DEVELOPMENT OF A COCOY AM PLANTER

Abstract

A cocoyam planter was designed, fabricated and evaluated for performance. The major components of the planter are hopper, metering system. ridging disc, furrow openmg disc, furrow covermg disc and chain and sprocket mechanism for power transmission. The materials for fabricating the planter were sourced locally. Performance tests were conducted to evaluate the effect of forward speed of operation on the following parameters; planting depth. number of corms planted, average spacing along rows and quality of work done. Results of the test were statistically analysed using regression analysis to investigate the effect of forward speed of operation on the parameters of evaluation. From the regression statistics and the ANOV A of each parameter, it was shown from the values of R2 obtained for each parameter that all the machine parameters are dependent variable on speed of operation. Comparing the values of F (calculated) End F (critical) there is strong significant effect of forward speed on all the evaluation parameters. The operations within the speeds 2.32 and 2.90 km/h shows optimal performance ; I '. ,,: . '.• \ : . ' -, ~. " " ', .- c,' ."1-- .' " • : ' j ~ .~. I', ..".....; .~J.. :·i~ : .. :, . • 1 .'~ " I ;. " '~ .• • 1\ . , .." , '/ ",., ~. .,.;-"~~.':'. :~" .'I ~ .~: +. { " ~.', t ~ : <. . • , The protein content of the corm (about 7% on a dry - weight basis) is slightly higher than that of yam, cassava, or sweet potato. The protein is rich in most of the essential amino - acids, but is rather low in histidine, lysine, isolencine and methionine. All parts of the corm do not have exactly the same composition. The dry matter as well as the starch content of the corm are lower at the apex of the corm than at the base. In addition, most of the non - starchy nutrients of the corm are concentrated in the outer peel.' The peels can therefore be utilized as feed for ruminants rather than being discarded. Two edible aroids are grown commercially in the U.S. The major crop is cocoyam tXanthosoma sagittifolium) which originated in northern South America. It is known by several common names and in the U.S. is marketed as malanga, its Cuban name. Yautia and tannia are common names for the crop in the Caribbean. Taro tColocasia esculenta. Schott) is grown primarily in Hawaii being most well-known in its cooked form as poi. the traditional staple food of native Hawaiians. Both aroids are known for their love of a humid environment and their ability to flourish in shaded conditions. They are among the most shadetolerant of terrestrial food crops (O'Hair. 1990). Both edible aroids are short-statured perennial plants, grown as annuals. They store starches in large corms at or below the soil surface. Vegetative propagules are taken from the top portion of the corms. Planting is labour intensive with plant populations ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 plants/ha.