DESIGN OF A WEEDING MACHINE FOR AN UPLAND RICE FARM

 ABSTRACT

Weed control is one of the most difficult tasks on an agricultural farm. Three methods of weed control are commonly known in agriculture. These are mechanical, chemical and biological control. Mechanical weed control is easily adopted by farmers once they get convinced of its advantages. Mechanical weed control not only uproots the weed between the crop rows but also keeps the soil surface loose, ensuring better soil aeration and water intake capacity. Weeding by mechanical devices reduces the cost of labour and also saves time. This project work involved the design of a mechanical weeder, after discovering that tools such as cutlass and hoes require high drudgery, time consuming and high labour force. As a solution to these problems, a mechanical weeder was designed. The design component of the machine is from Engineering principles and standard equations. Detailed drawings would be required after the design, using AutoCAD to represent the different views of the machine.