A review on effects of stalk moisture content, blade cutting speed and cutting position parameters on cutting behavior of agricultural crops stalk in impact and quasi static cutting processes

Document Type : Review

Authors

Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jiroft,, Jiroft, Iran

10.22059/ijbse.2025.403014.665617

Abstract

        Knowledge of cutting behavior of agricultural crops stems combined with design of new harvesting machines or optimization of existing machines can lead to the reduction of losses and damages to the crops. Studies have shown that determining properties such as cutting force, cutting strength and cutting energy are among the most important factors in the design of cutting mechanism of harvesting machines, and these properties also change under the influence of cutting speed, stem moisture content and cutting position. Given the importance of the subject, the present article aims to review and summarize the scientific findings of researchs conducted on the effect of cutting speed, stem moisture content and cutting position on the mechanical cutting properties of agricultural crops stems in two types of impact and quasi-static cutting procsses. For this purpose, relevant articles and theses have been selected and examined from the SID, Irandoc, Scopus, and Science Direct databases. Studies have shown that stem cutting speed, as an important and influential factor in the design of the cutting blade mechanism of harvesting machines, has a greater impact on the cutting behavior of agricultural crops. According to the reported results, increasing the stem cutting speed of a crop such as sesame from 1 to 2 m s-1 reduces the cutting force by 45%, the cutting energy by 22%, and the shear strength by 33%.

Keywords

Main Subjects

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

 

Introduction

Mechanical properties are characteristics of agricultural crops that affect their behavior under conditions where they are affected by various loads and mechanical properties have a significant impact on how to perform harvesting and mechanical processing operations. The cutting behivaor of agricultural crops mostly indicate the reaction of the stalk when cutting forces are applied by the cutting tools of harvesting machines. In cutting the stalk of agricultural crops, the speed of the cutting blade, the moisture content of the stalk, and the cutting position affect the cutting force, cutting energy, and stalk shear strength. The present study aims to review and summarize the scientific findings in the field of the effect of the parameters (moisture content, cutting speed and cutting position) on the mechanical properties of agricultural crops stalk (cutting force, specific cutting energy and shear strength) in quasi-static and impact cutting processes.

Method

Given the high importance of mechanical properties of agricultural crops stalk in design and fabrication of harvesting machines, the present article aims to review and summarize the scientific findings and research conducted in the field of quasi-static and impact cutting processes of agricultural crops stalk. To this end, all related articles and theses were reviewed from national and international journals. This article, therefore, reviews the literature on effects of stalk moisture content, blade cutting speed and stalk cutting position parameters on cutting behavior of agricultural crops stalk as cutting force, specific cutting energy and shear strength in the both cutting processes.

Results

The results of the conducted researches show that the mechanical properties of the stalk during cutting are closely related to the design parameters of the agricultural harvesters. Determining the mechanical properties of the stem such as shear force, shear strength, and shear energy is essential for blade design and is considered one of the most important factors in the design of agricultural harvesters. Many factors and parameters affect the amount of shear force, shear energy and shear strength of crops stalk. Conducted studies and researches show that in cutting most crops stalk, by increasing the cutting speed, cutting height, and also stalk moisture content the amount of cutting force, cutting strength and cutting energy decreases.

Conclusion

In developing a machine for cutting plant materials, the goal is to achieve and maintain the quality of the harvested material while minimizing the energy and force required to perform the work. In addition to design of new agricultural machines and optimization of existing machines, the knowledge of the cutting behavior of the crops stalk makes it possible to perform mechanized harvesting operations when the resistance of the product is sufficient and the amount of product damage and loss is reduced to the minimum value.

Author Contributions

All authors contributed equally to the conceptualization of the article and writing of the original and subsequent drafts.

Data Availability Statement

Data available on request from the authors.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to all those who have collaborated in this research.

Ethical considerations

The authors avoided data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and misconduct.

Conflict of interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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Iranian Journal of Biosystem Engineering
Volume 56, Issue 4
January 2026
Pages 125-153

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History

  • Receive Date: 25 September 2025
  • Revise Date: 27 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 02 December 2025

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