Choosing type of chamomile harvester based on current value of usage costs

Abstract

The harvesting is a very important phase during the process of chamomile production and has to be carried out in optimal agro-technical terms in order to achieve better quality of chamomile, i.e. high content of ether oil. There are different types of chamomile harvesters on the market with different quality of work and purchase price. In this paper we present two types of harvesters which have nearly equal work quality and market prices. We used statistical methods and methods of dynamic calculation for determining which harvester is more acceptable. Optimal technical solution is selected based on present value of cost purchase and harvester exploitation. Analysis is done for different values of discount rate, which are common in practice. Significant influence of value of discount rate on selection of chamomile harvester is determined. Limitary discount rate is calculated for which the present value of costs for different harvesters is equal.