Mechanized fruit growing

The importance of having a well-sized tractor to handle the various operations that the daily work routine demands for the production of table fruits such as cashew, dragon fruit, lychee, prickly pear and blackberries. 

To learn about the application of the LS model R65 tractor in fruit growing, we went to the municipality of Artur Nogueira, in the state of São Paulo, more specifically to Sítio Cajueiro, owned by Mr. Donizete Aparecido Leme. He is a producer of cashew, dragon fruit and lychee, as well as prickly pear and blackberries.

Very friendly and helpful, Mr. Donizete told us that he was born in Paraná and came to São Paulo in the 1980s, after a brief stay, looking for work, in the state of Mato Grosso. The motivation for leaving his home state was the great frost of 1993, which almost ended coffee production in Paraná. The boll weevil outbreak, which attacked cotton crops in 1995-96, almost decimated crops in Paraná, also served as a motivation. Good-naturedly, he jokingly said that he was “scared away” from his homeland. In the search for opportunities, preparation for cashew production began in 2002, placing seedlings, guided by an improvement and cloning program initiated by Embrapa in the 1980s. He currently lives in Sítio with his family of five, all involved in production.

In the region, Mr. Donizete is one of the pioneers and even helps other producers, even from other states, mainly Ceará, and is considered the largest cashew producer in the state of São Paulo. During the day we were at Sítio Cajueiro, we heard many experiences and reports of the problems and achievements that have occurred over the years. 

cashew tree

The cashew tree is a tree native to Brazil, mainly distributed between the North and Northeast regions. However, due to the natural process of anthropogenic dispersion, it is being cultivated in almost the entire country. Logically for commercial exploitation, regions with a warmer climate have a great advantage. 

The plant (Anacardium occidentale) produces a fruit that is a cashew nut and an edible peduncle, with a color that varies between yellow and red, depending on the clone used to produce the seedling. In the case of the site, the commercial product is the peduncle, considered a pseudofruit, but which is of great beauty and great flavor. About the size of a small pear, it is rich in vitamins A, B, C and fiber.

Currently the site has approximately 200 trees in production, in an area of ​​three hectares. There is an expansion plan to recover some places where plants were lost, mainly to frost. The variety used on the site is Embrapa CCP76, which is very productive, with the possibility of collecting approximately 150 boxes per tree during the harvest. Mr. Donizete has an area for the production of seedlings, using the horse that comes from Embrapa. The seedling is made with the yellow cashew horse, combined with a portion of the red cashew, which is where it produces.

The management required by the cashew tree is quite intense if the producer wants to maintain high productivity. For a tree stand as seen at Sítio Cajueiro, which is 19 years old, the size is already established at approximately three to four meters in height. Therefore, the necessary driving and maintenance operations are mainly to facilitate the entry of light. As the plants are of the dwarf cashew type, which tends to open its branches horizontally, pruning is done with the aim of inducing and maintaining the cup shape. Two years ago the pruning system, which takes place mainly in July, was intensified to maintain the shape of the cup and the results were very impressive. The producer believes that the great benefit resulting from this conduction system was the reduction in the incidence of anthracnose caused by the fungus Colletotrichum truncatum, related to the presence of humidity. Control is carried out by spraying copper oxychloride fungicide, using a turbo atomizer, driven by the LS R65 tractor. He believes that with this pruning and training action, anthracnose is being controlled with production increasing from the previous 12 thousand boxes to the 22 thousand boxes now registered.

Other problems to manage are the occurrence of bedbugs and the borer, which attacks the new seedling. Thrips (Frankliniella schultzei) also cause problems when they settle on the flower and then cause a stain to appear on the skin of the pseudofruit, reducing its commercial value. Flowering occurs between the months of June and November, after a brief period of dormancy in the region's winter, and is very attractive to bees, which is extremely positive. 

The Sítio Cajueiro orchard was established 19 years ago and is in full swing, with an average production of 150 boxes per tree, which is harvested between November and May, with peak production in the months of January and February. As the harvesting process is based on a completely visual criterion, each day a collection is made and what remains for the next few days is predicted. The production is collected by hand, where it can be reached, and with a collector, which is nothing more than a rod with a fabric basket at the end, in the form of a strainer.

