FAISALABAD:The agriculture experts urged rice growers to adopt careful harvesting, threshing and drying practices to minimize grain losses, preserve rice quality and secure better market prices as improper handling and excessive moisture can cause discoloration, fungal growth and deterioration in the quality of paddy.
A spokesman for the Agriculture (Extension) Department said here on Tuesday that the farmers should spread tarpaulins or large sheets on the ground during threshing to prevent rice grains from mixing with soil and going to waste. They should harvest only as much paddy as can be threshed on the same day to avoid unnecessary delays and protect the quality of the produce, he added.
He advised the growers to cover heaps of threshed paddy with tarpaulins or straw at night to protect the grains from dew and moisture. The produce should subsequently be transported to the market as soon as possible.
In case of delay in transportation, the farmers should uncover the heaps during day time to allow proper ventilation. Otherwise, moisture trapped inside the heaps may generate heat, causing an unpleasant smell and changes in grain color which can adversely affect the quality of rice and reduce its market price, he added.
He said that approximately 10 to 15 percent of paddy-growing area was harvested manually as the farmers often attempt to cut and store as much of the crop as possible before arranging collective threshing. However, delay in threshing after harvesting can adversely affect the quality and recovery of rice, he added.
He emphasized that recovery of the whole rice grains increases when the paddy was threshed soon after harvesting. This practice also helps save the grain from breaking during milling. Therefore, the farmers should avoid unnecessary delay between harvesting and threshing, he added.
He also cautioned the growers against mechanical harvesting when delays in cutting had reduced the grain moisture content below 18 percent. The farmers should assess the moisture level before deciding on the harvesting method to avoid compromising the quality of the produce, he added.
To prevent mixing of different rice varieties, the spokesman stressed that harvesting machinery must be thoroughly cleaned after completing the harvesting of one variety and before moving on to another. Such precautions were imperative to maintain varietal purity and ensure production of quality rice, he added.
Highlighting the importance of post-harvest management, he said that the paddy must be dried properly and carefully immediately after threshing to obtain high-quality rice.
At the time of harvesting, the paddy generally contains around 20 to 22 percent moisture, which can encourage fungal growth during storage and lead to discoloration if the crop is not dried appropriately, he added.
He stressed that temperature of rice grains during drying must not exceed 48 degrees Celsius while the recommended temperature range was 40 to 43 degrees Celsius.
He advised the farmers to dry paddy gradually and in intervals rather than subjecting it to continuous and excessive heat. The interval between successive drying sessions should not be less than 12 hours, allowing the grains to stabilize and preventing uneven moisture loss, he added.
He said that the farmers should also leave the paddy exposed to air for at least 12 hours to ensure that moisture levels become uniform throughout the grains before further handling or storage.
Proper drying and moisture management would help preserve grain color, improve milling quality and reduce the risk of deterioration during storage, he added.
The spokesman also urged the farmers to avoid burning paddy crop residues after harvesting, stressing that setting fire to agricultural residues was a punishable offence.
He called upon the growers to adopt environmentally responsible methods of managing crop residues instead of burning them in fields.
Careful harvesting, timely threshing, appropriate drying, clean machinery and safe storage practices were imperative to minimize post-harvest losses, maintain rice quality and help farmers obtain better returns from their produce, he added.