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Journal of Agricultural Engineering

ISAE Vol. 54 (1): January-March, 2017

Development and Performance Evaluation of Animal Drawn Garlic Digger

Manish Kumar1, U. R. Badegaonkar2 and M. Din3
Scientist, 2Sr. Scientist, 3Project Coordinator, AICRP on UAE, ICAR- Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering,
1

Nabibagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal-462038, India. Corresponding author email address: manishagrineer@gmail.com

Article Info ABSTRACT

Received : February, 2016
Revised
accepted : February, 2017
Key words:
Digger, fatigue score card,
physiological parameter,
digging efficiency, garlic clove
damage, draft
An animal drawn garlic digger, especially for small and marginal farms, was developed.
Six types of digger blades with varied width and nose angles were evaluated for digging
of garlic plants. The digger was operated at 16 % (d.b.) soil moisture content and cone
index of 1350 kpa within soil profile 0-150 mm. The draft requirement of 650 mm wide
blades was 30% higher than the pulling capacity of selected pair of bullocks. Blades of
550 mm of radius of curvature and 700 mm wide curved type with radius of curvature
700 mm had 86% efficiency, and required less draft with bullock fatigue score of 12.
The fatigue score of blade of same width with 170 and 150 nose angle were 18 and
16, respectively. Field capacity of the digger was found to be 0.12 ha.h-1, and almost 25
times higher than that of manual digging. The average garlic damage was in the range
of 3.625.40% for selected blades. The animal drawn garlic digger saved 75% cost and
44.8% energy as compared to the traditional method of manual digging.

Garlic (Allium sativum) is an important spice commodity
used for flavouring the dishes and also considered as
a valuable medicinal produce. India ranks second in
area (0.165 Mha) and production (0.834 Mt) of garlic,
next to China. Besides meeting domestic demand,
India exported 15,400 t of garlic worth ` 7285 lakh
(Anon., 2016). Over the last 15 years, garlic production
has increased from 0.51 to 1.89 Mt (Anon., 2015a).
Productivity of garlic in India is low (5.40 t.ha-1) as
compared to countries like Egypt (23.93 t.ha-1), USA
(18.21 t.ha-1) and China (25.35 t.ha-1) (Anon., 2015b).
Madhya Pradesh state is the largest producer of garlic
(424, 500 t), but the productivity (5.23 t.ha-1) is lower
than the all India average (Anon., 2015c).
Draught animal power has been the main source of farm
power, especially for small and marginal farms. Draught
animals, especially bullocks, are still the predominant
source of power on about 60% of the cultivated area
consisting of about 85 Mha (Natarajan et al., 2016). At
present, there are 49.69 million draught animals in the
country (Anon., 2014). Small and marginal farms (less
than 2 ha) constitute 85% of the land holdings (Anon.,
2015a). This farm size is within the command area of
a pair of bullock.
During Livestock Census 2012, it was observed that
the population of draught animals decreased from
55.85 million in 2007 to 49.69 million in 2012. There
has been a rapid growth of power-operated farm
machinery during the last decade. Small and marginal
farmers can economically carry out all farm operations,
except primary tillage, by animal operated machinery
as compared to power operated machinery. Chaudhuri
and Singh (2013) had estimated that 50% of net sown
area is sown by draught animals.
Although garlic cloves are presently sown by either
tractor drawn garlic planter or animal drawn garlic
planter or manually, the crop is manually harvested.
Garlic harvesting by manual digging of garlic plant
from the soil is a tiresome task. It requires continuous
working in stooped posture, which creates back
problem to the worker. Many farmers use potato digger
for digging garlic crops, but it causes more damages
to the harvest, and also has a low digging efficiency.
Few animal drawn diggers are available for groundnut
and potato, but animal drawn diggers for garlic crop
are not available.
A bullock drawn groundnut digger was developed at the
January-March, 2017 Development and Performance Evaluation of Animal Drawn Garlic Digger
Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (CIAE),
which was similar to mould board plough. Due to
pulverization of the soil by the mould board, groundnut
vines and soil got separated. The working width of this
13 kg digger was 305 mm, and the field capacity was
0.2 to 0.33 ha. day-1 (Devnani, 1980).
A digger for groundnut and potato was developed at
CIAE, which was operated by a pair of bullock. It was
provided with two gauge wheels to control the depth
of operation, depending upon the crop being dug out. It
consisted of a beam, frame, handle, ground wheel depth
adjustment mechanism and V-blade. The working width
and depth was 450 mm and 200 mm, respectively. The
operational speed was in the range of 22.5 km.h-1 and
field capacity ranged between 0.050.12 ha.h-1, whereas
the draft requirement was in the range of 600750 N
(Devnani, 1980).
Mohanty et al. (2005) developed a bullock drawn
sweep type digger and tested in the experimental plot
for groundnut. Its field capacity was 0.132 ha.h-1 with
field efficiency of 70% at an operating speed of 1.59
km.h-1. It performed the harvesting operation with a
loss of 13.27%, and a digging efficiency 86.73 per cent.
Munde et al. (2009) developed and evaluated a bullock
drawn groundnut digger. The field capacity of the
digger was 0.126 ha.h-1 at an operating speed of 2.1
km.h-1. It performed the harvesting operation with a
total pod loss of 8.01%, and the digging efficiency
was 92 per cent.
Physiological responses of bullock have been studied
by various researchers. Singh and Singh (2013) studied
the physiological response of Malvi breed bullock in
rotary mode power transmission system for electricity
generation. Work rest cycle of 2 h work 1 h rest 2 h
work 1 h rest 2h work was used, and it was reported
that increase in pulse rate, respiration rate and body
temperature were 77%, 150% and 3.4% from their
initial levels of 48 pulse.min-1, 18 breath.min-1 and 37.7
C after 6 h of work. The bullocks were not fatigued
after 6 h of work, as they scored 16 points against the
fatigue level score of 20 points. Ghosal et al. (2013)
recommended a work rest cycle of 1.5 h work + 30
min rest + 1.5 h work + 30 min rest + 1h work for
summer and rainy season for small size Mottu breed
of bullocks. Tiwari (2015) concluded that the pulse
rate and respiration rate increased with duration at all
draughts in the field condition. It was observed that
the rise in pulse rate increased by 52% in ploughing,
2
whereas the increases in values were 45% in clod
crushing-cum-leveling and puddling. The pulse rate in
sowing operation increased by 48.6% after first hour of
operation. The body temperature was found to increase
with duration at all draughts in the field. Singh et al.
(2015) conducted a study on draughtability of small
sized bullocks (pair weight of 430 kg) of Kumaon
hills of Uttarakhand, India, for operating primary
tillage in five different locations in the winter season.
The pulse and respiration rate increased by 27% and
14%, respectively, from initial values after first hour of
work. Behera et al. (2006) observed that the pulse rate
(PR) and respiration rate (RR) increased significantly
with draft in summer and rainy season, but not in
winter season. The PR and RR recovered to its resting
values after the rest during the noon, except in case of
respiration rate in summer at higher draft. The body
temperature did not recover to its resting values after
the rest period in the noon in all seasons. Behera et
al. (2008) conducted a study on draftability of a pair
of medium size bullocks with CIAE animal loading
car at draft load of 10, 12 and 14 % of body weight in
summer. It was concluded that bullock could not take
sustained load in summer, as they got fatigued after the
third hour of work. It was observed that fatigue score
and power output of the bullocks could sustain draft
load of 10% of body weight in summer.
The aim of this research was thus to develop an
efficient animal drawn garlic digger based on evaluation
of different selected digger blades with respect to
physiological response and bullock fatigue.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Animal Drawn Garlic Digger
The frame of the garlic digger was adopted from the
earlier CIAE animal drawn groundnut and potato
digger. The detail of adopted animal drawn ground nut
digger is given in Table 1.
Blades for garlic digger
Since the entire frame was adopted from the CIAE
groundnut and potato digger, hence only design of the
blades were undertaken in this study.
Preliminary trials conducted on straight blade, 150
nose angle and 170 nose angle blade on CIAE
research farm revealed that the straight blade operated
at maximum draft. Therefore, the design consideration
of blade was based on straight blade. The existing
Manish Kumar, U. R. Badegaonkar and M. Din JAE : 54 (1)

Table 1. Technical details of animal drawn ground was obtained as follows:

nut digger
30
Particular Value fb =
t 3
Overall Dimension
Length (mm) 3600 The torsional stress was expressed as:
Width (mm) 850
Height (mm) 850 9 M
Weight (kg) 54
fs =
2 bt 2 (2)
Cutting width (mm) 300-450
Working depth (mm) 200 Where,
Draft, N 600-750
M = Bending moment =WL.4-1,
Operating speed (km.h1) 2.0-2.5
Field capacity (ha.h-1) 0.05-0.12 W= Draft, N,
Field efficiency (%) 60 t =Thickness of blade, mm, and
Labour requirement 8-20
L = Width of blade, mm.
(man-h.ha-1)
The blade width was considered as 550 mm.
blade of groundnut digger has 170 nose angle.
Therefore, 150 nose angle blade was also taken Substituting the values in Eq. 2, the torsional stress
under this study to evaluate the blade performances. was calculated as:
Curve blade was included for the study based on the
61.88
design of Chen et al. (2010). Since the row spacing fs =
t3
of garlic crop was 150 mm, the width of the blades
was selected to cover 3 rows and 4 rows of garlic Combined stress (C s, kN.mm -2) is given by the
crop. Therefore, 550 mm and 650 mm blade width expression as:
was selected for the study.
1
( fb ) + 4 ( fs )
2 2
=Cs
Design of Blade 2 (3)
The blade was designed according to the maximum Substituting the values in Eq. 3, the combined stress
draft (1 kN) to be exerted by a pair of bullock. was obtained as:

The stress induced on the blade is bending stress (fs) 63.67

and torsional stress (fb). The effective bending arm for Cs =
t3
moment was assumed as 500 mm (depth of tilling +
ground clearance of the frame). The allowable or safe stress of spring steel (EN41) was
taken as 5000 kg.cm-2 (0.5 kN.mm-2).
The bending stress (fb, kN.mm-2) induced in the blade
is expressed as: Equating combined stress accordingly, the blade section
(t) was determined to be 5 mm.
6M
fb =
t b2 (1) For a factor of safety = 2, the thickness and width of
Where, blade were finalized as 10 and 100 mm, respectively.
M = Bending moment = 1x500 = 500kN.mm, Design of radius (r) of curved type digger edge
t = Thickness of blade, mm, and Design of the radius of curved type blades are done
b = Length of blade, mm. using the formula describe by Chen et al. (2010), which
is describe in the Eq. 4. The incident angle () of cutting
Assuming b = 10t (based on availability of material), into soil can be set between 14-20 (Kanafojski and
and substituting these value in Eq. (1), bending stress Karwowski, 1976). The angle of incident was taken

3
January-March, 2017 Development and Performance Evaluation of Animal Drawn Garlic Digger
as 15 in the study. Based on field data, maximum
variation in the root depth was considered as 15 mm.
... (4)
Where,
r = Radius of curve of the blade, mm,
h = Maximum variation in root depth, mm,
W = Width of blade, mm, and
= Angle of incident, degree.
Six types of digger blades of 650 mm width and 150
nose angle (D1), 650 mm width and 170 nose angle
(D2), 650 mm width and curve type with radius of
curvature 1000 mm (D3), 550 mm width and 150
nose angle (D4), 550 mm width and 170 nose angle
(D5), and 550 mm width and curve type with radius
of curvature 700 mm (D6) were developed (Fig. 1)
and fabricated.
Field Experiment
Garlic cloves were sown using an animal drawn garlic
planter in the research field at the ICAR-Central
Institute of Agricultural Engineering (ICAR-CIAE),
Bhopal.
Fig. 1: CAD model and fabricated blades
4
Bhopal has a humid subtropical climate with cool, dry
winter, a hot summer and a humid monsoon season.
The soil is clayey with 32% sand, 22% silt and 44%
clay (vertisol). The initial average soil organic content
was 0.5% and the mean weight diameter of soil was
0.70 mm.
The experimental plan is given in Table 2.
Statistical Design
The experiment was carried out in an area of 0.5 ha.
The total plot size was 15x30 m. Sub-plot areas for
each treatment were selected as 2x30 m for each
blade. Total nine replications were taken for each
sub-plot. A complete randomized design (CRD) was
taken assuming homogeneity in the entire field. Three
different types of blades (D4, D5 and D6) with nine
replications each were taken. Digging efficiency (%)
and garlic bulb damage (%) were taken as responses for
analysis. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) was performed
on the data, and F test was used to test the hypothesis
of digging efficiency and garlic clove damage for
different type of blades at 5% level of significance.
Pair-wise comparisons of different treatment means
were analysed using Fisher significance test.
Assessment of Animal Fatigue
Animal fatigue was measured on the basis of
physiological response fatigue score card, including
Manish Kumar, U. R. Badegaonkar and M. Din JAE : 54 (1)

Table 2. Field experimental plan

Independent variable
Machine parameter
Animal parameter
Dependent parameter
Machine parameter
Blade size
Physiological parameter
Physical symptom
Digging efficiency (%)
650 mm with nose angle 150 (D1)
650 mm with nose angle 170 (D2)
650 mm curve type (r=1000 mm) (D3),
550 mm with nose angle 150 (D4)
550 mm with nose angle 170 (D5)
550 mm curve type (r=1000 mm) (D6)
Respiration rate (breath.min-1)
Heart rate (beat.min-1)
Temperature (C)
Frothing
Leg un-coordination
Excitement
Inhibition to progressive movement
Tongue protrusion

Average speed (km.h-1)

Animal Parameter
Draft (kN)
Power (kW)
Field capacity (ha.h-1)
Garlic bulb damage (%)
Fatigue score card

distress symptom and behavioural manifestations
(Upadhyay and Madan, 1985). The R, H, and T
represent initial respiration rate, heart rate, and rectal
temperature, respectively; which were measured 30 min
before the actual operation for both bullocks.
Singh and Singh (2003) has reported that animals
may be operated and fatigue parameters recorded at
an interval of either 30-minute or 1-hour interval.
These observations may be interpreted by fatigue
score technique for arriving at safe permissible load
and duration.
The work rest schedule of 1 hour work - hour rest - 1
hour work - hour rest - 1 hour work - hour rest 1
hour work was followed to ensure 4 hour of work and
sufficient rest for the bullock and the operator.
Garlic crop was harvested in the first week of April,
2014. The maximum and minimum temperature at that
time was 35.9 C and 20.4 C, respectively. Maurya
(1987) had suggested that bullocks should be operated
from 05.00-06.00 hour during summer season, and
animals should not be operated during the afternoon
period during the season. Therefore, field trials were
carried out between 07.00 -12.30 hour to avoid the
heat stress.
Physiological reactions and fatigue score card
The fatigue score card is based on animal physiological
responses as heart rate, respiration rate, and rectal
temperature. These parameters were scored on a
five-point basis. For each 10 beat.min-1 rise in heart
rate above initial resting, a score of +1 was assigned.
For breathing rate, a rise of 15 breath, and for rectal
temperature a rise of 0.5C above the resting value was
assigned score of +1, respectively. Also, it considered
the animal behaviour during work. Animal excitability
was given a score of 5-point from excitement to state
of highly furiousness. Legs un-coordination and
inhibition to progressive movement were scored in

5
January-March, 2017 Development and Performance Evaluation of Animal Drawn Garlic Digger

the similar manner. Appearance of frothing (from

appearance of froth to full mouth froth) was assigned
5-score points. Since animals have tendency to open
mouth to cool themselves and derive comfort by
protrusion of tongue, this aspect was taken into account
from occasional appearance to full-open mouth, and
continuos protrusion of the tongue. From the fatigue
score card, it is seen that the fatigue score of 40 point
has been assigned to define state of fatigue. An animal
is said to be fatigued if it reached score of 20 points.

