Comparative performance evaluation of different ploughs used in Biasi system of rice cultivation

Abstract

Biasi is an intercultural operation of ploughing the field of standing crop in stagnant water to suppress weeds, stir the soil, thinning and manipulate the root zone of the crop. Traditionally, it is performed by desi plough which requires much time and leads to excessive plant mortality. The aim of this paper was to present a comparative study of the performance of different ploughs used in biasi. The operation was carried out in the paddy field using three types of plough viz., desi plough, 3-tined biasi plough and 5-tined biasi plough. Various field parameters like plant mortality, weeding efficiency, field efficiency, draft of the plough, speed of operation, power requirement, energy requirement,number of effective tillers, panicle length, panicle weight and harvest index were determined. 5-tined biasi plough showed the highest field efficiency (75%) and weeding efficiency (73.33%), with the lowest plant mortality (28.91%). Crop conditions and harvest index were observed to be better with the 5-tined biasi plough compared to other ploughs. It was found that the cost of operation (Rs. 494.51/ ha) and total energy requirement (203.81 MJ/ha) of 5-tined biasi plough were low. These results indicate that 5-tined biasi plough demonstrated the best performance and improved the yield at a minimal cost.