Design and fabrication of a manually operated inter-row cabbage weeder for Kyepkube community.

Abstract

Cabbages belong to the Cruciferae family and are related to turnips, cauliflowers and Brussels sprouts. The origin of the cabbage is rather obscure as it is one of the oldest vegetables grown, being well known by the ancient Greeks. Cabbages are easily gown wide variety of conditions. and are adaptable to most areas of the country. Although cool moist weather results in the best quality heads, some varieties produce acceptable heads during the warmer period of the year. Therefore, cabbages can be grown. on a continuous basis in most of the districts of the country. Cabbage is a popular vegetable amongst farmers because of its adaptability to a wide range of climatic conditions and soil, ease of production and storage, and its food value. Weed control is one of the most difficult tasks in cabbage growing that accounts for a considerable share of the cost involved in cultivation of cabbage. Farmers generally expressed their concern for effective weed control measures to arrest the growth and propagation of weeds. Chemical method of weed control is more prominent than manual and mechanical methods. However, its adverse effects on the environment are making farmers to consider and accept mechanical methods of weed control. Manual weeding is common in Ugandan agriculture. It is the most widely used weed control method but it is labour intensive. The use of mechanical weeder will reduce drudgery and ensure a comfortable posture of the farmer or operator during weeding. This will resultantly increase production. It's against this background that I have decided to design and fabricate a manually operated inter-row cabbage weeder. There are a number of different manually. operated inter- row weeders on the market which are either automatic or manually operated but are quite expensive and cannot be afforded by most of the Ugandan farmers engaged in cabbage growing. The main objective of this project was to design and fabricate a low cost manually operated inter-row weeder.