ABSTRACT The mechanized harvesting process of sugarcane seedlings affects the mechanized planting operation in the sense that straw adhered to the billet can reduce the quantity of non-viable gems obtained as a result of mechanical damage sustained during the mechanized operation. This study proposes a method to improve the quality of the implantation of sugarcane crop by prevention of damages caused mainly during October/November, when adverse climatic conditions of higher water stresses and high temperatures exist. The objective of this study is to evaluate the quality of the sugarcane planting operation using seedlings with and without straw, distributed by planters and distributors of chopped sugarcane, and comparing their performance to that of semi-mechanized planting. The study was conducted at Fazenda Santa Clara, located in Pradópolis - São Paulo, Brazil and considered five processes: mechanized planting of seedlings without straw, mechanized planting of seedlings with straw, mechanized distribution of seedlings without straw, mechanized distribution of seedlings with straw, and semi-mechanized planting. Fifty sample points were used to collect data for each process, as per the principles of Statistical Process Control. The number of unfeasible gems and faults in the stand reduced with the presence of straw in the grinding wheel, in addition to less variability being presented. The presence of straw in the billet enabled the best overall quality of sugarcane plantation.

ABSTRACT Active optical sensors have been widely used for the spatial and temporal monitoring of peanut culture because they are accurate, non-destructive methods for rapidly obtaining data. The objective of this study was to determine the optimal stage of crop growth for collecting sensor readings based on correlations between quality indicators. In addition, we compared vegetation indices (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index [NDVI], Normalized Difference Red-Edge Index, [NDRE], and Inverse Ratio Vegetation Index, [IRVI]) by monitoring temporal variability in the peanut crop in order to determine which of them obtained the best reading quality throughout the process. The experiment was performed on the 2016/17 crop in the agricultural area of the municipality of Dumont in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The experimental design was based on the basic assumptions of statistical quality control and contained 63 sample points in a 30 × 30 m grid. The parameters were evaluated at 30, 45, 60, 75, and 119 days after sowing (DAS) using proximal sensing with GreenSeeker and OptRX sensors. We found that 45 and 60 DAS were the optimal times for monitoring peanut crop variability. For spatiotemporal monitoring of the culture with control charts, NDRE showed the best readings throughout the process when compared to NDVI and IRVI.

RESUMO O direcionamento automático de máquinas agrícolas via sinal GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) tem sido adotado cada vez mais pela comunidade agrícola na última década. Produtores de amendoim estão adotando tal tecnologia a fim de melhorar o paralelismo das operações face às dificuldades principalmente encontradas no arranquio mecanizado, onde as perdas são, todavia, um grande problema. Objetivou-se avaliar as operações mecanizadas de semeadura e de arranquio de amendoim controlados manualmente e com piloto automático, juntamente com a qualidade das operações. Os tratamentos consistiram de duas operações de escavação, com e sem piloto automático, e duas velocidades de deslocamento (4,5 e 6,0 km h-1). O experimento foi realizado em solo de textura média, sob delineamento inteiramente casualizado disposto em faixas, utilizando-se das variáveis analisadas como indicadores de qualidade. Na semeadura foi avaliado o paralelismo entre as passadas do conjunto trator-semeadora em 120 pontos de cada sistema (direcionamento manual e automático). Foram avaliadas as perdas de arranquio nos dois sistemas de direcionamento sob duas velocidades de deslocamento (4,5 e 6,0 km h-1), em 15 pontos de cada tratamento. Verificou-se que o paralelismo entre as passadas do conjunto trator-semeadora foi melhor quando se utilizou do piloto automático, além da maior qualidade da operação. A velocidade de deslocamento não influenciou as perdas de arranquio. Não houve diferenças nas perdas visíveis de arranquio, porém quando o arranquio foi realizado com o piloto automático obteve-se maior qualidade. Menores perdas invisíveis e totais de arranquio foram obtidas quando o arranquio foi realizado com o direcionamento automático, e qualidade superior foi obtida na velocidade de 4,5 km h-1; porém, a qualidade foi afetada negativamente sob operação manual. Portanto, o uso do piloto automático se mostrou eficaz na melhoria da precisão e da qualidade das operações.

