Evaluation of the Field Performance and Economic Feasibility of Mechanized Onion Production in the Republic of Korea
Onion cultivation in the Republic of Korea is increasingly threatened by labor shortages and an aging rural population, underscoring the growing importance of mechanization. This study evaluated the combined and individual performances and economic feasibility of mechanized transplanting, stem cutti...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Agronomy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/7/1721 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1839616729898024960 |
|---|---|
| author | Jae-Seo Hwang Wan-Soo Kim |
| author_facet | Jae-Seo Hwang Wan-Soo Kim |
| author_sort | Jae-Seo Hwang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Onion cultivation in the Republic of Korea is increasingly threatened by labor shortages and an aging rural population, underscoring the growing importance of mechanization. This study evaluated the combined and individual performances and economic feasibility of mechanized transplanting, stem cutting, harvesting, and collecting operations using work efficiency; the missing plant, stem cutting, damage, and dropout rates; and foreign matter content as indicators. Mechanized operations achieved up to 358-fold higher work efficiencies than manual labor operations. However, in terms of marketability, performance was inferior due to missing plants, improperly cut stems, damaged bulbs, dropped onions, and foreign matter contamination. The economic analysis indicated that the use of individual machines is advantageous for farms larger than 10.2 ha for transplanting, 1.14 ha for stem cutting, 0 ha for harvesting (i.e., profitable regardless of farm size), and 6.95 ha for collecting. For fully mechanized operations, using machines for all four processes, the break-even area was found to be 3.63 ha, with a payback period of 2.1 years. These findings are expected to serve as a foundational reference for onion growers considering the adoption of mechanization. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d3325e7fc1fc407ba4854328dd28264c |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj-art-d3325e7fc1fc407ba4854328dd28264c2025-07-25T13:10:15ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952025-07-01157172110.3390/agronomy15071721Evaluation of the Field Performance and Economic Feasibility of Mechanized Onion Production in the Republic of KoreaJae-Seo Hwang0Wan-Soo Kim1Department of Bio-Industrial Machinery Engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Bio-Industrial Machinery Engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of KoreaOnion cultivation in the Republic of Korea is increasingly threatened by labor shortages and an aging rural population, underscoring the growing importance of mechanization. This study evaluated the combined and individual performances and economic feasibility of mechanized transplanting, stem cutting, harvesting, and collecting operations using work efficiency; the missing plant, stem cutting, damage, and dropout rates; and foreign matter content as indicators. Mechanized operations achieved up to 358-fold higher work efficiencies than manual labor operations. However, in terms of marketability, performance was inferior due to missing plants, improperly cut stems, damaged bulbs, dropped onions, and foreign matter contamination. The economic analysis indicated that the use of individual machines is advantageous for farms larger than 10.2 ha for transplanting, 1.14 ha for stem cutting, 0 ha for harvesting (i.e., profitable regardless of farm size), and 6.95 ha for collecting. For fully mechanized operations, using machines for all four processes, the break-even area was found to be 3.63 ha, with a payback period of 2.1 years. These findings are expected to serve as a foundational reference for onion growers considering the adoption of mechanization.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/7/1721onion cultivationmechanizationperformance evaluationeconomic analysistransplanterstem cutter |
| spellingShingle | Jae-Seo Hwang Wan-Soo Kim Evaluation of the Field Performance and Economic Feasibility of Mechanized Onion Production in the Republic of Korea Agronomy onion cultivation mechanization performance evaluation economic analysis transplanter stem cutter |
| title | Evaluation of the Field Performance and Economic Feasibility of Mechanized Onion Production in the Republic of Korea |
| title_full | Evaluation of the Field Performance and Economic Feasibility of Mechanized Onion Production in the Republic of Korea |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of the Field Performance and Economic Feasibility of Mechanized Onion Production in the Republic of Korea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of the Field Performance and Economic Feasibility of Mechanized Onion Production in the Republic of Korea |
| title_short | Evaluation of the Field Performance and Economic Feasibility of Mechanized Onion Production in the Republic of Korea |
| title_sort | evaluation of the field performance and economic feasibility of mechanized onion production in the republic of korea |
| topic | onion cultivation mechanization performance evaluation economic analysis transplanter stem cutter |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/7/1721 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jaeseohwang evaluationofthefieldperformanceandeconomicfeasibilityofmechanizedonionproductionintherepublicofkorea AT wansookim evaluationofthefieldperformanceandeconomicfeasibilityofmechanizedonionproductionintherepublicofkorea |