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Cotton Harvesting, Post-harvest Handling and Storage

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Cotton Sector Development in Ethiopia

Part of the book series: Textile Science and Clothing Technology ((TSCT))

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Abstract

The percentage of world cotton production harvested by machines was around 30% in 2013–2014 and has remained stable over the last 15 years. With rising labour costs and a scarcity of labour, mechanization has gained traction in the Ethiopian cotton sector. The selection of appropriate mechanical harvesting systems is critical during machine harvesting. Cotton pickers and strippers are the two mechanical harvesting systems that are available. Strippers were developed as a cost-effective alternative to pickers for harvesting relatively low yielding cotton with closed or “storm resistant” boll types. Strippers use a non-selective harvesting mechanism that removes almost all of the material from the plants during harvest. Pickers employ a more selective harvesting mechanism that removes seed cotton only from well-opened bolls with minimal amounts of undesirable vegetative material. Ginning is the next step after harvesting. Saw gins produce about 85% of the world’s cotton. Saw and roller ginning are available in Ethiopia, but custom ginning is not. Cotton can be harvested using a spindle picker or a brush-roll stripper. This chapter attempts to discuss the raw material, mechanical, and economic factors that influence a grower’s decision to use picker or stripper harvesting machines. The evolution of each machine system will be discussed. A basic description of how the harvesting units on each machine work will be presented, as well as an operational description of the ancillary equipment used onboard the harvesters to convey, clean, and package seed cotton for infield storage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ethiopian Institute of Textile and Fashion Technology (EiTEX), Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Getnet Belay Tesema

  2. Ethiopian Textile Industry Development Institute (ETIDI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Genet Nigatie Fetene

Authors
  1. Getnet Belay Tesema
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  2. Genet Nigatie Fetene
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Getnet Belay Tesema .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Textile and Fashion Technology, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    K. Murugesh Babu

  2. Institute of Textile and Fashion Technology, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Abera Kechi Kabish

  3. Institute of Textile and Fashion Technology, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Getnet Belay Tesema

  4. Department of Biology, College of Science, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Bizuayehu Kerisew Semahagn

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© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Tesema, G.B., Fetene, G.N. (2024). Cotton Harvesting, Post-harvest Handling and Storage. In: Murugesh Babu, K., Kabish, A.K., Tesema, G.B., Semahagn, B.K. (eds) Cotton Sector Development in Ethiopia. Textile Science and Clothing Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-9149-5_6

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