ADAPTATION OF CHINESE LOW COST NON MATURED SEEDLING RICE TRANSPLANTER

One of the major reasons for low paddy yield in Pakistan is lower plants population density and nonuniform plant distribution in paddy fields. To over come this problem, efforts were made to mechanize rice transplanting operation. In this connection, a Chinese non-matured rice transplanter was modified to make it suitable for local conditions. Preliminary evaluation of this machine indicated that the depth of planting and missing hills were about 6.3 cm and 5.8%, respectively and the machine may transplant about 0.21 ha/hr. The operational cost of this rice transplanter was predicted about Rs. 1055/ha and the break even annual use was worked out about 150 hrs. A farmer may save Rs. 8322/ha by adopting mechanical rice transplanting technology.