The pulse rate of each bullock was measured by placing

the second finger on the coccygeal artery under the tail
of the bullock and counting the number of beats per
minute. The respiration rate was measured by counting
the numbers of hot gases of exhaled air per minute
blowing against the back of the palm kept near the
nostrils of the bullock. Body temperature of the bullock
was measured by inserting a digital thermometer probe
in the rectum of the bullock for about two minutes.
Speed of work was calculated from the time taken by
the animal to travel 40 m between the poles. Fig. 2: Load cell mounting between harness and a
loading device
Draft and Power Assessment
Malwi breed of bullock weighing 525 kg was chosen RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
for this study, as this breed is commonly available in
this region. S-type load cell (20 kN) calibrated under Performance Evaluation of Digger Blades
static conditions was mounted between the harness The field experiment of the animal drawn garlic digger
and the loading device in a manner that lateral force was done at average soil moisture content of 16 %
could be avoided. An attachment device for the load with average cone index of 1350 kpa (0150 mm soil
cell was fixed to the beam of the implement (Fig. 2). profile), Fig. 3. The drafts of 650 mm size blades (D1,
The inclination of the pull was recorded using an D2, and D3) were between 14001470 N, and were
inclinometer. The pull value was measured for draught higher than the pulling capacity (10% of body weight
component. A micro logger (Campbell make 21X:
of pair of bullock i.e. 1000N) of the pair of bullocks.
Micrologger) was used to take real time draft data
Therefore, only 550 mm size blades (D3, D4, and D5)
in the field with the help of SM4M storage module.
were considered for further study.
Average speed of operation was recorded by measuring
the distance travelled in a given time. The digging efficiency, garlic clove damage, speed
of operation, field capacity, power and draft of garlic
Cost and Energy Calculation
digger using different blades are given in Table 3.
The cost of machinery operation was done as per Indian The curved type blade of 550 mm size performed
Standard Institute (1979, Reaffirmed 2002) standard. best as compared to other blades. The average draft,
The useful life of the garlic digger was considered as operational speed and power of the curved blade of 550
2,000 h. The wage cost was considered as ` 31.5 per mm width was found to be 683.50 N, 2.9 km.h-1 and
hour. The hourly cost of one pair of bullock was taken 0.55 kW, which were less than that of other 550 mm
as ` 8.33 per hour. size blades. The average garlic damage was found to be
in the range of 3.625.40 % for D4, D5 and D6 blades.
The energy requirement of each input as man, pair
of bullock and machine in MJ.ha-1 was calculated
Bullock Fatigue Score Card Performance
(Chaudhary et al., 2009; Khambalkar et al., 2010). The
energy equivalent for man, bullock and machine was Different physiological parameters of the bullocks
taken as 1.92 MJ.ha-1 per man-hour, 14.05 MJ.ha-1 per were observed under digging operation with D4,
pair of bullock and 62.7 MJ.kg-1, respectively. D5, and D6 blades. The initial respiration rate,

6
Manish Kumar, U. R. Badegaonkar and M. Din JAE : 54 (1)

Fig. 3: Operation of garlic digger and exposed garlic bulbs

Table 3. Performance data of different blades

Type of Draft, Average speed, Power, Field capacity, Digging ef- Garlic clove
blade ficiency, damage,
N km.h-1 kW ha.h-1 % %
D1 1422.45 2.20 0.87 0.10 80.42 6.60
D2 1520.55 2.18 0.92 0.10 80.39 6.40
D3 1491.12 2.23 0.92 0.11 83.47 5.82
D4 967.20 2.35 0.63 0.10 82.82 5.38a
D5 956.80 2.40 0.64 0.10 81.38 5.40a
D6 683.50 2.90 0.55 0.12 86.35 3.62b
5% level of significance

heart rate and temperature was found to be 32 Statistical Analysis

breath.min-1, 52 beat.min-1 and 37 C, respectively,
in the case of the left hitched bullock (LB); and 30
breath.min-1, 50 beat.min-1, and 37.1 C, respectively,
for the right hitched bullock (RB).The bullock fatigue
score card for each experiment is presented in Table 4.
The bullock fatigue card score was 12 in the case of D6
blade, and was less than that of D4 (18) and D5 (16). On
average, the respiration rate (breath.min-1) of the bullocks
increased to 23, 19 and 13 for blades D4, D5 and D6,
respectively. The average heart rate (beat.min-1) of the
pair of bullock increased to 25, 20 and 17, respectively,
for D4, D5 and D6 blades. The body temperature of the
bullocks also increased in the range of 0.3 to 0.6 C in
all cases. Similar findings on physiological response of
bullock was reported by Devdattam and Maurya (1978),
Acharya et al. (1979), Rao and Upadhyay (1984), Singh
and Singh (2013), Ghosal et al. (2013), Singh et al.
(2015), and Tiwari (2015).
Technical Details of Digger
Technical detail of the animal drawn garlic digger with
one unit of blade is given in Table 5.
Summary of analysis of variance for digging efficiency
and garlic clove damage is given in Table 6 and Table
7, respectively. It was concluded that there was no
significant difference in digging efficiency irrespective
of all blades. Significant garlic clove damage was,
however, observed with different blades during digging
of garlic crop.
Operating Cost and Energy Consumption
The total cost of operation of garlic digging with blade
size of 550 mm was estimated to be ` 1225/- per ha. The
cost of traditional manual digging was approximately
` 5000/- per ha. The animal drawn garlic digger could
save ` 3825/- per ha over the traditional method.
The cost of the developed digger was estimated to
be ` 4500/- with a payback period of 1.30 year. The
energy expenditure for garlic digging process was
216.30 MJ.ha-1, and was less than that of traditional
(392 MJ.ha-1) method. The animal drawn garlic digger
saved 75% cost and 44.8% energy as compared to the
traditional method.

7
January-March, 2017 Development and Performance Evaluation of Animal Drawn Garlic Digger

Table 4. Bullock fatigue card after operation

Parameter Type of digging blade Total point

(Average)
D4 D5 D6
D4 D5 D6
LB RB LB RB LB RB

Respiration rate, 56 52 52 48 45 43 3 2 2

breath.min-1
Heart rate, 78 72 68 72 67 67 2 2 2

beat.min-1
Temperature, C 37.6 37.5 37.5 37.6 37.3 37.3 2 2 1

Frothing Dribbling of saliva Dribbling of First appearance 2 2 1

saliva
Leg un-coordination Movement of leg Occasional Occasional drag- Strides uneven 3 2 1
uncoordinated and dragging of ging of feet
frequent dragging feet
effect
Excitement Composed Composed Composed 1 1 1
Inhibition to progres- Slow walking Slow walking Slow walking 3 3 2
sive movement
Tongue protrusion Frequent opening of mouth Frequent opening Frequent Mouth 2 2 2
of mouth opening occa-
of mouth sionally
closed
Total 18 16 12

Table 5. Technical detail of animal drawn garlic digger

Particular value
Crop Garlic
Overall dimension
Length, mm 3600
Width, mm 850
Height, mm 850
Weight, kg 50
Cutting width, mm 450
Working depth, mm 600
Type of blade Curve type (Single)
Blade dimension
Width, mm 550
Length, mm 100
Thickness, mm 10
Radius of curvature, mm 700
Draft, N 600-750
Operating speed, km.h-1 2.9
Field capacity, ha.h-1 0.12
Field efficiency, % 75
Labour requirement, man.h.ha-1 9

8
Manish Kumar, U. R. Badegaonkar and M. Din JAE : 54 (1)
Table 6. Analysis of variance for digging efficiency of different blades
Source of variation SS
Between groups 118.90
Within groups 1103.65
Total 1222.55
Table 7. Analysis of variance for garlic clove damage with
different blades
Source of variation SS
Between groups 18.85
Within groups 26.16
Total 45.01
CONCLUSIONS
An animal drawn garlic digger with a single curved
type blade of 550 mm width and 700 mm radius of
curvature to cover three crop rows performed best. The
average draft, operational speed and power output was
683.50 N, 2.9 km.h1 and 0.55 kW, respectively, at
average soil moisture content of 16% (d.b.) and cone
index of 1350 kpa. The field capacity of the developed
digger was 0.12 ha.h-1, and was 25 times more than
manual operation. The average garlic damage was in
the range of 3.65.4 % for selected blades. Digging
efficiency of the 550 mm curved type garlic digger was
86 per cent. With a fatigue score of 12 on 40 points
scale, the operation was less tiring for bullocks. By
using the animal drawn garlic digger, farmer could
save 75 % cost and 44.8 % energy as compared to
manual method.
REFERENCES
Acharya S; Mishra M; Mayak J B. 1979. Working
capacity and behavior of crossbred and non-descript
indigenous bullocks under Orissa conditions. Indian
J. Dairy Sci., 31, 3742.
Anon. 2014. 19th Indian Livestock Census, All India
Report. Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying
and Fisheries. Ministry of Agriculture, Government
of India, 4147.
Anon. 2015a. Agriculture Census. Department of
Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture,
Government of India, 13-14.
Anon. 2015b. Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO). http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/
QC(accessed date, 02-02-2017)
df MS F P-value F crit
2.00 59.45 1.29 0.29294 3.40
24.00 45.99
26.00
df MS F P-value F crit
2.00 9.42 8.65 0.00149 3.40
24.00 1.09
26.00
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 http://www.isae.in / journal_jae.aspx

Journal of Agricultural Engineering

ISAE Vol. 54 (1): January-March, 2017

Effects of Vegetable Transplanter Press Wheel Design on Soil Compaction

and Seedling Establishment
D. K. Mohanty1, D. Behera2, M. Mahapatra3 and S. K. Swain4
1
Scientist (Agric. Eng..), KVK, Mayurbhanj, Shamakhunta, Odisha; 2Professor and Head, Department of FMP, CAET, OUAT,
Bhubaneswar; 3Associate Professor, Department of FMP, CAET, OUAT, Bhubaneswar; 4Associate Professor, Department of
FMP and O/C, AICRP on UAE, CAET, OUAT, Bhubaneswar. Corresponding author email address:dmohanty2003@gmail.
com, dmohanty11@yahoo.com

Article Info ABSTRACT

Received : August, 2016
Revised
accepted : January, 2017
Key words:
Semi-automatic, transplanter,
cone index, press wheel, plant
stand mm width.
Studies were conducted on an experimental two-row self-propelled semi-automatic
vegetable transplanter through control plot conditions to determine the optimum press
wheel parameters for achieving maximum plant stand of brinjal crop. Brinjal seedling
length of 150-300 mm was transplanted at forward speed of 0.8-1.0 km.h-1. Plant stand
increased and soil cone index decreased with increase in tilt angle from 5 to 15, and
also with increase in width of the press wheel from 55 mm to 75 mm for different tilt
angles, and press wheel diameters of 55, 65 and 75 mm. It was also found that larger
the diameter of press wheel, better was the plant stand in a row. Best performance of
the press wheel was obtained at dimensions of 15 tilt angle, 300 mm diameter and 75

India is the second largest producer of vegetables in the
world, next to China, with a production of 162.9 Mt
and productivity of 17.3 t.ha-1 from an area of 9.4 Mha.
Vegetable production in India stands at 14 % of the total
world production (Anon., 2015). Manual transplanting
of seedlings is the most labour-consuming operation
in vegetable cultivation. Transplanting of vegetable
seedlings in developed countries like U.S.A., China,
Holland, Japan and Canada is being mechanically done
with either fully automatic or semi-automatic vegetable
transplanter (Narang et al., 2011). However, in India,
transplanting of vegetable seedlings is done manually
all over the country. Some attempts have been made
in recent years in the country on adoption of semi-
automatic vegetable transplanter under local conditions.
In an automatic vegetable transplanter, both feeding and
metering of seedlings are automatically done; whereas
in semi-automatic type feeding is done manually and
metering is done mechanically (Mohanty et al., 2015).
Generally, semi-automatic transplanter use bare-root
seedlings. A set of furrow closure-cum-press wheels
is generally provided in semi-automatic vegetable
transplanter to close the furrow immediately after the
seedling is placed. The press wheels also give some
degree of compaction to the soil around the root zone.
This helps in a vertical stand of the seedling and also
a good contact of the root system with the surrounding
soil avoiding any inside air pocket, which may affect
survival of the seedling.
Soil gathering function is accomplished by tilting the
press wheels. The inner sides of the press wheels are
raised to get the required tilt. A pair of press wheels
tilted outwards at the top is the most commonly used
device for closing the furrow and compacting of soil
in semi-automatic vegetable transplanter (Srivastava
et al., 2006). Richey (1961) reported that 203.2 mm
diameter of press wheel and 25.4 mm width of rim of
press wheel is the optimum for crop planting. Tilt angle
of 20 to 45 was also optimal to force more soil around
the plants. Tsuga (2000) used tamping rings as the soil
covering device in automatic transplanter. Nikhade
(2001) studied the optimum parameters of covering
wheel for mechanical transplanter in a laboratory soil
bin (sandy clay loam soil) at CIAE, Bhopal. He studied
January-March, 2017 Effects of Vegetable Transplanter Press Wheel Design on Soil Compaction and Seedling Establishment

the effect of the angle of inclination, width and diameter
of a covering wheel on soil compaction and seedling
establishment. He observed that soil compression
decreased and seedling establishment increased with
increase in the tilt angle of covering wheel. As per
the study, soil compaction and seedling establishment
decreased with increase in covering wheel width.
Seedling establishment decreased with increase in the
diameter of press wheel. Press wheel diameter of 300
mm gave optimum result, and percentage of brinjal
seedling plant stand increased with increase in the
tilt angle of press wheel up to 15 on tractor-operated
vegetable transplanter. Mahapatra (2007) conducted
an experiment on power tiller operated single-row
semi-automatic vegetable transplanter, and found that
highest plant stand was achieved at 15 tilt angle of
300 mm diameter press wheel in sandy loam soil of
10-14 % moisture content.
Deore (2010) conducted a study on selection of
suitable furrow opener and furrow closer for vegetable
transplanter in sandy clay loam soil. He studied three
furrow openers (shovel, shoe and runner type) and two
furrow closers (plate and disc closer) set at 38.75 with
the direction of travel. It was concluded that shovel-type
opener with disc-type furrow closer set at a disc angle
of 15 gave best performance, as it gave minimum draft
and 100% soil coverage.
A study was, therefore, conducted on an experimental
two-row self-propelled semi-automatic vegetable
transplanter to determine the optimum press wheel
parameters in order to derive maximum plant stand.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Press Wheel Design
An experimental transplanter was developed with
provisions for feeding mechanism, metering mechanism,
press wheels and furrow openers. Provisions were made
to change the machine parameters to find the optimum
values for best performance. Developed experimental
vegetable transplanter with different components is
shown in Fig. 1.
A set of two inclined wheels made of mild steel
plate were used for closing the furrow, as well as for
compressing the soil at seedling root zone just after
it touches the ground and pass through the dropping
chute. Nine pairs of press wheels of three different
diameters, viz. 200 mm, 250 mm and 300 mm, and
three different widths, viz. 55 mm, 65 mm, and 75 mm
were fabricated to determine the optimum diameter
and width suitable for the transplanter at different
soil conditions. The press wheels were attached to the
extension of the tool bar by a set of two clamps through
a sleeve arrangement. The sleeves were provided to
change the angle of inclination of the press wheels
with the vertical plane. Clamps used to attach the press
wheels to the tool bar extension had circular holes of
diameter 25 mm to hold the vertical cylindrical shafts
with which the press wheels were attached. The clamp
used to attach the furrow opener had a rectangular hole
of 4012 mm on it to accommodate the furrow opener
shank. The top and side view of the press wheel is
shown in Fig. 2. An isometric view of the prototype
vegetable transplanter is shown in Fig. 3.

