Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Agric. Eng., Faculty. of Agric., and Nat. Res. Aswan U., Egypt.
2
Department of Agric. Eng., Faculty. of Agric., Alexandria U., Egypt.
3
Department of Crops, Faculty of Agric., Minia U., Egypt.
4
Faculty. of Agric., Cairo U., Egypt.
5
Department of Horticulture, Faculty. of Ag., Al-Azhar U., Assuit, Egypt.
Abstract
Sugarcane node cutting machine was manufactured and tested in the department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, El-Minia University, El-Minia, Egypt, to facilitate the process of cutting nodes that are used in transplanting sugarcane, the machine parts were designed using “SolidWorks” software, and then manufactured and constructed by using the low-cost available materials in local markets. The machine is used to separate the nodes from the sugarcane stalks and leave the internodes for industrial processes. The machine consists of reciprocating blades powered by a 3-phase AC motor. Field experiments were conducted for four groups of stalk diameters to study the effect of stalk diameters and cutting speeds on the machine performance. Results of the field tests for C9 sugarcane variety showed that the average diameter (cm), stalk weight (g), stalk length (cm), and the number of nodes per stalk of the tested samples ranged from (1.38 to 3.28 cm), (405.11 to 1206.67 g), (181.67 to 197.78 cm), and (12.56 to 14.33), respectively. Also, the results showed that the cutting efficiency was ranged between (83.67– 100%), maximum machine productivity was 3944 node/ha and the total operating cost ranged between 55.07 to 115.96 EGP/Fedd according to the cutting speed and stalk dimeters. It could be concluded from this study that the designed node-cutter prototype is profitable, handy and cost-effective to assist small-scale sugarcane farmers under Egyptian conditions.
Keywords
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