditional method and also line sowing helps in promoting the use of mechanical weeders thereby reducing drudgery and cost during further weeding operations.