Karnataka J. Agric. Sci.

,19(3): (641-648) 2006

Energetics of Groundnut Production in Red Soil Under Bullock Farms in Raichur Region
VIJAY KUMAR, M. ANANTACHAR, T. GURUSWAMY AND N. KAWALE Department of Farm Power and Machinery College of Agricultural Engineering, Raichur- 584 102 (Received: October, 2005)
Abstract: Groundnut is an important oilseed crop in India and is regarded as king of oilseeds. Presently there is no database available on energy requirements for groundnut production under bullock farms in Raichur region. Hence, a study was undertaken to work out energetics of traditional implement package commonly used by the farmers as well as improved implement package for groundnut production using energy equivalents with a view to identify the energy efficient implement package so that the farmers can grow this cash crop more economically. The results indicated that a total input energy of 10605.87 MJ/ha was required by the indigenous implement package commonly used by the farmers whereas the improved implement package required a total input energy of 9178.90 MJ/ha for groundnut production. Major energy consuming operations for groundnut production under bullock farms were seedbed preparation, irrigation and intercultivation. The use of improved implements package consisting of mould board plough + blade harrow combination for seedbed preparation, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University groundnut planter for sowing, universal hoe for intercultivation, groundnut digger for harvesting and power operated thresher for threshing of groundnut resulted in higher energy ratio of 4.18 and lower specific energy requirement of 9.27 MJ/Kg compared to traditional implement package consisting of desi plough + blade harrow, sowing behind desi plough, manually by khurpi, hand uprooting and hand picking respectively which resulted in lower energy ratio of 2.88 and higher specific energy reuirement of 13.46 MJ/Kg.

Introduction Energy is one of the basic inputs for national development process and provides the major vital services that improve human condition such as fuel for cooking, light for living, motive power for transport and electricity for modern communication. In agriculture sector, the energy is used in the form of inputs like seed, fertilizers, agro-chemicals for plant protection, machinery for various operations, housing, transport and processing. Among all the non-conventional sources of energy, draft animal power (DAP) is one of the promising energy. In India, the energy for ploughing two thirds of the area cultivated comes from draft animals. As a cheap source of renewable energy, DAP is very important in present operated farms of developing countries. In spite of the advantage of DAP, it continuous to be most. neglected sector in the rural economy of developing countries (Prabhakaran and Selva

