Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

Contents lists available at Egyptian knowledge Bank (EKB)

Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering

journal homepage: https://azeng.journals.ekb.eg/

Full length article

A review on sugarcane harvesting technology

Abdallah E. Elwakeel a*, Saad F. Ahmed b, Abdalla M. Zein Eldin b, Waleed M. Hanafya
a Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of agriculture and natural resources, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt.
b Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, Alshatby, Alexandria, Egypt.

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Handling Editor - Dr. Mostafa H. Fayed Sugar is an important strategic commodity for all countries of the world. Sugar after
wheat is of strategic importance in Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Australia, while
Keywords: sugar is second only to rice for Asian countries. It was, therefore, necessary to pay full
Harvesting Systems. attention to sugary crops, especially sugar cane, to increase productivity and to bridge
Mechanized Systems. the gap between production and consumption by increasing the productivity of sugar-
Sugarcane. cane. The main problem of sugarcane plantations is the harvesting process, this research
Tractor. includes most of the systems used to harvest sugar cane around the world to identify
the advantages and disadvantages of operating in the systems. This research aims to
survey most of the systems used in sugarcane harvesting around the world.
Agricultural Machinery and Power Engineering

1. Literature review 1.2. Mechanical Harvesting

Sugar cane harvesting systems The Agricultural Engineering Department of SA-
SEX researched two main aspects of mechanized har-
Braithwaite (2013); Tweddle (2013); Yinggang et al.
vesting and harvesting systems:
(2013) reported that the classifications of the sugar cane
harvesting systems are shown in Fig. 1. 1) Partial mechanization (semi-mechanization) in
burnt and green sugar cane, primarily to ease the
1.1. Manual harvesting systems
burden of manual harvesting and reduce the cost
In most sugarcane-producing countries the tradi- of harvesting operations.
tional method to harvest the crop is by hand. In green
2) Total mechanization (full mechanization).
sugar cane, the stalks are topped, and the trash is re-
(Meyer, 1996)
moved, or the tops are removed only when the sugar
cane is burnt by using a wide range of knives and de- Meyer and Fenwick (2003) summarized the average
trashing devices (Meyer, 1997). sugar cane cutter performance for various harvesting
systems as in Table 1.
Meyer and Fenwick (2003) mentioned that there are
two basic systems are used to harvest the sugar cane 1.2.1. Fully mechanized harvesting systems
manually:
There are two main types of sugar cane harvesters
▪ Cut and stack green or burnt sugar cane as shown in researched in China as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.
Fig. 2.
1) Whole stalk harvester.
▪ Cut and windrow green or burnt sugar cane for sub-
2) Chopper harvester, Fig. 3 shows the main com-
sequent mechanical loading as shown in Fig. 2.
ponents of these two main types of sugar cane
harvester. (Yinggang et al., 2013).

*Corresponding authors.
E-mail address: abdallah_elshawadfy@agr.aswu.edu.eg (Abdallah E. Elwakeel).

222
Peer review under responsibility of Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Received 14 November 2021; Received in revised form 19 December 2021; Accepted 21 December 2021.
Available online 29 May 2022.
2805 – 2803/© 2022 Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. All rights reserved.
Elwakeel et al. Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

1.2.1.1. Self-propelled whole stalk harvester "soldier-type" machine developed in Louisiana (Fig. 5).
This harvester tops and base cuts cane while it is held
Debeer (1974) reported that cane harvested as
tightly between sets of chains. These chains subse-
whole stalks has the inherent advantages of easy stock-
quently convey the cut cane to the back of the machine
piling on any reasonable surface and fairly extended
whereas many as six rows can be put into one windrow
storage capability without serious quality deterioration.
with the stalks at right angles to the direction of the
An example of whole-stalk harvesters is the so-called
rows.

Fig. 1. Infield sugar cane harvesting systems (Braithwaite, 2013; Tweddle, 2013; Yinggang et al., 2013).

Fig. 2. Manual harvesting of green and burnt sugarcane (Chatterton and Braith, 1985).

Table 1.
Average sugar cane cutter performance for various harvesting systems (Meyer and Fenwick, 2003).

Harvesting Average cane Cutter output No. of cutter per

system yield (t\Fed) (t\day) 1000 tons
Cut and stack (green) 30.46 3.45 1.79
Cut and stack (burnt) 29.24 4.20 1.44
Cut and bundle (green) 31.07 5.58 1.07
Cut and bundle (burnt) 29.38 6.56 1.08
Cut and windrow (green) 39.02 8.01 0.99

- 54 -
Elwakeel et al. Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

Fig. 3. Main components of sugar cane harvesters (Yinggang et al., 2013).

