Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Online published on 12 March, 2012.
The major problem in sowing under no tillage in combine harvested paddy fields is the frequent choking of no-till drill due to long loose straw, lying in the windrows. Effective residue management requires both straw and chaff to be finely chopped and evenly spread over the entire cutting width of combine. The study was undertaken to investigate the straw accumulation in conventional no-till drill when straw managing system (SMS) is operated at different settings. Three levels of rows of stationary blades (one, two & three rows), three levels of rotor speed index (30, 35 & 40) and two levels of deflector angle (20° & 30° with horizontal) of SMS were selected for the study. Straw accumulation in no-till drill decreased significantly when number of rows of stationary blades was increased from one to three. Similar pattern was observed when rotor speed index was increased from 30 to 40. Optimal combination, at which there was minimum straw accumulation i.e. 937.5 kg/ha, was observed at a combination of three rows of stationary blades, rotor speed index of 40 and deflector angle 20°. No straw accumulation was observed when spatially modified no-till drill was operated in combine harvested paddy field at optimal settings of straw managing system.
