Ass. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Rajab Mohammed

Department of General Sciences

College of Basic Education / Haditha- University of Anbar

The harvesting process, which is represented by the collection of the agricultural crop, is a founding process for another stage that is no less important than the rest of the stages of agricultural production, due to the importance of using what is produced as seeds to be replanted again or for nutritional uses of humans or animals, in addition to its entry into many food industries as a raw material. The word harvest was used for grain crops, harvesting for cotton, mowing for fodder crops, and uprooting for potatoes.

Agricultural crops pass through different stages of growth and development until they reach the stage of maturity, and upon reaching this stage it becomes necessary to collect the crop. This stage or process is known as harvesting or reaping, and the signs of maturity of each crop must be identified so that the harvest can be carried out at the optimal time, and these signs differ from the other crop. It is worth noting that mastering the harvesting or harvesting process and conducting it at the right time contributes to obtaining clean seeds with a high percentage of purity and quality, as each crop must be harvested at the optimal time for it, and on the contrary, early or late harvesting leads to a decrease in the quantity and quality of the seeds produced ( seed quality). The prevailing environmental factors during the harvesting phase greatly affect the quality of the harvested seeds, as dry weather and strong winds during ripening lead to an increase in the percentage of lost seeds and their atrophy, and delay in harvesting leads to an increase in drought.

The yield and the falling of seeds, and this is different from the other crop and from one variety to another. Also, delay in harvesting may cause an increase in seed respiration or dormancy. In this case, the quantity of seeds produced per unit area decreases, as well as their seed specifications. On the other hand, early harvest causes a decrease in the quality and quantity of harvested seeds. This is due to the fact that the transfer of nutritional compounds from the vegetative parts of the plant to the seeds continues until the seeds reach the stage of full maturity, so the weight of one seed and the total production of seeds decreases at early harvest, and in the early stages of early harvest, the seeds have a high moisture content and this is why the seeds atrophy Harvested early in stores due to the loss of the greatest percentage of moisture, and the percentage of germination of these seeds decreases and their temperature rises during storage to become more susceptible to infection with microorganisms and then accelerate the deterioration and damage of seeds. The harvesting process takes place when the seeds are fully ripe and the appropriate harvest date is in order to obtain the highest production of seeds and its quality. This depends on the type planted, the surrounding environmental conditions, the area to be harvested, and the method of harvesting. It is one of the things that must be taken into account and taken into account while determining the optimal date for harvesting or harvesting. In this regard, it is necessary to refer to the methods of harvesting, represented by manual harvesting by using sickles for small areas or crops that are difficult to harvest mechanically. Harvesters that save time, effort and costs.