Simulation of the length of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) crop rows in the operational management of spraying

Abstract

Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane destined to mills and has an average productivity higher than that of other producing countries of this raw material. The application of agricultural control products in sugarcane fields of agroindustries is carried out in extensive cultivation areas with hydraulic self-propelled, trailed, and aerial sprayers. For this, the systematization of cultivation areas, making longer the length of crop rows in the cultivation plots, is necessary to reduce the bedside maneuvers of machinery. This study aimed to assess the impact caused by the length of crop rows on the operational cost of the hydraulic sprayer used for sugarcane management practices. Due to the difficulty in performing this study and meeting the aim under field conditions, a computational model called TratoCana was developed in a spreadsheet and programming language. The model was verified for possible routine errors, validated, and used in the factor analysis and generation of scenarios. The results showed that the length of crop rows positively affects the operational and economic performance of the equipment.