DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHESTNUT HARVESTING TECHNIQUESByMark E. De KleineA harvesting technique applicable for small chestnut orchards was designed and tested for chestnuts. The originality of the technique was a single-stage vacuum and separation process. A harvesting chamber was designed with inline obstructions which separate chestnuts from debris. The chestnuts were sorted into a deposit chamber and debris and waste was discharged to the environment.Tests were made to determine chestnut harvesting performance as affected by the proportion of chestnuts to debris, and the feed rate into the system. The validation of the harvesting process was characterized by chestnut loss and separation efficiency. The quantity of chestnuts and the feed rate interaction significantly affected the harvesting performance parameters. Chestnut losses were as low as 1.3% while the separation efficiency was as high as 81%.
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