Fabrication and performance evaluation of a solar-powered multipurpose agricultural machine

Abstract

- In Bangladesh, wheat is a vital cereal that is second to rice for food, calorie, and protein intake. Production has decreased significantly over the past two decades because of the loss of arable land, but demand has increased, leading to an increase in wheat imports. The improvement of seed sowing practices is necessary to meet demand and reduce import dependency in wheat production. To preserve crops from insects and to maximize production, spraying pesticides and cutting grass are crucial tasks in the agricultural sector. The purpose of this endeavor was to fabricate and invent a solar powered manually operated multipurpose agricultural machine to determine the technical performance of the machine. USD 360.87 was the total amount spent on fabrication for the solar-powered multipurpose agricultural machine. The seed sowing rate was 106.36 kg/ha. The sprayer used 450 L per hectare as its application rate. Solar-powered multipurpose agricultural machines have a theoretical and effective field capacity of 0.12 hectare per hour and 0.1 hectare per hour respectively. Solar-powered multipurpose agricultural machine has a field efficiency of 83%, with a mean velocity of 1.31 km/h. The cutting effectiveness of the machine was 78%. The machine’s operating cost was USD 8.80 ha⁻¹. The cost of operating a solar-powered multipurpose agricultural machine for one year was USD 506.83, which included a 0.18 capital recovery factor, USD 61.84 investment Utilization, and yearly expenditures.