Four planting devices for planting no-till maize

2016

English

An experiment was conducted at the CSIR-Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI) Experimental station at Ejura in Ghana to compare the efficiency of four devices for planting no-till maize: Tractor drawn seeder, Chinese made jab planter, Locally made jab planter and a Cutlass. It took two (2) hours 48 minutes to plant one hectare of maize with the tractor drawn seeder, which was significantly (p<1%) faster than all the planting methods. Cutlass was the slowest planting device lasting more than 14 hours per hectare. There was no significant difference in planting time between the Chinese planter and local planter. Economic analysis showed that cutlass planting produced the highest net benefit, whilst tractor drawn seeder produced the least benefit. In this study cutlass planting was done with precision by collaborating farmers. In actual farm situation however, hired laborers (planting gangs) often plant in haste which often results in poor plant population leading to low yields. Tractor drawn seeders or jab planters could reduce drudgery in planting and encourage farm expansion.

Bonsu, P. O.