Babur observed that in northern India (Agra, Chandwar, Bayana), people used a bucket irrigation system where a wooden fork with a roller was set up at the well-edge. A rope tied to a large bucket was passed over the roller and attached to a bullock. One person drove the bullock while another emptied the bucket. This device, called the Persian wheel, was necessary because Hindustan had level land with no running waters. Babur noted that autumn crops grew by rain, while spring crops grew even without rain, but young trees required water through buckets or wheels. The context does not provide information about irrigation in Vijayanagara for comparison.

The irrigation system observed by Babur required wooden forks, rollers, ropes, large buckets, bullocks, and wells. It also required human labour - specifically two people per operation (one to drive the bullock, another to empty the bucket). The system relied on simple technology that could be constructed and maintained locally with basic materials.

The Persian wheel system could ensure peasant participation in improving agricultural technology. The context states that the average peasant seldom possessed more than a pair of bullocks and two ploughs. Since the Persian wheel system used bullocks, which peasants already owned, they could participate in and maintain such irrigation technology. The system's reliance on individual bullocks and simple mechanisms made it accessible to peasants with limited resources, enabling their involvement in agricultural improvement.