REGRESSION MODEL FOR PREDICTION OF FUEL CONSUMPTION AND GRAIN LOSSES OF SELF-PROPELLED PADDY REAPER R180 GD
Rice harvesting is normally done manually which is time consuming and highly labour intensive, hence there is need for a mechanical method of rice harvesting. Self-propelled paddy reaper is a mechanical means of harvesting rice which is more convenient than manual harvesting, yet majority of farmers around or outside the study area find it difficult to adopt the use of paddy reaper, this may be because they are not certain of the operating cost or grain losses during operation of the paddy reaper. As a result, this study aimed at creating a regression model which will assist in predicting fuel consumption and grain losses of self-propelled paddy reaper, the equation generated will suffice to minimize postharvest grain losses. Jamila and Yardass varieties of rice were used for the experiment. Multiple regression models for fuel consumption and grain loss were developed. The models were validated by plotting the predicted values against observed values. The values of the coefficient of determination, R2; were0.60 and 0.66 for fuel consumption and grain loss, respectively in the Jamila variety (V1) While 0.67 and 0.78 were for fuel consumption and grain loss respectively in the Yardass variety (V2). This study shows that fuel consumption of the reaper could be reduced by reaping at lower moisture content and lower cutting speed. The developed models for predicting the fuel consumption and grain loss were in fairly close agreement with the observed values.
Authors : U. Muhammad and M. S. Abubakar
Category : Open Access Volume (Issue) : 4(1) Date Uploaded : 9th October 2018