Australian cane-farming mechanization

Title

Language

English

Source

The Philippines Herald (November 12, 1970)

Year

1970

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

AUSTRALIAN CANE-FARMING MECHANIZATION Australian production of sugarcane reached a record 18,413,000 tons in 1968/69, an increase of 1.6 million tons over the previous best in 1967, and dou ble the output of 1961. Handling of this ever-increasing an nual crop wouid not have been possible without the remarkable progress in me chanical harvesting and loading made throughout the 1960's. Australian canefarmers and agricultural engineers between them have devel oped such a variety of im plements and machines that today the entire cycle from planting to loading the cut cane is virtually fully-mechanized. This high degree of me chanization on tiie farm helps account for the ex ceptionally high Austra lian average yield of one ton of raw sugar to every seven tons of cane (over seas average is one ton of sugar for every ten tons of cane) Australian has 8485 cane-farms, 34 mills, six bulk-handling sugar ports and six refineries — the achievement of 105 years’ work Season Total Crop Harvested m. tons 1961 9.02 1963 11.50 1965 13.55 1967 15 72 1968 ______ 17.41 The average cane-farm Is about 85 acres. Each cane-farmer has available to him the following range of equipment, which he either owns or hires de pending on the size of his crop:— * Standard fanning im plements, including trac tors, ripper, disc harrow, full set of toolbar equip ment, tiller, trash rake, drain plough, break pusher, root rake, grub ber, fertilizer applicator, cultivator; Specialized cane-frnning equipment: disc ratooner, stubble shaver, plan ter, harvester, loader. Disc Ratooner: This implement has individually-a d j u s t able gangs of discs permitting an infinite variety of set tings to allow a wide range of operations in the ratooning of cane crops. Stubble Shaver • Stubble-shaving, revs. gnized for many years as the best method of putting cane land into order after harvesting, is done by means of special imple ments — available either as power takeoff units or ground wheel drive units- - designed to cut off stubble and force ratoon shoots to develop with deeper eyes, ensuring heavier crops Cane Planter: Cane planters have been designed to carry out the complete planting of cane in one operation. They can be either dtp-type or spray-tvpe, single-row or double-row An Australian invention, the cane plan ter digs its own furrow, cuts the planting st'lk into two or three-eye setts, sprays each sett witfi fungicide then plants it, fertilizes it and covers it up. It is a two-man opeMpch. Harvested m. tons 0.48 1.55 5 30 9.20 12 47 of total crop 58.6 71.6 ration, with one driving the tractor and his partner attending to the planter. A single-row planter can do 3>/2 to 4 acres per day. Harvester: The Australian-designed and made mechanical har vester is the secret of the ever-increasing effi ciency of Australian cane growing Its wholehearted acceptance by cane-grow ers throughout the cane belt (a 1300-mile stretch of the north-eastern seaboard from northern NSW io North Queensland) is re vealed by the figures:— Over 12,473,000 tons of cane were mechanically harvested in Queensland^ '(which produces more than 95% of Australia’s total crop) in 1968, repre senting 71.6% of the crop. There were 3.27 million more tons mechanically harvested in 1968 than in 1967, an increase of 13%. In 1969 it is estimated that more than 80% of the crop will be mechanically har vested. The rate of prohar- mill. gross in mechanical vesting can be gauged from the table: The number of mecha nical harvesters in use rose from 109 in 1961 to 1622 in 1968 and will reach 1819 in 1969, on present in dications. There are two types of mechanical harvester: (a) Chopper type: This machine gathers the crop, either standing or lodged, removes the tops, cuts the cape off at ground level, conveys the cane up to and through a set of chopping knives, where it is chopped into billets of uniform lengtn (12 to 14 Inches) and de livers these billets, cleaned of dirt and trash, into a transport bln or truck for immediate dispatch to the Mechanical planting of sugar cane (top photo)— the machine cuts the cane stalks into short lengths and buries them in furrows. The machine also buries insecticide to protect the cuttings and fertili. zer to help cane grow. Lower phot o shows mechanical handling in Bundaberg cane field, Queensland. The harvester is mount ed on a tractor and is dri ven by the tractor PTO (power take-off)_jhaft. In normal conditions a rub ber-tyred tractor of at least 50 PTO horsepower at 540 rpm is required. The standard chopper harvester of . the make most commonly used in Australia (com manding 53% of the market in 1968) consists of a heavy duty main frame which carries the harvesting sys tern attached to a massive heavy duty tractor sub frame. The harvester is raised and lowered by twin hy draulic rams directly con nected to the tractor hy draulic system, ana is car±icd on a heavy duty rear axle extension The hy draulically-activated, inde pendently-controlled top per unit, which is adjust able for tilt, 1s mounted on the harvester main frame and is fully controlled from the operator’s seat. The cane is gathered into the specially-design ed mouth by two hydrau lically-driven auger-type crop-lifters. These rotat ing crop-lilters raise and gather lodged cane -into the mouth. For straight standing cane the crop lifters can be