Fig. 4. Sugar cane flow in typical sugar cane whole stalk harvester and chopper harvester (Ma et al., 2014).

Fig. 5. Harvesters that use the soldier harvesting principle (Louisiana). (a): Two-row; (b): One-row (Braunbeck
and Paulo, 2014).

Scott (1986) investigated the necessary elements of d. A cleaning device to remove tops and discard
a whole stalk harvester are: trash.
a. Dividers gather the cane in the row being cut and e. A bin to accumulate cane and discharge it in neat
separate it from the cane in adjoining rows. piles, far enough from the cane face to allow pas-
sage of the machine on its next pass and onto the
b. Base-cutters to sever the cane at ground level.
ground which has been cleared of trash.
c. A feeding device to take the cane from the base
Meyer (1997) and Rohit et al. (2015) reported the ad-
cutters and convey it through the machine.
vantages and disadvantages for whole stalk harvester.
Advantages

- 55 -
Elwakeel et al. Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

▪ Generally, whole stalk harvesting machinery is ▪ In most instances, whole stalk cutters are simple ma-
cheaper to purchase. chines that are easy to operate and require relatively
unsophisticated maintenance staff and facilities.
▪ Whole cane stalks deteriorate more slowly than
chopped cane and can be stockpiled for considerably ▪ In South Africa, these harvesting systems permit the
longer at trans-loading sites or in mill yards. continued use of whole stalk loading, mill receiving
equipment, vehicles, and facilities.
▪ Where field and crop conditions are suitable whole
stalk harvesting systems will result in less cane loss Disadvantages
and better-quality cane compared with chopper har-
▪ Whole stalk harvesters are not always able to handle
vesting. However, in badly lodged cane the situation
the crop. Lodged and recumbent crops present ex-
could be reversed.
treme difficulties for this type of machine, as do yields
▪ Because the cutting and loading operations are con- over 120 t/ha.
ducted separately, there is more flexibility when
breakdowns occur.

Fig. 6. Side view of the sugar cane harvester. (Yinggang et al., 2013)

▪ Separate infield loading equipment is required. Rohit et al. (2015) stated that chopper Harvester's
cut the sugar cane at the base and then it is Fed into the
▪ Mechanical loading of whole stalk cane could increase
harvester where the cane is cut again into shorter pieces
soil content in the cane sample.
called billets with a size 20-40 cm. Mayer (1997) and
▪ Some whole stick machines (soldier harvesters) have Boast (1977) reported advantages and disadvantages of
a high center of gravity, making them unsuitable combine chopper harvesters:
where slopes exceed10%. Most other whole stalk ma-
Advantages
chines cannot operate on slopes greater than 15-20%.
▪ Chopper harvesters are complete combines and do
▪ Transport load densities are usually lower for the
not require separate infield loading equipment.
whole stalk than for chopped cane.
▪ Modern combine harvesters can handle both green
Moontree et al. (2012) developed a sugar cane har-
and burnt cane in a wide range of weather and crop
vester using a small engine in Northeast Thailand as
conditions, from erect to badly lodged cane.
shown in Fig. 6. the sugar cane harvester using a small
engine can perform at an average speed of 0.26 Fed/h ▪ In pollution, sensitive areas choppers harvesters have
with fuel consumption of 20.03 l/h and a mobile speed distinct advantages because of their ability to handle
of 0.25 km/h. The percentage of sugar cane-cut stalks is green cane.
100% since this engine is installed with double blades
▪ The delay between harvest and crushing is minimal,
with a speed of 1,090.5 rpm; a speed of leaf-cutting
resulting in higher sugar recoveries.
blades is at 669 rpm with the breakeven point of
122,572.8 kg/year and the payback period of 2 years. ▪ Chopped cane feeds into the mill more easily and con-
sistently.
1.2.1.2. Chopper harvester (sugar cane combine)
▪ Chopped cane spillage enroute to mills is usually
lower than the whole stalk.

