The basic reasons that effect the different levels of grain losses during the process of wheat harvest are enumerated and a simple method to measure the losses with a wire ring are described. During 1990, the grain losses caused by six different combines in eight wheat varieties were measured in the department of Colonia. The crops varied in yield from 1239 kg/ha to 3 463 kg/ha with the average being 2412 kg/ha. The grain losses varied between 72.2 kg/ha to 441 kg/ha with an average of 204.5 kg/ha. This represents a loss between 3.9% to 15.6% of the harvested yield with an average loss of 8.5%. The losses were caused by variable factors. However, a majority of them were related with the state of the crop at the time of the harvest and not with the combines. Considering a harvested area of 226 748 ha with an average yield of 2 077 kg/ha, there was a total production of 473 328 tons of wheat in 1990. With the average price being US$ 103 per ton and an average loss of 8.5%, a total of US$ 4,143,987 was left behind in the fields. To reduce these grain losses at the harvest time, general recommendations are offered to the farmers and technical staff.

Spanish

0105|AL-Wheat Program|AGRIS 0102

Jose Juan Caballero

CIMMYT Publications Collection