Farm Power & Machinery

Levelers

• In irrigated areas land leveling is an essential operation of farming. Leveled fields receive uniform penetration of irrigation water with high efficiency.
  
• The possibility of water logging and soil erosion is reduced considerably.
  
• The entire leveled field becomes ready to receive timely agricultural operations like ploughing, seeding and interculturing without any delay.
  
• Smooth fields also facilitate the operation of field equipment and are highly desirable for using mechanical harvesters.
  
• Land leveling is usually done in the slack season when the field is free from crops, and the Labours and bullocks are idle.
• Wooden logs or planks are the most common type of land levelers used by Indian farmers.
  
• They are operated in ploughed land to collect loose soil form high spots and to dump in into depressions.
  
• While operating in the field, the leveler is raised from the rear to take more cut and then it is tilted up side down to fill up the low spots elsewhere.
  
• The other improved type of land leveler which is used on the medium size farms, is called the leveling karaha or scraper.
  
• The scraper essentially consists of a bowl or ‘U’ shaped steel sheet made of 3 mm thick metal. Its cutting edge is generally made of high carbon steel.
  
• It is also provided with a wooden handle in the middle or two handles on the sides at the rear end.
  
• Provision is made at the front end for hitching. For taking the wear an extra steel sheet is welded underneath at the centre.
  
• The implement is pulled by a pair of bullocks. Two men are needed to operate it. One man controls the bullocks and the other man does the loading and unloading.
  
• The amount of work done in a day depends upon various factors such as hardness of the soil, transportation distance (lead) and volume of the soil cut each time.
  
• If the soil is hard, it is always helpful to loosen the soil first by ploughing or by any other means and then proceed with leveling.
  
• Tractor mounted type (plate : 15.4) or animal operated improved levelers are also used in India.
  
• The laser guided leveler operated by tractor is shown in Plate : 15.5. The laser guided leveler has a transmitter which is fitted outside the field to be leveled.
  
• The leveler is fixed with a receiver of the laser beam.
  
• It works automatically and the operator need not adjust the leveling blade.

--------------Plate : 15.4 Tractor drawn leveller----------------Plate : 15.5 Laser guided leveler in operation-----