Development of a Device for Covering, Harvesting, and Spraying of Grafted Mangoes/
by Arciaga, Carl Jasper A. [and four others].
- 128 pages; 28 pages. +1 CD-ROM (4 3/4 in.)
Thesis (Undergraduate)
College of Engineering--
The Carabao mango fruit is considered as the Manila Super Mango because of its sweet taste and superior quality compared to other varieties grown in the country. Extensive care has to be done during the early stages of mango growing up until the fruit is mature enough to be harvested and transported. Improvements have been made over the years, making the covering and harvesting of mangoes important activities yet risky and unsafe due to the high and scattered location of fruits in a tree. Pesticide spraying has been set aside for organic growing of mangoes. However, it is still practiced as an additional measure to control pests. Local mango growers were surveyed about the methods that they practice in the covering, harvesting, and spraying of mangoes. The researchers managed to design and locally fabricate a system using an aluminum pole comprising these three operations: covering, harvesting, and spraying of mangoes. Specific parts were made for each operation that are mounted in the aluminum pole for each particular operation to be performed. Data during the testing were gathered and analyzed. The results presented to support the aims of the study consisted of the three aforementioned practices. The Mango Covering Device was successful in covering eight mangoes per loading of the paper case at an average of 262 seconds. The Mango Harvesting Device effectively harvested mangoes up until a maximum height of 4.57 meters at an average time 131 seconds per 10 mangoes. The Mango Spraying Device was able to spray up to an average area 158.53 square meters. The developed device, encompassing the three different devices, was also able to achieve acceptability as per the evaluation made with regards to the functionality, ease of use, safety, cost effectiveness, and social impact. Author's Abstract