Material and Curvature of the Oil Palm Harvesting Knife and Their Effects on Force and Energy Requirements
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Oil palm is an economically important crop, and the process of harvesting its fruit constitutes a major proportion of the production cost.Using an efficient harvesting knife can reduce the cultivation cost and ensure a high yield.In this study, the effect of the material and curvature of the knife for cutting fronds and fresh fruit bunches (FFB) was investigated.Three different materials, namely, EN-42J, EN-9, and Hardened and Tempered (H&T) steel and five different curvatures namely, Malaysian model, Andhra model, Kerala model, FMD-1 and FMD-3 were examined.A total of 15 harvesting knives were developed and evaluated in the field using a load cell indicator attached between the pole and the harvesting knife.The parameters of maximum cutting force (CFc) , maximum specific cutting force (SCFc), and maximum specific cutting energy (SCE) were calculated.The findings indicated that the material of the knife exhibited a negligible effect, but the curvature had a significant effect.Of the various models tested, the values of the CFc (30.56, 54.50 kgf), SCFc (0.26, 0.95 kg cm -2 ), and SCE (5.08, 4.78 kg cm cm -2 ) were the least for the Malaysian model followed by FMD-3 model for cutting the frond and FFB.
Source: Journal of Oil Palm Research
Author: SUTHAKAR B
Institution: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4405825543