EVALUATING PERFORMANCE OF WATER SEED DRILL FOR WHEAT PRODUCTION: A SUSTAINABLE TECHNIQUE UNDER RAINFED AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM

Rana Shahzad Noor, Fiaz Hussain, Muhammad Umar Farooq, Rabeea Noor, Muhammad Mohsin Waqas

DOI: 10.26480/bda.01.2021.21.26

ABSTRACT
Water content plays a significant role in seed development, especially during the seed sowing level, which ensures the germination of a good seed. A water seed drill (WSD) was tested in the farmer’s field Koont, Rawalpindi, for the last five wheat seasons (2015-16 to 2019-20). WSD provides the optimum amount of water needed in the same furrow for the soil right after seed placement. In this study, a WSD conserves soil moisture for better plant germination and wheat growth in rainfed areas. The data recorded showed that the application of WSD enhanced soil moisture 50 to 67% in the existing soil available water. The Germination rate and counted tillers of wheat plants were improved up to 38% and 45%, respectively, compared to conventional wheat sowing. WSD had a significant effect on wheat yield with a maximum of 41% increment in output than conventional sowing. The WSD operational and output cost were 2.57 and 2.15 times more than Conventional seed drill sowing, respectively. The WSD helped advance wheat sowing, ensuring the crop’s timely sowing in the absence of rainfall, especially in rainfed regions, and promoted drill sowing.

KEYWORDS
Seed, WSD, soil, drill