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In the Havana agriculture the sustainability of soybean production is affected by the high variation of the seed quality and harvest losses, due to the lack of integration of the agronomical and technological factors during the soybean production. It was demonstrated that harvest losses were as high as 30 % of the potential yield. In this paper an evaluation of mechanical harvest on the varieties Conquista, IGH-24 y V9, seeding in Havana fields is presented. It was founded that the total losses during soybean harvesting reached values from 42,86 kg/ha a 690,36 kg/ha and that the plant density highest to 200 000 plant/he increase the height plant as well as the insertion of the first pods in the stem; it contributed to reduce the gathering losses level. With the application of the Principal Components Analysis (ACP) was proved that 82,272 % of the total variability was accumulated in the three first components and the variables that showed the greatest contribution were: the threshing losses (%), the weeding intensity (%), the gathering losses (%), the plant height (cm), the seed humidity contents (%), the insertion of the first pods in the stem (cm) and the plant density (pl/he). The correlation matrix among these variables indicated that the variable most influence in the efficiency to this operation was that weeding intensity because it was correlated positively with the total losses, the threshing losses, the gathering losses, as well as the seed humidity contents and the plant height. As result, the implementation of correctives measurements related to the harvesting machine working regime, the harvest losses were reduced in more than a half. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researches directed to increase the indicators of efficiency and quality during coffee harvest mechanization constitutes an important topic at present time. The determination of the physical-mechanical properties of fruits and fruit-stem system is an indispensable stage during these investigations. In this paper the results on the determination of a group of dimensional, inertial and elastic properties of the fruit-stem system of coffea arabica variety Catuai in different ripening stages, related with mechanical harvesting of this crop, are presented. Also, the bending moment required for the rupture of the fruit-stem union is determined. Methods of processing of digital images, as well as strain gages techniques were used during the investigation. As result of measurement of the different properties, substantial differences on dimensional, inertial and elastic characteristics of green and ripe fruit were found, like as in the bending moment required to fruit detachment and in the detachment patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]