Qingdao university-developed peanut harvester to fill market gap
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The world’s first harvester for both vine and root of peanut, developed by Qingdao Agricultural University, was said to be hitting the market next year, according to a launch for a national research and development program for smart farm machinery at the university on Sept 22.
It took the university five years to develop the machine, with the functions of harvesting peanut plants, separating the vines and the roots, and bundling the vines. It is a means to realize the commercial values of peanut vine, a silage crop that currently sells at 400 yuan to 700 yuan per metric ton.
The harvester was debuted at a demonstration of peanut equipment at a peanut filed in Yishui county, Shandong province on Sept 15, among other peanut equipment developed by the university, which has developed 39 pieces of peanut equipment and attained 172 patents since starting its research and development efforts in1998.
Their inventions cover the whole process of mechanized production of peanut, available on the markets of major peanut producing areas in China, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, and play an important role in reducing production costs by replacing man powers.
Shandong is home to the second largest planting area of peanut in China, the largest country of peanut production and export in the world, according to Shang Shuqi, dean of the school of mechanical and electrical engineering of the university.
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