Multi-Crop Thresher

A multi-crop thresher is a tractor-PTO driven threshing drum coupled to a cleaning shoe, designed to handle multiple crops by changing the concave sieve (the "jaali") and adjusting drum-to-concave clearance. It is used in regions where a Combine Harvester Paddy is uneconomic or unsuitable, or where the crop is hand-reaped first.

Function

The cut crop is fed into a rasp-bar or spike-tooth drum that rotates against a curved concave. Threshing rubs the grain from the panicle and the grain falls through the concave; straw exits at the rear. An oscillating sieve and aspirator separate clean grain from chaff and broken straw.

Design and specifications

The drive is the tractor PTO. Crops handled include wheat, paddy, sorghum, pearl millet, pulses, castor and groundnut, with the appropriate concave fitted for each. Field test reports issued by FMTTI Budni and the regional FMTTI Lucknow record throughput of 4-15 quintals per hour depending on crop, drum size and clearance.

Operation

Safety requirements are governed by BIS IS 9020 (Power Threshers - Safety Requirements), which prescribes guards on feed chutes, drive belts and threshing cylinders, plus mandatory cautionary labels. The 2002 amendment underlines guard integrity. Feeding is by hand or by feeding conveyor; the operator must never push grain into the feed throat with hands or feet.

Subsidy and adoption

The implement is SMAM-subsidy eligible when sourced from a registered dealer (Agri Machinery Dealer Ecosystem) and accompanied by a valid FMTTI test report. CHC and FMB models commonly include a multi-crop thresher alongside a Scaleless Baler and a Combine Harvester Paddy.

References

IS 9020 Power Threshers - Safety Requirements. Bureau of Indian Standards.
Multi-Crop Thresher FMTTI Test Report 420. FMTTI Lucknow.