ROPAR:With the government and the state farmers locked in a stalemate over bearing the cost of stubble management, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar has stepped in to provide a low cost stubble management solution by developing a machine that can pay for its operational cost by collecting stubble that can be sold for various purposes.A research team at IIT Ropar , which is working under Dr Prabir Sarkar, has designed the machine that can be used to remove stubble and transport it, all in one go.The machine that can be mounted on a tractor trolley can chop the stubble up to a few centimeters from the ground and automatically load it into the trolley without any manpower, saving labour and cutting down extra spending on diesel, which are the two main concerns being raised by the state farmers.Dr Sarkar said the design team is working on the prototype, which would provide an economically viable solution to the farmers. Elaborating further, he said, as of now the farmers were spending an additional sum of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 per acre for using the straw management system (SMS) mounted on the combine harvester and then they have to spend on diesel and labour to use harrow on the field to prepare it for next sowing. But it has not provided a complete solution to the farmers as the operational cost remains a concern.The machine that is being developed by the IIT Ropar would eliminate the need for SMS and then the harrow on the field and instead it will collect the stubble for the farmers that can be sold to biogas plants, bricks kilns or to the manure and hydrogen manufacturers. This can be achieved with a single run of the tractor in the field, Dr Sarkar said.He said since the machine collect stubble, which would eventually pay for the operational costs, it would prove to be a most viable solution for the farmers.“There are many straw management machines already available for the farmers. So, the research team at the IIT intended to come with a machine that can replace either the SMS or the bailer and also cut down the cost of operating the same,” he said.After harvesting the crop with a combine (which is not fitted with the SMS) the farmers will be able to remove and collect the stubble with a single attempt using this machine which would wipe off the cost of using the harrow five times in the field. Besides, the stubble which would be collected, would be sold to compensate for whatever diesel or labour the farmer would pay for using this machine.Dr Sarkar said the research team had conceptualized even better alternatives, but this design was finalized as its cost for the farmer will be somewhere between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 4 lakh, while other designs were proving to be costly.He said besides developing the prototype to be mounted on a tractor trolley, the team was also designing a separate machine that can be put directly on the combine harvester and can further bring down the cost of operating a tractor trolley. Along with developing the machine, the IIT faculty has also established a stubble management group comprising experts from various departments, who are working to set up a society that would forge a supply chain linking the farmers to the biogas plants, brick kilns, manure and hydrogen manufactures for ease of selling the stubble, Dr Sarkar said.

Stay updated with all the Latest Ludhiana headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.