关 键 词：

中文3005字 弗吉尼亚 花生 作物 机械化 收获 收成 中文

资源描述：

弗吉尼亚花生作物的机械化收获【中文3005字】,中文3005字,弗吉尼亚,花生,作物,机械化,收获,收成,中文

内容简介：

Mechanized Harvesting of Virginia Peanut CropG. B. DukeMEMBER ASAEDuring 1958，twelve percent of the national peanut crop was produced in Virginia on 106,000 acres with an average yield of 2150 lb per acre.Most of Virginias peanut crop is dug with one-row, ground-driven, pull-type peanut diggers. After digging, the vines with nuts attached are stacked on poles in the field to cure and dry. Stacked peanuts normally reach moisture equilibrium at 8 to 10 percent with 4 to 6 weeks exposure in the field. Stationary pickers are then used to separate the peanuts from the vines. Several different makes of stationary-type peanut pickers have been in general use throughout the state for a number of years. The stack pole method of harvesting requires 30 to 36 man-hours per acre, whereas the windrow method of harvesting, which is currently under investigation, requires only about one-sixth as much labor.In view of the wide acceptance of combines in other areas, this method of harvesting was introduced in Virginia. Cooperative farm machinery studies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, and industry were initiated to develop and improve peanut diggers, shakers, and combines for harvesting Virginia peanuts from the windrow.Peanut Diggers Early development work led to an improved two-row peanut digger which digs, shakes, and windrows in one operation. The two-row equipment was designed with a three-point hitch and operates from the tractor power-takeoff shaft. The machine digs and places two peanut rows in one loose, fluffy windrow. Because of its increased capacity and ability to operate under a wide range of conditions, it is gradually replacing the one-row, ground-driven digger currently in use throughout the area. The improved digger is shown in Fig. 1.FIG. 1 Improved two-row peanut digger-shaker-windrower with three-point hitch.Peanut Shakers In order to remove additional soil from the plants and nuts and to accelerate the rate of field drying, the windrow is turned and fluffed two to three days after digging. This turning operation is accomplished with a peanut shaker-windrower. Although commercially produced pull-type peanut shakers were available, a shaker with a three-point hitch was developed to facilitate turning at the end of the rows. Several hundred of these lift type shakers were produced and sold in 1958. The most recently developed item of equipment is the double windrower (Fig. 2). It shakes four peanut rows (two windrows) in one operation and reduces shaking time by one-halfPeanut CombinesEarly model peanut combines developed exclusively for use in other areas were not well adapted to Virginia conditions. They were inadequately powered and had low capacity. The machine loss, shelling damage, and foreign material were higher from combining than from the practice of stacking and picking with a stationary picker. Early model combines were equipped with bagging attachments; thus an extra man was needed for sacking the peanuts. Handling the peanuts in bags from the field to the drying installation also required additional labor.Recent peanut combines have been improved by including one or more of the following features: enlarging power units, combining picking cylinders with carding principles, increasing openings in picker screens, enlarging picking cylinders, supplying concaves with larger openings, and equipping with bulk-handling facilities. Better equipment of greater capacity, higher picking efficiency, and improved methods of handling have resulted. Harvested yields from the windrow method of harvesting using the latest model combine were compared with yields obtained from stacking and picking with a stationary picker. These data are shown in Table 1. The experimental procedure for the comparison consisted of a split plot design having five different plant population treatments with four randomized replications. The average recovery yields from combining were higher in 1958 than those from stacking, which is the opposite of the results obtained from the two methods in 1957. These differences may be attributed to changes incorporated in the design of the combine picking mechanism between the two seasons.TABLE 1. PEANUT HARVESTED YIELD FROM TWO HARVESTING METHODSAn analysis of peanut-grading data showed the percentage of neither foreign material nor sound mature kernels was consistently different due to harvesting method with either variety peanut. Percentage of loose shelled kernels was significantly higher at the 5 percent level from combining for both years and with both varieties.Limited comparative studies madelast season show that the recently developed 1958 model combines recover more peanuts from the vines and shell fewer peanuts than the combine used in the above tests. Data collected from several combine users in the state showed that improved 1958 