Design of a sugar cane harvest residue shredder

This paper describes the design of a sugar cane harvest residue shredder. The use of this equipment will prevent the negative effects caused by the burning of the residue on the development of new plants, thus obtaining an increase in cane yield per hectare as a result of not having caused fire damage to the new shoots. If the residue is incorporated into the soil, the organic material content is increased, thus improving soil structure and water retention, decreasing erosion and increasing microbial flora. Due to the length of the blades, the shredder does not damage the cane stubble. Furthermore, the dimensions of the rotor were designed by taking into account the geometry of the sugar cane furrows (there are no blades on the central part of the rotor so as to avoid damage to the cane stubble). The shredder can be mounted on the three-point hitch of a Category II agricultural tractor, thus allowing for a high degree of manoeuvrability during work and transport.