Background:
Sugarcane bud settling planting is a new method of sugarcane planting and is gaining popularity. In this technique, the bud along with a portion of the nodal region is chipped off and planted in raised bed nurseries/portray/polybags filled with FYM or press mud, soil and sand at 1:1:1 proportion. Seed material required under this technique is only 1 to 1.5 t/ha and the remaining cane after taking bud chips can be sent for milling/jaggery. It also facilitates easier handling and transportation. A two-row tractor drawn mechanical planter for sugarcane bud chip settings raised in portrays has been developed by ICAR Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Regional Centre, Coimbatore in collaboration with ICAR – Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Technology Details:
The equipment consists of • Mainframe to be attached to standard three-point arrangement of a 40hp tractor with adjustable arrangement for altering row to row spacing 90, 120 and 150 cm. • Bud chip settlings to be dropped through the metering mechanism by two operators who are seated behind the equipment with adjustable arrangements for altering plant to plant spacing of 30, 45 and 60 cm. • Furrow openers open the furrow, in which the settlings with soil are to be planted with adjustable arrangement for altering depth of planting 2 to 6 cm. The same furrow is used for irrigation after the settlings have been planted for better establishment. • The furrow closer which follows the soil opener closes the soil thereby giving stability to the settling plants. The field capacity of the equipment is 0.15 ha/h and the missing of 3 to 4 percent at a working speed of 1.4 km/h. the plant establishment was more than 95%. The yield and quality parameters are on par when compared with manual planting.