SUGARCANE MECHANIZED HARVEST QUALITY IN YIELD RANGES

Based on information about the area in which sugarcane will be cultivated, yield ranges can be determined. The yield and cultivar adopted directly interfere in the harvest. Mechanized harvesting has advantages in the sugarcane production, but losses occur in this process. In this sense, the objective was to evaluate the mechanized harvesting quality of two sugarcane cultivars (CTC4 and SP86-0155) in three yield ranges (50 to 70, 71 to 90 and 91 to 120 t ha-1). The experiment was carried out in six areas in the region of the municipality of Jaboticabal-SP. In each area, yield and visible losses were determined at twelve points. The data were submitted to descriptive analysis and as a tool to analyze the harvest quality, the statistical process control (SPC) was used. The results indicate 54% higher losses in high yield ranges, and lower process quality. The cultivar SP86-0155 presented 11% less loss at harvest regarding to the cultivar CTC4, a fact that is related to the cultivars morphological characteristics.