Technical and economic performance of combined harvester in farmers’ field

Abstract

Labour scarcity, harvesting loss, timely harvesting and harvesting cost are crucial in rice and wheat harvesting in Bangladesh. Combine harvester is a newly introduced harvesting machine in Bangladesh. This study was undertaken to evaluate the technical and economic performance of combine harvester available in farmers" field and farmer"s perception regarding the use of combine. Field tests of two new (CLASS andDaedong) and two refresh (Kukje and Anower) combine harvesters were conducted for harvesting rice and wheat in the farners" field of Jessore, Pabna,Dinajpurand Thakurgaon districts during 2011-12. Primary data were collected from 30 adopter and 30 non-adopter farmers from each district of Bogra, Rangpur, Dinajpur and Thakurgaon through direct interviewingduring 2012-13. Information was also collected from different combine harvester traders available in Bangladesh. Average time, cost and grain saving by combine harvester over manual methods were 97.50, 35.00 and 2.75%, respectively. Benefit cost ratio of CLASS, Daedong, Kukje and Anower combine harvesters were found to be 2.68, 2.11, 2.29 and 2.70, respectively. The payback periods of refresh combine harvesters were lower than the new combine harvester. There were some mechanical problems observed in refresh combine harvesters during field operations. New harvester was observed almost trouble free and popular to the famers. Scarcity of spare parts and mechanic service were the main problems for repair and maintenance of the combine harvesters in farm level. Considering the technical performance of combine harvester and demand of the farmers, new combine harvester may be introduced in commercial basis in Bangladesh.

Combine Harvester: Impact on paddy production in Bangladesh

“…They found 6.87 percent manual harvesting loss. Hossain et al (2015) estimated average grain saving from loss reduction by combine harvester over manual methods was 2.75%. Paddy loss might vary with the operator's skill, soil condition, harvesting time and agronomic characteristics of the paddy.…”

“…The machines reduce harvesting losses and are calculated to save 52 percent of the costs (Hasan et al 2019). Hossain et al (2015) showed that average time, cost and grain saving by using combine harvester over manual methods were found to be 97.50, 35.00 and 2.75%, respectively. Meisner et al (1997) showed that a reaper is 14 times more efficient than a daily laborer in cutting and placing cereals in the field.…”

Comparison of field performances between two typical mini combine harvesters in grain corn production

“…Mechanization in a small scale farm such as grain corn production has to play a major role in the future to increase production and productivity in rural areas (Yadav et al, 2013). In grain corn production, harvesting and threshing are the most important operations in the entire range of field operations, which are laborious involving human drudgery (Hossain et al, 2015). To reduce the harvesting loss and cost, timely harvesting is very important, as delayed harvesting leads to a considerable loss of grain.…”

Performance evaluation of modified BAU self-propelled reaper for paddy

“…Mechanization of agricultural activities is to increase the labor productivity, cropping intensity and cost reduction. Hossain et al (2015) showed that average time, cost and grain that could be saved by using combine harvester over manual methods are 97.50%, 35.00% and 2.75%, respectively. Mechanization also helps in better management of farm by proceeding more free time for planting of next crop.…”