Optimization of operational capacity field and spraying tractors in rubber cultivation

• Grant number: 06/03020-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2006
• End date: July 31, 2007
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo da Costa Ferreira
• Grantee: Gustavo de Nobrega Romani
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Pesticide application on rubber trees represents to significant part of production costs. Machinery represents often more of 50% of immobilized capital in this crop. To minimize this percentage it is important to optimize the capacity of works for equipments to reduce costs and maintenance of the effectiveness. However, this cause is not known to the really impact, due few papers and researches with operational capacity to sprayers. Operational capacity of sprayers depends of too many variables like: speed and volume application; time for turn; distance, time and speed for each restocking of tank; width and length of the treatment band, that understood and adjusted, can improve the efficiency of the mechanization in the culture. Joint tractor-sprayers use fuels fossils as source of energy, whose burning emits gases in the atmosphere that provide for greenhouse effect, to each more preoccupying day for the climate changes on the planet. The aim of this project is to carry out measurements to known better conditions to work of joint tractor-sprayers and to simulate scenes to optimize the operational capacity and to determine fuel consume of set conditions to reduce fuel consumption and costs of crop protection in rubber trees.