A STUDY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VEGETABLE PLANTER FOR OPTIMUM STAND ESTABLISHMENT

Seed placement and establishment is probably the most crucial phase in the life of a vegetable crop, therefore, the role of the planter or seeder is of vital importance. The objective of this study was to assess the demand of a vegetable planter/seeder and to collect information from farmers, machinery manufacturers and stakeholders to design a new planter for vegetables, initially for pea crop. To achieve the objective of this study, a survey was conducted in three provinces (Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan) of the country and 34 farmers, 21 officers from the concerned institutions and 14 manufactures were interviewed. Furthermore, three existing planters/drills used for sowing different crops were picked from different sources for evaluating their comparative performance for planting pea. The status of vegetable planting or sowing as a whole was not found encouraging in the country and most vegetables are grown manually that are time consuming and labour intensive practices. Farmers are vigorously demanding a planter or seeder for vegetables. From the evaluation of existing machines, it was concluded that a pneumatic planter for sowing vegetables on beds is the most precise method that drops 10 to 20 seeds per meter length at recommended forward speed with single seed placement per hill. This ensures not only the optimum seed rate, but also eliminates the need for thinning after germination. Using this machine farmers may be able to save two third of the seed quantity for pea crop together with achieving additional benefits of vegetables mechanisation. Therefore, a vegetable planter, initially for pea, should be developed locally to enhance productivity of vegetables, because root establishment of vegetable crops is very critical factor that affects ultimate yield.