Assessment of BRRI Whole Feed Combine Harvester (Model BRRI WCH2021) for Mechanized Rice Harvesting in Bangladesh

Agricultural mechanization plays a pivotal role in the transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture, with a particular focus on labour-intensive activities like harvesting. This study assesses the operational characteristics of the BRRI Whole Feed Combine Harvester (Model BRRI WCH2021) at the field level. Developed under the SFMRA project, the harvester’s technical performance and loss assessment were conducted during the Boro 2022 and Aman 2022 seasons in farmer fields in Bangladesh’s Rangpur region. The field efficiency of the harvester was determined to be 62.5% and 57.9% in the Boro and Aman seasons, respectively. Fuel consumption rates were recorded at 2.77 l/ha and 2.31 l/ha for the Boro and Aman seasons. The total harvesting losses, encompassing cutter bar, shatter, cylinder, and separation loss, averaged 0.56% and 0.48% in the Boro and Aman seasons, respectively. Mechanized harvesting with the BRRI Whole Feed Combine Harvester significantly reduced paddy losses by 5.81% compared to manual methods. The field evaluation results indicate the combine harvester’s satisfactory performance, highlighting its potential to alleviate labour demands during peak harvesting. The development of the BRRI WCH offers a sustainable solution for rice harvesting mechanization among progressive farmers. It paves the way for the broader adoption of advanced agricultural technology in Bangladesh.

Effects of Rice Combine Harvester Application to Harvest Chinese Milk Vetch Seeds

During the test, the seed yield, Iabor efficiency, harvesting costs and eco-nomic benefits were compared and analyzed between mechanical harvesting tech-noIogy and traditional artificial harvesting technoIogy of Chinese miIk vetch seeds to studied the mechanical harvesting technoIogy and appIication effects. The resuIts showed that mechanical harvesting technoIogy increased the yield of 92.7 kg/hm2, reducing the seeds Ioss. It improved the Iabor efficiency and reduced the harvesting cost. For exampIe, a rice combine harvester was the equal of 18-20 person in the harvest quantity in one day, which directIy reduced the Iabor cost of 2 175-3 000 yuan/hm2 and increased the economic income of 3 307-4 099 yuan/hm2. So it wiI pIay an important roIe in soIving the shortage of Chinese miIk vetch seeds and ac-ceIerating the deveIopment of Chinese miIk vetch green manure crop in south China rice region.

Combine Harvester: Small Machine Solves Big Rice Harvesting Problem of Bangladesh

Bangladesh, a country with 87% of rural households that depend on agriculture and rice dominated diets (70%), engages the country’s food security. Therefore, there is strong advocacy for a mechanized paddy harvesting system for food security in South Asia, mainly Bangladesh. Some harvesting machinery is available;however, the precise roles of a combine harvester during this process are little. This study attempts to understand the consequences of combining harvesters for paddy harvesting and compare them with hand harvesting. For comparison of field performance of combine harvester with traditional harvesting, the experiment was conducted at Gazipur District, Bangladesh, in 2016. Results showed that the labor required for harvesting unit area 283, 15 and 9.87 man-h∙ha−1 for T1 (Sickle + Head carry + Beating + Kula), T2 (Reaper + Trolley carry + Close drum thresher + winnower), T3 (Combine harvester) system, respectively. Likewise, the harvesting costs were 1.84 (T2) and 2.5 (T1) times higher than the combine harvester (T3). Also, the postharvest loss can be saved 1.84%, to use combine harvester over manual harvesting of paddy. The above result revealed that the semi-mechanized and mechanized harvesting system is a time, labor and cost-saving system;however, the manual reaping system is concerned with more postharvest losses (3.09%). This study highlights the importance of combine harvester;however, further research is required in other places with large and mini-combine harvesters under diverse cropping areas and to test a combine harvester’s detailed potentiality.

