Hi All,
We are planning lemon plantation in our land in two acres. As per recommendation we need to have 225+ pits of dimensiton 2x2x2 feets with spacing of 18 to 20 feets .
Now my question is hiring a JCB to dig these pits will be economical option ?
The person who operates JCB is claiming it may take aprox 20 hours to complete this work .
So it turns out to be 20 hrs x 700rs/hr == 14000/- rupees to dig the pits .
A tractor operated augur is not available on rent nearby and seems peoples are also interested in it since our land is bit hard and has smaller boulders .
I have seen hand operated earth augurs some time ago which cost around rupees 25k+ with 2 feets depth and 6-8 inches of diameter .
Will such augur work at bit hard land with small boulders and will be it worth investment ?
Please provide your comments asap on estimation part and economical options/suggestions.
Note: We are not considering laborer option since god only knows how long they will take to dig it .
In my opinion it should take 8-10hrs. i.e. aprox 25rs/pit. for pits you have to give contract otherwise they scoop hlf feet at once and make 4-5 scoops. usually it should take 2 scoops.Dont insist them to have a square pits, the moment you say pit they will start finishing edges and make a exact box like pit, this will not add any value.
Earth Auger: A moderate hard soil should allow you 55-60 holes hour. Since it is tractor mounted tractor costs 600/hrs +auger cost+ driver tips all should cost you 15rs/pit But size of the pit will be 18"Max in dia and 3ft max in depth.
Manual Earth auger: this is only for sandy and soft soil. Operator fatigue is more. Users suggested not to buy this.
Labour is 8rs/cft i.e. your pit will be 8cft and 64rs/pit.
Thank you Sir,
If your Land is Nr. Hyderabad we will undertake digging of Pot holes with Earth Auger of 12" Dia Provided your Land is Black Cotton Soil or Red Soil, Sandy Loamy Soils etc. Of it is Hard Gravely soil it is better to go for JCB only and even Manual is also not Possiable.
It is depending upon the Soil Structure. If it is Black Cotton Soil or Red Soil,
Sandy Loamy Soils etc. Hand held Mechanical Earth Augur is better.
Otherwise if it is Gravely Morrum Soil there is no other go except to go for
Tractor Mounted Earth Augur or JCB is essential. In view of th Present Labour
cost it will be more costlier and we cannot get the work done as per the
Schedule is remote even though we consider it for Labour Contract.
I have myself experienced the above work for me as well as to my Clients.
For Lemon 1 Foot Dia is enough if one Plants 1 Year Old Saplings.
But the Depth should be above 2 Feet to fill the Farm Yard Manure.
Dear Sriji,
your advise really worked well . We gave strict instructions to the JCB person for two scoops, no need to worry abt shape and it took just 5-6 hours to complete the job . Initially we done rotavating the land to get rid of weed before digging pits .