New Delhi: A unique "potato sowing machine" that can be attached to a tractor in a farm has been developed by two students of M.Tech. in Design Engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D).

Nivesh Pandya and Rajesh Kumar Dwivedi, studying in the first year has designed and fabricated the machine.

The machine was shown by students at "I2Tech Open House 2009" held last week.

"This is for the first time someone has developed a potato sowing machine," said Nivesh and Rajesh.

"We produce potato in large quantity but it is sown manually in our country. The machine will be powered by the tractor it is attached to. Potato seeds are placed in the hopper of the machine. Through a belt and cup arrangement, the seeds are picked up and dropped in the field. The machine also has furrows, and as the tractor moves ahead the furrows will cover the soil over these seeds. The machine also has a pump to spray insecticides on the soil before the seeds are placed," said Nivesh.

"We will file a patent for our machine in July," added Nivesh.

"The equipment is light in weight and costs Rs.10,000 to Rs.15,000. It can be used to sow other large-sized seeds also. The machine has been designed in such a way that the right distance between the seeds is maintained," further said Nivesh.