Behavior of the coffee fruit detachment force throughout the harvest period

In order to carry out selective harvest of coffee more efficiently, in which ripe fruits are preferably picked, there must be objective parameters to guide the proper regulation of the harvester in terms of vibration and operating speed. A possible objective parameter can be the detachment force of coffee fruits. For this determination it was necessary to develop and produce a portable dynamometer for the collection of data from the field. Its production and calibration were completed in the calibration and laboratory prototypes of the Department of Engineering at UFLA. Tests of detachment force fruit were made in Capetinga farm in the municipality of Boa Esperança in the 2006/2007 season. The cultivars used in the were: Mundo Novo IAC 376/4, Catuai amarelo IAC 99 and Icatu IAC 3282, transplanted in spacing 4.0 x 1.0 m with average population of 2.5 thousand plants per 10.000 m². The tests were conducted with three replicates using the completely randomized design (DIC) in the same soil, in random parcels containing five plants. The aim was to raise the detachment force of the coffee fruits in the plant according to fruit maturation, being ranked for the determination of force: the green fruit, cherry, passes and dry. It was concluded that there are significant differences between stages of maturity among the cultivars and progenies evaluated. Cultivars Mundo Novo and Catuai presented smaller average values of strength of detachment. It was possible to correlate the strength of fruit detachment to determine the degree of maturation of the culture, since it is an objective parameter.

Cultivars; maturation; mecanized harvest