Impact of working speed of towed picker and combines harvester to the quality of chamomile harvesting

Površine pod aromatskim, začinskim i ljekovitim biljem u Hrvatskoj su u stalnom porastu, a prirodno geografski uvjeti su iznimno povoljni za ekološki uzgoj ljekovitog bilja u svim dijelovima Republike Hrvatske. Kamilica ima veliku ekonomsku vrijednost u svjetskoj trgovini ljekovitim biljem. Bere se u svibnju i početkom lipnja, a optimalno vrijeme berbe je kada je 70% cvjetnih glavica fiziološki zrelo. Da bi se trošak berbe smanjio berba se najčešće vrši strojno uz pomoć posebnih kombajna velikog kapaciteta. U radu je analiziran utjecaj radne brzine vučenih berača i kombajna (kombajn Deutz-Fahr M 1322, kombajn Zmaj 142 RM, vučeni berač Herbas KVH-2000 pogonjen traktorima John Deere 6300 i Torpedo 4806) na učinak i kvalitetu berbe kamilice. Utvrđeno je da se najbolji rezultati postižu pri radnim brzinama od 3 do 3,7 km/h, a kombajni zahtijevaju veće troškove po satu rada u odnosu na vučeni berač. Najbolje rangiran radni stroj je kombajn Zmaj 142 RM koji po satu rada obrađuje najveću površinu, ali ujedno zahtjeva najveći iznos troška.The areas under aromatic, herb and medicinal plants in Croatia are constantly increasing, and natural geographical conditions are extremely favorable for organic cultivation of medicinal plants in all parts of the Croatia. Chamomile has a great economic value in worldwide medicinal plants trade. Harvested in May and early June, optimally when 70% of flower heads are physiologically mature. To reduce the cost of harvesting, it is mostly carried out by special combine harvester with a large capacity. This paper analyzes the impact of the working speed of towed pickers and combine harvesters (combine harvester Deutz-Fahr M 1322, combine harvester Zmaj 142 RM, towed pickers Herbas KVH-2000 powered with tractors John Deere 6300 and Torpedo 4806) on the effect and quality of chamomile harvesting. It was found that the best results are achieved at working speeds of 3 to 3.7 km/h, and combine harvesters requires higher costs per working hour compared to towed pickers. The best-ranked working machine is Zmaj 142 RM combine, which processes the largest area per hour, but also requires the highest cost