Estimativa do consumo e custo operacional de motor elétrico e a diesel para o manejo da irrigação suplementar de lavoura cafeeira na região Amazônica

Irrigation is an important technique for coffee cultivation, as it contributes to the water demands required for the crop during dry periods. Therefore, the objective of this study was to estimate the cost and consumption of electricity and diesel used in pumping water for irrigation of Amazonian Robusta coffee plants. For the analysis of electricity costs,the current tariff “B” for low voltage and subgroup “B2 - Rural” were adopted. For diesel, the average cost per liter at gas stations in the capital Rio Branco-AC was considered. To analyze consumption estimates, the following pump powers were considered: 5 HP, 7.5 HP, and 10 HP under soil water tensions to start irrigation at 20 KPa, 40 KPa, 60 KPa, and 100 KPa, in the months of May to October of 2022 and 2023. The use of electric motors for irrigation systems of coffee plants presents greater cost-effectiveness for producers compared to the use of diesel engines, for powers of 10, 7.5, and 5 HP.