RESEARCH PROPOSAL

I. Research Title : Semi-Automatic Copra Machine

II. Researchers : Bicol, Tristan Andre B.

Chavez, Ryan Jeffrey E.
Mendoza, Josaphat Martin L.
Panganiban, Anthony Rey C.
Paz, Tom CJ B.
Williams, Kurt C.

III. Project Duration : November 2019 – May 2020

IV. Implementing Agency : University of Batangas

V. Cooperating Agency : N/A

VI. Brief Description of the Project

This project, which is called Semi-Automatic Copra Machine, is a big help to

agricultural farmers who make dried coconut meat "copra". Copra is the processed,
dried kernel of coconut utilized in the extraction of coconut oil.To make copra, coconut
nuts are broken open, water is drained out, and the kernel is left to dry. Sun drying and
kiln drying are just some of the methods employed to dry the kernels. The kernels are
then crushed to extract oil which is then utilized for various purposes while the
byproduct is harnessed in supplying fodder for livestock. Making copra is a long and
tiring process, and we thought of a way of saving their time and strength by making a
“Semi-Automatic Copra Machine”, which will fasten the manual process of copra, the
machine will now scoop off the coconut flesh out of the shell. And after all of the copra
has been scooped out of the shell the copra will drop off to the shredder, which will
make the copra into tiny slices instead of slicing it manually. After shredding it will now
be packed in sacks and ready for the next process which is coconut oil making. This
idea will make farmers reduce time on the process of making copra. More time, more
products so they can also increase the production of copra.

VII. Significance of the Study

This study considered important. On how coconut can be useful. The community goal
was to make a machine that will be useful for farmers to fasten their work. And to develop
the copra machine. According to ICM Lositano (2008) This study aimed to develop a
mechanical means of removing copra from the coconut shell as an alternative to the
'panglukad' or scooping knife. A mechanical copra removal system was designed,
fabricated, tested and evaluated. An analysis of the mechanism of manual removal
yielded the concepts of leverage and wedge action, from which the design of a removal
system was based. The mechanical-powered copra removal machine system developed
was a prototype consisting of an electric motor that supplies power to a shaft actuating to
remove the copra, a belt and pulley transmission system that transmits the power from
the motor to the reducer, a speed reducer that lowers the output shaft speed, and a shaft
with a cutting configuration that accomplishes the copra removal. Our country will benefit
from our machine because Philippines is the main producer of coconut oil (42% of the
production in 2009), followed by Indonesia (25%) and India (12%).Half of the production
of copra is sold for export and the Philippines alone exports 0.5 million tons (62.5% of its
production (FAO, 2011; Oil World 2011; USDA, 2013). With our machine filipino farmers
can produce coconut oil without any much effort so they can improve their production in
coconut oil.

VIII. Objectives

General Objective: To reduce the cost of human labor

Specific Objectives:

1. Reduction of human effort

2. Reduction of manpower requirement

3. Improvement on number of nuts processed per hour

IX. Definition of Terms

Copra

- The dried meat or kernel of the coconut from which oil is obtained.

Scooping Knife
- A shovel like utensil, usually having a deep curved dish and a short handle.

Shredder
- a machine used to cut or tear into small pieces.

Leverage
- the action of a lever, or the power to influence people, events or things.

Wedge
- It can be used to separate two objects or portions of an object.

Sun drying

- to dry coconut with the heat of the sun.

Kiln
- a furnace or oven for burning, baking, or drying.
X. Review of Related Literature

Coconut is one of the most important perennial palms, which sustains lively
hoods of resource poor farm families in the coastal agro- ecosystems in the tropics. The
coconut palm is a versatile tree; its value is innumerable to the society. Coconut has a
distribution mainly in coastal region at 20° on either side of the equator. In India,
coconut is cultivated in 17 states and 3 union territories. Genetic improvement of
coconut has been aiding the farmers in obtaining high productivity and tolerance to
biotic and abiotic stress. Coconut breeding is constrained by many inherent problems
like lack of vegetative propagation, long juvenile phase, large area needed for
experimentation and seed production and high variability. Methods of improvement
employed in coconut are gene pool enrichment and introduction, selection and varietal
cross hybrids. Several workers reported variation in morphological and reproductive
characters in many hybrids. Understanding the genetic architecture of the crop is an
important prerequisite for any breeding program. Genetic architecture in coconut palm is
poorly understood. There are very few reports on inheritance of important traits of
growth, development and yield. A brief account of biometrical studies, identification of
hybrids using molecular markers and subcellular organelle activities and influence of
weather parameters on yield is presented here.

