Development of Kenaf Harvesting Technology Using a Modified Sugarcane Harvester

Abstract

In this study, a kenaf harvester was developed and the optimum harvesting period and effective field capacity were determined. The kenaf harvester that was a modified sugarcane harvester had a 57 kW engine and ran with a crawler. To cut kenaf stems properly, a cutter equipment specific to kenaf was developed, to control the flow of harvested kenaf stems and prevent the basts of kenaf from winding around the cutter part of the drum. This machine enabled to cut kenaf stems with a length of about 22 cm each, regardless of the traveling speed, and harvest could take place from the period of flowering to the period of killing frost. In this machine, 2 types of carriers were developed for the harvested kenaf stems: a net bag type and a conveyor type. The net bag type consisted of a net bag container with a capacity of about 500 kg located behind the machine. With this type, although the field capacity efficiency was low because much time was spent on unloading the materials, the harvester could be handled with one operator. The effective field capacity was about 6.6 a/h. The conveyor type consisted of a belt conveyor system located behind the machine. Kenaf was conveyed to a wagon tractor by the conveyor system. In the conveyor type, the operations were slower (15%) than in the net bag type, but the effective field capacity was about 13.9 a/h.