PhilRice develops new harvesting machines
Agricultural engineers of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) have developed two new machines that could harvest rice faster and cheaper. These are the two-in-one panicle thresher-corn sheller and the improved PhilRice rotary reaper.
The panicle thresher threshes rice panicles and cleans the grains in one operation. Dr. Reynaldo Castro, branch manager of PhilRice Batac, said it can thresh and clean 350 kilos (kg) or seven cavans of rice grains per hour, using one-half liter of gasoline.
An earlier pedal or motor operated thresher could thresh only 50–100 kg of palay per hour and the grains are not yet clean. Thus, faster threshing plus clean grains as an output of the panicle thresher enable farmers to save on cost of harvesting.
Moreover, its panicle threshing drum can be easily replaced with another drum for corn shelling. The machine can shell 491 kg of corn without husk and 253 kg of corn with husk per hour at an average grain loss of only 3.7 – 4.4 percent.
The machine is ready for commercial release in the Ilocos Region and Cagayan Valley, said Reynold Caoili, an agricultural engineer who participated in its development. Its cost of P35,000 could be paid back in 1.5 years.
The improved PhilRice rotary reaper is especially important to hybrid rice and Ilocos farmers who want their rice stalks cut close to the ground. The machine combines the features of two previously released reaper models, according to PhilRice deputy director Dr. Eulito U. Bautista and Arnold Juliano.
The improved rotary reaper can harvest two ha/day with a minimal grain loss of one-to-two percent. The cutting height can be adjusted from five to 25 cm, depending on the requirement of the farmer.
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