Design, Construction And Performance Evaluation Of Tractor Drawn Potato Planter

Abstract

Potato Is One Of The Major Staple Food Items In Ethiopia. Potato Planting In Ethiopia Is Accomplished By Traditional Methods Of Planting The Potato Tubers On The Field, Which Is Labour Intensive, Time Consuming And Low Yields Of Potato Per Hectare. This Is Due To Lack Of Suitable Row Planting Machine. In Order To Solve The Above Problem, This Study Aimed To Design, Construct And Performance Evaluation Of A Tractor Drawn Potato Planter Capable Of Plantings Potato Tubers In Rows At Desired Depth And Spacing. The Developed Tractor Drawn Potato Planter Consists Of Trapezoidal Shape Hopper, Feed Cup Seed Metering Mechanism, Shovel Type Furrow Opener, Ground Wheel, Three-Point Hitch And Furrow Covering Device. The Physical Properties Of Five Varieties Of Potatoes Were Studied. The Sphericity Result Was 79.27 % To 86.6 %. The Angles Of Repose Of All Varieties Were Nearly Equal To 35.5??. The Performances Of Tractor Drawn Potato Planter Were Evaluated In The Laboratory And Field. Row To Row Spacing Can Be 60 Cm And Average Depth Of Seed Placement Was Found 12.18 Cm As Per Potato Agronomic Requirement. The Seed Rate Was Calibrated And Observed That 2,027.4 ????????.??????????1 Which Is Laying In The Acceptable Range Of 18 To 22 ????????????????????????????.??????????1. The Field Test Conducted At Tractor Speed 36 Rpm Of Show 21 ????????????????????????????.??????????1 Seed Rate. The Theoretical Field Capacity, Effective Field Capacity And Field Efficiency Of The Machine Were 0.525 ???????.??????????1, 0.351 ???????.??????????1 And 67.18 % Respectively. The Average Germination Of The Metered Seed Was Observed 88.54 % Seeds. The Cost Of Fabrication Of The Planter Was Estimated Approximately 18,845.21 Etb Birr. The Saving In Man Power Requirement And In Terms Of Cost Of Planting Were Quite Substantial And Justified The Use Of Planter.