Weeding Efficacy and Power Requirement of Walking-Type Power Weeder under Varying Rotor Slippage in Paddy Field

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the weeding efficacy and power requirement of a three-row walking-type weeder under varying slippage. A driven cage wheel was installed by replacing an existing resistance bar to control the slippage of the rotor between 93% and 79% at a constant rotational speed around 200rpm. One test each was carried out in two paddy fields 10 or 21 days after transplanting. With a decrease in slippage, power requirement decreased from 0.62kW to 0.40kW. A reduction in weeding efficacy and grain yield was observed only in fields weeded 21 days after transplanting.