Credit hours
In-class work per week |
Practice per week |
Credits |
Duration |
Total |
4 |
1 |
8 |
15 weeks |
120 hours |
Instructor
Leandro Maria Gimenez
Objective
The course aims to provide the necessary foundation for planning and evaluating the quality of mechanized operations based on an understanding of machines as tools for meeting agronomic requirements. Core concepts are presented, and the state of the art in technology and research is discussed, targeting a broad audience of graduate students in agricultural sciences. Mechanization plays a supporting role in many agricultural processes and, as such, influences their performance. One of the course’s objectives is to support and foster lines of investigation in collaboration with researchers from various fields within the agricultural sciences, with the goal of advancing these processes.
Content
1.Mechanized Agricultural Systems: what they are, how they are defined, criteria and precautions for intensifying agricultural production through mechanization, examples for various cultivated species.
Tractors and Performance Characterization: components, types, working principles, quality of operation, methods for evaluating performance, comparison and selection criteria, preparation for operation.
Soil Tillage: agronomic requirements, methods for soil mobilization, types of equipment, diagnosis of tillage necessity, evaluation of tillage quality, tractor-implement matching.
Pesticide Application Technology: principles of spray application, characteristics of targets, product types and formulations, compatibility in tank mixtures, droplet formation processes, spray nozzles and spray patterns, characteristics of hydraulic nozzles, essential sprayer components, types of ground sprayers, spraying with Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs), sprayer performance parameters, methods for evaluating application quality.
Crop Establishment: propagation structures, agronomic requirements, types of machines; planting and transplanting machinery; planters and their components, functions and suitability for different soil types; planting quality, automation in planters.
Fertilizer and Soil Amendment Application: types and characteristics of fertilizers and amendments, agronomic requirements and application strategies; application in furrows, broadcast, in pits; main types of metering equipment; methods of distribution and main types of equipment; variable-rate application; methods for evaluating application quality.
Grain Harvesting: characteristics of cultivated species and their influence on harvesting, harvest losses, damage to harvested products, composition of grain harvesters, subsystems and their effects on capacity and harvest quality, environmental influences on harvesting operations, evaluation of harvester performance, quality of residue distribution, unloading strategies, sensors and automation in grain harvesters.
Biomass Harvesting: characteristics of cultivated species and their influence on harvesting, harvest losses, damage to harvested biomass, harvester composition, defining characteristics of biomass harvest quality, transport subsystems, and efficiency in biomass harvesting.
Data Recorded by Machines: examples of data sets collected by tractors, seeders, sprayers, fertilizer spreaders, and harvesters. Processing of machine-generated data, extraction and interpretation of performance indicators based on collected data. Use of machine data to characterize agronomic variables such as yield, soil compaction, and soil preparation quality.
Costs: Components of direct mechanization costs, timeliness costs, and indirect mechanization costs. Techniques for optimizing the operational cost of agricultural machinery, and indicators for managing performance and operational cost.
Bibliography
BOCHTIS, D.D.; SORENSEN, C.G.C.; BUSATO, P. Advances in agricultural machinery management: A review. Biosystems Engineering, 126 (2014), pp. 69-81 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2014.07.012 )
BRAUN, A.T.; COLANGELO, E.; STECKEL, T. Farming in the Era of Industrie 4.0, Procedia CIRP, Volume 72, 2018, Pages 979-984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2018.03.176.
CIGR Handbook of Agricultural Engineering Volume II Plant production engenering. Edited by CIGR--The International Commission of Agricultural Engineering; Volume Editor, Bill A. Stout Texas A&M University, USA: ASABE. 2006, 523 p. https://www.project-management-tool.eu/cigr/sites/default/files/documets/CIGRHandbookVol3.pdf
FRANCETTO, T.R.; SILVA, R. P.; GIRIO, L. A. S. Manual de Máquinas Agrícolas: volume I. 1 ed. Jaboticabal: FUNEP, 2024, 649 p.
GOERING, C.F. Engine and tractor power. 4th edition, ASABE, St. Joseph, MI, USA. 2004. 539p.
GOERING, C.F.; STONE, M.L.; SMITH, D.W. e TURNQUIST, P.K. Off-road vehicle engineering principles. ASAE, St. Joseph, MI, USA. 2003. 474p.
SRIVASTAVA, A. K.; GOERING, C. E.; ROHRBACH, R. P.; BUCKMASTER, D. R. Engineering principles of agricultural machines. 2 ed. St. Joseph: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 2006, 588 p
Articles published in major journals related to the field, such as Computers and Electronics in Agriculture (https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/computers-and-electronics-in-agriculture); Journal of ASABE (https://asabe.org/ja); Biosystems Engineering (https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/biosystems-engineering); CIGR Journal (https://cigrjournal.org/index.php/ejounral); Aplied Engineering in Agriculture (https://asabe.org/applied).