ABSTRACT Over the past decade, automatic guidance of agricultural machinery via Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals has been increasingly adopted by the farming community. Peanut farmers are adopting such technology in order to improve the parallelism of operations to address difficulties that occur in mechanical digging, where losses are a big problem. This study aimed to evaluate mechanized operations of peanut sowing and digging controlled manually and by autopilot, along with their quality. The treatments consisted of two digging operations, with and without autopilot, and two displacement speeds (4.5 and 6.0 km h-1). The experiment was conducted in a medium-textured soil in a completely randomized design arranged in bands, using the analyzed variables as quality indicators. At sowing, parallelism between passes of the tractor-sower set, was evaluated at 120 points of each system (manual and automatic routing). The digging losses were evaluated in the two guidance systems, under two displacement speeds (4.5 to 6.0 km h-1) at 15 points per treatment. It was verified that the parallelism between the passes of the tractor-sower set was better when using the autopilot, which improved the operation quality. Displacement speed did not influence the digging loss. There were no differences in the visible digging loss, but higher quality was obtained when the operation was performed using autopilot. Minor invisible and total digging losses were obtained when the digging was performed with automatic routing, and superior quality was found at a speed of 4.5 km h-1; however, quality was adversely affected under manual operation. Thus, the use of autopilot is effective for improving the accuracy and the quality of the operations.

ABSTRACT Fertilization systems that allow higher sowing speeds have been used in areas of grain production, as well as the use of intercropping to improve soil physical quality and provide better soil cover. This study aimed to evaluate soil attributes and the initial corn development and intercropping (corn + velvet bean, corn + pigeonpea, and corn + bonavist bean) as a function of fertilization systems (pre-sowing and sowing). The experiment was conducted in an Oxisol in a randomized block design in the 2 × 3 factorial scheme, with four replications. The number of days for emergence, plant stand, intercropping dry matter, soil straw cover, soil straw permanence index, penetration resistance, soil moisture, soil density, degree of compaction, and total soil porosity were measured. The percentage of soil straw cover was affected by fertilization system, mainly by pre-sowing fertilization. Soil physical attributes were not affected by fertilization and intercropping systems, except total porosity, in the 0–0.10 m layer, which has a combined effect of factors. The initial corn development was not affected by fertilization and intercropping systems. Velvet bean presented the highest number of days for the emergence and lower dry matter.

RESUMO Entre os fatores que podem influenciar a produtividade do milho estão o sentido da operação de semeadura e a população de plantas, pois esses alteram o índice de sombreamento entre as linhas da cultura, e consequentemente a eficiência da interceptação da radiação fotossinteticamente ativa pelas folhas das plantas. Teve-se por objetivo nesse estudo avaliar a influência do sentido de semeadura e populações de plantas sobre a produtividade do híbrido de milho P2830VYH. O experimento foi conduzido em área da FCAV–UNESP, à latitude de 21º 14’ S e longitude 48º 16’ W no município de Jaboticabal (SP). Os tratamentos estudados foram compostos por três direções de semeadura (Norte-Sul; Nordeste-Sudoeste; e Leste-Oeste) e três densidades populacionais (40.000; 60.000; e 80.000 plantas ha-1). A lavoura com 80.000 plantas ha-1 apresentou o menor custo por saca de milho, e lucratividade 21% maior que o tratamento de 60.000 plantas ha-1, e 45% maior que o tratamento de 40.000 plantas ha-1. O sentido da semeadura não exerceu influência sobre a produtividade de grãos quando as condições ambientais foram favoráveis ao desenvolvimento da lavoura. Menores densidades de plantas apresentam maiores resultados individuais em relação ao número de espigas, comprimento de espigas e número de grãos por fileira.

ABSTRACT Among the factors that may influence corn yield are sowing operation direction and plant population, since they alter the shade index between crop rows, and consequently the efficiency of interception of the photosynthetically active radiation by the leaves of plants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of sowing direction and plant populations on P2830VYH hybrid corn yield. The experiment was conducted at the facilities of FCAV-UNESP, latitude 21º 14’ S and longitude 48º 16’ W in Jaboticabal (SP). The treatments were composed of three sowing directions (North-South, Northeast-Southwest, and East-West) and three population densities (40,000, 60,000 and 80,000 plants ha-1). The treatment with 80,000 plants ha-1 had the lowest cost per sack of corn and profitability 21% higher than that of the treatment with 60,000 plants ha-1, and 45% higher than that of the treatment with 40,000 plants ha-1. Sowing direction had no influence on grain yield when environmental conditions were favorable to the development of the crop. Lower plant densities lead to higher individual results in relation to the number of cobs, length of cobs and number of grains per row.

