Showing papers in "International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering in 2014"

Drift and deposition of ultra-low altitude and low volume application in paddy field

Abstract: Field trials were performed to evaluate various techniques for measuring spray deposition and aerial drift during spray application to paddy field. The application of a spraying agent containing the fluorescent dye Rhodamine-B was applied by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which flew at a height of 5 m, a speed of 3 m/s, and the wind speed of 3 m/s. The results showed that because the downdraft produced by a helicopter rotor increased the penetrability of crops, there is a higher deposition on the upper layer and the under layer than the traditional spraying. The average deposition on the upper layer accounts for 28% of the total spraying ,the deposition on the under layer accounts for 26% of the total spraying. The deposition on the under layer takes up 92.8% of the deposition on the upper layer. Droplets drift data showed that the drift of non-target area took up 12.9% of the total liquid spray. The 90% drifting droplets were located within a range of 8 m of the target area; the drift quantity was almost zero at a distance of 50 m away from the treated area. Keywords: paddy field, ultra-low altitude, low volume, UAV, droplet drift, deposition DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140704.003 Citation: Xue X Y, Tu Kang, Qin W C, Lan Y B, Zhang H H. Drift and deposition of ultra-low altitude and low volume application in paddy field. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(4): 23－28.

Identification of fruit and branch in natural scenes for citrus harvesting robot using machine vision and support vector machine

Abstract: With the decrease of agricultural labor and the increase of production cost, the researches on citrus harvesting robot (CHR) have received more and more attention in recent years. For the success of robotic harvesting and the safety of robot, the identification of mature citrus fruit and obstacle is the priority of robotic harvesting. In this work, a machine vision system, which consisted of a color CCD camera and a computer, was developed to achieve these tasks. Images of citrus trees were captured under sunny and cloudy conditions. Due to varying degrees of lightness and position randomness of fruits and branches, red, green, and blue values of objects in these images are changed dramatically. The traditional threshold segmentation is not efficient to solve these problems. Multi-class support vector machine (SVM), which succeeds by morphological operation, was used to simultaneously segment the fruits and branches in this study. The recognition rate of citrus fruit was 92.4%, and the branch of which diameter was more than 5 pixels, could be recognized. The results showed that the algorithm could be used to detect the fruits and branches for CHR. Keywords: citrus, machine vision, citrus harvesting robot (CHR), branch, identification, multi-class support vector machine (SVM) DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140702.014 Citation: Lu Q, Cai J R, Liu B, Deng L, Zhang Y J. Identification of fruit and branch in natural scenes for citrus harvesting robot using machine vision and support vector machine. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(2): 115－121.

Monitoring paddy rice phenology using time series MODIS data over Jiangxi Province, China.

Abstract: Paddy rice is one of the most important crops in the world. Accurate estimation and monitoring of paddy rice phenology is necessary for management and yield prediction. Remotely sensed time-series data are essential for estimation of crop phenology stages across large areas. Here, the paddy rice phenological stages (i.e., transplanting, tillering, heading, and harvesting) were detected in Jiangxi Province, China. A comparison study was conducted using ground observation data from 10 agricultural meteorological stations, collected between 2006 and 2008. The phenological stages were detected using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) time-series enhanced vegetation index (EVI) data. Savitzky–Golay filter and wavelet transform were used to reduce the noise in the time-series EVI data and reconstruct the smoothed EVI time-series profile. Key phenological stages of double-cropping rice were detected using the characteristics of the smoothed EVI profile. The root mean square errors (RMSEs) for each stage were ±10 days around the ground observation data. The results suggest that Savitzky–Golay filter and wavelet transform are promising approaches for reconstructing high-quality EVI time-series data. Moreover, the phenological stages of double-cropping rice could be detected using time-series MODIS EVI data smoothed by Savitzky–Golay filter and wavelet transform. Keywords: remote sensing, phenology, paddy rice, time series MODIS EVI, growth monitoring, Savitzky-Golay filter, wavelet transform DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140706.005 Citation: Li S H, Xiao J T, Ni P, Zhang J, Wang H S, Wang J X. Monitoring paddy rice phenology using time series MODIS data over Jiangxi Province, China. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(6): 28－36.

Modeling microwave drying kinetics and moisture diffusivity of Mabonde banana variety

Abstract: This study investigates the microwave drying kinetics of thin layer Mabonde banana variety (MBV) at power levels between 100 and 300 W. Six mathematical drying models: Wang and Singh, Verma, Two-term, Page, Two term exponential, and Logarithmic models were fitted to experimental drying data obtained from the study. The statistical consistency of the models was determined using statistical parameters including coefficient of determination, mean bias error, root mean square error, and reduced Chi square. Moisture migration from banana slices was described using the Fick’s diffusion model. The effective diffusivity was calculated. The results indicated that drying took place largely in the falling rate period. The time required to reduce the moisture of banana to a certain level was dependent on the microwave output, being the longest at 100 W and shortest at 300 W. The effective moisture diffusivity increased with increasing microwave power with values at 4.89×10-10, 1.09×10-9 and 1.69×10-9 m2/s at 100, 200, and 300 W, respectively. The Wang and Singh model gave the best results for the description of thin layer drying of MBV. Keywords: Mabonde banana variety, microwave, drying models, drying kinetics, effective moisture diffusivity DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140706.013 Citation: Omolola A O, Jideani A I O, Kapila P F. Modeling microwave drying kinetics and moisture diffusivity of Mabonde banana variety. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(6): 107－113.

Effects of chemical fertilizer combined with organic manure on Fuji apple quality, yield and soil fertility in apple orchard on the Loess Plateau of China.

Abstract: To evaluate the effects of chemical fertilizer combined with organic manure on apple yield, quality and soil fertility, an experiment was conducted in an apple orchard on the Loess Plateau of China. Six treatments, i.e., 1) no nitrogen (N) with chemical phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) (PK), 2) no P with chemical N and K (NK), 3) no K with chemical N and P (NP), 4) N, P and K chemical fertilizers only (NPK), 5) swine manure (M) only (M), and 6) half chemical fertilizers combined with half swine manure (NPKM) were included with three replications for each. The NPKM treatment achieved 36.9 t/ha average annual yield, which was 42.5% greater than the yield of PK treatment. The average annual yields followed the sequence of NPKM>NPK>M>NK>NP>PK. In NPKM treatment 71.3% of the collected apples had an apple diameter greater than 80 mm compared with 58.2%, 41.5 % and 37.2% in NK, PK and NP treatments, respectively. The sugar to acid (S:A) ratio was the greatest in NPKM treatment. The results of Vitamin C, soluble solid and firmness showed that NPKM treatment had the highest values. The concentration of soil organic carbon (SOC) in the 0 to 20 cm depth of soil was significantly affected by addition of M. Compared to the antecedent soil properties, the SOCS in the NPKM and M treatments were increased by 28.8%, 29.4%, and TN contents were 56.5, 49.8% more for soil at 0–20 cm depths, respectively. The major soil nutrients of N, P and K were also significantly increased by M and NPKM treatments in surface soil for five years. The data support the conclusion that, for a production of 35-40 t/ha in an apple orchard on the Loess Plateau of China, the 25-30 t/ha organic manure, 160-200 kg/ha N, 100-150 kg/ha P2O5 and 120-160 kg/ha K2O were the most suitable fertilizer application. The finding will be helpful for harmonious development of apple production technology, economic income increase for farmers, and improvement of the apple orchard ecosystem. Keywords: organic manure, mineral fertilizer, apple yield, quality, soil fertility DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140702.006 Citation: Zhao Z P, Yan S, Liu F, Ji P H, Wang X Y, Tong Y A. Effects of chemical fertilizer combined with organic manure on Fuji apple quality, yield and soil fertility in apple orchard on the Loess Plateau of China. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(2): 45－55.

Distinct element method analysis and field experiment of soil resistance applied on the subsoiler.

Abstract: Since the design of the subsoiler is a complex work, the interaction between the subsoiler and soil was investigated by using Distinct Element Method (DEM) in this study. Based on the traditional discrete element theory, the 3D model of soil particles and the subsoiler were established after considering the liquid bridge force between soil particles. The operating resistance curves of the subsoiler were achieved after the DEM simulation at a speed of 1 m/s, and three depths of 180 mm, 220 mm and 260 mm, respectively. The simulation curves agreed well with the field experimental results based on relative errors of 2.96%, 14.95% and 7.15%, respectively, at three depths. All these data proved that it was feasible and favorable to analyze the performance of the subsoiler by using the DEM and it is of important significance for studying and further optimizing the structure of the subsoiler.

Cooperative effects of hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide on delaying softening and decay of strawberry

Abstract: Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and nitric oxide (NO) as two signal molecules play prominent roles in plant response to biotic stress. The combination effects of these two molecules on ripening and decay of postharvest strawberry were investigated. Strawberries were first dipped in distilled water, 0.8 mmol/L NaHS solution, 5 µmmol/L sodium nitroprusside (SNP) solution, and combinative solutions of 0.8 mmol/L NaHS and 5 µmmol/L SNP for 10 min, respectively, and then stored at 20°C. Results showed that the effects of the co-treatment of 0.8 mmol/L NaHS solution and 5 µmmol/L SNP solution were superior to that of other treatments. The former could suppress the percentage of fruit decay, inhibit respiration rate, maintain the original crust color, and slow down the decrease of firmness and the change of relative conductivity, which preserved the fruit quality. Further investigation showed that co-treatment of hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide maintained higher activities of chitinase (CHI) and beta-1,3-glucanase (GNS), and lowered activities of pectin methylesterase (PME), polygalacturonase (PG) and endo-β-1,4-glucanase (EGase). The study indicated that the synergistic function of H2S and NO could effectively prolong the shelf life and reduce the decay rate of harvested strawberry. Keywords: hydrogen sulfide, nitric oxide, strawberry, enzyme activities, shelf life DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140706.014 Citation: Zhang C, Shi J Y, Zhu L P, Li C L, Wang Q G. Cooperative effects of hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide on delaying softening and decay of strawberry. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(6): 114－122

