Sugarcane harvester and harvesting system

Abstract

A harvester for harvesting stalks of sugarcane having a plurality of harvest chambers. Each harvest chamber has a pair of opposing side walls that forming a V-shaped forward opening for receiving sugarcane stalks to be cut for harvest and a plurality of revolving, opposing, resilient conveyor belts for grabbing, holding and feeding the sugarcane stalks through the chambers in a substantially upright position. Each harvest chamber has a plurality of adjustable blowers to selectively direct a high velocity air stream onto the sugarcane stalks to remove unwanted foliage from the sugarcane stalks and a vacuum system to suction unwanted foliage from the harvest chambers to a foliage collection chamber located within the harvester. Each harvest chamber has a sugarcane stalk cutting mechanism that includes a cutting fluid storage tank and a conduit and pump system to deliver the cutting fluid through hydraulic jets to the sugarcane stalks at a pressure and velocity sufficient for cutting the sugarcane stalks at desired locations along their length as the sugarcane cane stalks move through the harvest chambers and a conveyer system to deliver the cut sugarcane stalks from the harvest chamber to a desired location within the harvester. A control system is provided to control the various harvester systems.