Abstract

This research presents the developing sugarcane harvester using small engine in order to focus on its appropriateness in sugarcane farming for farmers who are encountering problems of labor shortage and sugar factories lacking sugar cane for producing sugar. It is operated by 180 hp (134.28 kW) at 2500 rpm. Sugarcane was harvested at 12 months after planting with an average-stalk length of 1.8 m, and average-stalk diameter of 0.0254 m; each clump consisted of 8 to 12 stalks, the distance of each sugarcane row was 1.20 m. The sugarcane harvester using small engine can perform at an average speed of 1109.73 m²/h with fuel consumption of 20.03 l/h and at a mobile speed of 0.25 km/h. The percentage of sugarcane-cut stalks is 100% since this engine is installed with double blades with a speed of 1,090.5 rpm; a speed of leaf-cutting blades is at 669 rpm with the break even point of 122,572.8 kg/year and the payback period of 2 years.

Key words: Sugarcane, harvester, small engine.