Twin-Box Tractor Seed-cum-Fertilizer Drill

A twin-box seed-cum-fertilizer drill is a tractor-drawn multi-row implement that carries seed and basal fertilizer in two separate hoppers and meters both materials through fluted rollers into furrow openers in a single pass. The twin-hopper layout distinguishes it from a simple Seed Drill that handles seed only.

Function

Two independent fluted-roller metering systems sit beneath the seed and fertiliser hoppers respectively. Each is driven from the ground wheel through adjustable gear trains, allowing seed rate and fertilizer dose to be set independently. Seed and fertiliser drop through separate seed tubes into adjacent furrows opened by shoe-type or disc openers; closing chains cover both.

Design and specifications

ICAR-CIAE Bhopal, GBPUAT, PAU and TNAU have standardised 9- and 11-row drills through AICRP on Farm Implements and Machinery. Field capacity is typically 0.4-0.65 hectares per hour with field efficiency around 84%. Row-to-row spacing is typically 18-25 cm for wheat, soybean, gram and pigeon pea, and larger for groundnut and maize.

Operation

The implement is operated after seedbed preparation with a Rotavator or harrow. Seed rate is set by selecting the fluted-roller exposure and gear ratio for the seed side; fertilizer rate is set independently on the fertilizer side. Zero-till variants use inverted-T or chisel openers to place seed and fertiliser into untilled soil under stubble, supporting conservation-agriculture cropping cycles in the rice-wheat system.

Subsidy and adoption

The twin-box drill is SMAM-subsidy eligible under sowing-equipment categories (Agri Machinery Dealer Ecosystem). It is used for wheat, soybean, maize, gram, pigeon pea and groundnut, and is widely held by Custom Hiring Centres.

References

Seed-cum-Fertilizer Drill. ICAR-CIWA.
Tractor-Operated Zero-Till Seed-cum-Fertilizer Drill. AICRP on Farm Implements and Machinery.