Third World Hand Planter Brochure:  On this web site, we have included some basic information on maize area in the world and estimates of the total amount planted by hand.  The problem with maize planted in the third world (Sub Saharan Africa, Asia, Central and South America) is that they essentially use heavy sticks whereby 2-4 seeds are planted per hill (first picture below, and left), roughly 35 cm apart.  While incredibly inefficient, this method of planting is commonplace for third world maize farmers, largely dictated by terrain, circumstance, and resources.  If single seeds could be planted 14-17 cm apart, much like conventional planters accomplish in the developed world, production levels could easily increase 25%.  Despite the fact that third world maize yields are generally less than 2.0 Mg/ha (Dowswell et al., 1996), this 25% yield increase on 60% of the hand planted maize area in the third world would be worth more than 2.4 billion dollars/year (see calculations below). 

We are developing a hand planter very similar in shape, size, and weight to the one seen in the first photograph on our web site, but that can reliably plant 1 seed, in various soil textures, moisture, and tillage systems.  Initially, development, production, and delivery would need to be subsidized, thus the need for grant funds.  But with time, local manufacture/industry creation of our new hand planter would also lead to more jobs.  Added benefits of the new hand planter would be to remove chemically treated seeds (organophosphates, carbamates, chlordanes, +others) from the hands of small farmers.  Decreased soil erosion from improved contour planting, and plant proximity will also be achieved. With time, we hope to modify the final prototype so as to accommodate mid season applications of urea fertilizer.  Placing urea fertilizer below the surface, really via any mechanism is critical for improved nitrogen use efficiency.

This tool by itself would offer an affordable, easily adoptable technology for virtually all third world maize farmers.  With modest funding for development and initial subsidized hand planters, this could provide widespread increases in third-world maize production that would rival most advances made in the last 50 years.

CIMMYT mega-environment database; C.R. Dowswell, R.L. Paliwal and R.P. Cantrell, Maize in the Third World, Boulder, Colorado, Westview Press, 1996.

Data from Dr. Edgar Ascencio, CARE, El Salvador

6 Hand Planters, El Salvador
Hand Planter	Iron tip, lbs	Wood stick, lbs	Total, lbs
1	0.75	1.5	2.25
2	0.35	2.5	2.85
3	1	2	3
4	0.9	2.25	3.15
5	0.5	1.5	2
6	1.2	2	3.2
Average	0.78	1.96	2.74
Std Dev	0.32	0.40	0.50

El Salvador survey, average weight (wood shaft, + tip) of 2.74 pounds. 

Current design (January 1, 2013) weighs 1.94 kg or 4.27 pounds.  The seed weight (depending on the shaft volume) is 1 kg or 2.2 pounds.  This puts us over 6.4 pounds.

Jan 1, 2013 design
Knife (tip) 544
Shaft 571
Mechanical, 750
Spring, 79

Total = 1944 g + 1000g seed = 2.944 kg = 6.48 lbs

Seed weights:  Guatemala, Kristen Lacy, Curt Bowen
Hybrid seed weights:
Pioneer: 60,000 seeds /20kg = 0.33g/seed  (2827 seeds/kg)
Dekalb: 60,000 seeds /19.2kg = 0.32g/seed (3125 seeds/kg)

72000 seeds = 56 lbs
1285 seeds = 1 lb
2833 seeds = 1 kg

Maize Seed Weights (# per kg) evaluated with the Round Planter (April 5, 2013)
3017 (large round)   best drum and best brush =
3490 (medium round)
3846 (medium flat)
5012 (small round)

#1 Platino (3475 seeds/kg ) El Salvador, supplied by Dr. Edgar Ascencio
#2 H-59 (2905 seeds/kg) El Salvador, supplied by Dr. Edgar Ascencio
#3 DK-357 (3595 seeds/kg) El Salvador, supplied by Dr. Edgar Ascencio
Pioneer: 60,000 seeds /20kg = 0.33g/seed  (2827 seeds/kg), supplied by Kristin Lacy, Guatemala
Dekalb: 60,000 seeds /19.2kg = 0.32g/seed (3125 seeds/kg), supplied by Kristin Lacy, Guatemala

Combined Field Trials (Tables, 2011-2012, 5 locations)

Round Spring Hand Planter, January 29, 2013, light spring (pink), version going to Colombia

Round Spring Hand Planter, January 7, 2013 (difference was ....

Round Spring Hand Planter, January 3, 2013 (new Round planter...

Hand Planter Data (December 20, 2012)

Hand Planter Data (December 5, 2012) NEW RT design

Hand Planter Data (November 1, 2012)

Hand Planter Data (up to September 23) Sulu

Hand Planter Data 2012, (September 21, 2012)

Presentation made to BAE students

December 4, 2012, Candibyani (Indonesia), Peter Omara (Uganda), Mariana (Brazil)

Weight of empty planter		1.79kg (3.9 lb)
Weight of planter full with seeds	medium flat (P0876HR)	2.69kg
	Medium round (P0231HR)	2.70kg
Number of seeds/shaft volume		5650 seeds

Hillside Planting (Honduras)

DUPONT

http://www2.dupont.com/inclusive-innovations/en-us/gss/global-challenges/food/planting-better-seeds.html

Chinese farmers currently feed 20% of the global population using only 9% of the world’s arable land. Their traditional corn farming technique — involving planting two to three kernels of corn per mound of soil just to get one plant to grow — highlighted a need for a more efficient planting technology. While this technique may have improved the odds, it had a habit of creating high seed and labor costs. Which is why in 2002, DuPont Pioneer entered the China seed market with the goal of increasing yield by creating a high-quality seed that did not need to be planted at high rates. It wasn’t long, however, before Pioneer realized seed quality was only part of the equation. Farmers there needed to address overall planting and growing concerns to be truly successful.

Quick Facts

33% of wasted corn plants could be saved with vacuum planting.

Planting better seeds, in a smarter way.

Pioneer partnered with Hebei Nonghaha Agricultural Machinery Group, a local equipment manufacturer, to jointly develop a vacuum planter — the first of its kind in the country — that would allow Chinese farmers to plant corn using only one seed per mound. Improved single kernel planting technology raises the productivity and efficiency of Pioneer’s corn, lowers the seed volume farmers need to purchase, reduces manual labor, and ensures more land can be used for other products, like grain, diversifying and increasing the area’s food production output.

So far, it’s working — single kernel planting is becoming a trend in China, and if the vacuum planter continues to be widely adopted, it’s estimated that 1/3 of corn plants wasted by the manual thinning process could be saved. Additionally, China could decrease its amount of seed production land, essentially growing more grain on less land, thanks to better seeding and farming. Farmer feedback is positive, as the program benefits farmers with lower costs, less labor, increased yields, and additional revenue. This collaborative project between Pioneer, Nonghaha, and the farmers of China won the 2008 DuPont Sustainable Growth Award, in recognition of their work revolutionizing the industry and allowing more of the country to be fed in a sustainable way.