Development of seed drill for sowing on furrow slants to increase the productivity and sustainability of arid crops

The concept of sowing of crops on the slant surfaces of a specifically created furrow was devised. The furrow facilitated the collection of runoff water to create and maintain a high moisture concentration in the plant root zone, resulting in 26% increases in plant height and 30-70% increase in grain yield compared to the conventional method. A three-furrow (six-row), multi-crop seed cum fertiliser drill was designed and developed with the provision for a seed-pressing device. Performance of the seed drill was evaluated and compared to a conventional seeding system with pearl millet (Variety: HHB-67), green gram (Variety: RMG-62), moth bean (Variety: RMO-40) and cluster bean (Variety: RGC-936) crops. About 30-40% more grain yield was obtained for crops sown using the above-mentioned seed drill compared to the conventional method of sowing in year with normal rainfall (389.3 mm/year(-1)). Greater increases in grain yield (60-70%) were recorded under severe moisture stress conditions (wilting stage) arising from a dry spell (28 days) towards the end of the monsoon season encountered during Kharif, 2001-2002. (C) 2007 IAgrE. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.