Field of invention
The present invention relates to precision agriculture and agriculture technology and provides a machine that precisely extracts single bud-stalks from sugarcane with a pressure sensitive pedal as actuation mechanism. The bud stalks are ready to be planted for sowing in the fields or nursery.
Background of invention
Sugarcane is a crop of very high value in the present context of food and fuel crises. It is the most important sugar crop in the world. Presently it is considered as a multi-utility crop useful for producing sugar, ethanol, fibre, co-generation of power, and a host of downstream products. Adoption of right and efficient technologies help in realizing higher yields of cane and sugar.
In India sugarcane is one of the important commercial crops. Sugarcane is the main source of sugar in Asia and Europe. Sugarcane is an important commercial crop of the country occupying around 3.8 million hectares of land with an annual cane production of around 270 million tonnes. That is, it occupies about 2.8% of the cultivated land area and contributes about 7.5 % to the agricultural production in the country. Sugarcane is also the raw material for the production of white sugar, jiggery (gur) and khandsari. It is also used for chewing and extraction of juice for beverage purposes. The sugarcane cultivation and sugar industry in India plays a vital role towards socio-economic development in the rural areas by mobilizing rural resources and generating higher income and employment opportunities. About 7.5 percent of the rural population, covering about 45 million sugarcane farmers, their dependents and a large number of agricultural laborers are involved in sugarcane cultivation, harvesting and ancillary activities. There are about nine States in India where sugarcane is grown on a large extent of area. Thus it is understood that Sugarcane has highest amount of importance amongst farmers in India, but due to lack of proper, efficient and low cost technologies farmers face difficulties during planting and harvesting of Sugarcane, and these problems are largely faced by small scale farmers who lack monetary funds compared to that of large scale farmers who have enough monetary resources to adopt and use sophisticated machines for sugarcane cultivation.
To facilitate sugarcane cultivation highly sophisticated machines have been developed but however these machines cannot be afforded by small scale farmers. Hence it is required to develop a machine that can yield better results, provide high profits but still costs low on price and is simple in construction. Also, in conventional methods of sugarcane cultivation, the sugarcane is cut into pieces and is buried. Traditional hand-held cutting tools create a strain on the hands and thumb, cause wastage, and damage with slanting cuts, and are incapable of dealing with hard plant graftings.
Mr. Roshanlal Vishwakarma (2009), a farmer in Mekh village, Madhya Pradesh, came up with a device, called sugarcane bud chipper, which is floor-mounted and equipped with a knife with a semicircular edge to surgically cut out the buds.
Another machine was disclosed, that makes use of combined operation of a motor connected to a rotating circular disc which is further connected to a shaft to facilitate the reciprocating motion of a perpendicular cutter over the sugarcane, thus facilitating smooth cutting of bud from sugarcane. (International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development (IJAERD), Volume 5, Issue 03, March-2018, e-ISSN: 2348 - 4470, print-ISSN: 2348-6406)
Indian patent IN 342414 discloses a power operated sugarcane seed scooping machine.
The existing machines do not operate on will and pose a risk to the safety of the user. The cutter keeps on reciprocating constantly, which may be a big risk for the operator in case he places his hand and gets injured. Also, he should be highly skilled to place the samples with greater pace and get accurate cuts as the time frame provided is very less.
Objectives of the invention
The main objective of the invention is to provide a device that separates and collects buds from sugarcane stalks.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a device that is much faster than its manual counterpart and save seed cost as well as increase productivity over traditional practice.
Brief description of the drawings
Figure 1: Isometric view of the machine:
a cutter assembly (1)
cutter (2)
a power mechanism (3)
a control system (4)
a touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5)
installed with one or more load sensor (6)
a controller (7)
a main frame (8)
a table-top surface (9)
a cutter mounting portion (10)
a sugarcane stem mounting portion (11)
a sugarcane stem support structure (12)
cutter fixture (13)
cutting blades (14)
an air compressor unit (15)
a pneumatic cylinder(16)
the piston rod (17)
a pneumatic valve (18)
Figure 2: Back support and top assembly
Figure 3: Process flow chart
Figure 4 - Structural Frame (all dimensions are in mm)

