Analysis of Soil and Crop Parameters for the Development of Power Tiller-Operated Groundnut Digger

Abstract

Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) is a major oilseed crop and holds an important place in the Indian agricultural economy. Odisha occupies 6th place in the major groundnut-producing states of the country with a total production of 0.388 MT and is grown in both Kharif and Rabi seasons. Harvesting is one of the major unit operations in groundnut cultivation and is mechanically harvested by tractor-operated diggers but their use is limited because of small land holdings and high capital costs and is not economical for small and marginal farmers of the state. However, the groundnut diggers to match with power tillers are not commercially available, therefore, efforts were made to develop a single-row groundnut digger operated by a power tiller. The study was conducted to relate the soil and crop parameters for the digger design, which influences the harvesting of groundnut. The design of a power tiller-operated groundnut digger to harvest a single row of groundnut requires the data of soil parameters (soil type, bulk density, cone index and soil moisture content) and crop parameters (plant population, plant height, pod zone, pod spreading radius, taproot length, taproot diameter, pod-vine ratio), suitable for different groundnut varieties. It was found that the majority of groundnut varieties were grown in sandy soils and harvested at 12-15 % soil moisture for more yield with a minimum power requirement. It was observed that for all types of groundnut varieties the plant population, plant height, pod zone depth, pod spreading radius, taproot length, taproot diameter and the number of pods per plant varies from 24-29/m2, 31-49.18 cm, 5.79-6.86 cm, 5.87-9.15 cm, 11.70-13.78 cm, 4.64-5.84 cm and 11-27/plant, respectively.