Farm mechanisation in rice cultivation Present status, bottlenecks and potential

Abstract

The production and productivity in Indian agriculture cannot be enhanced by primitive and traditional practices of farming. Stagnating crop productivity and increasing production cost are the two major concern of Indian agriculture. Increasing demand and application of off-farm inputs and higher labour wages are the two important reason for increasing the production cost. Mechanizing the agricultural production will reduce the production cost substantially and improve productivity by reducing the losses during harvesting, threshing and winnowing. Mechanized farm operation such as sowing (seed drill, drum seeder, mechanical transplanter), weeding (cono weeder, power weeder), fertilizer application (root feeding through fertigation, soil injection, foliar spray) improve plant growth thereby yield.