Visible Losses to the Mechanical Harvesting of Ratoon Sugarcane Using the Harvester John Deere 3520

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the visible loss of sugar cane and the damage to the knuckles, using the John Deere 3520 harvester on three different travel speeds (3.0; 4.0 and 5.0 km·h-1), in DIC with five repetitions in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil. Each treatment was composed by six lines of harvested cane stumps, with a length of 290 m each. In these six lines, the remains of sugar cane left in the field were collected by placing the sampling frame in two central lines every 50 m, and separating 40 m of edge. The sampling area was surrounded by 2 m wide and 10 m long, totaling 20 m2. To calculate the damage to stumps, a visual methodology by [1], was used, which classifies the damage grade, ranging from 1 to 4. Fifty stumps were assessed randomly for each speed, in a sampling area of 1800 m2. The data were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey test at 5%, in order to compare the effect of different speeds on the losses and damages. There was no significant difference regarding the loss or damage by comparing the different speeds. Therefore, it is more advantageous to use the speed of 5.0 km·h-1, harvesting more in less time and causing the same level of damage.