Design of structured-light vision system for tomato harvesting robot

Abstract: In order to improve the operating precision of the harvesting robot, a vision system for intelligently identifying and locating the mature tomato was designed. The active detection method based on structured-light stereo vision was expected to deal with the problem of variable illumination and target occlusion in the glasshouse. The maximum between-cluster variances of hue (H) and saturation (S) value were adopted as the threshold for color segmentation, which weakened the impact on the image caused by the light intensity variation. Through the limit on the pixel size and circularity of the candidate areas, the vision system recognized the fruit area and removed the noise areas. The fruit’s 3D position was computed on the basis of spatial relationship between the laser plane and the camera, when the linear laser was projected on the centre area of the mature fruit. The blue view-scanning laser stripe pixels on the mature fruit were extracted according to its Cb color characteristic. As the field test results show, the measurement error on the fruit radius is less than 5 mm, the centre distance error between the fruit and camera is less than 7 mm, and the single axis coordinate error is less than 5.6 mm. This structured-light vision system could effectively identify and locate mature fruit. Keywords: harvesting robot, tomato, linear structure-light, 3D measurement, feature extraction DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140702.003 Citation: Feng Q C, Cheng W, Zhou J J, Wang X. Design of structured-light vision system for tomato harvesting robot. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(2): 19－26.

Review of research and application of evaporative cooling in preservation of fresh agricultural produce

Abstract: Extensive review of evaporative coolers for the preservation of fresh agricultural produce in some countries was presented. Most of the designs employ mainly direct evaporative cooling methods which are simple but with lower thermal performance, and can only be used for short term storage of agricultural produce with moderate respiratory rates. Researches into novel technologies in evaporative cooling systems which can improve the cooling performances, such as membrane air treatments, dew point type and heat pipe type heat exchanger in indirect/direct evaporative cooling application, and their feasibilities in agricultural storage are either absent or scarce. Some kinds of materials especially agricultural residues have been used for air water contact in evaporative cooling in different climates, but most of the analyses focused on effect of air flow rate and pad thickness on the cooling effectiveness, and the energy efficiency and evaporation loss of these materials in most cases were not evaluated or presented. The paper highlights the prospects and constraints of commercialization and marketing of evaporative coolers in some developing countries, and the general weakness in researches and the ways forward in new area of research and development are concluded. Keywords: agricultural products, evaporative cooling, passive coolers, active coolers, pad materials DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140705.010 Citation: Ndukwu M C, Manuwa S I. Review of research and application of evaporative cooling in preservation of fresh agricultural produce. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(5): 85－102.

Design and experimental study of the control system for precision seed-metering device.

Abstract: The precision seeding technique has been developed at full speed along with the continuous development of new agricultural technologies, especially those concerning cultivated patterns. The seed-metering device is the key component of a precision seeder. A ground wheel is used to drive the seed-metering device of the conventional direct seeder. However, the wheel bears high resistance and easily slips. Moreover, the adjustment of the precision seeder’s seeding rate is more difficult. In order to solve these problems, a control system which could keep the rotational speed of the seed-metering device consistent with the seeder’s working speed for the precision seed-metering device was designed. The control system includes a Hall sensor, a single chip microcomputer system, a motor control module, a stepper motor and a display. The control system used a Hall sensor to measure the seeder’s working speed and employed a single chip microcomputer system to predict the rotational speed of seed-metering device. It would then determine the relationship between the seeder’s working speed and the rotational speed of the seed metering-device according to the seeder’s working state, distance between seeds and the requirement of sowing rate. The system could effectively reduce the influence of inhomogeneous sowing caused by the ground wheel’s slipping. The system was found to be reliable by the experiment. The seeding control system could also make the speed of the seed-metering device and seeder’s uniform, improving the uniformity of the amount of seeding, and achieving the goal of design. This new design provides a platform to solve problems of the seed-metering device and the seeder. Keywords: agricultural machinery, precision seeder, seed-metering device, sensor, control system, stepper motor DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140703.002 Citation: Zhai J B, Xia J F, Zhou Y, Zhang S. Design and experimental study of the control system for precision seed-metering device. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(3): 13－18.

Changes in electrical conductivity of liquid foods during ohmic heating

Abstract: Ohmic heating is a food processing method in which alternating current (AC) went through a food sample and resulted in internal energy generation in foods. It is an alternative fast heating technique. Its principal advantage is the ability to rapidly and uniformly heat food materials of various densities. During ohmic heating, change in electrical conductivity was observed. The intensity of food materials’ electrical conductivity or overall resistance critically controls ohmic heating rate. An ohmic heating set-up was prepared under this project. Tomato juice was heated (about 32℃ to 80℃) in a batch type ohmic heater at different voltage gradients in the range of 50–70 V/cm. It was statistically found that the voltage gradient had significant impact on conductivity and system performance coefficient (SPC) (P less than 0.05). It was concluded that the electrical conductivity values linearly increased with temperature. The SPCs of the system ranged between 0.779 and 0.943. The value of R2 of the linear model was greater than 0.98. Keywords: ohmic heating, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, liquid foods DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140705.015 Citation: Srivastav S, Srishti R. Changes in electrical conductivity of liquid foods during ohmic heating. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(5): 133－138.

