Abstract

Several studies have investigated the harvest systems, locations and conditions of the coffee crop, but there are no studies about the rod frequency vibration, particularly with regard to the effects of the position of the coffee with respect to exposure of sunlight regarding production, fruit maturation, and harvest levels. Thus, this study, conducted in two crops in Patos de Minas, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, evaluated the productivity, fruit maturation, and operation of mechanical harvesting of a coffee crop planted in four rows, with two faces of solar exposure and at two frequencies of rod vibration. Because of the regional conditions and culture, the planting alignments altered the levels of low-production harvests and the maturation of the fruit produced in high-production harvests, but no differences were observed between the faces of the plants. The increased frequency of the rod vibration varied according to the planting alignments in the low-production harvest, and increased harvesting capacity and the amount of picked mature fruits, reducing the losses of the remaining coffee of the high-production harvest.

Key words: Coffea arabica L., ripeness stage, sunlight, agricultural mechanization, coffee production, harvesting loses.