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MECHANIZATION IN CASTOR-SCOPE AND OPPORTUNITIES IN INDIA

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DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7438018

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MECHANIZATION IN CASTOR- SCOPE AND

OPPORTUNITIES IN INDIA
Y. Pavan Kumar Reddy*, B. Sahadeva Reddy, K. Madhu Sudhan Reddy,
Murali Krishna & A.V.S. Durga Prasad
All India Coordinated Research project in Castor
Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University- Agricultural Research Station, Ananthapuramu.
Email: y.pavankumarreddy@angrau.ac.in
Abstract:
To this day, India is the world's largest producer of castor (Ricinus communis L.), a non-edible
oilseed with substantial commercial and industrial value. Castor is a very adaptable crop, and
timely farming activities result in greater harvests. Mechanization is essential to the success of
the castor crop, which is frequently cultivated in rainfed settings. This means that it is necessary
to use mechanization at every stage of the production process, from planting to harvesting to
storage. Nonetheless, the rate of mechanized use in castor varies widely from 8% to 80%
among different tasks. In some operations, the adoption range can be narrowed by the use of
custom hiring and other policy decisions in order to spur mechanization.
Keywords: Castor, Mechanisation
Citation
Y. Pavan Kumar Reddy*, B. Sahadeva Reddy, K. Madhu Sudhan Reddy, Murali Krishna &
A.V.S. Durga Prasad. Mechanization in castor- scope and opportunities in India. Scientist.
2022;1(3):5144-5154. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7438018

Competing Interest: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its supporting information files.

Introduction
Farm mechanization in India is dismally low (40%) compared to the United States (95%),
Western Europe (95%), Russia (80%), and Brazil (75%). Renpu, 2014[1]. Castor (Ricinus
communis L.) is one of the important non-edible oilseeds having immense industrial and
commercial value, and India is the major producer of castor in the world. India accounts for
59% of the global castor area and 81% of world castor production and ranks first in area and
production in the world. Damodaram and Hegde,2010 [2]. Indian castor is produced both under
irrigated intensive with high productivity in Gujarat and Rajasthan and rainfed culture coupled
with poor management with low productivity in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamilnadu.
However, in the recent past farmers are moving to castor crops from other rainfed crops viz.,
groundnut, pigeonpea, and millets due to high remunerative prices to castor prevailing in the
market for the last 3 years. Though the crop area is increasing and yields are low and staggered
at the base due to poor management practices and more dependency on manual labour. The
consequences of heavy reliance on human labour include the failure to complete various
agronomic operations on time, the loss of energy and productivity, low output per unit time,
body discomfort, fatigue, and health disorders. Furthermore, agricultural labour is 4 and 6 times
less productive than industry and service sectors, respectively (Goldman Sachs, 2014) [3].
Srinivas et al, 2009 [4] revealed that productivity increased by 25% with 65% saving on the
cost of cultivation with mechanization when compared to the conventional practice. With the
increase in manpower paucity, farmers cannot take up the operations in time. To advent with
the manpower scarcity in the season and to reap higher harvestable basket adoption of
mechanization is the trek in rainfed areas. To cope with the present scenario mechanization was
tailor-made to the small, marginal, and large farmers from land preparation to threshing in

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almost all aspects worked out and documented in the following broadheads and their
adaptability hereunder.
Pre-season Soil and water conservation measures:
Castor is a deep-rooted crop and it extends its tap root system to a depth of 2-3 meters for the
water and nutrients. In the rainfed province the soils are mostly shallow and subsoil hard pans
where the tap root system cannot percolate and nurture the plant growth in a polished way.
To overcome the adverse effects of subsoil compaction in Alfisols and to break the hard layer
to increase water intake rate and reduce runoff, deep ploughing once in 3 years (residual effect
of deep ploughing was observed for only 2 years) with subsoiler up to 40 to 50 cm depth for
every 1.3 meters without soil inversion was found good. that sub-soil tillage sustained higher
shoot, root growth, and seed yield Ramana et al, 2016 [5] reported that in a two-year field
experiment the results indicated during the year 2013- 14, which coincided with end-of-season
drought compared to conventional tillage treatment. Crop growth in terms of plant height, and
leaf area/plant significantly improved due to sub-soiling compared to conventionally tilled
treatment in deep-rooted crops. Similarly, they also reported that sub-soiling recorded a
significant increase in drought-tolerant traits, viz. root length (234%), root dry weight (274%),
and relative water content (37%).

