Boron doses applied to soil during coffee development

The range between boron deficiency and toxicity in the coffee crop is narrow and the crop toxicity tolerance depends on the soil type, initial soil content and plant age. The objective of this study was to evaluate different levels of boron in the coffee crop during development and grown in a red clayey Oxisol. Treatments consisted of boron applications (zero; 2.48; 4.96; 9.92; 19.8 and 39.68 kg ha-1) in the boric acid form and applied to soil surface in the area of the tree crown projection. The six treatments were outlined in a randomized block design with four replications and ten plants per plot. The cultivar used was Catuaí IAC 144 with sixteen months old, grown in an Oxisol in Campinas, SP, Brazil. Foliar boron content was analyzed as a function of time by regression analysis. The levels in fruit and yield were analyzed by regression according to boron doses. It can be concluded that higher boron doses in the plant can be observed when fruits are at the first development stage. High doses can reduce yield productivity, being each kilogram of applied boron responsible for a reduction of 0.33 coffee bags. ha-1.The range between boron deficiency and toxicity in the coffee crop is narrow and the crop toxicity tolerance depends on the soil type, initial soil content and plant age. The objective of this study was to evaluate different levels of boron in the coffee crop during development and grown in a red clayey Oxisol. Treatments consisted of boron applications (zero; 2.48; 4.96; 9.92; 19.8 and 39.68 kg ha-1) in the boric acid form and applied to soil surface in the area of the tree crown projection. The six treatments were outlined in a randomized block design with four replications and ten plants per plot. The cultivar used was Catuaí IAC 144 with sixteen months old, grown in an Oxisol in Campinas, SP, Brazil. Foliar boron content was analyzed as a function of time by regression analysis. The levels in fruit and yield were analyzed by regression according to boron doses. It can be concluded that higher boron doses in the plant can be observed when fruits are at the first development stage. High doses can reduce yield productivity, being each kilogram of applied boron responsible for a reduction of 0.33 coffee bags. ha-1

MECHANICAL HARVESTING OF COFFEE IN HIGH SLOPE

Brazilian coffee farming is carried out both on flat and steep lands. In flat areas, mechanized operations are intensive; however, in steep slope areas, certain mechanized operations cannot be performed, such as harvesting. Based on this, the industry has developed machinery to harvest coffee in areas with up to 30% slope. However, harvesters have their efficiency and operational performance influenced by land slope. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the operational performance and harvesting efficiency of a steep-slope harvester under different situations, using different speed settings. The experiment was carried out in the county of Santo Antônio do Amparo, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, using five coffee stands with 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30% slope. Evaluations were performed with a self-propelled harvester (Electron, TDI®, Araguari, MG, Brazil) at three rotation speeds (600, 800 and 1.000 rpm) and two ground speeds (800 and 1.000 m h-1). The results showed the lower speed (800 m h-1) was suitable for 10% slope areas since the amount of fallen coffee berries. For areas of 20% slope, harvesting time was 21.6% longer than in flatter areas. Downtime varied from 10.66 to 29.18% total harvest due to a higher number of maneuvers

Mechanical harvesting of coffee in high slope

Brazilian coffee farming is carried out both on flat and steep lands. In flat areas, mechanized operations are intensive; however, in steep slope areas, certain mechanized operations cannot be performed, such as harvesting. Based on this, the industry has developed machinery to harvest coffee in areas with up to 30% slope. However, harvesters have their efficiency and operational performance influenced by land slope. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the operational performance and harvesting efficiency of a steep -slope harvester under different situations, using different speed settings. The experiment was carried out in the county of Santo Antônio do Amparo, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, using five coffee stands with 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30% slope. Evaluations were performed with a self-propelled harvester (Electron, TDI(r), Araguari, MG, Brazil) at three rotation speeds (600, 800 and 1.000 rpm) and two ground speeds (800 and 1.000 m h -1). The results showed the lower speed (800 m h-1) was suitable for 10% slope areas since the amount of fallen coffee berries. For areas of 20% slope, harvesting time was 21.6% longer than in flatter areas. Downtime varied from 10.66 to 29.18% total harvest due to a higher number of maneuvers.A cafeicultura brasileira está presente em áreas planas e declivosas. Nas regiões planas a mecanização nas operações cafeeiras é intensa, do contrário, são as regiões declivosas, que não mecanizam algumas das operações, dentre elas a colheita. Para suplantar esta dificuldade a indústria vem desenvolvendo colhedoras capazes de colher em declividades de até 30%. O desempenho operacional e a eficiência de colheita são influenciadas pela declividade. Diante disto objetivou-se no presente trabalho avaliar o desempenho operacional e a eficiência de colheita de uma colhedora confeccionada para colher em elevadas declividades, testando suas principais regulagens. O experimento foi conduzido no município de Santo Antônio do Amparo, região do Sul de Minas Gerais, em cinco talhões com declividade de 10, 15, 20, 25 e 30%, utilizando uma colhedora Electron automotriz (TDI), testando três vibrações das hastes (600, 800 e 1.000 rpm) e duas velocidades (800 e 1.000 m h-1). Obteve-se que em na declividade de 10%, deve-se utilizar velocidades reduzidas (800 m h-1) para minimizar a quantidade de café caído. Em declividades acima de 20% a colheita mecanizada demanda 21,6% a mais de tempo para ser procedida que em declividades menores. O tempo de parada na operação da colheita mecanizada corresponde a 10,66 a 29,18% do tempo total de colheita, em função do maior número de manobras

