Monitoring quantitative losses in peanut harvesting

Abstract

Among agricultural operations, mechanized harvesting is the final step that deserves a lot of attention because it directly affects productivity, that is, the greater the amount of losses, there will be reduced productivity and increased costs. Thus, statistical analyzes such as the Statistical Quality Control (CEQ) are being applied in agriculture and have shown great potential for improving the management of agricultural systems as well as in decision making. With this work, the objective was to monitor the operational quality of mechanized peanut harvesting, during collection, through CEQ, and to quantify the total losses with the use of the rectangular frame. The experiment was carried out, in a commercial area, in the 2019/2020 harvest, in the municipality of Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo, located at geographic coordinates 21 ° 20'17.55 "S and 47 ° 54'7.31" O. The peanut was sown in a Meiosi system (Simultaneous Inter-Occupational Method). The experimental design followed the premises of the CEQ, monitoring, over time, 20 sample points that were 80 m long apart. The quality indicator evaluated, during the collection, was the total losses that were quantified through the rectangular frame, having the following dimensions 5.4 m wide by 0.37 m long. The statistical analysis was performed using the CEQ tools, which were: individual value control charts, sequential or run charts and descriptive analysis. It was concluded that, through the application of quality tools, it allowed greater monitoring and monitoring of the operation, in which there was no presence of special causes or patterns of non-randomness.