turned off. Special floating shoes withadjustable points are fit ted at the lower ends of the crop-lifters. These shoes ensure that all cane stalks being harvested go (Continued on page 13) P°9e 10 AUSTRALIAN SUPPLEMENT Thursday, November 12, 1970 Australian Cane-Farming Mechanization (Continued from page 10) into the machine. The harvesting system consists of a revolving base cutting disc, floating primary feed roller, roller conveyor system, chopping system (two knives rotat ing at right angles to the motion of the cane) and a slewing elevator with a six-foot grid section in the lower end which as sist with removal of dirt. An extractor mounted above this grid section draws air through it at a rate of 13,000 cu. ft. per minute through the tum bling cane, to clean it. At the dropping point at the top of the elevator a heavy duty trash extractor unit, moving 320,000 cu. ft. of air per minute, removes any other loose leaf, trash, dirt etc. This chopper harvester can handle 25,000 tons in a 25-week season. It will fill a four-ton bin in two minutes. An auxiliary pow er unit fitted to the ma chine will increase capa city considerably. Overall length is 18 ft 6, height 15.0, width when fitted to tractor, maximum 11.0 (depends on tractor), weight 3 tons 15 cwt. (b) Wholestalk type: Tractor-mounted like the chopper harvester, this machine simultaneously tops and cuts the cane at ground level, then lays it to one side flat on the ground to be picked up later by hand or, as is most likely these days, by me chanical loader A special *dcwn cane pick-up” is available for handling sprawled or tan gled crops. A speciallydesigned base cutter en sures clean ground cut ting even in extremes of ridge or hollow. Mechanical Loading: Mechanical loading has developed to virtually the maximum possible since. 1961, when just over half the crop was mechanically loaded. In 1968 98.6% of the crop was mechanically loaded. Front-end loaders han dled 56% of the crop in 1963 but have lost favor gradually and handled on ly 23.5% of the crop in 1968. Jib-type loaders have meanwhile steadily inc r e a sed in popularity, handling 24.4% of the crop in 1968. (Chopper harvest ers “loaded" the remaind er of the crop}. The jib-type loader, operated by one man, is a tractor-mounted elbow-ac tion hydraulically-oper ated rotatable boom grab. Slewing is effected by foot pedals, leaving the oper ator’s hands free for boom and grab manipulation. The rotatable grab head permits the turning of the bucket or grab to dig or pick up in the most fa vourable position. Opera tion calls for considerable manual dexterity and co ordination of hand, foot and eye; operators ac quire pride in their skill with these machines and at the annual Innlsfall Sugar Festival a special contest is staged for them, in which contestants have to load and unload seve ral tons of wholestick cane, being judged on both speed and efficiency. This versatile machine can be equipped with spec 1 a 1 attachments for trench and channel dig ging, drain-cleaning, bulk handling and other prac tical farm applications when not being used for CIG/Comweld supply compact plants for either welding and heating, ora combined plant for welding, cutting and heating—and even powder facing. Comes complete with a comprehensive range of accessories that may be added to If necessary. They convert easily for HAND1GAS (LP Gas) operation end feature the unique Valve-ln-a-Valve flow control system. CIG/Comweld also supply an excellent range of cutting machines, nozzles, regulators, fluxes and consumables. Included In the range of cutting machines Is the Clipper—a lightweight, portable, low cost machine offering great versatility— the rugged Four X Cross Carriage Profile Cutting Machine for bigger Jobs—and portable pipe cutting machines. Hand operated, they cut pipe ranging from 4" to 24" diameter. building a better tomorrow today THE COMMONWEALTH INDUSTRIAL GASES LIMITED. CIG cane-loadlng. A large-capacity, dieselpowered, s e 1 f-propelled four-wheel drive, fourwheel steer loader is also available. In operation, the felled cane is bundled by a two pronged attachment on the end of the tractor. With the forward motion of the tractor, the prongs slide under the cane. As the cane piles up under the pressure, the grab is brought down to lift up the bundle. De sign of the grab is such that when ii is positioned over the loose bundle and the operator activates the lever closing the grab, th® fingers of the grab barely skim the ground, gradual ly working the cane into a neat bundle inside the grab. This avoids picking up dirt and extraneous matter, which could hap pen if the fingers dug into the soil. The standard loader has an overall length of 25 feet 2, width 6.3, height 13 feet, wheelbase 7 feet, weight 4 tons 15 cwt. It has a maximum reach of 19 feet, maximum lift of 17 feet, and recommended load of 1000 lbs and max. digging depth of 6 feet. The large-capacity mo del is 20 feet long, 15 feet 3 high, wheelbase 8 feet, width 7 feet 3, weight 7 tons 6 cwt; recommended load of 10 cwt. at max. reach of 26 feet, or 25 cwt at 12 foot radius. Ifs max digging depth is 18 feet. All these machines are most efficient in their present stage of develop ment, but are constantly being modified and im proved as farmers and ma nufacturers continue to strive for extra efficiency in all conditions, from bone-dry to boggy, from flat to hilly. EXCG5133/70 Thursday, November 12, 1970 AUSTRALIAN SUPPLEMENT Page 13

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