Potato Journal

Results of a comparative study on potato harvesting by Khurpa, animal-drawn digger, and tractor-mounted double-row digger and single-row elevator-digger in relation to their capacity, digging performance, labour requirement, (in potato picking) and cost of harvesting have been reported. It was found that the actual area, harvested per day by animal/tractor-drawn equipment was limited by the rate of removal of potatoes from the ground which largely depended upon the number of labourers employed for picking and bandling the potatoes. Percentage of cut tubers was highest in harvesting by Khurpa followed, in order, by animal-drawn digger, tractor drawn elevator-digger and tractor drawn double-row digger. The labour required for-picking the potatoes was minimum for elevator-digger and maximum for harvesting by Khurpa. The cost of harvesting per hectare was lowest with the tractor-drawn double-row digger (Rs. 5648) and highest with Khurpa (Rs. 787.0).