The operational performance of two equipments for the cassava harvest was studied. A soil disaggregating implement and an up root implement were evaluated. The wheel slip, the losses, the mechanical damage caused in roots and the field capacity of the tractor-implement systems were analyzed. In each test, the whole roots and the roots with mechanical damages were separated and their mass were obtained. Tractor-up root system showed the best dynamic of cut and soil penetration, which was considered the smallest wheel slip. No root losses were observed for the two systems. Between implements there was not difference for mechanical damages caused in roots. The tractor-disaggregating implement system presented field capacity of 25% upper than tractor-up root system. However, as tractor-disaggregating implement system did not leave roots exposed and it did not have a frontal device of plant pruning, it was observed an increase of 32% on necessary time for cutting and roots separation. The tractor-up root system provided higher operational performance.
cassava up root; soil disaggregating implement; losses
