Resumo

DE SOUSA-VIEIRA, Orlando et al. The influence of the growth habit on the velocity of sugarcane manual harvesting. Bioagro [online]. 2014, vol.26, n.2, pp.123-126. ISSN 1316-3361.

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid) is a main crop in Venezuela. Even thought there is a trend toward mechanization, manual harvesting remains important due to the fact that a significant proportion of the sugarcane produced is harvested that way. The objective of this study was to determine the extent in which sugarcane growth habit influences the velocity in which manual harvesting is done. The trial was performed during plant and ratoon cycles, and in each of them, five workers were employed to harvest five sugarcane cultivars whose habits ranged from erect to recumbent. A 5 by 5 Latin Square design was used, and time was recorded for each worker as they cut each of the five cultivars. Data were converted in time needed to harvest a ton of cane. The effect of stalk hardness was also considered. Results indicated that the growth habit of the cultivar influenced the speed in which sugarcane stalks are harvested, so lodged and non-erect stalks are features that negatively affected the velocity of manual harvesting. There was no evidence showing that stalk hardness had any effect on the labor speed.

Palavras-chave : Cultivars; lodged canes; erect canes; stalk hardness; Saccharum spp.

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