1. Press wheel 2. Furrow opener 3. Drop tube with funnel

4. Finger tray 5. Sieve for changing tilt angle 6. Sieve for changing depth of furrow opener
Fig. 1: Different components of vegetable transplanter with press wheel

12
D. K. Mohanty, D. Behera, M. Mahapatra and S. K. Swain JAE : 54 (1)
Fig. 2: Top and side view of press wheel
Fig. 3: Isometric view of developed vegetable
transplanter
1. Transplanter right wheel 2. Engine 3. Gear box
4. Trail wheel 5. Tool bar 6. Seedling tube with funnel The test was carried out in the experimental field of Krishi
7.Finger tray 8. Storage tray 9. Feeding chain 10. Furrow
opener 11. Press wheel District Mayurbhanj (North Central Plateau Agro-
Experimental Design
A control plot experiment was conducted to study the
effect of press wheel parameters [tilt angle (), width
(W) and wheel diameter (D)] on plant stand and soil
compaction at seedling root zone.
Preliminary studies revealed that when the tilt angle
of the press wheel was in between 5 and 15,
Table 1. Experimental design for optimization of press wheel parameters
Sl. No. Factor description
1. Factor -A: Tilt angle of press wheel,
2. Factor -B: Press wheel width, W
3. Factor -C: Press wheel diameter, D
Observed variable Plant stand, %; Soil cone Index, kPa
13
transplanting of seedling was comparatively better.
Therefore, three levels (5, 10 and 15) of tilt angle
were chosen for the present study under controlled
plot condition.
Leskovar (1998) conducted an experiment on root and
shoot modification by irrigation, and found that the
average root zone area of brinjal and tomato seedling
is within 45 to 70 mm during transplanting (21 to 30
days seedlings). Therefore, the width of press wheel
was limited to 75 mm keeping in mind the fact that
higher width of press wheel would press more area
of soil around the seedling, and might reduce the
arability of soil. The lowest width was chosen as 55
mm, considering the fact that reducing the width less
than 55 mm would result in soil compaction in an area
too less for adequate plant stand. Preliminary trials
verified the same. Therefore, the press wheel width of
55, 65 and 75 mm were considered for the experiment.
The maximum diameter of the press wheel was
decided based on the available clearance available
for its assembly in a machine. Accordingly, the upper
limit of the press wheel diameter was fixed at 300
mm. Preliminary studies showed that the diameter of
press wheel less than 200 mm was not effective for
comparable plant stand. Therefore, the press wheel
diameter was chosen as 200 mm, 250 mm, and 300
mm for the experiment.
Field Experiment
Vigyan Kendra, Mayurbhanj, At/Po- Shamakhunta,
Climatic Zone), Odisha (India) during two consecutive
post-rainy seasons of 2012-13 and 2013-14.
The site is located at 21.16 to 22.34 N latitude and
85.40 to 87.11 E longitude at an altitude of 592 m
above mean sea level (MSL). Mayurbhanj district
experiences a sub-tropical climate with an average
annual rainfall of about 1648.2 mm distributed mainly
from June to October. The annual maximum and
Level (Independent variable)
1 = 5, 2 = 10, 3 = 15
W1 = 55 mm, W2 = 65 mm, W3 = 75 mm
D1 = 200 mm, D2 = 250 mm, D3 = 300 mm
January-March, 2017 Effects of Vegetable Transplanter Press Wheel Design on Soil Compaction and Seedling Establishment
minimum temperature are 39C and 14C, respectively.
The relative humidity range from 70 % to 90 %. The
soil type of the experimental site was clay loam, sandy
loam with organic carbon content of 5.3% with low
pH of 5.42.
The press wheel fitted with the 2-row transplanter
was operated at forward speed in the range of 0.8-1.0
km.h-1. The field experiment was conducted in sandy
loam soil at moisture content of 14-18 % (d.b.). The
test was conducted with brinjal seedlings of 150-300
mm length.
Selection and preparation of field
The experimental vegetable transplanter was tested
in test plots of size 20 m 3 m. Each test plot was
flood irrigated 5 days before the land preparation.
After 5 days, the land was tilled by a rotavator,
followed by planking. Soil moisture content of 14-
18% (d.b.) was attained during transplanting. This
moisture content range was available for two days,
and the evaluation of the transplanter was conducted
during that period.
The mean weight clod diameter and moisture
content was measured to be 1.8 mm and 16 % (d.b.),
respectively.
Statistical Analysis
The test was statistically designed as a three-factor CRD
with three replications, Table 1. During the experiment,
the data on plant stand (%) and soil cone Index (kPa)
were recorded and analyzed using three-factor CRD
with MSTATC software. The actual observed data of
plant stand was converted to a new scale using square
root transformation ( u i = x i ) for remedial measure for
variance heterogeneity.
Measurement of Variables
Operating speed
Outside the long boundary of the test plot, two poles
20 m apart were placed approximately in the middle of
the test run. Two poles were also placed on the opposite
side 20 m apart in a similar position, so that all four
poles form the corners of a rectangle, parallel to one
long side of the test plot. The speed was calculated as
the ratio of the distance (20 m) to the time taken for
the machine to travel the distance.
Soil moisture
For measurement of soil moisture, wet soil samples
14
were randomly taken from at least three different
locations of the test plots. The samples were weighed
in a physical balance, and the weight of each wet soil
sample was recorded. The samples were kept in a hot
air oven maintained at 105 oC for at least 24 hours.
At the end of 24 hours, the samples were cooled in a
desiccator and were weighed in a physical balance.
The soil moisture was calculated using the formula
given below.
Soil moisture, % (d.b.)
Weight of wet soil sample (g)
weight of oven dry soil sample(g)
= 100
Weight of oven dry soil sample (g)
Weight of moisture in soil sample (g)
= 100
Weight of oven dry soil sample (g) (1)
Cone index
Cone index is an indicator of soil hardness, and is
expressed as the force per unit area required for the
cone of the cone penetrometer to penetrate the soil at
a certain depth.
In this study, a proving ring cone penetrometer was
used. The penetrometer was pushed to a depth of 150
mm at the root zone of freshly transplanted vegetable
seedlings, and the dial deflecion was calibrated to get
the applied pressure in kPa.
Soil pulverization
Soil pulverization was evaluated by using a set of
Indian Standard (BIS) sieves of sizes 2, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6,
8.0, 11.2 mm. The soil sample was passed through a
set of sieves starting from the largest aperture sieve
at the top. It gradully passed through each sieve,
some portion retained on the next sieve, and passed
through the smallest aperture sieve. The mean soil clod
diameter (dsc) was calculated following the standard
relationship as shown in Table 2.
( 1 x A + 2.4 x B + 3.4 x C + 4.8 x D + 6.8 x E + 9.6 x F + N G )
d sc
W ...(2)
Where,
Dsc= Mean diameter of soil clod, mm,
N = Mean of measured diameters of soil clods retained
on the largest aperture sieve, mm, and
W=Weight of the sample, g = A + B + C+ D + E + F +G.
D. K. Mohanty, D. Behera, M. Mahapatra and S. K. Swain JAE : 54 (1)

Table 2. Measurement of mean diameter of soil clod (dsc)

Size of aperture, Diameter of soil passing left Representative diameter of soil in Weight of soil,
mm sieve and retained on next left column, kg
small aperture, mm
mm
2 <2 1 A
2.8 2.0-2.8 2.4 B
4.0 2.8-4.0 3.4 C
5.6 4.0-5.6 4.8 D
8.0 5.6-8.0 6.8 E
11.2 8.0-11.2 9.6 F
>11.2 N G

N was calculated by taking average of 20 clod diameters

manually from the top sieve.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Effect of Tilt Angle on Plant Stand

A view of the vegetable transplanter under field
operation is shown in Fig. 4.

Tilt angle of the press wheel was provided to move

more soil towards the seedling root zone for covering
the furrow. The effect of variation in tilt angle on plant
stand at soil moisture of 14-18 % (d.b.) is shown in Fig.
5, 6. Plant stand increased with increase of tilt angle
from 5 up to 15 degrees. Plant stands of 75 %, 80.44
% and 90 % was recorded at 5, 10 and 15 tilt angle,
respectively, at all ranges of width and diameter of Fig. 5: Effect of tilt angle of press wheel on plant stand
the press wheel. Higher the tilt angle of press wheel, for different press wheel width
more soil was moved to the seedling root zone. This

Fig. 4: View of vegetable transplanter with inclined Fig. 6: Effect of tilt angle of press wheel on plant stand
press wheel in operation for different press wheel diameter

15
January-March, 2017 Effects of Vegetable Transplanter Press Wheel Design on Soil Compaction and Seedling Establishment

ensured that the furrow created by the furrow opener

was fully covered. Immediate covering of root zone
after dropping of the seedling followed by compaction
of the soil kept these seedlings erect. This might be the
cause of the positive relation between tilt angle of press
wheel and plant stand in a row.

The results were in conformity with the test conducted

by Nikhade (2001) in sandy clay loam soil and
Mahapatra (2007) in sandy loam soil, except that
Mahapatra (2007) had observed highest plant stand at
a lower soil moisture range of 10-14 % with 15 tilt
angle. Richey (1961), however, had reported that 20
to 45 tilt angle is suitable for better transplanting in
clay loam soil.
Effect of Width on Plant Stand
The effect of width of the press wheel on plant stand
is presented in Fig. 7 and 8.
Highest plant stand of 99 % was achieved with 75 mm
press wheel width, while 86 % plant stand was achieved
with 55 mm press wheel width at wheel tilt angle of 15
and diameter of 300 mm. Plant stand obtained with 55
mm, 65 mm, and 75 mm widths of press wheel were
77 %, 83 % and 86 %, respectively, irrespective of the
diameters and tilt angles of press wheel.
Highest plant stand of 89 % was achieved with 75
mm width and 300 mm diameter of press wheel,
while lowest plant stand of 73 % was achieved with
55 mm width and 200 mm diameter of press wheel,
respectively, for different tilt angles. It is clear from the
observations that the plant stand increased with increase
Fig. 8: Effect of width of press wheel on plant stands
for different press wheel diameter
in width of the press wheel from 55 mm to 75 mm for
different tilt angle and diameter of press wheel. Wider
the press wheel, more area of soil at seedling root zone
came in contact with the press wheel. Press wheel of
larger width moved more soil towards the soil root
zone and compacted more area at both sides of freshly
transplanted seedlings. This might be the cause of better
plant stand with larger width of press wheel.
Effect of Diameter on Plant Stand
The effect of press wheel diameter on plant stand is
presented in Fig. 9 and 10.
The highest plant stand obtained was 99 % with 300
mm diameter press wheel as against 89 % with 200 mm
diameter press wheel for tilt angle of 15 and width of

Fig. 7: Effect of width of press wheel on plant stands Fig. 9: Effect of diameter of press wheel on plant
for different tilt angle stands for different tilt angle of press wheel

16
D. K. Mohanty, D. Behera, M. Mahapatra and S. K. Swain JAE : 54 (1)

ANOVA that the individual effects of tilt angle, width

and diameter of press wheel were significant at 1 %
level, but the first-order interaction effects of the width
of press wheel and tilt angle with diameter were non-
significant, and the combined effect of tilt angle with
width of the press wheel was found to be significant
at 1 % level. The behaviour might be due to the fact
that the diameter of press wheel had a lesser role on
soil compaction during transplanting. The combined
effect of tilt angle, width and diameter of press wheel
was found to be non-significant. The coefficient of
variation was found to be 1.81 %, and within the
permissible limit.

Effect of Press Wheel on Soil Cone Index

Fig. 10: Effect of diameter of press wheel on plant
stands for different press wheel width
75 mm. Plant stands obtained with 200, 250 and 300
mm diameter of press wheels were 78.11 %, 82.44 %
and 84.89 %, respectively, irrespective of the width and
tilt angle of the press wheel. It was found that larger the
diameter of press wheel, better the plant stand in a row.
Nikhade (2001) and Mahapatra (2007) had reported
similar result on their study on vegetable transplanter.
Richey (1961) had, however, reported that 200 mm
diameter of press wheel was optimum for transplanting.
In this study the diameter of the press wheel was
restricted to 300 mm taking into consideration the
maximum plant stand obtained from the test and
clearance available for easy movement of the press
wheel.
The ANOVA values on the effect of soil moisture and
press wheel parameters on plant stand and soil cone
index is given in Table 3. It was evident from the
A common soil mechanical property used to assess soil
strength in tillage studies is soil penetration resistance.
Soil cone index (SCI) has been used as an important
indicator for soil compaction, crop root development,
soil water infiltration, draft of tillage tool and the
performance of machine. The seedling root zone
must be compacted properly for healthy growth of the
seedlings.
Effect of tilt angle
Tilt angle of the press wheel was provided to move
more soil towards the soil root zone to cover the furrow.
The effects of tilt angle on soil cone index is shown in
Fig. 11 and 12.
The cone index decreased with increase of tilt angle
from 5 degree up to 15 degrees. The soil cone index at
5, 10 and 15 tilt angle were 217 kPa, 200 kPa and 187
kPa, respectively, at all ranges of width and diameter of
the press wheel. Lowest SCI of 175 kPa was achieved
at highest tilt angle (15), and the highest SCI of 206

Table 3. ANOVA of plant stand and soil cone index on the effect of press wheel parameters

Source F Value of plant stand F Value of soil cone index

Factor A 174.7333** 1145.6212**
Factor B 58.6077** 139.5976**
AB 4.1135** NS
Factor C 36.9968** 110.4094**
AC NS NS
BC NS NS
ABC NS NS
Coefficient of variation 1.81 % 1.14 %
Note: Factor A: Tilt angle of press wheel, Factor B: Width of press wheel, Factor C: Diameter of press wheel

17
January-March, 2017 Effects of Vegetable Transplanter Press Wheel Design on Soil Compaction and Seedling Establishment
Fig. 11: Effect of tilt angle of press wheel on cone index
for different diameter of press wheel
kPa was at the lowest tilt angle (5) at 75 mm width
and 300 mm diameter of the press wheel.
Better soil loosening effect of the press wheel at higher
tilt angle might be the reason for decrease in soil cone
index at increasing tilt angle. When tilt angle of the
press wheel increased, more soil moved towards the
seedling root zone. It had an effect on loosening of the
soil while moving it towards the freshly transplanted
seedlings before finally pressing it.
Effect of press wheel width
The effect of width of the press wheel on SCI at seedling
root zone is presented in Fig. 13 and 14. The average
SCI of 206 kPa, 202 kPa and 196 kPa was observed
Fig. 12: Effect of tilt angle of press wheel on cone index
for different width of press wheel
18
Fig. 13: Effect of width of press wheel on cone index
for different diameter of press wheel
at press wheel widths of 55 mm, 65 mm and 75 mm,
respectively, for different tilt angle and diameter of
the press wheel. Maximum of 226 kPa SCI was found
with press wheel width of 55 mm, tilt angle of 5, and
diameter of 200 mm. Minimum SCI of 175 kPa was
observed with press wheel width of 75 mm, tilt angle
of 15, and diameter of 300 mm.
Soil cone index decreased with increase of width of
the press wheel. As width of the press wheel increased,
the area of contact of press wheel with soil increased.
Therefore, the normal load on unit contact area
decreased, and as a result soil cone index decreased.
This might be the cause of the observed relation
between soil cone index and the width of press wheel.
Fig. 14: Effect of width of press wheel on cone index
at different tilt angle of press wheel
D. K. Mohanty, D. Behera, M. Mahapatra and S. K. Swain JAE : 54 (1)
Fig. 15: Effect of diameter of press wheel on cone index
at different tilt angle of press wheel
Fig. 16: Effect of diameter of press wheel on cone index
for different width of press wheel
Effect of press wheel diameter
The effect of diameter of press wheel on SCI at seedling
root zone is presented in Fig. 15 and 16.
Soil cone index of 206, 201 and 197 kPa was observed
with use of press wheel of 200, 250 and 300 mm
diameter, respectively, at different tilt angle and width
of press wheel. Maximum SCI of 226 kPa was observed
with the lowest press wheel diameter of 200 mm, while
the lowest SCI of 175 kPa corresponded to largest press
wheel diameter of 300 mm. It was concluded that SCI
decreased with increase in press wheel diameter. As the
wheel diameter increased, its soil contact area increased
causing decrease in the unit normal load on soil. This
might be the cause behind the observed behaviour
19
between the diameter of press wheel and soil cone index
at seedling root zone after transplanting.
It was found from the ANOVA (Table 3) that individual
effect of tilt angle, width and diameter of the press
wheel on the cone index of soil at seedling root zone
were significant, but the first order interaction effect
of tilt angle with width, tilt angle with diameter and
width with diameter of the press wheel and second order
interaction effect of tilt angle, width and diameter of
the press wheel were found to be non-significant. This
might be due to the fact that when one factor affecting
the other factor neutralized it, it caused ineffectiveness
of the combined factor. The coefficient of variation was
found to be 1.14 %, which was within the permissible
limit.
CONCLUSIONS
Brinjal plant seedlings of 150-300 mm length had
highest plant stand of 99 % in soil with cone Index of
175 kPa when planted at a forward speed of 0.8-1.0
km.h-1 with the vegetable transplanter press wheel
width of 75 mm, tilt angle of 15, and diameter of 300
mm at 14-18% soil moisture content. These optimized
values of press wheel parameters may be considered
for self-propelled semi-automatic two-row vegetable
transplanter.
REFERENCES
Anon. 2015. Horticultural Statistics at a Glance-2015.
Horticulture Statistics Division, Department of
Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare,
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare,
Government of India, New Delhi, pp:10.
Deore H V. 2010. Selection of suitable furrow
opener and furrow closer for vegetable transplanter.
Unpublished M. Tech. Thesis, Agricultural and
Food Engineering Department, Indian Institute of
Technology, Kharagpur, India.
Leskovar D I. 1998. Root and shoot modification by
irrigation. Hort. Technol., 8(4), 510-514.
Mahapatra M. 2007. Design, development and
evaluation of a power tiller operated vegetable
transplanter. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Bidhan
Chandra Krishi Vishavidhyalaya, Mohanpur, West
Bengal, India.
Mohanty D K; Mahapatra M; Behera D. 2015.
Effect of selected parameters on tray angle for smooth
January-March, 2017 Effects of Vegetable Transplanter Press Wheel Design on Soil Compaction and Seedling Establishment
dropping of seedlings in semi-automatic vegetable
transplanter. J. Agric. Eng., 1, 41-49.
Narang M K; Dhaliwal I S; Manes G S. 2011.
Development and evaluation of a two row revolving
magazine type vegetable transplanter. J. Agric. Eng.,
48 (3), 1-7.
Nikhade J S. 2001. Development of optimum
parameters of covering wheel for mechanical
transplanter. Unpublished M.Tech Thesis, Indira
Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur.
20
Richey C B. 1961 . Agricultural Engineers Handbook.
McGrow - Hill publication, U.K.
Srivastava A K; Goering C E; Rohrbach R P;
Buckmaster D R. 2006. Engineering Principles
of Agricultural Machines. American Society of
Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph,
Michigan, USA.
Tsuga K S. 2000. Development of fully automatic
vegetable transplanter. Japan Agric. Res. Quarterly,
34(1), 21-28.
 http://www.isae.in / journal_jae.aspx

Journal of Agricultural Engineering

ISAE Vol. 54 (1): January-March, 2017

Growth, Yield and Water Use Efficiency Response of Greenhouse Grown

Capsicum under Deficit and PRD Method of Irrigation
Ravish Chandra1 and P.K. Singh2
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar; 2Govind Ballabh Pant University of
1

Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. Corresponding author email address: ravish.cae@gmail.com

Article Info ABSTRACT

Received : July, 2016
Revised
accepted : February, 2017
Key words:
Partial root drying, deficit
irrigation, water use efficiency
A study was conducted to compare two water-saving practices, deficit irrigation (DI) and
partial root zone drying (PRD), and to examine how they affect water use, growth and
yield of greenhouse grown capsicum compared to control irrigation (CI). The effect of
PRD on the growth of capsicum plant was significant. The results showed that capsicum
fruit yield was highest for control (full irrigation), followed by the deficit irrigation
treatment (DI-75 %) and then 1 PRD treatment. The analysis suggested that the treatment
1 PRD outperformed 2 PRD and DI-50 in terms of fruit yield. The yield loss in PRD
treatment was only 11.1 % compared to control, whereas amount of water applied was
50 % less than through control irrigation. The highest water use efficiency was achieved
for treatment of 1 PRD with 63 % improvement in irrigation efficiency over control. The
treatment 1 PRD used 20.60 litres of water to produce 1 kg capsicum as against 33.61
litres under control treatment.

