| Details of Innovation |
Farmer Kanjibhai Valdoriya from Bhavnagar district of Gujarat always felt that the existing sowing plough device used for sowing the seeds, and "rapta" - an implement used for refilling the furrows - were not utilized optimally. Therefore, in order to cover larger area of the field with greater speed and with lesser number of bullocks,he thought of modifying the available implements, sowing plough and "rapta" land-filler. Normally, the length of sowing plough is 150-180 cm and there are 5-6 sowing blades in it, each blade taking one seed drill. Kanjibhai observed that only 3 sowing blades were being used for sowing, while the rest remained unused. He felt that this resulted in increased time to sow the seeds, and the bullock had to put in greater amount of effort than what was actually required. He increased the size of the sowing plough to 270 cm with 6 blades, the distance between the two blades being kept at 45 cm. In this improved device, the seed drill is attached at every 3rd blade so there are now just 2 seed drills instead of the 3 used earlier. This means that the larger area of the land is covered with lesser effort required from the animal. He also made modification in "rapta", a device attached at the end of the plough that refills the furrows with soil. Normally, the rapta is also 150 - 180 cm in length and has three filling spades; the modified "rapta" is 320 cm in length and has 4 spades placed at the distance of 80 cm each. This device is used for refilling the furrows created by the seed sowing plough and is tied at the back of the plough. |
Honey Bee Network Knowledge & Innovation Database (HBNKIND)
