Having tasted success in south and central Gujarat, the Gujarat government now intends to promote laser land levelers in water scarcity areas of Saurashtra and North Gujarat.

The government is in the process of empanelling the companies supplying this equipment so that 50 per cent subsidy may be given to farmers coming forward to purchase it.

"In another couple of months, we should be able to shortlist the companies and give subsidies under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and National Food Security Mission (NFSM)," said an official.

The equipment in question is a laser guided machine that levels an agricultural piece of land accurately so that there is no accumulation or draining out of water. This machine resembling a tractor costs around Rs 3 lakh and farmers purchasing it go on to give it to others on daily rent.

In Gujarat it was initially introduced in sugarcane belt of south Gujarat in 2011 and after its success the farmers in central Gujarat also adopted it.

"There are around 300 such machines that the farmers in these two regions procured after we went to the fields and demonstrated them," said an official.

He said that the aim now is to take it to Saurashtra and north Gujarat in a big way. "These are two regions where there is often the problem of water scarcity and farmers want to make optimum use of water available. Accumulation of water leads to rotting of a plant while scarcity makes it perish. This leveler prevents both," said the official.

Officials said that the use of this machine also improves crop establishment, reduces the problem of weeds, improves uniformity of crop maturity and decreases the time taken to irrigate the field.

It's another feature is that it helps provide uniform moisture to the crops. Officials said that it use reduces consumption of seeds, fertilizers and fuel.

Sources said that in south Gujarat its use led to 30 per cent saving in water that was coupled with 15 per cent increase in productivity.

Land leveling
In agriculture, land leveling is done to enhance use efficiency of water and fertilizer nutrients, and to improve the crop stand and yields.

Land leveling techniques

Conventional leveling

Traditionally, farmers of India use plankers drawn by draft animals or by small tractors. However, farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh use iron scrappers or leveling boards connected to 4-wheel tractors. Despite all these labor-intensive efforts, desired accuracy is not achieved. These leveling practices are crude and do not achieve a precise land leveling. Different land leveling techniques require different tools and conditions varying in operating times and accuracy.

Laser land leveling

Laser leveling is a process of smoothening the land surface (± 2 cm) from using laser equipped drag buckets to achieve precision in land leveling. Precision land leveling involves converting the fields in such a way as to create a regular slope. This technique large horsepower tractors are utilized that are equipped with global positioning systems (GPS) and/or laser-guided instrumentation so that the soil can be moved either by cutting or filling to create the desired slope/level.

Components of laser land leveling system

  A laser-controlled land leveling system consists of the following five major components:

1. Drag bucket

2. Laser transmitter

3. Laser receiver

4. Control box

5. Hydraulic system

(i) Drag Scrapper/bucket:

The drag bucket can be either 3-point linkage mounted on or pulled by a tractor. This system is preferred as it is easier to connect the tractor’s hydraulic system to an external hydraulic by the 3-point-linkage system. different bucket dimensions from 2 m width to 5.5 m width with matching requirements of tractors are presented in Table

Tractor Size Min/Max (HP)Scraper width Min/Max (m)

30-502.0

50-1002.0-3.0

100-1253.0-3.5

125-1503.5-4.0

>1504.0-5.5

(ii) Laser transmitter:

The laser transmitter mounts on a tripod, which allows the laser beam to sweep above the field.

(iii) Laser receiver:

The laser receiver is a multi-directional receiver that detects the position of the laser reference plane and transmits this signal to the control box. The operator can adjust the settings on the receiver, and he can override the receiver when he needs to pick up a bucketful of soil and transport it to another section of the field.

(iv) Control box:

The control box accepts and processes signals from the machine mounted receiver. It displays these signals to indicate the drag buckets position relative to the finished grade. When the control box is set to automatic, it provides electrical output for driving the hydraulic valve.

(v) Hydraulic system: The hydraulic system of the tractor is used to supply oil to raise and lower the leveling bucket.

Laser Land Levelling

 What is laser land levelling?

