Coconut is one of the rich cash crops in the southern part of India. More than 90% of regions from which coconut is produced in India is in the South.
Average production:
While the average productivity of coconut in the country is about 6285 nuts per hectare, the productivity varies considerably from state to state. In Tamil Nadu alone, coconut is cultivated in about three lakh hectares with an average production of about 32,000 lakh nuts every year. The average yield is 10,000 to 20,000 nuts per hectare.
Laborious job:
It is a laborious job to climb up the coconut tree which will easily be 20 feet when it fully grown. A lot of accidents happen while the labors continuously work on getting up, plucking the nuts and getting down to shift his duties to next tree. Even the most skilled labors will get tired after few trees and will need some down time to recuperate the hard work being done.
In a typical coconut plantation where there are thousands of coconut trees, the owner has to employ more number of climbers to get the work done faster or less number of climbers should overwork to get things done. Either way it will not be beneficial. To combat this problem KSNM has come up with the solution of coconut tree climbing equipment.
Easy operation:
This coconut tree climbing device is designed in such a way that even a person with no experience can easily climb up the tree and pluck the nuts and get back to ground level in 10-15 minutes making it a boon for the farmers.There are two frames while the upper frames can be operated with two hands and the lower frame can be operated by just one foot. There is a provision of seating arrangement also.
Sliding framework:
The entire unit is fitted with the tree ruling out the question of accidents or other untowardly incidents. By standing on the lower frame the upper frame can be lifted in sliding motion upwards and downwards. As said this device is a boon for whoever has large scale coconut plantation. This device will make the total process safe and cost effective and less time consuming.
Similarly, by sitting on the upper frame, the lower frame can be slid up or down.
The operator can ascend or descend the tree by operating the upper and the lower frames alternately.
No risk
Since the operator is safely held against the tree by the upper frame, there is practically no risk of falling down. An operator takes about 10 minutes to safely climb and harvest the nuts
Manual labourers
The device is a boon for large-scale coconut growers who employ manual labourers for climbing the trees. Usually these labourers are paid about Rs. 20-30 per tree.
Specifications:
MS square pipes thickness is 14 SWG and size is 3/4 x 3/4
Rubber bush hardness is 75.
Strong Rexin Seat
The weight of the device is about 13 kg.
Time required to climb one tree is 10 minutes.
