CORN HARVESTING LOSSES IN FUNCTION OF THE TRACKING CYLINDER ROTATIONS AND GRAINS MOISTURE CONTENTS

Abstract

In the process of mechanized harvest, losses occur due to various factors, which if not monitored, could compromise productivity and profitability of the productive process. Based on this, an experiment was conducted in Jaboticabal - SP during the mechanized harvest of maize, using randomized experimental design in blocks with sub-plots debts. It were evaluated two levels of grains humidity at the time of harvest (17.5 and 14.5%), obtained by different dates of collection, and three revolutions of the drum track (500, 600 and 700 rpm) with four replications. The loss of grains was estimated (pre-harvest, platform, internal mechanisms and total), as well as dry matter after harvesting, the flow of food harvester, percentage of soil cover and productivity. It was observed that the rotation of the drum track did not influence any of the variables. The loss on the platform was not affected by humidity, and the opposite occurred in losses in the internal mechanisms and total, which had lower values in the lower humidity. Regarding the dry matter, the flow of food and percentage of coverage show the highest values when the grains were moister.