Haryana Agriculture University Develops E-Tractor For Farmers With Low Running Cost

The College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (COAE&T) of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU), has managed to develop an electric tractor which makes it the first agricultural university in India to carry out research on electric tractors. Powered by a 16.2-kilowatt battery, the cost for running the tractor is very cheap as compared to a diesel one.

According to reports, HAU vice-chancellor Professor B R Kamboj stated that the e-tractor can travel up to 80 km with a trailer attached to it weighing 1.5 tonnes and also move at a top speed of 23.17 km per hour. Kamboj also said that the use of this e-tractor will help farmers to increase their income.

MTech student by the name of Venkatesh Shinde accomplished the above-mentioned research under the supervision of Mukesh Jain, scientist, department of farm machinery and power engineering, COAE&T and director, Northern Region Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Hisar.

This Will Help Reduce Pollution

"There are about 80 lakh tractors in India of which about 4 lakh tractors are in the state of Haryana. The annual pollution due to carbon dioxide production by tractors below 30 hp is 46 lakh tonne in India and 2.3 lakh tonne in Haryana. If we replace diesel tractors with battery-operated tractors, then this amount of pollution can be reduced," Professor B R Kamboj was quoted as saying by Times Of India.

The VC also stated that the farm power availability in the country is around 2.0 kWh per hectare. However, in developed nations, it is approximately 15 kWh per hectare. It is due to this huge gap, there is a need to develop battery-operated tractors which will help in reducing pollution levels and also increase the level of mechanization.

A Pocket-Friendly Tractor

The cost to operate a battery-run tractor with a mouldboard plow and rotavators is Rs 301 and Rs 332, respectively, instead of Rs 353 and Rs 447 with a tractor that runs on diesel. Meanwhile, the cost to operate an electric tractor is almost 15 to 25 per cent (Rs/h) cheaper than diesel ones. The VC further clarified that these costs are calculated on the basis of the domestic electricity rate, otherwise, the operation cost will be even lower.

Kamboj also revealed that despite it being a prototype model, "the battery-operated tractor costs around Rs 6.5 lakh while a diesel tractor with the same HP costs Rs 4.50 lakh." If the battery-operated tractor is manufactured on a big scale, its price will easily come at par with the diesel tractor, he suggested.

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