EFFECT OF PUDDLING EQUIPMENT ON PUDDLING CHARACTERISTICS UNDER PADDY CULTIVATION IN PUNJAB
Keywords:
Paddy cultivation, Puddling equipments, Pulverizing roller attachment, Puddling index, RotavatorAbstract
Stabilized puddled bed conditions are essential for an efficient operation of mechanical transplanting of paddy. Three different puddling treatments consisting of Cultivator & Planker (CP), Pulverizing roller attachment to cultivator (PR) and Rotavator (RT) were used to ascertain the puddling performance. Puddling was done after fields were flooded to saturation and 2 passes of cultivator & planker and pulverizing roller attachment each and 1 pass of rotavator were performed. Depth of puddle was 9.4, 12.4 and 11.5 cm in these treatments, respectively.
Puddling index and average percolation rate was 65, 79, 84 % and 0.26, 0.13, 0.11 cm/h, respectively in CP, PR and RT treatments. Effective field capacity of different puddlers was 1.0, 0.8 and 0.3 ha/h, respectively in CP, PR and RT treatments. Transplanting of paddy was done by contract labour in each plot. Cost of puddling was 578.2, 390.0, 626.6 Rs/ha for CP, PR and RT, respectively. Average grain yield differs marginally in CP, PR and RT treatment.
