Field Performance Evaluation of a Power Tiller Operated Potato Planter

ABSTRACT The research aimed to evaluate the field performance of a potato planter powered by a power tiller at the Regional Wheat Research Institute, BARI, Rajshahi. The study was conducted at a farmer's field in the potato-growing region of Shyampur, Rajshahi, from August 2013 to January 2014. The planter maintained a 250 mm gap between seeds and a single row spacing of 60 mm. Field trials were conducted at different operating speeds and seed sizes for assessment. The study revealed that an optimal forward speed of 2.5 km/hr resulted in the most uniform seed spacing and minimal seed gaps. Field demonstrations in Shyampur showed the potato planters' average effective field capacity was 0.11 ha/hr, with a 5% seed absence rate. In comparison to the traditional manual planting method, which required 53.3 man-days/ha, the potato planter significantly reduced labor requirements to 3 man-days per hectare. The total cost of planting was Tk.1781.82/ha. While the conventional method slightly outperformed mechanically planted plots in yields, using the power-tiller-operated potato planter demonstrated significant savings. A farmer's field day showcased crops from both planting methods, highlighting the substantial labor (95%) and cost (53%) savings achieved by adopting the mechanical planting approach. Considering the comparative performance, it is recommended that low-income farmers adopt the power tiller-operated potato planter to increase planting efficiency, cover more area in less time, and significantly reduce production costs compared to traditional methods.