Capsicum (Capsicum annum L.), or bell pepper, is
an important cool season vegetable crop of India.
It is mainly grown during cooler parts of the year
(autumnwinter) when the temperature is low (Singh et
al., 1993). Nutritionally, capsicum is rich in vitamins,
particularly in vitamin A (180 IU) and vitamin C.
Hundred grams of edible portion of capsicum provides
24 kcal of energy, 1.3 g of protein, 4.3 g of carbohydrate
and 0.3 g of fat.
Water is one of the important input for growing this
crop. The production of the crop is adversely affected
by moisture deficit. Productivity of the crop can be
increased by adopting improved package of practices,
particularly in-situ moisture conservation by mulching
as well as precision irrigation under open as also
in protected environment for main and off-season
cultivation.
Drought is a common environmental stress that may
limit agricultural production. Many vegetable crops,
including capsicum, have high water requirements
and in most countries supplemental irrigation is
necessary for successful vegetable crop production.
However, as a consequence of global climate changes
and environmental pollution, water use for agriculture
is reduced. Therefore, emphasis is placed in the areas
of irrigation engineering, crop physiology and crop
management to make plants more efficient in water
use under drier conditions.
Recent results demonstrated that regulated deficit
irrigation (RDI) and partial root drying (PRD) are
irrigation methods that tend to decrease use of
agricultural water. Partial root drying is an irrigation
technique, where half of the root zone is irrigated while
the other half is allowed to dry out. The treatment is then
reversed, allowing the previously well-watered side of
the root system to dry down while fully irrigating the
previously dry side. Compared to RDI, implementing the
PRD technique is simpler, requiring only the adaptation
of irrigation systems to allow alternate wetting and
drying of part of the root zone (Loveys et al., 2000).
Irrigation water use efficiency of plants in the greenhouse
January-March, 2017 Growth, Yield and Water Use Efficiency Response of Greenhouse Grown Capsicum

has been shown to benefit from this type of irrigation, and
thereby cause reduction in irrigation water requirement.
Keeping the above in view, an attempt was made to
study the response of different levels of irrigation and
partial root drying regimes on capsicum cultivation
under protected cultivation. The major objective of
the study was to compare the effects of different level
of irrigation and partial root drying regimes on crop
growth, crop yield and water use efficiency under
protected cultivation.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Experimental Plan and Layout
The experiment was conducted under a naturally
ventilated double-span type poly-house. It was laid out
in a randomized block design having five treatments
replicated five times with a plot size of 3.5 m x 5.0 m.
One meter gap was provided between each plot to avoid
the effect of irrigation treatments. The experimental
layout and the poly-house used for the experiment are
presented in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 respectively.
Capsicum variety used was Indra F1 hybrid. One-month
old seedlings were transplanted in the blocks with a

Study Area T5 (50 % of CI)

The study area was located in the Shivalik foothills

of the Himalayas, and represents the Tarai region
of Uttarakhand state (Latitude: 29N, Longitude:
T4 (75 % of CI)
7930E and Altitude: 243.83 m above mean sea level).
The location falls under the climatic zone of western
Himalayan region (Agro-climatic zone 14 and 9).
T3 (2 PRD)

The experiment was conducted inside a naturally

ventilated poly house at the experimental farm of the
Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, T2 (1 PRD)

College of Technology, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar,

Reduce figure size without
distortion

Uttarakhand. The meteorological data such as

temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, sunshine T1 (Control)

hours, rainfall and pan evaporation was obtained during

the crop period from the meteorological observatory
located at Crop Research Centre, Pantnagar, located Fig.1:
house
Experimental layout of experiment inside
Fig.1: Experimental layout of experiment inside naturally ventilateddouble-span poly

about 0.5 km away from the experimental site. naturally ventilateddouble-span poly house

Climate
Geographically Pantnagar comes under the humid
subtropical zone with average annual rainfall of 1400
mm. Eighty percent of annual rainfall is received during
monsoon season. The monsoon generally starts in the
second week of June, and continues up to September
with its peak in July. The summer is too dry and hot,
and the winter is very chilly. The dry season starts
from November and ends in May. The mean monthly
temperature ranges from 5C to 25C, while the mean
maximum temperature varies from 20C to 40C.

Soil characteristics
The soil at the experimental site consisted of sandy
clay loam with 56 % sand, 16 % silt and 28 % clay.
The soil texture was sandy clay loam. The average bulk
density was found to be 1500 kg.m-3. The field capacity
and permanent wilting point were 23.8 % and 9 % by Fig. 2: Views of double-span naturally ventillated
weight basis, respectively. polyhouse with capsicum plants

22
Ravish Chandra and P.K. Singh JAE : 54 (1)

spacing of 500 mm x 500 mm. The treatment details number of fruits per plant and fruit yield were analysed
of the experiment are presented in Table 1. statistically and compared with control.

The irrigation scheduling was based on soil moisture
determination using gravimetric sampling. All plants
were fully watered (up to field capacity) in the evening
before starting the experiment. Drip irrigation system
was laid out using 12 mm diameter drip lines provided
with drippers of 4.0 LPH discharge capacity.
Effect of Irrigation Levels and Partial Root Drying
(PRD) Regimes on Biometric Parameters of
Capsicum
The experimental results of these biometric observations
are presented in Table 2.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Plant height

The plant heights of tagged plants were measured at 30,
The effect of different levels of irrigation and partial 60 and 90 days after transplanting (DAT). The average
root drying on biometric parameters such as plant plant height after 90 days of transplanting was 779, 722,
height, stem diameter, number of leaves per plant, 649, 730, and 607 mm with treatment T1,T2, T3, T4, and

Table 1. Experimental details of drip irrigation and PRD regimes on capsicum crop

Irrigation treatment Details of treatment

T1 (CI) Control in which irrigation water was applied to both sides of root system when soil water content
was 80 % of field capacity
T2 (1 PRD) Partial root zone drying, 1PRD with half of the root system exposed to soil drying and the other
half kept well watered with 50 % irrigation water of CI
T3 (2 PRD) PRD with 50 % irrigation water of CI supplied half to fixed side(only one side) of the root system
T4 (DI-75) Deficit irrigation (DI- 75) in which 75 % of irrigation water of CI supplied to both side of the system
T5 (DI- 50) Deficit irrigation (DI-50) in which 50 % of irrigation water of CI supplied to both side of the system

Table 2. Different growth, yield attributing characters of capsicum as influenced by different treatments under
naturally ventilated polyhouse condition

Sl. Parameter DAT Treatment CD at SE CV

No. 5%
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5
1. Plant height, mm 30 DAT 317.7a 284.6ab 275.3bc 314.1a 246.2c 3.44 1.15 1.92
60DAT 492.0a 468.0a 335.0b 470.0a8 306.0b 7.77 2.59 14.01
90 DAT 779.3a 722.5b 649.0c 730.5b 606.8c 4.86 1.62 5.19
2. Stem diameter, mm 30 DAT 9.24a 8.76ab 8.28ab 9.30a 76.8b 1.18 0.40 10.20
60DAT 16.02a 15.41a 13.22b 15.57a 13.09b 0.98 0.34 4.98
90 DAT 19.14a 17.77a 14.30b 19.08a 14.49b 1.48 0.50 6.50
3. No. of leaf/Plant 30 DAT 19.80a 18.60a 13.90b 18.70a 13.00a 3.13 1.05 13.9
60DAT 49.20a 46.60a 33.50b 47.00a 30.80b 7.70 2.57 13.88
90 DAT 59.80a 56.90a 45.50b 57.10a 41.60b 7.48 2.49 10.69
4. No. of fruits/Plant 32.7a 28.7b 20.6c 30.9ab 18.2c 2.64 0.88 7.50
5. Fruit weight, g 261.0a 240.0a 206.0b 254.0a 198.0b 22.70 7.58 7.31
6. Fruit length,mm 107.6a 104.0a 88.6b 105.2a 84.8b 0.54 0.18 4.13
7. Fruit diameter,mm 93.8a 91.0a 82.4b 93.0a 80.0b 0.34 0.11 2.90
8. Fruit yield (kg/m ) -2
13.20a 12.02b 9.16c 13.04a 8.34c 0.91 0.30 6.08
For a given variable, mean value not sharing common letters are significantly different (P < 0.05)

23
January-March, 2017 Growth, Yield and Water Use Efficiency Response of Greenhouse Grown Capsicum
T5, respectively (Table 2). The results showed that the
effect of PRD on the growth of the whole plant was
significant, and the decline in plant height at the end of
the experiment was 7.3 % compared to well-watered
plants (Table 2). The analysis revealed that the plant
height was significantly superior in treatment-1 (control
(CI) in which irrigation water was applied to both
sides of the root system) as compared to the rest of the
treatments at 90 DAT. When the comparison was made
between treatment T2 and other remaining treatments, it
was found that the plant height of capsicum in treatment
T2 was significantly superior to the treatment T3 and
treatment T5; while it was at par with the treatment T4.
There was a significant effect of partial root drying
technique with half of the root system exposed to soil
drying and the other half kept well watered with 50
% irrigation water over the other two treatments T3
and T5, where the same amount of water was applied.
The height of plant under treatment T2 was higher by
11.3 % and 19.1 % as compared to the treatment T3
and T5.
Stem diameter
The average stem diameter after 90 DAT was 19.14,
17.77, 14.30, 19.08 and 14.50 mm with treatments
T1,T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively (Table 2). The largest
stem diameter (19.14 mm) was recorded for treatment
T1 (control), followed by the treatment T4 (19.08 mm)
and T2 (17.77 mm). Stem diameter was statistically
at par for the treatments T1, T2 and T4. Stem diameter
under treatment T2 was significantly superior to the
treatment T3 and T5. This indicated that using the same
amount of water, stem diameter under the treatment
T2 was larger than the treatment T3 and T5. The stem
diameter under treatment T2 was higher by 24.3 %
and 22.6 % as compared to the treatment T3 and T5,
respectively. The decline in stem diameter in treatment
T2 compared to control was only 7.2 per cent.
Number of leaves per plant
The average number of leaves per plant of capsicum
after 90 DAT was 59.8, 56.9, 45.5, 57.1, and 41.6 for
treatments T1,T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively (Table
2). The trend in variation was almost similar to that
of the other growth parameter. The number of leaves
per plant was highest for treatment T1, followed by the
treatment T4 and T2. The number of leaves per plant
was significantly higher for treatment T1,T2 and T4
compared to treatment T3 and T5. The results revealed
that 1 PRD had significant effect on the number of
leaves per plant. The number of leaves in the treatment
24
T2 was higher by 25.1% and 36.8 % as compared to
the treatment T3 and T5, which used the same amount
of water as treatment T2.
Overall result suggested that the combination of
the watering technique (PRD vs DI), level of water
restriction and initiation timing are critical factors
determining the plant height and water use efficiency
response of capsicum crop. These results corroborate
the findings of Guang-Cheng et al. (2008) in capsicum.
Effect of Irrigation Levels and Partial Root Drying
Regimes on Capsicum Yield and Yield Attributes
Irrigation significantly (P 0.05) influenced the fruit
yield of capsicum plants (Table 2). Fruit yield increased
with the increase in level of irrigation. DI-50 (T5), 1
PRD (T2) and 2 PRD (T3) significantly reduced yield
in terms of total fresh mass of fruit per meter square,
compared to CI treatments (T1). The fruit yield of
capsicum was highest for treatment T1 with a value of
13.20 kg. m-2, followed by treatment T4 with a value
of 13.04 kg. m-2 and then treatment T2 with a value of
12.02 kg. m-2. The reduction of yield in treatment T2
compared to control was 10 per cent. But the other side
of the analysis suggested that in terms of fruit yield,
treatment 1 PRD (T2) outperformed the treatments T3
and T5. The fruit yield was higher by 31.0 % and 44.0
% in treatment T2 compared to treatment T3 and T5,
which uses the same amount of water.
This higher fruit yield in control could be ascribed
to different factors. Firstly, it might be due to the
higher vegetative growth and LAI that is essential
for intercepting the radiation, which means more
photosynthate are produced and allocated to the fruits.
The second factor could be optimum soil water condition
during the crop growth period. The other important
outcome was the performance of crop under 1 PRD
treatment (T2), which underwent alternate wetting and
drying. Exposing a portion of the root zone to drying has
been reported to initiate rapid root growth on rewetting
(Gersani and Sachs, 1992) with enhanced hydraulic
conductivity. Increase in the rate of water uptake by
two fold when roots in the dry soil were rewetted, the
rate of water uptake increased two fold; and sometimes
this brought even higher than well irrigated controls in
pear (Kang et al., 2002). This assisted the plant to meet
the requirement when only half of the root zone was
supplied with water (Tan et al., 1981).
The data related to number of fruits per plant of
capsicum are presented in Table 2. The highest number
Ravish Chandra and P.K. Singh JAE : 54 (1)

of fruits per plant was found in treatment T1, followed diameter in treatment T1 might be due to higher water
by treatment T4 and T2. Statistical analysis of the content in the fruit compared to that in fruit from plant
data suggested that the number of fruits in treatment receiving water deficit treatments. Fresh fruit weight
T1 and T4 were significantly higher than rest of the showed a clear response to total water applied, similar
treatments. When the comparison was made between to what was found by Dorji et al. (2005). Similar results
deficit irrigation treatments T2, T3 and T5, it was found for different vegetables were also reported by earlier
that the number of fruits per plant in treatment T2 was investigators (Guang-Cheng et al., 2008; Panigrahi
significantly higher to treatment T3 and T5. The number and Sahu, 2013).
of fruits in treatment T2 was higher by 39.3 % and
57.7 % compared to treatment T3 and T5, which used the Water Use Efficiency of Capsicum under Different
same amount of water. The number of fruits declined Levels of Irrigation and PRD Regimes
by 12.5 % compared to control treatment T1. Irrigation water use efficiency under different levels of
irrigation and PRD regimes is shown in Table 3. The
The data related to fruit weight are also presented values obtained ranged from 2.97 kg.ha-cm-1 to 4.85
in Table 2. Highest fruit weight was recorded in kg.ha-cm-1. Highest water use efficiency was achieved
treatment T1, followed by treatment T4 and then in with the treatment of 1PRD (T2), and the lowest was
treatment T2. Statistical analysis of the data suggested recorded under CI (T1). Water use efficiency was
that the fruit weight in treatment T1, T2 and T4 were significantly superior in treatment T2 as compared to
statistically at par and significantly higher than rest of the other treatments.
the treatments. When comparison was made between
deficit irrigation treatments i.e. T2, T3 and T5, it was Water use efficiency of capsicum decreased with
found that the number of fruits per plant in treatment increase in irrigation levels for all the treatments of drip
T2 was significantly higher to treatment T3 and T5. The irrigation system. Maximum amount of water (444.0
fruit weight in treatment T2 was higher by 16.5 % and mm) was used in the treatment T1, and minimum (247.6
21.2 % compared to treatment T3 and T5, which used mm) in the treatment T2 and T3.
the same amount of water. The fruit weight in treatment
T2 declined by 9.0 % compared to control treatment T1. An analysis was also made in terms of the amount
Similar results have been reported by other research of water used to produce unit quantity of capsicum
(Shahnazri et al., 2007, Guang-cheng et al., 2010; under different treatments. Table 3 indicated that the
Panigrahi and Sahu et al., 2013). The analysis of the amount of water used to produce 1 kg capsicum was
data confirmed that the PRD treatment with alternate minimum (20.60 l) for treatment T2 (1 PRD), and
wetting and drying proved to be better compared to
other treatment,which uses the same amount of water. Table 3. Water use efficiency of capsicum under
different levels of irrigation and PRD under
The results of the comparative study of fruit length and naturally ventilated polyhouse condition
fruit diameter are presented in Table 2. The fruit length
Treatment Water Water use Amount of water
was statistically at par for treatment T1, T2 and T4, and
use, efficiency, used to
significantly higher compared to all other treatments.
mm t.ha-cm-1 produce per kg
Similar comparison for fruit diameter revealed that fruit, l.kg-1
highest fruit diameter was found for T1 with a value T1 444.0 2.97d 33.61
of 93.8 mm, followed by treatment T4 with a value
T2 247.6 4.85a 20.60
of 93.0 mm and then for treatment T2 with a value of
91.0 mm. The fruit diameter of capsicum for treatment T3 247.6 3.70b 27.03
T1 was statistically at par with treatment T2 and T4, T4 346.0 3.77b 26.53
but significantly higher than treatment T3 and T5. But T5 251.6 3.3.1c 30.16
among the deficit irrigation treatments T2 outperformed CD (P<0.5 0.32
the treatment T3 and T5 for both fruit length and fruit
SEM 0.10
diameter. The fruit length was higher by 21.4 % and
26.9 % compared to treatment T3 and T5. Similar Cv 6.33
comparison or fruit diameter showed that the treatment Values are mean of five replicates
T2 was higher by 13.8 % and 17.2 % compared to For a given variable, mean value not sharing common letters are
treatment T3 and T5. Higher fruit length and fruit significantly different (P < 0.05)

