Evaluation of modified pluking pole for harvesting coconuts

Abstract

The modified coconut plucking pole which supports farmers who are willing to harvest nuts from coconut trees has been developed as a solution for scarcity of coconut tree climbers in coconut plantation sector, Sri Lanka. This research was conducted by NERDC to develop efficient coconut plucking pole to harvest nuts from coconut trees from the ground level. Modified pole is a height adjustable, light weight, self-controllable, safe to operate, easy to fabricate and economically viable. It consists with two adjustable aluminium alloy poles, harvesting knife, nylon hinged clamps and a protective grip. The minimum and maximum harvesting length of the plucking pole are 7 m and 17 m respectively. Nuts could be harvested from the coconut tree as individuals or bunches. Required average plucking time per tree which has two average coconut bunches is 1 minute. Harvesting efficiency of the developed plucking pole is 7 times higher than the climbing trees. Average harvesting rate is 55 trees per hour. Modified plucking pole is a solution for harvesting problem of coconut plantations in Sri Lanka and save time and money in addition to solving labour scarcity problem.