Determination of the Mechanical Properties of Wheat Straw for Equipment Design

Harvesting wheat grains require that the plant be cut from the stem and threshed. When the stem (straw) of the wheat bend due to pest and other factors, losses are incurred during harvesting. To minimize losses, breeders have developed pest-resistant wheat (solid stemmed) as compared to the hollow stemmed. The solid stemmed varieties may lead to higher straw strength and energy requirement which consequently will result in higher harvesting cost. Also, farmers are faced with the challenge of increased cost of transporting the straw outside the farm due to their high volume. Further compression of the straw can reduced this cost. The research project sets to investigate the mechanical properties of wheat straw varieties (solid and hollow stemmed) at various moisture and stem height for similarities and differences to help the sponsor (CNH) develop new equipment or improve existing equipment that can harvest agricultural residues and meet farmer’s demand.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lope Tabil

Student:

Uduak Edet

Partner:

CNH Canada. Ltd.

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

University of Saskatchewan