Sugarcane Harvester with Stalk-Supporting Mechanism

A sugarcane harvester for harvesting sugarcane stalks from sugarcane plants, the sugarcane harvester comprising:

• an intake and cutting assembly for cutting the sugarcane stalks from the sugarcane plants as the sugarcane harvester moves through the sugarcane plants, the intake and cutting assembly including—
• basecutters for cutting bases of the sugarcane plants, wherein the basecutters include rotary blades, and
• a stalk-supporting mechanism for supporting the stalks of the sugarcane plants as they are being cut by the basecutters, the stalk-supporting mechanism comprising a pair of spaced apart, rotating conveyors that present an intake gap between them, wherein the conveyors grip the sugarcane stalks as they enter the intake and cutting assembly, guide the stalks toward the intake gap, and support the stalks in a generally upright orientation as they are cut by the basecutters to relieve stress on subterranean buds of the plants;
• a chopping section for receiving the sugarcane stalks from the intake and cutting assembly and chopping the sugarcane stalks into billets;
• a discharge assembly for receiving the billets from the chopping section and discharging the billets to a wagon or other storage vehicle or mechanism;
• and
• extractor fans or blowers that separate leaves, stems, and other crop residue from the billets and discharge the debris back into the sugarcane field.