Book of Extended summaries ISDA

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges &
Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
T5-31P-1373
Photo-Voltaic Solar Power: Alternative Energy for Farm Mechanization
Ravikant V. Adake*, I. Srinivas, B. Sanjeev Reddy, Ashish S. Dhimate, M Mallikarjun,
K. Sammi Reddy and Vinod Kumar Singh
ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad-500059, India.
* a.ravikant@icar.gov.in
Sources of non-renewable energy are widely used for various agricultural operations in Indian
agriculture. Pre-harvest operations are mainly dependent on tractor, self-propelled machines,
diesel engines etc which need crude oil predominantly. Out of total diesel consumption in India,
agricultural sector alone accounts for 13% (Nielsen 2013). Continuous and increased use of
non-renewable energy sources not only increase environmental pollution but also increases
operational cost as cost of crude oil is increasing. From the past half-decade, the cost of crude
oil increased by 60-70%. On the other hand, Indian agriculture is deficit of farm power
availability to meet challenges of food grain production in coming years. Existing farm power
availability need to be increased from 2.76 kW/ha to 4 kW/ha to cope up with the increasing
demand of food grains by 2030 (ICAR Annual Report 2020-21).
In this situation, solar energy is an alternative option to generate additional farm power on &
off the farm to reduce environmental pollution and minimize cost of cultivation. Solar energy
is amply available in India. On an average, irradiance on horizontal surface in India is 5.6 kWh
m -2 day -1 . In most parts of the country, solar power is being used for post-harvest operations
(Srinivas et al., 2016), however, research & development (R&D) on solar powered farm
machinery/implements for pre-harvest operations like tillage, sowing, weeding, sprayings are
very few and most of them are either battery operated or on-the-go PV model. Solar powered
weeder with 1-hp electric motor with rotary tiller and co-axial rotary mechanism was developed
and tested for weeding (Adake et al., 2021). At ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland
Agriculture (ICAR-CRIDA), Hyderabad experimental model of PV based solar power system
was developed for various agricultural operations where solar power system is stationary. This
paper highlights details of PV-based solar powered technology for farm mechanization and its
scope in dryland agriculture
Methodology
Development of experimental model
Experimental model of solar powered prime mover which consists of brush-less DC (BLDC)
motor with 1.5 hp, motor controller (48 V; 20 amps), accelerator, maximum power tracking
point (MPPT) device, and 3-hp solar PV Module was developed. Solar PV module and MPPT
device are stationary and rest of the parts are movable. A suitable frame was developed to
Emerging approaches (RS, AI, ML, Drones etc) for crop management &assessment
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