Development and Preliminary Testing of Metering Equipment for Mechanized Yam Sett Planting

Abstract

This paper reports the design and laboratory testing of equipment for metering yam setts, as a precursory step in the development of a mechanical yam sett planter. The metering equipment was designed to discharge a yam sett at every 1000 mm of within-row spacing using a ground-wheel drive system. Yam setts flow by gravity from a hopper into a metering drum having an internal helical screw and lift flaps, which discharge the yam setts for planting. Laboratory tests of the prototype gave a metering efficiency of 82.2% with percentages of singles, multiples and skips being 80.5%, 0.2% and 17.7%, respectively. The theoretical field capacity is 0.2 to 0.4 ha h-1 at planting speeds of 2.7 to 5.0 km h-1. The work provides a basis for the future development of a mechanical yam sett planter.