A sugarcane harvester is a large piece of agricultural machinery that cuts, strips and collects sugarcane stalks, mechanizing a task once done entirely by hand, and functions in a similar role to a grain combine. Chopper harvesters cut the cane into short billets while whole stalk harvesters keep the cane in full lengths, and both kinds work with either burnt or green cane harvesting methods. The technology was first developed in the 1920s and reached commercial use in the 1950s, partly to answer labor shortages; the Massey Ferguson 515, brought out in 1959 by brothers Robert and Rick Rossi, is credited with doubling cane output, and sugarcane harvesters are now used across major producing countries including Brazil, India, China, Thailand and the United States.
Facts
OriginThe machine was originally developed in the 1920s and first employed commercially in the 1950s. 1 Connections
Associated With
manual sugarcane cutting with a machete is the traditional method the mechanized sugarcane harvester was built to replace, and still continues where mechanization is impractical
Sources
1. Sugarcane harvester (Wikipedia)
Opening section, first paragraphQuote, Opening section, first paragraph
The machine, originally developed in the 1920s, and first commercially employed in the 1950s, remains similar in function and design to the combine harvester.
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