REVIEW OF SOME PARAMETERS RELATED TO THE BASE-CUTTER OF SUGARCANE HARVESTERS

Abstract

Sugarcane represents the main cash crop in Upper Egypt. Area cultivated with sugarcane over 300,000 feds with average production 48 t/fed and total production may reach 16 million tons. The cost of labor has been increasing where the price is uncompetitive with the cost of mechanical harvesting with imported machines. Egypt needs to change its sugarcane harvesting methods from manual harvesting to mechanization to match the development occurred in similar countries. To mechanize sugarcane harvesting. Local cheap harvester should be manufactured considering our particular conditions. The study aimed to review and conclude some parameters the base cutter of a sugarcane harvester. The parameters, many include Physical and mechanical properties of sugar cane, cutting methods and types of knife edges, blade angles for cutting blades, cutting velocity (rotational speed) and forward velocity. Several researchers have been reviewing and reporting these parameters from variable point of views and variable objectives.