Volume 3 Issue 1
Authors: Basavaraj S. Anami; Dayanand G. Savakar
Abstract: This paper presents a methodology to grade different food grains and fruits image samples using color and textural features. The images of 10 different types of bulk food grains like bengal gram, corn, green gram, groundnut, jowar, peas, red gram, rice, wheat and yellow gram; and five different varieties of fruits like apples, chikko, grapes, mangos and pomegranates in bulk quantity fruits are preprocessed. The color and texture features are extracted and a neural network based classifier is developed to grade the images of different types of produce into four different grades, namely A (Excellent), B (Very good) C (Good) and D (poor). The minimum and maximum recognition and grading accuracies among the food grains are 87% and 95% in respect of wheat and corn respectively and those of fruits are 86% and 91% for chikko and pomegranate respectively by using color and texture features. In this type of approach, more visual features are taken into account and objects are suitably graded. The inherent drawbacks associated with human beings need to be overcome by leveraging the technology. Significant increase in computer processing power and rapid developments in image processing techniques and machine grading are the order of the day.
Keywords: Color Features; Textural Features; Bulk Food Grain Recognition and Grading; Bulk Fruits Recognition and Grading
Authors: Bahman Heydari; Ali Jafari; Shahin Rafiee; Ali Haji Ahmad; Mohammad Sharifi; Marziye Yousefi; Alireza Mazaheri
Abstract: This paper presents the energy and economic analysis of spearmint essential oil production by using the operational data as a case study of Golkaran agro-industrial CO, Iran. The spearmint essential oil production is conducted in three stages, including farming, essential oil production in the factory and refining-composting processes (post production processes). Fresh spearmint, its essential oil and compost are the main materials of the production system. The results indicate that spearmint essential oil production consumes a total energy of 161250.3 MJ ha-1.The input energy used in the process are electrical (33.40%), diesel (29.86%), natural gas (10.74%), fertilizers (13.53%), chemicals (0.41%), manure (3.12%), machinery (5.7%) and human labor (0.71%). Energy use efficiency, energy productivity, specific energy and net energy of spearmint essential oil production are 17.29, 0.29 kg MJ-1, 3.46 MJ ha-1 and 2626697.7 MJ ha-1, respectively. The benefit to cost ratio, net return and productivity from spearmint essential oil production are 1.53, 72.8537 $ ha-1 and 0.005 kg $-1, respectively.
Keywords: Spearmint Essential Oil; Golkaran Agro-Industrial Co; Energy Use Efficiency; Economic Analysis
Authors: Jie Yang; Jianguo Zhao; Jianchang Li; Jianjun Hao; Yuejin Ma; Ruiqing Zhang
Abstract: China is facing with the inadaptable contradictions between agricultural mechanization and small size business management. The purpose of this paper is aimed of solving these contradictions by developing a trans-regional operations of farm machines (TROFM). Even more, the shortages of agricultural labour force seasonally and locally are also controlled. Carrying out and organizing trans-regional operations of farm machines can help to improve the utilization rate of agricultural machinery. Another advantage of the TROFM is to improve the efficiency of agriculture and rural economic development. The benefit of using TROFM is not only increasing the utilization rate of agricultural machinery, but also the income of the farmers as well as agricultural productivity. The need of urgently developing more comprehensive, efficient and accurate rans-regional operation of supply and demand information query system, is a very important work. The information query system of farm machines trans-regional operations is a product based on the development of computer technology. Its emergence saves a lot of manpower and material resources, such as providing a quick, easy, safe and reliable way of solving the problem in a low cost and high efficient manner. This paper used the Lab Windows/CVI software to design a query interface system. The agricultural information query system includes system management, news, agricultural machinery information, agricultural machinery repair, forums, and etc. The system administrator added the agricultural information, regional information and system user information into the database. The goal of our design had been achieved by testing the reliability, i.e., the query of machinery information, agricultural operations, agricultural news, and etc.
