DEVELOPMENT OF AN ONION-SET PLANTER BASED ON DESIGN CRITERIA OF PLANT TRANSPLANTERS

Thesis Overview

<p> <b>1.0 INTRODUCTION&nbsp;</b></p><p><b>1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY</b></p><p>Mechanization in agriculture has released millions of agricultural workers in the industrial sectors, and has helped contribute remarkably to industrial expansion. Outstanding developments in agriculture came into existence after mechanization of a variety of agricultural operations, Outputs have been increased dramatically, while reducing levels of manpower and the burdens of the worker. Every year, demand is increasing for food and fibers and will continue to increase due to a constantly expanding population. Increased production is, therefore, required as cultivable land remains the same. As a result, there is a need to produce more within the shortest possible period of time, using minimum manpower and improved cultural practices. Many operations in agriculture are now being performed by machines. This reduces the labor requirements which have been the principal motivating force in mechanization. There are some areas, like vegetable transplanting, where mechanization has progressed very slowly.&nbsp;</p><p>Transplanters are particularly advantageous when they can minimize a peak labor demand. These peaks occur over a relatively short period of time each year, as in the harvesting of certain fruits and vegetables. Another important element is that mechanization improves the ability to produce and deliver the product for successful marketing of vegetables. A continuous supply of products into the market has a significant effect on the economy. Several transplanters have been developed to plant tobacco, cabbage, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, rice, and trees for reforestation. The transplanters are either semiautomatic or automatic. In semiautomatic machines, the plants are fed by hand into the plant-placing device. Usually automatic implements use preloaded plant cartridges or potted plants, stacked on the planter, which mechanically convey the plant and place it in the ground. In semiautomatic transplanters, the labor is partially reduced compared to automatic machines. Cultural practices for some crops have been changed to modify growth habits, decreasing required labor and growing periods. This present study is related to the development of a planting machine that can plant onion-sets instead of planting plants or sowing seeds into the soil. The terms, "set" or "onion-sets" in this thesis are applicable to a small onion bulb, usually less than an inch in diameter, which is used for propagation. <br></p><p> The onion is a major vegetable used in many different ways in daily diet. The demand for onions is worldwide. Its use is not limited to any climate or associated with any nationality; and, they are probably grown in as many areas of the world as any cultivated crop. Onions are found in most markets of the world in any season of the year. Although they are consumed in rather small quantities by most families, they are used in many homes almost daily. Primarily, they are used as a seasoning for a wide variety of dishes. The demand for onions is fairly constant throughout the year: onions are consumed in about the same amounts when the prices are high or low. It is possible to predict rather closely the amount of onions that any market will absorb. It seems impossible, however, to regulate the flow of onions into market channels where the consumer can purchase onions at a reasonable price and where the grower can make a reasonable profit. A year of over-production and low prices is usually followed by a year of underproduction and high prices. One way to resolve this problem is mechanizing the cultural practices of onions. All current methods of producing onions depend heavily on manual labor. Though onions are an essential vegetable used every day, it is unfortunate that not much development has been made in mechanizing cultural practices in onion production. Mechanization will lead to a reduction of labor demand that occurs over a relatively short period of time each growing season. Uniform rate of production, availability of product, and high yields are other advantages of mechanization. The reasons for lack of advancement may be due to the following:&nbsp;</p><p>1. Varied physical, mechanical and biological characteristics of onions and onion plants are too delicate and perishable for mechanical transplanting&nbsp;</p><p>2. The delicate and perishable properties of onion-sets when mechanically handled&nbsp;</p><p>3. Lack of development of a new machine&nbsp;</p><p>4. Lack of investigation of the effects of a machine or a mechanized system upon onion crop production and/or economics&nbsp;</p><p>5. Lack of research studies of fundamental problems related to soil/onion relationships&nbsp;</p><p>6. Lack of studies relating the adaptability of machines to onion production, and&nbsp;</p><p>7. Cultural practices vary with variety of onion, production, location, and level of technology.&nbsp;</p><p><b>1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM&nbsp;</b></p><p>A survey of the literature on planting onion-sets revealed no information pertaining to an implement. There was a lack of design information for planters, even though hand planting is a tedious and costly operation. This study was initiated because of the desirability to replace and to establish uniform rates of production throughout the year at a lower planting cost.&nbsp;</p><p><b>1.3 OBJECTIVES&nbsp;</b></p><p>The primary objectives of this study were:&nbsp;</p><p>1. To investigate current methods of planting and producing onions&nbsp;</p><p>2. To analyze the design considerations for mechanically planting onion-sets in relation to transplanters&nbsp;</p><p>3. To develop a planter to plant onion-sets without damage to the sets&nbsp;</p><p>4. To field test the onion-set planter's performance and to evaluate the resulting data.</p><p>&nbsp;1.4&nbsp;<b>PARAMETERS OF THE STUDY</b>&nbsp;</p><p>This study consisted of a review of literature pertaining to planting onion-sets. A review of uses of transplanters for such a purpose was then conducted. In addition, data pertinent to the planter design were set up by a literature review and by consultations with other researchers . Procedural Plan of Study Initially, considerable literature was reviewed to establish a background to develop a mechanical planter to plant onion-sets. Although onion planters were mentioned in the literature, no specific information was found. The objectives of this study, the parameters of the study, and an organizational plan were developed using consultation and review. As there was no published information available on planting sets, it was necessary to establish initial design criteria. A review of related materials was necessary, however, to establish a basis for the design of an onion-set planter. A working model was to be developed and constructed based on formulated design criteria. It was decided to conduct performance tests of the model and to modify it accordingly, if necessary. The documentation of information gathered, the development of the implement designed, and the results of the tests performed follow. <br></p>