DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF A YAM MOUND MAKING IMPLEMENT

Yam (Dioscorea species) is among the oldest recorded food crops and rank second after cassava
in the study of carbohydrates in West Africa. It also forms an important food source in other
tropical countries including East Asia, Africa, South America, South East Asia (including India).
Nigeria is the largest producer of the yam, producing about 38.92 million metric tons annually.
A tractor operated yam mound making implement capable of producing 2,560 mounds per day
was design and fabricated The field test carried out showed that the average inter and intra row
spacings were 1.22 and 1.12 m respectively, while the average diameter and height of mounds
produced were 1.21 and 0.50 m. The average time taken to produce a mound was 297 sec (4.95
min). Comparing the mechanical yam mound making implement with manual yam making, the
work rates for producing 2,560 and 160 mounds were 12.72 h/ha and 72h/ha respectively. The
yam mound making implement is expected to reduce drudgery considerably and increase the
exportations.