Development of a Ginger Splitting Machine.
ABSTRACT
A ginger splitting machine was developed based on the physical and mechanical property data of two ginger varieties namely, Tafin Giwa (yellow ginger) and Yatsun Biri (black ginger).
The effects of moisture content, cutting speed (impeller speed) and crop variety were investigated on splitting efficiency, percentage of bruised and broken ginger rhizomes, material loss, and throughput capacity of the machine.
Three levels of moisture contents (wet basis), five levels of impeller speed, and two ginger varieties were used for the study.
Data for the performance evaluation were subjected to the analysis of variance for the test of significance of the experimental factors and their interactions. The results showed that splitting efficiency decreased with an increase in impeller speed and with a decrease in moisture content for the speed and moisture content ranges studied.
The highest splitting efficiency of 82.1 and 67.9% were obtained at an impeller speed of 240rpm and at 84.35% moisture content for Tafin Giwa and Yatun Biri ginger varieties respectively. A higher splitting efficiency was obtained for the Tafin Giwa variety compared with the Yatsun Biri variety.
The Percentage of bruised and broken ginger rhizomes increased with an increase in impeller speed and with a decrease in moisture content for the two ginger varieties.
The lowest percentage of bruised and broken ginger rhizomes of 17.93 and 32.05% at 240rpm and 84.4% were obtained for the two ginger varieties.
Yatsun Biri ginger variety had a higher percentage of bruised and broken rhizomes than Tafin Giwa ginger varieties at all moisture contents and speed ranges studied. A material loss of the two ginger varieties was in the range of 4.0 to 5.82% for all the moisture contents studied.
INTRODUCTION
Ginger (Zingiber Officinale Roscoe) belongs to the plant family of Zingber raceae. It is an erect herbaceous plant, which produces underground tuberous stems or rhizomes characterized by its strong essence (Erinle, 1987). Though a perennial plant, it is cultivated vegetatively as an annual crop in tropical regions to yield the fleshy underground rhizomes (Ebewele & Jimoh, 1988). It is one of the oldest and most important of all the spices and condiments.
It has been under cultivation for millennia in many parts of the world (Spore, 1992). Its importance as a spice is underscored by the fact that it is now grown on a commercial scale in many countries of the world. Ginger is native to South-Eastern Asia (Parry, 1969), a region whose cuisines still feature this wonderfully spicy herb. Ginger is mentioned in ancient Chinese, Indian, and Middle Eastern literature, and has long been prized for its aromatic, culinary, and medicinal properties.
The ancient Romans imported ginger from China during the first century (Purseglove 1988). Its popularity in Europe remained centered in the Mediterranean region until the Middle Ages when its use spread throughout other countries of Europe. In an attempt to make it available, Spanish explorers are reported to have introduced the crop to the West Indies, Mexico, and South America in the 16th century, while the Portuguese introduced it to West Africa within the same period (Purseglove, 1988).
Ginger is cultivated extensively in India, Nigeria, Jamaica, Sierra-Loene, Indonesia, China, Fiji, and Australia, with India producing about 50% of the world’s production (Ali et al., 1991). Cultivation of ginger in Nigeria started seriously around 1927 (Arene, 1986; Erinle, 1987), when the colonial government carried out an investigation to find a crop that would generate internal trade and income for the populace of the present southern part of Kaduna state to enable them to pay taxes.
REFERENCES
Agarwal. Y.C., Hiran, A and Galundia. A.S (1987). Ginger Peeling parameters. Agric Mechanisation in Asia, Africa and Latin America, 18(2):59-62.
Ali, Y. G. C., Jain, S. Kapdi,S. Agarwal, Y.C. and Bhatnagar, S. (1991). Development of Brush type Ginger Peeling Machine. Agric Mechanisation in Asia, Africa and Latin America,22 (2): 71-73.
Akomas G.E.C. and Oti,L. (1988). Developing a technology for Processing of Nigerian Ginger. Proceeding of the first National Ginger Workshop. Umudike. Nigeria pp 93- 100.
Akritidis, C.B (1974). Mechanical characteristics of maize stalks in relation to the characteristics of cutting blade. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 19: 1-12
Ahmed B; Ndirika, V.I.O. and Kudi T.T. (2004). Safgrad/USAID/IAR project on Enhancement of Value Added in Ginger Production and Marketing in Nigeria.
Arene, O. B., G. C. Orkwor and P. A. Okwuowulu (1986). Ginger Research in Nigeria Tropical Root Crops and the African Food Crisis: Proceedings of the Third Triennial Symposium of Inter. Soc. For TropicalRoot Crops – African Branch held in Owerri, Nigeria.
StudentsandScholarship Team.
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