Field Performance Evaluation and Finite Element Simulation of Cotton Stalk Puller-Shredder: A Sustainable Mechanical Solution to Control Pink Bollworm (Pectinophora Gossypiella)

Abstract

The pink bollworm is one of the most dangerous pests of cotton crops. In order to control it, a number of methods, including physical, chemical, and biological control, have been used. Cotton crop is under threat by various pests, but pink bollworm is its worst enemy, as it not only reduces yield, but also affects the cotton fiber quality. Cotton bolls are the oviposition sites of this pest. The application of chemicals does not affect pink bollworms’ efficiently due to their hidden position in the cotton bolls. Therefore, their accommodation has to be destroyed. A cotton stalk puller shredder (designed and developed by Agriculture Mechanization Research Institute, Multan (AMRI) and Agritech Industry Multan) was tested to determine its field performance. The performance evaluation of the machine was conducted in a goat-grazed and an ungrazed field. The machine was tested at three engine speeds and three levels of forward ground speed. A finite element analysis of parts of the cotton stalk puller-shredder was performed for the purpose of improving the machine’s efficiency. A static structure analysis of the soil cutting blade at four attachment angles (30°, 45°, 60°, and 75°) showed that a maximum equivalent stress of 584 MPa at 75° and a maximum total deformation of 0.75 mm and maximum directional deformation of 0.74 mm were observed with a blade attachment angle of 75°.