Optimization of Conventional Combine Harvester to Reduce Combine Losses for Basmati Rice (<i>Oryza Sativa</i>)

A study was conducted at PAU Regional Research Station, Gurdaspur (Punjab) to investigate the design and operational parameters of threshing mechanism of conventional combine harvester for basmati crop. This study was aimed to investigate the suitable changes required in the self-propelled conventional combine harvester for harvesting the basmati crop with minimum grain losses. Field evaluation of experiment was carried out to assess the influence of independent design variable i.e., arrangement of spikes (AS) and independent operational parameters such as concave clearance (CC) and cylinder speed (CS). The study was aimed to enumerate various combining losses viz., extent of visible and invisible grain damage and threshing efficiency at different AS, CC and CS levels. The first year data recorded during 2017 were processed for the optimization during 2018. The results of the present study revealed that during 2017, maximum visible and invisible losses was 5.49% ± 0.33% and 28.07% ± 3.21%, respectively whereas after modification, these losses remained only 4.00% ± 0.80% and 24.07% ± 2.86%, respectively. The threshing efficiency remained above 99.31% ± 0.47%, for both years. Thus, optimization of combine harvester was able to save the visible grain damage by 60% to 83% and invisible grain damage by 6% to 16%, respectively during 2018 than the year 2017.

Parameter matching and experiment of the combined cyclone separation and cylinder sieve cleaning system for rape combine harvester

Existing rape combine harvester with a cyclone separation cleaning device has the challenge that the loss rate and the cleaning rate increase and decrease simultaneously.A cleaning process route was proposed,which involves the cyclone separation cleaning device removing light and tiny impurities,and the cylinder sieve device removing coarse and long impurities such as pod shells and short stems.A novel cleaning system combining the cyclone separation cleaning device and cylinder sieve cleaning devices was designed.The ranges of the structure and operation parameters for each component were analyzed based on kinematics and dynamic analysis.A four-factor five-level quadratic orthogonal test was carried out,in which the loss rate and cleaning rate were taken as the evaluation indexes.The velocity at the suction port,the rotation speed of the cylinder sieve,the screw pitch of the spiral blade and the diameter of the sieve hole were taken as the influencing factors.The orthogonal test results showed that the cleaning system performed best at a rotation speed of the winnower is 600 r/min,an airflow velocity at the suction port is 18.25 m/s,a rotation speed of the cylinder sieve is 87 r/min,a screw pitch of the spiral blade is 440 mm and a diameter of the sieve hole is 4.48 mm.At this time,the loss rate of the cleaning system is 3.22%,and the cleaning rate is 95.67%.Compared to the conventional cyclone separation cleaning device,the loss rate is reduced by 2.17%and the cleaning rate is increased by 1.05%.This study can provide a reference for the optimal cleaning system design for rape combine harvesters.

基于视觉传达设计的农机操作界面优化研究

近年来,随着农业机械智能化的不断发展与应用,农户对农业机械操控功能性、便捷性、易学性和人机交互的良好体验等提出了更高的要求;但是,目前市场上各类农业机械APP界面出现大量“雷同化”特点,难以满足不同农业机械的田间使用要求。为此,将“人机交互行为”作为设计目标,基于视觉传达技术,以谷物联合收获机操作界面为研究对象开展相关设计。同时,对谷物联合收获机操作界面图形、文字、色彩和设计风格进行分析,结果表明:优化后的农机操作界面能够显著提高操作员的操作效率和工作体验,降低操作错误率和疲劳程度。研究结果可为农业机械智能化操作界面的设计提供可参考的过程设计模型。

Mechanical Harvesting Effects on Seed Yield Loss,Quality Traits and Profitability of Winter Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus L.)

China is one of the most important rapeseed producing countries in the world. Effective mechanical harvesting time for decreasing harvesting loss of winter oilseed rape has been becoming a critical factor. An elite cultivar Zhongshuang 11 （Brassica napus L.） was employed in two rounds of field experiments from 2009 to 2011. Seeds were sown with machine, three combine harvesting times namely combine harvesting A, B, and C （CHA, CHB, and CHC） were designed and manual harvesting （MH） as control was performed at maturity. The harvesting treatments were determined according to color of pod and seed in the field. Seed yield loss and quality in different treatments were evaluated. Results showed that both seed yields and harvesting losses in 2009-2010 were higher than that in 2010-2011, whereas seed oil contents in 2010-2011 were higher than that in 2009-2010. The highest yield appeared in CHB, which was significantly higher than that in MH. Furthermore, harvesting loss in CHB were 50% that in MH. Seed oil content and chlorophyll exhibited no obvious difference between CHB and MH. Economic profit analysis demonstrated that mechanical sowing/combine harvesting （MS/CH） showed an input/output ratio of 1：1.6, and it was 1：1.2 in mechanical sowing/manual harvesting （MS/MH）. Labor-cost accounted for more than 70% of the total cost in MS/MH, which led to low profitability to a great extent. Our results suggested that CHB was the optimum harvesting time for winter oilseed rape along the Yangtze River.

