Showing papers in "International Journal of Agricultural Engineering in 2013"

A comparative study of tikhur traditional and partial mechanical processing and cost economics.

Abstract: The edible rhizome rich in powder content is processed to obtain tikhur flour which is cooked in different forms and preparations and consumed in many parts of India. The traditional way of tikhur powder extraction or processing leads to a very high loss of powder along with huge time and labour requirement. In the developed partial mechanical method of processing, all the process is similar to that of traditional method except the size reduction of rhizomes and drying. By this method 300 to 400 kg of rhizomes could be handled in a day and it also saves Rs. 30per kg.

Design and development of self propelled weeder for field crops.

Abstract: Weed control is major problem in India. Majority of farmers do control weed using hand tools like khurpi and so on. Though, this method proves useful yet it is very demanding of labour and full of drudgery. To solve, weeding problem, self propelled weeder was designed, developed at the CAE, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur. The self propelled weeder was designed on the basis of agronomic and machine parameters. The main feature of prototype self propelled weeder were, a 4 hp petrol start kerosene run engine, power transmission system, weeding blade (Sweep) and cage wheel. The rated engine speed 3600 rpm was reduced to 23 rpm of the cage wheel by using chain and sprocket mechanism in three steps.

Action plan for efficient land and water use in a mini-watershed near Mysore using remote sensing and GIS.

Abstract: Developmental planning using integrated approach has been accepted world over for optimal management and better utilisation of natural resources towards improving living conditions of the people and to meet the growing demands of increasing population. Timely inflow information (both the spatial and nonspatial) and its reliability is a pre-requisite for integrated developmental planning. Satellite remote sensing is an ideal tool for generating such spatial information base. In the present paper, preparation of thematic maps like land use/land cover, hydrogeomorphology, slope, base map, soil map and stream network map using the Quick Bird satellite imagery and toposheet from the Survey of India for the Ballahalli mini-watershed near Mysore, Karnataka to generate land and water action plan for optimal land and water use by integrating all the thematic maps and collateral data are presented and discussed.

Happy seeder - a conservation agriculture technology for managing rice residue for Central Punjab conditions.

Abstract: Field experiments on Happy seeder were conducted during 2009-10 and 2010-11 in farmer participatory research mode at different locations in the district Fatehgarh Sahib. The field experiments were conducted on 9 different locations to evaluate the operational performance of Happy seeder machine in context of heavy soils of district Fatehgarh Sahib, the effect of Happy seeder on wheat yield in heavy soils and to work out the economics of Happy Seeder as compared to farmer’s practice. The study reveled that, the average reduction in weed count in happy seeder plots was 28% compared to conventional sown wheat. Wheat yield during these two years in 9 experiments was varied from 35.0 56.25 q/ha and 31.75 – 50.75 q/ha for Happy seeder and conventional seed drill plots, respectively with an average increase in yield of 8.84 % in Happy seeder plots.

Yield, Fruit Quality and Water Productivity of Drip Fertigated Assam Lemon ( citrus Limon )

Abstract: Yield , fruit quality, economic feasibility and water productivity of 4 years old Assam lemon plants were evaluated through a field experiment conducted on old alluvial sandy loam soils of Jorhat, Assam, India for 3 consecutive years (2010 to 2012). Four levels of fertilizer application i.e. 120%, 100% and 80% of recommended dose of fertilizer through drip-fertigation and 100% recommended dose of fertilizer through soil application with 50μm thick black plastic film mulching was studied through a 4x2 factorial experiment in RBD. Results showed significant yield increase due to drip fertigation. Yield and quality of fruit varied with fertligation level and higher doses resulted in better values. WUE and water productivity also varied with fertigation levels in mulched treatments. Best benefit to cost ratio and fertilizer use efficiency was observed for the treatment where 80% of recommended dose of fertilizer was applied through drip-fertigation and plants were not mulched. The study reveals that drip-fertigation can play a positive role in increasing yield, WUE and water productivity of Assam lemon plants with additional benefit of saving in fertilizer cost, fruit quality improvement and better return on investment.

Rainfall probability analysis and crop planning for Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh.

Abstract: Daily rainfall data of 29 years (1981–2009) recorded at RVSKVV, Zonal Agricultural Research Station Morena, Madhya Pradesh was examined for long term averages of annual, seasonal, monthly, and weekly rainfall and its temporal variability. Coefficient of variation of 27.1 percent indicated that the annual rainfall was more or less stable over the years. The season-wise percent contribution of annual rainfall was 3.7, 7.9 and 88.4 per cent of summer, rabi and kharif seasons, respectively. With in the rainy season, August was the highest rainfall contributing month (33.4%) followed by July (28.9%) mean weakly, precipitation amount and its assurance reaches the peak (>50mm/week) during 26th SMW (Standard Meteorological Week) to 38th SMW and again declined thereafter. The earliest onset of rainy season occurred in 24th SMW. The normal onset of rainy season was observed as 26th SMW with CV of 5.8 per cent. There is an ample Scope for rain water harvesting from July to September which can be utilized as crop saving irrigation as well as pre-sowing irrigation for succeeding rabi crops which are generally sown on residual soil moisture.