- 56 -
Elwakeel et al. Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

▪ Labor requirement is reduced. 14hours after harvesting. This may increase transport
costs.
▪ High levels of managerial/operator skill and technical
support are required.
Disadvantages
1.2.2. Equipment of semi-mechanization sugar cane
▪ The high capital outlay makes this system appropriate harvesting
only for large-scale growers and contracting groups.
1.2.2.1. Tractor mounted cutters
▪ Harvesting, transport, and milling operations are
1) McConnel sugar cane harvester of Barbados
linked, which means that communication and
transport scheduling is vital to obtain optimum har- The McConnel harvester was a new concept in
vester utilization. sugar cane harvesting, it was tested in commercial
fields under a wide range of conditions, and it has re-
▪ Receiving facilities at mills that usually handle whole
cently been developed in (BSPA) Barbados by the Sugar
stalks would have to be adapted.
Producers Association and F. W. McConnel Ltd., Eng-
▪ Cane losses are generally higher compared with land. The stage (I) McConnel harvester is mounted on
whole stick harvesting systems. a standard 75 hp agricultural tractor. As shown in Fig.
7.
▪ Chopped cane deteriorates more quickly than whole
stalks and ideally, should be crushed within 12-

Fig. 7. General layout of McConnel (Hudson, 1974).

The mechanical problems of this machine were: ▪ Able to cut unburned cane of up to 100 tons per hec-
tare.
The prime mover and engine cooling, air cleaner,
hydraulic system, and PTO. Power transmission sys- ▪ Tolerant of rough-and-ready field preparation.
tems can easily be solved by fabricating a prime mover
▪ Able to cut cane from furrows, ridges, tied furrows, or
to fit the field conditions and harvesting components
flat planting.
(Alliso, 1974).
▪ Able to work in stony conditions.
Hudson (1974) reported that the purpose of this ma-
chine is to reduce a standing crop of cane to an orderly ▪ Competent to cut cane from any slope which can be
swath of cut band topped stalks, freed from adhering negotiated by a wheeled tractor for other operations.
trash. The more important demands which it must sat-
▪ Tolerant of variable row spacing and wide ratoon
isfy are that it must be:
stools.

- 57 -
Elwakeel et al. Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

▪ Able to negotiate difficult headlands, in-field ditches, ▪ Tolerant of variable row spacing and wide ratoon
etc. stools.
▪ Rugged in construction and undemanding in operator ▪ Able to negotiate difficult headlands, in-field ditches,
skill, maintenance, and local backup capacity. etc.
▪ Priced within the capability of a 100-hectare farm. ▪ Rugged in construction and undemanding in operator
skill, maintenance, and local backup capacity.
Hudson, (1974) reported that the purpose of this
machine is o reduce a standing crop of cane to an or- ▪ Priced within the capability of a 100-hectare farm.
derly swath of cut band topped stalks, freed from ad-
Scott and Hudson (1980); Hudson (1977) report the
hering trash. The more important demands which it
main changes made to the BSPA/McConnel machines
must satisfy are that it must be:
since they were described at the XVIth ISSCT Congress.
▪ Able to cut unburned cane of up to 100 tons per hec- In particular, the Stage (I) machine has been equipped
tare. with sharpened base cutter blades and mounted on a
reversed tractor. Stage (II) now cleans trash and, tops on
▪ Tolerant of rough-and-ready field preparation.
the bottom "fan" only with significant performance im-
▪ Able to cut cane from furrows, ridges, tied furrows, or provements. The cane is lifted to the conveyor from the
flat planting. gathering sweeps of a powered roller, instead of a sta-
tionary ramp, allowing work in more wet conditions.
▪ Able to work in stony conditions.
The "Loadster" has been simplified by eliminating the
▪ Competent to cut cane from any slope which can be telescopic extension. Stage I and II are shown in Fig. 8.
negotiated by a wheeled tractor for other operations.

Fig. 8. The first and second stages of BSPA/McConnel machines (Hudson et al., 1976).

2) SASABY sugar cane harvester of South Africa harvester loaded the cane directly from the 5in into
trailers traveling alongside the harvester. This machine
Boast (1985) and De Beer et al. (1983) reported that
could harvest 30 t h-1 at which rate the extraneous mat-
SASABY was developed in South Africa for green cane
ter content was 8% and losses were less than 5%. The
harvesting (Fig. 9) from January 1978 to December 1979.
experience gained from SASABY I and II was used to
The SASABY whole stalk green cane harvester was build a third prototype which is a smaller machine built
designed, built, and tested. A second SASABY was sub- onto a Ford 6600 tractor. It is a single-row harvester that
sequently built to correct the shortcomings of the first. delivered cleaned cane into a bin at the rear. Up to 200
The SASABY (II) cut a single row of cane and fedd it kg of cane is collected before it is dumped in bundles on
into a bin. A crane with a grab mounted on the the ground.

