Journal of Taiwan Agricultural Research

Author:Jian-Jhih Lin and Hsiang-Wen Chiu*

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to develop a transplanting machine to meet the demand of Taiwan’s sweet potato industry, to actuate the mechanization and automation of the sweet potato planting operation, as well as to reduce the farmers’ labor. This study also intended to improve the efficiency of field operations and economic income, the competitiveness of the sweet potato industry to achieve labor-saving in agriculture and to attract the younger to engage in agricultural operations. The sweet potato transplanting machine developed in this research is to reform the traditional tractor-mounted type of transplant mechanism, which adopts a manual seedling feeding method. Field experiments revealed that with the average linear speed of 1 m s^-1, row spacing of 105 cm, plant spacing of 25 cm, and planting depth of 5–10 cm, the operating efficiency is about 1,000 m² h^-1, and the average of the planting loss rate is about 3.6%. There was no difference in operation efficiency of using this machine as compared with the manual. However, it changes the working posture of seeding supplying workers from the squatting position to the sitting position, thus saving labor and reducing the incidence of work-related injuries and attracting young people to work in the sweet potato industry.

Key words:Sweet potato, Transplant, Mechanization and automation

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