25
January-March, 2017 Growth, Yield and Water Use Efficiency Response of Greenhouse Grown Capsicum
maximum (33.61 l) for treatment T1 (Control). There
was decline of 38.7 % in the amount of water used to
produce unit quantity of capsicum under treatment T2
as compared to control. The amount of water used to
produce unit quantity of capsicum under treatment T3,
T4 and T5 were 27.03 l, 25.63 l, and 30.16 l, respectively.
The amount of water used to produce unit quantity of
capsicum with treatment T2 declined by 23.8 % and 31.7
%, respectively, as compared to treatment T3 and T5.
The maintenance of yield in the PRD resulted in
significant increase in water use efficiency (Table 3).
The data revealed that the yield loss in PRD treatment
was 11.1 % as compared to control, whereas the
amount of water applied was 50 % less by the control
irrigation. Although the treatment of 1 PRD received
approximately 50 % water supplied as compared to
control, normal drought might not be severe enough
to decrease plant growth to the same degree. Partial
stomatal closure might have reduced water use, at the
same time maintaining the crop net photosynthesis,
as the stomatal resistance together with boundary
layer resistance are the major controlling resistances
for transpiration, while for CO2 uptake mesophyll
resistance is often the greater controlling resistance
(Jones, 1992).
CONCLUSIONS
Alternate partial root-zone irrigation was found as a
productive and potential water saving technique in
capsicum cultivation. The effect of PRD on the growth
of capsicum plant was significant. The fruit yield (13.20
kg.m-2) of capsicum was highest with full irrigation.
However, in terms of fruit yield, the treatment 1 PRD
outperformed the treatment 2 PRD and DI- 50. The
yield loss in PRD treatment was 11.1 % as compared
to control, whereas the amount of water applied was 50
% less than the control irrigation. The highest water use
efficiency was achieved for treatment of 1 PRD with
63 % improvement in irrigation efficiency over control.
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Guang-Cheng Shaho; Zhan-Yu Zhang; Na Liu;
Shuang-En Yu; Xing Weng-Gang. 2008. Comparative
effects of deficit irrigation and partial root zone drying
on soil water distribution, water use, growth and yield in
greenhouse grown hot peeper. Sci. Hortic., 119, 11-16.
Guan-cheng, Shao; Na Liu; Zhan-Yu Zhang;
Shuang-En Yu; Chang-ren Cheng. 2010. Growth,
yield and water use efficiency response of greenhouse-
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Gersani M; Sachs T. 1992. Development correlations
between roots in heterogeneous environment. Plant Cell
Environ., 15, 463469.
Jones H G. 1992. Plants and Microclimate: A
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Physiology. 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, pp: 428.
Kang S; Hu X; Li Z; Jerie P. 2002. Soil water
distribution, water use and yield response to partial root
zone drying under shallow groundwater conditions in
a pear orchard. Sci. Hortic., 92, 277291.
Loveys B R; Stoll M; Dry P R; McCarthy M G.
2000. Using plant physiology to improve the water
use efficiency of horticultural crops. Acta Hortic., 537,
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Panigrahi P; Sahu N N. 2013. Evapotranspiration and
yield of okra as affected by partial root-zone furrow
irrigation. Int. J. Plant Prod., 7 (1), 33-53.
Shahnazri A; Fulai Liu; Andersen M N; Jacobsen
S E; Jensen E R. 2007. Effects of partial root zone
drying on yield, tuber size and water use efficiency in
potato under field condition. Field Crops Res., 100,
117-124.
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Improvement of bell pepper. In: Chadha K L; Kallo
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 http://www.isae.in / journal_jae.aspx

Journal of Agricultural Engineering

ISAE Vol. 54 (1): January-March, 2017

Impact of Transplanting Date and Irrigation Scheduling on Water Balance,

Water Productivity and Soil Moisture Movement
Mahesh Chand Singh*1, Anchal Kumar Jain1 and S. K. Jalota2
Department of Soil and Water Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab; 2 Department of Soil Science,
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab. *Corresponding author email address: mahesh_25_pau@yahoo.co.in

Article Info ABSTRACT

Received : October, 2015
Revised
accepted : March, 2017
Key words: Water balance,
water productivity, irrigation
scheduling, hydrus-2D, soil
moisture
The study investigated the impact of transplanting date and irrigation scheduling on water
balance, water productivity, and soil moisture movement in puddled transplanted rice
(PTR). Rice transplanted on June 20th (T2) contributed to lesser water losses (ET=75.0 mm
and drainage=48.5 mm) than that of June 5th transplanted rice (T1), and significantly saved
164 mm of irrigation water. Treatment T2 resulted in higher irrigation water productivity
(WPI=0.19 g.kg-1) and total water productivity (WPI+R=0.08 g.kg-1) than that of treatment
T1. In terms of method of irrigation, the irrigation scheduling based on tensiometer
(I2-SWS of 16 kPa) contributed to 104.5 mm lesser drainage loss and saved 120 mm
irrigation water than that of irrigation scheduling based on intermittent 2-day drainage (I1).
Irrigation method I2 contributed to yield higher water productivities (WPI=0.058 g.kg-1
and WPI+R=0.003 g.kg-1) than that of irrigation method I1. The soil moisture movement
study was conducted by using hydrus-2D model. The model simulations were compared
with the field data. An acceptable agreement between model simulations and field data
was achieved.

Rice is an important target crop for irrigation water
use reductions, because of its relatively large water
requirement compared with other crops (Li, 2001; Wang
et al., 2002; Tuong and Bouman, 2003; Humphreys
et al., 2010). Rice is generally grown under puddled
conditions mainly to reduce percolation losses and
control weeds. With the dominance of rice-wheat system
in Punjab, the demand of water has increased manifold.
Groundwater depletion rate of 4.01.0 cm.yr-1 was
reported over the north-west Indian states of Rajasthan,
Punjab and Haryana (Rodell et al., 2009). This declining
water table has caused increased cost of production
and energy use vis--vis threat to sustainability of
agricultural production. Water loss such as evapo-
transpiration from rice fields is also much higher.
Typical evapo-transpiration rates from rice fields are 45
mm.day-1 in the wet season, and 67 mm.day-1 in the dry
season; and as high as 1011 mm.day-1 in subtropical
regions (Tabbal et al., 2002). Typical combined values
for seepage and percolation vary from 15 mm.day-1 in
heavy clay soils to 2530 mm.day-1 in sandy and sandy
loam soils (Bouman and Tuong, 2001).
Majority of irrigation projects in India perform at a
low efficiency. Therefore, appropriate management
of irrigation is of vital importance to preserve water
resources, quantitatively and qualitatively, and to
produce more food with the available water. Irrigation
scheduling is one of the important tools for developing
best management practices for irrigated areas. The two
basic approaches of irrigation scheduling are classified
as static and dynamic. The static approach entails
allocating the total amount of water for irrigation
without specifying how to distribute it during the
growing season (Dudley and Shani, 2003). The
dynamic approach entails allocating irrigation water
at various stages of plant growth to achieve optimal
water content, and to maintain the same throughout
the growth period. Soil water content and matric head
distribution are the key factors that affect biomass
production, and should be the focus of dynamic
irrigation management (Shani et al., 2004). A variety of
analytical and numerical models have been developed
in the past decades to predict water process between
the soil surface and the groundwater (Goncalves et
January-March, 2017 Impact of Transplanting Date and Irrigation Scheduling

al., 2005). Hydrus-2D/3D (Simunek et al., 2008) is
such a numerical code, which can be utilized to study
optimal irrigation management. Hydrus-2D model has
been successfully used to simulate the soil moisture
movement and performed as an efficient tool to study
the soil moisture process below the root zone of the
crop under rice field (Singh et al., 2013).
The present study was, therefore, undertaken to study
the impact of transplanting date on water balance,
water productivity and soil moisture movement in
transplanted rice field in sandy loam soil.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Experimental Site
The experiment was conducted at Punjab Agricultural
University, Ludhiana (30o 56' N latitude and 75o 52' E
longitude) on a sandy loam soil to study the impact of
transplanting date on water balance, water productivity
and soil moisture movement in transplanted rice
field. The soil properties at the experimental site are
presented in Table 1.
Experimental Design
A total of 8 treatments were replicated thrice in 24 plots
of each having size of 40 m2. The treatments included
two dates of transplanting (T1- 5th June and T2- 20th
June), two paddy varieties (V1- PAU 201 and hybrid
V2-RH 257 of 120 and 90 days durations, respectively)
and two irrigation regimes (I1-intermittent irrigation
at 2-day drainage period, and I2-irrigation based on
tensiometer (SWS) of 16 kPa). The site was cultivated
and laser levelled prior to transplanting.
Field Preparation
The crop was transplanted on 5 th and 20 th June,
respectively, and fertilized with 120 kg N.ha-1 in three
Table 1. Soil properties at experimental site
splits, one split at the time of sowing and the rest two
splits at 21 and 52 DAT. All treatments received a basal
fertilizer application of 30 kg P2O5.ha-1 as single super
phosphate, 30 kg K2O.ha-1 as muriate of potash and
25 kg Zn.ha-1 as zinc sulphate. Weeds were controlled
using machete @ 3000 ml.ha -1.as pre-emergence
weedicide, chloropyriphos @ 2500 ml.ha-1, Tilt @
500 ml.ha-1 and monocrotophos @ 1400 ml.ha-1. The
amount of irrigation water applied at each irrigation
from transplanting till maturity was monitored with
Parshal flume. Differential irrigations were started 15
days after transplanting. Effective rainfall of 818 mm
was recorded during the crop season. The rainfall was
well distributed and above average (24 rainy days)
having > 4 mm rain.
Field Water Balance
The water balance in the root zone over a given interval
of time is expressed as,
P + I = S +R + ET +D ...(1)
Where,
S Change in water storage in the root zone, mm
P = Precipitation, mm,
I = Irrigation, mm,
R = Surface runoff, mm,
ET = evapo-transpiration, mm, and
D = Drainage or percolation, mm.
The daily meteorological data was collected from the
records of the meteorological observatory located at
the experimental area. The data collected was utilized
for computation of potential evapo-transpiration using
penman-Monteith equation.
Water Productivity
Irrigation water productivity (WPI) was computed as
the ratio of grain yield (14% moisture) to the irrigation
water applied.

Depth, Sand, Clay, pH EC, OC, Bulk density, Soil water content,
cm % % dS.m-1 % mg.m-3 %
FC PWP
0-15 61.0 29.0 7.8 0.16 0.44 1.74 0.24 0.13
15-30 65.0 29.0 7.8 0.15 0.37 1.80 0.25 0.12
30-45 66.0 30.0 7.6 0.16 0.35 1.73 0.23 0.11
45-60 65.0 28.0 7.6 0.14 0.31 1.63 0.23 0.10
60-90 66.0 27.5 7.8 0.21 0.19 1.65 0.20 0.11
90-120 67.0 27.0 8.1 0.14 0.12 1.73 0.21 0.10
120-150 69.5 25.5 8.3 0.10 0.08 1.64 0.19 0.10

28
Mahesh Chand Singh, Anchal Kumar Jain and S. K. Jalota JAE : 54 (1)
Total input water productivity (WPI+R) was computed as
the ratio of grain yield (14% moisture) to the total input
water (irrigation + rainfall), and expressed as g.kg-1.
Model Description
Depth-wise soil moisture movement was studied using
a finite element model, Hydrus-2D. The water flow part
of the model is based on modified Richards equation
(Simunek et al., 2006). The Hydrus-2D programme
numerically solves the Richards equation for saturated
and unsaturated water flow.
Soil Hydraulic Properties
The soil hydraulic parameters were estimated using the
ROSETTA software (Schaap et al., 2001). ROSETTA
evaluates pedotransfer functions that use neural
network module to predict the soil hydraulic parameters
from soil texture and its related data for Genuchten-
Mualem model (van Genuchten, 1980).
Initial and boundary conditions
The simulations were carried out with atmospheric
boundary conditions at the surface of the soil for the
time dependant data of rainfall (cm.day-1), potential
evaporation (cm.day-1), potential transpiration (cm.
day-1), irrigation rate (cm.day-1) and minimum allowed
pressure head (cm).
Left and right boundaries of the flow domain were
given no flux of water. A free drainage was applied
at the bottom boundary of the flow domain. Irrigation
was implemented by applying variable flux boundary
condition at a depth of 0.15 m below the soil surface.
The initial water content in the flow domain was set
equal to the field capacity.
Statistical Analysis
The model performance was evaluated by using the
following four statistical tools:
Root Mean Square Error (RMSE)
RMSE = (Pi Oi ) / N
2
(2)
RMSE quantifies the differences between observed
and simulated data.
Absolute Percentage Error (AEP) is expressed as:
...(3)
AP
E = (Pi Oi ) / Oi 100
Correlation Coefficient (R2) and 23.3-27.2 % in the second season (2011), compared
29
R2 = { N
(Oi O )(P i P )} / iN=1 (Oi O )2 iN=1 (Pi P )2
2
i =1 (4)
R describes the degree of association between observed
2
and predicted values. It lies between -1 and +1.
Model Efficiency (E):
(P O ) / (O O ) ...(5)
n n
2
F = 1
2
E
i =1
i i
i =1
i
EF measures the deviation between model predictions
and measurements relative to the scattering of the
observed data (Nash and Sutcliffe, 1970).
In the above equations, N is the number of observations,
Pi and Oi are the ith simulated and observed values,
respectively.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Water Balance
The components of water balance are expressed in
mm (Fig. 1). The average contribution of irrigation (I),
rain fall (RF), evapotranspiration (ET) and drainage
(D) were 1151 mm, 804.9 mm, 590.5 mm and 1039.2
mm, respectively, under June 5th transplanted rice.
Similarly, the average contribution of irrigation,
rainfall, evapotranspiration and drainage were 988 mm,
804.9 mm, 515.5 mm and 990.7 mm, respectively,
under June 20th transplanted rice, and contributed to
lesser water losses (ET=75.0 mm and drainage=48.5
mm) than that of June 5 th transplanted rice, and
significantly saved 164 mm of irrigation water.
The soil matric potential based irrigation scheduling
had a great potential for irrigation water savings and
increasing water productivity in comparison to the
continuous flooding method, mainly due to reduced
drainage loss, with a relatively small (60 mm) decrease
in ET (Yadav et al., 2011). The rainfall (804.9 mm)
was above average and well distributed during the crop
season. The irrigation scheduling based on soil matric
potential (I2-SWS of 16 kPa) contributed to 104.5 mm
lesser drainage loss and saved 120 mm irrigation water
than that of irrigation scheduling based on intermittent
2-day drainage (I1). In a year of above average and
relatively well distributed rainfall, the irrigation
scheduling based on soil matric potential resulted in
very large irrigation water savings in both PTR and
DSR, mainly due to large reductions in deep drainage,
underbund seepage and runoff (Yadav et al., 2010).
More recently, it has been observed that irrigation
scheduling based on soil matric potential, decreased the
percolation by 38.2-40.3 % in the first season (2010)
January-March, 2017 Impact of Transplanting Date and Irrigation Scheduling
to that of continuously flooded irrigation plots (Tan et
al., 2014).
Water Productivity
The June 20th transplanted rice (T2) resulted in higher
irrigation water productivity (WPI=0.19 g.kg-1) and
total water productivity (WPI+R=0.08 g.kg-1) than that of
June 5th transplanted rice (T1). The irrigation scheduling
based on tensiometer (I2-SWS of 16 kPa) contributed to
yield higher irrigation water productivity (WPI=0.058
g.kg-1) and total water productivity (WPI+R=0.003
g.kg-1) than that of irrigation scheduling based on
intermittent 2-day drainage (I1).
Model Calibration and Validation
The hydrus-2D model was calibrated by adjustments in
model coefficients and validated using input parameters
(crop, climate and water flow, etc.). While calibration,
the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and the fitting
parameter (n) were found to be very sensitive. During
validation, while comparing predicted and observed
data, the average absolute per cent error, root mean
square error (cm) and correlation coefficient (R2) were
7.7, 0.02 cm and 0.89, respectively, which showed an
acceptable agreement between model simulations and
field data.
Fig. 1: Components of water balance
30
Depth-wise Soil Moisture Study
The average soil moisture content was highest in
the upper layer (15 cm soil depth), and lowest at 30
cm soil depth for all the treatments in the June 5th
transplanted rice field. However, the trend was slightly
different in the June 20th transplanted rice field as the
soil moisture movement was greatly influenced by
the transplanting dates, water balance and irrigation
scheduling methods (Fig. 2, 3). For simulating the
downward water movement within the soil profile,
four different statistical tools viz. average absolute
error, root mean square error; correlation coefficient
and model efficiency were used. The simulated values
of depth-wise soil moisture content were in good
agreement with the corresponding observed values.
The model efficiency was 98.6 percent. Thus, Hydrus-
2D model can be successfully adopted for simulating
soil moisture profiles under rice crop.
CONCLUSIONS
Irrigation scheduling based on soil matric potential
(16 kPa) contributed to lesser water losses and higher
water productivities compared to that based on
intermittent 2-day drainage. Likewise, the second date
of transplanting helped in lowering the water losses,
Mahesh Chand Singh, Anchal Kumar Jain and S. K. Jalota JAE : 54 (1)

