With the increasing trend of mechanized harvesting of green sugarcane the trash residue needs to be used. Leaving large amounts of trash remaining on the field can sometimes lead to problems such as delay of sprouting of tillers, increased levels of leafhopper infestation and difficulty of tillage operation. Windrowing of trash after harvesting can minimize these problems.
To eliminate the operation of trash windrowing and to facilitate the trash decomposition, the Sugarcane Technology Center, CTC (Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira), Brazil developed a trash shredder system for a primary extractor of John Deere chopper sugarcane harvester. Using rotating knives all vegetable material passing through the primary extractor is chopped, thereby reducing the particle size. After some adjustments, preliminary tests were carried out to prove the efficiency of chopping and sugarcane cleaning.
The machine produces a much smaller trash particle size than conventional harvesters. The system shows promise in shredding trash either for use at the mill or for dispersion on the field.
