PADDY TRANSPLANTER

A PROJECT REPORT

In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

Of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY

In

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING


Jawaharlal Nehru Govt. Engineering College
Sundernagar, Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) - 175018


ABSTRACT

Rice production in India is an important part of the national economy.
India is one of the world's largest producers of white rice and brown rice,
accounting for 20% of all world rice production.
Rice is India's pre-eminent crop, and is the staple food of the people of
the eastern and southern parts of the country.
The most important factors that influence the performance are

soil moisture content
system of raising seedlings in nursery
degree of land leveling
finally the size of planting claw
INTRODUCTION


A rice transplanter is a specialized is a machine fitted with a transplanter
mechanism (usually having some form of reciprocating motion) driven by
the power from the live axle, in order to the transplant rice seedlings onto
paddy field.


A common rice transplanter comprises:
The mechanical rice transplanter is fitted with a tin/aluminium based tray
on which mat type nurseries are placed during the operation.
Multiple pickup forks that pick up a seedling from mat type nursery on the
seedling tray and put the seedling into the earth, as if the seedling were
taken between human fingers.
Machine transplanting using rice transplanters requires considerably less
time and labor than manual transplanting.
Advantages

Efficient use of resources by saving on labour, cost saving, water
saving.
Timely transplanting of seedlings of optimal age.
Ensures uniform spacing and optimum plant density with 2-3
seedlings/hills).
Higher productivity compared to traditional methods.
Less transplanting shock, early vigor of seedling, better tillering and
uniform maturity of crop that facilitates timely harvest and reduces
harvest losses.
Less incidence of disease in seedlings due to less root injury.
Improving soil health through eliminating puddling.
Generates employment and alternate sources of income for rural
youth through custom services on nursery raising and mechanical
transplanting

Limitations:

Transplanting is tedious and time-consuming (up to 30 man days/ha)
Planting laborers can suffer from back problems (health risk)
Difficult to get enough labor at peak periods to plant on time
Difficult to maintain optimum spacing and uniform plant density, especially
with random transplanting and contract labor
Low plant density with contract transplanting on area basis lowers yields
Possible Risk that in rain fed areas seedlings (especially of modern
varieties) may get too old before rain falls and the field is ready to be
planted

COMPONENTS OF PADDY
TRANSPLANTER
The self-propelled mechanical rice transplanter has two detachable parts i.e. front
and rear portions.

The front portion has
Diesel/petrol engine range of 4-8 HP depending on the make
Gear box
Lever for adjusting hill spacing
Propeller shaft
Toothed iron wheel for field operation and two sheets for helpers while feeding
nursery.

The rear portion has
Floating board
Nursery platform
Transplanting fingers with screws for adjusting plants/hill
Depth setting lever
Linkage for height adjustment of float board.

CATEGORISATION OF PADDY
TRANSPLANTERS
Transplanters classification based on two
parameters:

a) Type of nursery requirements.
b) Nature of prime mover.

On the basis of nursery,

1) Washed seedling transplanter
2) Mat-type seedling transplanter

I)Washed seedlings:
Use washed roots seedling on mat that has four to six leaves appearance about 20
to 30 cm long washed at time of transplanting.
In some instances overgrown roots are pruned to facilitate easier transplanting
operation requiring about 175 people per hour per hectare.

II) Mat-type:
The seedlings are nursed on a mixed soil sample with a known quantity of
nutrients additives fallowed by sprinkling a pre-germinated seeds on the soil of
thickness 1.5-2.0 cm and allowed to grow for a period in between 20-25 days in
the nursery before uprooting to permanent field.
The method is preferred because it requires less labor about 50 workers in an hour
per days work

On the basis of prime mover
requirements
Manual transplanter
Self-propelled transplanter
Animal drawn transplanter
Tractor mounted transplanter

1 )MANUAL TRANSPLANTER :-

Fig: Hand powered mechanical
transplanter
Fig: Hand cranked rice transplanter

2) SELF PROPELLED TRANSPLANTER
Fig. Self-propelled type rice
transplanter

ADVANTAGES
Simple and easy to operate,
Conforming ground undulation
Better management of the crop.
3) ANIMAL DRAWN
4) TRACTOR MOUNTED TRANSPLANTER

In this type of transplanter animals
such as oxen are used to draw the
transplanter.

Multiple rows of seedlings can be
transplanted with variable depth and
spacing.

Such type of transplanter is found to
have a limited amount of accuracy in
terms of plant to plant spacing.

This type of transplanter is powered
by a tractor engine of 25 h powers via
power take-up shaft connected to
arrangement of linking mechanism of
pulley/belts.
Has a capacity of transplanting 6-10
rows width variable width in-
between rows.
Provision at tractor rear wheel and
transplanter are made to remove soil
in puddle soil condition to facilitate
smoother operation.

DISADVANTAGE

Poor quality of work in undulated
fields reaching up to 50% missing
transplantations.
DESIGN OF RICE PADDY TRANSPLANTER
(MANUALLY PROPELLED)


1) Moving pathway
Figure 6: Dimension of the planting arm
II) Plant Catching Mechanism
Fig.Planting arm at the lowest position
II) Plant Catching Mechanism

Man walking speed = 1.5 km/ hour
Diameter of the ground
wheel
= ( 1.5 km/
hour)x(1000m/km)x(1
hour/60min)
= 25m/min
=30cm
Perimeter of the
ground wheel = 2r
There are several parameters were considered in designing the plant catching
mechanism:
Place of catching
Number of plant per catching
Distance of travel x Releasing Point x Tension on plants x Angle of Planting
Plant should not be damaged while catching and releasing by the planting arm.
Thus suitable speed, position and angle of catching and angle of planting,
height of tray, width and length of figures are the factors governing the proper
planting mechanism
Distance of travel can be calculated according to walking speed of a normal
man


Designing of Tray

Tray is to carry the dapog mat and to direct the plants to planting
arm. Basic factors (width, length, angle, speed of movement) were
considered in designing the tray mechanism.
Power transmission to planting arm
17 teeth
sprocket wheel
Gear reduction between 47 teeth sprocket and 18 teeth sprocket wheel = 47/18
= 2.6111
Gear reduction between 21 teeth sprocket and 17 teeth sprocket wheel =21/17
=1.2352
Total gear reduction between ground wheel to planting arm =2.6111+1.2352 =3.8463
Chains
Power transmission to tray
Image of the Final Product
(Manually operated paddy transplanter)
RESULT

Recent surveys conducted revealed that the machine transplanting
works better in no-till/unpuddled conditions compared to puddled
conditions.
This suggests that transplanting machine requires distinct soil
characteristics that prevent the sedimentation of soil.
Under puddled conditions, soil cannot make a strong grip on the
seedlings. Even excess water (more than 1 cm) coming from top at the
time of transplanting will loosen the soil grip on the seedlings.
Thus it performs very well under no-till conditions but not under
puddled conditions. In a way unpuddled or zero till reduces the risk of
empty spaces which is common in puddle fields due to less anchoring
of seedlings.



CONCLUSION
Rice paddy transplanter is highly recommended for the local
farmers of Sundernagar though beforehand the farmers need to
be educated regarding its proper use since mechanized
transplanter requires mat type nursery.

Since the farm land is of the average size in the area thus a
mechanized paddy transplanter would highly aid in the rice
transplantation.

It would also decrease the high dependence of farmers upon
labourers for transplantation.

The transplanter machine can be easily coupled to a weed
remover mechanism which could further help farmers in the
weeding process of paddy plantation.