Farm Machinery Types, Uses, and Importance
Today, we discuss the topic of farm machinery types and their uses.
What is agricultural machinery? Agricultural or Farm equipment is any type of machinery used on a farm to help with farming. Agricultural machinery is machinery used in agricultural farming or other agriculture. The best-known example of agricultural machinery is a tractor. Now let’s get into details of farm machinery types and their importance.
Tractor
The tractor is commonly used farm machinery. Both commercial and subsistence farmers create use of a tractor for doing work. It is usually a wheeled vehicle with large wheels. Tractors generally do not do any farm work themselves rather the other farm equipment that does some farm works are attached to it. The main task is to pull those machines so that they will execute the tasks they are meant for. Those machines that cannot propel themselves are attached to a tractor. It can be used to haul trailers to be used for agricultural purposes. Tractors can be used to power machines that cannot power themselves. It is obtainable in various sizes depending on the type of machine to be attached to it.
A tractor is an important farm vehicle. Agricultural implements can be towed behind or mounted on the tractor and a tractor may provide a source of power if the implement is mechanized. A farm tractor is used for pushing agricultural machinery, for plowing, tilling, disking, harrowing, planting, and similar tasks. There are two types;
Two-wheel tractor
Tracked tractor or Caterpillar tractor
Sprayer
As implicit from the name, this kind of farm equipment is used to spray insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and any other products meant to be sprayed on the farm or plants. It is obtainable in various types. Some of the types contain agricultural aircraft-sprayer and blowers-prayer. Liquid or powdered insecticides or pesticides can be sprayed using this kind of machines. It is possible to use some sprayer to water the farm.
Field cultivator
As the name already tells you, this machine is particularly meant for cultivating the farm or making the soil softer for planting. It can be used to get rid of weeds or to aerate or make the soil softer shortly after the crops have started to germinate. Cultivators are helpful in farming today. Hardened soils are prepared softer for easy penetration of nutrients and water. They help in the preparation of the soil for planting and in eliminating the weeds from the plant.
Shredders and cutters
These type of machines meant for shredding and cutting unwanted vegetative growth and weeds.
Cotton harvester
Cotton harvester is a harvesting type of farming machinery but it is meant for the harvesting of cotton. They are usually available in two types, namely, pickers and strippers.
Seeders and planters
After the land has been cultivated, seeders and planters are used for sowing of the seeds or planting of the crops. With this machine, a grouping of seeds or crops can be planted within a few hours.
Wheel tractor-scrapper
It is designed for earthmoving and for weeding purposes in a crop row of 1.5 widths and above. Weeds within this depth are removed with this apparatus. Removed weeds are cut into pieces by the pointed blade of the scraper and they are buried deep in the soil. When buried weeds decay, they attach to the green manure available to the soil.
Plough
It is particularly meant for plowing the soil before the seeds are sowed or crops are planted. The make the earth softer so that the root of the crops planted can penetrate the soil in explore of nutrients.
Baler
Baler is one of the most generally used farm machinery. Baler is used to cut hay and straw. It is capable of raking and binding bales with twine for easy transportation and storage.
Machinery used for soil cultivation
Cultivator: Cultivator equipment is a farm implement for stirring and pulverizing the soil before planting or to eliminate weeds and to aerate and loosen the soil after the crop has begun to grow. It is powered by a tractor and stirs the soil, generally to a greater depth than does the harrow (which is usually not powered). Many are equipped with hydraulic wings that fold up to make road travel simple and safer. Similar but very smaller machines are used for gardening.
Cultipacker: A cultipacker is a piece of agricultural tool that crushes dirt clods, removes air pockets, and presses down small stones, forming a smooth, firm seedbed. The term cultipacker is exclusively applied to ridged rollers, while the terms field roller or land roller may refer to either a smooth or a ridged roller. Some farmers treat the terms as mutually exclusive, but others treat the ridged tools as a class of field rollers.
Plough: A plow or plow is used for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed. The main function of plowing is to turn over the upper layer of the soil, bringing fresh nutrients to the surface. It aerates the soil and allows it to hold moisture better. In modern use, a plowed field is normally left to dry out and is then harrowed before planting.
Read: How to Raise Snakehead Fish.
Rotary tiller: It is also known as a rotavator, rotary hoe, power tiller, or rotary plow. It is a motorized cultivator that works the soil by means of rotating blades. Rotary tillers are either self-propelled or drawn as an addition behind a tractor.
Strip-till: Strip-till is a conservation system that uses for minimum tillage. It combines the soil drying and warming advantages of conventional tillage with the soil-protecting advantages of no-till by disturbing only the portion of the soil that is to contain the seed row. This tillage is performed with special tools and create multiple trips, depending on the strip-till implement used, and field conditions. Each row that has been strip-tilled is generally about eight to ten inches wide.