Mechanical properties of sisal (A. sisalana) relevant to harvesting and fibre extraction.

Abstract: The mechanical properties of sisal leaf (A.sisalana) relevant to leaf harvesting and fibre extraction were determined. Measurements of leaf bending resistance, friction coefficients and mass distribution were made to get information for designing of leaf handling equipment. The leaf crosssectional area at 7 cm from butt-end was 11.65 cm. Fibre content of leave varied from 3.0 – 4.0 % of fresh green leaf weight. The mean fibre bundle strength was 32.31 g/tex and fibre fineness was 4.92. The coefficient of friction of sisal leaf was lowest on mild steel surface for tilting panel test (0.054) as well as for horizontal test surface (0.464).

Effect of Process Variables on Mass Transport Data during Osmotic Dehydration of Button Mushroom ( agaricus Bisporus ) Slices

Abstract: The preliminary experiment for mass transport data of button mushroom ( Agaricus bisporus ) were performed for fixing the levels of input variables for further experimentation such as kinetics and optimization of osmotic dehydration as well as air drying. After the preparatory steps, the preliminary experiment was studied for wide range of process variables such as duration of osmosis (30, 45, 60, 90, 120 min), salt concentration (5, 10, 15, 20, 25%), brine temperature (25, 35, 45, 55, 65°C) and brine to sample ratio (3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 6:1, 8:1 R). The response parameters were mainly water loss and salt gain.

Selective Mechanization for Enhancing Productivity of Rice Cultivation

Abstract: An OFT was done in the Kharif of 2009 and Rabi of 2010. For this a 500m2 plot in a preselected village in Garhwa district of Jharkhand using mechanical transplanter. In Kharif 2009, significant grain yield (3.14t/ha) was obtained when transplanting was done with mechanical transplanter. All the yield parameters such as panicle number, panicle weight were highly significant in the treatment number 1. Similarly in Rabi, 2010, significant grain yield (3.26t/ha) was obtained when transplanting was done with mechanical transplanter. All the yield parameters such as panicle number, panicle weight were highly significant in the treatment number 1.The results indicated that mechanical transplanting reduced the human drudgery and labour inputs during both the seasons. Rice yields were enhanced by 4 .6 per cent during Kharif when compared with manual transplanting and 9.7 per cent higher yields in Rabi season.

Modelling of hydration kinetics of brown rice during soaking.

Abstract: The hydration kinetics of BPT 5204 and NLR 92 rice varieties was studied by soaking in water at temperatures of 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70C in water bath up to 180 min. To optimize the soaking conditions and design food processing equipment, the hydration data are very useful. The amount of water absorbed was high at the early stage of hydration followed by a decreased rate. Peleg’s equation adequately described the hydration characteristics of rice under the experimental condition (R = 0.95). The Peleg’s rate constant, k 1, and Peleg’s capacity constant, k 2 decreased with an increase in temperature from 30 to 70C for both varieties of rice demonstrating that the water absorption rate increased and water absorption capacity decreased. Both the Peleg’s constants were expressed by a polynomial function (R=0.9) for relating to the temperature. Leaching loss found to be linearly related to time and temperatures. The temperature dependence of 1/k 1 followed an Arrhenius type relationship. The activation energy was 26.33 kJ/mol and 31.17 kJ/mol for BPT 5204 and NLR 92 rice, respectively.

Effect of nozzle discharge rate and nozzle pressure on uniform deposition of spray

Abstract: Cotton is one of the principal commercial crops in India with 9.5 million ha cultivated area which is largest in the world. India is second largest producer of cotton in the world though the yield is only 300 kg/ha as against the world average of 558 kg/ha, due to poor control of insect pest and dry land farming conditions. During pesticide application most of the pesticide is lost through drift. A major reason for such a pesticide loss is insufficient nozzle pressure, nozzle discharge, nozzle height etc. Hence, it is necessary to determine the optimum discharge rate and pressure so as to reduce the pesticide losses from sprayer. Therefore, the hydraulic boom sprayer was tested using the spray scanner and droplet analyzer in the laboratory for cotton crop to study effect of nozzle discharge rates (0.45, 0.70, 0.90 and 1.35 l/min) and nozzle pressures (275.8, 413.7, 551.6 and 689.5 kPa) on spray uniformity. From the study it was found that nozzle discharge rate of 0.9 l/min and nozzle pressure of 689.5 kPa produced more uniform spray with droplet size of 122.53 to 284.80 µm, droplet density of 17 to 29 drops/cm2 and uniformity coefficient of 0.99 to 1.23.

