Authors: Adisa, A. F. and Braide, F.G.
Transnational Journal of Science and Technology (TJST), Republic of Macedonia, vol. 2, No. 7: p27- 33.
Abstract
The basic requirements for small scale cropping machines are, they should be suitable for small farms, simple in design and technology and versatile for use in different farm operations.
A manually operated template row planter was designed and developed to improve planting efficiency and reduce drudgery involved in manual planting method. Also it increased seed planting, seed/fertilizer placement accuracies and it was made of durable and cheap material affordable for the small scale peasant farmers. The operating, adjusting and maintaining principles were made simple for effective handling by unskilled operators (farmers). The planting rate of the template row planter was found to be 0.20ha/h. Template seed filling efficiency was found to be 88% and draft requirement was found to be 85N at average speed of 2.16km/h.
Keywords: Template, row planter, peasant farmers, planting rate