Design and development of a prototype, small plot research harvesting system

Abstract

It has been estimated that the cost of black point damage for the Australian wheat industry are up to 50 million dollars each year in down-graded wheat. Similarly in barley, the loss of income for the farmer in the down-graded barley can be in-excess of 50 dollars per tonne. Currently a research project which involves the DPI& F in Toowoomba, Queensland, have discovered that the traditional explanation for black point may not be correct. To achieve this task the DPI& F plant small plots of wheat and barley each year and manage the crop to induce conditions favorable to black point in an aim to try and determine the resistance of each variety to black point. To achieve this task the DPI& F plant small plots of wheat and barley each year and manage the crop to induce conditions favorable to black point. Due to the small size of the plots and the large number of them, harvesting the trials becomes inefficient and expensive. This project is aimed at increasing the efficiency of the harvesting of the trial plots. In doing this the project will aim at mechanizing the cutting and thrashing process into one simple portable device. The system that has been designed features a beater type thrashing system where the grain is thrashed while still on the plant.