Innovative Design of Tractor for Small and Marginal Farms Mechanisation

Agriculture Tractors are widely used as prime mover either to pull or drive the "Implements" in the farms, apart from custom made equipments like Transplanter, Manure Spreader, Combine Harvester, Cotton Picker, mobile irrigation etc. which are used for particular operations in large production capacities. For larger landholdings, timely completion of the operation within the window period is the major decisive factor that drives agriculture tractor design. For small farms like in India, the productivity requirement was offset by the versatility of the equipment. Also, the farming practice varies in India due to geographical conditions such as soil types and demographic conditions such as crops types. Hence, the mechanisation level of matured market was not yet achieved in India, though the technologies are available for implementation. In this present work, the need for innovative mechanisation solution for small and marginal farm is studied by comparing landholding trends and productivity requirements in comparison to matured market. A concept overview about innovative design of tractive equipment that could complement present day tractors in pulling agriculture-implements to do field operation for complete croplifecycle is discussed in a case study using TRIZ. Extension of this proposed design could also automate the field operations and helps in precision forming of small & marginal landholdings. As the innovative design opens up low cost hybridization feasibility, the potential risks associated with agriculture tractor operations in terms of safety and pollution hazards could be minimized.