ABSTRACT In Brazil, a large portion of peanut production is found under conventional soil preparation. Due to the fact that there is a lack in studies related to the cultivation of peanuts in conservationists soil preparation, mainly in the field of losses and mechanized harvesting. Thus, it was aimed to assess the quality of digging and gathering operation of peanut, based on losses, using statistical process control techniques in two tillages. The sowing was carried out under conventional and conservationist preparation, revolving only the sowing line. Losses were evaluated in the digging and gathering operation, being that in the gathering it was evaluated the harvest losses in three displacement speeds (4, 6 and 8 km h-1) in two tillages. The quality of the process was affected by the soil preparation based on the visible and invisible losses, respectively. Regarding the gathering, the conservationist preparation, it was unstable in all indicators, whereas in the conventional preparation it was noticed reduction of the variability for all the displacement speeds. The peanut sowing under conservationist preparation provided a better quality digging. In contrast, the gathering of pods in areas under conventional tillage showed a better quality of the operation.

ABSTRACT The performance of the tractor-seeder can be influenced by factors related to the seeder, as loads and crop. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of tractor-seeder at sowing in the corn crop in function of the fertilizer systems (at presowing and at sowing) and those intercropping of crops (corn + bean-Stizolobium deeringianum, corn + bean-Cajanus cajan and corn + bean-Dolichos lab lab). The experiment was carried out at FCAV-UNESP with totally randomized delineation, on factorial scheme (2x3) with four repetitions. The use of fertilization during the pre-sowing resulted in greater displacement speed and effective field capacity in the corn sowing operation, without changing the distribution of corn seeds; however, it demanded more power and volumetric and weight hourly consumption of the tractor fuel.

RESUMO O preparo do solo realizado concomitantemente com sua fertilização química é a etapa mais importante na instalação de um canavial, visto que proporciona melhores condições para o desenvolvimento da cultura e incrementos na produtividade. Assim, objetivou-se, no presente trabalho, avaliar a resposta da cana-de-açúcar à aplicação de diferentes doses de fosfóro e sua localização, associados ao preparo convencional e ao cultivo mínimo do solo. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos inteiramente casualizados com parcelas subdivididas, sendo o tratamento principal o manejo de solo (preparo convencional e cultivo mínimo), o tratamento secundário as doses em área total, e o tratamento terciário as doses de P2O5 nos sulcos. Foram avaliados parâmetros químicos do solo, produtividade de colmos e açúcar. O cultivo mínimo proporcionou maior acúmulo de fósforo e maior percentual de saturação por bases na camada superficial do solo, enquanto que a maior dose de fósforo em área total gerou redução na produção de açúcar.

ABSTRACT Soil preparation along with its chemical adjustment is the most important step in sugarcane plantation, especially because it provides proper conditions for plant development. The objective of the present research was to evaluate sugarcane response to the application of different phosphorus doses and their location, associated with both minimum soil tillage and conventional soil tillage. The experiment was conducted in a split-split-plot randomized block design, where the main plots were subjected to soil managements (minimum soil tillage or conventional soil tillage), the subplots to phosphorus doses in total area, and the sub-sub-plots to phosphorus doses in the crop rows. The evaluated variables were soil chemical parameters, sugarcane production and sugar production. Minimum tillage led to larger phosphorus accumulation and higher percentage of exchangeable bases in the soil, whereas the highest P dose in total area in the crop rows led to reduction of sugar production.

ABSTRACT: A new concept of fertilizer machine is under development and shows as differential individually fertilizer application, that is sources of N, P and K are applied separately for the purpose of improving the distribution efficiency of the quantities applied. The aim was to compare the quality of the individualized mechanized distribution of N, P and K in combined operations with and without herbicide application, as well as to evaluate the fertilizer application on each side of the fertilizer machine. The experiment was carried out on Cascavel farm, in the municipality of MatãoSP. The experimental design was established according to the criteria of quality control, and variables monitoring carried out in the place during fertilization operation, having the fertilizer distribution operation; simultaneous operation of fertilizer distribution and herbicide application treatments; and two simple operations, fertilizer distribution followed by herbicide application. We concluded that the better operational quality was in two distinct operations. The right side of the fertilizer had the best result because it applied the amount close to the regulated dosage. The distribution of potassium chloride expressed in the control charts greater operational quality compared to other fertilizers.

