Ways of Intensification of Grass Seed Production

Abstract

The main reason that restrains the development of seed production of perennial grasses is losses during harvesting, which depend on the agrotechnical properties of plants and the imperfection of existing means. There are no special grass seeds yet. Therefore, serial equipment with special devices is recommended for their collection. There are enough options for technologies for collecting grass seeds. In the article, six main options of technologies used in production were analyzed and compared according to the main indicators. The best results of a comprehensive comparison are those technologies that process the collected seed mass into a stationary one. The design of a device for wiping the seed mass was proposed to develop this direction of grass seed collection technologies. The article presents theoretical and experimental research results that allowed improving these devices based on rational design and operating parameters. Another way to intensify the production process of leguminous grass seeds is to combine the technological processes of wiping and separation in one machine. The analysis of various separating devices showed that machines with a rotating screen of cylindrical or conical shape are best suited for this purpose. The conducted theoretical studies confirmed the hypothesis that extending the time the material stays on the sieve by using a conical surface increases the yield of clean seeds and contributes to uniform loading of the sieve surface, improving the quality of the initial material. According to the research results, the design of the grating-separating block was proposed for the implementation of this scientific hypothesis. The theoretical and experimental studies presented in the article will allow for significantly intensifying the process of collecting grass seeds and outlining the further development of scientific research in this field.

Study of the Process of Threshing Leguminous Grass Seeds With a Drum-Type Threshing Device

“…Another technological solution for harvesting grass seeds may be the option of harvesting the seed part of the material in the field, followed by threshing and separating the seeds in stationary conditions. (Spirin et al, 2023). In this case, it is possible to reduce the loss of seeds in the field, but there is a need to justify the degree of contamination of the seed and chaff mixture, both with straw impurities and the content of unthreshed seeds in it.…”