Page 24 - Agriculture Form Two

Agriculture for Secondary Schools

Criteria for harvesting crops

Various crops are harvested at different times or stages. Harvesting at the proper
time or stage is crucial to prevent crop loss, possibly due to various reasons, such
as too early or late harvesting. These losses may be caused by pests, shattering
and other sorts of deterioration. The harvesting of a given crop is determined by
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various criteria, including:

(a) Quantity and quality of economic part: The economic part can be the leaf,
grain, root, stem, or other parts, depending on the crop type. The crop will
be harvested when the desired product is of maximum quality and quantity.
(b) Intended use of the product: Based on utilisation, the economic part of the
product may be the same, but it may be desirable to harvest in different
conditions, for example, in a fresh or dry state. Depending on the intended
use, crops such as maize, common bean, pigeon pea, and cowpea may be
harvested fresh or dry. Thus, the economic purpose of growing the crop
determines when the ideal harvest time is to harvest the desired produce.

(c) Post-harvesting storage: Most harvested produce, especially legumes and
cereal grains, requires drying before storage. Otherwise, if harvested at
improper moisture content, the produce may deteriorate in storage facilities.

Methods of harvesting crops

Depending on the crop type, associated cost, and labour availability, several
traditional and modern methods can be employed to harvest produce.

(a) Hand Harvesting: Hand harvesting uses simple tools and has some relative
advantages over using machines. Hand harvesting can be used for different
crops with varying maturity times. People can accurately determine product
quality, allowing accurate selection of mature produce. This is particularly
important for crops with a wide range of maturity and must be harvested
several times during the season. However, hand harvesting is labour-
intensive and time-consuming.
(b) Mechanical Harvesting: This is the modern method of harvesting, for
example, using machines like combine harvesters. The advantages of this
method are that harvesting is done fast and reduces management problems
associated with manual harvesting. However, mechanical harvesting requires
that the crop must be grown in a manner that makes mechanical harvesting
possible.

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