Fig. 9. First, second and third stages of SASABY harvester (De Beer et al., 1983).

- 58 -
Elwakeel et al. Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

3) Sasex sugar cane cutter to build up around them, which usually resulted in jam-
ming. They were also underpowered.
Pilcher and Merwe (1976) discussed the evolution
of the Sasex cutter for the whole stalk sugar cane. The
original concept was a very simple machine known as
the "Cane Sny" (Fig. 10). From this was developed an
economical cane cutter able to operate under a wide
range of conditions. It is claimed that the Sasex can
significantly reduce harvesting costs and labor re-
quirements. The concept of the Sasex Cane Cutters
originated from a machine known as the "Cane Sny".
This machine was designed by Mr. Frans Snyman of
Nkwaleni and further developed on the rivers bend
Sugar and Citrus Estates. When the Cane Sny was first
inspected in mid-1974 it was extremely simple. The
machine was mounted on the three-point linkage of a
Fig. 11. SASEX (I) Cane cutter (Pilcher and Merwe,
tractor, with the base cutter set out beyond the right-
1976).
hand rear tractor wheel. The mainframe of the ma-
chine comprised a random selection of channels and an- Sasex (II) was built by using a 127 x 127 mm beam
gles and the cane gathering frame was of tubular steel, made up of channels welded toe to toe. A mistake was
being lifted for transport by a hydraulic ram. The base made here in putting the joint in the vertical plane in-
cutter was a 61 cm diameter scalloped harrow disc stead of the horizontal. To save weight the left-hand
mounted on a 51 mm shaft which was carried in end of the beam was used as part of the oil tank, by
Plummer block bearings and driven by 4 Beta Vee belts which approximately 26 extra liters of capacity were
through a Massey Ferguson PTO-driven belt-pulley gained, together with a good increase in surface area.
gearbox. However, the beam cracked, which resulted in oil leaks,
partly because of its wrong orientation and partly be-
cause insufficient attention had been paid to the weld-
ing preparation: In addition, a small oil tank was used
to save weight but there were no signs of overheating
of the oil until a later stage when a different pump was
fitted to serve extra motors as shown in Fig. 12.

Fig. 10. Cane Sny Cutter after fitting depth wheel

(Pilcher and Merwe, 1976).
Sasex (I) had a mainframe made of 152 x 76 mm RS
channels welded toe to toe to form a 152 x 152 box sec-
tion. This was hinged behind the right-hand tractor
wheel so that the whole machine could fold up behind
the tractor for transport. The considerable overall width
of side-mounted machines had caused trouble on nar- Fig. 12. SASEX (II) cane cutter with sausage shifter
row farm roads and even when traveling on national (Pilcher and Merwe, 1976).
roads. Hinging the beam overcame this problem as Van der Merwe et al. (1978) showed the disad-
shown in Fig. 11. vantages of Sasex sugar cane cutter: It can be under-
It was found that, when the base cutter jammed, the stood that if each row of cut cane is left on the ground,
belts would slip and, because they were horizontal, they as the tractor moves to the right to cut subsequent rows,
would sometimes jump off and the crop lifters were not unless the row spacing is exactly right, there is a possi-
effective in heavy, lodged cane and the small diameter, bility of the tractor wheels, to a lesser or greater extent,
particularly at the bottom, encouraged weeds and trash running over cane already cut. This effect is accentuated
when operating on hillsides where the sausage tends to