Influence of two-stage harvesting on the properties of cold-pressed rapeseed(Brassica napus L.)oils

Rapeseed(Brassica napus L.)harvesting method is critical since it significantly determines the seed yield,oil quality,and industrial efficiency.This study investigated the influences of harvesting methods on the quality of cold-pressed rapeseed oil of two varieties.Oil color,peroxide value(POV),tocopherol content,fatty acid composition,and polarity of total polyphenols(PTP)contents of two rapeseed varieties in Huanggang and Xiangyang were compared through artificially simulated combined harvesting and two-stage harvesting.Results showed significant differences in the quality of rapeseed oil between the two harvesting methods.The red value(R-value),POV,total tocopherol contents,linoleic and linolenic acid content,and PTP content of the pressed rapeseed oil prepared by the combined harvesting method were about 27.6,5.7,15.8,2.0,0.5,and 28.6%lower than those of the oil produced from the two-stage harvesting method,respectively.Xiangyang and Huayouza62 performed better in the two regions and two varieties,respectively.To sum up,the rapeseed oil obtained 41–44 days after final flowering of combined harvesting,35 days after final flowering,and six days of post-ripening of the two-stage harvesting had the best quality.

Can harvest outsourcing services reduce field harvest losses of rice in China?

The purpose of this study is to quantify the rice harvest losses in China and to evaluate the impacts of machinery and harvest outsourcing services on these losses,given the background of high-speed mechanization and outsourcing services.Data were collected from a national survey conducted in 2016 by the research team in conjunction with the Research Center for the Rural Economy of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China.A non-parametric method was used to test whether combine harvesting and outsourcing services could significantly reduce harvest losses.Next,quantile regression was used to estimate the real effects of machinery and outsourcing services on harvest losses.The analysis yielded four main study outcomes.First,the harvest loss rate of rice in China was 3.65%.Second,mechanical reaping and winnowing caused greater losses than manual methods,while the opposite was true of field transportation.Third,combine harvesting increased the losses.Fourth,the effects of an outsourcing service on losses differed among the different harvesting methods.Outsourcing services increased losses in segmented harvesting but they reduced losses in combine harvesting.

Development of uncut crop edge detection system based on laser rangefinder for combine harvesters

The objective of this research was to develop an uncut crop edge detection system for a combine harvester.A laser rangefinder(LF)was selected as a primary sensor,combined with a pan-tilt unit(PTU)and an inertial measurement unit(IMU).Three-dimensional field information can be obtained when the PTU rotates the laser rangefinder in the vertical plane.A field profile was modeled by analyzing range data.Otsu’s method was used to detect the crop edge position on each scanning profile,and the least squares method was applied to fit the uncut crop edge.Fundamental performance of the system was first evaluated under laboratory conditions.Then,validation experiments were conducted under both static and dynamic conditions in a wheat field during harvesting season.To verify the error of the detection system,the real position of the edge was measured by GPS for accuracy evaluation.The results showed an average lateral error of±12 cm,with a Root-Mean-Square Error(RMSE)of 3.01 cm for the static test,and an average lateral error of±25 cm,with an RMSE of 10.15 cm for the dynamic test.The proposed laser rangefinder-based uncut crop edge detection system exhibited a satisfactory performance for edge detection under different conditions in the field,and can provide reliable information for further study.

