Can digger blades wear affect the quality of peanut digging?

Abstract

Brazilian peanut harvests have been fully mechanized and are divided into two operations, namely digging and gathering. In both operations, losses are observed, and it is essential to avoid losses to maintain adequate machine maintenance. In this study, we aimed to quantify the interference of the harvesting period (morning, afternoon, and night) and wear of the digger-inverter mechanism (blades) on the loss indexes during the dig operation. The experiment was conducted in a commercial field using worn and new blades to dig peanuts at three different periods of the day. Losses were quantified by measuring data at 20 points, which were separated by 20 m for each treatment. The shift work did not interfere with peanut losses. However, the blade condition exhibited a strong influence on increasing the losses. Peanut growers can increase profits by up to 22% by reducing digging losses solely by periodically changing blades.