- 59 -
Elwakeel et al. Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

slide out of position. The other big disadvantage to the 5) Midway sugar cane cutter
side-mounting was the drag imposed when attempting
Debeer (1980) and Meyer (1984) stated that the de-
to cut recumbent cane. This would slew the tractor and
sign of the Midway cutter was the result of experiences
steering was made difficult and sometimes impossible.
gained in operating the Sasex and Edgecombe cane cut-
4) Edgecombe cane cutter ters. It was felt that an improved cutter could be devel-
oped by retaining the simplicity of the Sasex and elimi-
Merwe et al. (1978) reported that the Edgecombe
nating the problems caused by mounting it on the side
cane cutter (Fig. 13) was born to overcome the disad-
of a tractor or by rear mounting an Edgecombe cutter.
vantages of the side-mounted Sasex and build an in-line
The location of the base cutter and the operator's poor
machine using the same components of the Sasex ma-
visibility made it difficult to maintain proper base cut-
chine. An attractive feature of the Sasex was the ease
ting height with both the Sasex and Edgecombe cutters.
with which it could be attached and removed from a
An advantage of the Midway cutter is that the cane tops
tractor. An attempt was made with the Edgecombe cut-
are collected which makes it possible to load the cane
ter to retain this feature and the cutting part of the ma-
mechanically directly after it has been cut. The machine
chine was mounted on a quickly detachable frame. The
was tested and developed at the Experiment Station's
machine was mounted on a John Deere 2120 2-wheel
La Mercy farm from 1978 to 1982 as shown in Fig. 14.
drive tractor. It had crop lifters, a topper, and base cut-
ters from the Sasex but was mounted on a new frame.
The machine was intended to cut single rows more than
1.3 m apart and double rows at lesser spacing. The base
cutters, toppers, and crop lifters were all driven hydrau-
lically, and the oil tanks and pumps were mounted on
a frame carried on the three-point linkage, to counter-
balance, to a degree, the weight of the machine on the
front wheels.

Fig. 14. General view of the first prototype of the

midway cane cutter (Debeer, 1980).
The Midway cutter can top, and base cut a single
row of burnt or green cane. The cane stalks are left in a
single 'sausage' windrow parallel to and between two
cane rows. The tops may be collected in a bin if so re-
quired. The prime mover is a Ford 5000 tractor which is
fitted with a county reduction gearbox to give a wider
Fig. 13. Edgecombe cane cutter, general view (DE range of forwarding speeds. Power steering and 305
Beer, 1980). mm rear wheel spacers are used. The wheels are spaced
Disadvantages for maximum stability and to assist the operator in con-
trolling the cutting height of the mid-mounted base cut-
▪ An important problem was the loss of base cutter ter. Wheel spacing is such that the cut cane lying on the
blades in stony fields. The best solution so far has ground is not trampled. The only other modification to
been to weld the blades onto the base cutter disc in the tractor is that the cooling fan is reversed but none of
addition to bolting them on. The quality of base cut- the tractor controls are altered.
ting was good in light and heavy soils with no dis-
cernible stool damage. 6) Bell (cut + stacks)

▪ Ridges were more of a problem than an advantage, es- Boast (1986) and Merwe et al. (1978) described the mod-
pecially in lodged cane where the base cutters were ifications that were required to convert a standard,
unable to retrieve recumbent stalks lying right next to high-capacity Bell loader to a cane cutter and the use of
the ridge. Ridged fields were also a distinct impedi- this machine in various harvesting systems. Base cutter
ment to across-the-row mechanical loading and more assemblies that had been previously tested were
cane was left behind by the loader in ridged fields mounted in the best position for this machine (Fig. 15).
than in fields with a flat culture. Two rows of cane were cut simultaneously which ena-
bled the machine to open a field at any convenient point
and cut any chosen face of the field in any direction

- 60 -
Elwakeel et al. Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

without damaging the cane which was still standing or

had already been cut into a 'sausage' windrow. Time
studies were done to establish the output of the ma-
chine when used as a cane cutter fitted with Sasex-type
toppers. The results were compared with the output of
the machine when the cane was cut without topping
and the tops were removed with a sickle bar topper dur-
ing the loading operations. The weaknesses and disad-
vantages of the system were identified, and the neces-
sary modifications were either carried out or they were
recorded for future reference. The cutting operation had
a high forward speed which necessitated the develop-
ment of 'ground following base cutters, which automat-
ically follow the ground profile. The mechanization
standards for cane harvesting as in Table 2.
Fig. 15. Bell cutter with attachments. (Bosat, 1986).

Table 2
Mechanization standards for cane harvesting (Debeer and Fourie, 1984).

