Vol. 11, Special Issue 6 (2022)

Author(s):
Nisha, Saravanakumar and Shridar

Abstract:
A tractor front mounted finger millet harvester was developed for harvesting finger millet earheads and stalks seperately. The components of developed finger millet harvester includes harvesting unit, conveying and collection unit for earheads and windrowing unit for stalks. The harvesting unit consists of two cutter bar assembly of length 1600 mm and a reel. The collection and conveying unit for earheads consists of a screw conveyor for conveying harvested earheads and a collection bin for collecting it. The power for the harvester was taken from tractor PTO with 540±10 rpm to the front of the tractor using belt pulley, main shaft and a universal joint. The machine worked satisfactorily during field performance evaluation in sandy loam soil. The maximum harvesting efficiency achieved was 91.5 per cent with 1.25 percent header loss.