HARVESTING

The operation of cutting, picking, plucking digging or any combination of these for
removing the whole crop or edible part of the crop from either under the ground or above the
ground is called harvesting
Mechanical actions associate with harvesting are as follows:
1. Slicing action with a sharp tool.
2. Tearing action with a rough serrated edge
3. Scissoring action.
4. High velocity impact with sharp or dull edge tool.

ACCORDING TO POWER SOURCE USED HARVESTING TOOLS CAN BE

CLASSIFIES AS
(1) Manually operated tools (ii) Animal drawn implements (iii) Power driven machines
SICKLE
Sickle is a simple manually operated harvesting tool. It is used for harvesting crops like paddy,
ragi, sorghum etc. It essentially consists of a curved metallic blade and a wooden handle. Sickles
are classified into two classes: (i) Plain and (ii) Serrated depending on the nature of the blade
edge. In plain sickle the blade edge is smooth and sharp. In serrated sickle the blade edge is with
sharp serrated teeth. The plain or serrated edge in the inner side of the blade is used for cutting
the crop and hence called cutting edge The forged end of the blade used for fixing the handle is
called tang.. Harvesting by sickle is a very slow and labour consuming device.

Sickle

MOWER
Mower is a machine to cut herbage crops and leave them in a swath. Animal drawn and tractor
operated mowers are available
According to the cutting tool mowers are classified in to the following types such as: (i) Cylinder
mower (ii) Reciprocating mower (iii) Horizontal rotary mower (iv) Gang mower and (v) Flail
mower.
a) Cylinder mower: It has rotating helical blades arranged in cylindrical form. With the rotation
of blades, forage or grasses are cut continuously. It is used for trimming grass in lawns, golf
grounds etc.
b) Reciprocating mower: It is a mower with a knife made of several serrated triangular sections
that reciprocate against stationary fingers. The knife cuts the crop by its reciprocating action. It is
the most common type of mower used for harvesting forage crops and food grain crops like
paddy and wheat. .
c) Horizontal rotary mower: It is a mower with high speed knife rotating in the horizontal
plane. Due to rotation of knife, the grass and forage are cut uniformly. Used for trimming lawns ,
golf grounds etc.
d) Gang mower: It is an assembly of two or more ground driven cylinder mowers. It is used for
trimming grass in lawns, golf grounds etc.
e) Flail mower: It is a mower with high speed swinging knives, operating either in the horizontal
plane or in the vertical plane.. Used to cut herbaceous weeds like parthenium
CONVENTIONAL MOWER
The conventional mower mainly consists of: (i) A metallic frame (ii) Power transmitting unit
and (iii) Cutting bar
Frame
The frame provides space for fitting gears, clutch, bearings, flywheel etc required for the
operation of the harvester. A lever is used for lifting the cutting bar during road travel. . A
flywheel is used to store energy from the engine to supply steady energy to the cutting
mechanism for uniform cutting.
Power transmitting unit
It transmits the power from the power source either from the ground wheel in animal
drawn mowers and from PTO for tractor drawn mowers to the cutting tool.
In bullock drawn mowers, the power transmitting unit consists of transport wheels, axle, gears,
crank wheel, crankshaft and pitman. The transport wheel gives power to the axle from where the
power is transmitted to crank wheel through the gears. From crank wheel the drive is transmitted
to pitman through connecting rod. Crank wheel rotates in circular motion and pitman makes
reciprocating motion. Connecting rod converts rotary motion in to reciprocating motion. Knife is
connected to pitman hence the knife reciprocates and performs the cutting job. There is a ball
and socket arrangement to connect the knife with the pitman. The operator controls the driving
unit with the help of a dog clutch.
In tractor drawn semi-mounted or mounted type mowers the cutter bar is operated by P.T.O.
shaft of the tractor. A carden shaft transmits drive from PTO to the V pulley of the harvester.
From V pulley, drive reaches the knife through gears, crank wheel, connecting rod and pitman.
The knife reciprocates and cuts the crop. The cutting mechanism is driven independent of the
forward motion of the tractor
Cutter bar
It is an assembly of several parts comprising of a knife, fingers, wearing plates, ledger plates,
guides and shoes. The knife cuts the grass or grain crop by its reciprocating action`. It is a
metallic rectangular bar, on which triangular sections are mounted. The knife sections make
reciprocating motion inside the fingers and cuts the plants. There are knife guides with clips to
keep the knife sections very closely on the ledger plates for effective cutting action. The knife
stops at the centre of the knife guard (finger) on each stroke which indicates good registration..
 Cutter bar

