Search

Sorghum is a plant with broad adaptability, is resistant to drought, and is very suitable in marginal areas. Sorghum plants contain 7% to 17% seed composition and 83% to 93% leaf stems. At harvest, the moisture content of seeds is 20% to 30%, and the stem is around 76% to 88%. Several stages are carried out after the sorghum harvesting process, and one of them is threshing the sorghum seeds. The threshing of sorghum seeds requires a hold-on threshing machine so seeds can be threshed immediately after harvest, and the stems from sorghum plants can be chopped directly for cattle feed. This study aims to design and test the performance of a hold-on type sorghum threshing machine that can be used to thresh sorghum seeds immediately after harvesting at a grain moisture content of around 20% to 30%. The methods used include problem considerations, the preparation of structural designs, functional designs, manufacturing drawing designs, and manufacturing functional and performance testing. The results of testing the performance of the threshing machine revealed that the working capacity of the machine was affected by rod clamp rotation, the threshing cylinder, and the moisture content of sorghum seeds. The cleanliness level of sorghum seeds is above 90%, while the level of seed damage ranges from 0% to 1%.

A study has been carried out to determine the correct dosage for using a combination of saponin and vaccine in an in ovo formula on hatchability and early growth performance. There were four levels of saponin use (0.0; 1.5; 3.0; 4.5 microgram) arranged using a factorial design with two factors, namely saponin level as the first factor, while whether or not vaccine was used as the second factor, so there were eight formula combinations. Each formula combination was dissolved in phosphate buffered saline, then injected into the amnion of fertile eggs of Sentul chickens during incubation for 18 days (0.5 ml/egg) using an automatic injector machine with a 20G needle. The results showed that increasing saponin levels combined with vaccines as an ingredient in the in ovo feeding formula results in decreased hatchability. A very significant decrease occurred at the 4.5 µg level. The average hatchability of vaccine treatment was significantly better than those treated without vaccine. There is no interaction effect of the two materials on hatchability. However, the interaction effect was seen in all parameters of early growth performance of Sentul chicken during the 4 weeks of observation. The vaccine treatment will be more effective if it is used separately or not mixed with saponin (0.0 µg), while the use of saponin without vaccine will produce the best weight gain and feed efficiency when used at the highest dose level (4.5 µg).

An analysis of the power requirements of the peanut harvesting machine was carried out to determine the type and size of tractor power that will be used. A tractor with a self-propelled motor will distribute traction power to the peanut harvesting implement on the peanut digger unit (digger), the peanut plant shaker/shake unit and the pod reversing unit with peanut plants (inverter). Field performance results obtained by a digging machine with a 90 HP four-wheeled tractor with a working width of 120 cm, depth of 11.6 cm, working capacity of 3,27 hours/ha (0,31 ha/hours), field working efficiency of 72.05%, fuel oil usage of 6.95 liters/ ha, and power for harvesting peanuts of 9.2916 hp. The operational costs of a peanut harvesting machine is IDR 134,331 per ha. By using a (general) rental rate of IDR 175,000 per ha, a rental profit 0f IDR 33,951 per hais obtained with the BEP of the peanut harvesting machine having to work for 865.66 hours per year or 1,731 ha per year with a B/C ratio of 1,07966 at 10% interest and 1.06187 with 16% interest and IRR of 40,12%.

Sorghum is a versatile plant with various parts that can be utilized. However, information on the physical and mechanical properties of the sorghum plant is crucial for designing agricultural machinery for primary handling processes such as threshing and chopping. This study aimed to determine the technical characteristics of sorghum plants (Bioguma variety) including the physical and mechanical properties of the stems, leaves, panicles and seeds to design a configuration system concept for threshing and chopping machines capable of processing sorghum plants with high moisture content immediately after harvesting. The study used a descriptive method and included samples of sorghum plants randomly taken from fields in Majalengka and Bogor, Indonesia. The physical and mechanical properties were measured using several replications, ranging from 3 to 30 depending on the parameter. The sorghum plants were harvested at at ages 80, 90 and 108 days after transplanting (DAT). It was found that the moisture content of sorghum stem and seeds decreased with the increase of plant ages where stem ranged between 84.18-79.81 %wb and seeds ranged between 51.7-29.4 %wb. The result revealed that planting ages influenced its properties including stem properties and seed properties. Longer DAT increased the stem hardness from 290.64 ± 29.41 to 350.00 ± 0.81 N and seed hardness from 8.2 ± 1.7 to 44.9 ± 5.4 N but decreased the tensile force of seed form panicles from 16.7 + 3.2 to 6.0 ± 0.8 N. The data on stem strength and seed hardness provide important considerations for the development of several equipment for sorghum processing. The findings of this study can serve as a basis for designing effective and efficient threshing and chopping machines for sorghum plants at high moisture content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Engineering / Jurnal Keteknikan Pertanian is the property of IPB University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)