Example sketch of laser land levelling

Laser leveling is a process of smoothing the land surface (± 2 cm) from its average elevation using laser-equipped tractor-pulled scrapers. This practice uses large horsepower tractors and soil movers that are equipped with global positioning systems (GPS) and/or laser-guided instrumentation so that the soil can be moved either by cutting or filling to create the desired slope/level. This technique is well known for achieving higher levels of accuracy in land leveling and offers great potential for water savings and higher crop yields.

What are the benefits of laser land leveling?

Levelled field

Levelled field

◊ Leveled fields have more uniform soil moisture, resulting in more uniform germination and improved crop yield.

◊ Laser leveling improves irrigation efficiency and conserves water.

◊ Improved irrigation efficiency reduces nutrient loss.
◊ Planting is more uniform, which helps achieve higher yields.
◊ Land leveling reduces weed, pest, and disease problems.
◊ Improves operational efficiency (reducing operating time by 10% to 15%).
◊ Reduced costs by reducing consumption of seeds, fertilizers, chemicals and fuel.
◊ Operate agricultural machinery at higher speeds across leveled fields.

How does a laser level work?

A laser transmitter transmits a laser beam, which is intercepted by the laser receiver mounted on the scraper. The control panel mounted on the tractor interprets the signal from the receiver and opens or closes the hydraulic control valve, which will raise or lower the scraper. Loose soils are picked up by the scraper and released lower in the field.

4-wheel tractor – A 4-wheel tractor is required to pull the scraper. The size of the

Land leveller and tractor

tractor can
vary from 30-500 hp, though a 4 wheel drive with
power shift transmission is preferable.

Scraper – The scraper can be either 3-point linkage mounted or pulled by the tractor’s drawbar. Pull type systems are preferred for better weight distribution and strength.

Laser transmitter – The laser transmitter mounts on a tripod which allows the laser beam to sweep above the tractor unobstructed. With the plane of light above the field, several tractors can work from one transmitter.

Laser receiver – The laser receiver detects the position of the laser reference plane andtransmits these signals to the control box. The receiver mounts on a mast attached to the scraper.

Control panel – The control box accepts and processes signals from the machine-mounted receiver. It then indicates the scraper’s position relative to the finished grade.

Hydraulic control system – The tractor’s hydraulic pump system supplies oil to operate the scraper.

Oil control system

What is the procedure for laser leveling?

Laser leveling requires soil to be shifted from the high points of the field to the low points in the most cost-effective way. In most situations fields will need to be plowed and a topographic survey undertaken before leveling commences.

Step 1: Plowing the field
The field should be preferably plowed from the center of the field outwards. Plow when the soil is moist, because if it is plowed dry a significant increase in tractor power is required and large clod sizes may result. Cut up or remove surface residues to aid soil flow from the bucket.

Step 2: Conducting a topographic survey

Once the field is plowed, a topographic survey should be conducted to record the high andlow spots in the field. The mean height of the field can be calculated by taking the sum of all the readings and dividing by the number of readings taken. Then, using a field diagram and the mean height of the field, determine how to effectively move soil from the high to low areas.

Step 3: Leveling the field
Leveling a field involves the following steps:
• The laser-controlled scraper should be positioned at a point that represents the mean height of the field.
• The cutting blade should be set slightly above ground level (1-2 cm). The tractor should then be driven in a circular direction from the high areas to the lower areas in the field.
• To maximize working efficiency, as soon as the scraper is near filled with soil the operator should turn and drive towards the lower area. Similarly, when the scraper is near empty the tractor should be turned and driven back to the higher areas.
• When the whole field has been covered, the tractor and scraper should then do a final leveling pass in long runs from the high end of the field to the lower end.
• Re-survey to make sure that the desired level of precision has been attained.

The best tool for the job of land levelling in Africa is an IMC Scraper.  The scraper is a specially designed tool that evens out the lumps and bumps in your field.  IMC scrapers are designed to go in containers as shipping farm machinery is most secure if it goes in a container.  Field scrapers are among the most important bits of kit for your farm in Nigeria.  Users of IMC scrapers will testify to the robustness of the machines.

Written by: Fiona Johnson

May 2014