Keywords: Trans-regional Operations of Farm Machines; Agricultural Mechanization; Lab Windows/CVI; Information Query System; Database
Authors: A. R. Elkhouly; Mohamed O. Albasha; A. L. Hririg
Abstract: Natural abundance of the ectoparasitoid Diglyphus isaea walker was studied on four winter host plants, broad bean (Vecia faba), pea (Pisum sativum), mallow (Malva sylvestris), and snow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus), in Alejelat region. The parasitoid showed low populations in December on all studied host plants except broad bean, then developed high populations in February and March. The population decreased till the end of the growing season. D. isaea recorded 3-4 peaks of abundance on all studied host plants, the highest peak recorded 64, 198, 70 and 103 individuals/ 100 infested leaflets on broad bean, pea, mallow, and snow thistle, respectively. The highest average numbers occurred in December on broad bean recording 41.0±20.7, in March on pea recording 127.0±74.0, and in February on mallow and snow thistle recording 37.8±19.1 and 87.5±12.7 individuals/ 100 infested. On the other hand, monthly average percentages of parasitism recorded its highest numbers in January, 66.7±5.6%, 69.5±13.4%, and 57.9±6.7%, on brad bean, pea, and mallow, respectively and 68.8±6.9% on snow thistle in March. The percentage of killed larvae, according to host-feeding recorded, its highest monthly average numbers January on broad bean, pea, mallow and snow thistle recording, 21.7±17.7, 17.3±4.3, 23.7±2.1 and 14.4 ± 5.5, respectively.
Keywords: Diglyphus Isaea; Abundance; Host Plants
Authors: V. Vecerek; M. Malena; I. Bedanova; E. Voslarova
Abstract: In the period from 2009 to 2013, veterinary inspectors recorded the numbers of different categories of pigs (finisher pigs, culled sows and piglets) transported for slaughter in the Czech Republic, and the numbers of animals dying as a result of their transport to slaughterhouses, specifically, the numbers of animals that died in transport vehicles or shortly after they arrived to the slaughterhouse. The lowest transport-related mortality was found in finisher pigs (0.07%). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation (r = -0.9000, P = 0.0187) was found between mortality rates and monitored years in finisher pigs, which indicated a decreasing tendency in pig losses in the monitored period. Significantly greater (P < 0.05) mortality was found in culled sows (0.23%) and piglets (0.44%). The death of animals during transport for slaughter is a major factor indicating the level of welfare in transported animals. Despite a decreasing tendency in mortality of finisher pigs transported for slaughter in Europe, our study suggests that there are still categories of pigs in which significantly greater losses occur in transit. Further research should focus on methods of improvement of transport conditions, particularly in culled pigs.
Keywords: Finisher Pig; Sow; Piglet; Transportation; Mortality
Authors: Balram Panigrahi; Jagadish Chandra Paul
Abstract: Hirakud command of Odisha is one of the biggest and oldest multi-purpose irrigation projects in India. It caters the irrigation demand to 1.59 lakh ha in kharifand 1.12 lakh ha in rabi. The average groundwater table in the irrigated areas has come up by more than 6.0 m since commensurate of the project. Commensuration of the project has caused about 20% of the total cultivated area waterlogged in the command where crop diversification is impossible. The paper discusses the causes of rising groundwater table that creates drainage congestion and waterlogging in the Hirakud command. The study reveals that in the head reach, the rise of groundwater table is more as compared to the lower reach. The main factors that contribute to the drainage congestion are (i) faulty irrigation and water management practice; (ii) intensive rice-rice cultivation; (iii) plot to plot irrigation in rice field instead of using field channel; (iv) continuous canal flow;(v) excessive seepage losses in the canal systems etc. Opportunities for improving the drainage system and reclaiming the waterlogged areas, and thereby decreasing the groundwater table are also mentioned in this paper. Experimental findings on construction of parallel field surface drain at 10 m drain spacing is recommended in the command to decline the rising groundwater table which may facilitate the farmers to grow non-rice crops in the command and increase crop production and productivity.
Keywords: Command; Drainage Congestion; Irrigation; Waterlogging; Water Management; Water Productivity