Design, Development and Evaluation of Baling Attachment with Self-Propelled Combine Harvester

Paddy cultivation is practiced in about 3.17 Mha in Punjab, generating more than 22 Mt of paddy straw. To curb the practice of paddy residue burning, better straw management strategy is needed. A baling attachment with the self-propelled combine harvester was designed, developed and evaluated for baling of loose straw, which enabled simultaneous harvesting and baling operation of rice straw. The developed baling attachment with self- propelled combine harvester consisted of a rectangular baler with a rear cover attached to it and a flat belt conveyor system for conveying the loose paddy residue from the straw walkers to the baler feeder system. Two types of paddy varieties (PR 126, PR 122), two levels of forward speed (F1=2.0 and F2=2.5 km h-1) and three levels of belt conveyor speed (B1=1.15, B2=1.40 and B3=1.50 m s-1) were selected for the study. The mean straw walker loss (1.44%) and mean sieve loss (0.39%) were higher for paddy variety PR 122 compared to paddy variety PR 126 with 1.41% mean straw walker loss and 0.36% mean sieve loss. It was due to higher loose straw load of paddy variety PR 122 (6.0-6.5 t ha-1) as compared to paddy variety PR 126 (5.0-5.5 t ha-1). The forward speed F2 resulted in higher mean straw walker loss (1.45%) and mean sieve loss (0.43%) as compared to forward speed F1 with 1.39% mean straw walker loss and 0.32% mean sieve loss. The highest mean straw walker loss (1.45%) occurred at B3 with no significant effect on sieve loss. The mean fuel consumption for paddy varieties PR 122 and PR 126 was 25.60 and 24.68 l ha-1 respectively, while at forward speeds of F1 (2.5 km h-1) and F2 (2.0 km h-1), the mean fuel consumption was 23.24 and 27.03 l ha-1, respectively. The mean effective field capacity was 0.64 ha h-1 at forward speed F1 and 0.47 ha h-1 at F2. The best operational parameters based on minimum straw walker and sieve loss were F1B1, F1B2 and F1B3 while F2B1, F2B2 and F2B3 were optimal based on less fuel consumption and higher field capacity. The baling attachment enabled efficient paddy residue management for zero-till wheat drilling.