A Filament Thresher for Seed

SOME types of seed have appendages that, unless removed, interfere with seed conditioning, storage, and planting operations. An experimental seed thresher that is capable of removing difficult-to-remove seed appendages, such as awns, pappus, hair, and tails is described. Test results from threshing trials using marigold, gazania, arctotis, and anemone seed are reported. The thresher uses a series of high-rotational-speed filaments to thresh seed and an air stream to separate the chaff from the seed particles.