Design Improvements of A Gripper-Type Transplanter for Pineapple Suckers

Abstract

Pineapple transplanting is very laborious work. This process requires 15 workers to plant one hectare of pineapple, which requires 43,500 suckers. The objective of this study was to develop an improved mechanical transplanter for transplanting pineapple suckers. Physical parameters of pineapple suckers, such as weight (g), length (cm), diameter (cm) and canopy (cm) were measured for two varieties, MD2 and N36. A preliminary experiment based on the gripper-type mechanical transplanter was also done. The experiment proved that this transplanter had potential for transplanting pineapple suckers, as it was able to transplant the suckers with the targeted planting distance of 30 cm. However, components such as the roller chain system, the grippers and furrow opener required design improvements. The roller chain system should use 12.5 mm (0.5 in) chain for the whole chain-sprocket system. The gripper should be lengthened to 30 cm to accommodate the uniform pineapple sucker length. The gripper slot should also be widened to about 6 cm. The furrow opener needs to be widened from 8.9 cm to 10.2 cm to accommodate the biggest diameter of pineapple suckers. It is hoped that these design improvements can improve the workability of the mechanical transplanter for transplantation of pineapple suckers.