SSI is an innovative method of sugarcane production and removing the mother shoot is one of the main principles of SSI to get even tillers. Plant should be cut just one inch above the ground after the establishment of sugarcane seedlings.
Conventionally, secateurs, knife and sickle are used for the cutting sugarcane mother shoot and their operational efficiency is low. The present invention apart from reducing the cost of cultivation and human drudgery, which is faced by the agricultural labourers, can also been reduced considerably. It also helps to improve the even tillers and increase the more number of tillers and millable canes per plant. The invention was developed with commercially available secateurs, mild steel plate and handles with suitable arrangements. Several modifications were made in the initially developed tool to improve the operator, tool and cutter efficiencies.
The invention consists of mild steel plate, secateurs and handles. The length of mild steel flat 900 mm and the size is 12x6mm. Secateurs have short handles in which 7 mm holes were provided 20 mm away from the rear end. The one end of the two mild steel flat are connected to rear sides of the secateurs handles with bold and nuts size of 1 1/2 x1/4”. The two mild steel flats are fulcrumed (bold 1 1/2 x1/4“) at 350 mm from the bottom of the secatuers and the length 160 mm and 20 mm diameter pipes are welded at top ends of the mild steel plates as handles.
By using this tool, sugarcane mother shoots are cut at the rate of approximately 1200 numbers per hour. The cost of the tool is Rs. 1000. This tool will reduce operator injurious and back ache during cutting the sugarcane mother shoot. lso this tool improves the efficiency of the operator and reduces the operational cost.
Further, the patent office, Government of India granted the patent to the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University for 20 years