Summary of the invention
Accordingly, the present invention provides a sugarcane bud stalk extractor for cutting at least one bud from a sugarcane stem.
The sugarcane bud stalk extractor comprising of a cutter assembly (1) employing at least one cutter (2), a power mechanism(3) for adjusting the at least one cutter (2) of the cutter assembly (1) between the forward and backward position, and the adjustment of the cutter between the forward position and the backward position enables cutting of the at least one bud from the sugarcane stem.
The cutter assembly is guided by a control system (4) consisting of a touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) and the controller (7). The touch-sensitive actuation pedal sends an actuation signal as soon as a load on the touch-sensitive actuation pedal reaches beyond a threshold value and the controller (7) in the control system is in communication with the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) and the power mechanism (3). The power mechanism is partly housed in the main frame (8) that also supports the cutter assembly (1).
The sugarcane bud stalk extractor further consists of a bud collection chamber (19) that collects the sugarcane buds during bud cutting operations.
The sugarcane bud stalk extractor is installed with a load sensor based pedal actuation system for ergonomic design and gives tireless working experience for the user as well as prolongs the machine life. After holding the sugarcane in the correct location, the user just has to make a slight tap action on the specially designed elevated pedal. The signal from the sensors triggers the piston of pneumatic cylinder which in-turn actuates the cutter. The whole process reduces fatigue and no training is required to start the machine operation.
Detailed description of the invention
The present invention is described hereinafter by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawing correspond to the like elements throughout the description. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
In the following detailed description, numeric values and ranges are provided for various aspects of the implementations described. These values and ranges are to be treated as examples only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, a number of materials are identified as suitable for various facets of the implementations. These materials are to be treated as exemplary, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The present invention provides a sugarcane bud stalk extractor for cutting at least one bud from a sugarcane stem.
In an embodiment of the present invention the sugarcane bud stalk extractor comprising of a cutter assembly (1) employing at least one cutter (2), a power mechanism(3) for adjusting the at least one cutter (2) of the cutter assembly (1) between the forward and backward position, and the adjustment of the cutter between the forward position and the backward position enables cutting of the at least one bud from the sugarcane stem.
The cutter assembly is guided by a control system (4) consisting of a touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) and the controller (7). The touch-sensitive actuation pedal sends an actuation signal as soon as a load on the touch-sensitive actuation pedal reaches beyond a threshold value and the controller (7) in the control system is in communication with the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) and the power mechanism (3). The controller (7) controls the power mechanism (3) to maintain the at least one cutter (2) in the backward position in absence of the actuation signal from the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5); the controller (7) further controls the power mechanism (3) to adjust the cutter from the backward position to the forward position upon receipt of the actuation signal from the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5). The power mechanism is partly housed in the main frame (8) that also supports the cutter assembly (1).
In an embodiment of the present invention the main frame (8) includes a table-top surface(9) consisting of a cutter mounting portion (10) and a sugarcane stem mounting portion (11) in front of the cutter mounting portion, the cutter mounting portion(10) supports the cutter assembly (1), and the sugarcane stem mounting portion (11) supports a sugarcane stem support structure (12) for supporting the sugarcane stem during bud cutting operations.

In another embodiment the sugarcane bud stalk extractor consist of the main frame (8) includes a bud collection chamber (19) that collects the sugarcane buds during bud cutting operations.
In another embodiment the sugarcane bud stalk extractor is having the cutter assembly (1) that comprises at least one cutter fixture (13) and at least one cutter(2).