Fig: 1. Subsoiling @ 1.5 m distance with 45 hp tractor

Land Preparation:
Generally, farmers cultivate the soil with a tractor-drawn cultivator that cuts the topsoil to a
depth of 15 to 20 cm. This traditional type of tillage stores the rainwater to a limited extent and
during heavy rainfall events runoff takes place leading to soil erosion. Farmers follow sowing
either along the slope or across the slope depending upon their convenience in sowing. Besides
this, they don’t follow any in-situ moisture conservation measures to conserve both soil and
moisture. To overcome the adverse effects of subsoil compaction in Alfisols and to break the
hard layer to increase water intake rate and reduce runoff, deep ploughing once in 3 years
(residual effect of deep ploughing was observed for only 2 years) with subsoiler up to 40 to 50
cm depth without soil inversion was found good. In general, farmers go for the 8-tyne cultivator
with is a secondary tillage implement not suitable for tillage operations. One of the recently
popularised implements used by farmers for primary tillage operation to plough the field is the
tractor-operated 5 or 8 tyne duck foot, cultivator and disc plough improves the root growth of
castor for deep penetration and fetches higher yields. Manikandan et al 2021 [6] investigated
the draught requirement of a five-tyne duck foot plough in clay soil for different soil moisture
content, depth of operation, and tractor forward speed. The dynamometer was designed to work
with tractors with category II or III hitch systems. The investigation was carried out at three
different soil moisture content levels (10-13%, 14-16%, and 17-20%), three different depths of

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operation (15, 20, and 25 cm), and three different tractor forward speed levels (3, 5 and 7 km
h-1).
Sowing:
The farmers are using four-row bullocks drawn local gorru and tractor-drawn manual dropping
seed drills for sowing of rainfed crops of the zone. The seed is sown by a person through
Jaddigam having four circular holes connected to furrow through seed tubes. The optimum
seed rate could not be achieved by this due to the manual dropping of seed. Two pairs of
bullocks and four labour are required to complete the sowing operation. The cost of sowing is
about Rs. 500 per acre. The field capacity is 1.0 to 1.5 ha per day.
Tractor Drawn Ananta planter for castor
Tractor drew Ananta groundnut planter (3 rows) is introduced to mechanize the castor sowing
in the districts for timely operation with mechanical advantage. A 5 cm width covering blade
is also fitted behind the furrow openers to cover the furrows after seed placement. The inclined
disc plate seed metering mechanism gives correct seed-to-seed distance and maintains the
recommended seed rate of dryland crops. It covers 8-rows at a time. Sowing of rainfed crops
castor can also be sown using Ananta planter by changing the seed metering plates. The spring-
type cultivator of this planter facilitates sowing in stony and pebble slopy soils. The cost of an
Ananta planter is approx. Rs.60,000. Ananta planter maintains the recommended seed rate and
required plant population. The seed damage is negligible and the placement of the seed is at a
proper depth of 4-5 cm. The field capacity is 6 to 7 ha/day and can cover a large area before
the soil moisture is dried up. Its cost of operation is Rs. 1025 per ha. The same Ananta tractor-
drawn planter with changing of seed metering mechanism serves the purpose too.

