Puddling Special Tractors in India

India is the world's second-largest producer of rice, accounting for over 20% of worldwide output; it is also one of the major consumers, with over half of India's people relying on rice for survival. But, the decreasing farmland size per rice-growing farmer has had a substantial impact on efficiency, total productivity, and agricultural production which may create scarcity of food in the future. Hence, to increase the production of rice, there is significant room created for the implementation of efficient farm mechanization practices for rice-growing farmers. As puddling is one of the crucial practices in rice cultivation thus, the mechanization in the puddling of soil with help of the puddling special tractor is creating value for farmers as it is adaptable machinery with several functions.

What is Puddling?
Puddling is a practice that was used to prepare the land for rice production; it is also softened the soil and facilitates rice seedling transplanting, as well as reduces water consumption through the reduction in infiltration losses and weed management. Farmers used to perform puddling of the soil by dragging a weighted harrow over wet terrain while mounted behind an ox or buffalo. But, nowadays new automated agricultural machinery, such as puddling special tractors, have been developed as a result of technological advancements to reduce the laborious work of farmers.

Benefits of Puddling:

1. It helps to control weeds, improves soil water and nutrient availability.
2. It makes transplanting easier.
3. The permeability of the soil is reduced.
4. Aquatic soil conditions are being preserved.

Puddling Special Tractor Brands:
The innovation of a puddling special tractor has made life much easier for the rice-producing farmers by providing them assistance to do this heavy works easily. Now lets us see the comparative study of models that are available in the market by leading tractor brands in the category of puddling special tractors.

Indian Tractor Market Dynamics
The Indian tractor market is the world's second-largest, accounting for one-third of global output; the world's largest other major tractor countries are China and the USA. In recent times, the market share of tractors with less than 20 horsepower has doubled, and the category has witnessed significant technical progress. Despite the worldwide epidemic and widespread lockdown, the Indian tractor sector continued to grow. In FY 2021, the industry recorded a 22 percent year-over-year increase in volume. As the government of India is providing a subsidy for new tractors to promote the mechanized component of agriculture, which encourages farmers to purchase new tractors with advanced technology and this will support the growth of the tractors in the Indian market. Now, let’s have a look at the market share of leading tractor brands to understand market dynamics.

                            Source: www.autopunditz.com

The perspective of Farmers:
The buying behaviour of farmers towards any particular brand largely depends on its fuel/oil efficiency, subsidy, low maintenance cost, low rice, and recommendations of relatives/friends/local mechanics/dealers/company persons. Also, brand name/reputation, spare parts availability, product look, and technical specifications are part of the decision-making process. Things like after-sales service, sales promotion/ some gift scheme, easy availability of loans, resale value, and exchange value are also being considered to some extent. All these factors play a crucial role in the selection of tractors as buying a tractor is not something one should do carelessly; it requires a proper comparative study.

Conclusion:
The adoption of puddling special tractors by rice-growing farmers brings technological advancement in puddling operation, which carries the efficiency in rice production and also reduces the laborious work of farmers. For this puddling operation, choice and selection of tractor is influence by many factors, it may differ from region to region or as per soil type in the locality but, familiarity with tractor brands and previous experience with brand act as a basic parameter in the selection of tractor. As there is an increase in the rate of adoption of tractors by farmers; the demand for the tractor is very high. This led to create a lot of opportunities for the tractor industry to grow and serve the farmers to make their life easier.