Harvesting machines
Harvesting: It is called taking the product from the ground or reaping the product, which is different for each product, for example, for alfalfa, harvesting by chopping the plant or tomatoes, seeds, gnawing seeds, or for corn A grain, only the clusters are harvested.
Harvesting of forage
The word fodder in a general sense includes products such as sorghum, millet, timothy, oats, pasture grass and even wheat and barley, but the meaning of the use of fodder in this article is the plants of the leguminous family, i.e. alfalfa, clover, spruce And especially hay. Alfalfa is grown in Iran from north to south, in the Saujblag region, it usually reaches 5 bales per year and sometimes up to 9 bales, and in Iran it is mostly sold in cubic or loose packages, but in other countries it is sold in silo packages. Dry and cilantro are also available.
Alfalfa Harvest Methods:
Freshly harvested hay has a moisture content of 70 to 85%, which should be brought to 20 to 25% moisture for storage. To reduce the moisture content, it is possible to leave the hay in the field naturally for a few hours to a few days, depending on the temperature. weather and atmospheric conditions or used heaters and artificial drying. Each of the alfalfa harvesting methods is associated with quantitative and qualitative losses, 5 to 15% of dry matter is lost during natural drying in the field due to the activity of enzymes, the crushing and shedding of the leaves reduces the quality of the product (such as the percentage of protein The leaves are more than the stem), 70% of plant protein and 90% of carotene (vitamin) are collected in the leaves, so prolonged sunlight, dew and rain cause loss of plant nutrients. In humid and rainy areas, the best harvesting method is to shorten the time interval between harvest and collection from the field. Experiments have shown that the method of drying fodder freely in the field is 32% and drying in the warehouse is 26% and with the silo method. 14% of the protein loss to the total protein of the product has benefited. The first tool for harvesting fodder was the scythe, which was used to harvest grain from about 5000 years ago and is still used in many parts of Iran and the third world. A worker harvests about 250 square meters with an ordinary scythe, which means for one hectare, 40 people, including 1000 square meters per day (for 1 hectare, 100 people are needed). Harvesting machines that worked with animal power were invented in 1800 AD, the first example of which was a circular plate on which a scythe was installed, and then harvesters with scissor principles were made and completed with the reciprocating movement of the blades.
Different types
Shoulder reaper building:
1- Chassis
2- The drive device (belt, pulley and gear box), the gear box has two functions, one is to change the direction of power transmission (turns the rotational movement of the power axis on the horizontal level into smooth movement on the vertical level) and the other is to increase the speed of 540 revolutions in The spindle is capable of a suitable speed of 3000 to 2500 rpm for plates.
3- Cutting device: consisting of a gear box and 2 or more plates, usually has 2 or 3 and sometimes 4 blades, and the movement of the plates is provided from below or from above.
The number of plates varies from 2 to 8, the diameter of the plates in some plates is 20 cm, but in two large plates, it may reach 80 cm and more.
The number of blades in each plate is also different depending on the type of lathe, usually 2 or 3, but sometimes they reach 4 (the blades are at equal angles on each plate) and the shape of the blades is rectangular along the entire length or triangular at the end. And, two sides are sharp, which can be moved or sharpened after grinding.
The gear box of the thrust and cutting machine is usually separate from each other, so it should be poured separately (90).
4-Protection, the high speed of rotation of the plates causes stones and solid materials to be thrown around, so they use a kind of protection (metal-metal) on the plates.
5- Other parts (row board, adjustment devices such as weight spring, latch, etc.)
Another type of threshers work with the principles of impact, they say whip reaper, the blades are placed vertically on a cylindrical axis in a zigzag manner, and with the rotation of the cylinder, the cut fodder is thrown up and back, and the working width of the machine is as wide as the length. They are cylindrical.
Stem
The harvested hay is packed after reducing the moisture content of the leaves to a certain amount, and because the stem moisture is still more than the allowed amount and there is a possibility of mold and waste, the stem is left in several places so that the water evaporates faster. and it is possible for leaves and stems to dry at the same time, therefore devices have been made to crack or crumple the stem and the product, which are known as stem makers and can be used as an independent device after the mower. be used or it was a car together.