Shoe - A shoe is always provided on each end of the cutter bar to regulate the height of cut and
to provide easy and smooth sliding of the cutter bar on the land.
Ledger plate - It is a hardened metal inserted in a guard (finger) over which knife sections move
to give a scissor like cutting action.
Wearing plate - It is a hardened steel plate attached to the finger bar to form a bearing surface
for the back of the knife.
Knife - It is the reciprocating part of the cutter bar, comprising of knife head, knife back and
knife sections.
Knife section - It is a steel plate of triangular shape with two cutting edges.
Knife head - It is the portion of the knife which is connected to the pitman.
Knife back - It is the strip of steel to which knife sections are riveted and the knife head is
attached.
Grass board - Grass board is provided at the outer end of the mower which causes the cut
plants to fall towards the cut material.
Pitman - Pitman is the link between the knife and crank wheel of the mower. It transmits motion
to a knife. Wooden pitman is commonly used for the mowers which acts as safety device. It
breaks and protects the cutter bar from damage when ever the knife is locked by some obstacle
or choked by the crop.
Connecting rod - It is placed between pitman and crank wheel. It converts rotary motion of
crank wheel in to reciprocating motion of the knife.
Breaking of knives - Breaking of knives is a common trouble in operation of a mower. It is
caused due to play in bearings and worn out knife head holders. Non-alignment is an important
cause for breaking the knife because when the mower is out of alignment, it works on a certain
angle which is always harmful.
Alignment of mower
Under working condition, the standing crops exert pressure on the cutter bar tending to push it
backward. In correct operating position, the crankpin, knife head and the outer end of the knife
should be in a straight line. This line should be at right angle to the direction of travel of the
mower. For achieving this object, the cutter bar is set at about 88° to the direction of motion i.e.
inward lead of 2° is given to it in order to overcome the back pushing action of the crops. When
the cutter bar is properly aligned, the knife and the pitman run in a straight line. This gives better
cutting of the knife in the field. Generally 2cm lead per metre length of cutter bar is
recommended.
Registration of mower
A mower knife is said to be in proper registration when the knife section stops in the centre of its
guard ( fingers ) on every stroke i.e. the centre of the knife section is at the centre line of the
guard, when it is in operating condition (Fig.3). Adjustment is commonly made by moving the
entire cutter bar in or out with respect to the pitman. If mower is not well registered, there is
unbalanced load, uneven cutting and excessive clogging of crops on the knife.

Registration of mower

SELF PROPELLED PADDY HARVESTER

It is suitable for harvesting non lodging varieties of paddy crop. The machine consists of an
engine, gearbox, ground wheels, handle, and cutter bar assembly, star wheels and gathering
header assembly. The power is taken from the engine pulley to the harvester main shaft through
compound idlers. The crop is manually harvested along the four sides of the field for a width of
0.5m and cleared from the field for providing space to the machine. At one comer an area of 2.0
x 1.5m is manually harvested to place the machine initially in the field. Since the harvested crop
is discharged at the right side of the reaper the machine has to be turned always to the left side.
During forward motion of the harvester, crop enters in the cutter bar mechanism and gets sheared
and the harvested crop is conveyed to right side of the machine by the conveyor belt . The
harvested crop is windrowed in the field, collected manually and transported to threshing yard.
The width of operation is 1.0 metre. The coverage is 1.5 ha/day
Advantages of using harvesters

1. Labour requirement is reduced

2. Large area can be harvested in shorter time. Saving in time
3. The availability of a harvest in a locality supports labour force to complete larger area.
Hence timely harvest is possible.
4. Economical
5. Frees the land early for ploughing for the next crop
 Paddy harvester Paddy harvester

TERMS CONNECTED WITH HARVESTING OPERATION

Mower: It is a machine use to cut herbage crops and leave them in a swath.
Reaper: It is a machine to cut grain crops.
Reaper binder: It is a machine which cuts the crops and ties them into neat and uniform
bundles.
Sickle: It is a curved steel blade with sharp edge in the inner side and a handle. It is used by
human power. The person holds the tool and shears the straw or stalk and harvests the crop
Swath: The harvested material laid on the land by the machine when harvesting is in progress is
called a swath.
Windrow: It is a row of material formed by combining two or more swaths.
Windrower: It is a machine to cut crops and deliver them in a uniform manner in a row.