Mechanical and natural ventilation systems in a greenhouse designed using computational fluid dynamics.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to analyse air exchange and temperature distribution in a greenhouse with combined mechanical and natural ventilation and to design more efficient mechanical ventilation systems. For this purpose, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the greenhouse was used. Three configurations were considered: Configuration 1 (mechanical ventilation and closed roof ventilators), Configurations 2 and 3 (mechanical ventilation and roof ventilators open 30% and 100%, respectively). After validation, the CFD model was used to improve the design of the greenhouse mechanical ventilation system in each of the three configurations analyzed. Four greenhouse lengths, 28 m, 50 m, 75 m and 100 m, were used in the simulations. Compared to fan ventilation only, roof ventilation improved the climate of fan-ventilated greenhouses in terms of the air exchange rate (22%) and climate uniformity because the internal air was mixed better than with mechanical ventilation only. As the greenhouse length increased, more advantages were achieved with natural ventilation compared to mechanical ventilation. For most configurations, there was a strong linear correlation between temperature gradient and greenhouse length. The greenhouse whose regression line had the steepest slope was the one with closed roof ventilators. Increasing the fan capacity produced a general reduction in temperature, but the effect was less intense for the greenhouses with open roof ventilators. Compared to box inlet ventilators, an enlarged continuous inlet in the wall opposite the fans increased overall system performance because it eliminated backflow recirculation zones, which are prone to produce high temperatures.

Non-thermal plasma assisted polymer surface modification and synthesis: A review

Abstract: This article reviews the applications of plasma to polymer surface modification and polymer synthesis Plasma treatment causes changes in morphology, structure and properties of polymers When polymers are treated using plasma, certain monomers with functional groups can be copolymerized with backbone chain or be loaded on the surface, which would help couple reaction of existing polymer chains, graft monomers onto polymers, immobilize proteins, carry antimicrobial drugs, and enhance cell attachment Hence, non-thermal plasma process creates unique properties on polymers which allow improved and expanded applications of polymers in food packaging and biotechnology Keywords: plasma, modification, synthesis, NTP, polymers, functional groups DOI: 103965/jijabe20140702001 Citation: Cheng Y L, Wang Y K, Chen P, Deng S B, Ruan R Non-thermal plasma assisted polymer surface modification and synthesis: A review Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(2): 1－9

Simulation analysis and match experiment on negative and positive pressures of pneumatic precision metering device for rapeseed

Abstract: Positive and negative pressures determine the performance of pneumatic precision metering device for rapeseed. In order to investigate the relationship between positive and negative pressures of nozzles, fluid models of chamber were developed to simulate the airflow, and the k-e turbulence model was conducted to capture the pressure and velocity of nozzles. Through these efforts linear models were achieved. Meanwhile, the three-factor factorial split-split experiment was designed with negative pressure, positive pressure and the rotating speeds varying from -1 000 to -4 500 Pa, 50 to 250 Pa and 10 to 45 r/min, respectively. The mathematical models were developed through employing the stepwise regression method. The sequence of influential factors on the quality of feed index was positive pressure, negative pressure and rotating speed. To obtain the match regulation of negative and positive pressures with “good” performance, the ratio coefficient K of negative and positive pressures was introduced to build mathematical models. Models relating ratio coefficient K with positive pressure were fitted in different rotating speeds. The results showed that the ratio coefficient was matched Г∈[f1(x), f2(x)] from the fitting equations with the rotating speed of 10 - 30 r/min; while the rotating speed has greater influence when it was 35 - 40 r/min and the sets Λ∈[g1(x), g2(x)] were achieved, where x∈[100, 250]. This study could be conducted to adjust the rotating speed of the pneumatic system to optimize the ideal performance of the seeder. Keywords: precision metering device, pneumatic device, simulation, positive and negative pressures, stepwise regression, fitting, rapeseed DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140703.001 Citation: Yu J J, Liao Y T, Cong J L, Yang S, Liao Q X. Simulation analysis and match experiment on negative and positive pressures of pneumatic precision metering device for rapeseed. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(3): 1－12.

Rapid detection of aflatoxin B1 in paddy rice as analytical quality assessment by near infrared spectroscopy

Abstract: A rapid identification method for aflatoxin B1 in paddy rice samples was developed by using near infrared spectroscopy under a wavelength range of 1 000-2 500 nm. Eighty paddy rice samples were collected from both natural and artificial infection with aflatoxin B1 to build the calibration models based on the partial least square regression method. The best predictive model to detect aflatoxin B1 in paddy rice was obtained using standard normal variate detrending spectra, with a correlation of 0.850, and a standard error of prediction of 3.211%. Therefore, the result showed that near infrared spectroscopy could be a useful instrumental method for determining aflatoxin B1 in paddy rice. The near infrared spectroscopy methodology can be applied to the monitoring of aflatoxin fungal contamination in postharvest paddy rice during storage and may become a powerful tool for the safety of grain and grain products. Keywords: near infrared spectroscopy, aflatoxin B1, paddy rice, partial least square regression DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140704.014 Citation: Zhang Q, Jia F G, Liu C H, Sun J K, Zheng X Z. Rapid detection of aflatoxin B1 in paddy rice as analytical quality assessment by near infrared spectroscopy. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(4): 127－133.

