Design and Production of Fertilizer Spreading Mechanism for Sugarcane

Abstract

Sugarcane is the most broadly grown crop in India due to the rapid expansion of the sugar industry in India. Sugarcane is grown on around 2.8% of the cropped area of India. To accomplish good profit from sugarcane crop, use of fertilizers is necessary. Fertilizers provide plants with the necessary chemical elements needed for growth particularly nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Solid chemical fertilizers are one of the vital sources for plant nourishment. They provide the plants with key nutrients required for growth during the time of its growing life, and also it works to increase the properties of soil.

The objective of this creation is to provide a simple and low-cost fertilizer spreader, in a form of a ‘walk-behind’ device which may be simply and quickly pushed by the farmers for spreading solid fertilizers like urea. This is a type of spreader which can be operated manually for spreading granular materials in the farms especially for solid fertilizers like urea. When the vehicle is pushed, the motion is transferred from rear axle wheels which in turn transmit rotational motion through sprocket and chain mechanism which in turn rotates the second sprocket connected to a shaft having screw conveyor at both the ends. This rotation of screw conveyor will discharge the fertilizer which is supplied through a hopper acting as a storage tank.