TRADE-OFFS IN MECHANIZED MAIZE SEED HARVESTING: EVIDENCE FROM NEPAL’S KOSHI PROVINCE

Manoj Kumar Joshi”, Mukti Nath Jha, Ravi Prasad Chaudhari, Shamshad Ansari, Shiva Kumar Jha, Sachin Kumar Mishra, Shreemat
Shrestha

DOI: 10.26480/bda.01.2026.37.40

ABSTRACT
Owing to labor shortages during the peak harvesting season, mechanized harvesting of maize is often advocated in Nepal; however, its efficacy, particularly for maize seed production, is still doubtful because of the possibility of seed damage. In this study, we examined the operational efficiency of the fully mechanized maize harvesting method, i.e., a track-type combine harvester, and compared it with the traditional harvesting/threshing method and with manual harvesting followed by an electric maize sheller for seed viability at the on-station of the Directorate of Agricultural Research, Koshi Province. The variety under study was Rampur composite, which is an open-pollinated improved maize variety that is widely adopted in the Terai and inner Terai regions of Nepal. The theoretical field capacity, actual field capacity, and field efficiency were calculated to be 0.595 ha hr¹, 0.393 ha hr¹, and 66.05%, respectively, for the harvester. The standard lab germination test revealed that we have to compromise almost 10% germination as compared to the other two methods while using the combine harvester. Also, using a combine harvester to harvest one hectare maize adds 28.8 kg of CO2 equivalent to the atmosphere that directly contributes to climate change. This study quantified evidence on performance of combine harvester, trade-offs in seed viability, and added greenhouse gas emission to the environment while using mechanization in harvesting of maize seed in Nepal.

KEYWORDS
combine harvester, maize harvesting, trade-offs, mechanization, viability