Rice Cultivation: Post Production, Harvesting And Drying

In many developing countries, 25 to 50 percent of the total value of the grain is lost between harvest and consumption, mainly due to poor storage techniques, wastage at the farm level, and processing. This leads to lower income for farmers and higher prices for buyers. Additionally, there is pressure on farmers to increase production levels in order to achieve higher rice yields and they end up using more land and fertilizer, causing massive damage to natural resources. This article is intended to teach you how to minimize grain losses and maintain rice quality over longer storage periods.

Step 1: Post Production Management

Post production management is all about how to handle the rice; from the time it is harvested to the time it is sold. Various processes such as cutting, hauling, cleaning and commercialization of rice, etc. They are involved. It is especially important because it prevents both qualitative and quantitative losses, and with poor post-production management, you are likely to lose up to 50% of your total yield.

Step 2: Harvest

This is simply a process of gathering the ripe crop from the field; in our case, rice. Harvesting begins with the crop being cut and ends after it has been prepared for drying. It implies:

– Court

– Field drying

– Haul

– Stacking

– threshing

– Cleaning

– Packaging (to send it further for drying)

Harvesting at the right time ensures that you get the maximum yield, decreasing quality decay. However, there are certain physical losses that one has to face during harvesting operations. These are loosely based on the operations and machinery used during the harvest. These losses:

– Occurs during cutting

– Occur during threshing and

– Occurs during grain handling.

To minimize, it is important that you measure the losses in each harvest operation and work on it.

Step 3: Drying

The most critical operation after the harvest is complete, drying reduces the moisture content of the grain to a safe level ideal for longer storage. Moisture-laden grain is prone to discoloration, mold development, and pest infestation. It also reduces the germination rate of the seed, which lowers the overall quality of the grain. It happens when you:

– Wait too long before starting to dry

– Don’t dry it enough, whatever your purpose

– Incorrect techniques

Ideally, you should start drying within 24 hours of harvesting. Grains must be dried to different moisture contents (MC) for different purposes.

– 14% or less MC to store up to a few months

– 13% or less MC to store for 8 to 12 months

– 9% or less for storing more than one year

Drying Techniques:

– Traditional systems: Sun drying, field drying and stacking

– Mechanical systems: Hot air drying, low temperature drying, solar drying and grain cooling