Tractors are an essential part of agriculture and farming. They provide the power and traction needed for various farm operations like tilling, planting, spraying, harvesting, and transporting. However, to perform these tasks efficiently, more than a tractor is needed. Different attachments and equipment, known as tractor implements, are required to maximise productivity and efficiency.
Tractor implements are additional tools and attachments that can be connected to the rear or front of a tractor to perform specialised tasks. These implements augment a tractor’s utility and functionality, enabling it to accomplish myriad farm jobs effectively.
Here is an overview of some of the most useful tractor implements for Indian agriculture:
1. Harvester
A harvester is an advanced implement used for harvesting grains like wheat, rice, soybean, corn, etc. It is efficient for large farms with vast tracts to be harvested quickly and economically.
Harvesters are available as self-propelled models with an onboard engine and pull-type models attached to the tractor’s rear hydraulic system. The cutting unit cuts the crop, and the grains are separated from the straw, collected in a holding tank, and periodically unloaded.
Harvesters offer benefits such as a fast harvesting pace, labour reduction, uniform cutting height, minimal grain losses, and low soil compaction. They significantly boost productivity and are ideal for large commercial farms.
2. Mahindra Cultivator
Mahindra cultivators are designed to perform inter-cultivation tasks like weeding, aerating soil, and breaking soil capillarity after sowing crops. This helps increase productivity through improved plant growth and reduces weed competition.
Different types of cultivators include rigid, spring-loaded, trailing, and hillside cultivators. It features reversible points, scrapers, a depth control lever, and spring-loaded tynes. Key benefits are cost savings, reduced crop damage, and faster inter-cultivation.
3. Laser Leveller
Laser levellers are advanced implements using laser technology to level agricultural fields precisely. Uneven fields with elevations cause water to pool and prevent uniform germination. Laser levelling creates flat, smooth, properly sloped fields for even irrigation and drainage.
It consists of a laser transmitter, a receiver mounted on the blade, and a hydraulic mechanism to adjust blade height. Based on ground-level variations, the laser receiver signals the blade to lower or raise. It can achieve gradients with 1-2 cm accuracy across hectares.
Key benefits include up to 30% water savings, a 20-25% increase in crop yields, reduced weed growth, and precision farming suitability. Laser levelling is ideal for farmers cultivating water-intensive crops like rice, wheat, etc.
4. Minivator
The minivator is a multi-purpose implement ideal for small and compact tractors in orchards, vineyards or small farms. It performs speedy inter-cultivation tasks like weeding, soil aeration and mixing organic matter between crop rows.
Mahindra’s minivator consists of 36 complementary ‘L’- shaped blades arranged in 4 rotors and powered by the tractor’s PTO. The reversible rotating blades throw the soil sideways, burying weeds within rows while avoiding plant damage.
It covers a wider area faster than traditional implements, reducing time and cost. The minivator has adjustable traction wheels, a PTO shaft, and folding side frames for storage. Key benefits include better weed control and cost savings.
5. Super Seeder
The super seeder is a tractor-mounted implement designed for direct drilling of wheat, paddy, soybean, maise and other crops without tillage. It places seeds and fertiliser directly into untilled soil, avoiding the need for separate seedbed preparation.
Mahindra’s superseeder comes in different row models with indexed double-disk openers suitable for zero-till residue-covered fields. It meters seeds and fertiliser precisely and places them uniformly at the desired depth, facilitating faster germination and plant growth.
Benefits include time, labour, fuel, and cost savings compared to traditional methods. The superseeder also helps conserve moisture and prevent soil erosion through minimum soil disturbance. It allows faster sowing of large areas.
6. Mahindra Thresher
Mahindra offers tractor-operated threshers in groundnut, sunflower, soya bean, maise, and multi-crop models to suit different crop threshing needs.
It consists of a feeding chute, a threshing drum/cylinder with beaters, a blower, sieves, and a grain tank. Crop produce is fed into the drum, which separates the grain from straw. The grain falls through the sieves while the chaff is blown away. Clean grains collect in the grain tank for periodic unloading.
Benefits include fast threshing, reduced crop losses, low power requirement, portability, and cost savings over manual threshing. Key features are simple operation, high throughput, low maintenance, and customisable sieves. Threshers are ideal for medium to large farms.
7. Mahindra Straw Reaper
Straw reapers are implements designed to reap and collect straws and stalks of harvested paddy, wheat, mustard, soybean, gram, etc. Mahindra straw reapers with 1.5 to 2.5 meters cutting width capacity are available as tractor front, side or rear mounted models.
It comprises a reciprocating blade cutter bar and an endless belt conveyor system to collect and bundle the straws for easy handling and transport. The adjustable cutting height allows for harvesting stalks of varying crop lengths.
Benefits include reduced straw damage, minimised wastage, and savings in time, labour and costs over traditional reaping. Straw management facilitates faster turnaround for the next crop and improves farm economics.
8. Front End Loader
Front-end loaders are ideal for tractor-based loading and lifting operations. Mahindra front-end loaders with lift capacities from 300 to 600 kg can be installed on their range of tractors using quick-attach/release mounting systems.
It consists of adjustable lift arms, hydraulic cylinders, and a front-mounted bucket or fork to lift, carry and dump material. Controls are integrated with the tractor’s hydraulic system for smooth and precise operation.
Key benefits are versatility and enhanced productivity through various loading/lifting jobs, such as handling soil, manure, produce, etc. Loaders simplify material movement, saving time and manual labour.
Conclusion
The right set of implements can significantly boost a tractor’s utility across myriad farming applications. While tractors provide the base power unit, implements enable specialised tasks to maximise productivity and profitability. A wide range of tractor implements is available from brands like Mahindra, designed to meet Indian agriculture needs.
The implements discussed here represent a cross-section of the most useful equipment across land preparation, sowing, inter-culture, spraying, harvesting, and post-harvest operations. Using such implements reduces labour and costs while enhancing productivity. They enable small farmers to mechanise critical farm operations affordably.