A combined machine for collecting and chopping rice straw

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Engineering
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Livestock Management

Background:

• Rising global livestock feed prices necessitate alternative feed sources.
• Sustainable management practices promote the use of agricultural byproducts like rice straw.
• Farmers require efficient methods to process rice straw for ruminant consumption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and construct a combined machine for collecting and chopping rice straw.
• To optimize the machine's performance for producing ruminant-preferred straw lengths.
• To evaluate the machine's efficiency, energy consumption, and cost-effectiveness.

Main Methods:

• Developed a combined machine with picking, chopping, and takeout units.
• Conducted field experiments with varying forward speeds, elevator velocities, and chopping knife speeds.
• Evaluated performance metrics including collecting efficiency, field capacity, chopping quality, and specific energy consumption.

Main Results:

• Achieved a highest field capacity of 0.24 ha/h and collecting efficiency of 95.30% at 2.2 km/h forward speed, 1.10 m/s elevator velocity, and 2400 rpm chopping speed.
• Attained optimal chopping quality of 95% at 1.3 km/h forward speed, 0.79 m/s elevator velocity, and 2400 rpm chopping speed.
• Demonstrated a 49.84% reduction in total operating cost compared to traditional methods.

Conclusions:

• The combined machine offers an efficient and cost-effective solution for processing rice straw as ruminant feed.
• Optimized operating parameters allow for balancing field capacity and chopping quality.
• This technology supports sustainable livestock farming by utilizing agricultural residues.