Mechanized harvesting of conilon coffee plants using a self-propelled machine

ABSTRACT Coffee is one of the main commodities of global agribusiness and of outstanding economic and social relevance for Brazil. The lack of labor and its high cost are factors that worry coffee producers, mainly during the conilon coffee harvesting, which is performed manually. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of a self-propelled harvester under different conditions of machine adjustment and conduction of the Coffea canephora crop and measure its influence on the cost of harvesting compared to manual harvesting. Harvesting speed (800 to 1600 m h-1), rotation of the vibrating rod cylinder (1.0 and 1.5 RPM), number of orthotropic branches (one, two, and three), and plants with and without plagiotropic branches in the lower third were assessed. The increase in harvesting speed reduced the efficiencies of stripping and harvesting and defoliation. Increasing from one to three orthotropic branches per plant increased harvesting and stripping efficiencies, fruit loss on the ground, defoliation, and reduced pending load. The management without plagiotropic branches showed higher harvesting efficiency, lower loss on the ground, and lower defoliation. Harvesting speeds from 800 to 1600 m h-1 reduced the total and unit costs up to 62% compared to manual harvesting. Increasing harvesting efficiency above 70% has reduced harvesting costs by up to 79% compared to manual harvesting. RESUMO O café é uma das principais commodities do agronegócio mundial e de grande relevância econômica e social para o Brasil. A falta de mão de obra e seu alto custo são fatores que preocupam os cafeicultores, principalmente na colheita do café conilon, feita manualmente. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a eficiência de uma colhedora automotriz em diferentes condições de ajuste da máquina e condução da lavoura de café conilon e medir sua influência no custo de colheita comparada a colheita manual. Foram avaliados os fatores velocidade de colheita (800 a 1600 m h-1), rotação do cilindro vibrador de varetas (1,0 e 1,5 RPM), número de ramos ortotrópicos (um, dois e três) e plantas com e sem os ramos plagiotrópicos no terço inferior. O aumento da velocidade de colheita reduziu as eficiências de derriça e de colheita e a desfolha. O aumento de um para três ramos ortotrópicos por planta aumentou as eficiências de colheita e de derriça, a perda de chão e a desfolha e reduziu a carga pendente. O manejo sem os ramos plagiotrópicos apresentou maior eficiência de colheita, menor perd