Economic Efficiency of Mechanized Harvesting of Sugarcane at Different Operating Speeds
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Economic Efficiency of Mechanized Harvesting of Sugarcane at Different Operating Speeds Murilo Battistuzzi Martins1 Fernanda Scaranello Drudi2 Eduardo Pradi Vendruscolo1
Aldir Carpes Marques Filho2 • 3 • Fernanda Pacheco de Almeida Prado Bortolheiro 2 • Maura Seiko Tsutsui Esperancini
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Received: 23 June 2020 / Accepted: 10 October 2020 Ó Society for Sugar Research & Promotion 2020
Abstract Sugarcane is highlighted in Brazilian agribusiness; however, some operations must be investigated from a technical and economic point of view, such as harvesting. The objective of this work was to estimate the cost of a sugarcane harvester as a function of its operational performance. The experiment was carried out in a sugar and alcohol unit in Tieteˆ-SP/Brazil. The harvest occurred without prior burning of sugarcane field, in an area with an estimated productivity of 92.5 Mg ha-1. The operational and energetic performance of the machine were evaluated and the cost of operation at three working speeds (3.0, 5.0 and 7.0 km h-1) was estimated. It was observed that the work speed is related to the operational costs, volumetric fuel consumption accounted for 41–49% of total operation costs, while depreciation of the machine accounted for 14–17%, and repair and maintenance costs 11–14%. Results showed that the average speed of 7 km h-1 was the one that presented the best economic performance in harvesting operation. Travel speeds significantly affected the operational performance of sugarcane harvester and showed a positive correlation with volumetric fuel consumption. Field capacity and variable costs were proportional to the working speeds. The biggest impact on
& Murilo Battistuzzi Martins [email protected] 1
Agronomy Department, Mato Grosso do Sul State University – UEMS, Cassilaˆndia University Unit, 306 Road, Km 6, Cassilaˆndia, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
2
Rural Engineering and Socioeconomics Department, College of Agricultural Sciences, UNESP – Sa˜o Paulo State University, Av. Universita´ria, 3780, Botucatu, SP 18610-034, Brazil
3
Cassilaˆndia, MS, Brazil
harvester costs were the volumetric fuel consumption, the depreciation of the agricultural machine and the costs with repairs and maintenance of the harvester. Keywords Operational costs Agricultural mechanization Fuel consumption Saccharum spp.
Introduction In world, sugarcane is grown in an area of 26.26 m ha with production of 1907.0 m tones at 72.59 ha-1 productivity level (FAO 2018). Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane, mainly due to favorable edaphoclimatic conditions and technological advances in the productive sector. In the 2019/20 harvest season, the total area to be harvested is estimated at 8.4 million hectares, with an average yield of 73.48 Mg ha-1, with Sa˜o Paulo, Goia´s and Minas Gerais being the main producing states (CONAB 2020). Harvesting system is considered one of the most important stages of production process, due to the costs involved in the operation and the influence on quality of harve
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