In this way, the alternative is to use labor from the entire family, the couple and their children, who start the activity every day and do not know when they will stop, because as long as there is production to be harvested, work cannot be interrupted. . They even told us, smiling, that sometimes they continue their activities into the night. 

The brand sold on the site is Caju Nogueirense and the destination of the largest quantity of production is the Ceasa terminal in São Paulo. A portion is also delivered to traditional customers in the São Paulo Public Market. Transport from the site pavilion to the delivery location is outsourced. A small part of the production is sold directly to some customers, who look for the product directly on the site. There are also customers who use the fruits that were discarded for packaging and buy them directly from the farm by weight, for use as pulp and juice and to produce a fermented drink based on cashew, syrup, nectar and sweets.

Dragon fruit

Unlike cashew, dragon fruit is an exotic plant originating from Central America of the genus Stenocereus and the species varies in shape and color. As it is from the Cactus family (Cactaceae), it has the appearance of tuna fruit, but without the thorns. In some places it is also called dragon fruit. In Brazil, the best known and most cultivated is the purple pitaya, which is actually reddish with pink pulp. The yellow one with white pulp is also cultivated.

The beginning of commercial production in Brazil is quite recent, with the first records in the 2000s, and from then on it was considered a fashionable table fruit, mainly due to its beauty and nutritional characteristics. It is rich in vitamins B and C and minerals such as potassium, iron, calcium and phosphorus, low in calories and very fibrous, which is combined with a diet and natural diet. 

Dragon fruit has been cultivated in Sítio Cajueiro for 18 years and in large quantities. There are 350 trees of white dragon fruit and two areas of purple dragon fruit, totaling more than a thousand trees. 

For cultivation, it is necessary to create a support structure for the plant, called a pitaya vine, which is very similar to the cultivation of grapes, in the espalier system. A line of wooden posts and beams serves as a support that becomes decisive for the productive duration of the cultivation, as this structure is very difficult to maintain, as the plant ends up wrapping around its support. 

This type of conduction ends up being a benefit for the application of the products necessary to protect the plant, as the turbo atomizer passes between the lines, applying on both sides. It is also necessary to clean the streets, which Mr. Donizete does with the same brush cutter that cleans the cashew tree area. The LS R65 tractor is designed for both operations. 

The production of ripe fruits lasts from December to May, just like the cashew tree. Maturation is staggered and, while on the one hand it is favorable to commercialization, it forces the family to do daily collection work, for months. Production begins with a shoot that emerges from the thorn insertion and lasts 60 days from bud to fruit. The peak of production occurs in December, precisely during the end of year festivities. The approximate production volume is five boxes per foot, during the entire cycle.

Lychee

Lychee (Litchi chinensis) is a tree from the Sapindaceae family, native to Asia. In Vietnam, it is considered a symbolic fruit, being present on some provincial flags in the country. It is a large tree, with specimens from Sítio do Cajueiro measuring a height of around five meters to ten meters.

The biggest problem for lychee production, currently in Brazil and mainly in São Paulo, where most of the production is concentrated, is the false rust mite, which is difficult to control, but which can be combatted with sulfur-based products. Another problem is the borer, which settles in the branches, but which can be controlled with insecticides.

Fruit production is concentrated in two to three weeks of December, close to Christmas and New Year. This year, production at Sítio do Cajueiro was delayed due to frost and during these two weeks Mr. Donizete's family will collect the fruits using ladders, to break the bunch and remove the fruits. The 220 trees on the site will provide approximately 100kg per tree of ripe fruit ready for sale.

The lychee fruit is rounded with a reddish and rough skin and the edible pulp is whitish and contains a lot of liquid in the middle of a mass. During the ripening process, the skin becomes increasingly thinner, taking on a reddish color, and the pulp increases and becomes more liquid. 

For sales, the highest value coincides with the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Then the price falls, recovering again when the availability of supply decreases, in the month of February onwards. Sales are made by weight, with the fruit separated from the bunch branches and bagged in 10kg pieces.

