Variability of harvest loss in relation to physiological characteristics of cotton

ABSTRACT. Pearson's correlation and spatial variability are tools that can be used to help one understand the process of losses in the mechanical harvesting of cotton. Therefore, the objective of this study was to model the spatial distribution and map the losses of mechanical cotton harvest using geostatistics and to correlate the losses with agronomic variables using Pearson’s correlation. The experiment was conducted in Itiquira and Lucas do Rio Verde, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. At each sampling point, the evaluated variables were agronomic plant variables and cotton losses in the soil and the plant (divided into lower, medium and upper thirds) and the sum total of losses. The highest losses in cotton harvest occurred in the lower third and on the soil, both of which exhibit a spatial dependence model, according to geostatistics, demonstrating that they do not occur in a randomized process and are related to the specific plant. There was a relationship between the plant populations with losses in the cotton crop. The plant population can influence the spatial dependence of losses.

摘要。皮尔逊相关系数（Pearson's correlation）与空间变异性（spatial variability）是辅助解析棉花机械采收过程中损失产生机制的有效工具。本研究旨在借助地统计学（geostatistics）构建棉花机械采收损失的空间分布模型并绘制损失空间分布图，同时通过皮尔逊相关系数分析采收损失与农艺性状间的关联。本试验于巴西马托格罗索州的伊蒂基拉（Itiquira）与里奥韦尔迪河畔卢卡斯（Lucas do Rio Verde）开展。在各采样点（sampling point），本次测定的变量涵盖植株农艺性状、土壤与植株上的棉花采收损失（按植株下、中、上三部分划分）以及总损失量。经地统计学分析，棉花机械采收的最高损失集中于植株下层与土壤表面，二者均符合空间依赖模型，表明此类损失并非随机发生，而是与植株自身特性密切相关。研究发现植株群体密度与棉花采收损失存在关联，且植株群体密度可影响采收损失的空间依赖性。