Preliminary assessment of grain losses for paddy combine harvester in koperasi felcra Seberang Perak, Malaysia

Abstract

Paddy is an essential plant in Malaysia that is at risk of being lost during harvesting. This study was investigated the grain loss of the paddy during harvesting process by using combine harvester. The research was conducted at Felcra Seberang Perak, Malaysia. The data collection attempted to investigate the percentage of grain losses during harvesting season. The collected data contain of area (acre/hectare) for three blocks of paddy for three lines. It was done with two blocks, which involve a three line and a require five PVC measuring pipe for each panel. The New Holland with the same brand was determining the speed which affects the losses grain with two blocks. According to the results, the average percentage of grain losses in the Block 1 was 1.08% and Block 2 was 1.21%. The percentage of the grain losses in the Block 1 was higher than Block 2 which contribute to the loss of USD29.26 per hectrare. These results show that the farmers loss a lot during harvesting operation which leads to lower the profit.