Citrus black spot detection using hyperspectral imaging

Abstract: This paper describes the development of a hyperspectral imaging approach for identifying fruits infected with citrus black spot (CBS). Hyperspectral images were taken of healthy fruit and those with CBS symptoms or other potentially confounding peel conditions such as greasy spot, wind scar, or melanose. Spectral angle mapper (SAM) and spectral information divergence (SID) hyperspectral analysis approaches were used to classify fruit samples into two classes: CBS or non-CBS. The classification accuracy for CBS with SAM approach was 97.90%, and 97.14% with SID. The combination of hyperspectral images and two classification approaches (SID and SAM) have proven to be effective in recognizing CBS in the presence of other potentially confounding fruit peel conditions. The study result can be a reference for the non-destructive detection of fruits infected with citrus black spot. Keywords: citrus black spot, hyperspectral imaging, spectral angle mapper, spectral information divergence, imaging processing DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140706.004 Citation: Kim D, Burks T F, Ritenour M A, Qin J W. Citrus black spot detection using hyperspectral imaging. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(6): 20－27.

Detecting maize leaf water status by using digital RGB images

Abstract: To explore the correlation between crop leaf digital RGB (Red, Green and Blue) image features and the corresponding moisture content of the leaf, a Canon digital camera was used to collect image information from detached leaves of heading-stage maize. A drying method was adopted to measure the moisture content of the leaf samples, and image processing technologies, including gray level co-occurrence matrices and grayscale histograms, was used to extract the maize leaf texture feature parameters and color feature parameters. The correlations of these feature parameters with moisture content were analyzed. It is found that the texture parameters of maize leaf RGB images, including contrast, correlation, entropy and energy, were not significantly correlated with moisture content. Thus, it was difficult to use these features to predict moisture content. Of the six groups of eigenvalues for the leaf color feature parameters, including mean, variance, energy, entropy, kurtosis and skewness, mean and kurtosis were found to be correlated with moisture content. Thus, these features could be used to predict the leaf moisture content. The correlation coefficient (R2) of the mean-moisture content relationship model was 0.7017, and the error of the moisture content prediction was within

Identification of diseases for soybean seeds by computer vision applying BP neural network

Abstract: The use of computer vision for estimating quality in agriculture products has become wide spread in recent years and the composition, variety, or ripeness can be estimated. On the other hand, the appearance is one of the most worrying issues for producers due to its influence on quality. In this research, computer vision technology combined with BP artificial neural network (ANN) was developed to identify soybean frogeye, mildewed soybean, worm-eaten soybean and damaged soybean. Thirty-nine characteristic parameters from color, texture and shape characteristics were computed after preprocessing the acquired soybean images. The dimensionality of the characteristic parameters was reduced from 39 dimensionalities to 12 dimensionalities using the method of principal component analysis (PCA). MALAB software was used to build a prediction model according to 12 characteristic parameters. The identification accuracies of soybean frogeye, mildewed soybean, damaged soybean and worm-eaten soybean are 96%, 95%, 92%, and 92%, respectively. And the accuracy for heterogeneous soybean seeds with several diseases is 90%. The results show that the prediction model constructed by BP neural network can identify the diseases of soybean seeds. And it is useful to estimate appearance quality of soybean by computer vision applying BP neural network. Keywords: soybean seed, disease identification, computer vision, BP neural network, characteristic parameters, data reduction DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140703.006 Citation: Tan K Z, Chai Y H, Song W X, Cao X D. Identification of diseases for soybean seeds by computer vision applying BP neural network. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(3): 43－50.

Experimental study on the performance of bowl-tray rice precision seeder

Abstract: In order to optimize the parameters of bowl-tray rice precision seeder and improve its performance, three major factors respectively at five levels, including shaped hole diameter, vertical displacement of rice seeds and rotating speed of cam, were tested, the quadratic orthogonal rotational regression experiments were conducted, and the effects on seeding rate, leakage sowing rate and the injury rate were investigated. The test results show that factors affecting rice seeding rate are in the order of shaped hole diameter, rotating speed of cam and vertical displacement of rice seeds. The factors affecting rice planting leakage rate are in the order of shaped hole diameter, vertical displacement of rice seeds and rotating speed of cam, and the factors affecting rice injury rate are in the order of rotating speed of cam, vertical displacement of rice seeds and shaped hole diameter. Optimal parameters (shaped hole diameter: 10 mm, vertical displacement of rice seeds: 27 mm, rotating speed of cam: 13 r/min) and performance index (seeding rate: 95.43%, leakage sowing rate: 0.37%, injury rate: 0.58%) provided the basis for design and performance improvement of the bowl-tray rice precision seeder.

Effects of irrigation and weed-control methods on growth of weed and rice.

