TNAU gets patent for twin-purpose equipment suiting paddy fields
The Hindu
TNAU receives national patent for innovative farm equipment combining fertiliser application and weeding in paddy fields.
The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has received a national patent for a farm equipment that combines the operations of fertiliser application and weeding in paddy fields.
The patent for ‘Fertiliser broadcaster attachment to weeder’ was granted by the Controller General of Patents, Design and Trade Marks, The Patent Office, Government of India.
The equipment consists of a seed hopper with controlled opening, fertiliser spreading disc and power transmission system. The fertiliser is conveyed from the hopper to the top of the spinning disc. Because of the rotation of spinning disc and the centrifugal force, the fertiliser is spread over a swath of three metres, a TNAU press release said.
Power is transmitted from the gear box of the weeder to another gear box fixed at the bottom of the spinning disc. The fertiliser broadcaster is attached to the power weeder for the concurrent operation of weeding and fertiliser application, which will be useful in small farm mechanisation, the press release said.