Operation Tons\field hours Fuel consumption, l\h.kW Topping efficiency, %

Edgecombe 25 0.26 49
Midway 20 0.29 44
Sasex 14 0.37 50
Bell (cut + stack) 7 0.62 43

7) Other tractor-mounted sugar cane harvesters efficiency was significantly affected by crop density and
extent of stem lodging, while the base cutter efficiency
Al Sharief et al. (2006) design and manufactured a
was not significantly affected.
sugar cane harvester. The sugar cane harvester consists
of two main units, namely, the tractor front-mounted
crop divider and topping unit, and the rear-mounted
base cutter unit. The crop divider and topping unit as
mounted on the tractor front are shown in Fig. 16. The
crop divider system consists of two rotary dividers
made of 2 mm thick metal sheets which were cut,
folded, and welded into conical pipes with the ends
closed using flat discs. Each divider has a spiral rod
welded in windings to the body to form a conveying
system. A driveshaft runs through each divider and is
integrated into it by welding at the ends of the pipe.
Each divider is mounted vertically with the lower end
shaft running in a bearing enclosed by the base shoe. Fig.16. Sugar cane harvester attached to the tractor
The upper-end shaft runs through a bearing carried in (Al Sharief et al., 2006).
a housing that is mounted vertically on a square pipe,
Parker and Speichinger (2014) designed and fabri-
into a hydraulic motor, which is powered by a hydrau-
cated a sugar cane harvester machine. In one aspect, the
lic system held in position on the tool frame.
disclosure provides a removable sugar cane harvester
Results of the tests showed that the effective field attachment including a coupler configured to couple
capacity ranged from 0.4 to 0.5 ha/h and decreased with the removable sugar cane harvester attachment to a ma-
an increase in crop density and extent of stem lodging. chine. The removable sugar cane attachment includes at
In the high crop density fields, the field efficiency aver- least one pair of counter-rotating row dividers; and at
aged 65.82 %. It, however, increased with a decrease in least one pair of counter-rotating base cutters located
crop density and stem lodging. The material capacity intermediate of the coupler and the at least one pair of
increased from 7.75 to 21.04 t/h as the crop yield in- counter-rotating row dividers (Fig. 17).
creased from 15.48 to 53.28 t/ha. The topping unit

- 61 -
Elwakeel et al. Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

to the output shaft of the engine which intern connected

to the front pulley which is mounted on the shaft by us-
ing a belt then by using bevel gear the power is trans-
mitted to the cutter shaft.

(1) Pointed conical tip; (2) Pair of row dividers; (3) Guide wheels;
(4) Surface ground.
Fig.17. Sugar cane harvester attached to the tractor
(Al Sharief et al., 2006).
Ranveer and Tambuskar (2015) designed a cutting
front attachment and rear conveying attachment to be
appended to a tractor (Mahindra Yuvraj 215) which will
cut the sugar cane and convey it to a trolley that will
follow the tractor. This attachment will work as a sugar Fig.19. Walking-man steering sugar cane cutters
cane harvester which can be used for a smaller area of (Meyer et al., 2011).
farms especially in India where the area of farms is
smaller, unlike the developed countries where huge
price & cost cane harvesters are affordable to the farm-
ers. Also, to design a smaller sugar cane harvester at a
lower price so that it can be affordable to the farmers or
group of farmers of India.

Fig. 20. 3D Model of Sugar cane Harvesting Machine.

(Adarsh et al., 2013).
Pachkhande et al. (2015) designed and fabricated a
Fig.18. Assembly of sugar cane harvester (Ranveer small semiautomatic sugar cane cutter as shown in Fig.
and Tambuskar, 2015). 21. Different parts of a machine will be mounted on
strong chassis. The wheels will be attached to this chas-
1.2.2.2. Walking-man steering sugar cane cutters: sis so that it can be moved on the farm. The machine is
Meyer et al. (2011) stated that the sugar cane pushed through the field manually to perform cutting
thumper can be used in both burnt and green cane, with action. The guides/ram is provided in front of the ma-
the cane being windrowed or stacked by hand, as in the chine to lift abruptly grown sugar cane. Ergonomics is
manual cutting system as shown in Fig. 19. given importance as it involves pushing action. The cut-
ter is driven with the help of a belt and pulley arrange-
Adarsh et al. (2013) were Designed a small-scale ment. The pulley is mounted on the shaft of the motor
sugar cane harvesting machine as shown in Fig. 20. Dif- which drives another pulley and shaft arrangement to
ferent parts of a machine will be mounted on strong which cutter is attached. V-belt is used to avoid slip fac-
chassis. The wheels will be attached to this chassis so tors.
that it can be moved on the farm. The petrol engine is
mounted on the chassis which provides the power to Siddaling and Ravaikiran (2015) Designed and fab-
the wheels to move using a gear and chain mechanism ricated a small-scale sugar cane harvesting machine as
and it also provides the power to the cutter. The shaft of shown in Fig. 22. The Fuel from the tank is supplied to
the gearbox and the shaft which is connected to the the Engine and the power is generated to the shaft in-
wheels are interconnected using gear and chain mecha- side the engine. The driver sprocket which is attached
nism to provide variable speed. The pulley is connected to the engine shaft rotates the driven sprocket through