kumar ;1992). About 80 million draft animals contribute about 33 per cent of the total power availabIe for crop production under Indian context. It is estimated that the draft animal power available in the country, contribute about 26 per cent of total available farm power and about 32 per cent of energy used in the rural sector for crop production. It is complementary to mechanical system, i.e., tractors for ploughing and trucks and vans for transportation. While the ultimate goal should, of course, be one of mechanization and automation, we may, unfortunately have to depend on DAP for fifty more years to come. Here lies the need for upgrading the DAP system in order to increase the productivity through Science and Technology and Organization and Management of inputs (Ramaswamy, 1985). Groundnut is an important oilseed crop in India and is regarded as the king of oilseeds. India stands first in the production of groundnut
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Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Sciences : 19 (3), 2006 with 40.6 percent of area under groundnut and 30 percent of groundnut production in the world. The average production of groudnut is around 7.58 million tonnes with an average productivity of about 1155 Kg/ha (Anon.,1999). Karnataka ranks fifth in (groundnut production (0.82 million tonnes) third in the area (1.19 million ha) with an average productivity of only 603 Kg/ha (Patil et al., 1997) Raichur region falls in North Karnataka which is predominantly a dry region with an annual rainfall ranging from 633.2 to 806.6 mm. Groundnut and sunflower are major oilseed crops grown in this region. The small and marginal farmers cultivate oilseed crops in nearly 60 per cent of the total cultivated area. Draught animals are the major sources of power available in the farm this is followed by woman labour, which account for many of the agricultural operations in raising the crop. In this region, use of agricultural machinery and implements is one of the most neglected sector of agricultural input. Improved agricultural implements not only save energy and cost but also help to improve soil manipulation resulting in less intensity of weeds, better germination and root growth, higher yield and profitability and also ensures timeliness in completion of critical operations with reduced drudgery (Gangil and Mathanker, 1996). Energy requirements for various farm operations have been recognized as an essential data to correctly match the agricultural implements and the power sources. The database on bullock drawn implement packages for various crop production systems have been worked out for various regions. Presently there is no database available on energy requirements for groundnut production in Raichur region. Lack of such information inhibits systematic evaluation of implement package used for groundnut prodution. Mittal (1984) reported that the total energy requirement for groundnut production was 6345 MJ/ha on bullock farms. Surendra Singh et al.(1995) reported that the total energy input for raising wheat, mustard potato and rabi fodder were 15941,7700, 42824 and 32299 MJ/ha -1 respectively. Naravan et aI.,(1998) reported that the total energy requirement for groundnut production in red soil was maximum (15341 MJ/ ha) with the implement package consisting of country plough and straight blade hoe while it was minimum (13230 MJ/ha) with the implement package involving mould board plough, blade harrow, mechanical seed drill and universal hoe. Keeping the above points in view, the present study was undertaken to work out energetics of implement package used by the farmers as well as improved implement package for groundnut production with a view to identify the energy efficient implement package so that the farmers can grow this cash crop more economically. Material and Methods Field experiment was conducted at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Raichur and location was situated in the North eastern dry zone (zone-2) of Kamataka between 1615' N latitude and 7720' E longitude at an altitude of 389 m above sea level. The groundnut (Arachis hypogea Linn.) of S-206 variety was grown as test crop in red soil in an area of 0.19 ha under bullock farming system to identify the energy efficient implement package for groundnut production. The experiment was laid out as RBD by considering the bullock drawn indigenous implement package and also the improved implement package with five treatments and four replications as given below. T1 = Desi plough (2) + Blade harrow (2) + Sowing behind country plough (single row) + Manual weeding (3) (control) T2= Balaram plough (2) + Blade harrow (2) + Local seed drill (4 rows) with draw tubes + Manual weeding (3) T3 = K.M. Plough (1) + Blade harrow (2) + Two row seed drill + Manual weeding (3) T4 = M.B. Plough (1) + Blade harrow (1) + TNAU planter + Universal hoe (2) and T5 = Tiller (2) + Blade harrow (2) + Three row seed drill + Universal hoe (2)
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Energetics of Groundnut . . . .. . . . . . . 1,2 and 3 indicates number of times the operation carried out. The sequence of different field operations carried out at various stages of experiment under different treatment combinations are presented in table 1. During field experiments the different parameters were measured/recorded and determined as explained below. A digital stop watch with an accuracy of 10th second was used to record the operating time for different operations. The effective field capacity was calculated by using the formula; A S= Tp+ T1 Where, S= effective field capacity, ha/hr, Tp= productive time, hr and A= area covered, ha T1= non- productive time,hr. Electric motor was used as a prime mover for pumping irrigation water and for threshing' crop. The power consumed was measured in terms of kWh using an energy meter. After threshing and uniform drying of crop, the weights of cleaned pods and haulm were recorded using platform balance. The energy used for a particular field operation was calculated as the sum of human, bullock and mechanical and/or electrical energy consumed. The energy expended for each individual farm operation was calculated as suggested by Anon. (1992).
Effective field capacity of the machine = Ce,ha/hr No. of hours required to cover one ha t = 1/Ce hr No. of male labours required No. ofemale labours required Total human-hrs required No. of animal pairs required No. of animal pair-hrs required No. of farm machines used Total machine-hrs required =N1 = N2 t1 = N1Xt + N2 Xt = N3 = t2= N3 Xt = N4 t3 = N4 Xt Total human energy spent Total animal energy spent Annual use of farm machine Total life in years Total life in hours E1=N1 Xt X 1.96 + N2Xt X 1.57, MJ/ha E2= N3X t X 10.10 MJ/ ha = W,kg = X, hrs =Y = XXY Let, the weight of the farm machine

