Manufacturing of a Lateral Conveyor Head Suitable for Mowing Seed-Producing Alfalfa | ||||
| Journal of Soil Sciences and Agricultural Engineering | ||||
| Article 8, Volume 14, Issue 12, December 2023, Page 431-436 PDF (1001.86 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jssae.2024.257461.1211 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
M. A. Awad  ; O. A. Fouda; Fatma. A. Abdelgwad; W. M. Elbalkemy
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| Agric. Eng. Res. Inst. Dokki, Giza 12611, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Replacing the header of the reaper-binder with an alternative head suitable for mowing the dry clover crop (specifically alfalfa bred to retain seeds) aims to enhance operational efficiency by reducing mowing losses, labor costs, and saving time. The study examined several variables including reaper forward speeds, lateral velocities of the transport catenary, moisture contents in seed bolls, and plant stems. It then evaluated their impact on seed loss, machine capacity, field efficiency, specific energy, and operational costs. The research documented that the most favorable results were attained at a forward speed of 2.52 km/h, a lateral transport velocity of 0.8 m/s, and a seed boll moisture content of 18%. At these parameters, seed loss amounted to 1.94%, while achieving a field efficiency of 90.17% and a field capacity of 1.32 fed/h. The specific energy required was 9.95 kW.h/fed, and the operational cost totaled 800 EGP/fed, demonstrating a decrease of 21.5% compared to the traditional method. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| vertical conveyor reaper; transport catenary; lateral speed; clover seed losses | ||||
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