Types of Weeders

Types of Weeders

?The operations performed on the farm after sowing but before harvesting the crops are called intercultural operations.?

Intercultural operations are described as breaking the upper surface of the soil, removing the weeds (unwanted plants), aerating the soil, that promotes the activities of microorganisms, and making good mulch so from evaporation the moisture inside the field is properly retained. These operations are skilled by many tools and equipment, like hoes, cultivators, harrows, rotary hoes, etc.

Hand Hoe:

Hand hoe is the most popular manually operated weeding tool commonly used for farming operations. It has an iron blade and a handle of wood. The operator holds the handle and cuts the soil with the blade to a shallow depth of 2-3 cm thereby weeds are cut and the soil is mixed well. The hand hoe handle is short about 30-40cm long in length hence the operator uses the tool in a bending posture. Its coverage is 5-7 cents per day.?

Hoe Come Rake:?

This is an important hand tool used to multipurpose, which has a flat blade on one side like prongs on the other side. The blade and prongs are made from single stock with an eye in the center or joined to an eye by welding. The wooden handle is fitted for the operation. For digging and raking the side for weeding and collecting weeds and trash the flat blade is used. Hoe cum rake is used for the secondary tillage operation for the nursery bed preparation tool and is usually used for lighter operations. The flat end of the tool is operated with impact action and the rake end.

?Long Handle Weeders:

Hand hoes required greater strength, due to the short handle exerting greater stress on the operator, hence the operator should have the necessary weeding job in a bent posture.? To avoid bent needs during operation nowadays long handles are used in hoes and hence they are called as long handle weeders. The most popular long-handled weeders available are?

1. ?star-type weeders and
2. ?peg-type weeders

These weeders are generally used in dry soil farms hence it is also called dryland weeders.

?Star-type weeder:??

Star-type weeders are also suitable for dryland weeding. Star-type weeder is generally used in garden fields and also when the soil moisture content is low about 10-15 %. There is one limitation of this weeder is that it works well in line sown crops but not in broadcasted fields.?

This weeder has a blade for cutting the weeds, and a fulcrum wheel for push-pull movement, due to the long handle the strain on the operator reduces and it makes the operation easy. Radial arms of the fulcrum wheel are cut into star-like projections hence this is also known as a star-type weeder. The design of the starwheel is best for loamy soils. Generally, 120mm is the operating width of the blade. Its coverage is 0.05 ha/day. Star-type weeders are also called dryland weeders.

?Peg type weeder:?

?Peg-type weeder is best for the drylands soil. Its design is made for the wedding of the dryland. This weeder can be used in the garden lands also when the soil moisture is low about 10-15 %. There is one limitation of the peg-type weeder is that it works well in line sown crops and not in broadcasted fields. Peg-type weeder has a blade that is used for cutting the weeds, a fulcrum wheel that is used for push-pull movement, and a long handle that helps to make the operations easy.

A long handle helps to reduce the strain on the operator. On the peg -weeder there are pegs welded hence it is known as the peg type weeder. The peg-type wheel is designed for clayey soils. The width of the operating blade is 120 mm. The coverage is 0.05 ha/day. Peg-type weeders are also called dryland weeders.

?Wheel hoe:?

This is a commonly accepted weeding tool for weeding and also intercultural row crops. It is a long-handled tool operated by pushes and pulls action. Construction of a wheel hoe comprises a wheel, tool frame, a set of replaceable tools, and a handle Different types of soil working tools like the straight blade, V -blade, sweep, shovel, etc. Wheel hoe can be used for different works like weeding, soil mulching, stirring, and so on. The long handle reduces drudgery for the operator. Wheel reduces the energy requirement for pushing.? The tools of the soil working components are made from medium carbon steel. Its coverage is 0.05 ha/day.?

?Cono weeder:?

Cono weeder is generally useful in wetlands for uprooting and burying weeds in line planted rice fields. It helps to disturb the topsoil and increases aeration. This facilitates a better growing environment for the crop.?

The weeder has a long handle and also two numbers of truncated conical rollers and an afloat. The rollers are fitted at the bottom of the handle in opposite directions one behind the other. The conical rollers have serrated blades on their surrounding.

The weeder is operated in between two rows of standing crops, the rollers uproot the weeds and also bury them. Cono weeder operation triggers root growth.? In the soil, the moisture content should be present and also a little firm at the time of using the weeder. Its coverage is 0.05 ha/day.