A combine harvester is a versatile agriculture machine which was first invented and patented in 1835 by Hiram Moore in the USA. Its aim is to make the harvesting process easy for a variety of grain crops like wheat, rice, corn, barley, soybean and pulses etc. The name also indicates and is derived from its capability to combine three different steps or processes of harvesting which include:
Reaping or cutting – The cutting process when crops are gathered when they are ripe.
Threshing – The process of loosening the edible part - grains from the attached chaff.
Winnowing – Finally separating grain from the straw.
It “Combines” the above mentioned different steps into one process making it efficient to harvest any kind of grain crops. A Combine harvester is also known as multi-crop harvester as it can harvest a variety of crops.
How it Works
The header at the front of the harvester collects the grain and then reel transfers it to the cutter bar, where it is cut off at the base. The grain then moves up the conveyor to the threshing drum, where the grains are separated from the stalks. A collecting tank gathers the grain as it falls through sieves, and straw walkers carry the chaff to the back of the harvester. As the grain tank fills, it must be emptied into a trailer through a side pipe known as unloader.
The separated straw from the harvests is left over the ground that comprises of stems and any leftover leaves of the crop with only limited nutrients. The straw is then either chopped or spread over the field and ploughed back in or baled to feed livestock or to use for bedding.
Advantages of using a combine harvester:
- A combine harvester reduces grain loss when compared to manual harvesting. In manual harvesting cutting, carrying, conveying the crop causes a major loss of harvest but using a combine harvester completes all steps easily without any grain loss.
- Combine harvester machine is capable of harvesting and threshing one acre of acreage in just one hour. Where the manual method would need at least 12 people, one entire day to perform the same task, that’s too excluding threshing.
- In manual method separate step are performed for threshing, which increases several day times, and many more days for cleaning. Thus, in manual method the time from crop cutting to market ready is a week or more. But for the combine harvester the same process makes the crop market ready in an hour or so.
- The combine harvesting provides cleaner grain than the manual process, for which the market also is willing to pay better prices.
- The mechanized harvesting is priced to be far lower than the cost of manual harvesting in consideration to the labour cost used in manual harvesting.
