Abstract:
Weeding is a crucial task in agriculture that ensures optimal crop growth by eliminating
unwanted plants (weeds), which compete for resources and reduce crop yields. Cyperus iria L.
(Thunessa) is a serious weed for rice cultivation and it has emerged as an aggressive weed of rice
with the ability to multiply rapidly with abundant seed production capacity. Cyperus iria L.,
commonly known as rice flat sedge, is a persistent and invasive weed that poses a significant
threat to rice cultivation. As rice-growing regions have developed weed control options without
considering agroecosystem health, weed control has become increasingly important. This study
presents the design and development of an innovative new weeder specifically tailored for the
effective removal of Cyperus iria L. from rice fields. It features a robust frame equipped with
specialized cutting mechanisms designed to sever the weed at its base of inflorescence while
minimizing damage to the rice crop. It comprises of V-shaped’ iron spikes mounted on cutting bar
that was attached to a power transmission unit. Two ground wheels were used to drive this
weeder to forward direction and for the supply power to rotate cutting bar through bevel gears.
Rotation of the ground wheels helps for forward driven movement of the machine and changes
the direction of cutting bar rotation at the same time. The gear ratio between ground wheels and
cutting bar was 1.0: 7.5. Weeding trials were conducted in three experimental plots, each sized
25 m2 and three times per plot. Speed of the machine was measured using 5 m distance and test
was replicated 5 times. Results indicated that theoretical field capacity, effective field capacity,
field efficiency, average travel speed and weeding efficiency of the weeder were: -0.087 ha/h,
0.0463 ha/h, 53.26 %, 0.456 m/s and 69.93 %, respectively. This newly designed weeder is robust
to control Thunessa in paddy cultivation.
