DEVELOPMENT OF A HAND PUSH-TYPE CASSAVA HARVESTER

Abstract

Cassava harvesting especially on large scale involves first, cutting the stem at a predetermined height above the ground and preserving it for the next planting season, after which a preferred method of uprooting the tubers is employed. It is categorised as the most difficult and challenging aspect in its production process. Most practiced world over, especially in Africa and Nigeria in particular, is the manual system ofuprooting by hand which is tedious and mostly characterised with defects on farmers over time. Some of these defects include; blistered/callus palms, arched spinal cord and waist pain, amongst others. Root tuber damage, land mass and the farmers financial status are major considerations in the choice and adoption of a method of harvesting, (manual, semi-mechanised or mechanised) with respect to the end use of the harvested produce and availability/accessibility of resources. These and more led to the development ofa hand push-type cassava harvester, incorporated with a cabin to protect the operator from unfavourable weather conditions and driven manually on two wheels. The mechanism ofa simple machine such as the lever was employed in driving and powering the machine and its major components, adopting the first and second class lever principle in the design. The machine, comprising of three main mechanisms to carry out the following operations; stem cutting, soil loosening and tuber harvesting was successfully designed, fabricated and tested.