Tractor-operated hydraulically controlled tree shaker for harvesting fruits

Abstract

A tractor-operated hydraulically controlled tree shaker was developed to harvest Aonla (Phyllanthusemblica) and Jamun (Syzygium cumini) fruits. This machine generates vibration to shake fruit trees withprovision to hold the tree trunk up to 2438 mm high. Besides, a collecting basket made of green net with fully opened diameter of 6706 mm has also been developed. Performance assessment of the machine was carried out on Aonla and Jamun fruit trees at two different stroke rates and compared with the traditional method of fruit harvesting. The best results were obtained at stroke rates 1480 ± 8 and 1600 ± 12 rpm for Aonla and Jamun trees, respectively. The average harvest per tree at these stroke rates was 52.99 kg and 12.53 kg for Aonla and Jamun trees, respectively. Mature, immature, and damaged harvested fruits were 78.59%, 5.59% and 15.81%, respectively, for Aonla. In Jamun, the mature, immature, and damaged harvests were 82.34%, 7.10%, and 10.56%, respectively. The overall fuel consumption for harvesting Aonla and Jamun fruits was 5.6 and 6.06 l/h, respectively. For Aonla, the cost of harvesting with the machine was Rs. 5.03/kg, whereas it was Rs. 20.94/kg for jamun. In contrast, the cost of harvesting in the traditional method was Rs. 4.20/kg for Aonla and Rs. 15/kg for Jamun. The cost of operation was higher due to the harvesting of untrained, non-pruned treesand the machine being a functional prototype. The overall saving in labour was 74-80% in Aonla and 75-80% in Jamun fruit harvesting compared to the manual method