Maria Alejandra Gómez, Alejandro Estrada, Juanita Sierra, Henrry Bladimir Tarapues and Nicolás Javier Gil
Colombian Sugarcane Research Center (CENICAÑA), Experimental Station, Cali-Florida Highway Km 26, Valle del Cauca, Colombia; magomez@cenicana.org In the last decade, green-cane harvesting in Colombia has significantly increased, reaching 75% in 2023. This growth has emphasized the need to monitor its impact on sucrose losses and operational efficiency. A key factor in harvesting quality is the condition of the billets, which are classified into sound, damaged, and mutilated. A minimum of 70% sound billets is recommended, as their condition can directly influence sucrose loss. We assessed this indicator. Measurements were taken on five commercial varieties developed by Cenicaña. The results showed that the percentage of billet sounds ranged from 65% to 75%. Two types of chopper blades were tested, considering both billet quality and mechanical performance. Laboratory scale tests were conducted on the three billet categories to quantify sucrose losses and microbial metabolite generation (dextran and lactic acid) at time intervals of 0, 3, 6 and 9 hours. Key findings revealed that in fields containing rocks, hard and brittle blades produced better billet quality compared to tenacious and ductile blades. Sucrose deterioration per hour occurred faster in mutilated billets than in sound billets (1.33% ± 0.28 and 0.85% ± 0.14, respectively), along with the formation of microbial metabolite per hour such as acid lactic (4.24 and 0.67 g/100 g juice, respectively). A potential relationship between fiber content (fiber % cane and long fiber) and billet quality was identified, with varieties having a higher percentage of sounds billets also showing higher fiber content. Given these results, it is recommended to establish blade selection criteria based on soil characteristics. Additionally, implementing billet quality quantification as an operational indicator is essential to optimize blade replacement timing and minimize sucrose losses between harvesting and milling.