Ratoon and Trash Management:-
1.Tractor mounted two –row Sugarcane stubble shaver
It is a tractor mounted implement suitable for shaving Sugarcane stubbles after harvest. This implement was developed by IISR, Lucknow. The stubble shaver consists of rotary blades run by tractor P.T.O. The unit can also be used for off baring and fertilizer application. The cost of the unit is about 25,000
2.Tractor operated Sugarcane trash shredder
Sugarcane produces about 10 to 12 tonnes of dry leaves per hectare per crop. The detrashing is done on 5th and 7th month during its growth period. This trash contains 28.6%- organic carbon, 0.35 to 0.42% nitrogen, 0.04 to 0.15% phosphorus, 0.50 to 0.42% potassium. Sugarcane trash is a lengthy one. Handling and heaping the trash will be more cumbersome.
The old practice of burning the dry leaves in the field produces ash and smoke which causes environmental pollution and more over the good organisms in the soil get destroyed due to fire, which is again a loss to the farm land ecology. It is recommended to shred the waste into small particles.
Sugarcane trash shredder can be used for in-situ shredding of Sugarcane leaves in the field. The sugarcane trash incorporation in the soil influences physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. There is a reduction in soil EC, improvement in the water holding capacity, better soil aggregation and thereby improves porosity in the soil. Sugarcane trash incorporation reduces the bulk density of the soil, and there is an increase in infiltration rate and a decrease in penetration resistance. The direct incorporation of chopped trash increases the availability of nutrients leading to soil fertility
3.Tractor operated Sugarcane trash shredder (single row)
A tractor operated Sugarcane trash shredder was developed at MPKV, Rahuri. The unit consists of trash compressing unit, shredding unit, and power transmission unit. It can be operated with a 35 hp tractor. The width of operation is 60 cm. The field capacity of the unit is 1.5 ha/day. The cost of the unit is Rs. 60,000/
4.Tractor operated Sugarcane trash shredder (two row)
A tractor operated two-row Sugarcane trash shredder was developed at TNAU. The main component of the unit is the rotating member with two rotary units. The spacing between them can be varied according to the row spacing of the crop. Swinging type curved blades are fitted on the rotary member in a staggered manner. The rotating speed of the rotary unit is 1990 rpm. The field capacity of the unit is 2 ha/day. The cost of the unit is Rs. 85,000/-
Mechanization is needed to get over some of the major constraints to enhance productivity and to make farming less arduous and attractive enough to enable educated youth taking willingly agriculture as vocation. Mechanization also aims at increasing land labour efficiency by improving the safety and comfort of agricultural labour and to protect the environment by allowing precision operations and increasing the overall income.
Efficient machinery helps in the timely farm operation, input use efficiency, increasing productivity by about 30%. Development and introduction of high capacity, precise, reliable and energy efficient equipment and their judicious use can bring in precision and timeliness in field operations. The challenges in sustainable Sugarcane agriculture can be met effectively by adopting the appropriate mechanical alternatives not only for increasing the productivity but inculcating cost efficiency in sugarcane production system.
Source-
- Sugarcane Breeding Institute
