“The crop’s productive potential is established at the sowing time…”
Dauto Carpes is a product and market marketing specialist at FertiSystem and a professor of agricultural machinery and mechanization at Atitus Educação.
Carpes is an agricultural engineer, with a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in agricultural engineering from the Federal University of Santa Maria.
Dauto Carpes, product and market marketing specialist
AgriBrasilis – What are the main mistakes that occur during planting/sowing?
Dauto Carpes – The crop’s productive potential is established during the sowing phase and it is extremely important to be aware of the factors that can influence the quality of the process.
Some crops are extremely sensitive to the spacing between plants in the sowing line and, as a result, they may suffer some yield reduction if the sowing is not done properly. The speed at which the seeder moves is one of the main factors that cause mistakes during the dosing process, since the dosing equipment are sensitive to this increase, especially when horizontal “honeycomb” disc dosers, better known as mechanical dosers, are used. Mistakes occur because the high rotation of the discs does not allow the holes to be filled correctly, which leads to dosing errors.
Another factor that can cause errors is the incorrect choice of the dosing disc and the filling ring. They must be chosen so that they allow the seed to settle into the holes by the action of gravity, and to be released by this same action, at the discharge point into the conductive tube. Once released, the seed must be guided smoothly and steadily to the bottom of the seed furrow, avoiding rebounds within the seed tube, which could cause the spacing between seeds in the seeding line to be disturbed.
When using pneumatic seed metering devices, one of the factors that must be observed to minimize the occurrence of errors is the vacuum level that is being applied to the meter. This characteristic directly affects the meter’s ability to capture and trap the seeds in the alveoli up to the point of release into the seed tube. Therefore, when using a level below what is recommended, seeding errors may occur due to the seeds being detached by the vibration of the seeding line during movement.
AgriBrasilis – How to ensure greater efficiency during those operations?
Dauto Carpes – Using precision dosers ensures that inputs are dosed and deposited correctly, as long as operational and design parameters are followed, ensuring the correct development of plants in the seeding line. This feature is extremely important, as it allows the seeds to reach their production potential.
Some other technologies that deserve to be highlighted are the seed and fertilizer sensors. These components allow for real-time monitoring of seeding from inside the tractor cabin, allowing for the verification of faults or possible problems in the distribution of seeds and fertilizers. In the case of an audible error signal, the operator can stop the tractor and the seeder to inspect for problems related to the distribution of inputs, reducing the occurrence of errors during seeding.
AgriBrasilis – At what level are the fertilization and planting automation technologies?
Dauto Carpes – It is now possible to transform and configure fully mechanical machines into automated machines that can shut down row by row or sections. We can also make them capable of distributing inputs according to the precision agriculture prescription maps, enabling variable rate distribution of fertilizers and seeds.
AgriBrasilis – What are the differences between conventional and precision dispensers?
Dauto Carpes – The correct choice of fertilizer dispenser directly influences the quality of the process, since its distribution must be uniform so that there is the correct availability of nutrients for the plants.
Conventional dispensers do not provide an accurate dosage, since they perform an irregular distribution, which is subject to many external interferences, contributing to the incorrect plants development, culminating in inputs waste.
The mechanisms of the dispensers equipped with overflow ensure uniformity even in uneven terrain, avoiding the occurrence of variability in the seeding line. In order to achieve distribution rates efficiently, it is necessary to pay attention to factors such as the internal components of the dispensers, such as the conveyor screw, helicoid pitch, type and dimension of overflow, according to the characteristics and dose of the fertilizer to be used.
AgriBrasilis – What percentage of farmers adopt variable rate fertilization? How much does this represent in terms of area?
Dauto Carpes – Automating seeders is becoming a widely used alternative to increase the efficiency and precision of seeding operations. It is estimated that in Brazil, the agricultural production area that uses precision agriculture techniques is around 9 million hectares. The use of electric motors is directly related to this production method, since they are widely used to distribute inputs at variable rates, activating seed and fertilizer dispensers.
The main benefits include, in addition to facilitating machine adjustment, increasing the precision of mechanism calibration, allowing lines to be disconnected, which prevents inputs from overlapping and allows offsetting on curves, allowing for the correct distribution of seeds per linear meter, generating savings and increasing crop profitability by increasing yields. It is estimated that input savings from adopting this technology can reach 5% to 8% in crops.
AgriBrasilis – How much does planting represent in the total cost of a farm operation and how can these costs be reduced?
Dauto Carpes – Currently, the cost of this operation can represent 20% to 40% of the total crop production cost during its production cycle, requiring ever greater precision to maintain the viability of agricultural activity.
The adoption and use of technologies for sowing provide savings at the time of planting the crop and financial return through increased yields, since the quality of the process execution increases.
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