The Solution
To assist farms in China, Faulring Mechanical Devices created The Agri-Vator System for Plasticulture—an all-inclusive ground preparation and planting system designed for Asian rice paddy cultural practices.
The Agri-Vator System concept, design and principles are very similar to the first mechanization introduced to the vegetable row crop industry in the U.S. about 70 to 80 years ago. The major difference between the old and new, however, is the application of raised beds utilizing plasticulture. The new machine design utilizes the latest engine and hydrostatic transmission configurations.
Designed as an introduction of modern-day agricultural mechanization for the People's Republic of China, the system consists of a central power unit (or tractor), similar to a walk behind rototiller, with a series of accessories that attach to the front or back of the tractor.
The machine has three basic functions:
1. Form a raised bed
2. Cover it with plastic mulch
3. Plant the bed.
The first accessory, the power bed maker, utilizes an attachment that is best described as a rototiller/hammer mill hybrid. The fields or rice paddies are dead level with poorly drained soil, and wet heavy ground that never dries out. The power bed maker grinds the clod-laden soil to a fine consistency and throws the soil into a raised bed. The opposing reels are positioned at a 25-degree inclination angle, thereby causing the soil from the two reels to be thrown together to form a raised bed. In addition, the forward rotation of the reels helps with flotation and forward movement of the machine thru wet soil conditions.
The second accessory, the mulch layer, shapes the bed into a desired form while laying plastic mulch over the raised bed. Once the bed is formed, wet soil conditions become less of a factor. The natural drainage of the alleyways and loose soil in the beds tend to overcome the wet soil problems.
The third accessory, the manual planter, pokes holes into the plastic mulch and provides a riding platform for the laborer to manually plant into the bed. To see the Agri-Vator in action in the video below.
The Accomplishments
For its highly-innovative design, we’re proud to say that The Agri-Vator System was named an AE50 Winner in 2004.
The Background
Most agriculture in China consists of small family farms with a prominent rice paddy culture; this culture is the layout of the fields with rice and row crops that grow on a rotational basis.
The Challenge
A majority of groundpreparation work is done by intensive manual labor, in very heavy wet soil conditions. The need for raised beds is essential for better drainage and ease of planting but due to size, traction, and horsepower constraints, traditional methods do not have the ability to pull and form a raised bed in soil conditions that are far too wet.