S-shaped multipurpose monorail for hillside orchards
2007
Yamamoto, S.(Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Inst., Saitama (Japan)) | Kanamitsu, M. | Ajiki, K. | Fujiwara, M. | Tanaka, K.
The Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution (BRAIN) developed a multipurpose monorail system for hillside orchards, with the cooperation of several manufacturers, as part of the project called 'Urgent Development of Agricultural Machinery' promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. This monorail saves an enormous amount of energy and labor for various tasks in hillside orchards with slopes of up to 30 deg C, such as transporting harvest, spraying agricultural chemicals, spreading fertilizer, weed control, and processing of pruned branches. The system consist of two independent monorails: the main monorail, which runs uphill along the edge of the orchard, and the sub-monorail, which runs between every two or three rows of trees all around the orchard along the contour lines in an 'S' shape. The main monorail is used for carrying goods in and out of the orchard by conveying them to and collecting them from the sub-monorail. The sub-monorail can be connected to various devices such as freight cars, an air blast sprayer, a fertilizer spreader, an herbicide sprayer, and a branch shredder. The monorail's effectiveness for reducing labor was proved in a year of testing and evaluation at two citrus orchards.
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