When we talk about plowing the soil, the days have gone when all the work was done manually in order to get the best out of it. Through this article, I hope I will make it clear how easy it can be to prepare and cultivate the soil in your garden or farm.
Rotavator is a kind of a machine used in agriculture nowadays, which can break, churn and aerate the soil in the easiest possible ways and quickly or it can be said as powerful pieces of gardening machinery used to rotate the soil to make it soft for sowing. It’s easy to use rotavator on used land instead of virgin soil because the soil is hard with lumps.
It uses a set of blades and rotors which churns the soil by spinning and breaking through it. It originates from two English words i.e. Rotatory (Rota) and cultivator (vator)
Types of Rotavators
Rotavators can be of different types also known as ‘power digger’, which can be powered by gas, petro, or electric. The connection is required according to the type. While deciding for the right type following points should be kept in mind:
1. What type of digging machine the tool is whether it has wheels that drive the machine along with the blades at the back of it then it is a rotavator as some large rotavators have their blades at the front (tines) one should avoid them and not to get fooled by them.
2. Rotavators are generally bigger in size than cultivators are, although not always the case. The blades are usually more powerful being able to dig deeper into the ground normally about 9” compared to a cultivator’s 2-3”
3. The mid size plots needs a normal rotavator instead of a large field, which require more commercial type of rotavator.
Use of Rotavator
Garden soil should be churned and broken up as part of that process, and both a rotavator and cultivator can be used to perform the task. This process aerates the soil, which enables it to gain warmth quicker so plants can grow. This also makes weeding easier, exposes insects to birds, and helps improve soil drainage. It adds in adding nutrient to the soil but being expensive and in need of high-powered tractors, is still not used by many farmers.
A Myth
There is a misconception that it hardens the soil or forms hard layer is also exhibiting farmers to use it. It is very useful as it can be easily driven by tractors of 45 hp or onwards. It can be used for the nutrient value of soil as farmers can very easily add green manure to it.
Solution to stubble burning and pollution
Bhupesh Joshi, Deputy Project Director, Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA), Faridkot told that farmers used to burn the residual of most of the crops as they found it difficult to prepare the fields for the next crop, but with the help of the rotavator, they can mix it into the soil with only one ploughing. It is also helpful to preserve moisture content in the soil and minimise seepage,” Joshi added.
Rotavator is also economical in view of rising prices of fuel. Using disks to prepare fields with green manure, ploughing many kinds of residuals of vegetable crops and pulses costs too much. Mostly it required two to four ploughings for preparation of field for next crop but rotavator can solve the problem by cutting short the expenses on repeated ploughing.
Difference between Rotavator and cultivator
Cultivators in comparison to rotavator are smaller and less powerful also. They are more efficient for small land holdings and not suitable for large fields as the blades attached to them are less powerful in function. Although cultivators are also of different types depending on their mode of power, supply i.e. petrol, electricity, and others. The blades attached are of lower quality than rotavator, which is far more powerful. Different manufacturers produce different types of cultivators, which needs to needs to be selected based on their engine and not brands. Since cultivators are more suitable to plow for a depth and not less than that, they are more suitable for removal of weeds.
In case it is difficult to buy a rotavator, being expensive one can buy it second hand on online sites or market. Therefore, depending on the size of your land and requirement you are ready to decide the right product and make your land greener!
