DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A ROWCROP WEEDER

Abstract

Manual weeding is common in Africa particularly in Nigeria where about 75 % of the population is engaged in farming. Development of row crop weeders is a viable option in order to ensure sustainable crop production and optimum environmental conditions. A row crop weeder was developed and evaluated in the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure using engine speeds and moisture content of the soil as performance parameters. The weeder consists of a 5 hp-petrol engine, two rear ground wheels (pneumatic), tool assembly, frame and handle. The efficiency of the weeding tool, weeding index and field capacity of the machine was tested on three (3) different soil moisture contents (M.C.) (21.00, 27.60 and 33.72% wet basis) and five (5) levels of weeding speeds (1800, 2010, 2324, 2535 and 3510 rpm).12 m x 22.5 m plot of land was mapped out and sub-divided into three plots of 12 m x 7.5 m each. Each plot area was further divided into 5 to allow the experiment to be carried out three times i.e. (5 x 3 x 3) factorial design. The results collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at 5% level of significance using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The weeding efficiency of the machine increased from 63.82 % to 88.35 % between 1800 rpm to 3510 rpm engine speeds at 33.72 % M.C. The efficiencies recorded under 2535 rpm engine speed for the three blocks are 86.76, 87.53 and 85.49 % respectively at 27.60 % M.C. The weeding efficiency ranged between 63.67 and 87.53 % within the engine speeds used for the experiment at 21.00 M.C. From all the three moisture contents in which this research was carried out, 21% M.C. gave the mean minimum efficiency to be 69.61 % and the optimum performance of the machine was recorded as 86.59% at 27.60% M.C. under 2535 rpm engine speed. The machine operated effectively with an average forward speed of 0.25 m/s and field capacity of 0.0504 ha/hr. The weight of the machine was recorded as 45kg and relative cost of production was #70,300. The machine is highly durable and the cost of mass production will be very affordable by local farmers.