Productivity and costs of harvester cutting of teak trees for thinning

Fidel Cándano Acosta,Igor Martins Silva,Marcos Leandro Garcia,Rafael Rodolfo De Melo

doi:10.1590/2179-8087-floram-2020-0002

Abstract

ABSTRACT This work was carried out in a teak plantation in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The objective was to evaluate technical and economic indicators of the cutting and processing of trees with a track harvester. Twenty complete work shifts were evaluated using direct thinning to determine operational cycle times. Other information was also recorded for the calculation of production costs. The second thinning was performed at 12 years, with a volume of 0.1648 m³/tree, and the third thinning at 18 years with 0.3408 m³/tree. The main finding was an increase in productivity and decrease in production costs with rising tree volumes. For each hour of effective work, 53 trees were cut (339 trees/day), and processed into 1,047 logs. The decrease in the cost of cutting and processing trees in proportion to the increase in the average volume of trees to be extracted was confirmed.

Highlights

Teak plantations in Brazil are located mainly in the states of Mato Grosso, Pará and Rondônia, occupying an area of approximately 80 thousand hectares
The leading state is Mato Grosso, with 70 thousand hectares distributed in several municipalities, especially Cáceres, Quatro Marcos, Porto Espiridião, Tangará da Serra and Alta Floresta
The species has been planted in these states due to the good soil and climate conditions in relation to other regions of Brazil and the world, as well as the high value of the wood (Takizawa, 2018)

Summary

Introduction

Teak plantations in Brazil are located mainly in the states of Mato Grosso, Pará and Rondônia, occupying an area of approximately 80 thousand hectares. An alternative for tree harvesting is the use of tracked tractors equipped with processor heads This is an attractive option mainly due to the low acquisition cost and the existence of models manufactured in the country, facilitating technical assistance and purchase of spare parts (Seixas & Batista, 2014). According to those authors, tracked harvester models have lower operational cost than wheeled models on flat terrain, and the productivity results are similar. According to those authors, tracked harvester models have lower operational cost than wheeled models on flat terrain, and the productivity results are similar. Spencer (1992) and Johansson (1995) previously published similar results

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion