Sugarcane Harvester & Mills observation on harvester

NEED FOR SUGARCANE HARVESTER:-

 Total cost implication on farmers / mills on cane harvesting alone is > Rs 10 k -12k crore in India,
which is about > 20-25% of the cane cost paid to the farmers by mills. This cost goes up to the
level of 35% in some cases where mills engage harvesting labourers directly.
 Mill cane department officials have to spend 50% of their time and energy for managing these
labourers rather than spending time on cane development activities.
 Machine can take care of absentee farmer unwilling to toil much on these harvesting activities.
Government run schemes like NREGS creates labour shortage for harvesting & other operations.
 Exploitation of farmers & millers by gang leaders during the season could be minimised.
 During extreme climates, the machine can take care of harvesting.

WHY MECHANICAL HARVESTER:

 Shortage of labour can be taken care of by mechanical harvesters.
 Machine harvests the crop at ground level, so important ratoon management operation like
stubble shaving costs will be reduced.
 As trash will be fine powdered and left over the field this reduces the problem of trash handling
which ultimately controls trash burning also.
 The machine can harvest about 80 to 100 tons/day in the present prevailing conditions, by
which large area can be harvested within a minimum time.
 Machine harvester enhances larger holding with wider row spacing of minimum of 4ft distance,
with perfect soil condition of the field and in sunshine days.

CHALLENGES OF MECHANICAL HARVESTER:

 Machine operates best in 4ft and wider row spacing and not in traditional system of 2.5 to 3ft,
this can be a limiting factor.
 Maintenance costs are high which leads to increase in costs.
 The machine will be economical only if it is operated within 20 km of operational area and
harvesting Sugarcane to the tune of 200-250 tons per day.

Till date about 160-170 machines (Maharashtra 120 + Karnataka 30 + TN 10-15) are operational,
majorly from companies like:-

 Bunmei, Thailand make, chopper cane harvester

 LCT Hansen, Chinese make, whole cane harvester
 John Deere -3520W, 7000 series, US make, chopper cane harvester
 Case New Holland- 4000 series, chopper cane harvester

Following are the experiences of harvesters from different factories during their two operational
seasons:-

Indian Sugar Mills Association Wednesday, July 04, 2012

 Sugarcane Harvester & Mills observation on harvester

CASE 1:- Godavari Bio-refineries Limited, Sameerwadi has purchased four harvesting machine by New
Holland company of 4000 series. The cost of each machine is Rs 94.20 lacs including two infielders,
registration fees etc. The harvester was used in 2011-12 and each machine had harvested around 7072
tonnes of cane for the season, against an expected 15000 tonnes harvest. The cost of per ton of cane
harvest by mechanical harvester is calculated by taking into account the cost of machine, interest on
capital investment, maintenance and repairs of machines, depreciation, tonnage harvested by machine
and diesel consumed etc. Total cost per ton of harvest by machine = Operative costs + fixed costs =
Rs.125.46 + 280.40 = Rs. 405.86

Cost per tonne of cane harvest by manual:

Basic harvesting rate Rs. 190.16

Commission (18%) Rs. 34.23
Other Expenses (labour Shifting, Hutment material) Rs. 10.85
Cost per ton Rs. 235.24
The cost per ton by mechanical harvester appears to be higher than manual harvesting still then there
is no alternative for labour cane harvest. However manual cane harvesting rate would be revised
periodically

CASE 2:- The Ugar Sugar Works Ltd. –Comparative Study of Chopper Harvester

Particular John Deer 3520W New Holland 4000

Weight 14 tons 7.5 tons
Harvesting rate 28030 tons/hr 18-20 tons/hr
Suitability to standing crop 250 MT/ha lodged cane 100 MT /ha Non-Lodged cane
Row to Row distance Minimum 5 ft. single row or 5ft. X 1.5 4 ft. single row crop non-
ft. pair row planting and lodged crop lodged
Compaction of soil Not noticed Not noticed
Cost of machine including 1.85 crore 87 lakh
infielder
Horse power 337 HP 174 HP
Transmission 25 km /hr 16 km / hr
Extraneous matter % 9.11% 8.02%

Popular myths for not using harvesters:-

 More row-row spacing reduces yield

Country Spacing ( cm) Yield ( t / hac)

India 60-90 68
Australia 140 90
Brazil 120-150 80
South Africa 150-180 75

 Machines can’t replace man power

Indian Sugar Mills Association Wednesday, July 04, 2012

 Sugarcane Harvester & Mills observation on harvester

Filed Operations Man-days required / ha

Harvesting i.e Cutting of cane 30
Topping & detrashing 45
Bundling 40
Transportation 60

 Soil compaction – Engines HP- 174 HP only weighs 7.5 tons

 Machines are maneuverable from 12-14 feet row planting to 4-4.4 feet
 Move ability – lower turning radius from 10.5 feet to 7.25 feet
 No issues in lifting lodged canes
 Cost of harvesting INR 273/ MT – 10 hrs/ day harvesting Vs INR 163/ MT- 20 hr/ day harvesting (
night harvesting) – so its operation should be done judiciously

Some issues which need to be addressed by Harvester machine companies like:-

 Billet / piece cane harvester.
 More cut area exposes to air and sunlight
 Not suitable for fragmented land holdings
 Operates only in four feet and above row distance
 Operation depends on climate factors
 Blower capacity is low
 Harvested cane contains more extraneous materials

Requirement of Harvesters based on Installed mill capacity

2500 tcd Four machines to harvest 1.20 lk tn cane

5000 tcd Eight machines to harvest 2.3 lk tn cane
10000tcd Sixteen machines to harvest 4.50 lk tn cane

Indian Sugar Mills Association Wednesday, July 04, 2012