Development of an Adjustable Rake-Type Sugarcane Piler

Abstract

The rapid mechanization of sugarcane harvesting in Puerto Rico has become necessary in recent years because of steadily decreasing availability of manual labor. The V-cutter harvester, popularly known as la Coneja, has been used extensively in Puerto Rico. This harvester produces a windrow which is difficult to load effectively with the conventional pile-and-grab loaders commonly used in Puerto Rico. A rake-type sugarcane piler with tines individually adjustable vertically was developed to utilize the existing loaders more effectively. This piler normally is mounted on a pile-and-grab loader. The loader transfers previously cut cane from field windrows to transport carts pulled beside the loader. Eight of these adjustable pilers have been fabricated thus far and successfully used in harvesting more than 200,000 tons of cane.