COMBINE
It is a machine, which performs the functions of a reaper, thresher and winnower.
Functions

1. Cutting the standing crops

2. Feeding the cut crops with the threshing unit
3. Threshing the crops
4. Cleaning the grains freeing it from straw
5. Collecting the grains in a container

The functional components are

1. Header 2. Reel 3. Cutter bar 4. Elevator canvas 5. Feeder canvas 6. Feeding drum 7. Threshing
drum 8. Concave, 9. Fan 10.chaffer sieve 11. Grain sieve 12.grain auger 13. Tailing auger 14.
Grain elevator and 15. Grain container.
Header is used to cut and gather the crop and deliver it to the threshing cylinder. The straw is
pushed back on the platform by the reel. Small combines use scoop type headers, while large
combines use T type headers
Harvesting is done by a cutting unit, which uses the cutter bar similar to that of the mower. The
knife has got serrated edge to prevent the straw from slipping while in operation. There is a
suitable cutting platform, which is provided with a reel and canvas.
The reel is made of wooden slates, which helps in feeding the crops to the cutting platform. The
reel gets the power through suitable gears and shafts. The reel revolves in front of the cutter bar
while working in the field. The reel pushes the standing crops towards the cutting unit. The reels
are adjustable up and down as in or out. The cutter bar of the combine operates like the cutter
bar of a mower The conveyor feeds the crop to the cylinder and concave unit.
The threshing takes place between the cylinder and concave unit of the combine. The basic
components of the threshing unit of the combine are similar to a power thresher. As soon as the
crops are threshed the threshed material move to straw racks. These racks keep on oscillating and
separating the grains.
The cleaning unit consists of a number of sieves and a fan. The unthreshed grains pass through
the tailing auger and go for re-threshing. The clean grain passes through the grain elevator and
finally goes to the packing unit. Grains are collected in a hopper provided at suitable place. The
fan is adjusted such that the chaff etc., blown off the rear side of the machine. The size of the
combine is indicated by width of cut it covers in the field.
 Paddy Harvester

Wheat Harvester

Straw Reaping in Wheat

 Sugarcane Harvester (Video)

Combine harvester
A combine may be self-propelled type and PTO driven type
Self propelled type
This has got its own dependent engine. This engine gives power for operating all the
mechanisms as well as for pulling the weight of the combine. Size varies from 2-4 m.
PTO driven type
This combine is pulled by a tractor. The tractor pulls the combine by its tractive power. The
power takes off shaft of the tractor supplies power to the cutting and threshing mechanisms. The
power requirement of the combine may be taken on 8 HP/m width of cut for pulled type machine
and 12 HP/m width of cut for self propelled machines.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. List the types of mowers
2. Mention the basic components a mower
3. Explain with a neat sketch the working of a cutter bar
4. List the types of harvesting methods
5. List the advantages of harvesters
6. Mention the components of paddy harvester with a neat sketch and explain their importance
7. Define registration and alignment
8. Differentiate plain and serrated sickle.
9. The machine which cuts the crops and ties them into a neat and uniform sheaves is known as
a. reaper binder b. mower c. harvester d. none
10. A mower knife is said to be in proper registration when the knife section stops in the centre
of its guard on every stroke True/False
11. The material as left by the harvesting machine. Is called swath True/False
12. The machine used to cut herbage crops is called
a. reaper b. windrower c. mower d. harvester
13. Swinging knives are used in
a. cylindrical mower b. horizontal rotary mower c. flail mower d. reciprocating
mower.
14. Mention the components of combine harvester with a neat sketch and explain their
importance
15. Calculate total time required to harvest 2.5 ha of grass by means of a 2m mower being
operated at 4 Kim/h. Take field efficiency as 80%
16. How many hectares of land can be cut by a combine with 4 m cutter bar, when it is operating
at 4km/h