Labour empowerment by CRIJAF nail weeder and weed control in field and horticultural crops.

This video shows how easily this weeding tool ,CRIJAF nail weeder can be operated to weed out composite weed flora at early stage (3-5 days after germination), makes line arrangement in broadcast jute, aerates the soil and creates soil mulch for moisture conservation. In summer it maintains better hydrothermal regime of soil. At field capacity it works in cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and floricultural crops for weed control. A scrapper and a tine is also supplied with the tool for i) controlling established weeds since 15 days after sowing and ii) making lines in prepared soil. It saves around 100 man days/ha and eliminates the use of manual labour and chemical herbicides. It takes maximum 8 man days per hectare to operate the tool. For controlling weeds within the rows, the central nail (3rd from either side) has to be opened and the tool has to be operated over the rows. This way around around 90 percent weeds can be controlled mechanically.The draft requirement varies from 8-15 kg depending on texture of soil. In improves crop yield by 10-15 percent over manual weeding process.
Reference: Ghorai.A.K. (2023).Agricultural weeder with nail assembly for weed control, soil moisture conservation, soil aeration and increasing crop productivity.Current science, 124 (5):635-640.