Review of combine harvester losses for maize and influencing factors

The high harvest losses associated with the mechanical harvesting of maize in China are currently a major barrier to the adoption of this technology.This paper summarizes works of literature regarding harvest losses from the combine harvesting of maize in China and abroad.The main findings are as follows:(1)In 2012-2019,2987 samples data obtained from the major maize production areas of China showed that the average harvest loss was 345.2 kg/hm2(3.5%of the average yield),with losses ranging from 0 to 9288.5 kg/hm2;(2)The harvest losses from combine harvesting are mainly caused by the dropping of ears.The ear losses include the pre-harvest loss caused by ear abscission,damage caused by maize borer,lodging,and the ear loss during combine harvesting,and the main pre-harvest loss is caused by lodging;(3)Harvest losses are affected by maize variety,planting mode,cultivation management,pests and diseases,weather conditions during harvesting,harvest date,combine harvester type,harvester adjustment,operator proficiency,and the terrain conditions of the maize field;(4)The harvest losses from combine harvesting are also related to the type of header,feeding and threshing methods,the adjustment of header stripping clearance,feeding amount,forward speed,cylinder or rotor speed,and the clearance between the cylinder and the concave of the harvester.However,the combine losses mainly come from header losses.In order to reduce the harvest losses,the following solutions were proposed:(1)Breed and select maize varieties which are resistant to lodging,especially during the field drying of mature grains,as well as those resistant to maize borer and stalk rot;(2)Select varieties suitable for grain harvest-which requires matching the accumulated-temperature demand of the maize hybrids,optimal plant density,row spacing,and irrigation and fertilizer management with the light and heat conditions of the production area while cultivating uniform populations and healthy plants-as well as preventing and controlling damage from maize borer,stalk rot,and ear rot,harvesting at the appropriate time;(3)Develop and select advanced maize combine harvesters,formulate standardized operating procedures for harvesting machinery,and standardize field operation;(4)select appropriate agricultural machinery and agronomic practices,and improve the training of maize producers and harvester operators.

Real-time grain breakage sensing for rice combine harvesters using machine vision technology

Breakage rate is one of the most important indicators to evaluate the harvesting performance of a combine harvester.It is affected by operating parameters of a combine such as feeding rate,the peripheral speed of the threshing cylinder and concave clearance,and shows complex non-linear law.Real-time acquisition of the breakage rate is an effective way to find the correlation of them.In addition,real-time monitoring of the breakage rate can help the driver optimize and adjust the operating parameters of a combine harvester to avoid the breakage rate exceeding the standard.In this study,a real-time monitoring method for the grain breakage rate of the rice combine harvester based on machine vision was proposed.The structure of the sampling device was designed to obtain rice kernel images of high quality in the harvesting process.According to the working characteristics of the combine,the illumination and installation of the light source were optimized,and the lateral lighting system was constructed.A two-step method of“color training-verification”was applied to identify the whole and broken kernels.In the first step,the local threshold algorithm was used to get the edge of kernel particles in a few training images with binary transformation,extract the color spectrum of each particle in color-space HSL and output the recognition model file.The second step was to verify the recognition accuracy and the breakage rate monitoring accuracy through grabbing and processing images in the laboratory.The experiments of about 2300 particles showed that the recognition accuracy of 96%was attained,and the monitoring values of breakage rate and the true artificial monitoring values had good trend consistency.The monitoring device of grain breakage rate based on machine vision can provide technical supports for the intellectualization of combine harvester.

Selection of proper combine harvesters to field conditions by an effective field capacity prediction model

Farmers have to finish their harvesting with high efficiency,because of time and cost.However,farmers are lacking knowledge and information required for selecting suitable combine harvesters and giving the conditions of their rice fields,because both information factors(combine harvester and field condition)impact the field capacity.The field capacity model was generated from combine harvesters with the Thai Hom Mali rice variety(KDML-105).Therefore,this study aimed to determine the prediction model for effective field capacity to combine harvesters when harvesting the Thai Hom Mali rice variety(KDML-105).The methods began by collecting data of 15 combine harvesters,such as field,crop,and machine conditions and operating times;to generate the prediction model for the KDML-105 variety.The prediction model was then validated using 12 combine harvesters that were collected similarly to the model creation.The results showed a root mean square error(RMSE)of 0.24 m^(2)/s for the model.The prediction model can be applied for farmers to select the proper combine harvesters and give their field conditions.

