With a strong delay in the wheat harvest in Rio Grande do Sul, the producer must pay attention to the operational capacity of the property, an indicator that is related to the time of implantation of the culture. This factor is also important because delaying planting can mean productivity losses.
According to Emater-RS/Ascar, on November 10th, only 37% of the wheat in Rio Grande do Sul had been harvested, a significantly lower number compared to last year, which was 71% in the same period. As a result, soybean sowing is still in its initial phase in the State, since producers are still involved in the wheat harvest.
Sowing planning is of paramount importance, since not knowing the operational capacity means not knowing how many days it will take to complete planting in the area. By feeling and empirical knowledge, the producer is aware of how long it takes, but to be more assertive we can make a simple calculation:
Calculation of Theoretical Operating Capacity (TOC)*
TOC (ha/h) = (V x L) / 10
TOC: Theoretical operational capacity
V: Speed (km/h)
L: Width (m)
Example:
Equipment with 4 m of width and speed of 6 km/h.
TOC (ha/h) = (6 x 4) / 10
TOC = 2.4 ha/h
*(RIPOLI; MOLINA JR; RIPOLI, 2005)
A very important point that needs to be taken into account is that the theoretical operational capacity does not take into account efficiency losses due to supplies (fuel, seed, fertilizer), seed treatment and implement maneuvers, for example.
According to Correia (2015), the operational efficiency, when it involves seed treatment, is 84.68% which, in our example, would be the theoretical capacity multiplied by the efficiency:
2.4x 84.68 = 2.03 ha/h
Agricultural Engineer Fabio Schavinski, owner of Schavinski PD&I, brings key points on how to improve operational efficiency. Check it out in the video:
