AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

IMPLEMENTS

The field tools and implements used by agriculturists of the district are chiefly old and indigenous though some modern improved implements have been introduced. Ploughs, harrows, levellers, clod-crushers, seed-drills and hoes are the main implements used during the various phases of cultivation and are described in this section. Besides these, several hand tools arc also used for sundry jobs on the farm. Iron ploughs are, however, replacing the indigenous wooden ones. Iron ploughs manufactured by the well-known firms in Satara and Sangli districts are popular with the farmers though sometimes ploughs of foreign make are also in use. Among other improved implements in use arc-disc and Norwegian harrows, box levellers, ridgers, shovels, wheat threshers, Japanese hand hoes, rotary hoes, plant pullers, sprayers and dusters. There were 38 tractors as recorded at the 1956 Census of Agricultural Implements and Machinery. Till 1954-55, a tractor unit was working in the district which has been shifted now to the Dhulia district. These tractors are used for deep as well as shallow ploughing and harrowing. Boring machines are used for boring wells. In 1954-55, 26 wells were bored with the help of these machines. The following table shows talukawise distribution of agricultural machinery and implements in use in Jalgaon district, in 1956: —

TABLE No. 35

Agricultural Machinery and Implements in Jalgaon (East Khandesh) District in 1956.

Plough.

The ploughs (nangar) are mainly of the indigenous type and made of babhul wood. They are manufactured by local black smiths and the carpenters and operated with the help of one or two pairs of bullocks. The body and the handle are in two separate pieces. The share is of a crowbar type, one end of which is fixed in the body and is 1½ square inch in cross section. At the lower extremity, the share is secured by means of an iron ring. The handle carries a long stilt. The plough penetrates to a depth of 6" to 8" which can be adjusted by adjusting the hitching point to and fro the implement. In addition to ploughing, the implement is also used for opening furrow for planting irrigated crops. The details of the plough arc given below: —

Harrow.

The harrow (vakhar) is operated by one pair of bullocks and a driver. The head-piece is either rectangular or octagonal in cross-section and is made of babhul or sisam. The beam is invariably made of sag. Sometimes, it is slightly curved with its two extremities turned upwards. This curvature provides an easy passage for clods. The length of the head-piece varies from 34" to 38". The cross-section measures 6½" x 4½", when rectangular and seven inches in diameter when octagonal. The beam, brace, prongs and handle are mortised into the head-piece. The prongs are 9" in length and 1½" in diameter at lower extremity and 2½' in diameter at the upper extremity. The blade is fixed into the prongs and secured by means of iron rings. The length of the blade varies from 2 to 2^I/₂' and the width varies from 2" to 3". Adjustment of depth is usually done by varying the length of the hitching point of the yoke from the head-piece. The details of the harrow are given below: —

This harrow is used for general land preparation after ploughing. It is also used for uprooting the cotton stalks and jowar or bajri stubbles: preparing beds for irrigating wheat by blocking the portion between two prongs with a rope which is wound round the two prongs; and lastly, for interculturing banana and sugarcane crops. At times, it is used for sowing cotton or jowar (spacing 1½ to 2) by attaching sowing tubes to its prongs.

Another harrow (dankya or dharal), rather light in weight, is used for covering the seed, as it need not go deep in the earth. With a longer blade, it can cover a large area at a time. The length of the head-piece varies from 48" to 52" with a cross-section 4½''x3" when rectangular and 4½' in diameter when octagonal. The blade is from 3½' to 4' long and 2½" wide. The details of the dankya or dharal are given below:—-

Leveller.

A leveller (keni) is operated by one pair of bullocks and an attendant, It is made of either sag or bablul and consists of two planks lilted to each other at an angle. Each plank is 9' in length, 1½ in breadth and l½" thick. To the lower edge of the plant, a steel blade 1½" broad is fixed. A 2½' high handle is attached to the outer side of the angular joint made by the two planks. The iron rings iitting loosely in hook bolts, which are fixed in the planks are provided for hitching the implement to the yoke. As the implement is of only occasional utility, it easily lasts for a number of vears. It is used for levelling the fields or for collect-ing soil for putting up the bunds. The implement weighs from 25—35 lbs. and costs Rs. 20.

Seed-drill.

Only indigenous drills In equipped with sowing tubes are used for sowing. Thev are operated by one pair of bullocks and two men —one driver and one attendant. The drill consists of a head-piece which is octagonal or rectangular in cross-section. It is provided with coulters, a handle, beam and brace. The head-piece, coulters and handle are made of bahhul, the beam is made of sag and the seed-bowl of sag, anjan, bhokar, tixas or sisam. The most common types used are described in the following paragraphs.

Two conllerad drill (dusc).—The length of the head-piece of this drill varies from 20" to 22" and the cross-section is 6" x 8" when rectangular or nine inches in diameter when octagonal. Sometimes the head-piece is slightly scooped on the lower side. The distance between two coulters is 12". The length of the coulter is 12" and its diameter is three inches at the upper extremity. The iron coulter tip is called kusali. It consists of a half-inch square piece of iron bar, the lower end of which is flattened in the form of an arrow head. This arrow head fits over the lower ends of like coulter. The top end is mortised into the head-piece along with the coulter. This drill is mainly used for sowing rahi crops like wheat and gram. The area covered in a day is two to three acres. The details of dusc arc given below:—-

Three-coultered drill (tiphan).—The length of the head-piece of this drill varies from 33" to 44" and the cross-section is 3½" by 4" when rectangular or 5½" in diameter when octagonal. Spacing between two coulters ranges from 12" to 18". The length of the coulter is 12" and its diameter three inches at the upper extremity. The iron coulter tip (kusali) which is 14" in length has a hook at the upper end for securing it to the coulter with a coir string. The lower end of the coulter tip is secured by means of an iron ring. This drill is mainly used for sowing jowar, bajri, mug, udid, and other kharip crops. The details of tiphan are given below: —

The three-coultered drill is also used for sowing groundnut and cotton by attaching tubes. While sowing these crops, it does not carry the seed-bowl and tubes. A device which is locally known as sartya (sowing tubes) is tied to each coulter for sowing. A seed tube consists of a seed-bowl fixed on the top of a hollow bamboo tube which is more than three feet in height. The lower end of the tube is fixed in a narrow platform. In the contact and in front of the tube, a peg-coulter is fixed in the platform. A sowing-tube is tied to each coulter with coir string, keeping enough spacing behind the head-piece for the driver to walk. A woman holds the sowing tube by one hand and drops the seed by another hand into the howl. It, therefore, requires a pair of bullocks, a labourer and three women for operation. This device is especially used for sowing large sized seed which would not pass through the howl holes of an ordinary drill. This is also used whenever deeper sowing is to be achieved. Sometimes, these tubes are used for fertilising the crop at the time of sowing.

Hoes.

Generally, two entire blade hoes (Kolpi) are operated by a pair of bullocks and two labourers. The implement is used for inter-culturing. A hoe consists of a head-piece which is either rectangular or octagonal in shape. The head-piece is 15" to 18" long with a cross-section of 5" x3½" when rectangular and 5" in diameter when octagonal. Wooden prongs, bifurcated ends of: bamboo beam and handle are mortised into the head-piece. Prongs are 7" to 8" in length and 1^l/₂" to 2" in diameter. The blade is iixed into the prongs and secured by means of iron rings. The blade is generally 1½" in width. The length of the blade is six, nine or twelve inches. A six-inch blade hoe is used for inter-culfuring in bajri, groundnut and other similar kharip crops and a nine-inch blade hoe for interculturing in jowar, udid, mug and other pulses. A twelve-inch blade hoe is used for interculturing in cotton and rabi jowar. The details of the hoe arc given below: —

Hand Tools.

The implements used for harvesting, threshing and winnowing are the various hand tools most of which are manufactured locally. Narrow spade (kudal), flat spade (phavda), pick-axe (tikav), axe (kurhad), rake (lakdi phavda), and a pole with 'Y'-shaped extremity (tisuk) are worked in standing position while at work. Weeding hook (khurpi), sickle (vila), crowbar (pahar) and woodcutting knife are worked in fitting position while at work. For removing the soil adhering to the working parts of the implements, a scraper (itti or khurpani or ihitache purhane) is used. It consists of a bamboo handle with a flat iron blade at one end. A special kind of tool is used for making holes in the ground for erecting a dead-hedge locally called darhan. It consists of a forked branch with stem 1½' long and the two arms 2' long; the lower tip of the stem is shod with iron.

The principal tool for harvesting is the sickle used for cutting the stems. The pick-axe is used for digging up various root crops. A long bamboo with an iron hook at the tip is used for raking the threshed material on the threshing yard. Threshing is usually done by bullocks unaided by any appliance. The material to be threshed is stirred by a wooden rake. For winnowing, a small bamboo basket is used. The man stands on a tripod stand and gradually drops the grains from the bamboo basket and the lighter chaff blows away. A special kind of broom is used to separate the grain from the heap of chaff and grain. The further cleaning of the grain is done by using bamboo scoops. The grain is then sieved through bamboo or iron sieves and stored. In some places, artificial wind is produced by using fan designed by the Department of Agriculture. This is just like an electric fan worked by hand by means of gears driven by a cycle chain.

Water Lifts.

Leather mot is the chief contrivance for lifting water from wells. These leather mots are generally manufactured locally by the cobbler. Double yokes are invariably used for hitching the bullocks while operating mots. The bullocks are made to retrace their steps backwards over the ramp. Recently, a number of pumps worked either by oil engines or electric motors are also to be found in Jalgaon district for lifting water.

Bullock Carts,

The bullock-cart is still the common means of transportation for carrying agricultural produce from one place to another. A cart weighs about 1.000 to 1,200 lbs. It cost between Rs. 250 and Rs. 300 in 1955. There are two types of carts in common use. Both the types of carts are strong in construction. One type of cart, locally known as ladhe, is used in heavy soil areas. The frame is in the form of an isosceles triangle with a base 4½' and a height of 3½'. Instead of side rails, there are holes in the frame for feing vertical props. A long gunny cloth is fixed to the props to form a huge bag. It is particularly used for the transport of lint cotton locally known as kapas. The second type of cart has a rectangular frame with dimensions 5'x2¼' with 2 high side rails. Diameter of the wheel is 4' and thickness of the rim 2½". At the yoke end of the beam a wooden bar is fixed at a slant to serve as a stand for the cart when not yoked. The bar is locally called hadye and generally shaped like the foot of a bullock.

In so far as facilities for repairs and replacements of agricultural implements are concerned, most of the villages have a blacksmith and a carpenter to repair indigenous types of implements. The improved ones, however, cannot be repaired locally and services of the agents dealing in this business in big towns have to be utilised. The agents also stock the required spare parts.

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