The Effect of Defoliator Spraying Time and Forward Speed on Cotton Picker Performance

Cotton is one of the main agricultural, industrial and commercial products in the world. It is the most important and valuable natural fiber and its seed is a valuable source of food for humans and animals. To evaluate the effect of defoliator spraying time and forward speed of cotton harvester on machine performance and quality of cotton fiber, an experiment was carried out in research station of Hashemabad, Gorgan in Iran during 2015. The studied factors consisted of two levels of defoliator spraying time, two levels of cotton varieties suitable for mechanical harvesting, and three levels of forward speed. The experiments used in this study was based on split plot in randomized complete block design with three replications. Results showed that, the effect of spraying time and varieties on the efficiency of the machine and seed cotton losses were significant. Also, the effect of defoliator spraying time-variety interaction on the efficiency of machine was significant. On the second spraying time, while 90 percent of bolls were open, the highest efficiency of the machine was obtained, while losses were low. Forward speed had no significant effect on the performance characteristics of the machine.