Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is the main sugar-producing crop that contributes nearly 78.2% to the total sugar pool at the global level. It is the prime source of sugar in India; also holding the prominent position as the commercial cash crop. Power weeder has been evaluated for its performance and suitability in sugarcane crop. The evaluation was conducted at different moisture contents of soil i.e., 30,45 and 60 days after sowing(DAS) at different speeds of weeder.

1. PROFESSOR JAYASHANKAR TELANGANA STATE AGRICULTURAL
UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
KANDI, SANGAREDDY-502285
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF POWER WEEDER IN
SUGARCANE CROP
Presented by
S.SAI MOHAN
2018-18-016

2. Introduction
Sugarcane is the main sugar-producing crop that contributes
nearly 78.2% to the total sugarcane at the global level.
 It is the prime source of sugar in India.
India is the second largest sugarcane producer on the globe next
to brazil.
 It is estimated that India produces 341.2 million metric tonnes
of sugarcane.
Weeds in sugarcane field competes for moisture and light also
remove about 4 times N and P and 2.5 times of K during the first
50 days of crop period.
The initial 90-120 days period of crop growth is considered as
most critical period of weed competition.

3. In sugarcane crop, weeds have been estimated to cause 12 to 72
% reduction in cane yield.
In manual weed control, where, labours pulls weeds out of the
soil using different types of hand tools like khurpi, wheel hoe,
hand hoe, etc.
These practices are expensive, time consuming and difficult to
organize labour.
Today the agricultural sector requires non-chemical weed
control that safeguards consumers demand for high quality food
products .
 The technical development of mechanisms for physical weed
control, such as precise inter and intra-row weeders to control
weeds.

4. Objectives
To Evaluate The Performance Of Power Weeder In Sugarcane.
To Estimate Cost Economics Of Power Weeder Against
Traditional Method Of Weeding In Sugarcane.

6. Specifications Of Power Weeder
S.NO SPECIFICATION
1 ENGINE 5.5 HP DIESEL (AIR COOLED)
2 STARTING SYSTEM RECOIL
3 GEARS 3 FORWARD & 2 REVERSE
4 P.T.O. 3600 RPM
5 WHEEL SIZE 4.0X10.0 INCHES
6 WIDTH OF ROTAVATOR 66 CM
7 OVER ALL WEIGHT 135 KG

7. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL
Moisture content
Bulk density
MACHINE PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS
Weeding efficiency.
Plant damage.
Effective field capacity.
Theoretical field capacity.
Field efficiency.
Fuel consumption.
Cost economics.

8. Soil Moisture Content
The moisture was determined by oven drying method.
In this, wet soil sample of known weight was kept in the
thermostatically controlled oven at a temperature of 105º C for
24 H.
 The dried soil is again weighed and the moisture content is
determined as :
𝑤 =
𝑊𝑤 − 𝑊𝑑
𝑊𝑑
× 100
Where, W = moisture content, (% db)
WW = wet mass of soil, g
Wd = dry mass of soil, g

9. Bulk Density Of Soil
The bulk density of soil was determined by core cutter method.
Bulk density =
mass of soil
volume of soil
.
ρ =
𝑚
𝑣
Where, ρ = Bulk density, g/cm3
M = mass of the soil, g
V = volume of the soil, cm3

10. Weeding Efficiency
It is the ratio between the number of weeds removed by power
weeder to the number of weeds present in a unit area before weeding
operation.
The samples were collected in quadrant method.
W =
𝑊1 − 𝑊2
𝑊1
× 100
Where,
W1 = number of weeds present per unit area before weeding operation.
W2 = number of weeds counted in same unit area after weeding
operation.

11. Before Weeding After Weeding
FIG: FIELD VIEW OF SUGARCANE CROP

12. Plant Damage
It is the ratio of the number of plants damaged after operation in a 10m
length to the number of plants present before operation in the same
length.
R = (1 −
𝑞
𝑝
) × 100
Where,
R = Plant damaged (%).
p = Total number of plants in 10m length
before the weeding operation.
Q = Total number of plants damaged in the same length after the
weeding operation.

13. Effective Field Capacity
Effective field capacity is the actual area covered by the implement,
based on its total time consumed and its width.
Theoritical Field Capacity
Theoretical field capacity (TFC) is a simple calculation involving speed
and width with efficiency set at 100%. It can be calculated from the
following equation:
Theoretical field capacity=
𝑤×𝑠
10
Where w= cutting width, m
S= Speed, kmph

14. Field Machine Index
The higher the index the better suited the field for machinery use.
FMI =
(A−B−C)
A−B
Where,
A = Total weeding time required to weeding the field, minutes
B = Support functions time including adjusting, cleaning tynes and
rest stops
C = Total time spent on turning at row

15. Performance Index Of Weeder
PI =
𝐹𝐶×(100−𝑃𝐷)×𝑊𝐸
𝑃
Where, FC = field capacity, ha h-1
PD = plant damage %
WE = weeding efficiency %
P= power, hp
Fuel Consumption
It was measured by top up fill method.
The fuel tank was filled to full capacity before the testing on a levelled
surface.
Amount of fuel required to top up again is the fuel consumption for the
test duration.It was expressed in litre per hour.

16. Results And Conclusion
S.No Moisture content, %
Bulk Density, g cc-1
1 7±1
0.84
2 10±1
0.76
3 12±1
0.65

17. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
30 45 60
FieldEfficiency,%
DAS
FIELD EFFICIENCY
0.584km h-1
1.35km h-1
4.153km h-1
Effect of operational parameters on field efficiency of the weeder

18. 0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
30 45 60
WeedingEfficiency,%
DAS
0.584km h-1
1.35km h-1
4.153km h-1
Effect of machine operational parameters on weeding efficiency

19. 0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
30 45 60
Plantdamage,%
DAS
0.584km h-1
1.35km h-1
4.153km h-1
Effect of machine operational parameters on plant damage

21. Performance Index Of Weeder
Speed, kmph
Performance Index Of Weeder
30 DAS 45 DAS 60 DAS
0.047 68.04 63.00 52.92
0.075 148.50 121.57 89.22
0.231 309.20 203.40 163.61

22. Cost Economics Of Weeder
Cost of operation, Rs ha-1
Savings of weeder
over traditional
methods (Rs.)
Mechanical weeding cost Traditional method
1193 1976 783

23. References
Olaoye, J. O. and Adekanye, T. A. 2011. Development and
Evaluation of a rotary power weeder. Proc. Nige. Soc. Agric.
Engg. 3:189-199
Padole, Y. B. 2007. Performance evaluation of rotary power
weeder. Agricultural Engineering Today. 31 (3&4): 30-33.
Lotz, L., Van D.W.R.Y., Horeman, G.H and Joosten, L.T.A. 2002.
Weed management and policies: from prevention and precision
technology to certifying individual farms. In: Proceedings 2002
12th EWRS (European Weed Research Society) Symposium,
Wageningen, 2–3.
Nagesh Kumar, T., Sujay Kumar, A., Madhusudan, N and Ramya,
V. 2014. Performance Evaluation of Weeders. International
Journal of Science and Technology. 3(6): 2160 – 2165.

24. THANK YOU