Enhancing Sugarcane Sustainability Through a Modified Conservation Tillage Trencher in the Agro-ecological Condition of Bangladesh

Modificiations of tillage trencher for sugarcane

Abstract

Small-scale farmers in Bangladesh face challenges in using existing tillage trenchers due to their larger size, which increases labour and fuel costs during sugarcane plantation. In this study,  a compact, cost-efficient, and accessible conservation tillage trencher (CTT) is modified in rotary shafts and toolbar-mounted to establish the easy sugarcane plantation in Bangladesh. The performance of the developed CTT is evaluated with small-scale farmer’s practice (SFP) and large-farm practice (LFP) through a field experiment using three different conservation tillage methods of i) bed cum trenching (BT), ii) zero-tillage trenching (ZT) and iii) strip-tillage (ST).  The study shows that the effective field capacities of CTT were 0.14 ha h^-1, 0.12 ha h^-1 and 0.14 ha h^-1 for BT, ZT, and ST, respectively. Modified CTT saves time by 80% and 26-37% over SFP and LFP, and requires 96% and 26-36% less labour than that of SFP and LFP, respectively. Conservation tillage methods lowered the fuel consumption, which reduced CO₂ emission by 60-72% and 85-89% and saves sugarcane land preparation costs by 85% to 90% compared to conventional tillage methods. This study suggest to use of CTTs could lead to saving of environment, labour and energy in the agricultural operation, making it an ideal solution for small-scale farmers in Bangladesh.