Engg Graduates Display Innovative Machine to Sow Groundnut Seeds

Three enterprising engineering graduates have come up with an innovative machine to sow groudnut seeds.

Three enterprising engineering graduates have come up with an innovative machine to sow groudnut seeds. The prototype and its functioning was displayed by inventors C Premkumar (22), R Sathianarayanan (26) and N Hemachandran (24) at an agricultural land in Kurvinatham on Saturday.

Premkumar, a BE (Mech) graduate of 2012 batch of Bharati Engineering College, Karaikal, said, “The field test for the sowing was successfully conducted. The machine is run on electrical energy and needs to undergo field tests for weeding and harvesting in due course of time.” The machine was operated without the use of a tractor, he said and added that once the field trials are successful using all the three different sources of energy — diesel, biogas and solar — the machine would be marketed commercially.

NABARD’s Tamil Nadu regional office under its Rural Innovation Fund provided assistance for the innovation programme undertaken by the three engineers.

Premkumar, a resident of Mariamman Koil Street in Ellaipillaichavady, successfully developed biogas units using organic waste earlier, which are being used by his firm ‘Green India Energy Product.’ The same has been installed in several places in Chennai, Puducherry and Karaikal region.

Asked what led to the invention of the machine, he said groundnut cultivation has come down drastically because of labour shortage. The machine can assist the farmer in sowing, removing weeds and harvesting and it can run on solar, biogas or diesel/electrical energy.

“This will cut the cost of labour, time and input losses leading to enhanced productivity and yield. The machine will adopt the precision farming tools to increase the use of scientific approach in cultivation.” he said.

Premkumar claimed that there was no multifunctional groundnut cultivating machine anywhere in the world and probably this will be the first, which provides three benefits — sowing, weeding and harvesting assistance.

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