<div>Background: Energy is a fundamental input to farm operations. In chickpea cultivation, threshing consumed the highest energy (266.05 MJ/ha) out of which 79 per cent (211.16 MJ/ha) is contributed by diesel (Sahu, 2005). As solar energy is available in abundance, it is the most secure of all sources in energy security point of view. India is endowed with enormous solar potential. Approximately 5,000 trillion kW-h per year energy is incident over India&rsquo;s land area with most parts receiving 4-7 kW-h/m2/day. 
 
Methods: A portable solar operated plot thresher for chickpea crop was developed with 24 V, 750 W DC motor powered by 24 V, 960 W solar panels. The thresher was evaluated at different levels of independent parameters viz. cylinder speed (8, 10, 12 m/s), concave clearance (10, 12, 14 mm) and concave grate clearance (8, 9, 10 mm). Various dependent parameters viz. threshing efficiency, cleaning efficiency, seed damage, threshing capacity, power consumption and seed germination were assessed.&nbsp; 
 
Result: At optimum combination of parameters, threshing efficiency, cleaning efficiency, seed damage and seed germination were 99.73, 99.75, 0.33 and 98.67%, respectively. The power consumption and threshing capacity were 666 W and 32.39 kg/h, respectively.</div>

Design and Development of Solar Operated Plot Thresher for Chickpea Crop