Evaluations of Cereal Combine Harvester Head Attachment for Harvesting of Sunflower and Comparison with Conventional Harvesting Methods

In Iran, more than 50,000 hectares of sunflowers (oil and nuts) are cultivated annually. Conventional grain combine harvesters are not compatible with the unique characteristics of sunflowers, leading to significant grain losses during harvesting. Therefore, it is currently being harvested manually. Manual harvesting increases labor hardships, energy and time consumption, and production costs. In this research, to harvest sunflower seeds, modifications were made on conventional head of a combine harvester (John deer 1055) to allow simultaneous harvesting, threshing, and cleaning of the sunflower seeds. After designing and fabricating the accessory, the improved head in field conditions was evaluated and compared with conventional harvesting methods. The field evaluation of the improved head was based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments involved three different harvesting methods: 1) using a modified combine head, 2) employing a combine equipped with pan attachment, and 3) manual harvesting. In each of the machine treatments, beating and cleaning units were set up for sunflower harvest. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the treatments concerning machine losses, field capacity, and harvesting costs, all at the 5% significance level. In the modified combine, combine with pans attachment, and manual method, combine losses were 0.72, 4.85, and 6%, and field capacity was 1.2, 1.13, and 0.12 ha h-1, respectively. The profit-to-cost ratio was 13.97, 13.3, and 3.01, respectively. The grain breakage percentage was 3, 3.3, and 0.56, respectively. According to the results, due to lower losses, appropriate field capacity, and lower harvesting costs, the use of John deer 1055 combine with the modified head is recommended for harvesting of the sunflower.