| Popis: |
Lack of appropriate mechanization is one of the factors limiting cultivated area and yields of lentils in Morocco. Research was initiated at a regional research center at Settat, Morocco, to mechanize and reduce labor requirements for lentil production. The major emphasis has been on mechanization of harvesting operations. This article contains results from two years of harvesting trials with a modified walk-behind reaper, a tractor front mounted mower-windrower (TFMW), and a combine fitted with a pickup unit. The reaper worked well for cutting and windrowing lentils and the average grain loss was about 4% in 70 cm, and about 1.3% in 60 cm spaced rows. Grain losses in cutting and windrowing lentils with the TFMW averaged about 2%. Pickup and combining the windrowed crop after it had dried in the field was successful, but losses increased to a total of about 14% in 1992 and 19% in 1993. Most of those losses occurred as the crop was picked up and conveyed over the belts. Labor requirement (man-hours per hectare) for cutting, windrowing, and hand collection of crop from windrows was estimated as 56 with the reaper and 49 with the mower-windrower, compared to 122 for doing the same operations entirely with hand labor. |
