This is the weeding tool used widely in most of the farms to carry
out the weeding operation and also as harvesting tool to bring the produce
from inside the root zone.
This tool has a short handle made of country wood and a small shovel
attached at its end.
The width of cut is not a standard one and depends on the village
artisan who makes it and the demand of the farmer who uses it.
(ii) Long Handled Weeders
The drudgery to the human is more and the working efficiency is
low with the hand held hoes, which makes the operator to bend / sit
down work on the soil.
To reduce this problem, long handled weeders were developed.
Some of the long handled weeders are
long handled hoe
paddy weeder
star type and peg type dry land weeders.
A) Long handled hoe
This tool has a long bamboo / wooden stick of about 1.2 m length.
At the end a double end shovel is fixed rigidly, with different cutting
widths.
Weeding can be done easily by using this tool.
B) Paddy weeder
Paddy weeder does the weeding operation when the seedlings are
transplanted in rows.
The implement has an inclined long handle.
At the fool of it two conical cylinders with serrated lugs on its
periphery are fixed.
These two conical serrated cylinders can rotate freely about it axis
and placed in opposite sides.
A steel plate has been into the loose soil and assists in easy operations.
In operation, the seerated lugs cutand burry the weeds and some of
the weeds are wound on the surface of the cylinders, which can be removed
manually.
C) Dry land/garden land weeder
This can be classified into star type and peg type depending upon
the shape of the roller attached at the foot of the long handle, to
facilitate easy movement of the weeder and to have sufficient grip on
the soil.
The star type is suitable for clay loam and black cotton soils.
The cutting blade is fixed on vertical and positioned appropriately
depending upon the height of the operator.
The weeding operation is done by smooth and short reciprocating motion.
The peg tooth of the peg type permits the movement of roller without
clogging due to reduced contact area.
III) Sweep
The sweep consists of 'V' shaped shovels with bevel edged wings.
Shovels are held by tynes fixed to a frame work by means of clamps.
By just skimming under the soil at a shallow depth of 2 to 3 cm,
the sweep break the continuity of proper and provides a good soil mulch.
During intercultural operation, the spacing can be adjusted to cut
the row spacing.
If necessary, half sweep can be used.
Function
Used as a secondary tillage (dry framing) implement and as
an intercultural implement between row crops.
It also removes the shallow rooted weeds and provides a soil
mulch, so as to conserve the soil moisture from evaporation loss.
Suitability for soil / crop
All row crops & soils
Coverage: Area in ha / day
1,75 to 2.5 ha / day
Draft / power required
30 to 36 kg / A pair of bullocks
Cost of operation per ha.
Rs.7.50 / ha
Approximate cost
Rs.400/-
General information
The sweep consists of 'V' shaped shovels with bevel edged wings.
The shovels are held by the tynes fixed to a frame work by means of
countersunk bolts nuts.
When the sweep is used for secondary tillage, five or six tynes may
be clamped with the shovels in at line having no gap in between them.
By just skimming under the soil at a shallow depth of 2 to 3 cm,
the sweep breaks the capillarity in the soil pores and provides a soil
mulch.
When the sweep is used for intercultural operations, the space between
the shovels is adjusted to suit the row spacing of the crop and with
different sizes of blades.
Rs.140/- with both types of
rollers attachable to a common handle.
General information
Peg type
Dry land weeder with long handle is suitable for weeding in row crops
rain fed in garden lands.
It is easily operated by a man or woman.
The weeder is useful and economic under ideal conditions; i.e. when
the soil moisture content is about 10%.
It performs well in plain fields where the weeds are shallow rooted
and the land is not too thickly infested with weeds.
It can also be used with some experience for removing weeds in ridges
and furrows.
The blade can be adjusted to the desired angle and depth by removing
four bolts and nuts.
The peg teeth permit the movement of the roller in clay soil without
getting clogges.
Star type
The function and operation are similar to the peg type weeder excepting
that the star type roller facilitates easier operation of the weeder
in loamy and sandy soils.
