PLOUGHS

A plough is the primary implement used all over India. The desi ploughs have a common design and differ in size depending on type of soil and bullocks being used in the area. The heaviest ploughs are found in the black cotton soil areas of India. The body and the wedge may be of one or two pieces. The iron point or share is made up of a rod or bar of mild steel and penetrates into the soil and protects the wooden wedge against wear and tear. The beam varies from 2.5 to 3.5 m in length and is made of wood. All indigenous ploughs are of similar design but vary in size and weight to suit the prevailing type of soil, ploughing conditions and the weights and heights of draft animals in the locality. The working draft varies fron 27 to 148kg. The following table gives an idea of the desi ploughs used in the country.

The desi plough makes a v-shaped furrow and does not turn over the soil. It is mostly made of hard wood eg. Babool or Kikar. The depth of ploughing is from 10 to 20cm and the width from 13 to 18 cm. There are minor variations in the design, weight and length of the beam etc. the duck foot type of plough is different in design. It has a flat bottom of about 38 x 30 cm and is useful under soil conditions in Orissa. The plough used in Maharashtra is very heavy requiring 2 to 4 pairs of bullocks. It is useful for ploughing the black cotton soils of the Deccan. Most of the desi ploughs are light in weight .

The depth of the plough can be adjusted by a wedge provided in the body of the plough. In Andhra Pradesh a simple triangular plate is fixed in front of the body of the plough so that ridges and furrows can be made. This is an indegenous device to convert the desi plough into a ridger. Repeated and cross ploughings are necessary to secure a good tilth. They are also used for making a shallow furrow or depositing seeds and to harvest crops such as potatoes, groundnuts and sweet potatoes. Thus the desi plough is a multi-purpose implement difficult to tbe replaced unless more efficient multi-purpose implements are designed.

BLADED HARROWS. These are called bakhars or guntakas. Bakhar is a very common implement used in the Deccan. It is one of the best for primary tillage. The farmers use it for preparing the land and sowing the seed. It consists of a steel blade 45 to 90 cm in length and 8 cm in width. It can cultivate the land to a depth of 9-10 cm. If the soil is very dry a man stands on the implement to givr it weight. It can cover upto 1.6 ha in a day due to its width. The Lanka bakhar used in the Vidharbha area has a blade upto1.5m in length and is used to kill young germinated weeds. It is worked crosswise in the field to get better tilth. This is very useful implement and costsonly Rs. 30 to 45. Somehow, this implement has not been introduced into areas above the Narmada river, except in some pockets in Jhansi and Gwalior. It needs to be examined whether such an instrument can be implemented in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. It is interesting that in some parts of the USA where moisture conservation is a problem, the use of sweeps and chisel cultivators which are similiar to the bakhar is being advocated. Recently improvements have been made in the design of the bakhars making it possible to change the blade as desired. They are mostly made of steel.

MOULDBOARD PLOUGHS. It consists of a share and a mouldboard of steel. This is one of the first implements to be introduced in India from foreign countries. It ploughs a square furrow and inverts the soil either completely or partially depending on the curvature given to the mouldboard. the provision of a vertical or horizontal suction to the share tip is necessary. In the case of long beam ploughs the beam and handle are made of wood whereas in the short beam plough the complete implement is made of metal. For one way ploughing, the turnwest type of ploughs are used. Lakhs of such ploughs are used in Maharashtra. It is being used where surface manuring or vegetation have to be buried to hasten decomposition. Heavy mouldboard ploughs require sturdy animals. They are also used for the eradication of weeds. The shares of the lighter ploughs should be made of steel instead of cast iron. These are finding increasing favour in Northern India and are replacing the desi plough. The mouldboard plough in common use is with bullock-power cut furrows varying from 12 to 23 cm in width.

Ridger ploughs. These have double mouldboards. There are three sizes-the light, medium and heavy. Some of the improved ones have an arrangement for adjusting the width of the furrow by changing the distance between the 2 mouldboards. For vegetable orchards the posession of the ridger is a must.

Harrows and cultivators. The indigenous harrows and cultivators are knowm as bakhars and guntakas. They consist of a long sharp blade fixed to a wooden handle. The body is made of babool wood. Thw length is 91 to 182 cm and the width is 25 to 30 cm. The blade is attached to the log on the underside by two slanting wooden pegs. These are used for preparing the seedbed, covering the seed and also for summer cultivation, provided the soil is not too hard.

Improved bakhars and guntakas have also been largely manufactured. The changes are in the the adjustment and depth of the attachments that mmy be needed in the case of these harrows. They cover large areas in a day and cost from Rs.40 to 55.

IMPLEMENTS FOR CARRYING SOIL.

soil scoop. It consists of a shallow box like structure with an open front. On its front, a sharp blade is fixed and 2 hooks are attached to it. The bullocks are yoked to the hooks. Two wooden handles are provided at the back. The capacity of the soil scoop is 0.056 to 0.084 cu m. This implement is used when the soil is to be carried to a fairly long disatnce. The price is Rs. 60 to 1000.

Wheel barrows. Common barrows are very useful. The wheels may be of mild steel or rubber. The price is RS. 150 to 200.

Keni or levelling karaha. It consists of a flst blade 1-5n long with a vertical handle and two rings for yoking the bullocks with ropes. This is the commonest implement used in soil conservation for making bunds and levelling the land. The bunding of 200000ha has been completed with this implement.

The space where the bund is to be formed is first marked and on both sides of it a width of 5m is ploughed. The loosened soil is then moned onto a firm bund. If the land to be ploughed is hard and cloddy, it hurts the feet of the bullocks and reduces their life. The bunds should be formed when the soil is soft.

Levellers and clod crushers. The indigenous implement is called patela or sohags. It is merely a flat log dragged over the clods by the bullocks. The driver stands on the log to add weight to it. In Uttar Pradesh the improved patela is now mass manufactured and is now quite popular. It is called Singh patela. It has a series of pointed hooks to crush the clods and collect the weeds. This costs 100 to 150 rupees depending on the length of the wooden blade and the number of steel rods used.

Bund formers. For soil conservation it is necessary to make temporary low level bunds 18 to 22 cm high. These last for one agricultural season. They either get washed away or obliterated by subsequent ploughing and cultivation. For forming such bunds an implement called bund former was developed at Coimbatore. The implement consists of 2 concave blades joined across in a conversing manner. Its job is to collect the soil at the wider front and deposit it as a bund behind it. There are 3 sizes of bund formers with blades 9-12 cm long. The Forest Department in Madras has developed basin lists for forming a series of small basin or depressions in the land in order to collect water. This is useful operation in dry farming because it conserves moisture. However the implemant being rather costly has not become popular.