Fig: Tractor-operated Kisan seed drill Fig: Manually operated local seed drill

Fig: Manually operated Kisan seed drill

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a. Kisan Planter: Kisan planter can be suitable for a wide range of crops from small seeds
viz foxtail millet to castor bean with a big tractor with operation suits for a wide range
of soils. However, it doesn’t have a such precise intra-row spacing mechanism
b. Manually operated happy seeder: This type of seed drill can be suitable for small
and marginal farmers with small-scale holdings where mechanization is not possible
rather than normal planting with less drudgery and more field efficiency.
In-situ moisture conservation
Traditionally farmers used inter-cultivation with bullock-drawn metla guntaka in the olden
days to conserve moisture and inter-cultivation. Opening of conservation furrows by or tractor-
drawn intercultural implement in groundnut coupled with sowing across the slope not only
conserves moisture but also increases productivity. The higher yield was recorded with deep
tillage with a subsoiler compared to normal tillage with a cultivator. A deep, well-branched,
and rapidly growing root system helps in absorbing more moisture by exploiting a higher
volume of soil.
Inter cultivation and fertilizer management:
In rainfed areas, weeds cause a reduction in yields by 30 to 80%. This loss may be still higher
during drought years due to competition for moisture by the weeds. Essentially, the rainfed
crops need a weed-free period for at least initial 45 days of the crop establishment. Appropriate,
integrated, and cost-effective weed control measures need to be employed for effective weed
management. Castor crop is primarily raised during monsoon season and is fraught with
competition from a plethora of weed flora which in turn harbors a variety of pests and diseases
resulting in enhanced production costs and dwindled crop productivity. Weeds when not tamed
compete with the crop for moisture, light, nutrients, and space and take a heavy toll on the crop
reflecting reduced profitability to the farmer. The large soil volume untapped by the castor crop
is exploited by weeds and thus weed control in castor is of paramount importance. Due to slow
growth and wide spacing, the castor is highly susceptible to weed competition in the initial
stages. The critical period for weed competition in castor is 45-50 days after seeding. The
Castor crop is a very sensitive and poor competitor with weeds for most of the growing season.
Unweeded conditions reduced the yields considerably even up to 65%.Generally, farmers in
rainfed areas control weeds and practice 2-3 intercultural operations with the help of bullock-
drawn blade harrows commencing from 25 days followed by one hand weeding which can
effectively check weed growth. Appropriate, integrated, and cost-effective weed control
measures need to be employed for effective weed management. Inter-cultivation in wide-
spaced crops with bullock drawn inter cultivator is a wide range of practice since the olden
days is an effective method too. As the efficiency of the operation is a bit low and maintenance
of drought power is a costly affair leads to the disappearance as times pass on. Kumar Naik et
al.,2016 [7] reported that mechanized cultivation of castor helped in completing all field
operations on time with high precision, besides saving a considerable amount of time (490
hrs/ha) and labour (58 man-days/ha) to perform different agronomic operations. Further, it
produced nearly 17.6% higher seed yield (2362 kg/ha) with, a reduced cost of cultivation by
Rs 5341/ha. The increased net returns compared to the normal (traditional) plot was Rs
17783/ha. Tractor-drawn intercultural implements help to save time besides facilitating timely
weed control. The cost of cultivation of all the crops is increasing gradually in all regions and
the labour shortage is becoming acute. Based on the above conditions there is every need for
the development of tractor-drawn inter-cultivation equipment for timely weed control. By
introducing this technology in the region, the field capacity is doubled and timely weeding can
be completed. Drudgery for women is reduced considerably.

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Fig: Bullock drawn inter cultivation Fig: Tractor-operated inter cultivation with
fertilizer application

Fig: Mini tractor operated tractor drawn Fig: High clearance mini tractor operated
inter cultivator for 90 cm row spacing intercultivatior @ 45 & 60 DAS

Fig: High clearance mini tractor operated Fig: Mini tractor operated tractor drawn inter
pneumatic tyres intercultivatior @ 45 & 60 cultivator for 120 cm row spacing
DAS

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Fig: Power weeder for intrecultivation after Fig: Mini tractor operated tractor drawn
90 DAS conservation furrow forming equipment

a. Inter cultivation with topdressing of Fertiliser:

