Investigation of efficiency factors in threshing of cumin

• Main Authors: Sa`idi Rad, Mohammad Hossein, Mahdi Niya, A`bbas, Kazem Zadeh, Javad, Javadi, Arzhang
• Format: Publication
• Language: Persian
• Published: Karaj (Iran) Agricultural Engineering Research Institute 2009
• Subjects: BATTAGE; BATTEUSE; COMINO; COSECHA; CUMIN; CUMINUM CYMINUM; EPICE; EQUIPO DE LA EXPLOTACION AGRARIA; ESPECIAS; FARM EQUIPMENT; HARVESTING; IRAN ISLAMIC REPUBLIC; IRAN REPUBLICA ISLAMICA; IRAN REPUBLIQUE ISLAMIQUE; Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center; MAQUINARIA POSTCOSECHA; MATERIEL AGRICOLE; MATERIEL D'APRES RECOLTE; POSTHARVEST EQUIPMENT; RECOLTE; SPICES; THRESHERS; THRESHING; TRILLA; TRILLADORAS

Cumin is an annual plant and suitable for dry and semi-dry lands. Cumin harvests at two stages that prevent the seed shedding. Initial stage cumin bushes pickup using hand or scythe. After drying, cumin bushes beat with a stick or cross of animal and small tractor over them for threshing. This harvesting method is time-consuming and labor intensive and incomplete threshing as a result loss of crop, decreasing of quality and increasing of pollution. In order to find the thresher parameters, the research accomplished in Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center at 2008. In this research, effect of variables (moisture content, type of drum, drum speed, feed rate and space between drum and concave) studied on parameters (weight percent of separated and not separated seed, shattered stems, powdered seed and requirement power for threshing) using randomized complete block design. The results showed that weight percent of not separated seed increased from 7.15% to 9.61% by increasing in moisture content from 7% to 13%. Increasing moisture content decreased weight percent of powdered seed significantly. With increasing speed of drum from 700 to 900 RPM, the amount of not separated seed decrease and shattered stems and powdered seed increase. There was not significantly effect on weight percent of separated by type of drum and not separated seed, but effect of this variable on shattered stems and powdered seed was significantly, from this viewpoint rub bar drum better than rasp bar drum.