Vol. 12, Special Issue 7 (2023)

Author(s):
Sidhartha Sekhar Swain, Tapan Kumar Khura, Pramod Kumar Sahoo, Hari Lal Kushwaha, Roaf Ahmad Parray, Pankaj Malkani and Satish Devram Lande

Abstract:
The efficacy of fertilizer deep placement in enhancing fertilizer utilization efficiency in wetland rice cultivation is well-established. However, challenges related to the properties of fertilizer granules have led to inconsistent results when using machines designed for their placement. Consequently, a recent Study aimed to determine the relevant physical and engineering properties of USG to aid in the design of a mechanical applicator. Various properties including size, shape, USG weight, bulk density, angle of repose, and coefficient of friction were assessed in a laboratory setting. Length, breadth, thickness, roundness, sphericity, weight and angle of repose on a mild steel surface of the USGs were found to be 18.37 ± 0.19 mm, 14.67 ± 0.27 mm, 7.1 ± 0.12 mm, 0.78 ± 0.03, 0.89 ± 0.02, 1.63 ± 0.47 and 32.65 ± 0.24 degrees respectively. The size and shape of the metering cup were established based on the maximum dimensions of the USGs. The design specifications for the metering cup, including cup number and cup size, were selected based on the dimensions of the USG and were determined to be 4 and 20.20 mm, respectively. Three different 3D printed metering device was used for performance evaluation based on cell fill, broken USG percent, missing index and multiple index. Result showed the optimum metering was obtained from the cup size of 20.20 mm.