By working with tractor-drawn Inter cultivation the weed removal was up to 96% and
the field capacity noted was 0.3 ha/hour with a depth of operation of 5 – 6 cm. The cost
of inter-cultivation with the tractor is Rs.200 per ha. With bullock drawn inter-
cultivation, the coverage is 2 ha per day and the cost of inter-cultivation is Rs.1200 per
ha. The percent of weed removal with bullock-drawn inter-cultivation is 90 %. By
introducing this technology, the field capacity is doubled and timely weeding can be
completed. Drudgery for women is reduced considerably. An amount of Rs.1000/ha
can be saved with this technology compared to farmers’ practice. Subba Reddy et al.,
1999 [8] indicated that weed control through harrowing gave an additional B: C ratio
of 1.5 against the practice of two harrowing plus one hand weeding.
b. Inter cultivator cum Fert drill:
This is a widely used and accepted type of equipment by the farmers for the wide-
spaced crops with top dressing the fertilizers. This can cover two operations viz., inter
cultivation and top dressing at a time with two manual labour. The operating efficiency
of the equipment is 95 %. It can cover 5 acres per day.
c. High clearance Pneumatic tyres:
Pneumatic tyres are specially designed with high-quality high-density polyethylene
(HDPE) with a slim design to rise the chassis of a mini tractor to a height of 1m height
rather than the existing tractor height of 75 cm. This can ease the operation of the tractor
in the tractor at 60 and 90 DAS for inter-cultivation. This type of pneumatic tyres is
still under field experimentation further.
d. Spraying of Plant protection Chemicals:
Tractor-operated sprayers are available in a wide range with different capacities and
sizes that suit the spraying of Plant protection chemicals.

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Although studies using UAVs spraying on agricultural crops in various stages.(Souza et al.,
2022)[9]. Drone application of pesticides in tall growing crops like castor where spraying is
difficult after 60 DAS manually with power sprayers and tractor mounted sprayers. In this
context, drone technology is fast catching up in view of its capacity to address the perennial
issues of labour shortage and efficiency in pesticide application. The device is much superior
to manual spraying as it does a quick job and ensures uniform spraying of pesticides covering
the entire crop. Since drones do not touch the soil, they also help avoid crop damage through
compaction.
Harvesting:
A combine harvester is a very useful agricultural machine that can harvest, winnow, and thresh
rice, corn, wheat, sunflower, pulses, and other crops right out in the field. Harvesting crops in
this manner in one operational process can save time as well as human labour, and bring down
work costs for farmers. In addition, these machines can increase agricultural output since the
harvesting is carried out more efficiently, and this, in turn, can make farming more profitable.
A combined harvester can resolve the growing problem of finding a sufficient number of
experienced and trustworthy farm laborers for farm work. The phenomenon of people moving
from rural areas to find work in cities to obtain better economic prospects is increasing rapidly
in India, and this migration is creating a serious shortage of labour in the agricultural sector. In
addition, labour wages have also gone up, making things more difficult for cash-strapped
farmers. With a combined harvester to do all the work formerly done by labourers, the issue of
lack of labour and the issue of high labour costs are both being addressed to an extent. Combine
harvesters can get more work done and more efficiently, offering farmers a better grain yield
and better grain quality. The work gets done in less time too than what would have been
achieved by human labour. In all, using combined harvesters can make agricultural operations
more economical and profitable for Indian farmers. Stefanoni et al, 2022 [10] reported that a
conventional combine harvester equipped with a sunflower header could be the first step
toward the development of a fully mechanized harvest phase in castor beans which triggers
lower seed loss and does not negatively affect the cleaning capacity of the combine harvester.
Still, many of the threshers and plant types are under the testing stage yet. The suitability of
dwarf hybrids of castor plants has been used for mechanical harvesting. Furthermore, a
suitable defoliant is required. The defoliant reduced the residual moisture in the plants
sufficiently to allow mechanical harvesting. Haleem et al., 2022 [11].

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Fig: Feasibility of Castor harvesting with combiner