W Weight of the machine W1= per unit hour of operation ....... (2)
XXY

Total machine energy spent E3 = W1 Xt X62.7, MJ/ha Total energy used for the particular operation, E = E1 + E2 + E3, MJ/ha

------- (1)

Source-wise energy use was calculated based on the energy spent by different direct and indirect sources using energy coefficients given in table 2. The total input energy was calculated by adding the direct and indirect energy. The output energy was calculated for both pod and haulm using the energy coefficients (Table 2). The energy ratio for both pod and haulm was calculated by dividing the output energy obtained from pod and haulm by total input energy respectively. Specific energy requirement was calculated by dividing the total input energy for groundnut production (MJ/ha) by the pod yield kg/ha). The implement package that resulted in highest output-input energy ratio and requires lowest specific energy (MJ/Kg) was identified as energy efficient implement package for groundnut production. The data recorded was analyzed statistically for energy requirement and yield as described by Gomez and Gomez (1984). Results and Discussion The energy spent for different farm operations viz., seedbed preparation, sowing, fertilizer application, irrigation, intercultivation/ weeding, harvesting and threshing in different treatments are presented in table 3.
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Table 1. Details of implements/machinery used for farm operations in different treatments Farm Treatments operation T1 T2 T3 T4 Seedbed Desi plough (2) Balram plough (2 K.M. plough (1), M.B. plough (1) preparation Blade harrow(2) Blade harrow (2) Blade harrow(2) Blade harrow(1) Sowing Behind country Local seed drill Two row seed TNAU Planter plough with draw tubes drill (4 rows) Fertilizer Broadcasting Broadcasting Broadcasting Broadcasting application Irrigation Surface method Surface method Surface method Surface method Intercultivation Manually by Manually by Manually by Universal hoe(2) / Weeding Khurpi (3) Khurpi (3) Khurpi (3) Harvesting Manually (Hand: Manually (Hand Manually (Hand Groundnut uprooting) uprooting) uprooting) digger Threshing Manually Manually Manually Power operated (Hand picking) (Hand picking) (Hand picking) thresher Table 2. Energy coefficients for different direct and indirect sources of energy Particulars Unit Equivalent energy, MJ A. Inputs 1. Human labour a) Adult man Man-hr 1.96 b) Adult woman W oman-hr 1.57 2. Bullocks Pair-hr 10.10 Medium 3. Electricity kWh 11.93 4. Machinery a) Electric motor Kg 64.80 b) Farm machinery Kg 62.70 5. Fertilizers a) Nitrogen (N) kg 60.60 b) Phosphorous (P) Kg 11.10 c) Potash (K) Kg 6.70 6. Seed B. Outputs 1. Pod 2. Haulm kg Kg kg 14.7 25.0 12.5 (Source: Mittal and Dhawan, 1988

T5 Tiller (1) Blade harrow(1) Three row seed drill Broadcasting Surface method Universal hoe(2) Groundnut digger Pedal operated thresher

Remarks

1 Adult Man = 0.8 Adult Woman Body weight 350-450 Kg Distribute the weight of the machinery equally over the total life span of the machinery Estimate the quantity of the Nitrogen, P2O5, K2O in the chemical fertilizer

The maximum energy of 945.08 MJ/ha was used in T1 and a minimum of 402.05 MJ/ha of energy was used in T5 for seedbed preparation. For sowing operation, the maximum energy was spent in ill T1(428.19 MJ/ha) and a minimum energy of 96.51 MJ/ha in T4 which resulted in a saving of 77 per cent of energy. The energy spent for fertilizer application and pumping irrigation

