Mahindra & Mahindra has begun commercial production of the MaxSeeder, a precision zero-till seeding machine made under licence from Clean Seed Technologies of Canada, AgroSpectrum reports. The machine sows directly into paddy residue, which the company says removes the need to burn stubble.
The MaxSeeder is a tractor-trailed machine with five independent planting row units, adjustable row spacing and several metering set-ups, so the same machine can sow rice, wheat, soybean, maize, cotton and pulses. It can be pulled by a tractor of 35 HP or more, which brings precision seeding within reach of farmers without large tractors.
An electronic control unit, which can be run from an app on the operator's phone, meters seed, DAP and urea according to field needs, and a multifunctional tine places urea about 1.5 inches below the seed line. The company says this cuts fertiliser and seed wastage, and that skipping tillage saves time, fuel and labour in tight planting windows.
Field trials in Punjab and Haryana showed the machine could sow into heavy paddy residue with little soil disturbance, according to Mahindra. It is made at the company's farm machinery plant in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, and will be sold through Mahindra dealers, starting in Punjab and Haryana, the states where stubble burning after the rice harvest is most common, before a wider roll-out.
"The patented and innovative 'zero-till', multi-crop seeding machine, the MaxSeeder, combined with Mahindra's world-class manufacturing, ensures benefits for both farmers and the environment," said Veejay Nakra, president of Mahindra's farm equipment business. Graeme Lempriere, chairman and chief executive of Clean Seed Capital Group, called production at Mahindra a milestone for the company's SMART Seeder MINI-MAX design.
Source: AgroSpectrum
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