- 62 -
Elwakeel et al. Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

a chain drive mechanism. The driven sprocket that is 2. Conclusions

connected to the longer shaft will transmit the power to
Harvesting is a crucial component of the sugarcane
either side of the bevel gears through the shaft. The
production system. In this paper, we conducted a liter-
longer shafts will be mounted between the two plumber
ature review on sugarcane harvesting technologies in
blocks which provide support to the shaft. The rotating
the context of both sugar and biofuel production. This
bevel gears are in turn connected to the cutters through
review paper is a small work towards analyzing sugar-
vertical rods which rotates the cutters. In this way, the
cane harvester machine aspects for economical harvest-
small-scale sugar cane harvesting machine works. The
ing which will help to minimize the working fatigue
operations involved are simple and easy to operate.
and to reduce labor costs.
References
Adarsh J.J., Karnel, S., Ratod, S., Thotad, V.N., Kiran, P., 2013. Design
and Fabrication of Small-Scale Sugarcane Harvesting Machine.
Int. J. Mech. Eng. And Rob. Res., 2(3): 204 – 210.
Al Sharief, H.M., Haque, M.A., Aviara, N.A., 2006. Performance Eval-
uation of a Tractor-Operated Sugarcane Harvester. Agriculture
mechanization in Asia, Africa and lain America 79-84.
Boast, M.M., 1977. Interim report on McConnel Stage II cane har-
vester. Proceedings of The South African Sugar Technologists'
Association-June, 17, 17.
Boast, M.M., 1985. Progress report on the SASABY whole stalk cane
harvester. In Proceedings of the South African Sugar Technolo-
gists Association (Vol. 59, pp. 225-228).
Boast, M.M.W., 1986. Development of a prototype cane cutter from a
Fig.21. Conceptual CAD model (Pachkhande et al., bell loader. In Proceedings of the annual congress-South African
Sugar Technologists' Association.
2015). Braithwaite, P., 2013. Harvesting and haulage. eds. Meyer, J., Rein, P.,
Turner, P. Mathias, K., Good management practices for the cane
sugar industry, 355-374.
Braunbeck, O.A., Magalhães, P.S., 2014. Technological evaluation of
sugarcane mechanization. Sugarcane bioethanol—R&D for
Productivity and Sustainability, 1, 451-464. http://dx.doi.org/10.-
5151/BlucherOA-Sugarcane-SUGARCANEBIOETHANOL_42
Chatterton, B., Braithwaite, P., 1985. Rationalization of a cane haulage
system. Proceedings of The South African Sugar Technologists'
Association-June, 235.
De Beer, A.G., 1980. The performance of chopper harvesters. Proc. Int.
Soc. Sugarcane Tech. 17: 1011-1024.
De Beer, A.G., Pilcher, J.R., Boast, M.M., Meyer, E., 1983. Mechanical
green cane harvesting. In Proc. Intl. Soc. Sugar Cane Tech (Vol.
18, No. 1, pp. 450-460).
Hudson, J.C., 1974. The BSPA cane cutter. Proceedings of the South
African Sugar Technologists' Association, 1096-1105.
Hudson, J.C., 1977. A system for Whole Stick Cane Harvesting.
In Proc. Int. Soc. Sug. Cane Technol (Vol. 16, pp. 1985-2000).
Ma, S., Karkee, M., Scharf, P.A., Zhang, Q., 2014. Sugarcane harvester
technology: a critical overview. Applied engineering in agricul-
ture, 30(5), 727-739. doi: 10.13031/aea.30.10696.
Merwe, G.V.D., Pilcher, J.R., Meyer, E., 1978. The Edgecombe cane
was cuter. Proceedings of the South African Sugar Technologists'
Association, 169-173.
Meyer, E. (1997). Factors to consider when implementing a fully
mechanised sugarcane harvesting system. In Proceedings of the
South African Sugar Technologists’ Association (Vol. 71, pp. 79-
81).
Meyer, E., 1984. Midway cane cutter. In Proceedings... annual con-
gress-South African Sugar Technologists' Association.
Meyer, E., Fenwick, L.J., 2003. Manual sugarcane cutter performances
in the Southern African Region. In Proc. S. Afr. Sug. Technol. As-
soc. (Vol. 7, pp. 150-157).
Meyer, E.,1996). Areview of mechanised cane harvesting systems in
southern africa. Proc S Afr Sug TechnolAss, 70.
Moontree Nisbett, B., 2006. Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design.
9th ed. United States of America, McGraw−Hill Primis.
Pachkhande, N.M., Rade, D.V., Nagapure, V.G., 2015. Small Scale
Fig. 22. Sugar cane harvesting machine, (Siddaling Sugarcane Cutter Machine. International journal for engineering
and Ravaikiran, 2015) applications and technology, ISSN: 2321-8134.

