Completed projects and reports

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Sugar Research Australia, Sugar Research Development Corporation and BSES reports from completed research projects and papers.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Mechanisation Enhancements

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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    The development of an extension network amongst growers in Tully with a view to improving industry profitability in a participatory atmosphere : final report BSS253
    (2002) Finlayson, D
    The challenge for industry personnel was to develop a network amongst canegrowers in Tully that would provide more effective extension of research and development than current methods could achieve. A project in Mulgrave had been operating successfully for twelve months and was based on groups of growers that were dealing with similar issues. We used this model to design a program that would utilise extension resources pre-existing in Tully to provide an on-farm, participatory approach to increase the adoption of best management techniques within the sugarcane farming system.A steering committee was formed with representatives of the four major bodies in the Tully sugarcane industry ? Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations (BSES), CANEGROWERS, Cane Protection and Productivity Board (CPPB), and Tully Sugar Limited. This steering committee met initially to develop the program and acted in an advisory capacity to local extension staff. This project was instrumental in that it provided the operating funds required to get the whole process off the ground and allowed it to gather some momentum.Grower groups were established in each of the seven mill districts within Tully. These were named ?Farmer Forums? to dissociate them from ?shed meetings? and to foster an interactive rather than a ?sit there and listen? type atmosphere. All of the groups were satisfied with our proposal and committed themselves to the process.The whole basis for the groups was to encourage participation and active learning. The best way to achieve this in a farming community is to get farmers' hands dirty. The program resorted to informal meetings in a shed or under a house when the weather prevented any outside activity, but generally the groups met and undertook a practical, timely exercise on-farm. These exercises ranged from timing of weed control to harvesting and transport issues.The groups also set up particular demonstration sites, managed by the growers under professional guidance, which are being used to show how best management techniques might improve current farming methods.The groups were a little slow to grasp the whole 'group' concept but were all positive about setting their own direction. As a result, the demonstration sites are a mixture of old and new technology. Some groups wanted to jump straight into the new things and other groups saw the benefit of getting the basics right before they tackled any new issues.Although the whole concept of group learning is not new to agriculture in Australia, it has proved to be a continual learning experience for both the growers and staff as we develop this program in Tully. During the course of the project we have shared these experiences with other districts and will continue to exchange ideas.Although the project and SRDC funding have finished, there is no intention to let the group process end. The steering committee will meet again to revise the program and the groups will continue to operate indefinitely.
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    Commercialisation of lightweight elevator and advanced secondary cleaning system for sugarcane harvesters : Final report BSS251
    (2002) Davis, RJ; Norris, CP
    The Australian sugar industry is facing the challenge of increasing extraneous matter (EM), depression of ccs, sugar quality issues, and increasing harvesting and transport costs per tonne of final product. In addition, Likewise, cane loss remains a major background issue. Leslie and Wilson (1996) identified EM as a major contributor to the depression of ccs in the northern canegrowing regions. If low EM is seen as paramount by the industry, either cleaning the cane at the mill in dedicated cleaning plants, or improved performance of cleaning systems on harvesters, is required.Improving the performance of harvester cleaning systems is not easy because a number of fundamental problems exist. Rational review of the function of trash removal from a stream of billets and trash, particularly under wet trash conditions, indicates that effective cleaning is extremely difficult to achieve in one pass through any cleaning system. This is due because tof the interactions between the leaf material and billets of cane.The goal of this project was to development of a pre-production prototype lightweight harvester elevator and integrated secondary cleaning system. The project was commercially driven and built on the knowledge gained from the SRDC-funded project BSS210 in which h. The application of high-speed conveyor technology and advanced pneumatic cleaning concepts were integrated into a cane harvester. The design criteria targeted enhanced machine performance through reduced cane loss and EM, whilst reducing machine weight and improving machine stability.
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    Facilitation of best practice to reduce extraneous matter and cane loss : SRDC Final report BSS189
    (2002) Whiteing, C; Norris, CP
    Green cane harvesting and trash blanketing are important agronomic production techniques in the northern sugar producing areas. Cane losses are accepted to be higher with green cane harvesting and extraneous matter levels can be high, especially in difficult conditions. A series of harvester trials was conducted throughout the north from 1997 to 2000 to quantify the performance characteristics of current cane harvesters. Samples taken in the field and at the mill were assessed to determine the effect of harvester pour rate and extractor fan speed on extraneous matter. In addition, cane loss was measured using yield data and collection of scrap cane from the extractor systems. Mill weighbridge data and laboratory analysis enabled the impact of harvesting on industry returns to be quantified.Results indicate that current harvester designs have limited ability to clean cane effectively without excessive cane loss, especially at current harvesting rates. The results of trials at commercial pour rates imply that significant cane losses, up to 20 t/ha in some cases, are occurring in the harvesting process.Harvesting Best Practice (HBP) guidelines have been developed to enable harvester operators make informed decisions about operational settings. The guidelines aim to produce high quality cane with minimal cane loss. Extension of this information to growers, millers, harvester operators and manufacturers has encouraged more efficient harvesting and widespread recognition of the limitations of current harvesting technology. Adoption of HBP in the Mulgrave district has potentially reduced losses by a conservative estimate of 3-4 t/ha. This equates to 50,000 more tonnes of cane or a 5% boost in productivity for a district cutting one million tonnes.
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    Final report - SRDC project BSS106 : Assessing linkages between machine traffic, soil conditions and productivity
    (2001) Braunack, MV
    The objectives of this project was to; 1: determine the effect of matching crop row spacing to harvester wheel track widths on longevity and yeild of ratoon crops planted in dual rows; 2: investigate the mechanism causing compaction due to machinery; 3: determine any cumulative effect of harvesting traffic on soil physical properties, stool damage and ratooning in consecutive ratoon crops; 4: develop a decision support model to manage the effect of soil compaction and yield.
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    Production of an automated cane billet sampler for research trials : SRDC final report BSS156
    (2000) Robotham, BG
    Sugarcane breeding and research programs currently rely on hand-cut sound whole-stalk samples for determination of commercial cane sugar (CCS) and other quality components. These samples of sugarcane are free from extraneous material and inferior quality cane and, hence, a biased sample of the material is harvested for milling from experimental plots (Skinner, 1976). The whole-stalk samples must be obtained while mechanised equipment operates in the plots. Research staff are exposed to the risk of injury from harvesters and cane haulout vehicles. The BSES annual Plant breeding program exceeds 250 individual trials along the Queensland coast. Billet samples are more compatible with current harvesting systems and this sampling method is more useful in predicting responses of commercial cane varieties to agronomic treatments. Collecting cane samples as billets is also more compatible with current harvesting systems. Dr T McRae initiated this need for an automated sugarcane billet sampler in 1994, and funding was obtained to determine design parameters for this machine. (McRae et al., 1998). An objective of this project was to build and field-test an automated sugarcane billet sampler. This project continues the work of BS118S, which quantified the need for a billet sampler in sugarcane research trials.