Comparative Evaluation of Puddling Techniques in Sandy Loam Soil

Abstract

Aims: Puddling is a distinct operation to provide standing water condition for paddy cultivation. There are various puddling techniques conventionally adopted by the farmers. In order to scientifically establish the performance of various puddling techniques in terms of puddling quality, they were evaluated and compared.
 Study Design: The results were analyzed statistically using factorial experiment.
 Place: The study was carried out in the experimental field of Agricultural Engineering College & Research Institute, Kumulur, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India. The texture of the soil is sandy loam (Clay = 12.5%, silt = 15.6% and sand = 71.9%).
 Methodology: The conventionally used puddling techniques (viz., cage wheel, rotavator and power tiller operated rotary tool) were evaluated in terms of puddling index and infiltration rate. The evaluation parameters were determined using standard procedure.
 Results: The puddling quality was not significantly affected by increasing number of pass from single to double. The power tiller operated rotary tool registered the highest puddling index of 61.18% and the lowest infiltration rate of 17.00 mm d-1 and the rotavator registered the second highest of 58.29% puddling index and 21.00 mm d-1 of infiltration rate. Area coverage was superior in the case of puddling with rotavator due to the larger width.
 Conclusion: The overall performance of the rotavator was concluded to be the best among the various puddling techniques compared in this study.

Assessing the Influence of Soil Physical Properties on the Puddling Quality: A Comprehensive Review

“…A 15 cm diameter pipe filled with water was used, and the water level was recorded at 3-hour intervals to analyze the relationship between infiltration rate and duration. Analysis of variance for sandy loam soil puddling index revealed significance at the 1% level, with the power tiller-operated rotary tool exhibiting the highest puddling index [28,64,65]. The number of passes did not significantly affect the puddling index.…”

Optimization and evaluation of machine–field parameters of remotely controlled two‐wheel paddy transplanter

“…Although there were no rational criteria to optimize the sedimentation period, the puddling sedimentation period differs from 1 to 4 days with respect to the structure of soil and the type of transplanter to be used. It was reported that for the smooth working of the paddy transplanter, a suitable puddling and sedimentation period from 2 to 72 h is required depending upon the type of soil (Dhiman et al, 2001; Hossen et al, 2017; Prasanthkumar et al, 2019). For example, in sandy loam soil, the sedimentation of heavy sand particles increases the resistance of the soil more quickly than in the case of light clay particles.…”