Design of Mini Tractor Operated Multipurpose Equipment for Groundnut Crop

Abstract

A study was conducted in 2021 at the Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Dr. NTR College of Agricultural Engineering, Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, to design, fabricate, and evaluate a cost-effective multipurpose agricultural implement. The equipment was developed in the departmental workshop and subsequently field-tested at the college research farm. Designed to address the needs of small and marginal farmers, the implement integrates sowing, spraying, and weeding functionalities into a single machine, significantly reducing the time, labor, and fuel requirements for row crop cultivation. The developed machine features a simple and robust design, with overall dimensions of 1800 × 600 × 1550 mm and a total weight of 150 kg. Tynes are mounted using nuts and bolts, allowing for easy adjustment of row spacing to suit various crops. The sowing unit ensures accurate seed placement at the desired depth, while the spraying and weeding units are configured for simultaneous operation. This makes the implement particularly suitable for narrow-row crops such as groundnut. Laboratory and field evaluations were conducted to assess the machine’s performance. The sowing unit delivered an average of 340 grams of seed per 20 ground wheel revolutions, corresponding to a seed rate of 120.2 kg ha⁻¹. The spraying unit, equipped with three adjustable nozzles, achieved a discharge rate ranging from 0.9 to 1.3 L min⁻¹ at operating pressures between 150 and 275 kPa. Field results confirmed the implement’s effectiveness in reducing operational costs and fuel usage by enabling combined spraying and weeding operations in a single pass.