GUNTUR: Believing that smart farming will help in cutting down labour costs and saving time, this Guntur farmer has created his own tractor-mounted sprayer, which can be used for swift and precise spraying of insecticides.
The sprayer is not only useful to him but to several farmers in the neighbourhood. Mallepeddi Ramakrishna (50) of Amruthaluru village in Tenali took up agriculture after the death of his father. Though he studied till intermediate, Ramakrishna is keen on introducing new techniques in agriculture. The farmer invented a tractor-mounted sprayer for his 100-acre farm, where he grows black gram.
As the crop easily gets infested with pests, spraying of insecticides needs to be swift. It used to take days for him to complete spraying with the help of farmhands and cost over Rs 1 lakh.
To find an alternative, Ramakrishna approached his cousins who are mechanical engineers. He prepared this special sprayer with which he can complete the spraying of 100 acres in 10 hours with only two persons and with a fuel cost of Rs 300.
The sprayer has a capacity of 1,800 litres and does not require frequent refill. It has a 5 HP motor and another viper motor attached to it. The insecticide is sprayed through nozzles attached to the end of the viper.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, he said: "I bought the required machinery worth Rs 1.5 lakh from various States. The sprayer requires only two-and-a-half to three litres of fuel to complete spraying the entire field. Using this, the spraying can be done with precision due to which my produce has doubled this time, which is an added bonus."
Ramakrishna added that initially his intention was to cut down on labour costs but the usage of the machine had increased the quality and productivity of the yield too. Observing this, a few farmers in the locality are also using his sprayer. The sprayer has also supplemented his income by renting it. "I am renting my sprayer to the farmers in the locality. It can be used in organic and natural farming too," the farmer said.
After the successful implementation of his idea, he also prepared a dryer, reducing labour cost to dry black gram before selling. "I always believed in smart farming. Increasing awareness on the latest agricultural practices, and technologies and adding our innovation to them in order to change them according to our uses will result in high-quality yield and reduce losses," he said.
Ramakrishna also encourages the students, who visit his farm. "Educated youth should also choose agriculture as a profession not just as an alternative. Then only great things can be achieved in agriculture," he added.