In another embodiment the sugarcane bud stalk extractor consist of the power mechanism (3) that includes an air compressor unit (15) and a pneumatic cylinder(16) mounted on the cutter mounting portion (10) of the main frame (8) and the pneumatic cylinder is having a piston rod (17); the pneumatic cylinder (16) is in communication with the air compressor unit (15) such that the piston rod (17) is extended and retracted based on the direction of supply of air between the air compressor unit (15) and the pneumatic cylinder(16). There is a pneumatic valve (18) mounted on the cutter mounting portion (10) of the main frame (8) and is fluidly disposed between the air compressor unit (15) and the pneumatic cylinder (16), the pneumatic valve (18) being operable between a first position and a second position, such that in the first position, the pneumatic valve (18) allows the supply of air from the air compressor unit (15) to the pneumatic cylinder (16), to laterally extend the piston rod (17)of the pneumatic cylinder (16),in the second position, the pneumatic valve (18) allows the supply of air from the pneumatic cylinder (16) to the air compressor unit, to laterally retract the piston rod (17) of the pneumatic cylinder (16).

In another embodiment of present invention the sugarcane bud stalk extractor there is at least one cutter fixture (13)in the cutter assembly (1)that is steadily attached to the power rod of the pneumatic cylinder(16), and the at least one cutter(2) is fixedly installed in the at least one cutter fixture (13) thereof, such that the at least one cutter (2) is adjusted to the forward position as the pneumatic valve (18) is in the first position, and at least one cutter (2) is adjusted to the backward position as the pneumatic valve (18) is in the second position.

In another embodiment the at least one cutter (2) includes a curved cutting profile to at least partially conform to a profile of the sugarcane stem, during bud cutting operations.
In another embodiment the one or more load sensors (6) sends an actuation signal to the controller (7) as a load on the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) reaches beyond the threshold value. The threshold value can be adjusted to increase or decrease the sensitivity of the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5).
In another embodiment the sugarcane bud stalk extractor consist of the controller (7) that is in communication with the one or more load sensors (6) of the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) and the pneumatic valve (18) of the power mechanism (3), such that the controller(7) is adapted to adjust the pneumatic valve (18) between the first position and the second position.
In another embodiment of present invention, the sugarcane stem support structure (12) is an L-shaped section including a horizontal section and a vertical section such that each of the horizontal section and the vertical section of the sugarcane stem support structure (12) includes a curved profile to at least partially conform to a profile of the sugarcane stem. Further, the vertical section includes at least one cut-section curved that allows at least one cutter to pass therethrough, while performing bud cutting operations.
Yet in another embodiment the sugarcane bud stalk extractor is installed with a load sensor based pedal actuation system for ergonomic design and gives tireless working experience for the user as well as prolongs the machine life. After holding the sugarcane in the right location the user just has to make a slight tap action on the specially designed elevated pedal. The signal from the sensors triggers the piston of pneumatic cylinder which in-turn actuates the cutter. The whole process reduces fatigue and no training is required to start the machine operation.
Yet in another embodiment the sugarcane bud stalk extractor is mounted on wheels support making it portable. These wheels can be easily retracted at the time of operation to provide firm ground support.
Yet in another embodiment the sugarcane bud stalk extractor has a pneumatic actuation based cutting system which helps to remove the bud from the sample upon getting a signal from a load sensor-based pedal. The pneumatic system has a flow control valve (also known as solenoid valve) and is powered by an air compressor running on electricity. The flow control valves reverse the air flow and hence creates reciprocating motion of the cutter. The blade produces fine cuts and the separated buds fall into the collection chamber. The size of separated pieces depends on the blade type and can be adjusted by replacing the blade. The blade is housed in a metal fixture for easy handling and firm support. The whole machine is built with minimum welds to support modular design for enhancing portability and interoperability. The pneumatic actuation is achieved using the signals from the load sensors. These signals reverse the flow of pressurized air inside the pneumatic cylinder by actuation of solenoid valve which in turn controls the cutter movement.
Yet in another embodiment the sugarcane bud stalk extractor the electronic components are housed in a separate electronic control unit box inside the machine structure which saves the items from getting damaged.
Yet in another embodiment the sugarcane bud stalk extractor the cutter blade is made of High Speed Steel which enables it to perform cutting efficiently for large numbers of cuts without getting blunt. The blade is supported inside a cutter fixture and is easily replaceable when damaged. The blade has a round contour from the cutting side to give better quality cuts without tearing the samples which helps in their healthy germination.
Yet in another embodiment the sugarcane bud stalk extractor there is specifically designed back support in the cutting assembly that is mounted to give support to sugarcane while cutting. It has a depression in the center to support and provide additional aid in smooth cutting of samples.
Yet in another embodiment of present invention as part of the electronic system, multiple load sensors (Can be changed as per requirement) have been used in the pedal design. When a user taps on the pedal surface the sensors detect the added load and sends a signal to the system which then actuates the cutter. The actuation takes place only when the rate of change of sensors values is greater than the threshold slope. ATmega328p microprocessor is used on custom PCB with an ADC and relay integrated to receive signals from load sensors and to send signals to control valve respectively. All the functioning of the pedal mechanism is programmed through Arduino IDE in embedded C language.
In another embodiment of present invention, the pneumatic components may be replaced with electric motor as the prime mover to achieve the same intended action.
The operator safety is ensured with this invention, as he has the control of the high impact generating cutter which moves only at his/her will. Every part in the machine is easily replaceable, i.e. the machine has minimum welded parts. This enhances interoperability of the machine and is easy to carry. Other machines, on the other hand, are bulky and difficult to disintegrate. The machine is designed in a way to provide better ergonomics for the machine operator and work for longer hours easily. The blade is carefully designed (round contour on the cutting side) to cover more contact surface area while cutting. This makes sure the bud separated retains moisture and doesn’t tear. This is very important for healthy growth of the buds. Other machines have straight blade contours which, upon testing, produced slight tearing effects at the ends.
Yet in another embodiment the back support in cutting assembly is also designed uniquely by giving smooth round contour on the surface to prevent high impact to the crop from back side while cutting action is taking place. The back support surface also comes with a rubber layer to provide added cushioning effect during the impact.
In an embodiment the present invention can be used in field of agriculture for separating buds out of the crop samples like sugarcane and bamboos and other crops with similar geometry.
In another embodiment the present invention may also be used in construction and manufacturing field to part huge rods or pipes in parts making changes in the blade geometry accordingly. The invention can be used to bend metal plates and sheets at specific angles by changing the back support and the tool mounted on the piston. The invention can be used to imprint designs on samples using high force and die based imprinting tool mounted on the piston and replacing current back support with a imprinted surface one.
The invention can be used at any place where high impact force is required against a back support to get the intended result.

