To determine post-harvest losses mainly due to the fact cracked rice, the basic data are collected systematically based on real farmers and also by experimentations. There are a series of activities during harvesting and processing rice harvest. Each of these factors will contribute to the damage. Some of these factors together may depend. The main factors considered in this study during data collection are: | Ministry of Agriculture Rural Development Australian Government AusAID Project Progress Report 026 VIE05 Investigation of rice kernel cracking and its control in the field and during post-harvest processes in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam MS4 BASE LINE INFORMATION Dr Vinh Truong Nong Lam University Associate Professor Bhesh Bhandari and Professor Shu Fukai The University of Queensland May 2007 1 BASE LINE INFORMATION In order to determine the actual post harvest losses mainly due to rice cracking the baseline data was collected systematically based on the farmers practice and also by experimentations. There is a chain of activities during harvesting and post-harvest processing of rice. Each of these factors will contribute to the losses. Some of these factors can be dependent to each other. The main factors which were considered in this study during the collection of data were Harvesting time- before and after grain maturity Harvesting methods- manual reaper combined harvester Drying methods- sun drying and mechanical drying Milling losses- small medium large rice milling plants and milling procedure. The behaviour of the rice grain to cracking will depend on the variety and the season. Considering this factor the data were collected for 6 different varieties in 4 different locations of Mekong River Delta MRD . The information presented here in this report is only for rainy season rice crop harvesting season June July . Collection of more data will continue for dry season crop harvesting season February March . The survey data from farmers was collected during the winter-spring season for the same varieties. The experimental data for the winter-spring season will be presented in the forthcoming report. 1. Effect of harvesting time on the rice cracking and head rice yield Incorrect harvesting time is one of the major factors that cause the losses due to cracking. Cracking can develop in the field as a result of changes in grain moisture or moisture cycles after the .
