Economical Evaluation of Mechanization Alternatives for Small Horticulturist in Chillan - Chile

摘要

The objective of this work was to perform an economical evaluation of three mechanization alternatives for small horticultural producers. In order to achieve this, data were gathered through surveys of the PRODESAL committee of Chilian Viejo, province of Nuble, Chile. Data were also gathered about the models of rototillers sold in Chile. The effective work capacity of each rototiller model and horses was calculated. The maximum area that could be worked with one horse was 2.5 hectares.rnT maximum with the smallest rototiller was 3.8 hectares and with the largest rototiller was 5.3 hectares. The area worked per year was larger because they obtain 2 or 3 crops per year. The minimum economical use intensity was calculated, as it was the annual equivalent cost for each rototiller model. These indicators showed that they became bigger as the power and the hours of annual use increased. The smallest hourlyrncost corresponds to the smallest rototiller. However, the smallest cost per unit area corresponded to the larger rototillers. On the other hand, and considering that the maximum area that could be worked with one horse was 2.5 hectare the annual equivalent cost of one traction horse was smaller than any of the rototillers evaluated.