Design, development and evaluation of transplanting mechanism of single row prototype for rice seedlings

Abstract

A transplanting mechanism is a key component in the rice transplanter as it plays a significant role in the performance of the rice transplanter. However, it affects the picking of the seedlings, planting depth, seedling damage and number of seedling per hill. Furthermore, it influences productivity and efficiency of the machine. The aim of the study described basic concept regarding design and development of four bar transplanting mechanism for rice transplanter and its evaluation. Therefore, a new transplanting mechanism for single row rice transplanter was developed and tested in laboratory as well as in field conditions. In the both conditions, five performance parameters were estimated to estimate its accuracy, of the developed mechanism such as planting depth, number of seedlings per hill, hill to hill spacing, seedling length and visible damage. The average planting depth was varied from 5.53 cm to 4.88 cm in laboratory and field conditions, respectively. However, the numbers of seedlings were found to be around 3 in both conditions. The hill to hill spacing and visible damage were also noticed within the acceptable limits for both conditions. It was concluded that prototype showed satisfactorily working ability in both conditions.