Post-Harvest management:
Threshing:
Kumar Naik et al.2016 [12] reported that mechanized cultivation of castor helped in
completing all field operations on time with high precision, besides saving a considerable
amount of time (490 hrs/ha) and labour (58 man-days/ha) to perform different agronomic
operations. Further, it produced nearly 17.6% higher seed yield (2362 kg/ha) with, a reduced
cost of cultivation by Rs 5341/ha. The increased net returns compared to the normal
(traditional) plot was Rs 17783/ha. Farmers are habituated to selling their produce as capsules
to the traders with a low-price range of 2000-2500 INR per quintal (Whereas seed cost is 4000-
4500 INR/Quintal). This low price is a major loss to the farmer. However, farmers are unable
to purchase huge and costly equipment for the threshing of the Produce. Two farmer-friendly
and small-scale castor threshers were designed and developed by the AICRP on Castor suitable
for small and marginal farmers such as power-operated and hand-operated threshers.
Hand-operated Castor Thresher: Hand-operated castor thresher works a hand-operated pully
and threshes approximately 5 kg per hour of production. The threshing efficiency of the
thresher is 85 % and eases the operation of the farmer. The approximate cost of the thresher is
approximately 8,000 INR. Threshing operation doubles the net returns of the product when
compared with castor capsules in the market. The approximately threshing cost is 1500 per
acre and increases the net returns to a large extent. Furthermore, Mrunalini (2015) [13], who
worked on ergonomic evaluation, reported 33%-time savings and 50% more production per
unit time, as well as a decrease in an average working heartbeat and physiological muscular
stress due to the use of a manually hand-operated multipurpose castor sheller over the
conventional method.
Coolant oil Engine operated castor thresher: It can be operated with the diesel operated
engine with a 10 hp coolant motor oil engine with 1440 rpm and it can able to threshes 500 kg
per hour with 91 % of threshing efficiency. The approximate cost of the thresher is 1 lakh INR.
Mini Power-operated Castor Thresher: Power-operated castor thresher works on a 0.5 HP
motor with 220 RPM and threshing approximately 50 kg per hour of production. The threshing
efficiency of the thresher is 85 % and eases the operation of the farmer. The approximate cost
of the thresher is approximately 30,000 INR.

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Mini power operated castor thresher Mini Hand Operated castor thresher

Diesel-operated castor thresher Power Operated castor thresher

Table: Scope and opportunities of mechanization in castor

S.No Operation Conventional/ Better Management Mechanised
Farmers Practice Practice
1 Land Preparation
1.a. Preparatory Cultivation Country plough in old age M.B. Plough/Disc plough
traditional practice and current day 8
tyned cultivator
1.b. Secondary cultivation 8 tyned cultivator 8-tyned cultivator followed by
leveling blade
2 FYM application Manual loading and unloading of the Loading with JCB and spreading
FYM and spreading uniformly to the through or FYM Spreader
field
3 Sowing Manually tractor-operated local seed Tractor drew Anantha castor
drill planter / Kisan Planter or Mini

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tractor operated Ananta Planter /

4 Inter cultivation cum
conservation tillage
5 Topdressing
6 Spraying and Plant
Protection
7 Harvesting
8 Threshing
9 Post-Harvest
management
10 Moisture conservation
Not practiced. but a few farmers will
lay conservation furrow with a
country plough
Manually by band placement
Taiwan spryer
Manually with sickles
Threshing is done by running the
tractor on the concrete floor
Removal of the left-over stubbles by
running the 8-tyne cultivator and
collecting the stubbles manually
Usually done with a country plough
Kisan Planter
Ananta mini tractor-drawn inter
cultivator with conservation
furrow at 30 and 45 DAS
Tractor-operated inter cultivator
cum Fert drill
Mini tractor-operated boom
sprayer/ Drone spaying
Secateurs
The cool engine operated thresher/
Mini Power-operated thresher/
Hand operated decorticator
Tractor-operated castor shredder
cum mulcher or removal of
stubbles with a cross blade
Running subsoiler across the slope
at 1 m interval

Table: 02. Adoptability of the mechanization in Castor

S.No Operation Better Management Cost of saving operation Adaption
Mechanised Practice (INR/ha) percentage
1 Land Preparation
1.a. Preparatory M.B. Plough/Disc plough 1500 35 %
Cultivation
1.b. Secondary cultivation 8-tyned cultivator followed 1000 80 %
by leveling blade
2 FYM application Loading with JCB and 1000 80 %
spreading through
3 Sowing Tractor drew Anantha castor 600 11 %
planter
4 Inter cultivation cum Ananta mini tractor-drawn 1000 8%
conservation tillage inter cultivator with
conservation furrow at 30 and
45 DAS
5 Topdressing Tractor-operated inter 800 35 %
cultivator cum Fert drill
6 Spraying and Plant Mini tractor-operated boom 900 20 %
Protection sprayer/ Drone spaying
7 Harvesting Secateurs 2000 5%
8 Threshing The cool engine operated 800 42 %
thresher/ Mini Power-
operated thresher/ Hand
operated decorticator
9 Post-Harvest Tractor-operated castor 1000 20 %
management shredder cum mulcher or
removal of stubbles with a
cross blade
10 Moisture conservation Running subsoiler across the 800 6%
slope at 1 m interval

