Vol. 8, Issue 6 (2019)

Author(s):
Kumudini Verma, Atul Shrivastava and Avinash Kumar Gautam

Abstract:
At present, the cost of the straw gathering is increasing because of increased use of combine harvesters. High labour cost and scarcity of labour make manual collection unfeasible that also encourages the burning of straw in the field after combine harvesting. Burning of a straw causes pollution, increased greenhouse gas emissions and loss of opportunities to worth straw value addition. In the present study performance evaluation of tractor-drawn round straw baler for paddy straw was conducted on combine harvested field. During the field testing data on the straw parameter, machine parameter, and bale parameter were recorded. The actual field capacity, field efficiency, straw recovery and time required for baling was found to be 0.721 ha/h, 93.47%, 94.42%, and 1.26 h/ha respectively with MC 19-21% and speed 3 km/h. But it was found that there is no significant difference in the cost of baling at a different moisture content of straw. So the farmer can use this baler just after the harvesting of paddy, they may save the 12-15 days of time. It is a plus point in the hand of a farmer so, they may use this time for other activities. The benefits of machine are not only economical but also exclude the hazardous effects of burning of crop residues.