water was 42.86 MJ/ha and 2441.11 MJ/ha respectively for all the treatments as these operations were common for all the treatments. Intercultivation operation consumed a maximum energy of 1334.97 MJ/ha in T1 and a minimum of 789.74 MJ/ha in T4. A maximum energy of 46.18 MJ/ha was consumed by T2 and a minimum of275.78 MJ/ha by T4 for harvesting the crop.
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Energetics of Groundnut . . . .. . . . . . . Threshing of groundnut required a maximum of 372.30 MJ/ha of energy in T4 and a minimum of 226.86 MJ/ha in T5. It was observed that the major energy consuming operations for groundnut production our bullock farms are seedbed preparation, irrigation and intercultivation. These results are in agreement with the findings of Mittal (1984). Energy supplied through different direct and indirect energy sources viz., human, animal electricity, seed, fertilizer and machiner for raising groundnut in different treatments are presented in table 4. A maximum of 2389.51 MJ/ha of energy was spent through labour in T1 and a minimum of 636.50 MJ/ha in T4 These variations are due to the variations in the human-hrs used for different operations in different treatments. The energy spent by animal was maximum (1154.53 MJ/ha) in T5 and minimum (541.56 MJ/ha) in T3 for groundnut production. These variations in the animal energy are due to the variations in the use of animal pair-hrs. A maximum of 2547.41 MJ/ha of electrical energy was consumed in treatment T4 as the electricity was used for both pumping irrigation water and threshing operation. The electrical energy used in all other treatments except T4 was 2327.30 MJ/ha as it was used for only pumping irrigation water. The energy supplied through seed in all the treatment was same (2205 MJ/ha) as the uniform seed rate was maintained in all the treatments. The energy supplied through fertilizers in the treatments was also same (2545.60 MJ/ha) as the same dose of fertilizers was applied in all the treatments. The maximum energy of 226.31 MJ/ha was supplied through machinery in T 4 and a minimum of 56.93 MJ/ha in treatment T3 These variations are due to the different sizes of the implements used in the experiment. The total energy spent for field operations, energy supplied through seed and fertilizers are presented in table 5. Also the pod and haulm yield, output energy, energy ratio and specific energy in different"treatments are presented in table 5. The maximum energy of 5856.94 MJ/ha was used for field operation in treatment T1 and a minimum of 4428.30 MJ/ha in treatment T 4 . These results are in close agreement with the findings of Mittal (1984). It was observed that the total input energy for groundnut production was maximum (10605.87 MJ/ha) in T1 and a minimum of 9178.90 MJ/ha in T4. The maximum pod yield of 990 kg/ha was recorded in treatment T4 and a minimum of 788 kg/ha in treatment T1. The haulm yield of groundnut crop was maximum (1089 kg/ha) in T4 and a minimum of 866 kg/ha in treatment T 1. The maximum output energy of 24750 and 13612.5 MJ/ha was obtained from pod and haulm respectively in treatment T4 while they were minimum (19700 and 10825 MJ/ha respectively) in treatment T1. The total output energy obtained from both pod and haulm was maximum (38362.5 MJ/ha) in treatment T4 and a minimum of30525 MJ/ha in treatment T1. The maximum energy ratio of 2.7 was recorded from pod in treatment T4 and a minimum of 1.86 in treatment T1 whereas a maximum energy ratio of 1.48 and a minimum of 1.02 was observed from haulm in treatments T4 and T1 respectively. The total output-input energy ratio was maximum (4.18) in treatment T4 which used improved implement package. These results are in close agreement with the findings of Naravani et aI. (1998) who reported that the maximum energy ratio of 4.80 was recorded with the improved implement package for groundnut production in red soil. The specific energy required for groundnut production was maximum (13.46 MJ/kg) in treatment T1 and a minimum of 9.27 MJ/Kg in treatment T4. The effect of different treatments on total input energy and yield of groundnut are presented in table 6. It was observed that the total input energy for groundnut production was maximum 10.605 GJ/ha in treatment T1 and a minimum of 9178.90 MJ/ha in treatment T4. The differences in the total input energy for the treatments T4 and T5 are not varied much, whereas the total input energy in
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Table 3. Operation-wise energy use (MJ/ha) among different treatments for raising groundnut Farm operations T1 Seedbed preparation Sowing Fertilizer application Irrigation Inter-culti vation/weeding Harvesting Threshing Total operational energy 945.080 (16.14) 428.190 (7.31) 42.860 (0.73) 2441.110 (41.68) 1334.970 (22.79) 334.090 (5.70) 330.640 (5.65) 5856.940 (100.00) T2 916.08 (16.72) 104.88 (1.91) 42.86 (0.78) 2441.11 (44.56) 1288.18 (23.52) 346.18 (6.35) 338.81 (6.19) 5478.10 (100.00) Treatments T3 554.78 (10.96) 153.89 (3.04) 42.86 (0.85) 2441.11 (48.24 ) 1194.11 (23.60) 339.59 (6.71) 333.47 (6.59) 5059.84 (100.00) T4 428.00 (9.67) 96.51 (2.18) 42.86 (0.97) 2441.11 (55.13) 789.74 (17.83) 7257.78 (5.82) 372.30 (8.41 ) 4428.30 (100.00) T5 402.05 (8.96) 143.81 (3.21 ) 42.86 (0.96) 2441.11 (54.43) 955.68 (21.31) 272.59 (6.08) 226.86 (5.06) 4484.90 (100.00)