Boron doses applied to soil during coffee development

The range between boron deficiency and toxicity in the coffee crop is narrow and the crop toxicity tolerance depends on the soil type, initial soil content and plant age. The objective of this study was to evaluate different levels of boron in the coffee crop during development and grown in a red clayey Oxisol. Treatments consisted of boron applications (zero; 2.48; 4.96; 9.92; 19.8 and 39.68 kg ha-1) in the boric acid form and applied to soil surface in the area of the tree crown projection. The six treatments were outlined in a randomized block design with four replications and ten plants per plot. The cultivar used was Catuaí IAC 144 with sixteen months old, grown in an Oxisol in Campinas, SP, Brazil. Foliar boron content was analyzed as a function of time by regression analysis. The levels in fruit and yield were analyzed by regression according to boron doses. It can be concluded that higher boron doses in the plant can be observed when fruits are at the first development stage. High doses can reduce yield productivity, being each kilogram of applied boron responsible for a reduction of 0.33 coffee bags. ha-1.A faixa entre a deficiência e a toxidez de boro na cultura do café é estreita e a tolerância da cultura à toxicidade depende do tipo de solo, teor inicial no solo e da idade da planta. Objetivouse avaliar diferentes níveis de boro no cafeeiro em fase de formação, cultivado em um Latossolo Vermelho argiloso. Os tratamentos consistiram de doses de boro (zero; 2,48; 4,96; 9,92; 19,8 e 39,68 kg ha-1), na forma de ácido bórico, aplicado via solo superficialmente em faixa na projeção da copa do cafeeiro. Os seis tratamentos foram delineados em blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições, em parcelas de dez plantas. A cultivar utilizada foi Catuaí Vermelho IAC 144 com dezesseis meses de idade, cultivado em Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico, em Campinas, SP, Brasil. Os teores foliares de boro foram analisados em função do tempo por meio de análise de regressão. Os teores nos frutos e a produtividade foram analisados por meio de regressão em função das doses de B. Conclui-se que os maiores teores de B na planta são atingidos no período que os frutos encontram-se na fase de chumbinho. Altas doses reduzem a produtividade, na qual, para cada quilograma de boro aplicado, tem-se a redução de 0,33 sacas de café ha-1

The times, movements and operational efficiency of mechanized coffee harvesting in sloped areas.

Coffee farms have been adopting the microterraces system, a technique that reduces the effect of the slope by moving the soil between the crop lines. In this way, all the mechanized operations can be carried out normally, except for harvesting, due to the work limitation of the harvesters, who work in areas with a maximum slope of 20%. One option is to use unilateral harvesters, which crop one side at a time; however, there has been no research on these microterrace machines to evaluate their performance and to compare it with those of the other harvesting methods in those regions. This study aimed to compare the mechanized harvest performance in the microterraces with the manual and semimechanized harvesting methods. The study was carried out in an agricultural area of the municipality of Ouro Fino / MG, Brazil, in a crop production site where the microterraces were built six years before the experiment. The treatments were assigned to a split-block design with seven repetitions and consisted of mechanized harvest-unilateral harvester with bag storage; manual harvest-regionally experienced workers; and semimechanized harvest-with portable breakers. Through an analysis of the times and movements, the operational efficiency and operational and effective field capabilities were measured. The adoption of microterraces allows the efficient mechanization of areas previously impossible to mechanize. The unilateral harvester is a potential tool for the partial replacement of manual labor in the harvest, performing a service equivalent to that of 23.68 manual workers and 10.55 manual workers in the semimechanized system