Modeling of working environment and coverage path planning method of combine harvesters

This paper mainly studied the working environment modeling and coverage path planning of combine harvesters.The boundaries of the farmland to be harvested were extracted through the farmland satellite imagery and canny algorithm.The polygon approximation method was used to fit the extracted boundaries as polygons.The edge offset of the farmland and obstacles was realized based on the principle of straight skeleton.According to the structure data of the split points which were obtained through the improved scan line algorithm,the coverage path planning of the combine harvester was realized.Moreover,the circular arc transition algorithm was used to optimize the harvesting paths to achieve the smooth turning of the combine harvester at the edge of farmland and when encountering obstacles.The simulation results show that the proposed the proposed polygon approximation method can accurately depict the boundaries of the farmland to be harvested,and reduce the amount of data to be stored.Additionally,the designed path planning method can realize the coverage path planning of the combine harvester in irregular and internal obstacle farmland.

Experimental study on driver seat vibration characteristics of crawler-type combine harvester

To improve the driving comfort of combine harvesters,driver seat low-frequency vibration and related driver ride-comfort problems were investigated on a Chinese CFFL-850 crawler-type full-feed combine harvester based on ISO2631.Driver vibration and driving seat transmission characteristics were measured under the following conditions:no-load idling,driving on the road,driving in the field,and simulated harvesting.The root mean square values composite vibration under four conditions were 3.63 m/s^(2),2.35 m/s^(2),3.34 m/s^(2),and 2.67 m/s^(2),respectively.For the same condition,the maximum root mean square scores of vibration component on driver whole-body occurred in the seat support surface(test point 1)and vertical direction(Z direction),which were 3.56 m/s^(2),2.05 m/s^(2),3.15 m/s^(2),and 2.43 m/s^(2),respectively.The test point 2 to test point 1 vertical-transfer function curve trends were nearly identical.Nearly all of the transfer coefficients were greater than 1 in the range of 1-50 Hz,therefore,the seat vibration attenuation performance was poor.Based on the analysis results,the driver seat structure was altered and a verification test was performed.The test results indicated that after an X-damping mechanism was installed,vibration acceleration,on the surface of the seat support under the road-driving conditions,decreased from 2.35 m/s^(2) to 1.68 m/s^(2).Under the simulated harvesting condition,the vibration acceleration decreased from 2.56 m/s^(2) to 1.46 m/s^(2).Nearly all of the seat vertical transfer coefficients were less than 1 within the frequency range of 1-80 Hz,therefore the dynamic comfort of the seat was ameliorated after structural improvement.

Inertial force balance and ADAMS simulation of the oscillating sieve and return pan of a rice combine harvester

To reduce the inertial force of the oscillating sieve and return pan of a rice combine harvester,partial equilibrium was adopted.Firstly,based on the kinematic analysis of a slider-crank mechanism,the appropriate mass of counterweight intervals was achieved.Then,an ADAMS dynamic simulation was used to determine the optimum balance mass of the oscillating sieve and return pan individually.Considering the relative motion between the return pan and the oscillating sieve,the overall inertial force of the two parts would be reduced.The simulation results indicated that the optimum counterweight of the oscillating sieve was 15.5 kg based on an analysis of the movement tracks of the mass center and overall inertial force.The results also showed that the overall balance of inertial force not only reduced the counterweight but also decreased the overall inertial force of the oscillating sieve and return pan.Finally,a search for the most suitable crank initial angle of the return pan to reduce the overall inertial force and optimize the overall balance revealed three groups of initial angles:φ=0°,φ=45°,andφ=90°.The results indicated that arranging the initial angle of the crank of the oscillating sieve and return pan in the same position(φ=90°)was the most favorable for reducing the overall inertial force.In this situation,the optimum counterweight of the oscillating sieve was only 14.0 kg.The results can provide references for the design of the overall balance of the inertial force in the cleaning components of a combine harvester.

