Mechanical Harvesting of Castor Bean ( Ricinus communis L.) with a Combine Harvester Equipped with Two Different Headers: A Comparison of Working Performance

Walter Stefanoni, Francesco Latterini, Valantis Malkogiannidis, Vlasis Salpiggidis, Efthymia Alexopoulou and Luigi Pari
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Walter Stefanoni: Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Francesco Latterini: Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Valantis Malkogiannidis: Bios Agrosystem SM SA, Koutso, 67064 Xanthi, Greece
Vlasis Salpiggidis: Bios Agrosystem SM SA, Koutso, 67064 Xanthi, Greece
Efthymia Alexopoulou: Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving, Marathonos Avenue, 19009 Pikermi, Greece
Luigi Pari: Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-10

Abstract: Castor bean ( Ricinus communis L.) is a promising industrial crop suitable for cultivation in marginal conditions in the Mediterranean area, but the mechanical harvesting of the seeds is still usually performed manually. In this manuscript, the authors present a preliminary test to assess the effectiveness of equipping a combine harvester with a sunflower header to mechanically harvest castor beans. Machinery performance, seed loss from impact (ISL) and cleaning systems (CSL), and seed cleaning were evaluated and compared with the results obtained from the same combine harvester equipped with a cereal header. According to the results, no statistically significant difference in CSL was found. Values ranged from 162. 41 kg dry matter (DM) ha ?1 in the cereal header to 145.56 kg DM ha ?1 in the sunflower header, corresponding, respectively, to 8% w / w and 7% w / w of the potential seed yield (PSY). Using the sunflower header significantly lowered ISL (158.16 kg DM ha ?1 , i.e., 8% w / w of PSY) in comparison with the cereal header (282.02 kg DM ha ?1 , i.e., 14% w / w of PSY). This suggests more gentle cutting and conveying capability of the sunflower header to harvest the plants without losing capsules. On the other hand, the use of different headers did not significantly affect the cleaning of the seeds which averaged at 20% of the total seeds collected in both cases. In conclusion, the study highlights that a conventional combine harvester equipped with a sunflower header could be the first step towards the development of a fully mechanized harvest phase in castor beans which triggers lower seed loss and does not negatively affect the cleaning capacity of the combine harvester. Further studies are also encouraged to confirm these findings in other hybrids.

Keywords: combine harvester; supply chain; seed loss; working performance; dehulling; castor bean (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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