Evaluation of Organic and Inorganic Dust Concentration in Different Mechanized Agricultural Operations for Wheat Crop

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Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2020) 9(7): 2806-2813
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Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.907.331
Evaluation of Organic and Inorganic Dust Concentration in Different
Mechanized Agricultural Operations for Wheat Crop
S. H. Shivpuje1*, A. K. Mehta1, D. V. Patil2 and P. A. Dharaiya1
1Department of FMPE, College of Technology and Engineering,
MPUA&T, Udaipur (Raj.), India
2Department of FMPE, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology,
VNMKV, Parbhani (MH), India
*Corresponding author
A B S T R A C T
Introduction
Dust is generated as a result of agricultural
machine operations in the field mostly by
machine-soil and machine-plant interactions.
Agriculture workers breathe the generated
dusts during the operation. Dust also interacts
with human body as the skin is exposed to
dust particles. Dusts generated in agricultural
activities could be classified as inorganic
dusts (soil/mineral dusts), organic dusts (plant
debris), and biological dusts (animal debris).
Inorganic dusts originate predominantly from
the soil, and tend to result in non-allergic
reactions in the lung. Organic dusts originate
from plant and animal sources and are
commonly the source of allergic diseases such
as asthma. Organic dust may contain not only
the grain and hay contents but pollen, fungal
spores, fungal hyphae, mycotoxins, bacteria
International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences
ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 7 (2020)
Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com
Agricultural dusts are generated due to crop production activities such as ploughing, seed
bed preparation, sowing, harvesting and threshing. The present study was undertaken for
evaluation of organic and inorganic dust concentration in different agricultural operations
in Wheat crop cultivation. The dust concentration at two locations (near to operator seat on
tractor and at by-stander position) for ploughing, seed bed preparation, sowing and
harvesting operations. Whereas, the dust concentration for threshing operation were taken
at three locations viz. feeding chute, bhusa outlet and grain outlet positions. A real - time
personal dust monitor was used to measure the dust levels after every 15 min of operation.
In this measurement 2.5 µm, 10 µm and TSP size sampling head were used. The measured
dust concentration levels were compared with standard exposure limits defined by OSHA.
The range of environmental parameters such as Temperature (0C), Relative humidity (%)
and Wind speed (m/sec) were also measured by using WBGT monitor. Moisture content of
soil (%) and tractor forward speed (km/h) were also measured for field operations. It was
found that, all the operations, the dust concentrations were well below the standard
exposure limits in wheat production.
Ke ywo rds
Dust Concentration,
Wheat, Dust
Monitor, OSHA,
environmental
parameters
Accepted:
22 June 2020
Available Online:
10 July 2020
Article Info

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and endotoxins (Snbosh, 1994). These dust
particles range in size from < 0.01 to 100 µm,
with up to 40 percent in the respirable range.
Dust sizes in the air could vary in the range of
1 - 30 μm (Alsan, 1998). Dusts larger than 10
μm are considered to be coarse dusts, which
are blocked in the upper air passages in the
body. Dust particles smaller than 10 μm are
fine dusts and can penetrate into lower air
passages in the human body. Dust particle
size below 5 µm may reach alveolar region of
the lungs. Some portions of the fine dust are
cell penetrating and can reach terminal
bronchioles as shown in Fig. 1.
For all farmers the relative heart rate increase
during working, resulting in increased
respiration which enhances inhaling of dusts
at the workplace (Christensen et al., 1992).
According to Reilly (1981), operators
working in agriculture faced allergies four
times more as compared to a control group.
Respiratory problems turned out to be the
second most common diseases that the
farmers suffer and tractor and combine
operators experienced bronchioles two times
more than other agricultural workers.
Respiratory problems were observed in 25
percent of the agricultural operators. The
present study was taken to determine the dust
concentration levels in different agricultural
operations.
Materials and Methods
The study was conducted at Instructional farm
of College of Technology and Engineering,
Udaipur where wheat crop was grown in
sandy loam soil of Rabi season. Dust
concentrations were measured during all
operations such as ploughing, seed-bed
preparation, sowing, harvesting and threshing
in the entire crop growing period (November
13 to April 14). Total five locations were
selected, two locations that were near to
operator seat on tractor and at by-stander
position in ploughing, seed bed preparation,
sowing and harvesting operations and other
three locations near grain outlet, near feeding
chute and bhusa outlet in threshing operation.
The wind velocity (m/sec), temperature (°C),
and relative humidity (percent), moisture
content of soil (percent) and tractor forward
speed (km/h) during each operation were also
recorded. The environmental heat stress index
was measured with Quest 36 heat stress
monitor. Three different sized sampling heads
2.5 µm, 10 µm and TSP were used to measure
the dust concentration with HAZ Dust
sampler (EPAM 5000). A total of thirty six
measurements were taken for three dust size
sampling heads with three replications each
for each of the operations. This study was
conducted to characterize potential exposure
to dust during ploughing, seed bed
preparation, sowing, harvesting and threshing
operations of wheat production. The dust
measurements near to operator seat in
harvesting and near grain outlet in threshing
operation are shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3
respectively.
Standard exposure limits of dust
concentration
The measured dust levels were compared with
standard exposure limits given by
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA, 2010) and American
Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists (ACGIH) (Kirkhorn, 2000). The
standard exposure limits are given in
(Table.1)
Results and Discussion
Environmental parameters
The dry bulb temperature in ploughing, seed
bed preparation, sowing and harvesting
operations varied from 25-29°C, 30-32°C, 30-
32°C and 36-40°C, respectively. The relative

