Reliability of cotton pickers and its effect on harvesting cost

Abstract

In this study, the reliability of cotton pickers is analysed and its importance in studying the performance of harvesting systems is examined. A theoretical development of farm machinery and specifically of cotton-picker reliability is presented and an algorithm based on the exponential distribution is developed. This algorithm is then applied to predict picker reliability, delays caused by machine breakdowns and their implications upon the cotton area harvested as well as the associated harvesting cost for a cotton producers group in Greece. The results obtained have shown a machine breakdown every 23.7 h with an average repair time of 2.86 h. Within a harvesting season, a cotton picker undergoes on average 12.75 breakdowns and 4 days out of work. This means a reduction in the least cost area harvested of 20% and an increase in the harvesting cost of 6.5%. (C) 2002 Silsoe Research Institute. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.