ANIL KUMAR, VIJAYA RANI, MUKESH JAIN, RAJENDER KUMAR AND NITIN KARWASRA
College of Agricultural Engineering & Technology
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail : karwasra.nitin@gmail.com)
(Received : 1 June 2020; Accepted : 28 June 2020)
SUMMARY
The demand of livestock products is increasing due to increase in human population and change in feeding habits of peoples as they are shifting towards milk products, eggs and meat. To fulfil this demand higher cattle population is required, which will impress upon the need to produce higher feed and fodder from the decreasing land resources. These situations call for use of alternative sources of feed and fodder to bridge the gap between demand and supply of the fodder. In the present situation, the use of rice straw as animal feeding is an option as the majority of rice straw is burnt in the field. This straw can be retrieved from the field by using hay rakes and straw balers. Keeping in view a study was carried out at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Fatehabad (Haryana), India to evaluate the performance and economic feasibility of straw baler in paddy variety PB – 1509. The field capacity of straw baler increased from 0.34-0.85 ha/h, net income increased from Rs. 1100 to Rs. 2800/ha, B : C ratio increased from 1.20 to 1.78 and break-even point decreased from 225 to 83 h/year if straw baler is operated after using hay rake.
Key words:Bailing efficiency, field capacity, fuel consumption, hay rake, straw baler