- 63 -
Elwakeel et al. Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2 (2022) 54-63

Parker J.M., Speichinger, J.D., 2014. Sugarcane Harvester Attachment. Siddaling, S., Ravaikiran, B.S., 2015. Design and fabrication of small
U.S. Patent No. 2014/0352272 A1. scale Sugarcane harvesting machine. International journal of En-
Pilcher, J.R., Van der Merwe, G., 1976. development of a simple cane gineering Research and General science, 2091-2730.
cutter. In Proceedings of the... annual congress. Tweddle, P.B., (2013): MSc Thesis. School of Engineering, University
Ranveer, A., Tambuskar, D.P., 2015. Design and analysis of attach- of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.
ment of sugarcane harvester for a tractor. International journal Van der Merwe, G., Pilcher, J.R., Meyer, E., 1978. The Edgecombe cane
of engineering sciences and research technology, 4(8), 2277-9655. cutter. In Proc S Afr Sug Technol Ass (Vol. 52, pp. 169-173).
Rohit, J.M., Chaudhari, S.S., Khedkar, S.S., 2015. Design and Fabrica- Yinggang, O., Wegener, M., Dantong, Y., Qingting, L., Dingke, Z.,
tion of Small Scale Sugarcane Harvester. Journal of Mechanical Meimei, W., Haochun, L., 2013. Mechanization technology: The
and Civil Engineering, 2(3), 1-9. key to sugarcane production in China. International Journal of
Scott, D.A., J.C., Hudson, 1980. Recent development with the Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 6(1), 1-27.
BSPA/MCCONNE harvester system. XVI Congress ISSCJ, Sao
Paulo 1003-1010.

‫دراسة مرجعية لتكنولوجيا حصاد قصب السكر‬

1
‫حنف‬
‫ي‬ ‫ وليد محمد‬،2 ‫ عبدهللا مسعد زين الدين‬،2 ‫ سعد فتح هللا أحمد‬،1 ‫الشوادف الوكيل‬
‫ي‬ ‫عبدهللا‬
.‫ مص‬،‫ أسوان‬،‫ جامعة أسوان‬،‫ كلية الزراعة والموارد الطبيعية‬،‫ قسم الهندسة الزراعية‬1
.‫ مص‬،‫ اإلسكندرية‬،‫ الشاطب‬،‫ جامعة اإلسكندرية‬،‫ كلية الزراعة‬،‫ قسم الهندسة الزراعية والنظم الحيوية‬2

‫العرب‬
‫ي‬ ‫الملخص‬
‫اسباتيجية‬ ‫ حيث ر‬.‫اسباتيجية مهمة لجميع دول العالم‬
‫يأت السكر ف المرتبة الثانية بعد القمح لما له أهمية ر‬ ‫يعتب السكر سلعة ر‬
‫ر‬
‫ لذلك كان من الصوري‬.‫ بينما يحتل السكر المرتبة الثانية بعد األرز بالنسبة للدول اآلسيوية‬،‫ف أوروبا وإفريقيا واألمريكتي وأسباليا‬
‫ لزيادة اإلنتاجية وسد الفجوة بي اإلنتاج واالستهالك من خالل زيادة‬،‫ وخاصة قصب السكر‬،‫إيالء االهتمام الكامل للمحاصيل السكرية‬
‫الب تستخدم ف‬‫ هذا البحث يتضمن أغلب األنظمة ر‬،‫ المشكلة الرئيسية لمزرعة قصب السكر ه عملية الحصاد‬.‫إنتاجية قصب السكر‬
‫ يهدف هذا البحث إىل عمل حص ألغلب األنظمة‬.‫حصاد قصب السكر حول العالم للتعرف عىل مزايا وعيوب التشغيل ف األنظمة‬
.‫المستخدمة ف حصاد قصب السكر حول العالم‬

- 64 -