Laser land levelingfor Precision Agriculture in Nepal
Rajen Bajgain
19-04-2013
Introduction
Introduction- Nepal and its agriculture
Land area:147181 sq.km
3 main geographic regions
i)Terai and inner Terai (plain )-34000 km2
ii)Hills- 61000 km2
iii)Mountains- 52000km2
Population around 30 millions
Only 16% is the agricultural land is cultivable (Nepal, National Planning
Commission,-WFP-NDRI 2010)
Terai (plain)- 56%
Hills- 37%
Mountains- 7%
Land leveling:
i)Animal drawn levelers
ii)Tractor drawn lavelers
Problems of uneven soil surface
Impact on germination
Stand and yield of crops- nutrient and water
distribution pattern
Delays tillage
Increased weed burden
Uneven maturity of crops
Water logging in wheat field
Uneven distribution of irrigation water
Non –uniform crop stand in an undulated field
LASER Leveling System
• process of smoothening land from its average elevation using
laser guided buckets
• involves altering the field to create a constant slope of 0-0.2%
• use of large HP tractors and soil movers equipped with laser
guided instrumentation
Components:
 Laser Transmitter
 Laser Receiver
 Electrical Control Panel
 Twin Solenoid Hydraulic
Control Valve
Transmitter
• Mounts on a tripod
• Sends the laser beam in a circular manner
• Several tractors can receive
Receiver
• Mounts on a mast attached to the drag
bucket
• Omni-directional and intercepts the laser
beam and sends to control box
Control panel
• Mounts on tractor within
reach of operator
• Accepts and interprets the
signal received from receiver
• Indicates the drag bucket
position
Hydraulic control valve
• Raises and lowers the
bucket based on oil flow
Benefits:
1. Land leveling and yield (Rickman 2002)
Increase in crop yield = 24% (530kg/ha)
2. Time required and suitability of different land leveling techniques
3. Estimated additional area that can be brought under cultivation
after laser land leveling
(Rajput and Patel, 2003)
Map showing the increased cultivable area after
laser land leveling
4. Other benefits:
• Increase irrigation efficiency- uniform distribution, reduction in
time and amount to irrigate the fields
• Good germination and growth of crops
• Improved field traffic ability
• Less input
Limitations:
• High cost of the equipment/laser instrument.
• Need for skilled operator.
• Need of more or less regular sized and shaped field.
Scope and intervention:
• Subsidy or cooperative effort and operator training
• Design and development of user friendly technology
based on local needs
References
•
M.L Jat, Pravesh Chandna, Raj Gupta, S.K. Sharma and M.A. Gill. 2006. Laser Land Leveling:
A Precursor Technology for Resource Conservation. Rice-Wheat Consortium Technical Bulletin
Series 7. new Delhi, India: Rice –Wheat Consortium for the Indo- Gangetic Plains. pp 48.
•
Rickman, J.F. 2002. Manual for laser land leveling, Rice- Wheat Consortium Technical Bulletin
Series 5. New-Delhi 12 , India: Rice –Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic plains pp.24.