The performance of modified harvesters in green cane

The last three years have seen a marked increase in green cane harvesting throughout the industry, particularly in North Queensland. This has been made possible by the release of the Austoft 7000 Series harvesters and by successful modification of older model harvesters to cut green. In general, the specialised 7000 series harvesters have operated in larger contracts and modified harvesters in smaller contracts, with some notable exceptions. The use of modified harvesters was seen as an interim step in the conversion to green cane harvesting, or as being suitable for smaller group sizes. Because of concern about cane losses and inadequate cleaning with modified harvesters, a project was commenced in 1986 to evaluate the performance of these machines in green cane. The project was funded initially by an Australian Special Rural Research Grant and more recently by the Sugar Research Council.