PERFORMANCE OF RICE STRAW CHOPPER AND ENVIRONMENT PRESERVATION

Abstract

Crop residues are one of the most critical problems which face the Egyptian farmer specially after harvesting crops such as rice cotton and other different farm crops. Field experiments were conducted at Rice Mechanization center, Meet El – Deeba, Kafr El – Sheikh Governorate during summer season of 2009/2010. The present study was carried out by using a straw chopper to show the effect of straw moisture content (40.0, 25.0, and 15.0 %), machine forward speed (2.0,3.1, and 4.5 km/h) and different cutter head knives speed (23.0, 26.5, 29.5, and 33.0 m/s) on chopping length, machine capacity, chopping efficiency, degree of destruction, energy requirements and unit cost .The results indicated that increase the forward speed from (2.0 to 4.5km/h) tends to increase the chopping length from (14.0 to 17.0mm),machine capacity (1.50 to 1.70 Mg/h), energy required (3.198 to 3.717kW.h/Mg) and unit cost from (5.50 to 7.90 LE/Mg), respectively. Whilst, the increase of cutter head knives speed from (23.0 to 33.0 m/s)tends to decrease the chopping length from (14.0 to 10.5mm) and increase energy required (2.593 to 3.198 kW.h/Mg), chopping efficiency (79.0 to 88.0 %) and degree of destruction (52.0 to 62.0 %), respectively. Also, straw moisture content of 40.0 % gave the highest values of machine capacity, chopping length, chopping efficiency and degree of destruction as follows (1.70Mg/h, 10.5mm, 91.0% and 65.0%, respectively ).