Student brings out new machine for mango farmers
Pluciking profit
Mango exporters can now breathe a sigh of relief, says K V Nagaraj, an MTech student at the BMS Engineering Evening College, Bangalore.
He has invented a mango-plucking machine that pulls down fruits from the trees without damaging them, he claims.
A demonstration of the use of the machine was organised at a mango farm in Honegal in the taluk recently, under the supervision of Nagaraj’s guide Prof Sudhindra.
Since climbing very tall mango trees to pluck the fruits is virtually impossible, the conventional method adopted is to use a hook at the end of a long stick and pull down the fruits.
Damage
The fruits, however, are very often damaged because of this method. The resin from the stalk too drips down on the mangoes, making such fruits unfit for export. Farmers find that only about 70 per cent of the produce could be sold even at the local markets and at a low rate.
Beneficial for farmers
Using the new machine, therefore, would be beneficial for the farmers. It ensures that every mango plucked would be fit for sale and even export, as it prevents the resin from dripping down onto the mangoes, explained Nagaraj.
Device to be improved
Building the new machine has cost Nagaraj about Rs 2,000. “We intend to improvise on the technology so that manufacturing a machine would cost not more than Rs 800,” he said and added that every farmer could use the machine as it demands no technological expertise.
“It will therefore come as a boon to farmers,” he said.
Nagaraj said he invented the mango-plucker after about a year of experimentation with various equipment while working as a supervisor at the mango farm of Adichunchanagiri Shakha Mutt.
Nagaraj acknowledged the support and suggestions provided by Dr Ravishankar, the head of the Department for Industrial Engineering Management at BMS College, Dr K J Ratanraj, the coordinating officer of the post-graduate section and Srinivas, a local farmer while inventing the machine.
Nagaraj’s guide Prof Sudhindra, who was present at the demonstration, said mango is a popular crop in Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts.
He added that Nagaraj’s equipment will prove useful for the local farmers and said, “Technological inventions like these should work for the benefit of farmers in an agriculture-based economy like India.”