Conclusion:
Further, there is ample scope for complete mechanization in castor. The yields were oscillating
in castor being it was mainly cultivated as a rainfed crop and dependent on monsoon. The crop
was at the cross in view harvesting aspects need to be further standardized like other crops with
suitable cultivars too. In other rainfed crops seed to seed mechanization is a task completed
with wider adaptability however, in castor certain tasks like inter-cultivation at later days viz.,

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60,90 DAS and harvesting can be done. The location-specific high-yielding extra early short-
duration varieties which are highly suitable for mechanized cultivation of castor-based
cropping systems need to be bred and popularized. Furthermore, custom hiring centers should
be established, so that, needy farmers can utilize the same depending on their requirements.
References:
1. Renpu, B. 2014. Analysis of the trends of Agricultural mechanization development in China (2000-2020).
ESCA P/CSA M Policy Brief, Issue No.1, pp. 9.
2. Damodaram,T and Hegde D.M.2010. Oilseeds situation: A statistical Compendium. Directorate of
Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad.
3. Goldman Sachs. 2014.BRICS & Beyond, Goldman Sachs Global Economic Research NewYork, USA.
Pp.289.
4. Srinivas I., Mayande V.M.*, Adake R.V., Tyagaraj C.R., Dange G. Veeraprasad Atul, Vijayakumar
S.2009.Selective Mechanization of Castor crop in Andhra Pradesh to reduce the Cost of cultivation: A
case study. Indian Journal of Dryland Agricultural Research and Development. 24 (2): 79-83.

5. Pavan

6. Manikandan, G., Shridar, B., & Jesudas, D. M. (2021) “Draft measurement of five tyne duck foot plough
in clay soil”, Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 13(SI), 73 - 79.
7. Kumar Naik. A.H, Hanumanthappa .M, Vinod.V.R.and Shankar.M.2016.Enhancing castor productivity
through selective mechanization. Advances in life Sciences .5(22):10416-10420.
8. Subba Reddy.G., Sesha Sailasree.P., and Maruthi.V.1999.Contribution of production factors to yield and
income of rainfed castor. Journal of Oilseed Research .16(1):57-61.
9. Souza, F. G., Portes, M. F., Silva, M. v., Teixeira, M. M., & Furtado Júnior, M. R. (2022). Impact of
sprayer drone flight height on droplet spectrum in mountainous coffee plantation. Revista Brasileira de
Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental, 26(12), 901–906. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-
1929/AGRIAMBI.V26N12P901-906.
10. Stefanoni, W.; Latterini, F.; Malkogiannidis, V.; Salpiggidis, V.; Alexopoulou, E.; Pari, L. Mechanical
Harvesting of Castor Bean (Ricinus communis L.) with a Combine Harvester Equipped with Two
Different Headers: A Comparison of Working Performance. Energies 2022, 15, 2999.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ en15092999
11. Haleem, A., Latterini, F., Stefanoni, W., Cavalaris, C., Karamoutis, C., Pari, L., & Alexopoulou, E.
(2022). Effectiveness of Three Terminating Products on Reducing the Residual Moisture in Dwarf Castor
Plants: A Preliminary Study of Direct Mechanical Harvesting in Central Greece.
https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12010146.
12. Kumar Naik. A.H, Hanumanthappa .M, Vinod.V.R.and Shankar.M.2016.Enhancing castor productivity
through selective mechanization. Advances in life Sciences .5(22):10416-10420.
13. Mrunalini, A.2015.Ergonomic evaluation of castor decortication by women- conventional method versus
manual decorticator. International Journal of Science and Research.4(4): 1543-1545.

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