Philippine E-Journals

Design and Development of a Power-Driven Stripper Harvester with Rethresher and Cleaner

Richard A. Bayona | Alfred K. Gopez | Godofredo C. Salazar

Discipline: Engineering

 

Abstract:

Planted on 147 million hectares globally, rice is the only cereal crop consumed almost entirely by humans, providing 35 to 60 percent of calories on 3.0 billion dinner tables in asia alone. To be at par with the continuing population growth, the flow of improved rice technology should be channeled to the farmers at a more rapid rate and harvest mechanization needs to be given much attention. In the Philippines, stripper harvesting technology is in the process of development. This is potentially a more energy-efficient method of mechanical harvesting whereby the grain from the straw is combed or stripped away, leaving most of the rice straw anchored in the field. A team of researchers from the Mechanical Engineering department of De La Salle University developed a stripper harvester with rethresher and cleaner based on the Stripper Gatherer (SGBOO) design at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) with the advantage of cost, efficiency and degree of portability. The cleaning mechanism of developed unit is currently being improve and the design is being optimized.