Cassava harvesting tools

Two lever type harvesting tools have been developed in CTCRI. Only 14-15 mandays are required to harvest one hectare of cassava whereas 30-34 mandays are necessary for manual operation. These low cost mechanical devices reduce the drudgery involved with the manual harvesting.

a. First order lever type:

The lever is supported on a fulcrum, which in turn is supported at the top of a stand. During the operation, the jaws open just enough to get around the cassava stem. It has a mechanical advantage of four and its weight is 14 Kg. It costs approximately Rs.2500/-

b. Second order lever type:

The height of the fulcrum at the far end of the lever can be adjusted which facilitates uprooting of cassava plants raised on flat bed as well as on mounds or ridges. A self tightening mechanism is used to grip the cassava stem. It has a mechanical advantage of 3.4 and the total weight is 8 Kg. It costs approximately Rs. 1800/-