LS Tractor R65 in fruit production

The LS model R65 tractor uses an LS engine, model L4AL T1, with four cylinders and 2.621cm3 displacement volume, which meets the Brazilian pollutant emission standard MAR-1. The injection pump fueling system has 16 valves and a turbocharger, which provides 65 hp of maximum power (ISO TR 14396 standard) at a speed of 2.500 rpm. Maximum torque is 203Nm at 1.600rpm.

The power transmission is of the synchronized type, Synchro Shuttle, which offers 32 forward gears and 16 reverse gears, with a creeper. The power take-off (TDP) is independent with electro-hydraulic drive and three speeds, 540, 750 and 1.000 rpm. The 750rpm speed can be used as an economical PTO. The front axle is mechanically driven.

The hydraulic system has a total flow rate of 62 liters/minute and the category II three-point hitch system reaches a maximum pressure of 167kgf/cm2 and lifting capacity of up to 2.100kgf at the ball joint. The independent remote control, with two valves in the standard version and three valves as an option, has a maximum flow of 31 liters/minute and a maximum pressure of 167 MPa. The tractor tested was equipped with type R1 tires, with specification 14.9-24 on the front and 250/80-18 on the rear wheels.

The fuel tank holds up to 60 liters of fuel, which guarantees good autonomy given the level of consumption seen in most operations. The shipping weight is 1.920kg and ballasted weight can reach 2.922kg. 

To aid and encourage maintenance, the hood tilts, pivoting backwards and providing ample access to all engine and electrical system components.

A positive feature of LS tractors is the front axle without crossheads, which is well protected against the entry of dust and mud, in addition to providing an excellent turning radius, which is very favorable in small areas, such as Sítio Cajueiro. 

Mr. Donizete's R65 platform model was purchased at the LS dealership in Mogi Mirim, JA Máquinas. The JA Máquinas headquarters store is in Jaú, SP, and is one of the brand's best dealerships. The Mogi Mirim branch store is very well located and operates in a huge region of the state of São Paulo, with approximately 70 municipalities. This region is dominated by areas of grain production, beef and dairy farming and small farms such as fruit and vegetable farming, to which the brand pays a lot of attention. For these reasons, small and medium-sized tractors are the main LS models sold.

During the day of testing, the Revista Cultivar Máquinas team included the store manager, Ademir Chiquetti Júnior, Mr. Sidinei Lorencetti, the store's sales consultant, and Rodrigo Barbará Silva, LS Tractor's commercial coordinator for the state of São Paulo.

Customer impressions

Mr. Donizete's first contact with the LS brand, and particularly with the R65 model, was at a presentation given by the regional dealer JA Máquinas, in Mogi Mirim, São Paulo. He was a customer of another brand and as soon as he purchased the LS and started using it, he recognized some positive characteristics. He considers the R65 LS model a complete tractor, due to the options it offers and the items it already includes in the basic version. The comparison with your old tractor highlights the issue of comfort, which even makes your children want to work with this tractor.

Currently, with 400 hours of use, the main operations in which the LS R65 is involved are mowing and transport, where it proves to be very economical. In fact, Mr. Donizete carried out consumption measurements, finding general values ​​of around three to 3,5 liters of fuel per hour. Now, the next step is to use it with the sprayer.

In general terms, Mr. Donizete says he is very satisfied, mainly due to his children's involvement and motivation to work, who compare the R65's reversing system and gearshift with that of a car. He told us that he uses the most common gears, which are 3rd and 4th, and that his children like to change gears from first to working gear.

Also, regarding maintenance, he said he was very satisfied, as until now only the engine's lubricating oil change and daily fuel supply had been necessary.

He showed enthusiasm for the adaptation he made to the tractor, removing the ladder on the left side and replacing it with a toolbox, which he uses to take the work tools used in the cashew orchards to the field.

Anyway, for those who spent the day with Mr. Donizete, it was a pleasure to listen to him, in addition to noticing that his knowledge and practice are shared without selfishness.