Harvesting equipment

This presentation will provide basic knowledge regarding different harvesting equipment. In addition you can get ideas about the factors influence the harvesting process.

1. Harvesting Equipment Vijitha Vikneshwaran Lecturer(Temporary) Faculty of Technology University of Jaffna

2. Introduction Harvesting is the process of gathering the economically viable part from the ripe crop.  Harvesting is carried out with different principle according to the position of the economic part in the crop. It may involves, Cutting Digging Picking Laying Gathering Different types of harvesting equipment are available all around the world. 2

3. Different harvesting equipment Figure 02: Groundnut harvester Figure 01: Fruit harvesting tool 3

4. 4 Different harvesting equipment, cont … Figure 05: Combine harvester Figure 04: Potato digger Figure 03: Reaper

5. Cutting blade in groundnut harvester facilitate the harvesting. Since potato is a root crop, the root will be dug out. In combine harvester the functions like cutting threshing cleaning are combined together. Some reapers will reap and create the bundles. The fruit harvesting tools makes the harvesting easier as the fruit are available at greater height. In addition it reduce the spoilage of fruits by preventing of fruits falling directly on ground during harvesting. Different harvesting equipment, cont … 5

6. Factors influence the harvesting Harvesting is depend on several factors, Soil factors Crop factors Climatic factors Condition of the harvesting implement There should be enough strength for cutting. The cutting should taken place when the plant is straight and when it posses proper moisture content . If the moisture content is very high, it will simply start shedding when you touch it and then lot of grains will fall . 6

7. Sharpness and fineness of a knife is also important Sharpness is defined by edge radius of the knife. Sharp knife - small radius Dull knife - larger radius Fineness is defined by the bevel angle of the knife. Fine knife - small bevel angle Blunt knife - large bevel angle 7 Factors influence the harvesting, cont …

8. Since cutting causes mechanical failure of plant stem or leaves, the structure and strength of plant materials are needed to be considered. Ultimate load at bending failure and deflection of the stem are the mechanical properties of plant materials with references to cutting. Ultimate load at bending failure can be estimated as, F bu = ( I × S u ) / (c × L ) F bu : Ultimate load at bending failure (N) I : Moment of inertia of the cross section (mm 2 ) Su : Ultimate stress of the plant fibers (N/ mm 2 ) c : Radius from neutral axis of stem to the most outer fiber (mm) L : Distance from the concentrated load to point of support (mm) 8 Factors influence the harvesting, cont …

9. Deflection of the stem can be estimated as, ᵟ r= (F r L 3 )/( C b EI ) F r : Radial concentrated load (N) L : Distance from concentrated load to point of support (mm) I : Moment of inertia of the cross section (mm 2 ) C b : Constant E : Modulus of elasticity of the stem fibre (N/mm 2 ) 9 Factors influence the harvesting, cont …

10. Hollow and thin walled section I= (3 π d 3 t)/32 Homogeneous solid and circular section I= ( π d 4 )/64 d : Diameter (mm) t : Thickness (mm) 10 Factors influence the harvesting, cont …

11. Equipment for forage harvesting Mower Used for harvesting grasses and forage crops Cut the stem up to 30 to 100 mm above the ground to make hay Different types of mowers are there, Flail type mower Rotating disc type mower Cylinder type mower Reciprocating type mower 11

12. Different types of mower Flail type Comprises of horizontal motor with 2 blades of about 60 cm diameter. The blades rotate at a speed of 2000 to 3000 rpm. After the cutting process, the materials will be thrown into the trailer. This type of mowers are used for maintenance of lawns, gardens and play grounds. 12 Figure 06: Flail type mower

13. Rotating disc type mower There are two types, Disc type: Have disc on the periphery and having 2 to 4 free swinging knives. Drum type: Have two larger diameter moving drums Drums are driven by belt and pulley arrangement Have four steel blades are attached to each disc which revolves at 2000rpm Used for trimming lawns, golf ground and other ground 13 Different types of mower, cont … Figure 07: Rotating disc type mower

14. Cylinder type mower Have rotating helical blades Blades are arranged in horizontal plane Can cover about 1.5 to 2 ha/ hr at a speed of 8 to 10 km/ hr Commonly used for lawn mowing 14 Different types of mower, cont … Figure 08: Cylinder type mower

15. Reciprocating type mower Have a knife made of several triangular sections that reciprocate against stationary fingers. Reciprocal action facilitate the cutting action of the knife. Since it is not supported on the other side proper balancing and proper alignments are very important. Commonly used to harvest forage crops Main components are, A metallic frame Power transmitting unit Cutter bar 15 Different types of mower, cont … Figure 09: Reciprocating type mower

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