The agricultural revolution has seen a very gradual transformation in terms of the machinery used, the current infrastructure and the working processes involved in a farm. The field of agriculture has revolutionised the entire concept of farming machinery. Technologies introduced have miraculously increased the productivity while reducing the labour force. People involved in farming would agree that treatment of the soil is extremely crucial and this treatment is required at every stage during the growing cycle. It is because of this treatment at different stages that there is a need of adequate agricultural machinery. All agricultural machines are designed to suit the common purpose of harvesting from dirt and seed. So let us take a quick look at some of the importance surrounding machinery.
- Getting the Power of the Tractor – Irrespective of the revolution that agriculture has made throughout the years, tractor has remained constant. Sure there has been a lot of modification to add a touch of technology but the basic functionality has remained the same throughout. With growth and diversification in the field of agriculture, man power and farm animals are not sufficient to sustain this growth and this led to the use of steam engines and the ever increasing use of tractors. The use of the tractor has undergone several changes with time but is still considered to be the main source for power in the field of agriculture and cultivation.
- Soil Preparation – There are several attachments that need to break up for preparing the soil for cultivation and planting, but the main apparatus for this is the plow. It has a metal frame but comprises of curved blades that are called as the mold boards. These mold boards need to be placed at different degrees of depth and needs to have sharp edges. The main purpose of these blades or the plow is to cut through the soil and turn it over with the help of horizontal as well as vertical blades. The touch of modernity added to these plows is the scope for adjustments in the width and length of coverage. This process also uproots the weeds as well as expels the stones.
- Seed Plantation – Seed plantation basically known as the sowing machine is used for planting the seeds in straight rows with equal spacing. However, farmers doing the same thing manually is not only time consuming but there is a lack of perfection in that too. The modern day sowing machine known as the planter with sharpened discs allow careful opening and closing of furrows to drop the seeds. The gauge wheels are responsible to check the depth of seeds placed, the metal point perfects the furrows while the feeding tube helps in depositing the seed. The specialized wheels help in closing the furrows.
- Field Cultivation – Cultivator operates in the same way like the plow. The only difference is, the former functions post the seeds are planted and the crops are growing. Cultivator has teeth which straddle the plant rows, refining and sifting the rest of the soil. The importance of this process is primarily to make sure the miniscule spaces known as the macro pores can stay in the soil. This would in turn allow room for oxygen, growing roots and water. The cultivators cover a span of three to five rows but there are other models which exceed up to 15 rows.
These are some of the most important functions of the agricultural machinery that farmers use for the purpose of growing better crops. So before getting the right agricultural machinery for your farm, it is important that you are aware of its uses to have a clear idea about the various ways you can use it.