TNAU invents lever-operated sugarcane mother shoot cutter
Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has invented a lever-operated sugarcane mother shoot cutter for sustainable sugarcane initiative (SSI). Priced at ₹1,000 per count, this tool could cut 1,200 sugarcane mother shoots per hour. It also will reduce operator injuries and backache during the cutting of sugarcane mother shoots.
Removal of the mother shoot being one of the main principles of SSI to get even tillers, the new equipment helps cut the plant just one inch above the ground level after the establishment of sugarcane seedlings.
Conventionally, secateurs, knife and sickle are used for cutting sugarcane mother shoot. Their operational
efficiency is low. The new invention, apart from reducing the cost of cultivation, considerably reduces drudgery faced by the agricultural labourers, a TNAU press release said.
It also helps improve the even tillers and increase millable canes per plant. The invention was developed with commercially available secateurs, mild steel plates and handles with suitable arrangements.
Several modifications were made to the initially developed tool to improve its efficiency, the press release said. TNAU has obtained a patent for the invention.
