Development and performance evaluation of manually operated rice transplanter for Uttarakhand Hilly Region

A study was conducted to evaluate the influence of seedling age, water depth, and field preparation level on the transplanting performance of a manually operated rice transplanter under hilly conditions. Three levels of field preparation (low, medium, and high), three water depths (0-30 mm, 30-60 mm, and 60-100 mm), and three seedling ages (20, 25, and 30 days) were examined. The results revealed that younger seedlings (20-25 days) transplanted at shallow water depths (0-30 mm) achieved superior performance with the lowest missing hills (4-5%), floating hills (6-7%), damaged hills (3-4%), and buried hills (2-3%). In contrast, older seedlings (30 days) at deeper water levels (60-100 mm) showed higher incidences of missing (10-12%) and floating hills (10-12%), indicating reduced placement accuracy and anchorage. Planting efficiency was highest (83.3%) for 20-day-old seedlings under shallow water at high field preparation, while the lowest efficiency (71%) occurred with 30-day-old seedlings in deep water under low preparation. Overall, high field preparation ensured better soil uniformity and reduced damage, whereas excessive water depth adversely affected seedling stability. The study concludes that using 20-25-day-old seedlings at 0-30 mm water depth under high field preparation optimizes transplanting efficiency and ensures uniform plant establishment in rice cultivation. The developed transplanter demonstrated an actual field capacity of 0.02 ha h⁻¹ and a field efficiency of 62.26%, highlighting its potential suitability for small and marginal farmers in hilly regions.