Effect of Moisture Content on Combine Harvested Seed Crop and its Quality

Abstract

The moisture content during harvesting significantly influences post-harvest losses, encompassing factors that collectively diminish both the quantity and quality of agricultural produce. These factors involve pre-harvest sprouting, mechanical damages and susceptibility to diseases at post-harvest. To mitigate the risks associated with excessive moisture, farmers have to employ proper harvesting techniques such as using a combine harvester. The combine harvester proves invaluable by efficient harvesting, threshing and winnowing various crops like rice, corn, wheat, sunflower and pulses directly in the field. This streamlined process not only saves time and reduces the need for human labour but also lowers overall work costs for farmers. Additionally, the utilization of these machines enhances agricultural productivity, ensuring a more efficient harvesting process and contributing to greater profitability in farming practices. Consequently, effective moisture content management becomes essential for minimizing losses and preserving seed quality. A multipurpose nature of a combine harvester minimizes the need for manual labour in harvesting, leading to a reduction in workforce requirements, time expenditure and effort. Consequently, this enhances overall productivity. The objective of the present review is to describe the effect of moisture content on crop, machine and operational parameters on seed quality of combine harvested crops and discussed the effect of moisture content on mechanical damage of combine harvested seed crop and its germination potential and seedling vigour.