Figures in parenthesis indicate percentage of total operational energy Table 4. Source-wise energy use (MJ/ha) among different treatments for raising groundnut Sources T1 Direct energy Human Animal Electricity Sub total Indirect energy Seed 2389.51 (22.53) 1020.1 0 (9.69) 2327.30 (21.94) 5736.91 T2 2298.80 (22.4 7) 460.63 (7.44) 2327.30 (22.75) 5386.00 Treatments T3 2134.31 (21. 75) 541.56 (5.52) 2327.30 (23.72) 5003.17 T4 636.50 (6.93) 1018.08 (11.09) 2547.41 (27.75) 4201.99 2205.00 (24.02) 2545.60 (27.73) 226.31 (2.46) 4976.91 9178.90 (100.00) T5 802.32 (8.69) 1154.53 (12.50) 2327.30 (25.20) 4284.15 2205.00 (23.88) 2545.60 (27.56) 199.55 (2.16) 4950.15 9235.5'6 (100.00)

2205.00 (20.79) Fertilizer 2545.60 (24.00) Machinery 118.36 (1.12) Sub total 4868.96 Total Input Energy 10605.87 (100.00) Figures in parenthesis indicate percentage

2205.00 2205.00 (21.56) (22.48) 2545.60 2545.60 (21.56) (25.95) 91.37 56.93 (0.89) (0.58) 4841.97 4807.53 10228.70 9810.70 (100.00) (100.00) of total input energy

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Energetics of Groundnut . . . .. . . . . . .
Table 5. Input energy, yield, output energy, energy ratio and specific energy requirement among different treatments for raising groundnut Parameters T1 Input energy, MJ/ha Field operation Seed Fertilizers Total input energy, MJ/ha Yield, Kglha Pod yield Haulm yield Output energy, MJ/ha Pod Haulm 19700.00 10825.00 21675.00 11912.50 33587.50 2.12 1.16 3.28 11.79 20825.00 11450.00 32275.00 2.13 1.17 3.30 11.78 24750.00 13612.50 38362.50 2.70 1.48 4.18 9.27 23700.00 13025.00 36725.00 2.57 1.41 3.98 9.74 788 866 867 953 833 916 990 1089 948 1042 5856.94 2205.00 2545.60 10605.87 5478.10 2205.00 2545.60 10228.70 5059.84 2205.00 2545.60 9810.70 4428.30 2205.00 2545.60 9178.90 4484.90 2205.00 2545.60 9235.36 T2 Treatments T3 T4 T5

