Development and evaluation of a double Row Disc Ringer for root and tuber Crop Production
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Date
October, 2019
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Abstract
The introduction of mechanical harvesters has been a breakthrough in root and tuber
crop cultivation as it has greatly reduced drudgery with a potential increase in global
cassava production. However, the use of these equipment requires line or ridge planting. While ridging is preferred and can be done manually, empirical evidence
suggests that manual ridging is laborious, time-consuming and the quality and standard
of ridging cannot be guaranteed. The objective of this study was to develop and test the
performance of a double-row disc ridger for root and tuber crop cultivation. Functional
analysis (FA) and computer-aided design methodologies (CAD) were applied. The
device was fabricated from locally available materials and tools, making it an adaptable,
resilient and affordable technology for small-scale farmers. The prototype was tested
at varied tractor speed ranging from 1.67 – 2.5 m/s (6 – 9 km/h) and disc angle from
40o - 45o
to determine the draught force, fuel consumption, wheel-slip, depth and width
of cut. Preliminary results indicate that optimum performance was achieved at disc and
tilt angle of 42.5o
and 25o
and tractor speed of 2.23 m/s (8 km/h). The ridger recorded
a field capacity of 1.45 ha/h and average fuel consumption of 6.3 l/ha (9.14 l/h). It was
observed that increased tractor speed and disc angle resulted in increased draught force
from 1.8 – 2.4 kN, increased fuel consumption from 5.2 – 7.04 l/ha (7.81 – 10.45 l/h)
and increased depth and width of cut from 30 – 40 cm and 250 – 280 cm, respectively.
A hazard and operability (HAZOP) study established possible deviations, causes,
consequences, safeguards, and recommendations for users. Further research is
necessary to establish the effect of different moisture content and soil type on the
performance of the ridger. Wear and durability test on different agro-ecologies are also
recommended.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Agricultural Machinery Engineering.
Keywords
Agriculture, Disc Ridger, Development, Evaluation, Prototype