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humidity in ploughing, seed bed preparation,
sowing and harvesting operations was
recorded from 30-34 percent, 25-28 percent,
25-28 percent and 20-22 percent, respectively.
The wind speed in ploughing, seed bed
preparation, sowing and harvesting operations
was observed from 0.3-0.5 m/s, 0.3-0.7 m/s,
0.4-0.8 m/s and 0.4-1.2 m/s, respectively. The
moisture content of soil in ploughing, seed
bed preparation, sowing and harvesting
operations varied from 16-20 percent, 12-16
percent, 12-16 percent and 6-8 percent,
respectively. The tractor forward speed in
ploughing, seed bed preparation, sowing and
harvesting operations was maintained such as
5.0-5.2 km/h, 5.3-5.5 km/h, 5.0-5.2 km/h and
4.0-5.0 km/h, respectively.
Table.1 Standard exposure limits
Dust Type
ACGIH (mg/m3)
OSHA (mg/m3)
Total dust
10
15
Respirable dust
3
5
Table.2 Concentrations near operator’s seat and at by- stander position for PM2.5
Location
Operation
Dust concentration measured (mg/m3)
Operator seat
Ploughing
0.512
Seed bed preparation
0.621
Sowing
0.773
Harvesting
1.134
By-stander
position
Ploughing
0.232
Seed bed preparation
0.237
Sowing
0.261
Harvesting
0.325
CV (%)
4.70
CD at 5 %
0.0406
Table.3 Dust concentrations at operator seat and at by stander position for PM10
Location
Operation
Dust concentration measured (mg/m3)
Operator seat
Ploughing
0.524
Seed bed preparation
0.626
Sowing
0.942
Harvesting
1.845
By stander position
Ploughing
0.424
Seed bed
preparation
0.485
Sowing
0.623
Harvesting
0.855
CV (%)
9.03
CD at 5 %
0.1203

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Table.4 Total dust concentrations at operator seat and at by stander
position in different operations
Location
Operation
Dust concentration measured (mg/m3)
Operator seat
Ploughing
0.753
Seed bed preparation
1.163
Sowing
3.137
Harvesting
3.577
By stander
position
Ploughing
0.441
Seed bed preparation
0.468
Sowing
0.939
Harvesting
1.643
CV (%)
4.79
CD at 5 %
0.1224
Table.5 Dust measurements of PM2.5 in threshing operation
Operation
Locations
Dust concentration measured (mg/m3)
Threshing
Grain outlet
0.076
Feeding chute
0.356
Bhusa outlet
0.910
CV (%)
5.57
CD at 5 %
0.0453
Table.6 Dust measurements of PM10 in threshing operation
Operation
Location
Dust concentration measured (mg/m3)
Threshing
Grain outlet
0.123
Feeding chute
0.537
Bhusa outlet
0.854
CV (%)
12.40
CD at 5 %
0.1138
Table.7 Total dust concentration at three locations in threshing operation
Operation
Location
Dust concentration (mg/m3)
Threshing
Grain outlet
0.165
Feeding chute
0.854
Bhusa outlet
1.643
CV (%)
5.11
CD at 5 %
0.0824

