The portable harvester performance was evaluated for mountain coffee during the detachment of the fruits in different ages of the plants. The performance evaluation of the portable harvester was accomplished with four ages of plants and two coffee varieties. The coffee plant characteristics, the curve characteristics of the portable harvester engine, the detachment capacity and efficiency, the specific energy consumption, the mechanical damage and the noise level emitted by the machine were evaluated. The portable harvester held out a satisfactory performance by presenting less mechanical damage and number of broken branches, a regular detachment capacity, low specific energy consumption and high detachment efficiency. The noise level increased with the increasing of the power requirement.
electric power; mechanical damage; ergonomic
