Techno-Economic Analysis of the Mechanized Seed Corn Harvesting: A Case Study of Pars Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Industry (Parsabad Moghan, Iran)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 T. Mesri Gundoshmian Ph.D. Professor of Biosystems Engineering, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran,

2 Biosystems Engineering Department, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili

3 3. Department of Agricultural Faculty, Mohageg ardabily university

4 2. Biosystems group , Department of Agricultural Faculty, Mohageg ardabily university

Abstract

More than 80% of the Iran corn seeds are produced in the Moghan region. One of the challenges in seed corn production is harvesting corn cobs with tractor pulled and self-propelled picker husker compared to manual method, which in recent years affects the quality of seeds produced in the country. In 2020, this study was conducted to evaluate the methods of harvesting hybrid maize 704 cultivar seeds in Pars agriculture and animal husbandry industry. The experiment was performed based on a randomized complete block design with four replications. The treatments included: 1) Cob harvesting with self-propelled harvester 2) Harvesting with tractor pulled picker husker 3) Manual cob harvesting. The technical and agronomic parameters included the percentage of seed moisture at harvest time, effective field capacity, harvester capacity and measuring the corn cob losses. For economic evaluation, partial budgeting method (benefit-to-cost ratio) was used. The results showed that the maximum and minimum farm capacities for the self-propelled and tractor pulled harvesters were 1.26 and 0.25 ha h-1, respectively. The lowest and highest total losses in the field were 3.8% and 5.4%, respectively, related to harvest by manual method and self-propelled harvester. The results of economic analysis showed that the final efficiency of replacing the application of self-propelled harvester with other treatments is more than 80.13%. Net profit and variable costs of using this harvester were estimated at 191.9 and 91.6 million Rials, respectively, which increased by 6.30% and 10.04%, compared to the tractor pulled picker and manual harvesting, respectively.

Keywords

References

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Agricultural Mechanization
Volume 7, Issue 3
January 2023
Pages 45-54

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