Tilth and Tillage- Tillage Operations and Implements

Tilth and Tillage- Tillage Operations and Implements

Tillage operations and implements:

A) Preparatory tillage:

 i) Ploughing:  It is considered to be the most essential operation for growing crops. It is done by different ploughs which are of 3 types:
1) Deshi or wooden or Indigenous plough
2) Iron mould board ploughs
3) Special purpose ploughs.

The iron mould board plough may be:
1) Reversible or Turn –wrest mould board plough and
2) Non-reversible or fixed mould board plough. Former is drawn by bullocks and later with the tractor. Depending up on the weight and no. of bullocks to be used the
Reversible I.M.B. plough s may be:
a) Light R.I. M.B. plough drawn by one bullock pair.
b) Medium R.I.M.B.  Plough had drawn by two bullock pairs &
c) Heavy R.I.M.B. plough drawn by three bullock pairs.

 The special purpose ploughs are

a) Disc plough used for discing or loosening of the soil.
b) Sub soil plough used to break hard layers or pans without bringing them to the surface.
c) Chisel plough used breaking hard pans & for deep ploughing (60-70cm) with less disturbance to the top layers.
d) Rider used to split the field in top ridges & furrows.

ii) Clod crushing: It is not always necessary. When there are the clods the rains received will soft & break the clods. It is necessary in Rabi season. Clods are broken by a plank, blade harrow or hand mallet, indigenous implement (a big log of wood) called maind. The best implement for this purpose is the Norwegian harrow which breaks the clods by piercing & breaking action.

iii) Leveling of land: It is required in irrigated area & carried out after ploughing to ensure even distribution of rain & irrigation water to avoid stagnation of water in low lying areas and also to stop soil erosion Implements such as bamboo petari, blade harrow tied with rope round the prongs, planker, plank- leveler, buck scraper, float, keni are used for leveling.

 iv) Manure mixing:  Manures are spread over the prepared bed by manually or with the help of country plough, shovel tooth cultivator, a blade harrow, disc harrow.

v) Compacting the soil: It is done by working an inverted harrow or single/ double plank.

vi) Cultivator: It is used to break & loose the soil.

B) Implements used for seedbed preparation:  

i) Harrowing: is done by a blade harrow with the purpose of clod crushing, leveling, collecting stubbles, destroying germinating weeds and compacting the soil, a multipurpose implement commonly used by the farmer. Disc harrow drawn either by bullocks or tractor is an improvement which cuts & pulverizes the soil.

ii) Covering of seed: is carried by a light blade harrow or a plank.

iii) Ridging: Riders are used for opening ridges and furrows for sugarcane, vegetables, and irrigation layouts field channels

iv) Implements for sowing: Sowing may be done by putting the seeds behind plough, seed drills which may be doff an, tiff an or Chou fan, Seeding & fertilizer application are done at the same time by providing two separate bowls, called as feri-cum-seed drill. Seed may be sown mechanically to maintain row to row & plant to plant(R/R & p/p) distance. There may be sowing of seed and fertilizer application at the same time.

C) Implements for inter cultivation: Operations carried out in between the crop rows called
Intercultivation or inter tillage or inter culture operations.
These are necessary for destroying weeds, preventing cracking of soil, aerating the soil to absorb more moisture, pruning of roots, ear thing up of plants, destroying insects & thinning of crop plans.
1. Thinning & gap filling: These are done by manual labour/hand in which plants are uprooted from dense places and the gaps are filled to maintain the optimum plant population.
2. Wedding: It is done either by hand with the help of a khurpi/sickle or hoes drawn by hand or bullocks.  Hoes may be of entire blade, slit blade, spring teeth or Akola hoe Japanese/Rotary paddy weeder, karjat hoe/Touchy gurma etc.
3. Ear thing up: may be done by country plough or rider in S.cane, banana,
Potato.  Sometime it is done by manual labour with kudali.
4. Spraying: is done by sprayers which may be manually operated, mechanical/power drawn to control insects-pests & diseases.
5. Dusting:  is done by duster used for dusting insecticides to control insect-pests.

D) Special purpose implements:

1) Reapers & harvesters used to harvest wheat or paddy.
2) Threshers used for threshing which may be bullock (olpad) drawn, tractor drawn, or electric motor driven.
3) Potato digger used to harvest potatoes
4) Groundnut digger used to harvest Gnat
5) Gnat Sheller used to separate kernels from the pods.
6)  Maize Sheller used to separate maize grains from cobs.
7) Seed dressing drum used to treat the seed with chemicals.
8) Hand gin used to separate lint from seed cotton.

Tools used in agriculture: 1) Khurpi: To remove weeds
 2) Kudali: To dig the pits & earthling up
3) Axe: To cut the wood & harvest sugarcane
4) Pickaxe: To dig out the pits.
5) Sickle: To cut the hardy weed & crop plants & forages.
6) Ghumella:  To transport soil or produce from the one place to other.
7) Crop-bar: To open the hole in soil while fencing the thomy bushes.
8) Dibbler: For dibbling the seeds. (For other tools, refer practical manual)