Abstract

During the mechanized harvesting of the coffee, there is a fall of fruits in the order of 10 to 20%. This coffee must be later collected. For that, it is necessary to use harvester adjustments that promote a greater picking efficiency. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to define the best adjustments for the axial and sieves system for coffee harvesters. The experiment was carried out using an axial system harvester (Miac) and a sieves system harvester from Mogiana, in a crop with 6 sc ben ha-1 present on the soil. The design of randomized blocks in a 3x4 factorial scheme was used, with three ground speeds: 500, 1100 and 1500 m h-¹ and four rotations speed: 1400, 1600, 1800 and 2000 rpm. The amount of coffee which remains on the surface on the soil was evaluated after the harvester passage, reap and cleaning efficiency. For the axial system harvester, there was reap efficiency close to 94% (better conditions) and 99% in cleaning efficiency. The reap efficiency for the sieves system harvester was close to 90% and the cleaning efficiency close to 67%. For the axial system harvester, it is recommended that it be operated using the tractor at 1100 m h-1 and 2000 rpm; and for the sieves system harvester, the recommendation is 1100 m h-1, from 1400 to 1800 rpm rotation.

Key words: Mechanization, mechanical reap, coffee harvest, Coffea arábica.