1Division of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Shere-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Jammu-180 009, Jammu and Kashmir, India
2Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, College of Technology and Engineering, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur-313 001, Rajasthan, India
3Department of Agricultural Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Moga-142 001, Punjab, India
4Division of Agricultural Engineering, Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow-226 002, Uttar Pradesh, India
5Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur-492 012, Chhattisgarh, India
*Corresponding Author: Divakar Chaudhary, Division of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Jammu-180 009, Jammu and Kashmir, India, Email: divakarchaudhary4343@gmail.com
Online published on 4 November, 2025.
Ergonomics in agriculture assumes pronounced importance as it is a multidisciplinary science that endeavors to make a better fit between the job and the worker to ensure their health and safety.
In the current study, a evaluation of developed manual fruit harvester was done suitable for selective harvesting and comparison was done with traditional system on ergonomic grounds.
The mean working heart rate (HR) during kinnow harvesting operation was 102.09 beats per min and 108.53 beats per min for traditional and developed method respectively. The ODR (overall discomfort rating) value ranged from 4 to 5 and 0 to 4 and the BPDS value ranged from 40.66 to 59.58 and 30.91 to 51.33 in harvesting operation by traditional and developed system respectively The average RULA score for traditional method was found 7 and action level 4 which fall in the range of very high risk level and changes are required immediately. The average RULA score for developed method was found 4 and action level 2 which fall in the range of low risk level and changes may be required.
Body part discomfort, Ergonomics, Heart rate, Overall discomfort rate, Rapid upper limb assessment
