Primary tillage implements: Names and functions
Primary tillage tools break, invert, and shatter compacted virgin or stubble soil.
- Mouldboard (MB) Plough: Inverts the soil completely, burying weeds and crop residues while bringing deep subsoil to the surface.
- Reversible Hydraulic Plough: Features twin opposing mouldboard bottoms that flip hydraulically at headlands, maintaining level fields without ridge furrows.
- Disc Plough: Uses heavy spherical concave steel discs that roll over hidden stones, roots, and hard dry soils without shear bolt breakage.
- Subsoiler / Chisel Plough: Deep-tillage implement (operating 40 to 60 cm deep) that shatters hard subsoil pans to improve water infiltration.
Secondary tillage, sowing, and planting implements
Secondary implements pulverize soil clods, level seedbeds, and place seeds precisely.
- Rotavator (Rotary Tiller): PTO-driven rotating L or J blades that pulverize soil into a fine seedbed in a single pass.
- Cultivator (Tiller): Rigid or spring-loaded 9 to 13 tine cultivator that aerates soil, uproots weeds, and creates dust mulch.
- Disc Harrow: Offset or tandem gangs of concave discs used for secondary pulverization and chopping light crop residue.
- Seed-cum-Fertilizer Drill: Places seeds and chemical fertilizer simultaneously at uniform depth and spacing in separate furrows.
- Happy Seeder / Super Seeder: Advanced tractor machine that cuts loose paddy straw, sows wheat directly, and deposits straw as surface mulch.
- Laser Land Leveler: Laser-guided scraper that levels fields with millimeter precision, saving 25% to 30% of irrigation water.
Implement matching, maintenance, and SMAM subsidies
Matching implements to tractor horsepower ensures fuel economy and prevents mechanical strain.
- Horsepower Matching: 35 to 45 HP tractors match 5 to 6 foot rotavators and 9-tine cultivators; 50+ HP tractors match 7 to 8 foot rotavators, laser levelers, and reversible ploughs.
- Three-Point Linkage: Ensure implement category pins (Category I or II) align properly with tractor hitch links and stabilizer chains.
- Maintenance: Grease PTO cross joints, tighten implement bolts, and replace worn soil-engaging points after each tillage season.
- SMAM Subsidies: Subsidies are available for certified implements under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM).
- Apply through the central machinery portal (agrimachinery.nic.in) or state agriculture engineering portals.
Official source
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Common questions
What is the difference between primary and secondary tillage implements?
Primary tillage implements (ploughs) deeply break and invert hard soil, while secondary tillage implements (cultivators, rotavators, harrows) pulverize clods and prepare smooth seedbeds.
Why is a seed-cum-fertilizer drill preferred over broadcasting?
It places seeds at uniform depth and places fertilizer beneath the seed in a separate band, preventing fertilizer burn and ensuring uniform germination with less seed waste.
What subsidy is available on agricultural implements in India?
Subsidies ranging from 40% to 50% for individual farmers (and up to 80% for custom hiring centers) are provided under SMAM through agrimachinery.nic.in.
General guidance, not personal advice. For your farm, ask your local Krishi Vigyan Kendra or agriculture officer.
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