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Sci Tech
FARMER'S NOTEBOOK
Arecanut dehusker addresses labour shortage problems
M.J. PRABU
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Priced at Rs. 2,650, the unit can dehusk about 160 kg of nuts in a day
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— Photo: UAS
Crowd puller: Arecanut dehusker being demonstrated to farmers during Krishimela held in Bangalore.
Labour requirement is an important component in agriculture. Unlike in the West, in our country, most of the agricultural practices are still being carried out with the help of manual labourers. With the influx of a number of rural workers into urban areas in search of jobs and other opportunities, shortage of labour is a major problem which almost every village and farmer faces, especially during the harvest season.
Warmly welcomed
Against this backdrop, development of any new agriculture related machinery which could fill the gap of labour shortage and at the same time, if affordable by small farmers is warmly welcomed.
Against this background, researchers at the Post Harvest Technology Centre, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, have developed a semi-mechanised pedal operated arecanut dehusker to meet the dehusking requirement of areca nut growers.
Arecanut is an important cash crop of India. About 90 per cent of arecanut cultivation is concentrated in Karnataka, Kerala and Assam.
The tree is mainly grown for its nuts which are commonly called as supari in Hindi and ‘pakku’ and ‘seeval’ in Tamil.
The nut is usually chewed with betel leaf and a little lime. Once the areca fruits are plucked from the trees manual workers remove the nut from the fruits using a knife and then cut it into small pieces.
Another process called curing involves fresh fruits with husk (less ripe) are soaked in flowing water for some period. The process helps in loosening the husk which is plucked by hand and the nut removed.
The remaining husk over the nut is scraped with the help of a sharp knife.
Owing to various research and development efforts undertaken in the past three decades, arecanut production has now reached self sufficiency.
Processing cost
Studies made with respect to the cost of processing of arecanut to remove the nuts have revealed that about 35-40 per cent of the total cost of processing is spent for dehusking arecanut alone, which of course, is generally done by farm workers particularly women, according to Dr. B. Ranganna, Professor & Research Engineer, Post Harvest Technology Centre, University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (GKVK), Bangalore. The machine can be operated by employing four persons to dehusk arecanuts simultaneously.
The assembly
The dehusking assembly consists of two sharp edged flaps, one being stationary and the other movable, operated by the pedal through a linkage mechanism. The unit has a hopper to hold about 20 kg of arecanuts.
Made of mild steel, the entire unit is mounted on an angle iron stand and the dehusking mechanism is made of spring steel.
“This is suitable for dehusking freshly harvested mature green arecanuts of all varieties under cultivation,” said Dr. Ranganna. The dehusking capacity of the unit is 160 kg per day with a running time of eight hours and the unit is priced at Rs.2,650 (does not include packaging and forwarding charges).
This semi-mechanised dehusker operates at reasonably high output causing less drudgery compared to the traditional method of dehusking which requires a lot of manpower.
There is a good demand for this machine among farmers especially in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, according to Dr. Ranganna.
Interested readers can contact Dr. B. Ranganna, Professor & Research Engineer, Post Harvest Technology Centre, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, email: rangannab@gmail.com, Bangalore 560065, Phone: 080-23330153 extn-345.
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