Study On The Mechanization Of Bean(Phaseolus vulgaris) Crop Production Under Egyptian Conditions

The main experiment was carried out during the agricultural season of 2009-2010 at Deiarb Negm, Sharkia Governorate, to investigate some different mechanization systems for production dry bean crop variety (Giza 6) under Egyptian conditions.The objectives of the investigation are:1. Selecting the proper system of planting and harvesting bean crop to reach high yield, low grain losses with high field efficiency.2. Selecting the optimum seed moisture content and operating forward speed to minimize the harvesting losses.3. Selecting the optimum seed moisture content and threshing drum speed to minimize the threshing losses.4. Reducing the total cost and energy requirements through selecting the proper system for bean mechanization.An area of 1.5 fed. of dry bean variety (Giza 6) was divided into 27 equal plots having dimension of [3 x 78] m per each.Planting was carried out using both pneumatic planter and seed drill comparing with the manual method. Harvesting was carried out using tractor mounted mower at different forward speeds and different moisture contents comparing with the manual method. Threshing operation was carried out using threshing machine at different drum speeds, and different seed moisture contents.The obtained data reveal the following important points:- Mechanical planting by pneumatic planter + mechanical harvesting by tractor mounted mower + threshing by threshing machine is considered the proper system for producing dry bean under Egyptian conditions as it required minimum cost.- Seed moisture content about 14.86% and forward speed of 2.9 km/h considered the proper conditions for harvesting dry bean crop as they recorded the minimum seed losses (78.52 kg/fed).Drum speed of 10.47m/s (500 r.p.m) and seed moisture content of 11.33% considered the proper values for threshing dry bean crop as they record the minimum threshing losses (7.06%) and proper threshing efficiency (97.47%).