Thresher:-
-The machine which is used for remove grain and seed from their chaff and straw is called Thresher.
- The threshing can be achieved by three methods: Rubbing action, Impact and Stripping.
- Threshers are the most important component of farm mechanization.
- If threshing is not done timely, all efforts made by farmers and inputs given to crop goes wasted.
- Traditional method of threshing by animal is very slow. It gives low output. Due to low output, the cost of operation is high and there is a huge loss of grains because of rodents, birds, insects, wind, and untimely rain and fire hazards.
Threshing Method:
1. Manually (By human)
-The common method for manual threshing is hand beating against an object, treading, or by holding the crop against a rotating drum with spikes or rasp bars.
-Hand beating methods are normally used for threshing rice that easily shatters (i.e., at lower moisture content).
2. Amimal Drawn thresher (Threshing by Animals):
-Threshing by animals is very common method used in villages.
-The harvest is spread on a clean threshing space, the animals are tied in line one after the other with the help of a strong pole, fixed in the centre of the threshing space.
-Animals move round and round on the harvest and trample them continuously till the grains are completely separated from straw. One man drives the animals from the back.
3.Threshing by Machines:
- With the increase of mechanization in farms, threshing machines are getting popular day by day. Different types of threshers are used for threshing.
- Harvested crop is loaded onto the tray and fed into the opening between the cylinder and the concave at one end of the machine. The pegs on the threshing cylinder hit the material separating the grain from the straw, and at the same time accelerating them around the cylinder.
Types of Thresher:
1. Paddle-Operated Thresher2. Power Thresher
Paddle-Operated Thresher:
-It consists of wire-loop type threshing cylinder, power transmission system, mild steel sheet body and foot pedal.
- For operation, paddy bundle is held in hands and earhead portion of the crop is placed on the rotating cylinder. The wire-loops hit the earheads and grain get detached from the rest of the crop.
Uses:
It is used for threshing of paddy and wheat crop. It easy to operate and does not require much effort in its operation as it is operated by foot.
Power Thresher:
Power thresher is a machine, which thresh the crops and performs several other functions such as:
Feed the harvest crop to the threshing cylinder,Thresh the grain out of the ear head,Separate the grain from the straw,Clean the grain, and Make ‘bhusa’ suitable of animal feeding.
Fig- Power Operated Thresher
Types of Power Threshers
Single crop thresher
Multi crop thresher
1.Single crop Thresher
-It can thresh/perform for only one specific crop.
-it is cheaper.
-Example: Wheat Thresher only thresh the wheat.
2. Multi crop thresher
- It can perform for many crops.
- It is not cheaper as single crop Thresher
- Example: Paddy and wheat can thresh by one thresher.
Fig- Multiple crop Thresher
Introduction to Harvester:
-A harvester is a machine which cuts and often collects crops such as wheat, maize, or vegetable.Combine Harvester:
-The combine harvester is a versatile machine designed to efficiently harvest a variety of grain crops.-Combines are used in the harvesting and cleaning of cereals such as wheat, barley, corn (maize), oats, rice, rye, and sorghum, as well as a number of non-grain crops, including flax, rapeseed, soybeans, and sunflower seeds.
-After gathering crops, the combine cuts them at the base, feeds them into a threshing drum that shakes the grains away from their stalks and sweeps the unwanted material to the back of the machine.
-The cut crops move toward the center via spinning augers and travel up a conveyor. The threshing segment of the combine beats the cut crops to break and shake the grains away from their stalks. The separated grains travel by conveyor into a grain tank.
-Combine harvesters get their name from the way they automatically combine the processes of harvesting and separating of grain crops into one step, an otherwise laborious series of operations once done separately.