Fig. 2: Soil moisture movement under first date of transplanting for different treatments

Fig. 3: Soil moisture movement under second date of transplanting for different treatments

31
January-March, 2017 Impact of Transplanting Date and Irrigation Scheduling
saving irrigation water applied and raising water
productivities irrespective of the method of irrigation.
Thus, the study concluded that a delay of 15 days of
transplanting of rice, and irrigation scheduling based on
soil matric potential helped in reducing the water losses,
and consequently increasing the water productivities.
The soil moisture movement was studied using Hydrus-
2D model. A good agreement was achieved between
the model prediction and field data on comparison.
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term. Vadose Zone J., 2, 751-758.
Goncalves M C; Simunek J; Romos T B; Martin
J C; Neves M J; Pires F P. 2005. Using Hydrus to
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Humphreys E; Kukal S S; Christen E W; Hira G
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managements using HYDRUS-1D. Agric. Water
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Molden D (Eds.). Water Productivity in Agriculture:
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 http://www.isae.in / journal_jae.aspx

Journal of Agricultural Engineering

ISAE Vol. 54 (1): January-March, 2017

Thermal Performance Evaluation and Testing of Improved Animal Feed

Solar Cooker
Surendra Poonia1, A. K. Singh2, P. Santra3, N. M. Nahar4 and D. Mishra5
Senior Scientist, 2,4,5Principal Scientist, ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur 342 003, India.
1, 3

Corresponding author email address: poonia.surendra@gmail.com

Article Info ABSTRACT

Received : July, 2016
Revised
accepted : January, 2017
Key words:
Animal feed solar cooker,thermal
performance, efficiency
An improved solar cooker for animal feed was fabricated using locally available materials as
bricks, cement, sand and pearl millet hull. The commercial materials used for its fabrication
were glass covers, 24 SWG galvanised steel, wood, aluminum sheet, and cooking utensils.
Length to width ratio of the cooker was designed as 3:1 for maximum radiation exposure on
the glass window at any time in a day. It helped in eliminating the need for azimuthal tracking
of the cooker, which is essential for a simple hot box solar cooker. The solar cooker was
capable of boiling 10 kg animal feed per day, sufficient for four cattle heads, with efficiency
of 26.4 per cent. The thermal performance of the animal feed solar cooker through stagnation
and water boiling tests performed during April, 2016 indicated the First Figure of Merit (F1),
Second Figure of Merit (F2) and standardized cooking power (Ps) to be 0.089 m2.C.W-1, 0.288
J.W-1.C-1 and 27.40 W, respectively. It indicates that the developed cooker falls under category
B of BIS standard, but sufficient for cooking of animal feed once a day.

In developing countries, energy requirement for
cooking is generally met through firewood, which is
one of the causes of deforestation. Moreover, burning
of fuelwood has adverse environmental effects, since
it emits large amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. The
environmental effects of fuel wood burning have been
reported in several literatures (Boehmer-Christiansen,
2000; Brunicki, 2002; Elliott, 2004; Shove, 2004;
Tingem and Rivington, 2009; Panwar et al., 2009, 2011;
Huttunen, 2009). Keeping in mind these environmental
issues of fuelwood uses, a transition towards low-
polluting energy sources for cooking in rural areas is
required, which will also be suitable for mitigating
climate change (Budzianowski, 2012). Cooking with
solar energy is a promising option as it is abundantly
available in most parts of the world. Moreover, cooking
using solar energy can be done unattended once the feed
to be cooked is kept inside the cooker, thereby saving
considerable time of the person that can be utilized for
other activities.
In arid part of Rajasthan, solar irradiations are available
in plenty with almost 300 clear sky days. Amount
of solar irradiation received in the region is about
76008000 MJ.m-2 per annum. This is about 72007600
MJ.m-2 per annum in semi-arid regions, and about 6000
MJ.m-2 per annum in hilly areas (Pande et al., 2009).
In the arid western Rajasthan, animal husbandry
contributes a major portion of the income of rural
people. Livestock provides a range of benefits to them
by providing nutritious milk for domestic use, income
generation through sale of milk, manures to maintain
soil fertility, etc. Livestock are also commonly used
for draft power in farm operations (Binswanger and
Quizon, 1988). Thus, it plays a major role in generating
employment and reducing poverty in the rural areas.
However, these benefits are available when digestive
and nutritive feeds are given to these livestock animals.
Boiling the animal feed helps in improvement of
digestive and nutritional quality of the feed, which
in turn improve both the milk quality and quantity.
Therefore, rural people in arid western Rajasthan
generally boils the animal feed daily before giving
it to their livestock. Firewood, cow dung cake and
agricultural wastes are commonly used for boiling
purpose (Nahar et al., 1996a, 1996b; Panwar et al.,
January-March, 2017 Thermal Performance Evaluation and Testing of Improved Animal Feed Solar Cooker

2011). The traditional practice does not necessarily
ensure the feed quality because it requires slow
cooking. Solar cooking is a suitable option to prepare
the animal feed (Panwar et al., 2010, 2012), as it also
saves fuelwood. Drudgery involved in conventional
boiling process can also be avoided in solar cooking.
Solar cookers commonly available are suitable for
cooking twice a day, and consequently the initial cost
is high. In addition, commercially available box type
cookers have low capacity, and need to be frequently
oriented towards the sun. Since animal feed is to be
boiled only once a day, it was felt that a low-cost non-
track solar cooker should be a better option for boil-
ing animal feed. Considering this, an improved solar
cooker using locally available materials (as bricks,
cement, sand, and pearl millet hull) was designed,
developed and tested for thermal performance in arid
zone of Rajasthan.
length: width ratio as more than 3:1, so that maximum
amount of radiation could fall on the glass window at
any time in a day. Since three aluminium cooking pots
of 55045075 mm with lids were used for boiling of
10 kg animal feed material for four animals, the overall
inner length and width of the cooker worked out to
1870650 mm.
A pit of 1980760100 mm was dug in the ground (Fig.
1). The base of the earthen pit was of cement-sand (1:6),
and the bottom of the pit was filled with 50 mm thick
bricks. A 150 mm thick pearl millet hull insulation was
provided on the brick bottom of the cooker.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Improved Animal Feed Solar Cooker

The earlier model of the cooker was improved upon
to enhance the life of the cooker with use of locally
available materials, and constructed by the village
mason and carpenter. The earlier design was made of
clay, pearl millet husk and dung; required 3-4 days
for construction and had a short life of about 5 years
(Nahar, 1994). The improved design can be constructed
in 3-4 hours, and the expected life is about 15 years.
The double-glazed improved animal feed solar
cooker with reflector was designed and fabricated at
the workshop of ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research
Institute, Jodhpur, India. The solar cooker comprised
of a brick wall (0.1m) plastered with cement sand in
the ratio of 1:6. The outer and inner dimensions of the
cooker were 1980760100 mm and 187065050
mm, respectively. The depth of the cooker was above
300 mm, half of which was packed with pearl millet hull
(grain removed spikelets). An absorber plate (painted
with dull black paint) was placed above the cooker.
Three cooking pots can be kept in the cooker.
The cooker was provided with 150 mm insulation
of pearl millet hull. The height of cooking pots from
absorber plate was kept at 100 mm, and about 50 mm
depth was maintained between the top of cooking
pots and the glass sheet. The design was based on the
concept of non-tracking solar cooker by designing the
Fig. 1: Schematic diagram of animal feed solar cooker
A 24-SWG galvanised steel absorber was put over the
pearl millet hull insulation, and the top side was painted
with black board paint. Two horizontal glass covers (4
mm thick) fixed on a removable angle iron-wooden
frame were provided over it. The spacing between the
two glass covers was maintained at 15 mm to avoid
thermal losses.
The dead weight of the doubleglazed frame of the solar
cooker was 25 kg. The frame body of the cooker can be
fabricated by an unskilled labour. Actual installation of
the animal feed solar cooker is shown in Fig. 2.
Energy Balance
The design of the animal feed solar cooker was based
on the principle of flat-plate solar collector and green
house effect. Shorter wave lengths of solar radiation
enter the collector to get converted into longer wave
length, and get trapped inside as glass is opaque to
longer wave length. The energy balance of this solar
cooker (neglecting bottom losses) was carried out by
the following equation:

34
 Surendra Poonia, A. K. Singh, P. Santra, N. M. Nahar and D. Mishra JAE : 54 (1)

U = Overall heat transfer coefficient, W.m-2.oC-1,

Ta = Ambient temperature, oC,

hi = Inside convective radiative losses, W.m-2.oC-1, and

ho = Outside convective radiative losses, W.m-2.oC-1,

L = Thickness of insulation, m, and

K = Thermal conductivity of insulation, W m-2.C-1

Thermal Performance and Testing

Fig. 2: Animal feed solar cooker installed in the field A procedure for testing the solar cookers was used
based on existing international testing standards. These
include three major testing standards for solar cookers:
dTr The American Society of Agricultural Engineers
V .Ca = .SAf UAc (Tr Ta )  ...(1)
dt Standard (2003), Bureau of Indian Standards Testing
At steady state, Method (1992, 2000), and the European Committee on
Solar Cooking Research Testing Standard and others
(1994). Based on the existing international testing
dTr ...(2)
V .Ca 0  standards, three tests were performed on the animal
dt feed solar cooker. These are First Figure of Merit (F1),
So, Second Figure of Merit (F2), and standardized cooking
power (Ps).
.SAf UAc (Tr Ta ) =
0  ...(3)
The F1 was determined by conducting the no-load test,
.SAf F2 by load test (known amount of water is sensibly
=Tr + Ta  ...(4)
UAc heated in solar cooker), and the cooking power
Where, estimation. The efficiency of the animal feed cooker
was also obtained by measuring the rise in temperature
of a known quantity of water in a specified time by
1 L 1 ...(5) the method of calculation of efficiency () of a solar
U = + + 
hi K h0 cooker (Nahar, 2001; Nahar, 2003). The solar radiation,
Where, ambient air temperature, base plate temperature and
water temperature were taken at a 15 minutes interval
= Density of air, kg.m-3, in order to determine the F1 and F2, and compared it
with the standard. Reflector was not used as per the test
V = Volume of collector, m3, protocol and shrouded with black cloth to determine
F1 and F2.
Ca = Specific heat of air, J. kg-1.oC-1,
First Figure of Merit (F1) without Water Load
Tr = Temperature of collector, oC, (Stagnation Test)
The First Figure of Merit (1) is defined as the ratio
Ac = Collector surface area, m2,
of optical efficiency, (0), and the overall heat loss
= Absorptivity of absorber, coefficient, (). A quasi-steady state (stagnation
test condition) is achieved when the stagnation
= Transmissivity of glass, temperature is attained. High optical efficiency
and low heat loss are desirable for efficient cooker
S = Incident solar radiation, W.m-2, performance. Thus, the ratio / can serve as a
performance criterion. Higher values of 1 would
Af = Floor area, m2, indicate better cooker performance.

35
January-March, 2017 Thermal Performance Evaluation and Testing of Improved Animal Feed Solar Cooker

0 (Tps Ta ) Cooking Power Estimation

F1
= = Funk (2000) discussed two types of test variables
UL Gs  ...(6) for cooking power estimation. These are mainly
Where, uncontrolled variables as weather parameters,
and controlled variables as design parameters of
F1 = First Figure of Merit,m2.oC.W-1, a cooker. Wind, ambient temperature, pot content
temperature, insolation and solar altitude and azimuth
= Optical efficiency, %,
are the uncontrolled variables; while loading, tracking,
= Overall heat loss coefficient of the cooker, temperature sensing are the controlled variables. From
Funks definition, cooking power, , is defined as the
W.m-2.oC-1, rate of useful energy available during heating period. It
may be determined as a product of the change in water
Tps= Maximum plate surface temperature, C, temperature for each interval, mass and specific heat
capacity of the water contained in the cooking utensil.
T = Ambient temperature, C, and Dividing the product by the time (600 s contained in
10 min intervals according to American Society of
G = Global solar radiation on a horizontal surface, Agricultural Engineers) contained in a periodic interval
W.m-2. yields the cooking power as:
Second Figure of Merit (2) with Water Load MCw dTw
(Sensible Heat Test) P=  ...(8)
dt
The Second Figure of Merit, 2, is evaluated under
full-load condition (water load), without using reflector Where,
and is defined as the product of the heat exchanger
efficiency factor () and optical efficiency ( = ), P = Cooking power, W,
Mullick et al., (1996). It can be expressed as: = Mass of water, kg,

w= Specific heat of water, 4186 J.-kg-1.C-1,
1 Tw1 Ta
1
F ( MC ) w F1 Gs ...(7) dTw= Temperature difference of water, C, and
F2 1 ln
A(t2 t1 ) 1 T T
1 w 2 a dt = Time interval, s.
F1 Gs 
Standardized Cooking Power ()
Where,
Funk (2000) also introduced the term standard or
F1 = First Figure of Merit, m2.oC.W-1, adjusted cooking power, which can be expressed as:

Mw= Mass of water, kg, 700MCw Tw

Ps =  ...(9)
Cw= Specific heat capacity of water, J.-kg-1.C-1, 600Gs
Where,
= Aperture area of solar cooker, m2,
Ps=Standard cooking power, W,
t1 =Initial time, s,
Tw= Temperature difference of water load in every
t2 = Final time, s, 10-minute intervals, C, and
1 = Initial water temperature, C, Gs= Average solar radiation on surface during this time
2 = Final water temperature, C, period, W.m-2.

Gs= Average global solar radiation, W.m-2, and It is clear from the Eq. (9) that in order to calculate the
standard cooking power, the reference solar radiation
a = Average ambient temperature, C. should be 700 W.m-2 (Funk, 2000).

