Agricultural Research Management Information System

Home
Research Summary
Search
About Us
- ARMIS
- Brochure
Contact Us
Report
User Request
Data Input
Help
- Operation Manual
  - PDF
  - Video
- Program Area & Commodity
We have reached 37600 number of research entries at this moment.

- Logout

Research Detail

Home
Research
Detail

Development of a Low Cost Two Wheel Tractor Operated Potato Harvester (2016 – 2017)

Md. Israil Hossain
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur Bangladesh

M. Zakaria
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur Bangladesh

KK Saha
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur Bangladesh

M. Jahidul Islam
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur Bangladesh

B C Kundu
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

A low-cost two-wheel tractor driven potato harvester has been developed and improved with locally available materials in Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division of BARI, Gazipur to facilitate small farmers to harvest their potatoes at low cost. The developed potato harvester is a semi-automatic digging machine consisting of (i) digging blade (ii) conveyer flat chain (iii) Guide plate and (iv) Power transmission arrangement with a dimension of 900 mm x 850 mm x 950 mm. The potato harvester was demonstrated in the farmer's field of Rajshahi, Tangial, Rangpur and in the TCRC potato farm in 2016-17. The field capacity of the potato harvester covers daily average of 1.2 ha land depending on operator skills. Potato harvester requires labour 21 per ha only instead of 60 labours per ha in traditional manual method. The total cost of potato harvesting by the potato harvester is Tk. 9,835 per ha but manually harvesting cost is Tk.23,600 per ha. Potato harvester saved 58.3% potato harvesting cost and 65% labour requirement compare to traditional manual potato harvesting method. Moreover, there are no potatoes remain under the soil. Potato damage percentage is less than 1.21%. Potato farmers always pass the risk of bad weather especially harvesting time. So, potato harvester can cover large areas within a short period of time, escape bad weather uncertainty, and sustain potato production stable. Manufacturers start producing the potato harvester and sell to the potato growers. One unit of this harvester has been given to CIP, India through MoA.

Keywords: Performance, Potato harvester, Development

Location: Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur Bangladesh

Start Date: 00-00-2016

End Date: 00-00-2017

Program Area: Farm Mechanization

Commodity: Tractor, Harvester

Objectives:

1. To develop a potato harvester and to test its harvesting performance and,

2. To compare the cost of harvesting of the potato harvester with manual harvesting method.

Methodology:

There are two types of potato harvester that has been developed: Belt pulley power transmission type and gearbox power transmission type. Potato harvester was fabricated in FMPE workshop and tested in the research farm of FMPE, Gazipur and in the farmers field of Puthia Rajshahi; Zaigirhat, Rangpur during the crop season 2016-17. Design consideration: The design considerations for the development of a power tiller operated potato harvester were as follows. it should be a single-row pull-type and suitable for power tiller (12 hp), which is the most popular among the farmers. Equipment should be multipurpose one i. e., suitable for the row-to-row spacing of 610 mm and early crop (60-65 days) without haulms cutting and the main crop after haulms cutting. it should be simple in construction, and easy to operate and inexpensive to maintain. it should be robust enough for digging under dry field conditions. Overall length, width and height of the digger are 900 mm, 850 mm and 850 mm, respectively. Flat iron columns are welded on the blade in such a way that blade is inclined to the ground at an angle of 200 when a column is vertical. The blade is 540 mm long and 325 mm wide and 6 mm sharpen at front. It is provided with a 50 x 50 x 6 mm angle iron at the rear bottom to increase its strength against bending. Single ridge opening devices can be bolted through opener bases at the spacing of either 310 mm or 210 mm. In front of the conveyor chain, there are high carbon steel shovels bolted. These can be replaced when worn out. Total set up can be moved forward or backward and also laterally depending upon the field conditions and row to row spacing of the crop. The operating power of the potato harvester comes from the flywheel through belt pulley arrangement. Likewise, furrow guides, fitted on the sides of columns with the help of two bolts can also be moved up or down depending upon their wear status and field conditions. Furrow guides prevent the digger from lateral movement and keep the ridge opening devices exactly below the potato ridges. After removing the haulms, a potato harvester was used for digging potatoes. In this process, the blade enters the ridge below the potato zone and cuts the ridge slice from the main soil mass. The slice with tubers comes over the conveyer chain that opens the whole mass in such a way that the tubers are rolled and exposed. High rotating speed separated the tubers from the soil and exposed on the soil surface. Tubers are collected manually. Potato harvester was tested in normal field moisture conditions as well as dry field conditions at different forward speeds of operation at a single row spacing of 600 mm, which is most prevalent in the farmer’s fields. Three segments of two-meter length in five strips were marked. Exposed and unexposed potatoes were lifted manually and weighed. Collection time was also recorded. Potato harvester operation time for covering 30 m length was recorded three times at all the speeds, using a stopwatch. For harvesting, short-duration potato crop without haulms cutting, ridge opening, devices and furrow guides, and the bare blade was used. This blade runs through the ridges below the potato zone. Ridge soil gets loosened, while plants are slightly intact. Then manually, haulms are slightly turned to one side and polled out. This way most of the tubers get exposed and were lifted manually. Conventional manual potato harvesting method, indigenous plough used for digging and exposure the tubers. Data related to the number of potato tubers exposed per unit area, number of damaged/injured tubers, tubers collection time and potato harvester operation time were recorded. For cost calculation, potato harvester purchase price, life, salvage value, bank interest rates, number of labour requirements were considered. Detail cost calculation of power tiller driven potato harvester was given in Appendix-I.

Source of Information: Annual Research Report 2016 – 2017, Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur Bangladesh

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Potato harvester acts as digs the potato beds; rotating flat conveyer belt carry loose soil with potatoes and its high-speed rotation separate the potato tubers from soil. Finally, pick up the exposed tubers from the soil surface by hand. It covers daily average of 1.2 ha land depending on operator skills. Potato harvester requires 21 man-days/ ha only instead of 60 man-days/ ha in the traditional manual method. Harvesting cost by potato harvester is Tk. 9,835 per ha but manually harvesting cost is Tk.23, 600 per ha, respectively. Potato harvester saved 58.3% cost and 65% labour. Moreover, there are no potatoes remain under the soil. Potato damage percentage is only 1.2 1%. Potato harvester can sustain potato production at an economic level and reduce labour dependency in peak harvesting period. Manufacturers start producing the potato harvester and sell to the potato growers. One unit of this harvester has been given to CIP, India through MOA involvement 2017.

Knowledge Management: Report/Proceedings