Small farmers from South Asia and other parts of the world use two wheel tractors as the main means of land preparation and other farm operations due to small farm and field size combined with an affordable price. These units have become very popular, and over 500,000 are manufactured annually worldwide. There are over 350,000 operating in Bangladesh alone. Two low cost and robust no-till seeders to suit two wheel tractors (12HP) have been developed at the Wheat Research Centre (WRC), Dinajpur, Bangladesh (with support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research). This follows initial research and development work assisted by CIMMYT and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute from 1995 to 2004. A. No till seed drill This drill is structurally improved, lighter and more versatile than the original prototype. A fertiliser attachment has now been fitted, residue clearance is improved, and the seed drill is easily adjustable for tine layout, row spacing, and depth of seeding. Seed and fertiliser rates are easily adjusted and the machine can conveniently meter all seed sizes from maize to mustard. Press wheels have also been fitted. Attachment hitches for both Chinese made, as well as Thai made two wheel tractors are available. B. Modified rotary tillage seed drill This standard rotary tillage drill has been modified by the provision of a fertiliser attachment and an improved seed metering system. Seed placement has been enhanced by the incorporation of superior tine openers. Press wheels have also been fitted. It can be used as a 100% tillage implement, or as a strip tillage seed drill. The no till seed drill has been intensively tested in farmer’s fields in NW Bangladesh for wheat, maize, pulses and rice planting through moderate densities of cereal residues without plugging. Two wheel tractors can pull 4 tines in light soils and 3 tines in heavy soils. It has generally performed well. However, it has done a mediocre job in some hard setting clay soils. The rotary tillage drill in either strip or full tillage mode has proved to be successful under practically all conditions in Bangladesh. This seed drill generally produces a satisfactory environment for crop establishment, with good seed placement and a fine tilth of soil, except under very wet conditions, when slot smearing by the tractor blades still occurs. Both implements are suitable for traditional or conservation farming systems. Seed placement and depth control in both machines is greatly improved, by the provision of superior tines and press wheels. Plant establishment has improved by17-25% compared to zero press wheel treatments. The seeders are simple, light in weight, and could be fabricated by local farm machinery manufacturers. Costs are expected to be < US$500 once production scales up.

Conservation Agriculture Program

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