Proportional distribution method for estimating actual grain flow under combine harvester dynamics

The yield monitors use a constant delay time to match the grain flow with location.Therefore,mixing and smoothing effects on the grain flow are neglected.Although constant time delay compensates for time mismatch,actual grain flow at a combine harvester head is not equal to the grain flow measured by a sensor due to the dynamics effects.In order to eliminate the dynamics effects,a new method for estimating actual grain flow,called proportional distribution(PD),is proposed.This method assumes that actual grain flow is directly proportional to the feedrate.Based on this assumption,the actual grain flow results from redistributing accumulated grain mass over a certain time according to the profile of the feedrate.The PD can avoid the dynamics effects because the feedrate is measured at a combine harvester’s head.Compared with constant time delay,the proposed method can effectively estimate actual grain flow and be applied to improve the accuracy of yield maps.

Development of a measurement system for noise and vibration of combine harvester

Combine harvesters are important in that grain and legumes directly affect the production economy.On the other hand,it forms an important branch of the agricultural machinery sector.There are many unknown constraints on machines when harvesting with a combine harvester,including the noise and vibration that occur in the combine harvester thresher.This study aims to analyze noise and vibration in conventional combine harvesters using sensors.Two accelerometers were installed on each side of the concave and two microphones were used to register the noise of the threshing process.The result showed that effects of machine speeds(3.5 km/h,4.5 km/h and 5.5 km/h)and rotor speeds(950 r/min,850 r/min and 950 r/min)were significantly important for the mean range values of the left and right accelerometer in the X,Y and Z direction.The machine’s speed and rotor speed were not significantly important for the mean range values of the left and right microphones.

Simulation and analysis of the pneumatic recovery for side-cutting loss of combine harvesters with CFD-DEM coupling approach

A novel pneumatic recovery method was proposed to curb the problem of high losses caused by side-cutting in a rapeseed combine harvester header.The influence of recovery method and material status changes on the recovery effect was studied via the CFD-DEM(computational fluid dynamic-discrete element method)coupling simulation.The effect of airflow action on the recovery effect was compared and analyzed,and the composite pneumatic recovery method was determined.In addition,the influence of material status changes and material feeding rate on the recovery effect was explored,and the critical condition of material blockage in the recovery device was configured.As such,the relationship model between air velocity and recovery rate was constructed and the air distribution ratio of the flow field in the device under this condition was optimized,had verified the rationality of this pneumatic recovery method was verified by a series of field tests.The average rapeseed recovery rate of 92.95%was achieved with the application of the recovery device,and the total loss rate of the header reduced by 52.26%,which is of great significance in reducing the total loss rate of the combine harvesters and improving the operation performance of machinery.The research results can provide a reference for the design of the header structure of a rape combine harvester.

Experiment and parameter optimization of an automatic row following system for the traction beet combine harvester

To improve the automation level and operation quality of China's beet harvester and reduce the loss due to damaged and missed excavation,this study used a self-developed sugar beet combine harvester and field simulation experiment platform,based on the single-factor bench test of the automatic row following system in the early stage,taking hydraulic flow A,spring preload B,and forward speed C which have significant influence on performance indices as test factors,and taking the missed excavation rate,breakage rate and reaction time as performance indices,the orthogonal experimental study on the parameter optimization of the three-factor and three-level automatic row following system with the first-order interaction of various factors was carried out.The results of the orthogonal experiments were analyzed using range analysis and variance analysis.The results showed that there were differences in the influence degree,factor priority order and first-order interaction,and the optimal parameter combination on each performance index.A weighted comprehensive scoring method was used to optimize and analyze each index.The optimal parameter combination of the overall operating performance of the automatic row following system was A 2B 2C 1,that is,the hydraulic flow was 25 L/min,the forward speed was 0.8 m/s,and the spring preload was 198 N.Under this combination,the response time was 0.496 s,the missed excavation rate was 2.35%,the breakage rate was 3.65%,and the operation quality was relatively good,which can meet the harvest requirements.The comprehensive optimization results were verified by field experiments with different ridge shapes and different planting patterns.The results showed that the mean values of the missed excavation rate of different planting patterns of conventional straight ridges and extremely large"S"ridges were 2.23%and 2.69%,respectively,and the maximum values were 2.39%and 2.98%,respectively;the average damage rates were 3.38%and 4.14%,and the maximum values were 3.58%and 4.48%,which meet the industry standards of sugar beet harvester operation quality.The overall adaptability of the automatic row following system is good.This study can provide a reference for research on automatic row following harvesting systems of sugar beets and other subsoil crop harvesters.