Harrows: Harrows equipment are implemented for cultivating the surface of the soil. It is different in its effect from the plow, which is used for deeper cultivation. Harrowing is often carried out on fields to follow the rough end left by plowing operations. The main purpose of this harrowing is to break up lumps of soil and to provide a finer finish, a good soil structure that is suitable for seeding and planting operations. Harrowing may be used to remove weeds and to cover seed after sowing. There are mainly three types of harrows : spike harrows, drag harrows, and disk harrows.
Machinery used for planting:
Seed drill: This is a device for placing the seeds in a continuous flow in furrows at a uniform rate and at controlled depth with or without the arrangement of covering them with soil.
This ensures that seeds will be distributed evenly. The seed drill sows the seeds at the accurate seeding rate and depth, ensuring that the seeds are covered by soil. This saves them from being eaten by animals or being dried up due to exposure to the sun.
Broadcast seeder: A broadcast seeder or spreader or fertilizer spreader is a tractor implement generally used for spreading seed, lime or fertilizer.
Seed cum fertilizer drill: Seed drills are fitted with fertilizer dropping attachment; distribute the fertilizer uniformly on the ground. It is called a seed cum fertilizer drill. Such a drill has a large seed box which is divided lengthwise into 2 compartments, one for seed and another for fertilizers. Seed drill can be classified as (i) Bullock drawn (ii) Tractor drawn.
Machinery used for fertilizing & pest control
Manure spreader: A manure spreader is also known as muck spreader or a honey wagon is an agricultural machine used to distribute manure over a field as a fertilizer. Manure spreaders began as ground-driven units which can be pulled by a horse or team of horses.
Slurry tank: A slurry tank is a trailer with a tank and pump which can be used for slurry (a combination of manure and water) to fertilize the fields. If we fertilize fields, we get more crops at the end of the season.
Sprayer: A sprayer is a piece of tools that applies herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers to agricultural crops. Sprayers range in size from man-portable units (typical backpacks with spray guns) to self-propelled units related to tractors.
Farm machinery types used for irrigation
Irrigation equipment: Varieties of irrigation implements are used for irrigation depending on the financing capability of the farm operator and suitability of the implement according to sources of water. In general centrifugal pump , submersible pump, sprinkler, drip irrigation , etc are used for irrigation function.
Fire sprinkler system: A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection method, consisting of water provide a system, providing adequate pressure and flow rate to a water distribution piping structure, onto which fire sprinklers are connected.
Centre irrigation: Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil generally for assisting in growing crops. In crop production, it is mostly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall shortfalls, but to protect plants against frost. Irrigation is the opposite procedure of drainage, which is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area.
Read: How to Raise Fish in Biofloc System.
Harvesting and threshing equipment:
Harvesting equipment is a mechanical device used for harvesting. There are several types of harvesting machines which are normally classified by crop. Below are some of the equipment used for harvesting;
Combine harvester: A combine harvester, or simply a combine, is a device that combines the tasks of harvesting, threshing, and cleaning grain crops. The main objective is the harvest of the crop; corn (maize), soybeans, flax (linseed), oats, wheat, rye and, etc.).
Sickle: A sickle tool is a curved shape, hand-held agricultural tool normally used for harvesting grain crop or cutting grass for hay.
Mower: Mower is a machine used to cut herbage crop or grasses. The mower can be power operated, manual operated or animal drawn.
Reaper: Reaper is a machine used to harvest cereals crops at ground level. These reapers are either power tiller operated or tractor operated. The field capacity of tractor operated reaper ranges 0.2 to 0.4 ha per hour.
Conveyor belt: A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor structure (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system is one of the main types of conveyor systems. This system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to as drums), with an endless loop of moving medium and the conveyor belt that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt & the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is known as the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley is called the idler pulley .
Crop harvesting machine: The mechanical device which harvests forage crops cultivated in upland or paddy field and forms roll bale simultaneously was developed, is termed as crop harvesting machinery. This machine comprises of traveling, reaping and a baler part.
Read: Techniques of Urban Farming.
Grain harvesting machine: This grain harvesting machine is used to harvest grains, the edible brans or fruit seeds of a cereal crop.
Root crop harvesting machine: Traditionally root crops are harvested by using diggers and digger-pickers. Nowadays, several machines are obtainable in the market. Modern sugar-beet harvester is one of the main popular examples of the root crop harvesting machine.
Threshers: Threshers or threshing machine is used for the separation of grain from stalks and husks.
Vegetable harvesting machine: Nowadays, many machines are available for the harvesting of vegetables. But, these ‘vegetable harvesting machines’ , are quite common among the global vegetable farmers.
That’s all folks about Farm Machinery Types, Farm tools, Farm equipment, and their uses.
Read: How to Avoid Gardening Mistakes.
