The use of numerical simulations has been widespread in many engineering fields and related areas. One of the main numerical methods used in modeling and simulations is the finite element method (FEM). Despite its wide dissemination, especially in mechanical and civil engineering, FEM has high potential to be applied in other areas, such as in agricultural engineering. This paper aims to present a review of the FEM applications in three agricultural engineering areas. This research is focused on agricultural mechanization, agricultural product processing and soil mechanics, since these are agricultural engineering areas with highest number of publications using FEM. As result, it is expected greater FEM dissemination in other agricultural engineering areas. In addition, modeling and simulation techniques can be widely used in order to represent the increasing behavior of agricultural machinery and products from real physical systems.

The automated detection and classification of immature macauba (Acrocomia aculeata) fruits is critical for improving post-harvest processing and quality control. In this study, we present a comparative evaluation of two state-of-the-art YOLO architectures, YOLOv11x and YOLOv12x, trained on the newly constructed VIC01 dataset comprising 1600 annotated images captured under both background-free and natural background conditions. Both models were implemented in PyTorch and trained until the convergence of box regression, classification, and distribution-focal losses. Under an IoU (intersection over union) threshold of 0.50, YOLOv11x and YOLOv12x achieved an identical mean average precision (mAP₅₀) of 0.995 with perfect precision and recall or TPR (true positive rate). Averaged over IoU thresholds from 0.50 to 0.95, YOLOv11x demonstrated superior spatial localization performance (mAP_50–95 = 0.973), while YOLOv12x exhibited robust performance in complex background scenarios, achieving a competitive mAP_50–95. Inference throughput averaged 3.9 ms per image for YOLOv11x and 6.7 ms for YOLOv12x, highlighting a trade-off between speed and architectural complexity. Fused model representations revealed optimized layer fusion and reduced computational overhead (GFLOPs), facilitating efficient deployment. Confusion-matrix analyses confirmed YOLOv11x’s ability to reject background clutter more effectively than YOLOv12x, whereas precision–recall and F1-score curves indicated both models maintain near-perfect detection balance across thresholds. The public release of the VIC01 dataset and trained weights ensures reproducibility and supports future research. Our results underscore the importance of selecting architectures based on application-specific requirements, balancing detection accuracy, background discrimination, and computational constraints. Future work will extend this framework to additional maturation stages, sensor fusion modalities, and lightweight edge-deployment variants. By facilitating precise immature fruit identification, this work contributes to sustainable production and value addition in macauba processing.

The use of mechanization in the harvesting of industrial tomatoes provides greater yield and speed of this stage. However, mechanical intervention in this process may alter the physiology of harvested fruits. Therefore, the objective of this study was to measure the quantitative losses of tomato fruits and to verify the physico-chemical behavior of fruits harvested based on physicochemical analysis in harvesters with different hours of use. Three self-propelled harvesters of the same brand and model with different working hours were used. Manually selected or undamaged fruits were harvested; afterwards, mechanized harvesting was carried out. Firmness, titratable acidity, soluble solids content (°Brix), pH, weight loss and fruit status classification proposed by the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Food Supply of 2002 were evaluated. Quantitative losses were divided into: losses on vines, losses on soil and total losses. It was found that the number of hours worked by the harvester did not affect the quantitative losses. The amount of overall damage in a certain amount of fruit is greater when the harvester has a greater number of hours worked. Mechanized harvesting affected the physical attributes of the fruits, such as firmness and percentage of weight loss.

Rural roads and bridges are fundamental to outflow agricultural products and promoting the local population mobility. In rural areas or forests, with scarce construction resources, are common to design bridges using wood in order to reduce the demanded energy to produce then. That kind of infrastructure systems, present low structural stiffness, durability and reliability, due the wood inherent mechanical properties variability and hygroscopicity. In this way, the inspection, monitoring and maintenance programs become extremely important. The Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) techniques can be employed to solve these issues. However, depending on the structure size, location and number of monitoring points, the monitoring process becomes considerably costly, especially if the bridges is located difficult access, such as forests. Therefore, as a management tool, the use of low-cost monitoring systems can be an alternative for the implementation of maintenance programs for this type of structure, in more distant rural areas. The present research was developed with the objective of proposing, developing and evaluating a low-cost data acquisition system for SHM to be applied in bridges on rural roads or forest areas. The low-cost data acquisition system for SHM of bridges was developed and subsequently validated in the laboratory and posteriorly under field conditions. As an important conclusion, the proposed low-cost system can be indicated for the establishment of maintenance programs, as well as being used for the implementation of conservation programs and management support, considering the applicability and limitation observed in the present research.

The flavor, aroma, and color of coffee can be changed due to mechanical damage, reducing its quality. To measure the mechanical behavior of the fruit, compression tests can be performed at different stages of ripeness. In this study, we analyzed the deformation, strain energy, and von Mises stress of coffee fruits at mature, semi-mature, and immature stages under compression forces. Compression in three directions (x, y, and z) was simulated on coffee fruit models using the finite element method. A compression support was applied in the opposite direction to the force application axis. Numerical simulations of the compression process allowed us to verify that the more mature the fruit, greater the associated mean deformation (2.20 mm mm⁻¹, 0.78 mm mm⁻¹, and 0.88 mm mm⁻¹), the lower the mean strain energy (0.07 mJ, 0.21 mJ, and 0.34 mJ), and the lower the mean equivalent von Mises stress (0.25 MPa, 1.03 MPa, and 1.25 MPa), corresponding to ripe, semi-ripe, and immature fruits, respectively. These analyses not only save time and professional resources but also offer insights into how strain energy and von Mises stress affect fruits at different maturation stages. This information can guide machine adjustments to reduce coffee harvesting damages.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sodium hypochlorite on removal of the sarcotesta and the germination process of newly harvested papaya seeds before and after storage for 44 days. Nine treatments were evaluated using a completely randomized design with six treatments in a split plot arrangement and three additional treatments (control), each treatment with eight replications. The plots consisted of methods for breaking dormancy: M1 - sieve method + drying to 7%, M2 - sieve method + drying to 7% + NaOCl, and M3 - NaOCl + drying to 7%. The split plots consisted of different storage periods (0 and 44 days). The three additional treatments consisted of A - NaOCl at 6% for 12 hours, B - sieve method, and C - intact seeds in running water for 24 hours. Germination and the first count of germination were evaluated. Results showed that sodium hypochlorite is effective in removal of the sarcotesta, but there is a negative effect on germination. Storage for 44 days also had a negative effect on germination. Removal of the sarcotesta by the sieve method followed by drying to 7% moisture content was effective in promoting germination of papaya seeds.