earticle

영어

This study presents the development and field evaluation of an integrated chopping round baler for summer forage crops such as corn and sudangrass, whose stems are relatively thick and hard. In typical field practice, harvesting, chopping, and baling are carried out by separate machines, increasing operational steps and reducing overall efficiency. To address this limitation, a prototype baler was designed to chop harvested crops and simultaneously suction-feed the material into a round-baling chamber for continuous bale formation. Field test were performed to evaluate practical performance using key indices including bale size consistency, working speed during harvesting, bale production time per unit, and chopped particle length. The developed system produced chopped material with a c relatively uniform particle length below 100 mm. Moreover, the prototype achieved a bale production time of less than 1 min per bale while maintaining a working speed of approximately 5 km/h. The results demonstrate the feasibility of integrating chopping and baling functions into a single system to improve field productivity for summer forage crop handling.