Reduce farm costs, eliminate weed seeds

The problem of the dispersion and expansion of weed populations in the world has become a continuous problem due to the intensification of agricultural crop cultivation operations in all seasons and even the cultivation of many plants outside the specific growing season of those plants.

Green Agricultural News; The problem of the dispersion and expansion of weed populations in the world, due to the intensification of agricultural crop cultivation operations in all seasons and even the cultivation of many plants outside the specific growing season of those plants, has become a continuous problem, so much so that for the cultivation of any crop, we must first think about combating weeds, because these plants are capable of completely destroying a crop.

In addition to the expansion of the weed population, another problem is the resistance of some of these weeds to herbicides, because plants such as species of wild cockscomb are no longer sensitive to chemical herbicides.

One of the main The operation of preparing the land for cultivation at the beginning of agricultural activities is to clear the land of weeds remaining after harvesting the crop, as well as weeds that grow in it when the land is abandoned.

In most cases, farmers remove some of these weeds or their remains from the land by plowing such lands and some agricultural operations, but a point that is less paid attention to is the seeds of these weeds that are spilled on the ground and are transported throughout the field and even outside it by tools.

After re-growing, these seeds cause disturbance to the main cultivation and cause great costs in their disposal, so farmers at different stages, especially during the harvest of crops such as cereals They should prevent the spread of weed seeds whenever possible.

One of the factors that contribute to the development of weeds is the intensification of cultivation in all seasons, but the implementation of these cultivations requires machines and equipment that enter the field several times, from the time of land preparation to the stages of planting, tending and harvesting, and play a fundamental role in the movement and spread of seeds and aerial and terrestrial organs of weeds to places far from the field.

Transportation of weed seeds by clods whose seeds are stuck in the mud and mud of tractor wheels or in harvesting machines and millions of seeds by combines and... Each in turn contributes to the spread of weeds.

With the increasing pressure and resistance of some weeds such as Kochia and Waterhemp from the cockscomb family to herbicides, the importance of reducing the dispersion of weed seeds as much as possible has become a must.

Harvesting machines such as various types of combines move in the fields at the peak of weed seeding time and scatter these seeds around.

A few tips for cleaning the combine from weed seeds

Move the auger for at least one minute after harvesting outside the field. Open the grain elevator and grain separator doors completely. Do this outside the field and at a distance.

Start the combine and the grain separator and turn the "fan" on at maximum speed.

Run all moving parts of the combine at maximum speed for at least two minutes to remove any seeds and weed limbs.

Remove any material left in the "clod catcher" section. Clean the back of the header.
Clean any straw, stubble, and debris from the internal paths of the combine.
When starting work on another field, no waste should be transferred to that location.
To completely clean the combine parts, an air compressor can be used to clean all the harvesting paths and compartments.
The parts of the combine that hold the most biological and living residues and additives; These include: header, crop path and hopper.
If there is not enough time to clean all the parts contaminated with possible weed seeds, it is better to clean these three parts.
One area that is difficult to clean completely is the location of the discharge auger at the bottom of the hopper, from where such materials can be removed with a vacuum cleaner.

In addition to cleaning the combine outside the field, there are two other important points:

First: If there are weeds such as cockscomb in the field, it is better to carefully harvest them as much as possible and destroy them outside the field before the combine enters.

Second: If there are a large number of Skip harvesting weeds at one point or hand-pick the crop before the combine arrives and remove that point.