Presentation at the Workshop on Crop Production Equipment for the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Presenter: Salehuddin Yahya, Malaysia Title: Experience in building inter-row weeders for small-scale farmers Date: November 1, 2014 Venue: ACISAI, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

1. Experience in Building
Inter-row Weeders
for Small-scale Farmers
Malaysia

2. Manual Weeders

3. xxxxxxxx

4. xxxxxxxx

5. xxxxxxxx

6. xxxxxxxx

7. Mechanical Weeders
• The need to to cater to 3 groups of
small-scale farm sizes:
I. 1.5 ha or less
II. 1.5 to 6 ha
III. 6 to 15 ha

8. Grass Cutters for Power Source

9. Modified Grass Cutters

10. Talib Mark I

11. Motorised Weeder

12. Talib Mark II

13. Conclusion 1
• The gearing factor (high rev meant
for grass cutting) not suitable for
inter-row weeding job.
•Operator has little control.
•Not sufficient power for two-row
task.

14. Inspired by Japanese Videos
7-row Portable
Weeder

15. xxxxxxxx

16. Four-Row Weeder

18. Coclusion 2
•Unsuitable gearing factor
•High rev to generate sufficient
power
•Operator does not have total
control at high rev

19. xxxxxxxx
This design did not even float

20. Conclusion 3
• Team gave up the idea of designing
mechanised weeders that farmers could
improve on
• Use custom-made weeders

21. Custom-made inter-row weeder

22. Indonesian Power Weeders

23. Conclusion 4
•Good, workable, affordable
•Uo to five rows (Indonesian
manufacturer)
•Up to 25-day old plants

24. Attempts at Group II Farm-size
• More drive train power – 2.5 to 3 h.p.
• Light
• To enable working up to 40-day old
crop
• To have at least 3-speed control
• Independent wheel-breaking to make
turning easy

25. First prototype for higher
clearance

26. Modified Garden Tillers
5.5 hp

27. Field Tests by State DOA, Kedah

28. xxxxxxxx

29. Field Tests by State DOA, Perak

30. First Prize - Farm Innovation 2012
DOA, Malaysia

31. First Prize – Farm Group Leader 2013

32. Conclusion 5
• Power train over actual need
• Better wheel design sufficient to perform
weeding task
• Up to 40% of plants damaged at turning
point, reduced if turning made outside
farm plot
• A seating arrangement and power linkage
to weeding wheel may cover Group III
farm-size

33. Group III farm size (and beyond)

34. Inspired by Japanese Video
11-Row Rotary Weeder Behind Transplanting Tractor

35. Row-Weeder Attached to
Mini-Tractors

37. Clay Soil Needs More Standing
Water

38. xxxxxxxx

40. xxxxxxxx

43. CONCLUSION
• Agricultural workers at large need
to be convinced of positive effect
of weeding beyond just controlling
weeds. Working the rows is
agronomicaly good for crop.

44. Thank you