Development of Okra-Cutter-Holder

Okra fruits have an almost hair like bristles and prickly surface exposure to which is uncomfortable to the hands of the harvester. In extreme cases, persons with sensitive skin have developed sores or allergic reactions after a prolonged period of exposure to the pods during a harvest. Therefore to minimize above mentioned problems we developed a suitable low cost tool, okra-cutter-holder. This invention is directed okra cutter to an improved okra-cutter-holder, which permits one to harvest okra pods from a plant without touching the pod. The developed tool was tested in the laboratory as well as in the field. The comparative tests were carried out to compare the performance of the newly developed okra-cutter-holder with the old straight blade okra plucker. The feedback from the workers was taken for ease of operation and the acceptance of the tool for the harvesting of okra. The results shown that the new tool could harvest 297–318 okra per hour (10.0–10.9 kg/hr) without damaging pods and also provides better protection to the hands of workers.