Design and Development of an e-Powered Inter Row Weeder for Small Farm Mechanization

Mechanical weed control has become a more efficient and economical method over the past few years. This study presents the concept of an e-power source and a weeding mechanism to carry out the weeding operations in crop rows with a spacing of 30 cm. An e-powered mechanical inter-row weeder was designed, developed, and evaluated for sandy loam soil conditions. The result indicates that the speed of operation and weeding drum diameter significantly affected the power consumption and weeding efficiency at 1% and 5% significance levels. The average weeding efficiency, field capacity, field efficiency, and plant damage were observed as 91.68%, 0.049 ha/h, and 3.18% at the operating speed of 3 km/h. The average power consumption of the weeder was observed as 189 W. The field capacity of the developed weeder was observed to be 3–4 times more than the wheel hoe, leading to a reduction in the required manpower and cost of operations. The weeding mechanism with a combination of drum and tool reduces the chances of weed escape and enhances the weeding efficiency. Moreover, the e-drive system of the weeder significantly reduces vibration leading to improved work efficiency of the operator. Overall, the developed e-powered weeder has the potential to be an effective tool for small-scale farmers to carry out their weeding operations with less drudgery and higher efficiency.