Hungary — Wheat Harvest with 11x New Holland Combine harvesters

THE IMPORTANCE OF Wheat Harvesting

The product obtained by wheat harvest has a great importance in the nutrition of our rapidly increasing population of our country. Flour, bulgur, pasta, starch obtained from wheat products in human nutrition; The stems of the wheat plant are used in the paper-cardboard industry and animal nutrition. For this reason, when there is a decrease in wheat production for any reason, both in the world and in our country, both the prices of bread or the prices of foodstuffs made from flour directly affect everyone. For this reason, it is of strategic importance for each country to be sufficient in terms of wheat production and to have enough wheat products in their stocks. Wheat is cultivated on an area of ​​approximately 9.4 million hectares in Turkey, and the production is around 20 million tons, although it changes from year to year. The average yield per decare is around 213 kg.

Considering that an average of 225 kg of wheat is required annually to feed one person in our country, 15.1 million tons of wheat is needed for our 67 million population. In our country, approximately 1.9 million tons of 20 kg seeds are required per decare for wheat planting on an area of ​​approximately 9.4 million hectares each year. Again, if we count the losses in storage and transportation as 3% each year, approximately 0.6 million tons of wheat products are out of use. In summary, we have to produce at least 15.1 + 1.9 + 0.6 = 17.6 million tons of wheat per year for our current population.

Harvesting and threshing of the grown product is one of the most important and enjoyable processes in wheat farming, which has strategic importance for Turkey. Wheat harvest and threshing are carried out in our country in June, July and August. In these months, in some regions, at the beginning of the harvest, harvest festivals and celebrations are held.

Wheat harvesting and threshing are mostly done with combine harvesters in our country and the works are completed in a short time. Harvesting and threshing processes are carried out together with a combine harvester. For this reason, the settings of the combine are very important to reduce grain losses in terms of harvesting and threshing. The front table and mechanism settings of the combines used in faulty, rough terrains where grain losses are the highest, should be done very well, and grain spillage should be kept at a minimum.

In the wheat harvest, besides the combine, in some mountainous regions, harvester ties and threshers (batos) powered by human power from sickles, scythes and tractors are still used. Since much work cannot be done in one day with sickles, scythes and reapers, harvesting processes cannot be completed on time and grain losses increase.

2. THE BEST HARVEST TIME FOR WHEAT

Wheat harvest in Turkey generally starts from Çukurova in the south in the first days of June, intensifies in Thrace and Central Anatolia Regions in July, and ends in the Eastern Anatolia region in August. Harvesting of late sown or late wheat varieties, that is, with a long development period, is done one or two weeks later than the normal and mid-early varieties.

Depending on the air temperature and the earliness of the variety, the wheat plant reaches the harvest to be made with a combine harvester 50-60 days after the flowering following the spike. When the wheat plants are harvested with a combine, the stems, leaves and ears of the plant take on the color of yellow straw, and the humidity rate in the spike and grain decreases below 12%.

It is very important to determine the time of wheat harvest well for reducing grain losses and product quality. Harvesting early causes the grains to be wrinkled and pale. Because if the ears and grains are harvested early before they dry out, the quality of the immature grains decreases, the grains are difficult to separate from the spike and spike husk, and it is necessary to dry the product due to high humidity. In the late harvest, depending on the characteristics of the variety, grain shedding in the spike, lying on the plant due to precipitation and wind, and germination in some varieties can be seen in the grain in the spike. 2-3 days delay in wheat harvest causes 2-3% decrease in grain yield per decare.

At harvest, the humidity ratio of the wheat ears should be between 11-12%. The higher humidity of the grains necessitates drying after harvest. Delaying the harvest too much causes bird damage, spike breakage, color change in grains, darkening and significant grain shedding, thus reducing the yield per decare. Symptoms showing that the plants in the wheat field have reached the harvest period:

In the wheat field, the ears should turn golden yellow.

The grains in the spikes should be hard, not crushed when pressed with nails, and should be dry.

The stem, leaves, spike and grains of the plant must be completely dry.

When we pluck the spike and rub it in our hands, the grains should easily separate from the spikelet husks.

The brothers in the spike should also come to the harvest, the wheat plants in the whole field should dry out uniformly during the harvest.

3. IT CAN BE TAKEN TO REDUCE GRAIN LOSSES AT HARVEST

MEASURES

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