model combines gave commercial grades comparable to stacking.Handling of PeanutsLabor used to sack peanuts on combines was eliminated by installation of a bulk-type collection bin with a capacity of 10 to 12 bags. The hydraulically operated bin was designed to enable unloading directly into drying wagons with high sides at a point of discharge approximately 9 ft from the ground. The method of bulk handling peanuts using a bin on the combine was favorably accepted by growers. At least three manufactures mass-produced combines with bins in 1958. A bulk-type collecting bin is shown in Fig. 3.FIG. 2 (Left) New double windrower for shaking two windrows in one operation. FIG. 3 (Right) A 1958 model peanut combine equipped with a hydraulically operated bulk-type collecting bin.Peanut DryingVirginia peanuts are normally harvested around October 10 during a period likely to be cool and wet. When dug, the crop contains over 50 percent moisture and combining is delayed until the crop dries to 20 to 30 percent. Although the fall of 1958 was exceptionally dry，experimental plots of windrowed peanuts left exposed 30 days in the field never reached moistures below 14 percent. Therefore, all windrow-harvested peanuts must be artificially dried before storing or marketing.Since no commercial peanut-drying facilities are available in the state, windrow-harvested peanuts are dried on the farm in special type bins or wagons. Drying wagons used in the state have capacities of 70 to 80 bags each. Minimum drying facilities required to take care of the average output of a peanut combine consist of at least eight wagons or 1,000 sq ft of bin area and fans with a capacity of 30,000 cu ft of air per minute at 1 in. static pressure. The time required to dry windrow-harvested peanuts (with moistures of approximately 30 percent) to 10 percent moisture, when using recommended air rates and temperature rise, is a function of the humidity and temperature of the ambient air. However, under Virginia conditions three to four days are usually required for drying peanuts in bins or wagons where growers are using depths of 5 to 6 ft. Recommended air-delivery rates of 10 to 15 cu ft of air per cubic foot of peanuts per minute with a temperature rise of 10 to 15 deg above ambient have been found adequate for drying and maintaining peanut quality. A slow drying rate is essential to retain the quality of the nuts.ConclusionsOver 90 percent of Virginias peanut crop is dug with one-row diggers, stacked on poles and picked with stationary pickers. In adapting the windrow method of harvesting to Virginia conditions, improvements were needed and made on peanut diggers, shakers, and combines. The windrow method of harvesting peanuts is similar to methods previously adapted in other areas. The crop is dug with two-row diggers, turned and fluffed again with a shaker-windrower 2 to 3 days after digging, and harvested with a peanut combine as few as 6 to 8 days after digging.Recent model peanut combines showed improvements in capacity and picking efficiency over previously tested models. Handling peanuts in bulk requires less labor and cost and is preferred to handling in bags. Recovery yields from combining compare favorably with recovery yields obtained from stacking.Freshly dug Virginia peanuts normally contain over 50 percent moisture and when combined 6 to 8 days after digging the moisture content has been reduced to 20 to 30 percent. All windrow-harvested peanuts must be artificially cured and dried before storing or marketing.Only six to eight growers in Virginia used peanut combines in 1957; at least sixteen growers used combines in 1958. Factors limiting the acceptance of the windrow method of harvesting peanuts in Virginia are (a) the combined high capital outlay required for purchase of diggers, shakers, combines, driers, drying bins or wagons, wiring, fuel, electricity, and moisture tester, and (b) frequent rainy seasons during harvest occasionally cause a delay in picking resulting in losses due to shattering, and discoloration and weather damage of shells and kernels.References1 Baker, V. H. Peanut harvesting and drying research. Virginia Bulletin 439, 1950. 2 Baker, V. H., Cannon, B. M., and Stanley, J. M. A continuous drying process for peanuts. Agricultural Engineering 33:351-356, 1952.3 Blackstone, J. H., Ward, H. S., Butt, J. L., Reed, I. F., and McCreery, W. F. Factors affecting germination of runner peanuts. Alabama Bulletin 289, 1954.4 Cannon, B. M. A progress report on peanut harvesting. North Carolina Circular 10, 1955.5 Duke, G. B. Progress report on harvesting Virginia type peanuts. Agr. Res. Serv., ARS 42-11, July 1957.6 Kenny, W. D., and Shepherd, J. L. Georgia C.P.E.S. Annual Report, Bulletin 49:11-17, 1950.7 Langley, B. C , and Sorenson, J. W. Harvesting and drying peanuts in Texas. Tex. Progress Report 1124, 1948.8 Langley, B. C , Sorenson, J. W., Jr., et al. A handbook of peanut growing in the Southwest. C