Abstract: A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of weeds control methods and an irrigation model on rice growth as well as water consumption and weed quantity in the paddy field. In conventional paddy rice production, one of the most important irrigated crops, a significant amount of irrigation water is lost due to percolation and evaporation. A new irrigation model called the Rain-Catching and Controlled Irrigation (RCCI) model has been developed as a viable water-saving technology in the production of paddy rice. In this study the performance of the RCCI model has been analyzed under mulching, hand weeding and weedy conditions in Jiangsu Province of China. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications and nine treatments. The three replicates consisted of three water management regimes: high dry high flooding (HD-HF), high dry low flooding (HD-LF), and shallow and frequent irrigation (SF) water treatment. The RCCI model was adopted in HD-HF and HD-LF while Flooding Irrigation (CFI) was adopted in SF as a control. The nine treatments were equally divided under mulching, hand weeding and weedy conditions. The lowest and maximum irrigation water delivery was 244.86 mm in mulching and 429.22 mm in hand weeding, respectively at HD-HF. And the lowest and maximum irrigation water delivery was 300.1 mm in the mulching field and 680.72 mm under hand weeding, respectively at HD-LF. The Nanjing 44 rice variety was used. It was observed that weed density and dry weight were significantly influenced by the amount of irrigation water in all the mulching, hand weeding and weedy plots. Considering yield and the number of irrigations, the RCCI model produced better results than CFI. Mulching under RCCI was an effective method to control weeds and reduce labor cost. In addition, mulching decreases the use of herbicides and the risk of pollution. On the other hand, mulching could improve yield and save water. Keywords: irrigation, weed control, mulching, hand weeding, RCCI, weed population, agronomy traits, paddy rice DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140705.003 Citation: Towa J J, Guo X P. Effects of irrigation and weed-control methods on growth of weed and rice. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(5): 22－33.

Development of small/medium size no-till and minimum-till seeders in Asia: a review.

Abstract: The benefits of conservation agriculture (CA), have been widely recognized and CA has been widely adopted in many parts of the world. However, there are some factors that limit the widespread adoption of CA in Asia. The most prominent factor appears to be the lack of suitable CA seeders for small to medium sized land-holding (SLH) farmers. This paper summarizes the small to medium no-till and minimum-till seeders currently available in Asia, and classifies these seeders into four types: manually operated units, animal traction seeders, two-wheel tractor and four-wheel tractor driven seeders. Detailed characteristics have been provided for some typical CA seeders and comparisons were made as to their suitability under particular working conditions. Typically manual and animal traction seeders are confined to small farms and hilly areas, while the larger CA seeders suited to four-wheel tractors are used on larger acreages. To ensure seeding performance on most four-wheel tractor CA seeders, two types of anti-blocking mechanisms (passive and active anti-blocking) have been fitted. Finally, the paper proposes a future direction and development of CA seeders for small/medium size farms in Asia, and also suggests changes in policy support, improvement of anti-blocking mechanisms, suitability for various crops, geographical zones and the contribution of development by public private partnerships to advance the adoption of CA seeders. Keywords: Conservation Agriculture (CA), conservation tillage, no-till, minimum-till, seeder, tractor, anti-blockage, Asia DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140704.001 Citation: He J, Zhang Z Q, Li H W, Wang Q J. Development of small/medium size no-till and minimum-till seeders in Asia: A review. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(4): 1-12.

Challenges in using an analog uncooled microbolometer thermal camera to measure crop temperature

Abstract: It has been long known that thermal imaging may be used to detect stress (e.g. water and nutrient deficiency) in growing crops. Developments in microbolometer thermal cameras, such as the introduction of imaging arrays that may operate without costly active temperature stabilization, have vitalized the interest in thermal imaging for crop measurements. In this study, we have focused on the challenges occurring when temperature stabilization is omitted, including the effects of focal-plane-array (FPA) temperature, camera settings and the environment in which the measurements are performed. Further, we have designed and tested models for providing thermal response from an analog LWIR video signal (typical output from low-cost microbolometer thermal cameras). Finally, we have illustrated and discussed challenges which typically occur under practical use of thermal imaging of crops, by means of three cereal showcases, including proximal and remotely based (UAV) data acquisition. The results showed that changing FPA temperature greatly affected the measurements, and that wind and irradiance also appeared to affect the temperature dynamics considerably. Further, we found that adequate settings of camera gain and offset were crucial for obtaining a reliable result. The model which was considered best in terms of transforming video signals into thermal response data included information on camera FPA temperature, and was based on a priori calibrations using a black-body radiation source under controlled conditions. Very good calibration (r2>0.99, RMSE=0.32°C, n=96) was obtained for a target temperature range of 15-35°C, covering typical daytime crop temperatures in the growing season. However, the three showcases illustrated, that under practical conditions, more factors than FPA temperature may need to be corrected for. In conclusion, this study shows that thermal data acquisition by means of an analog, uncooled thermal camera may represent a possible, cost-efficient method for the detection of crop stress, but appropriate corrections of disturbing factors are required in order to obtain sufficient accuracy. Keywords: analog thermal camera, uncooled microbolometer, canopy temperature, cereals, UAV DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140704.007 Citation: Kusnierek K, Korsaeth A. Challenges in using an analog uncooled microbolometer thermal camera to measure crop temperature. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(4): 60－74.

