Effects of growth temperature on growth rate and seed filling duration of soybean cv. Enrei grown in the Temperature Gradient Chamber (TGC)

Rajen Bajgain19-04-2013

Laser land leveling-for Precision Agriculture in Nepal

1Introduction

Introduction- Nepal and its agricultureLand area:147181 sq.km3 main geographic regions Terai and inner Terai (plain )-34000 km2Hills- 61000 km2Mountains- 52000km2Population around 30 millionsOnly 16% is the agricultural land is cultivable (Nepal, National Planning Commission,-WFP-NDRI 2010)Terai (plain)- 56%Hills- 37%Mountains- 7%

Land leveling:

Animal drawn levelers Tractor drawn lavelersProblems of uneven soil surfaceImpact on germinationStand and yield of crops- nutrient and water distribution patternDelays tillageIncreased weed burdenUneven maturity of crops

Water logging in wheat field

Uneven distribution of irrigation water Non uniform crop stand in an undulated field

LASER Leveling System

process of smoothening land from its average elevation using laser guided buckets

involves altering the field to create a constant slope of 0-0.2%

use of large HP tractors and soil movers equipped with laser guided instrumentation

Laser Transmitter Laser Receiver Electrical Control Panel Twin Solenoid Hydraulic Control Valve

Components:

TransmitterMounts on a tripodSends the laser beam in a circular mannerSeveral tractors can receive

ReceiverMounts on a mast attached to the drag bucketOmni-directional and intercepts the laser beam and sends to control box

Control panelHydraulic control valveMounts on tractor within reach of operatorAccepts and interprets the signal received from receiverIndicates the drag bucket positionRaises and lowers the bucket based on oil flow1. Land leveling and yield (Rickman 2002)

Increase in crop yield = 24% (530kg/ha)

2. Time required and suitability of different land leveling techniquesBenefits:

3. Estimated additional area that can be brought under cultivation after laser land levelingMap showing the increased cultivable area after laser land leveling(Rajput and Patel, 2003)Limitations: High cost of the equipment/laser instrument.Need for skilled operator.Need of more or less regular sized and shaped field.4. Other benefits:Increase irrigation efficiency- uniform distribution, reduction in time and amount to irrigate the fieldsGood germination and growth of cropsImproved field traffic abilityLess input Scope and intervention: Subsidy or cooperative effort and operator training Design and development of user friendly technology based on local needsReferences

M.L Jat, Pravesh Chandna, Raj Gupta, S.K. Sharma and M.A. Gill. 2006. Laser Land Leveling: A Precursor Technology for Resource Conservation. Rice-Wheat Consortium Technical Bulletin Series 7. new Delhi, India: Rice Wheat Consortium for the Indo- Gangetic Plains. pp 48.

Rickman, J.F. 2002. Manual for laser land leveling, Rice- Wheat Consortium Technical Bulletin Series 5. New-Delhi 12 , India: Rice Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic plains pp.24.