Agricultural Engineering 

Chilies dryer 

The farmers and entrepreneurs are recommended to use the developed agricultural crop residue fired dryer for artificial drying of red chilies at 53 ± 2 ºC air temperature with 3.25 m/s air velocity and 10 cm bed thickness to obtain good quality dried chilies with significant reduction in drying time and cost.

 Onion dehydaration

The entrepreneurs and the industry engaged in the dehydration of onion are recommended to dry the onion at 76 ºC drying temperature and 27 m/min velocity of air keeping 3 mm thickness of onion slice to get good quality dehydrated onion flakes with lower drying time.

Cumin’s essential oil 

The entrepreneurs and the processing industries are recommended to use grid for cumin having particle size between 35 and 48 mesh (0.417 mm and 0.295 mm) for extraction of optimum quantity of good quality cumin's essential oil employing the water distillation method.

Tractor 

The farmers, tractor owners and implement manufactures who use the mild steel based soil working tools are advised to coat the wearing surface with Tufex hard surfacing electrode at 120 volts and 20 amperes setting on manual Metal Are welding machine. It enhances the life of tool by about 25 per cent.  

Sweep blade for inter-culturing  

Farmers of South Saurashtra Agro-climatic Zone growing row crops are advised to use sweep blade (angle 70⁰ and working length 42 cms) for inter-culturing to reduce number of clogging and to improve weeding and field efficiency as compared to straight and curved blades. Use of sweep blade for inter-culturing also reduces drudgery to operator. 

Mango Positioner 

Mango growers are advised to use positioner for mango harvesting with uniform stalk length (1-2 cm), for maintaining white layer on the fruit and with choice of matured fruit as the harvesting is done at a close distance. Using this machine, one can get economical advantage over local picker. 

Post hole digger 

The engine operated portable post hole digger is useful for making the pits for erecting fencing poles, plantation of fruits and forest saplings etc. This machine makes about 25 to 35 pits of 15 cm (6 inch) diameter and 45 cm (18 inch) depth in one hour. By this machine, the cost of making one pit (Rs. 2.16) is low as compared to manual digging (Rs. 5.60) and tractor operated digger (Rs. 4.10). Looking to the performance and application, this machine is recommended for farmers, manufacturer and other users.

Cleaner-cum-Grader for Cumin 

The cumin cleaner-cum-grader machine developed by Junagadh Agricultural University has cleaning efficiency of 75 per cent at the capacity of 50 kg/h and a low cost of cleaning (Rs. 0.31 per kg). It is recommended for the use of farmers, processors and other users. 

Residue Shredder 

Agricultural residue shredder developed by Junagadh Agricultural University is recommended for the use of farmers and industries for shredding the plant stalks of castor, cotton and pigeon pea. The machine is operated with 6 hp diesel engine and having capacity of about 170 to 190 kg/h, producing pieces of stalks in size 10 to 75 mm length. The volume of plant stalks reduces to about 80 per cent due to shredding with the value addition of about 170 to 230 per cent. 

Peanut butter 

The entrepreneurs/farmers interested in value addition in peanut are recommended to select the GG-20 cultivar (in comparison to GG-2, GG-7, GG-11, GG-13) of peanut for the production of good quality peanut butter. 

Rainfall-Runoff Relationships for Mahi Basin 

The mathematical model and nomograph of rainfall intensity-duration-frequency relationships for Mahi basin developed by Junagadh Agricultural University are recommended to the designers, planners, NGOs and Govt. agencies involved in watershed development projects for the design of structures. 

Mathematical Model: I = 113.3211(T)0.2156(t+1.4275)1.0132

Where, I = rainfall intensity(mm/h); T = return period(years); t = duration(hours). 

Rainfall Intensity-Duration-Frequency relationships

The mathematical model and nomograph of rainfall intensity-duration-frequency relationship for Junagadh region developed by Junagadh Agricultural University are recommended to the designers, planners, NGOs and Govt. agencies involved in watershed development projects for the structures. 

Mathematical Model: I = 68.86 T^0.265/(t+0.86)^1.022

Where, I = rainfall intensity(mm/h); T = return period (years); t = duration(hours). 

Grader for Sapota 

            Hand-operated grader developed by Junagadh Agricultural University for grading sapota on the basis of size is released for the use of farmers, manufacturers and processors. The same machine can also be used for grading of similar types of fruits and vegetables.  

Hay rake-cum-loader 

            Tractor operated hay rake cum loader, developed by Junagadh Agricultural University is released for the use of farmers and manufacturers. The machine is easy to operate and reduces time & cost of collecting hay. 

Time table for green house cooling 

            Farmers of the Saurashtra region growing flower crops in medium cost green houses are advised to adopt the following time table for operating different cooling systems by using 50 per cent shade net along with natural ventilation (20 to 30 % of the ground floor area) during summer months (March-June) for maintaining productive temperature (20-30 ⁰C) inside the greenhouse and for saving energy.

Least-cost design for drip irrigation system 

            The farmers, entrepreneurs and design engineers are advised to install the drip irrigation system as per layout given below for different crops grown in Saurashtra region to minimize installation cost (Table 1 and 2) 

Table 1 :    Drip Irrigation in Horticultural Crops**

*As per the GGRC rates of 2007.

** For all crops, design lay out No. 5 was used, except, Amla(4) and Banana(3).

Table  2 : Drip Irrigation in Field Crops*

* For all crops, except castor(4), design lay out No. 3 was used.