Book of Extended summaries ISDA

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges &
Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
Twin wheel hoe, 2. Rack 3. De-Topping 4. Winnowing fan 5. Paddy thresher 6. stalk puller 7.
Spiral grader. These tools are helpful to save time, save money, save land, manage their health,
more efficient, effective and environmentally friendly. On reach tool center can be a boon for
small farmers & farming community and helps them cope up with the shortage of labor and
improve farm efficiency in terms of 70 to 80%.
Possible Interventions:
Weeding equipment/tools: Hand weeding has traditionally been the most common weed
management practice in Narmada. However, because of rising labor scarcity at critical time of
weed control, hand weeding is either delayed or insufficient, exacerbating losses. The
introduction of new, effective and cheaper molecules has offered the farmers adoption of
herbicide-based weed control, which is likely to increase in future. Battery-operated sprayer
fitted with 3-nozzle boom is an option that can increase herbicide use efficiency. Much more
uniform coverage is obtained from using a multiple-nozzle boom sprayer than a single nozzle.
Mechanical weeding can also be opted as an appropriate weed control measure. Therefore,
Twin wheel hoe weeder operating between a row spacing of 25-30 cm, and taking 7-8 hours
for weeding one-hectare area, can be recommended.
Paddy thresher: Now-a-days motor operated paddy thresher used in Narmada district. Grains
are generally separated out with the combining and hammering actions of threshing teeth.
Now the motor operated paddy threshers are available in improved versions and also available
with the diesel engines having an additional winnowing fan. This type of machine is safer,
women-friendly, more efficient which can solve the problems of labour, time and cost. Use
of this machine for custom hiring can be an alternate source of earning for increasing their
family income.
Stalk puller: In Narmada district main farmers growing crops like pigeon pea & cotton. Stalk
of these plants is not easy to pull out. The plant stalk puller is very convenient and efficient
hand tool for pulling out the stalk with roots by the help of long ever handle.
Conclusion
The dominance of small and marginal holdings in Narmada district farmers major focus on
development and designing of scale-neutral machinery suited to different geographical
terrains. Facilitating the farmers and train them on above-said machines will help in their
adoption at large scale and make a viable economic case for new mechanized sustainable
intensification (SI) technologies in farming sector . The day-to-day hiring of machines on a
rental basis would be a better option for small and marginal farmers of Narmada district.
Emerging approaches (RS, AI, ML, Drones etc) for crop management &assessment
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