Methodology for selective coffee harvesting in management zones of yield and maturation
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Methodology for selective coffee harvesting in management zones of yield and maturation Elizabeth Haruna Kazama1 · Rouverson Pereira da Silva1 · Tiago de Oliveira Tavares1 · Lígia Negri Correa1 · Francisca Nivanda de Lima Estevam1 · Francisca Edcarla de Araújo Nicolau1 · Walter Maldonado Júnior2
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract The non-uniformity of coffee fruit maturation is an intrinsic plant condition that is not favorable for the beverage quality. This could be overcome by using the precision harvesting approach, wherein only the ripe fruits are harvested. The objective of this work is to evaluate a methodology for selective coffee harvesting, including optimal harvester settings in each management zone. The management zones were determined according to productivity and maturity of coffee fruits. Selective harvest (with two harvester passes) is compared with one time total harvest. At the first harvest the following settings were tested: R1 = 800 and 500, R2 = 700 and 700, R3 = 1000 and 500, and R4 = 900 and 700 (m h−1 and rpm, respectively for speed and vibration). In second step, July 2018, the settings were R1 = 900 and 950, R2 = 700 and 950, R3 = 800 and 800, and R4 = 1000 and 800. It was concluded that it was not possible to harvest only the riped fruits with any setting regardless of management zone. The tested settings do not change the amount of fruits harvested, the regulation with higher operational speed is recommended for economic reasons. Harvesting the upper third of the coffee tree first yielded better beverage quality and less sweeping coffee, but did not cover the operating costs. Keywords Coffea arabica · Precision agriculture · Harvesting speed · Drinking quality
* Elizabeth Haruna Kazama [email protected] 1
Department of Rural Engineering, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, s/n, Vila Industrial, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
2
Department of Exact Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, s/n, Vila Industrial, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
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Precision Agriculture
Introduction The synchronization of coffee fruits maturity is practically impossible under natural conditions, since the flowering of coffee in the regions of central Brazil occurs at different times, with usually 2–4 flowering periods per crop (Barros et al. 1978; Rena and Barros 2004). Even within the same tree, fruit maturation is differentiated by nonsimultaneous growth, with different parts of the tree exhibiting different rates of growth (Barros et al. 1999). This prevents the depletion of plant reserves, since the fruits act as priority drains of the plants (Cannel 1985; DaMatta et al. 2007). This non-uniformity impairs the quality of the beverage of mechanically harvested coffee, because picking green fruits provides an astringent taste to the beverage, and coffee is a commodity i
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