Assessment of field performance of paddy transplanter for two-row to plant spacing’s S 1
and S 2 was observed with the economic worth from the viewpoint of custom hiring operator or
the progressive farmer. Actual field capacity and field efficiency were maximum and fuel
consumption was minimum for S 1 . The crop yield and average number of plants/m 2 were higher
in the case of S 1 . The total cost of mechanical transplanting was Rs. 6798.66 per ha and the
break-even point was 7.68 ha/yr. which was less than the actual use of the machine per year with
the optimal payback period of 6.85 years whereas, from a custom hiring service provider
viewpoint, the payback period is 1.17. The benefit-cost ratio was 1.84, which is greater than
unity indicating a profitable venture. The mechanical transplanting of paddy at S 1 was better than
transplanting at S 2 . The study showed that the use of mechanical paddy transplanting technology
is a profitable and acceptable venture from both customer hiring service provider as well as from
the customer farmer viewpoint with the additional benefit of saving in labor and time.