Er. Uttam Raj Timilsina(MSc.Engineering,IIT Roorkee) Professor of Agricultural Engineering,Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU), Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal uttamrajtimilsina@gmail.com *All Right Reserved** Uploaded and Shared by AgriYouthNepal

1. Harvesting Machines
Prepared by
Er.Uttam Raj Timilsina(MSc.Engineering,IIT Roorkee)
Professor of Agricultural Engineering,AFU
uttamrajtimilsina@gmail.com, 9841684994
For
Batch 2069/2070,BSc.Ag,4th semester(071/7/16-071/10/15)
Course Code:AEN-301,Farm Power and achinery(1+1

2.  Indigenous harvesting tool used in Nepal
 Harvesting equipments for different crops
 Mowers-Types ,working principle and
constructional details
 Reapers and reapers binders-Types,working
principles and constructional details
 Potato digger-working principles and
constructional details

3.  Indigenous harvesting tools used in Nepal:-
 Harvesting of field crops is one of the most abour
consuming operarion of farming in Nepal.Harvesting of
almost all cereals crops,potato,sugarcane and other crops
in Nepal is being done manually by using most popular
hand tools like CommonSickles Serrated Sickles and
Spades.By experiences as well as field research, It is
realized that harvesting manually by using sickles it takes
about 170-200 man hours to harvest 1 ha of paddy crop.
Due to high labor demand at the time of harvesting, the
entire harvesting operation continues for weeks
together,resulting grain losses to the extent of 5-15 % due
to over drying of crop in the field .

4. Harvesting Machines
Use of mchanical devices or machines like
reapers,mowers potato diggers combine
harvester are initiated to harvest cereals crops
like paddy and wheat being feasible in Terai areas
of Nepal but the application of such machines is
not being feasible in rest areas of hills and
mountains.Therefore harvesting of cereals
crops,potato,sugarcane by using hand tools like
sickles spades in hill and mountain is a
compulsion without other alternatives of
machine use.

5. Harvesting tools,sickles used in
different countries

6. Types of sickles used in different
countries

7. Serrated edge sickles

8. Rice harvesting due to labor shortage

9. Rice harvesting

10. Paddy harvesting alone due to labor
shortage

11. Paddy harvesting

12. Wheat cutting manually

13. Indiginuous wheat havesting

14. Maize harvesting

15. Tea crop harvesting

16. Cabbage harvesting manually

17. Wheat harvesting ,manually

18. Collecting rice straw

19. Manually harvesting

20. Harvesting Equipment
• Crop harvesting equipment:-In developed countries farming
systems is fully or partially mechanized with the use of
seeding,planting , harvesting and threshing
macnineries/equipments.The use of such equipments is supported
by commercial farming principle ,economy and technologies in
developed countries like as the use of following harvesting
equipments
 Cereal crops harvesters like Rice/Paddy Harvester ,Wheat,Barley
Harvester,Maize harvester as well as Combine Harvester
 Sugarcane Harvester
 Root crops harvester like Ground nut harvester,Potato Harvester
 Cotton Harvester
 Forage crops harvester
 Fruit crops Harvester

21. Rice harvester ,Reaper

22. Rice harvester,Reaper

23. Rice harvester ,Reaper

24. Combine harvester

25. Wheat harvester,combine

26. Maize harvester

27. Maize harvester

28. Combine Harvester,Rice

30. Wheat harvesting in conservation
farming

31. Sugarcane harvester

32. Combine harvester

33. Combine harvester, Wheat

34. Forage harvester

35. Grass cutter,mower

36. Forage harvester,mower

37. Rice harvester, combine

38. Potato digger

39. Potato digger in operation

40. Harvesting Machines(HM)
• Constraints of harvesting:- The overall
constraints of field crops harvesting in Nepal by
mechanical equipments are categories as:
Farmer Constraints:- Which are listed as
-Low income
-Low investing capicity,
-Reluctance to change traditional methods,
-Poor mechanical aptitude,and
-Desire to save straw for other use

41. HM
Farm Constraints:-Which are listed as:
-Small farm holdings
-Very small plots size with high bunds
- Poor water control or muddy field
-Inadequate ground support for harvesting
equipment
-Lack of access road to the field

42. Harvesting Machines(HM)
Crop Constraints:-Which are listed as :
-Excessive moisture content at harvesting time
-Uneven ripening
-Severe lodging and high shattering tendency
of local and tall varities
-Low grain/panicle-straw ratio
-

43. HM
Equipments constraints:- which are listed as:
-Lack of functionality of machines regarding
operation and maintenance skills
-Difficult to change the operational practices of
farmers for operating indigenous tools
-High cost of imported equipments

44. HMT
• Harvesting tools and machineries:-
 Manuals Tools
- Differents types of sickles like serrated sickles,plain
sickles
-different types of spades like hoe type spades,flat
type spade etc
 Animal drawn machines-
-Mowers
-Diggers

45. HM
Mechanical Harvesters-
-Tractor operated Mowers
-Tractor operated Reapers
-Self propelled Reapers,
-Power tiller operated Reapers,
-Power tiller operated Reaper with winders
- Tractor operated combines harvester
-Self propelled combines harvester,
-Potato diggers or Potato harvester.

