ABSTRACT:
Currently, manufacturers of agricultural tractors offer to farmers a diversity of brands, models, and settings for the most diverse agricultural operations. In this sense, the relation mass/power of tractor influences directly in the performance of these operations. The objective of this research was to study the agricultural wheel tractors marketed in Brazil in relation to their mass, in order to obtain current data to help their selection and proper use. The research involved 145 agricultural tractors models of eight different brands, including 2WD, MFWD and 4WD versions. The variables mass without ballast, relation mass/power for the different brands, type of traction and tractor power were analyzed separately. Tractor power was classified in: Class I (<50kW), Class II (50 to 150kW) and Class III (>150kW), according to the rated engine power declared by the manufacturer. Statistical analyses used were the t-Student and Tukey tests. The most number of tractors belongs to Class II and are considered versatile due to their mass/power relation, and can be used in the most diverse agricultural operations. From these analyses it was detected the mass/power relation decreases when the rated engine power increases.
Key words:
sizing machines; agricultural mechanization; mass/power ratio.
