Abstract: A typical characteristic of the southern China hilly and mountain region agriculture is the fragmentation of arable lands， under which condition the compact mode of crop planting was widespread in the south China. Mechanization of the fragmented farming land production depends on the utilization of small\|type field working machineries. A field investigation was conducted to illustrate the behavioral characteristics of the small\|type agricultural machinery working in the fragmented farming land. Results found that quick forward and backward movement shifting， frequent turning， field edge contouring， difficult intra\|field maneuvering were the marked characteristics of small\|type harvesters working in fragmented arable lands. The widespread use of small\|type harvesters in the south China showed that assessment of the adaptability of agricultural machineries should be based on land suitability as the main leading evaluation index.

Key words: hilly and mountain region, land fragmentation, mechanical harvesting