Quantification of Corn Grains Losses in Road Transport

Abstract

The present work had the objective of quantifying corn grain losses in road transportation along a section of highway BR 163 in the state of Mato Grosso. The survey was done in July and August of 2016 in the section between the Imigrantes Highway, within the city of Cuiabá - MT, and the municipality of Nova Mutum – MT. This stretch is considered to be the one with the highest flow of grain loads in the state of Mato Grosso. Twenty one collect points were established along the stretch, with a distance of 10 km from one point to the other, at each collect point 3 areas of 1 m² were delimited with the aid of a fixed frame of wood with the same area, in a distance of 1.3 m from the highway margin, in the north-south direction, which is the direction of the grain flow. The samples were placed in identified plastic bags and taken to the laboratory for separation and weighing. The points of the biggest grain losses were points 06 and 12 of the section, where it was verified pavement in poor quality with much road surfacing, and the points of lower losses were collected in the top quality asphalt range.