Valutazione tecnico-agronomica di due diverse tipologie di impianto di origano in funzione della raccolta meccanica

Harvest is one of the most important agronomical techniques of oregano cultivation. Traditionally, oregano is manually harvested but the times of this operation are very long. On the contrary, the mechanical harvest could decrease the harvest times and, therefore, the production costs. Tests of mechanical harvest were carried out between 2003 and 2004 in an experimental field of Dipartimento di Agronomia Ambientale e Territoriale of Palermo University, using a reaper-binder made by BCS for cereal and forage crops but specifically modified for harvesting oregano. The working capacity, productivity and efficiency of this machine were evaluated according to the variation of minimum forward speed, minimum cutting height, number of stems per bunch and the lowering of the bunch binding height; the results were also compared to those obtained during the manual harvest. An Origanum biotype harvested in Monreale (Palermo) and classified as Origanum vulgare L. ssp hirtum (Link) Ietswaart (or O. heracleoticum L.), called “Monrealese”, was cultivated in simple and twice rows. During the tests of mechanical and manual harvest the various times were measured, in order to determine the working capacity, productivity and efficiency. Also the working quality, in terms of bunch weight, length and binding height were measured. The working capacity and productivity obtained during the mechanical harvest resulted higher rather than those obtained during the manual harvest.