Environmental alarms like climate change and rising air pollution levels in north India, particularly in the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), draw attention to the severe issue of Rice straw burning. Straw burning is the common practice in Punjab and Haryana's Indo-Gangetic plains. Large-scale burning of residues (straw and stubble) is a severe problem that emits Green House Gases (GHGs) while polluting the air, posing health problems, and eliminating micronutrients from burned-out field. Residue management has been a problem for the paddy farmers and as time changes, it is necessary to update their practices. For the disposal of rice residue, farmers are constrained by an insufficient technology base and a lack of viable economic solutions. Technical solutions are available, classified mainly as on-site (in-situ) and off-site (ex-situ) solutions, the in-situ solution includes a variety of machines that can be used to incorporate or mulch residue efficiently. While ex-situ management allow collecting the residue from field for various applications such as energy production, briquetting, composting, paper and cardboard making, and for mushroom cultivation. Farmers in North India are not aware of the prolific alternatives for managing stubble and, therefore, consider burning as the best option. Therefore, extensive awareness programs are needed to inform farmers about economic options and the effects of stubble burning. Zero till drill, happy seeder and super Straw Management System (SMS) are recommended for the farmers, and need to be supplied in sufficient quantity to evade residue burning in these regions. Meanwhile, alternative technology for straw management constitutes an active area of research, area-specific and crop-specific applications need to be evolved. All stakeholders i.e., farmers, researchers, extension agents and policy makers need to be engaged in understanding and harnessing the full potential of using crop residues with conservation agriculture for sustainability and resilience of Indian agriculture.

HighlightsThe actuating force, torque, and application rate needed to operate the control levers of a walk-behind type paddy transplanter were determined.The results will be beneficial for the development of a remote-control or autonomous system for the transplanter.Such a system will reduce operator fatigue, resulting in increased work efficiency and safety.Abstract. An enormous amount of human fatigue is involved in operating the walk-behind type paddy transplanters widely used in South Asian countries, especially India. To operate a transplanter remotely, accurate estimation of the actuating force needed to operate the control levers (push/pull type), the stroke length of the levers, and the frequency of use of the levers is required so that the mechanical levers can be replaced with appropriate electronic sensors, control units, and actuators. In this study, the actuating forces and required torques of the control levers of a walk-behind type paddy transplanter (Kubota NSP-4W, model MZ175-B-1) were measured using three load-measuring instruments. The results revealed that about 24.1 N of force was required to control the accelerator lever, while the left and right steering levers required an actuating force of 24.0 N each. To start the transplanting mechanism, a much higher actuating force (78.1 N) and torque (15.47 N-m) were required 54 times per hour for the planting clutch lever; however, to stop the mechanism, a comparatively smaller force (28.3 N) and torque (5.71 N-m) were required 54 times per hour. Movement of the transplanter was controlled with the shift clutch lever, which required 14.30 N of force and 2.72 N-m torque for forward movement of the transplanter in field conditions, while 12.7 N of force and 2.88 N-m torque were required for forward movement of the transplanter on paved roads. These findings will be beneficial for selecting the force and stroke length of actuators for the development of a remote-control or autonomous system for walk-behind type paddy transplanters and similar machines, which is expected to substantially reduce the operator workload and enhance both workability and safety. Keywords: Actuating force, Hand control levers, Remotely controlled paddy transplanter.

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To reduce the human effort involved in walk‐behind paddy transplanter operation, a remote‐control system consisting of an electronic control unit (ECU) was designed and developed. A separate remote handheld wireless kit was developed to control the ECU. The deviation from a straight‐line path was measured by mounting a real‐time kinematic global satellite navigation system on the transplanter to provide a real‐time plot of the navigation path of the transplanter. The results from the field evaluation revealed that the system worked properly with an effective field capacity of 0.16 ± 0.03 ha h−1 with a field efficiency of 73.05% ± 0.35% at 1.8 km h−1 in sandy loam soil. The mean deviation from the predefined straight path was 0.227 ± 0.041 m for the remote‐controlled transplanter as compared to 0.171 ± 0.041 m for a manually operated transplanter. The net benefit of using the transplanter with the developed system was $40 per hectare and $2084 per year with a payback period of 2.7 years. The developed remote‐control system reduced the drudgery/fatigue by up to 90% and increased the operator's work efficiency. In addition, an operator sitting in a safe and comfortable environment outside the puddled field improved the field capacity of paddy transplanters by up to 10% and helped minimize the effects of labor shortage during the transplanting season.