Threshing

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Threshing is the process of beating cereal plants in order to separate the seeds or grains from the straw. It is the step before winnowing in the process of removing chaff.

Although once done by hand using a flail on a threshing floor, this tiring task is now mostly done by machine. Threshing is one of the tasks a combine harvester performs, along with harvesting the plant and cleaning the grains. In some places, it is common to see plants spread along the surface of country roads so the grain may be threshed by the wheels of passing vehicles. Although threshing removes the straw and the chaff, it does not remove the bran.

Another method of threshing is to make a donkey walk in the circles on a straw put on a concrete surface. This separates the grain from the chaff and straw.

[edit] See also

• combine harvester
• threshing-board
• threshing machine
• winnowing

Threshing with hand flails, Great Britain, c. 1750.

Irreler Bauertradition shows threshing by hand - Roscheider Hof, Open Air Museum

Threshing place-Santorini, Greece