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Fig.1 Dust particle sizes and dust penetration in the respiratory system (Reilly, 1981)
Fig.2 Dust concentration measurement in harvesting
Fig.3 Dust concentration measurement in threshing
10 µm
5 µm
4 µm
20 µm

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Assessment of dust concentration during
different agriculture operation
Dust concentration were measured in field
operations with 2.5 µm (PM2.5), 10 µm
(PM10) and TSP sampling head at both near
operator’s seat and at by-stander position in
ploughing, seed bed preparation, sowing and
harvesting operations.
Concentration of 2.5 µm particle size dust
in different operations
Dust concentrations were measured with 2.5
µm size sampling head at operator seat and at
by-stander position in different agricultural
operations (Table.2).
The highest dust concentration was recorded
as 1.134 mg/m3 at operator seat in harvesting
operation. High dust concentration in
harvesting operation may be because of
organic dust generated due to high speed
cutting of crop. Ploughing operation was
recorded minimum dust concentration
because of moisture presence in soil due to
presowing irrigation. Both locations show the
same pattern of dust concentration.
Concentration of 10 µm particle size dust
in different operations
Dust concentrations were measured with 10
µm dust size sampling head at operator seat
and at by stander position in different
agricultural operations (Table.3). The highest
dust concentration was rescored as 1.845
mg/m3 at operator seat in harvesting
operation.
As compared to ploughing, seed bed
preparation and sowing operation dust
concentration in harvesting operation of PM10
size at operator seat was found more due to
the presence of organic dust in harvesting
operation as compared to other three
operations.
Concentration of Total dust in different
operations
Dust concentrations were measured with TSP
dust size sampling head at operator seat and at
by-stander position in different agricultural
operations (Table.4). The highest dust
concentration was rescored as 3.577 mg/m3 at
operator seat in harvesting operation. It was
found that, the organic dust concentration was
increased due to high speed crop cutting.
Dust concentrations at three locations in
threshing operations
Dust concentrations in Wheat threshing
operation were measured at three locations
near grain outlet, near feeding chute and near
bhusa outlet for three dust samples viz. PM2.5,
PM10 and TSP.
Concentration of 2.5 µm particle size dust
in threshing operation
In threshing operation, there was significant
effect on dust concentration in three different
locations (Table.5). For 2.5 µm dust
particulates, the mean dust concentration near
grain outlet, near feeding chute and near
bhusa outlet were recorded as 0.076 mg/m3,
0.356 mg/m3 and 0.910 mg/m3, respectively
in threshing operation. In comparison to grain
outlet and feeding chute, the bhusa outlet had
highest dust concentration measured as 0.910
mg/m3 with 2.5 µm size sampling head in
threshing operation.
Concentration of 10 µm particle size dust
in threshing operation
For 10 µm dust particulates, in threshing
operation the mean dust concentration near
grain outlet, near feeding chute and near
bhusa outlet were recorded as 0.123 mg/m3,
0.537 mg/m3 and 0.854 mg/m3, respectively
(Table.6). In comparison to grain outlet and

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feeding chute, the highest dust concentration
was measured as 0.854 mg/m3 near bhusa
outlet for PM10 in threshing operation.
Total dust concentration in threshing
operation
For TSP dust particulates, the mean dust
concentration near grain outlet, near feeding
chute and near bhusa outlet were recorded as
0.165 mg/m3, 0.854 mg/m3 and 1.643 mg/m3,
respectively (Table.7).
The organic dust was generated from
ploughing, seed bed preparation, sowing and
harvesting operations and the inorganic dust
was from threshing operation. The organic
dust concentration from the harvesting
operation was found very high in both cases
of near to operator and by-stander positions
among all the operations for three dust
samplers. The highest inorganic dust
concentration was recorded at bhusa outlet in
threshing operation among three locations and
for the all dust sizes. It was revealed that dust
concentration whether organic or inorganic
was found below the standard exposure limit
of 3 mg/m3 for respirable dust as per the
ACGIH.
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How to cite this article:
Shivpuje, S. H., A. K. Mehta, D. V. Patil and Dharaiya, P. A. 2020. Evaluation of Organic and
Inorganic Dust Concentration in Different Mechanized Agricultural Operations for Wheat
Crop. Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci. 9(07): 2806-2813.
doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.907.331