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Post Harvest Equipment: Shaping Modern Farming Practices
Farming goes beyond crop cultivation and includes processing, preservation, and selling these crops to markets and consumers. Post-harvest activities are crucial because they decide whether crops remain in good condition or reach consumers in a consumable state.
Applying post-harvest equipment significantly facilitates the integration of activities and eliminates losses, so farming becomes efficient. The blog discusses the uses of post-harvest equipment and its contribution to modern agriculture.
Understanding Post-Harvest Equipment
Post-harvesting equipment refers to machines used on crops after harvesting. These include cleaning, sorting, grading, drying, storage, processing, packaging, and transport tools. By using these machines, farmers can maintain the quality of fresh produce, increase shelf life, and limit wastage.
Tractors, equipped with compatible post-harvest attachments, play a pivotal role in modern agriculture by powering machines like threshers, harvesters, and trolleys. They are instrumental in towing heavy equipment for cleaning, grading, and processing crops on or off the field. Grain dryers, connected to tractors in remote areas without direct power supply, prevent spoilage due to high moisture content.
In today’s competitive agricultural landscape, tractors and post-harvest equipment form the backbone of efficient farm operations, paving the way for modernisation and long-term profitability.
Primary Use of Post-Harvest Equipment
There are a few primary uses of Post-harvest equipment listed below:
1. Cleaning and Washing
Crops are often covered with dirt, debris, and impurities during harvesting. Cleaning machinery like washers, blowers, and brushes eliminates all impurities in the product. For instance, carrots and potatoes need automated washing machines to prepare them for sorting and packing.
2. Sorting & Grading
Sorting machines classify the crops according to size, weight, and colour. This is essential in ensuring uniformity and quality, which goes a long way toward determining market prices.
Grading equipment distinguishes produce only to ensure the highest quality reaches the market.
3. Drying
Food with high moisture content, such as grains, pulses, and seeds, can spoil. Drying equipment, such as mechanical or solar dryers, minimises moisture levels, making the stored products last longer. Paddy drying machines are commonly used because they keep the rice from mould.
4. Threshing
Threshers separate grains from husks and straws, significantly reducing the associated labour force for crops such as wheat, rice, and maise. The modern thresher is fitted with dust-reducing systems and is environmentally friendly.
5. Milling & Hulling
Milling machines break down grains into finer flour or forms that can be easily used. Hulling separates the husk from grains like rice. These machines can increase yield and also produce better-quality end products.
6. Packaging
Packaging equipment seals are produced with proper materials to avoid moisture, pests, and physical damage. These include vacuum packaging machines for perishable commodities like fruits and vegetables.
7. Storage
Storage is an essential step of post-harvest handling. Storage equipment like silos, cold storage units, and hermetic bags ensures crops remain fresh for an extended period. For high-intensity farming, grain silos that are temperature and humidity-controlled will be needed.
8. Transportation
After being processed and packaged, crops must be moved to market or storage locations. Transport equipment used in this process includes conveyor belts and automated loaders.
Refrigerated trucks are the standard transport vehicles for perishable products such as dairy, meat, and fruits.
9. Processing
Processing is the process of changing the raw crop into a finished product. Processing equipment includes fruit juice extractors, spice grinders, and oil seed extractors. This process increases the monetary value of agricultural products while providing more money to farmers from their crop harvests.
10. Control of Pests & Diseases
Fumigation equipment and other pest control apparatus are necessary to prevent infestation of stored produce by insects and rodents. These allow vast crops to be free of contaminants during storage and transportation.
Advantages of Post-Harvest Machinery
Post Harvest Machinery comes with a lot of advantages such as:
1. Fewer Losses
In the crop, post-harvest loss may be as low as 15% or as high as 50%. Dryers, threshers, and silos would significantly reduce these losses.
2. Quality Improvement
Automation will eliminate all possibilities of human errors during sortation, grading, and packaging, thus ensuring uniform quality.
3. Effective Labour
The farmer can do other important things with most of the post-harvest machine work taken off humans’ hands.
4. Better Market Price
Well-sorted, cleaned, and packaged produce commands a better price in the domestic and international markets.
5. Sustainability
Some contemporary farm equipment has been designed to be energy-friendly and not very harmful to the environment; hence, it emits limited carbon during operation.
Post-Harvest Most Common Equipment
There are a few of Post-Harvest’s most common equipment that you need to know to stay informed:
- Combine harvesters- It bundles reaping, threshing, and winnowing.
- Grain dryers: This dries grains and removes most of their moisture to stop them from getting spoiled
- Cold storage units: Refrigerated facility for perishable products.
- Packaging machines: Vacuum and automatic sealers are used to protect the produce.
- Processing units: Converts raw produce into value-added products like jams, oils, or powders.
Challenges Using Post-Harvest Equipment
The challenges of using post-harvest equipment are given below:
- Delocalised Purchase Costs: Post-harvest modern equipment can be costly to small-scale farmers.
- Lack of Information: Farmers’ knowledge of the benefits and availability of post-harvest equipment could be improved.
- Maintenance Aspect: The machines require constant maintenance, which could be difficult to attain even in remote locations.
- Dependence on Energy Sources: Some equipment requires electricity or fuel, which may need to be improved in the rural setup.
Future Trends in Post-Harvest Equipment
Future Trends in Post- Harvest Equipment are given below,
- Innovative Technology: IoT and AI technology will be combined with equipment, enabling real-time monitoring and readjustments.
- Affordable Options: Innovations with minimal costs are being developed for more minor and marginal farmers, and robotics is being used to achieve better accuracy in grading and packing.
- Sorting and Grading: Robotic sorting and grading ensure accuracy and efficiency in the packing.
Conclusion
Post-harvest equipment has revolutionised the agricultural sector by improving efficiency, reducing waste, and ensuring better market access for farmers. With such challenges in adoption, technology advances and growing awareness are closing this gap. The right post-harvest tools are critical to their investment, as these help significantly improve profitability and sustainability in farming operations.
With the continued evolution of farming, the role of post-harvest equipment is bound to gain more importance in heralding a new era of agricultural innovation.