Economics of using straw baler for paddy straw management

A straw baler was imported and an attempt has been made to study the performance of the machine in the field and work out its economics. Experiments were conducted in combine-harvested paddy field and in the field first operated by stubble shaver after combine harvesting of paddy and then by straw baler. The area of each experiment was 0.4 ha. The field capacity of the baler was 0.26 ha/h in combine-harvested paddy field and 0.36 ha/h in the field where stubble shaver was operated before baling. The size of bale varied from 80 x 45 x 45 cm to 90 x 45 x 45 cm, and accordingly the weight of bales varied from 18 to 28 kg. The number of bales formed was 205 in combine-harvested paddy field and 425 in stubble-shaved paddy field. Economics of the straw baler revealed that the cost of baling in stubble-shaved field was Rs. 2276.00/ha and the cost of transporting the bales was Rs. 4400.00/ha. The total cost of baling in stubble-shaved field including transportation of bales was Rs. 6676.00/ha. Very high transportation cost is the only reason due to which the machine is not gaining popularity. The total income from sale of straw was Rs. 5865/ha.