DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A MOTORIZED TWO-ROW IRISH POTATO PLANTER FOR IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY IN SMALLHOLDER FARMING SYSTEMS

Abstract

Irish potato (Solanum Tuberosum L.) is a globally important food and cash crop that contributes significantly to food security, income generation, and nutrition, particularly in developing economies. Despite its importance, Irish potato production in many regions remains constrained by labor-intensive traditional planting methods that result in poor seed placement, inconsistent planting depth, and reduced field efficiency. Agricultural mechanization of planting operations offers a viable pathway for improving productivity, uniformity, and timeliness of operations, especially for smallholder farmers. This study presents the design, development, and performance evaluation of a motorized Irish potato planter suitable for small- to medium-scale farming systems. The planter was developed using locally available materials and evaluated under field conditions such as tractor-tilled sandy-loam soil, flat topography, and different operating speeds of 1.8 kmh-1, 2.5 kmh-1, 3.0 kmh-1 for seed spacing accuracy, planting depth uniformity, field capacity, field efficiency, and seed damage. Performance results demonstrate significant improvements in planting uniformity of 307 ± 20 mm and operational efficiency of 83 % when compared with manual planting practices. The study demonstrated that the developed Irish potato planter performed satisfactorily under field conditions, achieving optimum performance at an operational speed of 2.5 km h⁻¹ with a metering efficiency of 95%. The findings further indicate that the adoption of the planter has significant potential to improve Irish potato production while providing a technically feasible and economically affordable planting option for smallholder farmers.