Driving out weeds

SCIENTISTS at the Zonal Research Centre at the College of Agricultural Engineering (CAE) in Coi-mbatore have developed a motorised machine for weed extraction in fields and orchards. The device claims to bring down the cost of weeding a hectare of cultivated land by 70 per cent from Rs 2,200 for manual weeding, down to Rs 600 with the motorised implement. The machine, which resembles the front half of a bicycle with a motor rigged above the wheel, is driven between crop rows to uproot the weeds. The machine is suitable for weeding fields of crops like turmeric, tomato,

Rubber soles for crops

IF SCIENTISTS at the Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT), at the California State University, Fresno succeed, the millions of scrap tyres that litter the landscape would well be buried underground and serve to conserve water and reduce the need for irrigation, whether in Califbrnia golf courses or grass-lands in Africa or croplands in India. Bob Hendershot, president

Solar sense

A South African firm has come out with a rugged and affordable solar cooker that could improve the lot of women in underdeveloped areas and reduce deforestation and air pollution (Solar Today, Vol 9, No 1). The Sunstove, as it is called, costs US $25 apiece and can be used for cooking food, pasteurising milk and boiling water. The interior of the cooker is large enough to accommodate two black cooking pots, one of 6 litre capacity and the other of 2 litre capacity.

Silken feed

Silk industry wastes containing large quantities of waste pupae can be used as poultry feed, according to researchers of the Department of Chemistry, Cotton College, Guwahati. The scientists have shown that waste muga (a wild silk obtained from the cocoon of an Assamese moth) pupae in dry form is rich in animal protein. A mixture prepared from raw muga pupae and its deoiled form compares well with conventional fish meal as a rich source of protein. It is found to significantly increase the growth rate of chicken, which also retained more nitrogen

Pottety prosperity

The traditional pottery industry in Aurangabad village in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh, is not only weathering the onslaught of modernisation but thriving in spite of it. Bhola Prasad Prajapati, one of the potters who has been engaged in idol making since 19,62, says the secret of the smooth finish of their ware is a fine textured pond clay devoid of any gravel. However, the idols which Prasad makes are baked using the traditional method of burning cow dung and wood. According to a bulletin of the Research Centre for Decentralised