Sugarcane Harvester & Mills observation on harvester
NEED FOR SUGARCANE HARVESTER:
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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:
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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:
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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
Weight
Harvesting rate
Suitability to standing crop
Row to Row distance
Compaction of soil
Cost of machine
infielder
Horse power
Transmission
Extraneous matter %
John Deer 3520W
14 tons
28030 tons/hr
250 MT/ha lodged cane
Minimum 5 ft. single row or 5ft. X 1.5
ft. pair row planting and lodged crop
Not noticed
including 1.85 crore
337 HP
25 km /hr
9.11%
New Holland 4000
7.5 tons
18-20 tons/hr
100 MT /ha Non-Lodged cane
4 ft. single row crop nonlodged
Not noticed
87 lakh
174 HP
16 km / hr
8.02%
Popular myths for not using harvesters:
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More row-row spacing reduces yield
Country
India
Australia
Brazil
South Africa
Spacing ( cm)
60-90
140
120-150
150-180
Yield ( t / hac)
68
90
80
75
Machines can’t replace man power
Indian Sugar Mills Association
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Sugarcane Harvester & Mills observation on harvester
Filed Operations
Harvesting i.e Cutting of cane
Topping & detrashing
Bundling
Transportation
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Man-days required / ha
30
45
40
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
5000 tcd
10000tcd
Indian Sugar Mills Association
Four machines to harvest 1.20 lk tn cane
Eight machines to harvest 2.3 lk tn cane
Sixteen machines to harvest 4.50 lk tn cane
Wednesday, July 04, 2012