Evaluation of a mechanical rice transplanter under minimum tillage unpuddled soil conditions

Labour shortages for rice transplanting across Asia are stimulating interest in mechanical transplanting. While the transplanters have been evaluated in puddled soils, there is little understanding of their efficacy for transplanting into soils following minimum tillage such as zero tillage, strip tillage and raised beds. This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of a mechanical rice transplanter (4 rows walk-behind type daedong rice transplanter, model DP480) under minimum tillage options at Bangladesh Rice Research Institute research farm, Gazipur and on a farmer’s field at Kumarkhali, Kushtia, Bangladesh during the irrigated dry season of 2012-13 and the non-irrigated wet season of 2013