36
Surendra Poonia, A. K. Singh, P. Santra, N. M. Nahar and D. Mishra JAE : 54 (1)
Temperature Difference
This is the difference between the ambient temperature
for each interval and the average cooking vessel
content temperature for each corresponding interval,
and expressed as:
T=
d Tw Ta
Where,
= Temperature difference, C,
Tw=Water temperature, C, and
= Ambient temperature, C.
Cooker Efficiency()
The efficiency of the animal feed solar cooker was
determined by measuring stagnation plate temperature
and rise in water temperature in the cooking utensils in
known interval of time. The stagnation plate temperature
was measured by putting three thermocouples in the
cooking pots on the plate and on air inside the cooking
chamber. The temperatures were measured by a
portable digital temperature recorder (Make DTM-
100), and the averages reported. The initial temperature
of cold water was measured, and when it reached near
boiling point temperature, the final temperature of hot
water was measured along with the time interval. The
efficiency of the cooker was found by the following
relations proposed by Nahar (2001, 2003):
(m1 + m2C p )(t2 t1 )
= ...(11)
A Gd
0 
Where,
= Efficiency of solar cooker, %,
m1= Mass of water in cooking utensil, kg,
m2= Mass of cooking utensil, kg,
Cp= Specific heat of cooking utensil, kcal.kg-1.C-1,
t1= Initial temperature of water in utensil, C,
t2= Final temperature of water in utensil, C,
A= Absorber area, m2,
G= Solar irradiance, kcal.m-2.h-1, and
= Period of test, h.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Commercially available box type solar cookers are
about 80 % costlier, of lower capacity than of the
present design, and needs frequent orientation towards
the sun.
...(10) Stagnation Temperature Test
Thermal evaluation experiment to determine the
stagnation temperature of the animal feed solar cooker
was carried out during clear sky condition as on 23rd
April 2016 at Jodhpur (261N and 7304E).The
stagnation temperature test was started at 10.00 hour
and observations were taken till the maximum plate
temperature (112 C) was achieved at 14.00 hour. The
increase in stagnation temperature corresponding to
the solar radiations is shown in Table 1. From Table
1 the following values were obtained in order to
compute F1: Tas= 37 C, Tps= 112 C, Gs= 840 W.m-2.
Figure 3 illustrates the variation of plate and ambient
temperature with insolation variation. The plate
temperature varied between 94 C and 112 C with the
insolation ranging from 856 to 914 W.m-2 for more than
2.5 h. This was satisfactory for cooking once a day. The
First Figure of Merit F1 was calculated using Eq. (6) as
per the stagnation thermal performance test. The First
Figure of Merit (F1) was 0.089 m2.oC.W-1, whereas, as
per standard F1 test, if the value of F1 is greater than 0.12,
the cooker is marked as A-Grade and if F1 is less than
0.12 the cooker is marked as a B-Grade solar cooker
(Mullick et al., 1996). The animal feed solar cooker
was thus categorised as a B-Grade solar cooker. The
low value of F1 might be due to higher convection and
radiation losses from the side walls made of pearl millet
hull for cost reduction (Folaranmi, 2013).
Water Test
Water heat-up test experiment of the solar cooker was
conducted in order to determine the Second Figure of
Merit (F2). The test was carried out on 24th April, 2016
under clear sky conditions as per International Standard
Procedure. The cooker was loaded with 16 kg of water,
equally distributed in three cooking pots. For the full
load test water temperatures for 1= 54 C and 2=
77 C were chosen. The ambient temperature, water
temperature, solar radiation, and time for the water
temperature to increase from 1 to 2 are given in
Table 2. The temperature profile of water, ambient
condition and insolation during test are shown in Fig. 4.
The trend of water temperature curve shows that as the
time of day progressed, the water temperature increased
37
January-March, 2017 Thermal Performance Evaluation and Testing of Improved Animal Feed Solar Cooker

Table 1. Stagnation temperature test for First Figure of Merit (F1)

Time, Plate temp. Tps, Ambient temp. Tas, Solar radiation Gs, F1,
hh:min C C W.m-2 m2.oC.W-1
10.00 61.0 32.5 668
10.15 67.0 33.0 709 F1 = 0.089
10.30 72.0 33.5 744
10.45 78.0 34.0 782
11.00 84.0 34.4 814
11.15 90.0 34.8 841
11.30 94.0 35.0 856
11.45 98.0 35.2 866
12.00 101.0 35.4 893
12.15 103.0 35.7 906
12.30 105.0 36.0 909
12.45 107.0 36.2 914
13.00 108.0 36.4 911
13.15 109.0 36.5 846
13.30 110.0 36.6 845
13.45 111.0 36.8 864
14.00 112.0 37.0 840
14.15 110.0 36.8 803
14.30 108.0 36.6 792

120 1000
Tps
Tas
100 Gs 800
W/m-22 )
Insolation, (W/m
Temperature, 0C

80
600
60
Insolation

400
40

20 200

0 0
10.00

10.30

11.00

11.30

12.00

12.30

13.00

13.30

14.00

14.30

Time, hour

Fig. 3: Stagnation temperature test of animal feed solar cooker for F1

38
Surendra Poonia, A. K. Singh, P. Santra, N. M. Nahar and D. Mishra JAE : 54 (1)

with increasing solar insolation. The water temperature For the computation of F2, the following values were
reached to 77 C within 2.5 h, which is a sufficient time used: F1 = 0.089 m2.oC.W-1, = 16.0 kg, C = 4186
to cook one meal of animal feed. The average ambient J.kg-1.C-1, 21= 135 min (8100 s), = 1.21 m2, 1 =
temperature Ta and the insolation Gs for the 2.5 h period 54C, 2 = 77C, Gave = 876 W.m-2, and ave = 37.0 C.
were 37 C and 876 W.m-2, respectively. Using Eq. (7), F2 was determined to be 0.288 J.W-1.C-1,
Table 2. Thermal load test, heat-up condition test for Second Figure of Merit (F2)

Time, Water temp., Tw, Ambient temp., Ta, Solar radiation, F2,
hh: mm C C Gs,W.m-2 J.W-1.C-1

10.00 34.0 33.0 628

10.15 37.8 33.5 661 F2 = 0.288
10.30 41.6 34.0 702
10.45 45.4 34.3 740
11.00 49.1 34.6 765
11.15 52.7 35.0 802
11.30 56.2 35.4 840
11.45 59.6 36.0 865
12.00 62.0 36.4 890
12.15 64.1 36.6 910
12.30 66.2 36.8 920
12.45 68.3 37.0 903
13.00 70.4 37.2 909
13.15 72.5 37.4 899
13.30 74.2 37.6 888
13.45 75.6 37.8 868
14.00 77.0 38.0 839
14.15 75.5 37.8 795
14.30 73.0 37.6 749

100 1000
Tw Tas

80 Gs 800
Temperature, 0 C

(W/m-22 )

60 600
Insolation W/m
Insolation,

40 400

20 200

0 0
10.00 10.30 11.00 11.30 12.00 12.30 13.00 13.30 14.00 14.30
Time, hour

Fig. 4: Water heat-up test of animal feed solar cooker for F2

39
January-March, 2017 Thermal Performance Evaluation and Testing of Improved Animal Feed Solar Cooker

which was within the recommended standard value in
the range of 0.254-0.490 (Mullick et al., 1987). The value
of F2 within the range of standard value indicated good
thermal performance of the animal feed solar cooker. A
high value of F2 indicate good heat exchange efficiency
factor Fwith number of pots, and low heat capacity of
the cooker interiors and vessels compared to the full load
of water (Lahkar and Samdarshi, 2010). It was found that
F2 increased with load, and this occured because of an
improvement in heat capacity ratio CR with increase in
mass of water in the pots (Mullick et al., 1996).
Cooking Power
Cooking power experiment was conducted based on
international standard procedure on April 25, 2016.
Experiment was conducted for the load of 4.0 kg of
water. Animal feed solar cooker was exposed to the sun
Table 3. Cooking power estimation
at 10.00 hour to 14.00 hour, and initial temperature of
water, final temperature of water, ambient temperature
and solar insolation were recorded at 10-min intervals,
Table 3. Eq. (8), (9), and (10) were used to calculate P,
P, and Td for each interval. Standard cooking power
(Ps) was plotted against the difference between water
temperature and ambient temperature (Td) as shown
in Fig. 5.
A linear regression of the plotted points was used to
find the relationship between the cooking power and
the temperature difference in terms of intercept, W, and
the slope, (W.C-1). The cooking regression equation is
Ps 69.78 1.114Td 
= ...(12)
The coefficient of determination (R2) or proportions

Time interval, T1, T2, Difference, P, Gs, Ps, Ta, Tw, Td,
hh: mm C C T2 T1 W W.m-2 W C C C
10.00 31.4 33.8 2.4 67.0 620.0 75.6 33.0 33.8 0.8
10.10 33.8 36.1 2.3 64.2 635.0 70.8 33.1 36.1 3.0
10.20 36.1 38.3 2.2 61.4 649.0 66.2 33.3 38.3 5.0
10.30 38.3 40.4 2.1 58.6 666.0 61.6 33.5 40.4 6.9
10.40 40.4 42.4 2.0 55.8 681.0 57.4 33.8 42.4 8.6
10.50 42.4 44.4 2.0 55.8 696.0 56.1 34.2 44.4 10.2
11.00 44.4 46.5 2.1 58.6 720.0 57.0 34.6 46.5 11.9
11.10 46.5 48.5 2.0 55.8 740.0 52.8 34.8 48.5 13.7
11.20 48.5 50.5 2.0 55.8 759.0 51.5 35.1 50.5 15.4
11.30 50.5 52.4 1.9 53.0 780.0 47.6 35.4 52.4 17.0
11.40 52.4 54.3 1.9 53.0 799.0 46.5 35.8 54.3 18.5
11.50 54.3 56.1 1.8 50.2 815.0 43.1 36 56.1 20.1
12.00 56.1 57.9 1.8 50.2 826.0 42.6 36.4 57.9 21.5
12.10 57.9 59.7 1.8 50.2 835.0 42.1 36.5 59.7 23.2
12.20 59.7 61.5 1.8 50.2 844.0 41.7 36.6 61.5 24.9
12.30 61.5 63.2 1.7 47.4 854.0 38.9 36.8 63.2 26.4
12.40 63.2 64.9 1.7 47.4 863.0 38.5 37 64.9 27.9
12.50 64.9 66.6 1.7 47.4 872.0 38.1 37.1 66.6 29.5
13.00 66.6 68.3 1.7 47.4 882.0 37.7 37.2 68.3 31.1
13.10 68.3 69.9 1.6 44.7 890.0 35.1 37.3 69.9 32.6
13.20 69.9 71.5 1.6 44.7 897.0 34.8 37.5 71.5 34.0
13.30 71.5 73.0 1.5 41.9 905.0 32.4 37.6 73.0 35.4
13.40 73.0 74.4 1.4 39.1 912.0 30.0 37.8 74.4 36.6
13.50 74.4 75.7 1.3 36.3 919.0 27.6 37.9 75.7 37.8
14.00 75.7 77.0 1.3 36.3 926.0 27.4 38.0 77.0 39.0

40
Surendra Poonia, A. K. Singh, P. Santra, N. M. Nahar and D. Mishra JAE : 54 (1)
80
70
Standard cooking power, W
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 10
Temperature difference, C
Fig. 5: Standard cooking power variations with temperature difference
of variation in cooking power was 0.961, satisfying
the ASAE International test standards to be better
than 0.75 (Funk, 2000). The initial cooking power
was found to be 69.78 W, and within the range of the
ASAE International test procedure. The standardized
cooking power (Ps) was calculated using the regression
equation to be 27.40 W, which was high in comparison
to the other systems (Folaranmi, 2013; Elamin and
Abdala, 2015). The loss coefficient from the slope of
the regression line was found to be 1.114 C.W-1. High
initial cooking power and low heat loss coefficient
revealed that the multilayer insulation was efficient
and inexpensive for solar thermal appliances (Mahavar
et al. 2012).
Figure 5 shows that as the temperature difference
increased, the standard cooking power decreased. The
behaviour might be due to the increase in cooking
temperature not equalizing with the decrease in the
cooking mass, and thus it is preferable to use solar
cooker for adequate cooking mass quantity to get a
high merit (Folaranmi, 2013; Hermelinda and Mauricio,
2014).
The maximum stagnation temperature was 112 C. The
efficiency of the cooker was determined by using 16.0
kg of cold water in three cooking utensils. The initial
temperature of cold water was 34 C, and the final
temperature of hot water was 77 C. The efficiency of
the solar cooker was calculated using the Eq. (11), and
was 26.4 per cent. Thermal efficiency of solar cooker
y = -1.1142x + 69.785
R = 0.9613
20 30 40
depends upon factors like solar radiation, mass of
loaded water, time taken to boil the water, control of
the reflector, etc.
The animal feed solar cooker demonstrated good
performance and highest efficiency at the maximum
load of 16 kg of water, indicating better heat retention
ability of the cooker as compared with some other
designs found in the literature (Nahar, 1990; Nahar,
1994; Currin et al., 1994; Nahar, et al. 1996a).
The animal feed solar cooker thus seems a promising
option for energy conservation, and it also helps to
reduce the CO2 emission as compared to 100% biomass
usage. The estimated annual saving is about 1000 kg
of CO2, fuel wood, LPG and kerosene. The technology
also helps in reduction of drudgery of farm workers.
The users would also have economic advantage through
30-40% savings of fuels. Such cooking operation
is done mostly by women, and as they contribute
significantly in the farm operations, they can save time
for taking care of their family or other agricultural
operations (Panwar et al., 2013).
CONCLUSIONS
The improved animal feed solar cooker had an aperture
area of 1.21 m 2 with length: breath ratio of 3:1,
thereby eliminating the tracking requirements. The
experimental results showed that First Figure of Merit
(F1), Second Figure of Merit (F2) and standardized
41
January-March, 2017 Thermal Performance Evaluation and Testing of Improved Animal Feed Solar Cooker
cooking power (P s) were 0.089 m 2.C.W-1, 0.288
J.W-1.C-1 and 27.40 W, respectively, which indicated
that the developed cooker was suitable for boiling
about 8-10 kg of animal feed once a day. The thermal
efficiency of the solar cooker was 26.4 %.
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 http://www.isae.in / journal_jae.aspx

Journal of Agricultural Engineering

ISAE Vol. 54 (1): January-March, 2017
Research Note
Moisture Dependent Physical Properties of Multiplier Onion (Allium cepa
L. var. aggregatum)
Gomathy K1*, M. Balakrishnan1 and V. Thirupathi1
1
Department of Food and Agricultural Process Engineering, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003,
India.*Corresponding author e-mail address: gomsfoodlife@gmail.com
Article Info
ABSTRACT
Received : November, 2015
The physical properties of multiplier onion (CO-4) were studied as a function of moisture
Revised
content in the range of 80.87 % to 88.84 % (w.b.). The geometrical, physical and frictional
accepted : November, 2016
properties, namely size, true density, bulk density and coefficient of friction increased
with increase in moisture content. The average equatorial diameter, polar diameter and
thickness of onion ranged from 30.8 to 34.0 mm, 24.2 to 25.9 mm, 18.6 to 21.0 mm,
respectively at a moisture range of 80.87 % to 88.84 % (w.b.). The true density ranged
from 887.0 to 933.0 kg.m-3, whereas the bulk density of onion bulbs varied from 397.54
Key words: to 462.63 kg.m-3 at the above moisture range. The highest friction was offered by rubber,
Multiplier onion, moisture followed by cardboard, mild steel, galvanised iron and stainless steel. The porosity of
content, geometrical properties, onion decreased from 55.13 % to 50.39 % with increase in moisture content. Linear
physical properties, frictional equations comprising the thickness, polar and equatorial diameter predicted the mass of
properties onion bulbs with highest R2 value of 0.998.

