1.8 Harvesting

Submitted by superadmin on 6 May, 2023 - 22:17

NCERT Class 8 Science Textbook for Blind Students made Screen Readable by Dr T K Bansal.

Harvesting of a crop is an important task. The cutting of crop after it is mature is called harvesting. In harvesting, crops are pulled out or cut close to the ground. It usually takes 3 to 4 months for a cereal crop to mature. Harvesting in our country is either done manually by sickle (Figure 1.7) or by a machine called harvester. In the harvested crop, the grain seeds need to be separated from the chaff. This process is called threshing. This is carried out with the help of a machine called ‘combine’ which is in fact a harvester as well as a thresher (Figure 1.8).

Figure 1.7: Sickle

sickle, one of the most ancient of harvesting tools, consisting of a metal blade, usually curved, attached to a short wooden handle. The short handle forces the user to harvest in a stooped or squatting position. The longer-handled scythe, the user of which remains upright, evolved from the sickle.

Figure 1.8 : Combine

Figure shows a Combine Harvester commonly known as 'combine' is a key invention that saves cost and time for farmers. Like the name suggests, this machine simply combines the three major harvesting operations – reaping, threshing, and winnowing into a single process

After harvesting, sometimes stubs are left in the field, which are burnt by farmers.

Paheli is worried. She knows that it causes air pollution. It may also catch fire and damage the crops lying in the fields.

Farmers with small holdings of land do the separation of grain and chaff by winnowing (Figure 1.9). You have already studied this in Class 6.

Figure 1.9 : Winnowing machine

Figure shows a winnowing machine is a machine used to separate the chaff from the cereal grains. The machine works by blowing air through the grains, which separates the lighter chaff from the heavier grains. The chaff is then blown away, while the grains fall through a series of screens to the ground

Harvest Festivals

After three or four months of hard work there comes the day of the harvest. The sight of golden fields of standing crop, laden with grain, fills the hearts of farmers with joy and a sense of well -being. The efforts of the past season have borne fruit and it is time to relax and enjoy a little. The period of harvest is, thus, of great joy and happiness in all parts of India. Men and women celebrate it with great enthusiasm. Special festivals associated with the harvest season are Pongal, Baisakhi, Holi, Diwali, Nabanya and Bihu.