ABSTRACT: The mechanized gathering process of sweeping coffee is extremely important to reduce the losses of fruit not used in the harvesting operation. But this operation usually has a low operational performance and a high cost per unit collected in this way any measures that can effectively reduce costs increase the viability of the operation. In this sense, studies on adequacy tractor mass for each operation show improvement in energy use, reducing fuel consumption. So, this study aimed to quantify the fuel consumption and effective power along the process of a tractor 4x2 FWD pulling the coffee harvester. I was used as treatments three ballasting settings, these being equivalent the relations power to weight of 36, 39 and 42 kg hp-1 working with and without activated FWD, randomized statistically, with 10 repetitions each configuration. It was conclude that, at low power-weight ratio, the front wheel drive assist had no significant influence on the hour fuel consumption. Already in the configuration with higher ratio, the use of front wheel drive favored in reducing fuel consumption and better energy use.

ABSTRACT The digging of peanut, which has the pod production in the subsurface, is directly affected by soil conditions, physical or environmental characteristics, at the time of operation and may be the cause of unwanted losses. Therefore, the quality of the operation is very important for minimizing these losses. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of mechanized digging operation of peanut according to three soil textural classes (Sandy, Medium and Loamy) and their water content conditions at operation through statistical process control. The experiment was conducted at three locations in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, under sampling scheme arranged in tracks and 40 sampling points for each textural class of soil, using the mechanical digging variables as indicators of quality. We found that the mechanized digging operation in Sandy soil was the most critical, just meeting the specifications of quality indicators, reflecting higher losses and lower quality of the operation. Medium soil showed at the digging good and homogeneous conditions in relation to water content in soil and pods, and because it has favorable characteristics it obtained the lower total losses and higher quality of operation. Loamy soil showed satisfactory quality, meeting the specifications as well, but with poorer quality than the Medium Soil.

ABSTRACT The mechanical resistance to penetration when related to the water content is an indicator often used of soil compaction, the use of positioning methods for greater accuracy of this review is important. In this context, this study aimed to determine the variability of positioning methods provided by GPS receivers to determine the spatial behavior of physical attributes related to soil compaction. The study area is located in the municipality of Jaboticabal, around the latitude 21º15’22”S and longitude 48º18’58”W, being characterized with a clayey Oxisol. The variables used as parameters of soil physical properties were the mechanical resistance to penetration and water content, using a sampling grid of 20 x 20 m, totaling 60 points. We used six models of GPS receivers: Garmin Etrex Vista, Garmin Etrex 30, Ashtech MM6, Trimble Nomad, Garmin Map 62 and Trimble R6, with all georeferenced points in the regular grid intersections. The georeferencing using GPS receivers (single point positioning and post-processed differential correction) interfered in characterizing the spatial variability of soil resistance to penetration, differently for some receivers to the water content attribute. Positioning methods with post-processed differential correction, using R6 and MM6 models, better define the management zones of soil resistance to penetration.

RESUMO O sistema plantio direto aperfeiçoa as áreas agrícolas mantendo o aporte de palha, promovendo a rotação de culturas e a conservação dos solos. Objetivou-se, com o presente estudo, avaliar a qualidade do processo de semeadura e a produtividade de grãos de milho em função de três espécies forrageiras do gênero Urochloa associadas a duas densidades populacionais de plantas de milho. O experimento foi conduzido em área da UNESP/Jaboticabal, SP. O delineamento foi em blocos ao acaso, no esquema fatorial 2 x 3, com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram constituídos por duas densidades de plantas de milho (55.000 e 75.000 plantas ha-1) consorciado com três espécies forrageiras (Urochloa brizantha, Urochloa decumbens e Urochloa ruziziensis) semeadas na entrelinha no estádio V4 do milho. Foram analisados, na cultura do milho, os números médios de dias de emergência, a distribuição longitudinal, a produtividade de grãos e a população inicial e final de plantas. Houve diferença entre as populações de plantas de milho (P ≤ 0,1) em que o consórcio de milho com as espécies U. brizantha e U. ruziziensis proporcionou melhores resultados permitindo concluir que o cultivo milho na densidade populacional de 75.000 plantas ha-1 em consórcio com U. brizantha e U. ruziziensis promoveu uma qualidade melhor no processo de semeadura e, em contrapartida, maiores produtividades de grãos.