According to Louis and Ramachandan that Coconut oil is the most important
product of the coconut palm. The oil content in coconut copra and oil yield per hectare
varies among the cultivars (Louis and Ramachandran, 1981; Naresh Kumar et al,
2000b). Analysis of oil content of five cultivars and their hybrids indicated maximum and
minimum oil content in the cultivars Laccadive Ordinary and Chowghat Orange Dwarf
respectively (Nambiar and Rao, 1991). They also observed variation in oil content with
the seasons.

Several workers have worked out correlation coefficients among, morphological,

reproductive and nut component characters of coconut. Patel (1937) and Menon and
Pandalai (1958) observed that number of leaves on crown and girth of trunk were
positively correlated with number of nuts per year in Tall. Thampan reported a
significant positive correlation between number of female flowers produced and number
of nuts per palm. Satyabalan (1972) observed a positive correlation between nut yield
per palm and stem height of adult palm. Nampoothiri et al (1975) showed that the
number of spathes produced and number of female flowers produced exhibited a
positive correlation with pre-flowering period. They also observed that the pre- flowering
period had a negative association with number of nuts produced per year. Abeywardena
(1976) reported positive association between number of spathes produced and number
of nuts per palm. He also reported a positive correlation between trunk girth and number
of leaves per palm. Balingasa and Carpio (1983) showed that the number of female
flowers produced and number of nuts produced were positively correlated. Iyer (1980)
concluded that the increase in plant height with simultaneous increase in number of
leaves would lead to increased nut production. Sukumaran et al. (1981) observed that
number of leaflets and length of leaf was positively associated with number of nuts per
year. They also reported a positive correlation between number of bunches per year
and number of nuts per year. The number of nuts per year and outturn of copra had
significant positive association. Louis (1983) showed that the number of leaflets and
number of nuts per year were positively correlated. A negative association between the
number of female flowers produced and setting per cent was observed. Ramanathan
(1984) reported a positive correlation of nut yield per palm with stem height of the adult
palm. Prabhakaran et al, (1991) reported that the number of leaves was the major
contributor, which correlated with yield. Kalathiya and Sen (1993) studied the correlation
among floral and yield characteristics. Nut yield was found to be significantly and
positively correlated with number of spadices and length of female phase whereas
number of leaves produced and length of spadix exhibited significant positive correlation
with number of spadices. They suggested that the number of spadices and length of
female phase should be considered as selection criteria for nut yield improvement in the
variety Dwarf Green. Narayanan Kutty and Gopalakrishnan (1993) reported association
among biometric, mineral and organic constituents with yield of coconuts. They
observed significant positive correlation for number of leaves and length of leaves with
yield. Among the mineral nutrients, nitrogen and potassium content in leaves had
significant positive correlation with yield.
XI. Milestones
Activities November December January February March April May

Library and
Online
researches
Data
Gathering
and
Organization
Prototype
Development
Analysis and
Interpretation
of the
gathered
data
Writing and
Revisions
Submission

XII. End-Users/Target Beneficiaries

The following are the end-users and target beneficiaries of this study
a. University of Batangas
b. Students
c. Environment
d. Coconut Farmers
e. Coconut Owners

XIII. Methodology (This includes the research design, sampling plan,

instrumentation, statistical tool and treatment of data.)
 In accordance with the Coconut Farmer’s needs, Figure [1] illustrates the design
of the Semi-Automatic Copra Machine. The figure shows the distinct working parts of
the said machine. The process starts by gathering together the tender coconuts and
chopping it off into half. The chopped coconuts will then undergo a smoke drying
process. Following this, the smoke dried coconuts are placed into the machine and a
hook will remove its flesh. Once removed, the coconuts are fed into the shredder to
produce square pieces. At the bottom of the shredder, a sack is positioned to collect the
pieces. The primary objective of the project is to help the local farmers for faster and
rapid production of copra. A manual process of copra usually takes place for a week up
to months depending on the quantity of coconut harvested.

XIV. Estimated Budget

Description Cost
Flat steal ₱ 3,500
Shredder 1,000
Flat Steel 1,000
Angle Bar 1,500
Dc Motor 2,000
Belts and Pulley 1,500
Wires 500
Total ₱11,500

XV. Tentative Bibliography

http://ap.fftc.agnet.org/ap_db.php?id=969&print=1