HARVESTING AND THRESHING

HARVESTING AND THRESHING

• Harvesting should be done when 75-80% of the pods are at physiological maturity
• Harvesting in the morning, to avoid shattering of pods
• Delayed harvest leads to damage in mature seeds
• Mature pods are identified as they are brown and have a dry testa
• Pigeon peas can be harvested by cutting the stem at the base and tying the stems in bundles and transported for threshing especially for short duration varieties
• Pigeon pea can also be harvested by hand picking mature pods which allow the crop to flower for second or third harvest
• The grains are separated from the pod by beating the dry plants with sticks or by using a thresher or using a mortar and pestle
• Winnow to remove trash
• Remove sand, small stones and other foreign materials.