Comparative Performance Evaluation of Sugarcane Cutter Planters

Sugarcane planting is very time, labour and drudgery oriented operation carried out with conventional tools and equipment which ultimately increase the cost of operation and reduce the net profit to the growers. Planting creates the foundation for a crop and plays an important role in its growth and yield. Study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of three different models of commercially available sugarcane cutter planters designated as P₁, P₂ and P₃. The field capacity of the planter P₁, P₂ and P₃ was 0.26, 0.28 and 0.28 ha/h with field efficiency of 49, 52 and 51%, respectively, at effective working width of 2.25 m and forward speed of 2.36–2.44 km/h. A set length of 40.5, 35.2 and 35.0 cm with average overlap of 18–30, 45–60 and 5–8% was observed with P₁, P₂ and P₃, respectively, in 2^nd low gear of tractor. The seed rate required with P₁, P₂ and P₃ was 5.8, 8.2 and 5.2 tonnes per hectare, respectively. The high seed rate in planter P₃ was due to more number of sett drops per meter length. The highest cost of operation per hectare was observed with P₁ (Rs. 2599/-) followed by P₂ (Rs. 2463/-) and P₃ (Rs. 2410/-). The performance of all three planters was observed to be satisfactory but in planter P₃ the sett drop and overlap of sett drop was within recommended limits. Also, the sett cutting mechanism was observed to be best in planter P₃.