Determination of Cutting Resistance of Sugar Cane (Saccarum officinarum) Using a New-Type Test Machine

Abstract

The cutting resistance of sugar cane was determined by use of a new-type manually operated agricultural test machine using two sugar cane varieties Noble (A) and Indigenous canes (B). The moisture content of the sugar cane used in the study was determined by the oven dry method. The cutting force and power required were determined using the test machine. The results showed that the average liquid content for variety A and B were 80% and 75% respectively. The cutting resistant for variety A and B were 3.93 kN/m and 5.5 kN/m respectively. The average applied cutting force of 147.3 N for variety B was higher than 130.7 N for variety A. The average power requirement for cutting variety A and B were 8.28W and 9.89W respectively. An analysis of the results using ANOVA at p ≤ 0.05 showed that there was no significant difference in the measured parameters for the two varieties of sugar cane used in this study. The results obtained will be useful in the design and manufacturing process of cutting tools for sugar cane.