Current status, prospect and policy and institutional support for Conservation Agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region.

Abstract: The current growing demand for Conservation Agriculture (CA) at the national level in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region presents an opportunity to promote its widespread adoption and up-scaling through national policy and institutional support that appears necessary. Despite the obvious benefits of CA, it does not spread automatically unless the constraints that hinder adoption are understood and addressed in specific situations. These can include a combination of intellectual, social, financial, biophysical, technical, infrastructure constraints, or policy related support. Knowing what the bottlenecks are is important in developing strategies to overcome them. This paper presents: (a) some of the generic policy opportunities that exist for the adoption and uptake of CA; (b) a summary proceedings and outcome of the Regional Expert Consultation Workshop held in Beijing and sponsored by FAO Regional Office for Asia-Pacific which describes the status of CA in the Asia-Pacific region; (c) the challenges to CA adoption and uptake in the Asia-Pacific region; and (d) the conditions that need to be taken into account in designing and promoting policy and institutional support strategies for up-scaling CA. Keywords: Conservation Agriculture, policy and institutional support, adoption, Asia-Pacific region, tillage, agricultural mechanization, CA alliance, institutional cooperation DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140705.001 Citation: Kassam A, Li H W, Niino Y, Friedrich T, He J, Wang X L. Current status, prospect and policy and institutional support for conservation agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(5): 1－13.

Optimization of binder addition and compression load for pelletization of wheat straw using response surface methodology.

Abstract: Densification is required for efficiently handling and transporting biomass as feedstock for biofuel production. Binders can enhance straw pellet strength and improve the pellet performance. The present investigation aimed to optimize binders and compression load for wheat straw pelletization using a single pelleting unit. Response surface methodology was employed by using a four-factor, five-level central composite design with wood residue (%, w/w), bentonite (%, w/w), crude glycerol (%, w/w), and compression load (N) as process parameters. The pellet tensile strength, specific energy consumption of pelleting, and pellet density were the response variables. The higher heating value, ash content of the pellet product and the cost of the feedstock were also considered in optimizing binder addition. The developed model fitted the data and was adequate for binder analysis and optimization. Wheat straw pellet, with the addition of 30% wood residue, 0.80% bentonite, and 3.42% crude glycerol, in addition to 4 000 N of compressive load, was identified as optimal with good performance of pellet tensile strength (1.14 MPa), specific energy consumption (32.6 kJ/kg), and pellet density (1 094 kg/m3) as well as low ash content (6.13%) and high heating value (18.64 MJ/kg). Confirmation tests indicated high accuracy of the model. Keywords: biomass, wheat straw pellet, binder, wood residue, bentonite, crude glycerol, RSM, compression load DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140706.009 Citation: Lu D H, Tabil L G, Wang D C, Wang G H, Wang Z Q. Optimization of binder addition and compression load for pelletization of wheat straw using response surface methodology. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(6): 67－78.

Producing durable pellets from barley straw subjected to radio frequency-alkaline and steam explosion pretreatments

Abstract: Pelletization, a form of densification, increases bulk density and improves the convenience and accessibility of biomass feedstock due to the uniform shape and size. Pretreatment of biomass enhances the breakdown and accessibility of the cross-linking lignin, which acts as a binding agent. In this study, pelletization of radio frequency-alkaline and steam explosion pretreated barley straw was performed. Three levels of temperature (70oC, 80oC, and 90oC), five levels of the mass ratio of biomass to NaOH solution (1:4, 1:5, 1:6, 1:7, and 1:8), one hour equilibration time, biomass screen size of 1.6 mm, 1% NaOH concentration, and 20 min residence time in the radio frequency chamber were used for the radio frequency-alkaline pretreatment. Three levels of steam temperature (140oC, 160oC, and 180oC), three levels of moisture content of 8%, 30%, and 50% (mass fraction of total mass), and 5 min and 10 min exposure to steam were tested for the steam explosion pretreatment. The effects of both pretreatment methods were evaluated by pelletizing the pretreated and non-pretreated barley straw samples in a single pelleting unit. The pellet density, tensile strength, durability, dimensional stability, and color of the pellets were determined. Radio frequency-alkaline pretreatment with the use of 1% NaOH solution and a ratio of biomass: NaOH solution of 1:8 has significant effect (P<0.05) on the breakdown of the lignified matrix, resulting in pellets with superior physical characteristics. The steam exploded samples pretreated at higher temperatures (180oC) and retention time of 10 min resulted into pellets with good physical qualities. Keywords: radio frequency, steam explosion, densification, biomass pellets, and alkaline pretreatment DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140703.009 Citation: Kingsley L. Iroba, Lope G. Tabil, Shahab Sokhansanj, Venkatesh Meda. Producing durable pellets from barley straw subjected to radio frequency-alkaline and steam explosion pretreatments. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(3): 68－82.

Effect of drying methods and packaging materials on quality parameters of stored kokum rind.

