Performance of the Versatile Multi-crop Planter (2010-2017)

In South Asia where cropping intensity is high, small farms may grow three or more crops in a year and over a 5-year cycle due to changing profitability of crops cultivate 4-6 crops with diverse seed sizes, seed rate, row spacing, fertiliser rates, seeding depth etc. Hence a planter for such diverse cropping systems needs to have multi-functional capabilities. Service providers also need to be able to hire out their planter for business all-year-round to justify the investment cost. There are a number of other criteria and challenges that would need to be satisfied by potential purchasers of a planter including low purchase price; sufficient earning capacity; flexible set up in the field with capability to be modified quickly for different seed rate, fertiliser rate, row spacing, seed size, planting depth; durable and reliable in operation, and; light weight with minimal vibrations. The VMP was designed to meet the above criteria and has successfully established a diverse range of crops in Bangladesh since 2008 (Haque et al., 2011)