Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is a hard-shelled seed of coco palm growing to a height of 8-30m. Every coconut in a bunch is at the same stage of
growth. The lowest bunches are the ripest
and the upper bunches are tender.
Moreover, there is a visible
variation of diameter along the height of every tree. The coconuts are harvested on a regular interval of average of 40 days, wherein the lower most bunches in the tree is harvested. The coconut trees are cleaned
for pest control
at regular intervals.
Coconut harvesting done without proper safety measures can lead to
serious injuries. It is very difficult to climb a coconut tree manually due to
the constant cylindrical structure and single stem. If a person wants to climb
a coconut tree, manually climbing person has to put his hands close to each
other on the back of the trunk, and pull one foot in front of the other and by
keeping pressure on the trunk with the balls of the climbing person’s feet and
toes, walk up alternating m o v i n g feet and hands. Technically it seems to
be the easiest to learn but requires good balance and arm strength. People who
are employed for coconut tree climbing suffer musculoskeletal disorders. It is
very hard to learn the necessary skills to climb coconut trees.
A professional climber with proper training only could be able to climb a coconut tree. In Solomon Islands traditional method of coconut harvesting is climbing on a tree which is very risky. As the coconut trees are very tall so injuries associated with coconut tree climbing, particularly falling from coconut trees is common in Solomon Islands.
A professional climber with proper training only could be able to climb a coconut tree. In Solomon Islands traditional method of coconut harvesting is climbing on a tree which is very risky. As the coconut trees are very tall so injuries associated with coconut tree climbing, particularly falling from coconut trees is common in Solomon Islands.
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Coconut tree climbing method without any device.
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Now a day most of the human activities are either replaced by the use of machines or other kind of equipment’s. Due to the constant cylindrical structure and single stem manually climbing on coconut is very difficult. There are no branches for holding and to support in coconut trees like other trees. Due to the risk involved nowadays very less people are coming forward to climb on coconut trees.
The description and benefits of the machine are outlined below:
DESCRIPTION OF THE MACHINE
This machine is standing type climber. It is a manually operated machine. One person can easily operate this machine. It has two parts. One part is used in left leg and another part is in right leg. The frames are independently movable and position able along the coconut tree trunk. In this machine the tree gripping section consists of stainless steel wire and rubber tires. The materials used for the machine are stainless steel, MS flat bar, MS angle bar, MS rod, Mild Steel, Rubber etc. The functional parts of the machine are left and right handle, foot holder, tree holder, wire etc. The total weight of the machine is 9.7 kg.
It has mainly two assemblies of similar construction. The user must maintain these two assemblies simultaneously by using hands and legs to climb on coconut tree. In this construction, the user must stand and operate the device. Initially the steel wire of both assemblies must be looped with the tree and to be locked. The person can stand by placing foot on both assemblies and must hold on the handles. As the user raise the assembly by foot and by hand the steel wire will get loosen and when he pushes back with foot after reaching to a particular height it will get tighten. By this process the user can climb to the tree easily. Descending the tree is exactly the reverse procedure. The machine works on the body weight and the steel rope wire will get adjusted as per diameter of the tree by the force applied by the user towards gravity.
Coconut climbing machine will be useful for both the residential growers and commercial cultivators. Coconut tree climber can accelerate harvesting operation and risk free climbing on a tree. Labor shortage can be minimized with coconut tree climber.
For the safety reasons the climber must use a safety helmet, a safety harness, and lanyard with double locking high strength steel carabineer.
The materials used for fabrication of different parts of the climber are stainless steel, MS flat bar, MS angle bar, MS rod, nut-bolt, rubber and other small items. Construction materials and major component of coconut tree climber with specifications are shown in Table 1.
The coconut tree climbing machine is introduced based on the following consideration:
- Machine is constructed of easily available material to enhance the possibility of replacing damaged parts with less expensive but equivalently satisfactory parts that is readily available.
- The overall cost was considered through analysis which at the end would make it affordable by farmers and other intending users.
- Constructed machine would be user friendly, rapid and can be operated safely.
- Enable effective pest control and management.
- It is desired that the coconut tree climber should have good ergonomics.
- It would be easy for assemble and have low maintenance.
Please find below video on demonstration of coconut climbing equipment:
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