Performance evaluation of fresnel lens concentrated solar water heater cum distillation unit.

Abstract: A composite unit of Fresnel lens concentrated solar water cum distillation unit, having a capacity of 70 liters was developed to perform the functions of water heating and distillation. In this system two insulated tanks with glass cover were fabricated where one was used for water heating and the second tank was for condensation of water vapour. Solar energy concentrated by Fresnel lens was absorbed by the plate and surrounding water contained in water heating tank was heated by this absorber plate’s heat through conduction. Water vapour from hot water was condensed in dehumidification tank by the comparatively colder surfaces of copper tube used to feed fresh water and top slanting glass surface. Condensed water was collected in a collection trough. Overall efficiency of solar water heater was found to be 42.38 per cent and 27.48 per cent for distillation unit. The final hot water outlet temperature was 65.12 and the yield of distilled water was 4.72 kg/m/day. The total cost of the composite unit was Rs. 7524.

Process development for utilization of fermented tofu whey as a source of tofu coagulant and antioxidants.

Abstract: Tofu whey is the liquid waste in tofu production industries, contains valuable compounds such as non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDO), which promote the growth of beneficial lactic acid bacteria in the colon and is currently discarded by the food industry. Tofu whey was reported that it was used as a growth medium for the production of lactic starters and substituting for expensive basal medium for the production of L- Lactic acid by lactic acid bacteria. In this study, fermented tofu whey (TW), a by-product of tofu industry was investigated for the preparation of tofu, micro flora and chemical changes of TW during tofu whey fermentation. The gel properties of tofu coagulated with fermented TW were also studied. During the fermentation stages the change of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was found. The pH value, protein, carbohydrate, organic acid changes during the production of fermented tofu whey were studied. It was found that the pH value of acidic whey had a significant effect on coagulation properties of TW tofu. The microbiological findings in this study have clearly demonstrated the presence of the high counts of LAB investigated and a large amount L-lactic acid produced by LAB must have act as the main tofu coagulant.

Anthropometry of Kerala female agricultural workers and design of hand tools of the region.

Abstract: Women in rural India play a major role in shaping the country’s economy through their active participation in agriculture. For proper design of farm equipment for women workers, it is necessary to collect anthropometric data on farm women. But not much of information is available regarding their anthropometric data. Therefore, a study was undertaken to collect anthropometric data from 120 female farm workers engaged in agriculture field activities in the age group of 19 to 65 years from Kerala, southern part of India. The mean, standard deviation, standard error of mean, coefficient of variation, relative accuracy and percentile values (5, 50 and 95) of each measurement were tabulated. The means of the female measurements were compared with those obtained for the agricultural workers from other parts of the country. South Indian female workers are shorter and heavier than female workers of western and north eastern part of India. The data as obtained are intended to be used for the design/design modifications of agricultural hand tools/implements/ machinery with a view to reduce drudgery and at the same time increase efficiency, safety and comfort of operators. An attempt was also made to illustrate the relevance of these data in the design of handle of hand tools from ergonomic considerations.

Evaluation testing of inter row cultivator in broad bed furrow method of sowing for Kharif crops.

Abstract: The feasibility study of tractor drawn inter row cultivator on broad bed furrow sown field was carried out at village Kutasa on farmers field for Kharif season during 2011- 2012. The green gram and soybean crop was sown by broad bed furrow planter which is developed by Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukg Krushi Vidyapeeth, Akola. The same implement was used for inter cultural operation by changing its furrow opener by the inter cultural sweep. The inter row cultivator was tested as per the RNAM test code 1995 for both green gram and soybean crop. The inter culture operation was carried out after the 20 days of sowing for both the crops. The inter cultivator was tested in the laboratory as well as in the field as per standard procedure. The working width and depth of inter row cultivator was recorded to be 136.9 cm and 2.73 and 2.46 cm for green gram and soybean, respectively. The weeding efficiency of inter row cultivator was found to be 86.19 per cent and 86.54 per cent for green gram and soybean, respectively with negligible plant damage during operation for both the crops. During inter row cultivation the speed was recorded which was 3.75 km/h and 3.69 km/h for green gram and soybean, respectively. The net saving of 12.45 per cent in green gram and 14.55 per cent in soybean was observed in cost of operation for mechanical inter culture operation over traditional practice. The energy requirement for interculture operation of green gram and soybean was found to be 73.38 kWh/ha and 77.32 kWh/ha and for traditional it was 22.10 kWh/ha and 22.67 kWh/ha, respectively. The per cent saving in cost of energy in BBF sown interculture operation was 74 and 74.97 over traditional method for green gram and soybean, respectively. The overall performance of inter row cultivator was found satisfactory. The BBF method of sowing was more feasible, reliable than the traditional method of sowing, which resulted in high yield and selective mechanization of farm.