Development of plant holding mechanism for pigeon pea stem cutter

A plant holding unit for tractor front mounted pigeon pea (Cajuns Cajan L. Mills) stem cutter was developed in the department of Farm Power and Machinery, Dr PDKV, Akola. Considering the problem of forward bending of crop while cutting which tends to improper cutting action in the previous implement results for need to develop the plant holding mechanism for the stem cutter. The holding unit consists of pulleys, rollers, belts etc. The belt is allowed to rotate along the vertical axis of pulley and roller. The rubber groves were fitted on the belt for holding the plant firmly. The component of the holding unit was tested in the laboratory as well as in the field and was found working satisfactory. The desired sprocket teeth ratio was selected to match the speed of holding unit and travel speed of tractor. The cutting efficiency of the modified implement was increased due to the use of holding mechanism. The maximum cutting energy was found 78.57 % and 75.00 % at 3 and 3.5 km/h speeds respectively. The field efficiency was 68.88 % and 69.84 % at the two above respective speeds. The plant damage was found 13.33 % and 12.96 % at the same respective speeds.