Onion belongs to the family Allia ceae, genus Allium. A
distinctive characterstic of onion is its alliaceous odour.
It gives off a distinctive and pungent odour; and this
character accounts in larger part for their use as food,
a salad vegetable, spice and in medicine (Dabhi et al.,
2011). In India, onion is the fourth most important
commercial vegetable crop (Mohan et al., 2011).
Aggregatum onion (Allium cepa L. var. aggregatum
Don.), also known as multiplier onion, is one of the
important types of onion grown extensively in Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Tamil Nadu
had a productivity of 11.83 t.ha-1 of onion in 2013-14
(National Horticultural Board, 2014). The aggregatum
onion is well known for its pungency and widely used
in sambar, an important dish in South Indian kitchen,
preparation (Umesh et al., 2015). The shallots contain
high polypheonolic content compared to the Bellary
variety (Yang et al., 2004; Slimestad et al., 2007),
which emphasises its nutritional importance. But, the
growing demand of onion is rarely met.
The major concern in small onion production is about
60-70 % losses (sprouting, rotting and physiological
loss in weight) of bulbs encountered during its post-
harvest stage. The environmental condition, lack of
adequate storage facilities and high price fluctuation
are considered to be the important constraints to onion
profitability. In order to minimize the post harvest
losses, the physical properties of onion are essential
to design an improved storage structure.
Geometrical properties like size, shape, and surface area
are essential for analysing the behaviour of the product
during handling, and for designing storage systems.
Physical properties are important for the design of a
particular equipment or determining the behaviour of a
product during its handling under different machineries
(Sahay and Singh, 1994). Abdel-Ghaffar and Hindey
(1984) tested four sizes (small, medium, large, and
extra-large) of an Egyptian onion (Abo-Fatla variety)
and found that the mean polar diameters of the Egyptian
onions were 40.45, 47.00, 47.94, and 52.40 mm and
the mean equatorial diameter was 39.07, 50.03, 56.00,
and 60.40 mm for the same order of product size.
The mean mass, bulb density and bulk density were
177 g, 976 kg.m-3 and 586 kg.m-3, respectively. Eweida
Gomathy K1, M. Balakrishnan and V. Thirupathi JAE : 54 (1)
et al. (1986) reported that the mean equatorial and polar
diameter of Egyptian onion cultivar (Giza 6 Mohassan)
was 74 and 52 mm, respectively, and the mean volume
was 187,600 mm3.
Hossein et al. (2013) studied some physical properties
of three Iranian varieties of onion. True density,
coefficient of friction, rolling angle, dimensions and
shape index were measured. It was observed that the
three cultivars were spherical in shape. The polar and
equatorial diameter ranged from 46.93 mm to 59.82
mm, and 46.63 mm to 59.82 mm, respectively. The
results also showed that the frictional surfaces had no
effect on rolling angle. The physical properties of three
Egyptian onion varieties (Sweet Vidalia, Spirit and
Niz) as affected by moisture content contents ranging
from 7 % to 8 % was studied based on their dry matter
(Abhayawick et al., 2002).
Since multiplier onion is a seasonal crop with moisture
content varying between 80 % and 88 % during different
seasons, information on physical properties of onion
are important for developing efficient and improved
storage structure to enhance product shelf life. Not
much research has been conducted in determining the
geometrical and physical properties of multiplier onion
(varierty Aggregatum). Thus, an attempt was made to
study moisture dependent geometrical and physical
properties of multiplier onion and developing their
relationships for prediction of mass of onion bulbs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Raw Material
Field harvested onions (CO-4) were used in this study.
Onion harvested during the crop year 2014 at a farmers
field of Ottanchatram, Tamil Nadu, was procured for
the study. The samples were manually cleaned from all
foreign matter such as dust, dirt, stones; and chaff as
well as immature and spoiled bulbs.
Moisture Content
Moisture content of a sample was determined using hot
air oven method (AOAC, 1996). Onion samples were
dried using a hot air oven at 105 C until a constant
weight was obtained (Abd-el and Ebeaid, 2009). The
average moisture content was found to be 84.46%
(w.b.).
The samples were dried in a cabinet drier (M/s.
Macneill and Magor limited, Calcutta, India), which
could maintain a maximum temperature of 200 C
45
operating at 440 V AC with a 0.37 kW electric motor.
The samples were dried at a temperature range of 60-
70 C to decrease the moisture from 84.46 % to 80.87
% (w.b.). This moisture range was selected based on
the range of moisture content of onion would vary
during monsoon to summer season. To increase the
moisture content, the samples were conditioned by
adding distilled water and thoroughly mixed, sealed
in polyethylene bags, and kept in a refrigerator at 5C
for an equilibrium period of three weeks by following
the method suggested by Dursun and Dursun (2005):
W(M1-M2) ...(1)
Q=
100-M1
Where,
Q = Mass of water to be added, kg,
W = Initial mass of sample, kg,
M2= Initial moisture content of sample, % (w.b.), and
M1 = Final moisture content of sample, % (w.b.).
Geometrical Properties
To determine the geometrical properties of onion,
50 bulbs were randomly selected, and their linear
dimensions as polar diameter (P), equatorial diameter
(E), and thickness (T) were measured using a digital
vernier calliper (Mitu Toyo, Japan) with a sensitivity
of 0.01 mm. Figure 1 represent the position of polar
and equatorial diameter of onion.
The thickness of a bulb was measured as the dimension
between equatorial and polar diameter surfaces of onion
bulb, which is smaller than the other two dimensions.
The cross-sectional area (C), frontal surface area
(F), arithmetic mean diameter (A) were calculated
according to Bahnasawy et al. (2004):
(E+P+T)
A= ...(2)
3
F= E*P ...(3)
4
(E+P+T)2
C= ...(4)
4 9
Where,
A = Arithmetic mean diameter, mm,
F = Frontal surface area, mm2,
January-March, 2017 Moisture Dependent Physical Properties of Multiplier Onion (Allium cepa L. var. aggregatum)
Fig. 1: Position of thickness, polar and equatorial
diameter of onion
C = Cross sectional area, mm2,
P = Polar diameter, mm,
E = Equatorial diameter, mm, and
T = Thickness, mm.
Shape index
The shape index (S.I) of onion bulb is the ratio of the
equatorial diameter and root of the product of polar
diameter and thickness of onion bulbs.
E cone (d) as given in the Eq. (6).
S.I =
(P T) ...(5)
Physical Properties
Bulk density
Bulk density is the ratio of bulb mass to the volume
of the sample container. Bulk density was determined
by filling the onion bulb in a steel cubical container of
a known volume, and the content was then weighed.
The ratio between the mass and volume was calculated
as bulk density. The measurement was repeated three
times by emptying and filling with fresh sample each
time. The average value of bulk density is reported.
True density
True density (t) was determined using the water
displacement method. The mass of fifty numbers of
onion bulbs was measured in an electronic balance, and
the bulbs were dropped into the water in a measuring
cylinder of known volume. The rise in water level,
which is proportional to the volume of the onion bulbs,
was noted. The measurement was replicated three
46
times, and the average value was reported. From the
mass and volume of the onion bulbs, true density was
calculated as:
Mass of onion, kg
t = ...(6)
Volume of onion, m3
Porosity
Porosity was computed from the values of the true (t)
and bulk density (b) of onion using the relationship
given by Mohsenin (1980):
=[1- b/t ]*100 ...(7)
Angle of repose
The filling angle of repose of onion was determined
from the height and diameter of the naturally formed
heap of onion on a circular plate (Kingsley et al., 2006).
To determine the emptying or dynamic angle of repose,
a rectangular box (100 mm width and 150 mm length)
with removable front panel was used (Chandrasekar
and Viswanathan, 1999). The box was filled with onion
bulbs, and then the front panel was removed quickly
in order to allow the bulbs to freely flow and assume a
natural slope. The angle of repose () was calculated
from the measurement of the depth of free surface of
the sample at the centre (H) and the diameter of the
=tan-1 [2H/D] ...(8)
Frictional Property
The experimental setup for measuring the coefficient
of friction of onion bulbs consisted of a frictionless
pulley fitted on a frame and a topless and bottomless
hollow circular sample container (94 mm in diameter
x 98 mm in height), connected to a weighing pan
through a frictionless pulley. Onion bulbs were filled
in the sample holder, and the weight was added to
the weighing pan until the sample holder just started
moving, overcoming the friction on the test surfaces.
The test surfaces included rubber, cardboard, mild steel,
galvanized iron and mild steel. From the weights in the
pan (Fw) and the weight of the onion bulbs (N), the
coefficient of friction () was calculated (Chandrasekar
and Viswanathan, 1999) as:
Fw ...(9)
=
N
Gomathy K1, M. Balakrishnan and V. Thirupathi JAE : 54 (1)

Statistical Analysis determined as a function of cross-sectional area (C)

Each experiment was conducted in triplicate and
were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA)
followed by Least Significant Difference (LSD) Test
using the AGRESS software version 7.01. The Factorial
Completely Randomized Design (FCRD) was followed
for the ANOVA estimation.
There exist a cause and effect relationship between
mass, polar diameter, equatorial diameter thickness
and surface area, and so single or multiple regressions
analysis were chosen. Also, a linear relationship was
observed between the same parameters using a scatter
diagram, and hence multiple regression equations
were chosen. To predict mass of onion bulbs from the
geometrical properties, two categories of models were
considered. The first model was chosen based on the
measured geometrical properties, whereas the second
model involved the selection of calculated surface
parameters. The two models are as follows:
Single or multiple regression of mass (M) with
geometrical properties like polar diameter (P),
equatorial diameter (E) and thickness (T).
Single or multiple regression of mass (M) of onion
based on frontal surface area (F) and cross sectional
area (C).
In the first category of model, mass (M) was predicted
by the independent variables: polar diameter, equatorial
diameter and thickness:
M = K1P + K2 E + K3T + C ...(10)
In the second category of model, mass (M) was
and frontal surface area (F):
M= CK1 + FK2+C ...(11)
K 1, K 2 and K 3 in the above equations represent
coefficient of independent variable, and C represents
the constant. Modelling was done using SPSS 16.0,
and the suitability of a model was decided based on
the highest R2 (coefficient of determination) and lowest
standard error of estimate.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Geometrical Properties of Onion Bulb
The mean values of polar diameter, equatorial diameter,
thickness, cross sectional area, frontal surface area,
arithmetic mean diameter and shape index are given
in Table 1. The increase in moisture content increased
the geometrical properties of onion, indicating that the
bulbs exhibited an expansion along its polar diameter,
equatorial diameter and thickness upon moisture
absorption.
The increase in the geometrical properties was found to
be statistically significant at P<0.01. Results showed
that the average equatorial diameter, polar diameter,
and thickness ranged from 30.8 to 34.0, 24.2 to 25.9,
18.6 to 21.0 mm, respectively, at a moisture range of
80.87 % to 88.84 % (w.b.). The mean value of polar
diameter was higher than that of equatorial diameter.
The results were in agreement with the observations
of Hossein (2013) and Bahnasawy (2004) for Iranian
and Egyptian onion varieties, respectively. Frontal
surface area, cross-sectional area and arithmetic mean
diameter ranged from 585 to 690 mm2, 1686 to 2972

Table 1. Geometrical properties of onion bulb

Moisture content
(% w.b.)
Parameter 80.87 82.91 85.25 88.84
Polar diameter, mm 30.8 0 .07
c
32.3 bc
0.08 32.8 ab
0 .08 34.0 a 0.11
Equatorial diameter, mm 24.2 ns
0.15 24.5 ns
0.04 24.9 ns
0.05 25.9 ns 0.07
Thickness, mm 18.6 b 0.06 19.1 b 0.07 19.8 a b 0.10 21.0 a 0.05
Cross sectional area, mm2 1686 c 1.93 1989 b 0.52 2256 b 0.34 2972 a 1.44
Frontal surface area, mm 2
585.0 0.35
c
622.0 0.05
b
639.0 0.18
b
690.0 a 0.12
Arithmetic mean diameter, mm 24.5 0.06 25.3 0.02 25.8 0.01 27.0 0.04
Shape index 1.01 ns 0.08 0.99 ns 0.03 0.98 ns 0.04 0.97 ns 0.04
All data represent the mean standard deviation.
Means with different superscript within a column are significantly different (p<0.05). (n=3); ns not significant.

47
January-March, 2017 Moisture Dependent Physical Properties of Multiplier Onion (Allium cepa L. var. aggregatum)

mm2 and 24.5 to 27.0 mm, at a moisture range of
80.87 % to 88.84 % (w.b.), respectively. Similar trend
of increasing frontal surface area, cross sectional area,
and arithmetic mean diameter with increasing moisture
content was also observed for Giza onion variety
(Bahnasawy, 2004).
The increasing moisture content did not have significant
effect on the shape index of the onion bulb (p>0.5).
The shape index of onion bulb ranged from 1.01 to
0.97 at a moisture range of 80.87 % to 88.84 % (w.b.),
respectively, indicating the extent of spherical shape of
the bulb. The regression models developed (based on
Eqn. 8 and 9) using geometrical properties are listed
in Table 2. Among the two category of models, the
following form had the highest R2 value and lowest
standard error of estimate (Table 2):
M= PK1 + ET2 + TK3+C (R2 =0.999)
In order to predict the mass of onion bulb using the
above equation, it is necessary to measure thickness,
polar and equatorial diameters.
Physical Properties of Onion Bulb
The effect of moisture content on bulk density, true
density, porosity, filling, and emptying angle of repose
of onion bulb is presented in Fig. 2.
Bulk density
From Fig. 2a and 2b, it was observed that the true
density and bulk density increased with increase in
Table 2. Equation of onion mass based on geometrical properties
moisture content (p<0.01). True density ranged from
887.0 to 933.0 kg.m-3, whereas bulk density varied
from 397.54 to 462.63 kg.m-3 at moisture range of
80.87 % to 88.84 % (w.b.). For most other biological
materials, the bulk density and true density decrease
with increasing moisture content, but the reverse trend
in case of onion might be due to the fact that the rate
of increase in mass of the bulb was higher compared
to its volumetric expansion. The result was in line with
cardamom capsules (Balakrishnan et al., 2011).The
linear relationship of bulk density with moisture content
was also noticed for flax seed (Selvi et al., 2006) and
coffee (Chandrasekar and Viswanathan, 1999).
Porosity
Porosity was found to decrease linearly (p<0.05) from
55.13 % to 50.39 % (Fig. 2e) at a moisture range of
...(12) 80.87 % to 88.84 % (w.b.).The increase in true density
and bulk density with moisture content might have
resulted in a decrease in pore space within the bulb
sample leading to a decreasing trend in porosity. A
comparable trend of porosity with moisture content
was also observed by Chandrasekar and Viswanathan
(1999) for coffee, Dursun and Dursun (2005) for caper
and Aghkhani et al. (2012) for Christmas Lima bean.
Angle of repose
The filling and emptying angle of repose ranged from
25.73 to 29.46 and 46.83 to 61.48 (Fig. 2d and 2e) at a
moisture range of 80.87 % to 88.84 % (w.b.). The angle
of repose increased linearly with increase in moisture

Sl. No. Equation K1 K2 K3 C R2 ESE

1. M=PK1+C 3.593 - - -4.523 0.793 0.2980
2. M=EK1+C 6.801 - - -9.773 0.889 0.2186
3. M=TK1+C 4.944 - - -2.557 0.925 0.1788
4. M=PK1 + EK2+C 0.166 6.522 - -9.619 0.889 0.3089
5. M= PK1 + TK2+C -1.537 6.819 - -1.246 0.937 0.2310
6. M= EK1 + TK2+C -11.865 13.356 - 10.447 0.950 0.2069
7. M= PK1 + ET2 + TK3+C -3.685 -22.161 25.153 24.877 0.999 0.0000
8. M= CK1 +C 0.091 - - 5.114 0.879 0.2279
9. M= FK1 +C 1.125 - - 0.011 0.842 0.2590
10. M= CK1 + FK2+C 0.153 -0.784 - 8.713 0.886 0.3120
Note: P- Polar diameter, E- Equatorial diameter, T-Thickness, C-Cross-sectional area, F-Frontal surface area, K1, K2 and K3 in the above equations
represent coefficient of independent variable and C represents the constant

48
Gomathy K1, M. Balakrishnan and V. Thirupathi JAE : 54 (1)

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e)
Fig. 2: Effect of moisture content on physical properties of onion bulb

content. The results were in agreement with that of
coriander seeds (Balasubramanian, 2012), Chironjinut
(Kumar et al., 2016) and for most of the biological
materials (Mohsenin, 1980). The linear equations
relating the physical and frictional properties with
moisture content are presented in Table 3.
Frictional Properties of Onion Bulb
The effect of moisture content of onion bulb on friction
against the various test surfaces viz., rubber, cardboard,
mild steel, galvanised iron and stainless steel is given
in Fig. 3. The friction coefficient increased linearly
with moisture content for all surfaces. The cause of the
increased friction coefficient at higher moisture content
might be due to the water present in the onion bulb,
offering a cohesive force on the surface of contact. The
increasing moisture might have increased the adhesion
characteristics of the biological material. The results

Table 3. Linear equations involving physical and frictional properties of onion bulb

Physical and frictional property Linear equation R2

Bulk density, kg.m -3
b = 7.9229 M.C - 234.36 0.8962
True density, kg.m -3
t = 5.6484 M.C + 432.93 0.9822
Porosity, per cent = -0.5731 M.C + 100.62 0.8261
Filling angle of repose, f = 0.4556 M.C - 10.874 0.9811
Emptying angle of repose, e = 1.8045 M.C - 98.197 0.9802

49
January-March, 2017 Moisture Dependent Physical Properties of Multiplier Onion (Allium cepa L. var. aggregatum)
Fig. 3: Effect of moisture content on coefficient of
friction of onion bulb on different test surfaces
are in agreement with those observed by Bagherpour
et al. (2010) for lentil seed and Cokuner and Karababa
(2007) for flax seed.
Highest friction was offered by rubber, followed by
mild steel, cardboard, galvanized iron and stainless-
steel surfaces. The results correlate with those of
Hossein (2013) for Iranian onion variety, Aghkhani et
al. (2012) for Christmas Lima bean, Dursun and Dursun
(2005) for caper seeds, and Unal et al. (2008) for mung
bean. Stainless steel recorded lowest static coefficient
of friction, and might be related to the smoother and
more polished surface of the stainless sheet than the
other materials used. Chandrasekar and Viswanathan
(1999) reported that coffee beans exhibited least
coefficient of friction for stainless steel, followed by
galvanized iron and mild steel.
CONCLUSIONS
The mean values of the geometrical properties
viz., polar diameter, equatorial diameter, thickness,
cross sectional area, frontal surface area, arithmetic
mean diameter increased significantly (p<0.01) with
increase in moisture content. The linear equations
predicted that the geometrical properties such as
thickness, polar and equatorial diameters predict the
mass of onion bulb with a R2 of 0.999. Bulk density
and true density increased significantly (p<0.01) with
increase in moisture content while porosity decreased
linearly with increase in moisture content. Both filling
and emptying angles of repose increased significantly
(p<0.01) with increase in moisture content. The
coefficient of friction increased linearly with moisture
content for all surfaces. Highest friction was offered
by rubber, followed by mild steel, cardboard,
galvanized iron and stainless steel surfaces.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors acknowledge the Jawaharlal Nehru
Memorial Fund (JNMF) and All India Coordinated
50
Research Project on Post Harvest Technology ICAR,
for the financial support to carry out the research work.
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