New Delhi: The ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in collaboration with the ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bengaluru developed a Urea Solution Spraying System for Straw Baler (rectangular type) to pre-treat paddy straw during the bailing operation.
With the help of the system developed at the ICAR-CIAE, Bhopal, the nutritional analysis of treated bales has been carried out at the ICAR-NIANP, Bengaluru in an Inter-Institutional project mode. The developed system consists of a plastic tank, spray boom with flat fan nozzles, HTTP pump, hose pipe, strainer, pressure relief valve and pressure gauge. The system has been used for on-the-go spraying of urea solution on loose straw during conveying to the compression chamber of baler. The discharge rate of urea solution is adjusted with the help of a pressure relief valve of the pump.
The developed system has been evaluated in paddy and wheat straw fields and also demonstrated at the farmer’s field. The Urea solution having concentration of 8% (8 kg of urea in 100 litres of water) was prepared. The average weight of paddy bales was found to be increased in the range of 45% to 50% after treatment. The working capacity of straw baler with urea spraying system was observed 109 bales/h for paddy at straw load of 8.3 t/ha. The Urea treated bales were wrapped in polyethylene sheet and kept for three weeks for curing. The nutritive value of the straw like crude protein, in vitro dry matter digestibility and metabolizable energy was found to be improved as compared to the untreated straw. The crude protein in urea treated paddy straw was found to be increased to 12.28% as compared to the untreated value of 6.61%. The value of metabolizable energy was found to be improved by 3% and in vitro dry matter digestibility by 6% as compared to untreated straw.
The above results showed that the pre-treated straw is suitable for animal feed. The cost of retrofitted Urea Solution Spraying System is Rs. 30,000/-. The cost of urea treatment with a developed spraying system is Rs. 0.50/- per kg of straw.
(Source: ICAR-Central Institute Of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh)