Effect of operational parameters on performance of a self-propelled battery-operated leafy vegetable harvester for...

Manual harvesting of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) leaves using sickles requires intensive labor and forces workers to adopt prolonged stooped postures, often resulting in musculoskeletal strain and reduced operational efficiency. To address these limitations, a self-propelled battery-operated leafy vegetable harvester was developed and evaluated under field conditions in fenugreek. Machine performance was assessed using a factorial experimental design with three forward speeds (1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 km h^-1), three conveyor driving pulley diameters (50.8, 76.2, and 101.6 mm), and two cutting heights (50 and 75 mm). The developed prototype achieved a theoretical field capacity of 0.16 ha h^-1 and an effective field capacity of 0.13 ha h^-1, resulting in a field efficiency of 81.25%. The machine operated continuously for 6.5 h on a single battery charge. Performance evaluation indicated a cutting efficiency of 98.1%, harvesting efficiency of 97.15%, and a conveying loss of 0.95%. Under a cut-and-come-again harvesting system, agronomic yields were 30.7 q ha^-1 at 31 days after sowing (DAS), followed by 24.2 q ha^-1 and 20.3 q ha^-1 at 47 and 61 DAS, respectively. These results demonstrate that the developed battery-operated harvester provides an efficient mechanized solution for fenugreek harvesting, reducing labor drudgery while improving harvesting efficiency and operational productivity. The study highlights the novelty of integrating crop-specific mechanical design with optimized operational parameters to enable efficient mechanized harvesting of fenugreek under a cut-and-come-again production system.