Technical Comparison of Semi-Mechanized, Multi-Stage Mechanized and Combine Harvesting Methods of Sugar Beet in Jovein Town of Khorasan Razavi Province

In this study, three harvesting methods of sugar beet, including semi-mechanized, multi-stage mechanized and single-stage mechanized (by combine) in Khorasan Razavi province (Jovein town) were compared from the view of some technical factors. The total losses of sugar beet, including the weight of cut crown beets, damaged beets and unharvested healthy beets were 1944 kg ha-1 (i.e. 3% of yield), for for multi-stage method; for  single-stage and semi-mechanized methods this figure reduced to 542 and 454 kg ha-1 respectively. The highest increase in soil compaction in terms of cone index was measured for the single-stage method followed by the multi-stage method. The fuel consumption in the single-stage and semi-mechanized methods were 25% and 33% of the fuel consumption in multi-stage mechanized method. Energy consumption in single-stage and semi-mechanized methods was  less than what had been consumed in  multi-stage method,  24% and 34% respectively. Results also showed that single-stage mechanized (combine) harvesting method, compareing with two other methods, had relative advantages, except in soil compaction, for which some technical optimizations would be needed.