Assessment of Physical and Engineering Properties of Ginger Rhizomes for Efficient Harvester Design
Amol Khadake *
Agricultural Engineering Section, DY. Patil Agriculture & Technical University, Talsande, Kolhapur, India.
A. M. Gore
DY. Patil Agriculture and Technical University, Talsande, Kolhapur, India.
Kadu Rameshwar Lahanu
Pravara Rural Engineering College, Loni, Ahilyanagar, India.
Pankaj Sabale
Mechanical Engineering Department, Loknete Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil (Padma Bhushan Awardee) Pravara Rural Engineering College, Loni, Ahilyanagar, India.
Shamrao Gidhad
Mechanical Engineering Department, Loknete Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil (Padma Bhushan Awardee) Pravara Rural Engineering College, Loni, Ahilyanagar, India.
Prashant Adhav
Mechanical Engineering Department, Loknete Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil (Padma Bhushan Awardee) Pravara Rural Engineering College, Loni, Ahilyanagar, India.
Rushikesh Shendge
Mechanical Engineering Department, Loknete Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil (Padma Bhushan Awardee) Pravara Rural Engineering College, Loni, Ahilyanagar, India.
V. B. Janjal
College of Agriculture, Loni, Ahilyanagar, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is an important spice crop widely cultivated in India, and knowledge of its physical and engineering properties is essential for developing efficient ginger harvesting machinery. This study was conducted to determine key physical, biometric and engineering properties of ginger relevant to harvester design. The physical characteristics evaluated included the number of leaves per plant, plant height, rhizome depth, plant population density, plant spacing, soil-rhizome composite weight, rhizome weight, number of rhizome fingers per hill and rhizome weight with plant. The average values obtained were 19 leaves per plant, 24.5 cm plant height, 19 cm rhizome depth, 11 plants m⁻² population density, 13.5 cm plant spacing, 1.02 kg soil-rhizome composite weight, 10.5 rhizome fingers per hill and 1.45 kg rhizome weight with plant. The engineering properties assessed included major, minor and intermediate diameters, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, rhizome index, bulk density and angle of repose. The mean major, minor and intermediate diameters were 9.90, 5.17 and 3.72 cm, respectively. The geometric mean diameter was 5.66 cm, whereas sphericity and rhizome index were 0.58 and 51.73, respectively. Bulk density and angle of repose were 443.98 kg m⁻³ and 34.33°, respectively. The results provide engineering data for the development and optimisation of ginger harvesting machinery, particularly digging, lifting and soil-separation mechanisms.
Keywords: Ginger rhizome, biometric properties, engineering properties, physical characteristics, harvester design, bulk density, sphericity, angle of repose, mechanised harvesting