Abstract

10p The gradual depletion of reed resources in the forest of Kerala has been causing concern to the forestry and reed-based industrial sector in the state. This has led to a search for better management strategies involving both replenishment and sustained utilisation of these resources. The presently followed harvesting method using bill hook is rather wasteful as considerable amount of fibrous material is left out in the field as stumps, lops and tops. In this context, improvement of the present harvesting practices has become a necessity to minimise the wastage of usable reed material. This project was undertaken with a view to develop some alternate tools for cutting reeds more conveniently and, at the same time, avaoid excessive wastage of culm material as tall stumps in the field. The attempt has led to design and fabrication of three different prototypes of reed cutting tools. All the three prototypes are designed for making a slanting cut at the culm base and the user can operate the tool withsingle hand, standing in an erect posture. Three different knife edge profiles that are compatible with these prototypes were also tested. The tool appeared quite promising since it showed appreciable success during field testing; however, it has both advantages as well as limitations. The major advantage is its capability to reach the base of any single culms of a clump without destroying the surrounding culms. Secondly, the tool makes use of the rigid base of the culms to be cut, for its support, hence making it mandatory for the user to limit his cuts to the basal part of the culms. The main limitation of the tool is its unsuitability for detopping and cleaning the culms. Thus the present study has succeeded in contributing certain innovative ideas of design for developing a reed cutting tool. However, the prototypes need further refinement before commercial use