Current status and prospect of research on combine harvester header for rape

Rapeseed is one of the most important oil-bearing crops in China. Because of its poor efficiency, the planting area is in a trend of declining year by year. In order to change the status quo of low efficiency and stimulate farmers’ enthusiasm for planting oilseed rape, it is of great significance to vigorously promote the mechanized harvest in the process of rapeseed production. The rape header is an important part of the rape combine harvester. It is different from the header structure of common rice and wheat combine harvesters, and the header depth is larger. At the same time, in order to solve the problem of dense branches and cross-linking of rapeseed, in addition to the main cutter, reel and screw conveyor, the rape header also needs to be equipped with a vertical splitting cutter on the side. In this way, the entangled branches are cut and the loss of shattering can be reduced. Head loss accounts for a considerable proportion of the total loss during the rape harvest. By reasonably configuring the structure of the rape header and optimizing the working parameters, the vibration of the header and the power consumption of the header can be reduced, and the work efficiency can be improved. It is of great significance to reduce the mechanical harvest loss of rape and increase the efficiency of rape planting. This article introduces the current status and progress of the research on the working structure of the rape header at home and abroad. Point out the existing problems and put forward suggestions for the development of rape header in the future.