ABSTRACT The no-tillage system optimizes agricultural areas, maintaining the supply of straw and promoting crop rotation and soil conservation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate sowing quality and grain yield of corn intercropped with three forage species of the Urochloa genus associated with two corn population densities. The experiment was conducted at the São Paulo State University (UNESP), in Jaboticabal-SP, Brazil. The experimental design was randomized blocks in a 2 x 3 factorial scheme with four replicates. The treatments consisted of two corn densities (55,000 and 75,000 plants ha-1) intercropped with three forages (Urochloa brizantha, Urochloa decumbens and Urochloa ruziziensis) sown between rows of corn in the V4 stage. The following corn variables were analysed: mean number of days for emergence, longitudinal distribution, grain yield, initial population and final population. There were differences between corn populations (p < 0.1) and the intercropping of corn with the species U. brizantha and U. ruziziensis promoted the best results, which permitted concluding that the cultivation of corn at the population density of 75,000 plants ha-1 intercropped U. brizantha and U. ruziziensis promoted better sowing quality and, consequently, higher grain yields.

RESUMO A mecanização da cultura do amendoim (Arachis hypogaea L.) vem evoluindo ao longo dos anos, todavia ainda existem empecilhos que afetam a qualidade das operações mecanizadas. Dessa forma, objetivou-se, no presente trabalho, avaliar o desempenho da semeadura mecanizada de amendoim em função de densidades de semeadura (10; 14 e 18 sementes m-1) e tamanhos de sementes (21 e 23 mm). Observou-se que, para as sementes de 23 mm, o número médio de dias para emergência foi menor, e a porcentagem de emergência superior, ocorrendo o contrário para a densidade de semeadura de 18 sementes m-1. Quanto maior a densidade de semeadura, maior foi a população de plantas, sendo que a semente de 23 mm obteve os melhores resultados, em que a mesma, na densidade de semeadura de 14 sementes m-1, apresentou alta porcentagem de espaçamentos normais. As densidades de 14 e 18 sementes m-1 refletiram em maiores produtividades, sendo sempre superior para as sementes de 23 mm.

ABSTRACT Peanut crop (Arachis hypogaea L.) mechanization has been improved over the years; however there are drawbacks that affect the quality of operations. Thus, this article’s objectives were to evaluate the operational performance of the mechanized sowing of peanut crop according to seeding densities (10, 14, and 18 seeds m-1) and seed sizes (21 and 23 mm). It was observed that the seeds of 23 mm had shorter average number of days to emergence and a higher percentage of emergences, occurring the opposite to the seeding density of 18 seeds m-1. The higher the seeding density, the largest was the plant stand, whereas the 23 mm seed obtained the best results and the same with the seeding density of 14 seeds m-1 that had a higher percentage of normal spacing. The densities of 14 and 18 seeds m-1 reflected in higher yields, being always superior to the 23 mm seeds.

A sustentabilidade do sistema plantio direto está ligada ao uso e ao manejo do solo com o propósito de utilizar tecnologias que promovam o acúmulo de massa seca vegetal no solo porém podem afetar o desempenho das máquinas agrícolas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar, na semeadura da soja, o desempenho operacional do conjunto trator-semeadora sobre palhadas de milho consorciado com Urochloas em diferentes tratamentos. A pesquisa foi instalada em blocos casualizados em esquema fatorial 2 x 4 + 1, com quatro repetições, formados pelo consórcio de duas espécies forrageiras em cinco sistemas de cultivo. A massa seca de palha do milho, massa seca de Urochloas e massa seca total de palha foi determinada nos tratamentos para verificar o desempenho operacional das máquinas. Os resultados demonstraram que a quantidade de palha produzida pelo consórcio de milho com Urochloas interfere na patinagem dos rodados dianteiros do trator, ou seja, áreas com maior quantidade de palha promovem menor aderência dos rodados. A demanda energética não é afetada pela quantidade de palha produzida pelos tratamentos tal como o consumo de combustível e a capacidade de campo operacional.

The sustainability of no-tillage system is fully linked to the soil use and management, in order to use technologies that promote the accumulation of dry vegetation in the soil, but it may affect the performance of agricultural machinery. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate in soybean seeding the operational performance of tractor-seeder on maize straws intercropped with Urochloas in different treatments. The study was conducted in a randomized block design in factorial scheme 2 x 4 + 1, with four replications, formed by two intercropped forage species and five cropping systems. The dry maize straw, Urochloas dry mass and total straw dry mass were determined in treatments to verify the operational performance of the machines. The results showed that the amount of straw produced by maize and Urochloas interferes with the slippage of the tractor’s front wheels, i.e., areas with higher amount of straw promotes lower adherence of the wheel. Energy demand was not affected by amount of straw produced by the treatments, as well as fuel consumption and operational field capacity.