Abstract:
Sorghum is a very important food crop around the world because of its nutritional values, it also
serves as a dietary staple food for humans, and is rich in vitamin B-complex. About 217000 Metric
tons of sorghum are produced in Uganda annually. A solar powered winnowing machine for
sorghum was designed, constructed with locally available materials and tested for sorghum
winnowing. The machine consists of the frame, hopper, solar panel, solar charge controller,
centrifugal blower, motor and battery. It was powered by 36W direct current motor, 2800rpm
blower speed, 100W solar panel,75Ah battery,30Ah solar charge controller that were suitable to
operate the machine. The newly developed solar powered sorghum winnower is techno
economically suitable for winnowing of sorghum at feed rate of 110.2 kg/h and gives a thorough
put capacity of 85.8kglhr. The machine comes with a production cost of 1.35 million UGX. The
sorghum winnower recommended to be used by the rural farmers who grow sorghum.
