Farm machinery maker New Holland Agriculture today said its recently launched combine harvester can be used with other implements to address the problem of crop burning.
Attaching straw chopper and Happy Seeder machines to a tractor mounted combine harvester will help use straw for mulching and undertake sowing of new crop easily, it said.
Although these machines are expensive, they are being promoted in some states like Punjab through custom hiring under a central scheme supported with subsidy.
"Our combine harvesters with 130 horse power engine is efficient in managing the crop residue. You can cut the paddy straw from the base of the plant unlike other machines," New Holland Agriculture Group firm CNH Industrial Country Head and Managing Director Gabriele Lucano told reporters here.
The company launched its combine harvester recently and sold 11 units mostly in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. It is priced at Rs 23 lakh a unit, he added.
The second solution offered by the company was mixing straw in the soil post harvesting by using a combination of machines such as Shredo Mulcher, MP Plough and Seed-Drill.
And the third solution is to collect the straw for selling to biomass-based power plants. But for this purpose, farmers will have to use machines such as Rotary slasher followed by Rake and Baler.
"The best solution is using combine harvester along with straw chopper and other machines. If you cut the straw at the base of the plant, much of the problem gets solved," said Manmohan Kalia, Joint Director (Agriculture) with the Punjab government.
For crop residue management, combine harvester with high horse power is required but in the state the machines are with 100 horse power or lower engines. Farmers are not cutting straw at the base level because it costs more, he said.
"We are promoting combine harvesters. As of now, it is being used in about 20-25 per cent of the total paddy area of 30 lakh hectare in Punjab," Kalia said.
About 4.3 million tonnes of straw was managed last year using machines and 5.3 million tonnes is planned this year, he added.
The country generates 540 million tonnes crop residue annually. About 35 million tonnes of paddy straw is burned in Punjab and Haryana alone during winter onset.
New Holland Agriculture is present in India with a manufacturing complex in Greater Noida that also comprises a research and development centre and a training centre for dealers and customers.
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