Mehanizovano ubiranje i separacija cvasti nevena / Mechanized harvest and separation of Calendula officinalis L. inflorescences

• Published in: Bilten za alternativne biljne vrste Vol. 42; no. 83; pp. 32 - 39
• Main Authors: Veselinov, Branislav (Fakultet tehničkih nauka, Novi Sad (Srbija)), Adamović, Dušan S. (Institut za ratarstvo i povrtarstvo, Novi Sad (Srbija)), Martinov, Milan (Fakultet tehničkih nauka, Novi Sad (Srbija)), Krnač, Boris (Fakultet tehničkih nauka, Novi Sad (Srbija))
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Serbian
• Published: Institut za ratarstvo i povrtarstvo, Novi Sad (Srbija) 2010
• Subjects: Calendula officinalis; Harvesting; Inflorescences; Mechanization

A two-year investigation was organized to assess the effectiveness of mechanized harvest of pot marigold inflorescences. Measurements were performed 4-5 times during harvest season. On average, the largest amount of inflorescences, 6,100 kg/ha per season or 43% of the total harvested weight, was harvested in the field with the row distance of 45 cm and with harvesting drum penetration into the flower canopy of about 50%. The average weight of inflorescences harvested with the stems shorter than 2 cm was 3,400 kg/ha, or 56% of the total weight. The average harvest capacity was 760 kg/h. The average loss of inflorescences (un picked inflorescences or those that dropped on the ground) was 9.2% of the total picked inflorescences. A control trial with manual picking of inflorescences showed the harvest capacity of 4.2 kg/h. The primary separation was performed by means of oscillating sieves with 6 x 8 mm perforations. The secondary separation was performed manually, using a wire sieve with 26 mm hexagonal perforations. For the mechanical sieving, the oscillating frequencies of 2.5, 2.7 and 2.8 Hz were applied and tested. The frequency of 2.7 Hz provided best separation of stalks and leaves that passed through the sieves (73% of total weight). The material left above the sieves contained on average 53.4% inflorescences with stem length up to 2 cm, 20.5% of inflorescences with longer stems, and the rest were other plant parts. The average percentage of inflorescences that passed through the sieves was 3.2%. After two manual sievings, a material containing 93.3% of inflorescences with different stem lengths was obtained.