Abstract: In this paper kokum rind dried by different methods, i.e. open air sun drying, solar drying and the convective hot air drying (60oC) was taken after being packed in gunny bags, nylon bags and plastic jars for storage study upto nine months. The effect of different drying methods on quality parameters i.e. acidity, pH, TSS, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar, colour (L, a and b) and calorific value of the stored product were evaluated. The quality parameters were tested at three-month intervals. Among three packaging materials, plastic jar was found best for kokum rind storage upto nine months as compared with nylon and gunny bags. Deterioration occurred as changes in acidity, non-reducing sugar, lightness, redness and calorific value over the storage period from the 0th to the 9th month. However, the TSS and b value increased as storage duration extended. Keywords: kokum rind, storage, drying methods, packaging materials, quality evaluation DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140704.013 Citation: Hande A R, Swami S B, Thakor N J. Effect of drying methods and packaging materials on quality parameters of stored kokum rind. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(4): 114－126.

Effect of Fuel Additives on Agricultural Straw Pellet Quality

Abstract: An investigation was conducted to determine the effect of addition of different levels of AK2, a fuel additive that reduces ash fusion for agricultural biomass, on the physico-chemical properties of biomass pellets. Three different biomass straws, barley, oat, and wheat were ground at two hammer mill screen sizes of 0.8 mm and 1.6 mm. Each ground biomass sample was mixed with three levels of AK2, 0.05%, 0.10%, and 0.15% by mass and also a blank (no AK2) was set aside for comparison. Pellets were made using single-pelleting unit at a pre-set load of 4 400 N corresponding to a pressure of 138.9 MPa. Physical quality of pellets were determined by measuring pellet density, relaxed density, durability, and the specific energy required to make a pellet. Pellets having higher durability values (74%-88%) were obtained from ground straw at hammer screen size of 0.8 mm and AK2 level of 0.15% compared to other treatments. Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur content of blank pellets and those with 0.15% AK2 at hammer screen size of 0.8 mm were determined. Pellets made with 0.15% AK2 at hammer screen size of 0.8 mm, manufactured by pilot-scale pellet mill, were gasified and the tar content was determined. The tar content of pellets with 0.15% AK2 was significantly lower than blank pellets. Keywords: biomass, biofuels, slag, foul, pelleting, fuel additive DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140702.011 Citation: Emami S, Tabil L G, Adapa P, George E, Tilay A, Dalai A, et al. Effect of fuel additives on agricultural straw pellet quality. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(2): 92－100.

Anaerobic co-digestion of rice straw and digested swine manure with different total solid concentration for methane production

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate potential methane production through anaerobic co-digestion of rice straw and digested swine manure with different total solids. The research was carried out in bench scale with utilizing batch system. To evaluate the stability of anaerobic co-digestion process, the experiment was run in triplicate. The anaerobic co-digestion process was operated in 500 mL batch digesters under constant agitation speed and temperature. The agitation speed was maintained at 270 r/min. Temperature of the batch system was set and maintained at 35oC. Digested swine manure utilized in this experiment was obtained from semi-continuous digesters run at steady state condition, with 25 days of hydraulic retention time under mesophilic condition. Rice straw (RS) generated the highest methane production at 3% total solids (TS) which was around (1814±47.43) mL, where in this concentration, it had C:N ratio at 10.6:1. Rice straw obtained the highest methane yield at 3% TS, which was around (141.4±3.70) mL CH4/g volatile solids (VS) added. Rice straw also had the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and VS reduction at 3% TS which were around (52.97%±1.46%) and (61.81%±1.04%), respectively. Keywords: anaerobic co-digestion, rice straw, digested swine manure, methane production DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140706.010 Citation: Darwin, Cheng J J, Liu Z M, Gontupil J, Kwon, O S. Anaerobic co-digestion of rice straw and digested swine manure with different total solid concentration for methane production. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(6): 79－90.

Effect of pre-treatments on drying characteristics of Chinese jujube (Zizyphus jujuba Miller).

Abstract: Chinese jujube is delicious and nourishing fruit. However, fresh Chinese jujube is liable to rot and drying is a necessary process. Traditional drying is a time-consuming task due to the thick cuticle of Chinese jujube. To improve its drying efficiency, fresh Chinese jujube was pretreated with nine different methods prior to hot-air drying. Among these methods, dipping in 2% ethyl oleate plus 5% K2CO3 for 10 min (alkaline emulsion of ethyl oleate, AEEO) was recommended for its time-saving effect, which was found more significant at lower drying temperatures. The beneficial effect was considered based on its cuticle destruction by AEEO pre-treatment. In the meantime, the drying process was divided into three stages; each of them obeyed the first order reaction kinetics. Activation energies for the first, second and third stages of control over jujube drying were 41.45 kJ/mol, 35.24 kJ/mol and 49.52 kJ/mol, and reduced by 20.9%, 22.1% and 29.0%, respectively, after AEEO pre-treatment, and the drying process was well predicted by Midilli et al. model. In view of browning during drying at higher temperatures, AEEO pretreated jujube was suggested to be dried at 60°C. This finding was considered to be helpful to the industrial drying of Chinese jujube.