LAUSR

As a by-product of sugarcane industry, sugarcane green tops has not been effectively collected and utilized in the mechanized harvesting of sugarcane. It has caused significant  economic losses. In this study, a tractor mounted sugarcane top chopper was designed. A series of field tests were carried out to explore the effect of the cutting speed and cutting drum gap on cane top recovery weight and machine chopping efficiency. In the field experiment, a 2 factor 3 level test was conducted to examine the significance of tested factors’ effects on evaluation indicators. According to the 2 factor 3 level test, the effect of cutting speed on recovery weight was recorded better than that of cutting the drum gap. Cutting speed had a significant impact on chopping efficiency, but in case of cutting drum gap had no significant impact on it. The optimal parameters combination for good working performance of the machine was obtained with cutting speed of 150 rpm and cutting drum gap of  20 mm. This paper analyzed the relationship between the chopping performance and the two critical factors that provided a theoretical basis for the design and development of sugarcane top chopper.