Design and Development of Medium Duty Pigeon Pea Pulse Machine Energized by Human Powered Flywheel Motor for Improved Productivity

Abstract

The pulses are the most important part of the Indian meal from ancient time. The protein requirement of most of the vegetarian peoples in Indian subcontinent are fulfilled through pulses like pigeon pea, Chickpeas, Masoor Dal, Black-Eyed Peas, Mung Beans, Bengal Gram, Urad dal etc. India being the largest producer of pulses but also imports nearly 20-25% of its domestic production. The production of pulses mainly depends on the extent of pre and post harvesting losses. In India, the pre harvesting losses are difficult to avoid and control. Post harvesting losses are mainly related to activities like milling of grains and storage before its actual utility. It was estimated that if post harvesting losses are controlled to its minimum, it can reduce the import nearly by 50%. Post harvesting activities like milling etc. done at dal mills has certain limitations and constraint in terms of its availability and uninterrupted functioning owing to scarcity of electricity in most of the rural part in Maharashtra and other region of the country. newlineApart from the limitations and constraint, the most of the dal mills are situated at the Taluka places own by private firms for processing the grains and or for trading of pulses under their brand name. The farmers growing the grains have to transport the newline newlinecrop to dal mill for post harvesting operations and then again transport to APMC or market for its selling. The cost involved in to and fro transportation to dal mill and post harvesting operations, not only diminishes the farmer s margin but also is one of the most influencing factors for improving the farmers income. The unavailability of proper farm machinery for post harvesting operations not only increases their dependency on dal mills but also kept them apart from sharing the profit margin after the value addition to their farm produce. newlineIn the present study, post harvesting system is developed with an objective to contribute for sustainable growth of the farmers and to deal with the unemployment issues at the rural areas.