A battery-operated harvester recorded cutting efficiency of 98.1% and harvesting efficiency of 97.15% in a fenugreek field evaluation. Material loss on the conveyor was 0.95%. The study reported a theoretical field capacity of 0.16 hectares per hour, an effective field capacity of 0.13 hectares per hour and field efficiency of 81.25%. It also ran continuously for 6.5 hours on one battery charge.
Inside the field test
The field experiment was conducted at the JNKVV Research Farm in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India, using fenugreek under a cut-and-come-again harvesting system. Researchers varied three operating factors: forward speed, conveyor pulley diameter and cutting height. The tested speeds were 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 km/h. Pulley diameters were 50.8, 76.2 and 101.6 mm, while cutting heights were 50 and 75 mm.
These choices were combined in 18 treatment combinations within a factorial randomized block design, a design that tests factor combinations across field blocks. One methods statement reports three replications for a total of 54 experimental observations.
Across those combinations, cutting efficiency ranged from 97.27% to 98.98%. Conveying loss ranged from 0.91% to 1.38%, while harvesting efficiency ranged from 96.00% to 97.96%. The spread describes performance within the tested operating window, not a result for settings that were not examined.
The recommendation is not fully settled
The researchers used analysis of variance, response surface methodology and desirability-function optimization to look for a preferred operating point. A desirability function is a scoring approach for balancing several performance targets. The optimization discussion described a high-performing combination of 2.46 km/h forward speed, a 50.8 mm pulley diameter and a 75 mm cutting height. It reported 98.92% cutting efficiency and 1.01% conveying loss.
However, a visible optimization-table row at the same forward speed lists a 101.6 mm pulley, not 50.8 mm. That row also lists a 75 mm cutting height, 98.92% cutting efficiency, 1.011% conveying loss, 97.91% harvesting efficiency and a desirability score of 1.000. The discussion and table therefore point to different pulley diameters for what appears to be the same high-scoring setting.
The authors reported statistically significant links between the operating parameters and performance measures at a p-value below 0.05. Forward speed was the strongest reported factor for cutting and harvesting efficiency, while pulley diameter was the dominant reported factor for conveying loss. Their regression models had R-squared values above 0.99, indicating a close fit to the reported results.
Costs and crop timing
Recorded fenugreek yield was 30.7 q ha−1 at 31 days after sowing, 24.2 q ha−1 at 47 days and 20.3 q ha−1 at 61 days. In the reported sequence, yield was highest at the first harvest and lower at each later harvest.
The reported harvesting cost was ₹7,202.33 per hectare, a 96.03% reduction versus manual harvesting. The calculation also reported 194.57 fewer labor hours per hectare and a 97.28% saving in harvesting time. Using the study's stated assumptions, the break-even point was 450.89 hours per year, the payback period was 2.94 years and the benefit-to-cost ratio was 39.04.
These figures should be read as assumption-based estimates. The underlying manual-harvesting measurements and uncertainty estimates were not fully reported, so the economic comparison remains tied to the study's stated inputs.
A useful result with a defined boundary
The evidence comes from the JNKVV Research Farm and the operating levels tested there. Its replication description is inconsistent: one methods statement reports three replications and 54 observations, while a later statement says each treatment combination was evaluated with five replications. That discrepancy complicates interpretation of the experimental record.
Within the reported fenugreek setup, the machine posted high performance and a lower calculated harvesting cost than manual harvesting. The exact pulley diameter in the proposed operating point remains unresolved, so the study does not provide one unambiguous recommended setting.
Paper data and sources
Original title: Effect of operational parameters on performance of a self-propelled battery-operated leafy vegetable harvester for fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.).
Authors: Kalluri Praveen, Mallepu S Likhitha Reddy, Rahul Haribhau Wadghane et al.
Journal/Repository: Scientific reports
Status: Peer-reviewed
First online: 2026-08-20
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-50874-8
Original paper · Full text