| Tractor-drawn
harvester for groundnut
Harvesting of groundnut is labour intensive and has to be carried out in time during crop maturity to minimise field losses. To help this, a suitable mechanical groundnut harvester operated by a tractor has now been developed. This new harvester consists of a soil lessening tool, a pick up cum conveyor and a gatherer wind-rower. The soil engaging tool is made of 15mm x 100mm x 1800mm mild steel blade. The tool is fixed at 15 degrees rake angle to a standard cultivator frame for easy mounting on a tractor with two shanks at both the ends. The pick up-conveyor mechanism of length 1700 mm is made of two endless chains connected by conduit pipes spaced at 90 mm L-shaped pegs are fastened to these pipes in a staggered manner. At the rear, a gatherer wind-rows the harvest. The harvest can be operated by a 35 HP tractor and can harvest about 2.25 hectares a day. The harvesting efficiency of the machine is more than 99% depending on the soil moisture. The cost of operation is Rs.600 per ha. This machine saves 32 % on cost and 96 % on time compared to the conventional method. The cost of the machine is about Rs.20,000. |
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