Performance evaluation of 8-row self propelled rice transplanter for kharif season in sandy loam soil

Field experiment were conducted at Sonpur, Patan, Chhattisgarh in during kharif 2012 with view to performance evaluation of mechanical transplanter at farmers field. An 8-row self-propelled rice transplanter (Model 2 ZT-238-8) was used for study work on sandy loam soil (Matasi). The performance of the 8-row self propelled rice transplanter was found quite satisfactory. The field capacity, field efficiency and fuel consumption of the 8-row self propelled rice transplanter were 0.21 ha/h, 77.79% and 2.38 lit/ha, respectively. The cost of mechanical transplanting was found to be 1145 Rs/ha as compared to 6000 Rs/ha as in case of traditional method of manual transplanting followed by farmers in the region. Crop yield in both manual and mechanical transplanting was found at par with average grain yield. The machine was found to be farmer friendly and feasible in terms of time, money and labour requirement in that particular soil as compared to manual method transplanting of paddy.