TYPES OF HEADER, OPERATING SPEED, AND GEOMETRY OF COLLECTION FRAMES ON THE TOTAL LOSSES OF SOYBEAN HARVEST

ABSTRACT Soybean has significant economic importance in Brazil despite high production costs, making it necessary to increase the efficiency of mechanized harvest through the reduction of losses. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the total losses in the mechanized soybean harvest as a function of the combination of header types, operating speeds, and geometry of collection frames. The study was carried out in a commercial farm in a randomized block design arranged in a 2 × 3 × 3 factorial with 10 replications, totaling 180 replications. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and quality control. The square frame can be used instead of the rectangular frame for the determination of the total losses. The increasing operating speed increased total losses in the auger header. On the other hand, the lowest losses at the highest operating speed were observed in the belt header. The harvester with belt header was more efficient when compared to that with auger header at the highest operating speed.