The Design and Development of An Oil Palm Fresh Fruit Bunch Cutting Device

The Oil Palm industry has developed tremendously with the increasing of planted area from 54,000 hectaresin 1960 to about 2.28 million hectares in 1995. This is expected to increase further to 2.5 million hectares by the year 2000. However, there has been an increasing difficulty in obtaining sufficient labour for the oil palm plantations. At present , harvesting of oil palm fresh fruit is facing an acute shortage of workforce as the workers are much more attracted to the better working environment and salary in the industrial sector. Harvesting of short palm is easily done by using a chisel attached to a short steel pole. Cutting is done by moving the tool at high speed to the target. The weight of the tool coupled with the speed of throwing will produce enough energy to cut the bunch stalk. In this cutting method, sharpness of the cutting device, weight of tool and the speed of throwing contribute to the efficiency of the tool . For the tall palms, a sickle attached to a ong pole is used and the job is more difficult compared to the short palms. Lifting of pole and cutting jobs require great effort and skills. This paper describes the basic design needs in developing an appropriate device that is practical for field use. A prototype design was developed and tested.