MODIFICATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF MELON SHELLING MACHINE

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MODIFICATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF MELON SHELLING MACHINE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Melon (citrulus Vulgaris or lanatus) is one of the most popular vegetable crops in Africa. It has tendril climbing herbaceous annual crop, which grows better in some part of the savannah belt region of Nigeria. The seed belongs to the cucumber family, which is used for extracting oil, and is popularly called ‘’egusi’’, a name widely used throughout West Africa. The crop had been in cultivation for at least 4000 years mainly for seed schippers. The crop does well on a sandy free chaining soil. It can also be planted as an intercrop with crops like maize, okro, cassava, yam because they are weed suppressors. When planted, it can be harvested between two and half to three months and with good management there can be a seed yield of 350 – 400kg per hectare. The main cultivars found in Nigeria are Bara, Serewe and Sofin. Bara also known as papa has large brown seeds with thick black edges thickened towards the apex, about 16 x 9.5mm and is common in the northern and western part of Nigeria. While Serewa seeds are smooth, light brown, with a light whitish edge that is not thickened about 15 x 9mm in dimension. They are mainly found in eastern Nigeria. Analysis made on melon by Ajilola et al (2011) indicates that melon seed consists about 50% oil by weight, 37.4% of protein, 2.6% fibre, 3.6% oil, 6.4% moisture. Out of the oil content of the seed 50% is made of unsaturated fatty acids which are Linolectic (35%) and oleic (15%) and 50% saturated fatty acids which are stearic and palmitic acid. The presence of unsaturated fatty acid makes melon nutritional desirable and suggests a possible hypocholestroleric effect (lowering of blood cholesterol). Research has shown that the consumption of melon seeds and its products reduces the chances of developing terra arterial or heat diseases. Melon has an amino acid profile that compares favourably with the soybeans and even white of egg. Also USDA Nutrient database has shown that melon is rich source of sodium (Na), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn) and fat. The melon seed has a lot of advantages among which are the following: the oil extracted from it can be used in manufacture of margarine, shortening and cooking olis, while the residual cake is used for producing melon snacks known as ‘’robr’’. Despite the large productivity and nutritional benefit of this crop, there has been a hindrance to the use of melon for large scale production of oil and protein sources. This is as a result of the inability to process melon to meet the capacity required for industrial use over a specified period of time. The origin of the melon is Africa and Asia (Douglas, I982) and areas where it is widely cultivated include the Caribbean, Indonesia, and Africa. In Nigeria, the existence of melon dates back to the 17^th century. Egusi belongs to a family of vegetables, or preferably pseudo-pulse crops known as Citrullus Lanatus. It is an important source of edible oil, vitamin E, protein, potassium, calcium magnesium, iron and sodium. Its soft cotyledon is encased in a hard outer shell. The cotyledon could have its edible oil extracted (44 to 50% oil content in seed), ground and used for sauces’ (36 to 60% protein content in seed), roasted or boiled and eaten. Egusi is a luxury; it costs $6 per kg after the coat is removed. All over Nigeria, egusi is eaten by those who can afford it. The factor that makes it so expensive is the time spent by women and children to dehull or shell the seed.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Though there are some experimental decorticators on trial, there are no efficient machines at EnuguNigeria to releave the process of dehulling by hand..This work has attempted a different shelling technique to bring a better efficiency at dehulling egusi. Egusi comes under the family of vegetables known as Cucurbitaceae, which are found mainly in the warmer parts of the world. They consist of 118 genera with about 825 species.

1.3 Objectives of the study

i. test the existing melon depodding machine and identify its deficiencies;

ii. carry out design modifications on the machine components to improve its performance;

iii. fabricate and assemble the modified components of the machine; and

iv. evaluate the performance of the machine in depodding freshly sliced, fresh and unsliced, and fermented pods.

1.4 Research Questions

i. test the existing melon depodding machine and identify its deficiencies;

ii. What are the design modifications on the machine components to improve its performance;

iv. What is the performance of the machine in depodding freshly sliced, fresh and unsliced, and fermented pods.

1.5 Research Hypothesis

H0: Modification does not have a significant impact on the productivity of the melon shelling machine

H1: Modification have a significant impact on the productivity of the melon shelling machine