Equipment and machines used in rice harvesting

Surveys carried out by Embrapa show that grain losses at harvest are high and are influenced by several factors, mainly related to the harvesting method and timing, the harvesting equipment operating capacity and the crop.

In irrigated rice fields or floodplains, low ground support makes it difficult for machines to operate. Therefore, the use of adequate equipment is essential to increase productivity, avoid losses and reduce the use of labor in the rice harvest.

But, do you know how technology contributes to obtain better results? What can you do to reduce losses and make processes more efficient? In this article, you will find useful information about the equipment and machines used to harvest rice and tips to improve its production.

How to get better results when harvesting rice

Harvesting is one of the most important stages in the rice production process, as it helps to ensure a quality product and provides a higher yield to the crop.

However, if done poorly, harvesting can lead to grain losses and generate financial losses. According to MAPA estimates , losses from rice plantations reach 22%. Of this total, the majority occurs during harvesting (12.6%), followed by storage (7%) and finally processing (2.4%).

The main factors of losses in the mechanized rice harvesting are those derived from the crop conditions, such as the plants lodging and weeds presence. Crops harvest before the ideal maturity stage affect grain production and the rice commercial quality.

In addition, the inadequate grains humidity, the conservation state, maintenance and machines adjustment and the operator’s lack of preparation are also responsible for the losses.

Discover the machines used to harvest rice

The use of new technologies has made it possible to increase rice production in Brazil, even without increasing the planted area and inputs.

Rice harvesting can be done by three methods:

Manual: cutting, raking, collection and threshers operations are performed manually.

Semi-mechanized: Plants are cut, tangled and collected manually, with a blade, and the thresher is made by a stationary thresher machine.

Mechanized: All operations are carried out by machines.

The main machines involved in this culture are cutters, threshers and harvesting equipment.

* Cutters: Designed for small rice fields, these machines are basically made up of a chassis with a handlebar mounted on two wheels, a motor and a cutting unit and plant collector. Some cutters have a tank for the collected plants, which is emptied from time to time during operation. Others have mechanisms for unloading plants in a row.

* Threshers: They have the function of removing the grains from the rice panicles and separating them from the rest of the plant. The most common rice threshers models have a thresh cylinder with a tangential plant flow. Other models have an axial plant flow impeller. In addition, the threshers are equipped with sieves, a fan and a straw extractor to remove the straw and clean the grains.

* Rice harvesters: They harvest and separate the plants in a single operation. They can be self-propelled or driven by a tractor. They are characterized by having mechanisms for cutting and feeding the plants, threshing, separating, cleaning, transporting and storing grains and other special components to ensure good operation in diverse growing environments, such as flooded.

After harvest, the product is transported, weighed, dried and sent to storage.

Know about how machines help harvest rice

Searching for higher productivity and cost reduction, farmers invest in high-performance agricultural machinery. An equipment that has excelled in rice cultivation is the Roblift Agro. This roll on roll off trailer with mechanical arm attached to a tractor is used for loading, unloading and transporting various products such as cereals, fertilizers, pesticides and machinery.

This multipurpose trailer can operate with several coupled products, such as boxes or dump trucks, machine platform, wooden pallet, cranes, tanks, livestock bodywork, spreaders, among other applications. It is also used in the transport of implements and as a tipper for off-season road maintenance.

The Roblift Agro is used throughout the entire productive period, from soil preparation, sowing, spraying to harvest. It is capable of loading and unloading grains autonomously and agilely, reducing operating time and number of employees involved. For this reason, it is recognized for its versatility and economy.

This roll on roll off equipment can be used as a bulk carrier during harvesting, as a trailer to speed up the fertilizer supply or with the water tank to accompany the spraying. In this way, the farmer can harvest with a single tractor, reducing labor, fuel and maintenance costs.

In irrigated rice paddies or floodplains, the low ground support makes it difficult for machines to operate. To reduce the stuck occurrence, it is necessary to equip them with wide wheels, with a greater contact surface with the ground. Furthermore, harvesting machines should preferably be provided with all-wheel drive.

The Roblift Agro is capable of operating even flooded terrain and hard-to-reach places, where trucks cannot reach, even in raining periods. This is because it has adequate height and comes with extra wide tires (floating tires), which have large contact area with the ground.

“We use this equipment to plant, landfill, with a board to load materials … I use it to transport fertilizer, firewood on the board, the dredge on top of the board, all the landfills in the fields were made with this trailer. We do a lot with it that sometimes a truck can’t, especially in bad weather, on bad roads”, says farmer Luiz Fernando Patella.

Main benefits:

• Maximum tractor use.
• Independent hydraulic system.
• More productivity and efficiency.
• Reaches terrain where the truck cannot.
• Does not damage the soil.
• Preserves the grain integrity.

As we have seen, the equipment and machines used in the rice harvest contribute significantly to facilitating processes, reducing losses and increasing productivity.

Do you want to know more about how Roblift Agro can reduce your costs and optimize your production? Talk to a consultant by clicking here.