I/We Claim:

1. A sugarcane bud stalk extractor for cutting at least one bud from a sugarcane stem, wherein the sugarcane bud stalk extractor comprising:
- a cutter assembly (1) employing at least one cutter (2), wherein the cutter is adjusted between a forward and a backward position;
- a power mechanism (3) for adjusting the at least one cutter (2) of the cutter assembly(1) between the forward and backward position, wherein the adjustment of the cutter between the forward position and the backward position enables cutting of the at least one bud from the sugarcane stem;
- a control system (4), comprising:
a touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) installed with plurality of load sensor (6), wherein the load sensor sends an actuation signal as soon as a load on the touch-sensitive actuation pedal reaches beyond a threshold value; and
a controller(7) in communication with the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) and the power mechanism(3), wherein the controller (7) controls the power mechanism (3) to maintain the at least one cutter (2) in the backward position in absence of the actuation signal from the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5); the controller (7) further controls the power mechanism (3) to adjust the cutter from the backward position to the forward position upon receipt of the actuation signal from the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5);
- a main frame (8) to at least partly house the power mechanism (3) and to support the cutter assembly (1).
2. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main frame (8) includes a table-top surface(9) consisting of a cutter mounting portion (10) and a sugarcane stem mounting portion (11) in front of the cutter mounting portion, the cutter mounting portion(10) supports the cutter assembly (1), and the sugarcane stem mounting portion (11) supports a sugarcane stem support structure (12) for supporting the sugarcane stem during bud cutting operations.
3. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main frame (8) includes a bud collection chamber (19) that collects the sugarcane buds during bud cutting operations.

4. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cutter assembly (1) comprises at least one cutter fixture (13) and at least one cutter (2);
wherein the cutter fixture (13) includes plurality of cutter fixture (13) and the cutter (2) includes plurality of cutting blades (14) for enabling cutting of sugarcane buds from the sugarcane stem.

5. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power mechanism (3) includes an air compressor unit (15); a pneumatic cylinder(16) mounted on the cutter mounting portion(10) of the main frame (8) wherein the pneumatic cylinder is having a piston rod(17); the pneumatic cylinder (16) is in communication with the air compressor unit (15) such that the piston rod (17) is extended and retracted based on the direction of supply of air between the air compressor unit (15) and the pneumatic cylinder(16);
a pneumatic valve (18) mounted on the cutter mounting portion (10) of the main frame (8) and fluidly disposed between the air compressor unit (15) and the pneumatic cylinder (16), the pneumatic valve (18) being operable between a first position and a second position, such that in the first position, the pneumatic valve (18) allows the supply of air from the air compressor unit (15) to the pneumatic cylinder (16), to laterally extend the piston rod (17)of the pneumatic cylinder (16), in the second position, the pneumatic valve (18) allows the supply of air from the pneumatic cylinder (16) to the air compressor unit, to laterally retract the piston rod (17) of the pneumatic cylinder (16).

6. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one cutter fixture (13)of the cutter assembly (1) are steadily attached to the power rod of the pneumatic cylinder(16), and the at least one cutter(2) is fixedly installed in the at least one cutter fixture (13) thereof, such that the at least one cutter (2) is adjusted to the forward position as the pneumatic valve (18) is in the first position, and at least one cutter (2) is adjusted to the backward position as the pneumatic valve (18) is in the second position.

7. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the at least one cutter (2) includes a curved cutting profile to at least partially conform to a profile of the sugarcane stem, during bud cutting operations.

8. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more load sensors (6) sends an actuation signal to the controller (7) as a load on the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) reaches beyond the threshold value, wherein the threshold value can be adjusted to increase or decrease the sensitivity of the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5).

9. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller (7) is in communication with the one or more load sensors (6) of the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) and the pneumatic valve (18) of the power mechanism (3), such that the controller(7) is adapted to adjust the pneumatic valve (18) between the first position and the second position.

10. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sugarcane stem support structure (12) is an L-shaped section including a horizontal section and a vertical section; wherein each of the horizontal section and the vertical section of the sugarcane stem support structure (12) includes a curved profile to at least partially conform to a profile of the sugarcane stem.

11. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vertical section includes at least one cut-section curved that allows at least one cutter to pass therethrough, while performing bud cutting operations.

Dated this ……25th day of November, 2020

Signature:

Garima Singhal
APPLICANT’S AGENT
Regd. Patent Agent [IN/PA-3332]

Abstract

SMART SUGARCANE BUD-STALK EXTRACTOR

The present invention relates to a machine that cuts and collects buds from the sugarcane stalks. The sugarcane bud-stalk extractor comprises of a smart sensor-based pedal to actuate the cutting action using pneumatic technology. The machine separates buds from the sugarcane stalks at much faster rate than its mechanical counterpart. These buds (seeds) can later be planted, saving 60% of seed cost and increasing productivity by 20% over traditional practice. The machine optimizes labour engagement and transportation cost also decreases significantly. The sensor based-actuation mechanism provides full control of the machine to the operator and requires minimum effort to perform the task.

