Comparative study on two different weeders on efficiency and ergonomic parameters for farm women

Abstract

With the purpose of enhancing farm women's weeding productivity, the current study was conducted in the adopted villages of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Banavasi, Kurnool, utilizing the CRIJAF weeder and CRIDA wheel hoe. The reduction of women’s drudgery with the use of weeders was assessed in terms of time, labour required, weeding efficiency, and drudgery index score. The outcome shows the amount of work produced during the weeding process using both conventional and advanced technologies. The CRIDA wheel hoe has a significantly higher work output than the CIJAF weeder, followed by the hand hoe. There was a decrease in labour requirements for both weeders when compared to the traditional method. The time taken for weeding was recorded to be less in the CRIDA wheel hoe (4 hours), followed by the CRIJAF nail weeder (6 hours), whereas in manual feeding it was recorded as 8 hours. The weeding efficiency percentage was found to be highest for hand hoes (76.5%), followed by CRIJAF and CRIDA weeders. When utilising the advanced weeders, moderate drudgery (drudgery index score between 35.4 and 42.2) was noted; however, maximum drudgery (drudgery index score 68) was noted when using the hand hoe. As a result, it is advised that farm women use enhanced technology for their weeding tasks in order to maximize their productivity, lessen their labor and save time.