Puller for cotton plant stubble

Abstract

Cotton plant residues have shown promise as a biomass material for thermal energy. Therefore, equipment must be available to efficiently harvest the plants. A counterrotating-wheel plant puller was evaluated as a method to harvest cotton stubble from the soil. Power required to rotate the pulling wheels in the laboratory increased with a decrease in tire pressure and an increase in force between the wheels. Static pull forces on steel rods and a wood dowel held between the pulling wheels could be increased by changing tire pressure and force between the pulling wheels. Static pull forces determined in the laboratory were useful in evaluating the unit's ability to pull cotton stubble in the field. The pulling wheels were effective in pulling 97% of the cotton stubble. They operated efficiently at tire pressures between 69 and 124 kPa with 2.7–3.6 kN of force between the pulling wheels while traveling at velocities up to 8 km/h.