Comparative experiment on harvesting effect of foxtail millet combine harvester equipped with sorghum dedicated cutting platform

To screen suitable combine harvesters for foxtail millet harvesting in Shanxi Province and solve high loss rate in mechanized foxtail millet harvesting, a comparative experiment was conducted in Hequ County, Shanxi Province, with experimental object Zhangzagu No.3 and two grain combine harvesters equipped with sorghum dedicated cutting platform．Experimental results showed that Jiangsu Wode Ruilong 4LZ-6.0E combine harvester had an average total loss rate of 8.58%, with a maximum of 9.28%, KUBOTA EX118Q（4LZ-6.5A8）combine harvester had an average total loss rate of 5.83%, with a maximum of 6.25%．Among these, threshing losses account for a significant proportion of total losses（approximately 2/3 of total losses）．Both models exhibited comparable cutting platform losses and lodging loss．Ruilong 4LZ-6.0E model showed significantly higher entrainment loss than KUBOTA EX118Q．Ruilong 4LZ-6.0E model had a lower average damage（0.101%）than KUBOTA EX118Q（0.127%）, and its average impurity rate（2.79%）was lower than that of KUBOTA EX118Q（5.87%）．For foxtail millet harvesting in Shanxi Province, KUBOTA EX118Q grain combine harvester equipped with a sorghumdedicated cutting platform was recommended．If economic conditions are limited, Ruilong 4LZ-6.0E grain combine harvester is also a viable option．