Field Capacity and Harvest Efficiency Evaluation of Traditional Small Box and Semi-Automated Bin Handling Systems for Wild Blueberries
Mechanical harvesters with small box and semi-automated bin handling systems are increasingly being used for harvesting wild blueberries in Eastern Canada, and Northeastern, USA. However, their field capacity and performance have not been quantified and compared. Important measures of field capacity...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Agriculture |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/10/957 |
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| author | Ahmad H. Khan Emmanuel K. Yiridoe Travis J. Esau Aitazaz A. Farooque Qamar U. Zaman Prosper J. Koto Craig B. MacEachern |
| author_facet | Ahmad H. Khan Emmanuel K. Yiridoe Travis J. Esau Aitazaz A. Farooque Qamar U. Zaman Prosper J. Koto Craig B. MacEachern |
| author_sort | Ahmad H. Khan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mechanical harvesters with small box and semi-automated bin handling systems are increasingly being used for harvesting wild blueberries in Eastern Canada, and Northeastern, USA. However, their field capacity and performance have not been quantified and compared. Important measures of field capacity and efficiency for a traditional mechanical harvester were compared with a novel semi-automatic bin handling harvester. Data were obtained from on-farm field trials conducted at four sites in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2017 and 2018. Both harvesters had double head configurations, along with other similar engineering configurations: (i) 0.66 m picking reels; (ii) 16 picker bars per head and 65 teeth per bar; (iii) 1.72 m picking width; (iv) 21 rpm head speed; and (v) 0.31 ms<sup>−1</sup> ground speed. Each harvester was operated for 120 min and data such as berry harvesting time and box handling time were recorded, with six replications during each year. Statistical methods were used to compare the harvest efficiency of the two mechanical harvesters. Harvest time efficiency was significantly higher for the semi-automatic bin handling technology than for the small box handling technology both in 2017 (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and 2018 (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Weed coverage did not have a significant effect of harvest time in either 2017 (<i>p</i> = 0.694) or 2018 (<i>p</i> = 0.765), though it did significantly affect yield in both 2017 (<i>p</i> = 0.011) and 2018 (<i>p</i> = 0.045). The findings provide useful insights for decision-makers contemplating the choice of harvesting technology to sustain profits from wild blueberry production. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:47:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-265d16f7eef6411aa903bca2ed81219d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:47:56Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-265d16f7eef6411aa903bca2ed81219d2023-11-22T17:04:52ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722021-10-01111095710.3390/agriculture11100957Field Capacity and Harvest Efficiency Evaluation of Traditional Small Box and Semi-Automated Bin Handling Systems for Wild BlueberriesAhmad H. Khan0Emmanuel K. Yiridoe1Travis J. Esau2Aitazaz A. Farooque3Qamar U. Zaman4Prosper J. Koto5Craig B. MacEachern6Department of Business and Social Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, CanadaDepartment of Business and Social Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, CanadaDepartment of Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, CanadaFaculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, CanadaDepartment of Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, CanadaResearch Methods Unit, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, NS B3H 2E2, CanadaDepartment of Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, CanadaMechanical harvesters with small box and semi-automated bin handling systems are increasingly being used for harvesting wild blueberries in Eastern Canada, and Northeastern, USA. However, their field capacity and performance have not been quantified and compared. Important measures of field capacity and efficiency for a traditional mechanical harvester were compared with a novel semi-automatic bin handling harvester. Data were obtained from on-farm field trials conducted at four sites in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2017 and 2018. Both harvesters had double head configurations, along with other similar engineering configurations: (i) 0.66 m picking reels; (ii) 16 picker bars per head and 65 teeth per bar; (iii) 1.72 m picking width; (iv) 21 rpm head speed; and (v) 0.31 ms<sup>−1</sup> ground speed. Each harvester was operated for 120 min and data such as berry harvesting time and box handling time were recorded, with six replications during each year. Statistical methods were used to compare the harvest efficiency of the two mechanical harvesters. Harvest time efficiency was significantly higher for the semi-automatic bin handling technology than for the small box handling technology both in 2017 (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and 2018 (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Weed coverage did not have a significant effect of harvest time in either 2017 (<i>p</i> = 0.694) or 2018 (<i>p</i> = 0.765), though it did significantly affect yield in both 2017 (<i>p</i> = 0.011) and 2018 (<i>p</i> = 0.045). The findings provide useful insights for decision-makers contemplating the choice of harvesting technology to sustain profits from wild blueberry production.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/10/957automationefficiencyfield capacitymechanical harvestermechanizationwild blueberry |
| spellingShingle | Ahmad H. Khan Emmanuel K. Yiridoe Travis J. Esau Aitazaz A. Farooque Qamar U. Zaman Prosper J. Koto Craig B. MacEachern Field Capacity and Harvest Efficiency Evaluation of Traditional Small Box and Semi-Automated Bin Handling Systems for Wild Blueberries Agriculture automation efficiency field capacity mechanical harvester mechanization wild blueberry |
| title | Field Capacity and Harvest Efficiency Evaluation of Traditional Small Box and Semi-Automated Bin Handling Systems for Wild Blueberries |
| title_full | Field Capacity and Harvest Efficiency Evaluation of Traditional Small Box and Semi-Automated Bin Handling Systems for Wild Blueberries |
| title_fullStr | Field Capacity and Harvest Efficiency Evaluation of Traditional Small Box and Semi-Automated Bin Handling Systems for Wild Blueberries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Field Capacity and Harvest Efficiency Evaluation of Traditional Small Box and Semi-Automated Bin Handling Systems for Wild Blueberries |
| title_short | Field Capacity and Harvest Efficiency Evaluation of Traditional Small Box and Semi-Automated Bin Handling Systems for Wild Blueberries |
| title_sort | field capacity and harvest efficiency evaluation of traditional small box and semi automated bin handling systems for wild blueberries |
| topic | automation efficiency field capacity mechanical harvester mechanization wild blueberry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/10/957 |
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