Crops like wheat, barley, and rye are not completely edible. We use the seeds at the top, commonly known as grains, as a food source. But the dry skin of the seeds is inedible and must be discarded. Earlier, agricultural workers had to harvest the crops manually through a process called threshing. Our school textbooks explained these methods in detail for us. But with the increase in demand and the advancement of technology, we no longer rely on the manual threshing method.
However, modern technology and its applications have come a long way. This has also become common in the agricultural sector. Combine harvesters, commonly known as "combine harvesters," are a key invention that saves costs and time for farmers. As the name suggests, this machine simply combines the three major harvesting operations - harvesting, threshing, and winnowing into a single process. Using this machine to harvest crops in a single operation saves time and reduces the cost of work for farmers, thereby increasing farm output and making the business more profitable.
There are three main types of combine harvesters in use today:
Self-Propelled Combine Harvester: These wheeled harvesters are perfect for farms with hard soil. They are the standard type that is commonly used.
Crawler Combine Harvesters: Crawler combine harvesters have tracks instead of wheels. Crawler combine harvesters are very efficient in areas where wheels tend to get stuck. Crawler combine harvesters are often used to harvest rice and some other crops in wetlands.
Tractor Mounted: These harvesters are driven by a tractor mounted on top of it. They are best suited for land with loose soil and large areas to be cultivated.
Combine harvesters are simple in structure but quite advanced in their functions. Here is a basic overview of the various operations performed by a combine harvester.
The crop is collected by a header at the front end, which has tongs on both sides. The wider the header, the faster it cuts. Different headers are used to cut different crops in different terrains. The header is hydraulically driven and can be moved to different heights and angles.
After the crop passes the header, it is pushed into the cutter by a slowly rotating wheel called a reel (or pick-up reel). The reel has horizontal reel plates and vertical reel forks that give it a good grip on the crop stalks.
The cutter bar is located below the reel and runs the length of the header. The cutter bar's cutting fingers open and close repeatedly, cutting the crop from the roots.
The harvested crop is then carried to the center of the combine harvester by a rotating auger. The crop is transported upwards via a conveyor belt to a processing unit inside the main unit of the combine harvester.
In the center of the combine harvester, a threshing drum strikes the harvested crop, shaking the grain off the stalks.
The grain then falls through a sieve into a collection tank.
The chaff and straw are transported to the rear of the machine along a conveyor belt called a straw walker.
When the grain bin is full, a trailer pulls the combine harvester and travels with it. The grain is lifted from the bin by an elevator and ejected from a discharger on the side into a trailer.
The unwanted straw and chaff fall out the back of the combine harvester to the outside. Some combines have a spreader that spreads the straw over a wide area. The straw is chopped, spread on the fields, plowed back or used as bedding and small amounts of feed for livestock.
Benefits to Farmers
Combine harvesters can solve the growing labor shortage in agriculture. Rapidly increasing migration of rural people to towns and cities has led to a severe labor shortage in India. Combine harvesters can do more work more efficiently, providing farmers with higher food yields at a relatively low cost. Combine harvesters can also be used on different terrains, both dry and wet. Combine harvesters can be equipped with tracks to more easily operate on flooded fields. Combine harvesters can also be used in mountainous areas, simply by switching the headers. Special systems can be installed, such as the Super Straw Management System, which removes chaff and straw from the fields.
As agriculture becomes a rapidly technologically advanced industry, combine harvesters come with many additional features and benefits.
