Comparative study between some different potato harvesting machines in small holdings [electronic resource].

Includes references.

Field experiments were carried out to compare between some different potato harvesting machines (agitator potato digger, elevator potato diggenand chisel plow) and evaluate their performance under field conditions. Potato harvesting machines performance was conducted under four different soil moisture contents (9, 11, 13 and 16%) and three different digging depths (22, 27 and 32 cm). Digging operation was carried out at four different forward speeds (1.3, 1.8, 2.5and 3.0 km/hr.). Harvesting performance was evaluated in terms of potato losses, productivity, harvesting efficiency, energy requirements and harvesting cost. The experimental results reveal that the use of both agitator digger and elevator potato digger maximize harvesting efficiency and minimize losses and cost comparing with chisel plow under the following conditions: The suitable digging depth to dig all potato tubers is 32 cm., the optimum soil moisture content suitable for digging potato is 13%, the proper forward speed for operating potato diggers is 2.5 km/hr. •

Summary in Arabic.

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