Having spent a year on converting the patented design into a product and conducting field trials, the Centre for Innovation and Product Development (CIPD) of KLE Technological University (KLETU) has announced the launch of a multi-purpose biomass shredder that is said to be useful for sugarcane farmers in particular.
Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, Vice-Chancellor of KLETU Ashok Shettar said that it was the first commercial product coming out of the KLETU campus and the university had entered into an MoU with a private player for commercial production. The product would be formally launched during the Krishi Mela being organised by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, (UAS-D), he said.
Prof. Ashok Shettar said that after having patented the design for sugarcane shredder, KLETU chose Beamlaser Engineering Indian Pvt. Ltd. to convert the design into a product and after several field trials, the product had been further modified and it was now ready for use.
He said that the new machine would be of great help to farmers and it would not only help them in avoiding burning of sugarcane trash but also in getting additional income from the trash.
Director of CIPD Ravi Guttal said that the product was developed under the BEACON (Biomass Energy and Conservation) Project and it would of great help in the checking pollution caused by burning sugarcane trash in the fields, which was done by most farmers to cut expenses after harvest.
Coordinator for the project and representative of Beamlaser Engineering Shirish Uppin said that after field trials, the machine was modified incorporating suggestions from farmers, and now, two biomass shredding machines, Bahubali and Avanti, with different capacities were being launched.
Mr. Uppin said that the machine could be taken to the sugarcane fields and could be operated by connecting it to a tractor engine.