Total output energy, MJ/ha 30525.00 Energy - ratio Pod Haulm Total energy-ratio Specific energy, MJ/Kg 1.86 1.02 2.88 13.46

treatments T2 to T5 are significantly lower than that of treatment T1 (10.605 GJ/ha). It was observed that the highest yield of 0.990 t/ha was recorded in the treatment T 4 which was significantly higher than that of all other treatments, except T5. The treatments T4 and T5 are on par with each other in terms of yield. The lowest yield of 0.788 t/ha was recorded in treatment T1. The yield recorded in treatments T4 and T5 are significantly higher than all other treatments whereas the treatments T1, T2 and T3 are on par with each other in terms of yield. The lowest yield of 0.788 t/ha was recorded in treatment T1. The yield recorded in treatments T4 and T5 are significnatly higher than all other treatments whereas the treatments T1, T2 and T3 are on par with each other in terms of yield. It may be concluded that the major energy consuming operations for ground nut production under bullock farms are seedbed preparation, irrigation and intercultivation.

Irrigation and intercultivation operations accounted for 42 to 55 and 17 to 24 per cent per cent of total operational energy respectively. The improved implements package consisting of mould board plough + blade harrow combination for seedbed preparation, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University groundnut planter for sowing, universal hoe for intercultivation, groundnut digger for harvesting and power operated thresher for threshing of groundnut was identified as energy efficient implement package for groundnut production in red soil under bullock farms in Raichur region which resulted in higher energy ratio of 4.18 and lower specific energy requirement of 9.27 MJ/Kg as compared to traditional implement package consisting of desi plough + blade harrow, sowing behind desi plough, manually by khurpi, hand uprooting and hand picking respectively which resulted in lower energy ratio of 2.88 and higher specific energy requirement of 13.46 MJ/Kg.
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Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Sciences : 19 (3), 2006 Table 6. Effect of different treatments on total input energy and yield of groundnut. Treatments T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 Sem CD (0.05) Mean input energy, GJ/ha Mean yield t/ha
References ANONYMOUS, 1992, Research on Mechanization of Dry land Agriculture. Mid -term Report (1990-1992). College of Agricultural Engineering, Raichur, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad pp.3. ANOMYMOUS, 1999, Survey of Indian Agriculture. The Hindu. 57-70. GOMEZ, K.A. AND GOMEZ, A.A., 1984, Statistical Procedure for Agricultural Research, 2nd edition, A Wiley Inter Science publication, New York, United State America, pp.68. MITTAL, J.P. AND DHAWAN, K.C., 1988, Research Manual on Energy Requirements in Agricultural Sector. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, pp.159. MITTAL, V.K., 1984, All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Energy Requirements in Agricultural Sector. Annual Report , Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, pp.1-85. NARAVANI, N.B., ANANTHACHAR, M. VIJAY KUMAR, P. AND SUSHILENDRA, A., 1998, Studies on energy requirement for groundnut production in red soil.

Total input energy (GJ/tha) 10.605 10.228 9.810 9.178 9.235 0.037 0.114 T1 10.605 T4 0.990 T2 10.288 T5 0.948

Yield (t/ha) 0.789 0.867 0.833 0.990 0.948 0.034 0.104 T3 9.810 T2 0.867 T4 9.178 T3 0.833 T5 9.235 T1 0.789

Paper presented in XII National Convention of Agricultural Engineers on Oct 23-24, 1998 held at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. PATIL, S.M., KUNNAL, L.B. AND GADDI, G.M. 1997, Resource use efficiency in groundnut production. Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 10 (3):807-810. PRABHAKARAN, R. AND SELVAKUMAR,K.N., 1992, Drought animal use in Tamil Nadu. Cartman, 5 (9): 8. RAMASWAMY, N.S., 1985, The bullock cart and rural poor. Yojana, 29 (1): 27. SANDIP GANGIL AND MATHANKER, S.K., 1996, Effect of socio-economic factors on adoption of some improved agricultural machineries. Paper presented during the 10th National convention of Agricultural Engineers held Bhopal on Feb 10-11, 1996. pp: 199-208. SURENDRA SINGH PANNU, C.J.S. AND SINGH I.P., 1995, Energy requirements for major rabi crops in Punjab. Progressive farming, 12 (2): 21-23.

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