mechanised agronomic practices in rubber plantations …clinic.rubberboard.org.in/pdf/ircpdf/fm-02...
TRANSCRIPT
02-11-2012
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MECHANISED AGRONOMIC PRACTICES IN
RUBBER PLANTATIONS – INDIAN SCENARIO
Phebe Joseph and Jessy, M.D
Agronomy / Soils Division, Rubber Research Institute of India, Rubber Board
(Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India), Kottayam -686009, India
Back ground …..
Acute labour shortage and spiralling labour wages are crippling
rubber plantation industry
Land preparation and weed control are the most labour
intensive and expensive agronomic operations
There is a large scale shift to mechanized land preparation &
weed control
Land preparation - earth movers (JCB/Hitachi), or tractor
mounded hole diggers
Weed control- brush cutters/weed cutters
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Objectives:
To investigate the impact of mechanized
land preparation on soil erosion and
degradation of rubber growing soils
To evaluate the economics
Experiment 1 – Land preparation
Treatments
T1- Manual pitting and terracing ( control)
T2- Manual terracing & pitting by tractor mounded hole digger T1.wmv
T3- Pitting & terracing by Hitachi T2.wmv
T4- Pitting , terracing & tilling (inter rows) by Hitachi T3.wmv
Methodology
Design- RBD Replications- 4
Plot size: 75 plants with a gross plot size of 1709 m2
Year of commencement: 2010
Location: Mundakayam Estate, Mundakayam
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Observations
Soil organic carbon content (Inter row area) – Walkley and
Black’s method
Core sampling method- soil depths 0-15, 15-30, 30-45
and 45-60 cm
Soil erosion ( trench method)- long trenches were
constructed at the lower end of each plot across the
full width of the plot
Economics
Manual pitting and terracing ( control)
Manual terracing & pitting by tractor mounded hole digger
Pitting & terracing by Hitachi
Pitting , terracing & tilling by Hitachi
Significantly lower OC in (0-15cm) plots where pitting, terracing & tilling done by Hitachi
Results.. Effect of land preparation methods on OC content (%) of soil
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Results.. Effect of land preparation methods on soil erosion (2012)
Manual pitting and terracing ( control)
Pitting & terracing by Hitachi
Manual terracing & pitting by tractor mounded hole digger
T1-
T2-
T3-
T4-Pitting , terracing & tilling by Hitachi
• Soil erosion in tilled plot was 28% more than the no tilled plots
(Rs./ha)
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Complete tilling of rubber inter rows reduced the soil organic
carbon content
Soil erosion increased by 28 per cent when entire area was tilled
50 per cent of cost of land preparation reduced by pitting and
terracing by Hitachi
Considering the erosion, soil properties and economics,
pitting & terracing by Hitachi is the best method
Conclusion
Experiment 2
Weed control by weed / brush cutters
Weed control - slashing by sickle (manual), herbicides & weed cutters
Manual weeding is labour intensive and expensive
Wide-spread apprehension about the environmental impacts of
herbicides
Objectives
To assess the rate of regeneration / regrowth of weed flora
in different weed control methods
Economics
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11
Treatments
T1- Manual weeding (slashing of weeds with sickle)
T2- Chemical weeding (glyphosate 2L/ha)
T3- Mechanical weeding ( Weed cutters)
Plot size - 1785 m2. Stat analysis - ‘t’ test
Observations
• Regeneration of weed flora
• Cost analysis
Methodology
Results….
Regeneration of weed flora
• Manual weeding RMA2.avi – 100 % regeneration-
2.5 month after treatment imposition
• Mechanical weeding RMC2.avi - 100%- 3 months
• Chemical weeding RC2.avi Regeneration starts 2
months after treatment imposition
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75 % of weeding cost was reduced by mechanical method compared to
manual
Conclusion
• The rate of regeneration / regrowth of weeds was lowest in
herbicide applied plot
• 75 per cent weeding cost was reduced by mechanical method
• Considering the environmental impacts, scarcity of labourers
and economics, mechanical weed control by weed cutters is the
most suitable method
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• Mechanisation reduces labour engagement and
cost of cultivation considerably
• Indiscriminate use of machineries has adverse
impact on soil quality
• Machineries should be used judiciously in rubber
plantations for the long term sustainability
of rubber soils
Mechanisation in rubber plantations…..
Thank You
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Tilling, pitting & terracing by Hitachi
Pitting & terracing by Hitachi
Manual pitting and terracing ( control)
Table 1. Effect of land preparation methods on bulk density(g cm-3)of soil
1.12
1.14
1.16
1.18
1.2
1.22
1.24
1.26
1.28
1.3
1.32
0‐15 15‐30 30‐45 45‐60
Bulk den
sity (g cm
‐3)
Soil depth (cm)
2010
a
aaa
aa a a
aa a
aaa
a a
Manual terracing & pitting by tractor mounded hole digger
Significantly lower BD in plots where Tilling, pitting & terracing done by Hitachi
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0-15 15-30 30-45 45-60
T1
T2
T3
T4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Po
rosi
ty (
%)
0-15 15-30 30-45 45-60
Soil depth (cm)
Effect of land preparation methods on porosity of soil
T1
T2
T3
T4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0-15 15-30 30-45 45-60
T1
T2
T3
T4
Manual pitting and terracing (control)
Manual terracing & pitting by tractor mounded hole digger
Pitting & terracing by Hitachi
Tilling, pitting & terracing by Hitachi
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Manual pitting and terracing ( control)
Manual terracing & pitting by tractor mounded hole digger
Pitting & terracing by Hitachi
Tilling, pitting & terracing by Hitachi
Significantly lower OC in plots where Tilling, pitting & terracing done by Hitachi
Table3. Effect of land preparation methods on OC content of soil
Table3. Effect of land preparation methods on OC content of soil
Significantly lower OC in plots where Tilling, pitting & terracing done by Hitachi
Manual pitting and terracing (control)
Manual terracing & pitting by tractor
mounded hole digger
Pitting & terracing by Hitachi
Tilling, pitting & terracing by Hitachi
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Table 5 . Cost analysis of different land preparation methods ( ha-1)
Treatments Operations / cost (Rs.) Cost per ha(Rs.) Total cost(450 plants ha-1) ( Rs. ha-1)
Taking pits - Rs.42 / pit 18,900Manual pitting and
terracing ( control) Refilling pits - Rs.21 / pit 9450 37,350terracing - Rs.20/ plant 9000
Manual terracing & pitting by tractor
Taking pits - Rs.15 / pit Refilling pits - Rs.21 / pit
67509450 25,200
mounded hole digger terracing - Rs.20/ plant 9000
Pitting & terracing by Hitachi
Pitting, filling & terracing 17,500 17,500
Ploughing, pitting & terracing Pitting, filling terracing
by Hitachi & complete tilling of 37,500 37,500inter rows
Pitting & terracing by Hitachi saves around 50 % of cost of land preparation compared to manual method