46. • Mowers:- Mowers are designed to cut meadow grasses and fodder
crops/forage crops.Depending upon the source of power used
mowers are classifed as:-
 Animal Drawn Mowers,Trailed type
 Tractor drawn Mowers
-Trailed type with ground wheels
-Semi mounted type with ground wheels
-Tractor mounted type:-Rear mounted mowers, front mounted
mowers,side mounted mowers,Central or mid mounted mowers
 Depending upon the mode of construction as well as working
action these mowers are classified as:-
- Cutter bars type or finger bar type used for fodder or forage crop
harvesting
-Rotary blade type or rotary grass cutters used for lawn
maintaining ,lawn grass cutting

47. HM
• Main parts of cutter bar mowers:-
 Cutter bars or finger bars unit:-It is the main part of
mower.The main function of this unit is to cut crops
and separate it from uncut portion.The knife moves
back and forth over the guard surface to cut plants in
both direction due to shearing action .It consists of
parts as knife of triangular section, inside shoe,out
side shoe,guards,ledger plate,wearing plate, knife
clips,and grass board.The knife is the most important
part of the cutter bar.The types of knife are smooth
cutting edge types,top serrated cutting edge
type,bottom serrated cutting edge type.

48. HM
 Power transmitting unit:- The main function of this unit is
to receive and transmit motive force. It consists of main
axle,spur gears ,bevel gear,crank shaft, crank wheel and
pitman (connecting rod).The main axle receives power
from PTO shaft of tractor in case of tractor mounted type
and one of the transport wheel in case of trailed type.The
reciprocating(back and forth) motion is transmitted to the
pitman which in turns operates the knife on the cutter bar
by converting rotary motion to reciprocating motion by
means of dynamically balanced devices.The knife makes
about 1600 cutting stroke/minute.In order to engage or
dis-engage the driving unit a clutch is provided on the
counter shaft so that operator can operate it by foot from
the seat.

49. HM
 Frame or body of the mower :-It support all moving parts
of the mower and provides penings for main
axle,countershaft,crankshaft as well as also provides space
for gears ,clutch and bearings.
 Transport wheels-The transport wheel transmit power to
the cutter bar knife.It is so arranged that when the wheel
move forward the rachet and powl(gear box mechanism)
mechanism comes into play to drive the main axle.
 Auxillary parts:-In tractor drawn mower hand liver is
provided to regulate,and adjust the cutter bar height as
well as stopping and starting of mower in action from
operator seat.Similarly in animal drawn mower foot lift is
provided so that the cutter bar can be raised when turning
at corners or to avoid obstructions.A hand liver is also
provided to adjust the height of cut.

50. HM
• Rotary Mower:-These are the mowers which have knives rotating
about a substantially vertical spindle.Rotary mowers mostly are
used in lawn or orchard to cut grass to maintain the lawn,orchard
and play ground.Rotary mowers are of two types:-
 Drum type mowers:- These are driven from the top by a shaft and
gears or V-belts having numbers of rotary blades or knives moving
inside the drums.Drum mowers with 3-4 double edges blades or
knives carriers are of single drums or double or multi drums with
more coverage of grass cutting areas in a single operation.
 Disc mowers:- Disc mowers are smaller in size than drum mowers.
Rotating discs with sharp serrated cutting edges are fitted with
vertical spindle.When disc rotate with high speed the cutting action
take place with serrated edge of the disc.

51. Cutter bar mower

52. Cutter bar mower/reaper

53. Mini type cutter bar reaper

54. Rice crop ready for harvesting

55. combine

57. Rotary drum mower

58. Front mounted cutter bar mower

59. Cutter knife assembly

61. Parts of cutter bar

62. Lawn mower(Rotary type)

63. Front and side mounted rotary mower

64. Hand tractor mounted cutter bar mower

65. Front side mounted reaper/mower

66. Front mounted multy drum Rotary
Mower

67. HM
• Reapers:-The working principle of reapers is same as like cutter
bar mowers.Reapers are used to harvest cereal crops like rice and
wheat.The size of machine varies from 1.8-2.1 meter depending
upon the size of a prime mowers.They are mostly power tiller
operated as well as tractor operated and self propelled reapers
powered by 6 hp diesel engine.The cutter bar receives power
from that engine for crop harvesting operation.Reaper consists of
a cutter bar,crop row divider called reel and conveyor belt,star
wheel etc. The reel direct the crop towards cutter bar where it is
cut.The star wheel lift the cut crops up and turn it at 90 degree.

68. Front mounted cutter bar reaper

69. Mostly the reaper are mounted on front, rear but side
as well as mid side of tractors or hand tractors. The
tractor front mounted machine s having cutter bar
length of 1.9-2.1 meter are operated at the forward
speed of about 3 km/hr.The cut crops are carried along
by belts to the entire width of machine before being
placed on the ground with reaper winder or without
winder.The reaper have the hydraulic lifting and
lowering mechanism of cutter bar as cutting height
adjustment of crops.Reaper is generally used to cut
plant leaving crop stubble to a height of about 8 cm on
ground.Reapers are available

70. HM
• Harvesting devices for root crops: The harvesting
devices or use of equipments for root crops like potato
diggers or potato harvester,groundnut diggers or
harvester is beneficially increasing trends.
 Potato diggers:- It is realized that in some
circumstances the cost of harvesting of potato
manually is higher than the market price of potato in
terms of commercial potato farming.So it is need to
create a situation of profitable potato farming by the
use of potato farming equipments like potato
planter,potato diggers or potato harvester in case of
large scale potato farming.

71. HM
 Types of potato diggers:-
-Animal drawn potato diggers-single row diggers
-Tractor drawn potato diggers-Double row or multi row diggers
 Potato diggers consists of parts like digger blade,conveyor,shaker
belts ,elevators,graders and other associaries.The ridge bottom
and replaceable bar point share,shovel type share are in common
use in potato digger.The digger share uplift the whole mass of soil
containing potato tubes then passes this mass to conveyor and
shaker belts where seperation of potato tubes from soil takes place
by falling soil mass to ground and conveying the potato tubes
either to fall down to ground surface or to store in container by the
use of elevator.

72. Potato digger

75. Hand tractor operated digger

76. Two row digger

79. digger

81. Potato harvester

83. Potato harvester

84. »Thank you