Prediction of Labor Requirement and Cost of Pick-up Type Pulse Crop Harvester for Soybean and Red Bean Harvesting

Abstract

Purpose: This study was carried out to evaluate the labor requirement and the cost-reducing effects of the pick-up type pulse crop harvester compared with those of conventional harvesting for soybeans and red beans. Methods: The labor requirement and the cost to gather, thresh, and clean for conventional harvesting operations were surveyed; those for the pick-up type pulse crop harvester were estimated for soybeans and red beans. The annual capacity of the harvester and the break-even area of the two harvesting methods were also estimated. Results: For soybean harvesting, the labor requirement of 0.57 hour-persons/10 a for the pick-up type pulse crop harvester reflects a 91.9% reduction in the labor requirement of 7.00 hour-persons/10 a for conventional harvesting. Machinery costs of 51,300 won/10 a for the harvester were estimated for an annual harvesting area of 52.5 ha/year, representing a reduction of 33.3% from the 78,700 won/10 a cost of conventional harvesting. A break-even area of 28.4 ha was estimated for the two harvestings. For red bean harvesting, the labor requirement of 0.57 hour-persons/10 a for the harvester reflects a 92.6% reduction in the labor requirement of 7.66 hour-persons/10 a for conventional harvesting. For an annual harvesting area of 52.5 ha/year, annual capacity of 52.5 ha/year and machinery costs of 51,700 won/10 a were estimated for the harvester, reflecting a reduction of 44.7% in the cost of 93,500 won/10 a for conventional harvesting. A break-even area of 23.1 ha was estimated for the two harvestings. A governmental subsidy for purchasing the harvester could contribute to reducing the break-even area and harvesting costs. Conclusions:The pick-up type pulse crop harvester for soybean and red bean harvesting could reduce the labor requirement and costs of conventional harvesting, and a governmental subsidy for purchasing the harvester will improve the economics of the harvester for efficient mechanical harvesting. Keywords:Labor requirement and cost analysis, Pick-up type pulse crop harvester, Soybean and red bean harvesting

Design and Safety Performance Evaluation of the Riding Three-Wheeled Two-Row Soybean Reaper

“…Rather, a two-row pedestriantype sesame reaper (crawler type), which was developed for sesame farmers, has been applied to other crops, such as soybeans and perillas, to ensure the applicability of the machine (Jun et al, 2015). Furthermore, a soybean combine (pick-up type) has been developed (Yoo et al, 2014(a), Yoo et al, 2014(b)), and is used exclusively to thresh the cut and dried soybeans when the use of the combines becomes difficult because of poor crop growth. Also, for efficient work of a soybean combine (pick-up type), the ground gradient condition has been investigated to ensure safe uses of the riding three-wheeled reaper that are adaptable to the various soybean cultivation styles.…”