,CLAIMS:I/We Claim:

1. A sugarcane bud stalk extractor for cutting at least one bud from a sugarcane stem, wherein the sugarcane bud stalk extractor comprising:
- a cutter assembly (1) employing at least one cutter (2), wherein the cutter is adjusted between a forward and a backward position;
- a power mechanism (3) for adjusting the at least one cutter (2) of the cutter assembly(1) between the forward and backward position, wherein the adjustment of the cutter between the forward position and the backward position enables cutting of the at least one bud from the sugarcane stem;
- a control system (4), comprising:
a touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) installed with plurality of load sensor (6), wherein the load sensor sends an actuation signal as soon as a load on the touch-sensitive actuation pedal reaches beyond a threshold value; and
a controller(7) in communication with the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) and the power mechanism(3), wherein the controller (7) controls the power mechanism (3) to maintain the at least one cutter (2) in the backward position in absence of the actuation signal from the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5); the controller (7) further controls the power mechanism (3) to adjust the cutter from the backward position to the forward position upon receipt of the actuation signal from the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5);
- a main frame (8) to at least partly house the power mechanism (3) and to support the cutter assembly (1).
2. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main frame (8) includes a table-top surface(9) consisting of a cutter mounting portion (10) and a sugarcane stem mounting portion (11) in front of the cutter mounting portion, the cutter mounting portion(10) supports the cutter assembly (1), and the sugarcane stem mounting portion (11) supports a sugarcane stem support structure (12) for supporting the sugarcane stem during bud cutting operations.
3. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main frame (8) includes a bud collection chamber (19) that collects the sugarcane buds during bud cutting operations.

4. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cutter assembly (1) comprises at least one cutter fixture (13) and at least one cutter (2);
wherein the cutter fixture (13) includes plurality of cutter fixture (13) and the cutter (2) includes plurality of cutting blades (14) for enabling cutting of sugarcane buds from the sugarcane stem.

5. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power mechanism (3) includes an air compressor unit (15); a pneumatic cylinder(16) mounted on the cutter mounting portion(10) of the main frame (8) wherein the pneumatic cylinder is having a piston rod(17); the pneumatic cylinder (16) is in communication with the air compressor unit (15) such that the piston rod (17) is extended and retracted based on the direction of supply of air between the air compressor unit (15) and the pneumatic cylinder(16);
a pneumatic valve (18) mounted on the cutter mounting portion (10) of the main frame (8) and fluidly disposed between the air compressor unit (15) and the pneumatic cylinder (16), the pneumatic valve (18) being operable between a first position and a second position, such that in the first position, the pneumatic valve (18) allows the supply of air from the air compressor unit (15) to the pneumatic cylinder (16), to laterally extend the piston rod (17)of the pneumatic cylinder (16), in the second position, the pneumatic valve (18) allows the supply of air from the pneumatic cylinder (16) to the air compressor unit, to laterally retract the piston rod (17) of the pneumatic cylinder (16).

6. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one cutter fixture (13)of the cutter assembly (1) are steadily attached to the power rod of the pneumatic cylinder(16), and the at least one cutter(2) is fixedly installed in the at least one cutter fixture (13) thereof, such that the at least one cutter (2) is adjusted to the forward position as the pneumatic valve (18) is in the first position, and at least one cutter (2) is adjusted to the backward position as the pneumatic valve (18) is in the second position.

7. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the at least one cutter (2) includes a curved cutting profile to at least partially conform to a profile of the sugarcane stem, during bud cutting operations.

8. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more load sensors (6) sends an actuation signal to the controller (7) as a load on the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) reaches beyond the threshold value, wherein the threshold value can be adjusted to increase or decrease the sensitivity of the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5).

9. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller (7) is in communication with the one or more load sensors (6) of the touch-sensitive actuation pedal (5) and the pneumatic valve (18) of the power mechanism (3), such that the controller(7) is adapted to adjust the pneumatic valve (18) between the first position and the second position.

10. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sugarcane stem support structure (12) is an L-shaped section including a horizontal section and a vertical section; wherein each of the horizontal section and the vertical section of the sugarcane stem support structure (12) includes a curved profile to at least partially conform to a profile of the sugarcane stem.

11. The sugarcane bud stalk extractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vertical section includes at least one cut-section curved that allows at least one cutter to pass therethrough, while performing bud cutting operations.