ABSTRACT
Performance of a maize sheller, driven by hand or pedals

Ricardo Muñoz C.1
 

A study to assess a 'Cobsmaster' sheller performance with the corn cultivars INIA-160, INIA-150 and Camelia, was made. The technical parameters assessed were: shelling efficiency, losses due to unshelled ears, losses due to lack of grain separation, grain damage and grain purity.
The results were: ears' dimensions would influence shelling efficiency and losses due to unshelled ears; shelling pressure significantly increases graín damage; high grain humidity (mean 20%) would augment grain damage and would decrease shelling efficiency of the machine. Sheller's capacity, using hand or pedal drive, was 266.4 or 218.6 kg/hr, respectively.

Keywords:
1 Estación Experimental La Platina (INIA). Casilla 439, Correo 3, Santiago, Chile.