The research was conducted with the objective of proposing the use of renewable energy sources (RES) in a productive entity located in the Quivic?n productive center. To achieve this, an energy-production diagnosis of the study scenario was carried out, and the local climatological conditions were analyzed. Based on this information, different RES were proposed as part of a hybrid system aimed at improving energy self-sufficiency. The analysis allowed the introduction of technologies such as biogas production, which meets the electricity demand and generates an energy surplus. The use of solar thermal energy was also considered through the installation of solar vacuum tube heaters in sanitary filters. The economic-environmental evaluation of the RES showed savings of 371,338.20 pesos due to the reduction of 18.18 t of fossil fuel consumption. Additionally, 41.59 t of CO2 emissions were avoided, and 116,724.19 pesos were saved in electricity expenses. The sustainability evaluation after the implementation of the technologies indicated improvements in environmental conditions through the reduction of negative impacts, alongside the production of biogas, electricity, and biofertilizers that increase income within the production scheme. The proposal demonstrates that the introduction of RES contributes to the sustainable development of production systems in the entity, based on a circular economy approach.
Agricultural robotics refers to the application of robotic systems and automation technologies in agricultural practices. These systems are designed to perform various tasks in farming and livestock management, aiming to increase efficiency, productivity, and sustainability in agricultural operations. Pesticide-spraying robots can carry substantial storage reservoirs, ensuring safe and potentially autonomous operation at a significantly lower cost than traditional methods. To prepare for future plant-protection technologies, this study aimed to design and test a prototype autonomous sprayer robot (ASR). The robot was equipped with an infrared sensor, a spraying mechanism, a Wi-Fi controller for motion control, and a push-arm microswitch for plant detection. Four nozzle types (Tee Jet Turbo 110-05, LECHLER 110-04, LECHLER 110-03, and LECHLER 120-015), two travel speeds (0.23 m/s and 0.28 m/s), two spraying heights (50 cm and 60 cm), and three operating pressures (100, 180, and 250 kPa) were used to evaluate the developed ASR under laboratory conditions. To minimize testing errors, the traction system was also evaluated in a straight pass of 10 m. Among the tested nozzles, the Tee Jet Turbo 110-05 exhibited the highest flow rate across the operating conditions. The horizontal spraying position performed better than the vertical one, as it provided a higher rate of conduction. The results also revealed a direct relationship between operating pressure and flow rate, and an inverse relationship between spraying height and flow rate across nozzle types. Both horizontal and vertical coverage percentages were calculated. Overall, the volumetric application rate decreased by approximately 31.45-55.21% when using the developed control system with a push arm and microswitch compared with the continuous flow-rate mode.
A sugarcane single bud sett cutter planter was designed and developed at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research (IISR), Lucknow, for precision planting of sugarcane. This innovative planter includes a serrated circular blade for cutting whole canes into single bud setts, as well as a furrow openers, fertilizer metering device, insecticide tank, soil-covering shovels and tamping roller. It is mounted via three-point linkage and powered by the tractor PTO shaft. Field trials conducted on silty loam soil at the IISR demonstrated that the planter could produce setts averaging 98.4 mm in length and 49.62 g in weight, with a cutting efficiency of 98% and minimal bud damage (1.56%). The planter achieved a cutting capacity of 3,600 setts per hour and a high sett quality index of 93.08%, with a field capacity of 0.144 ha/h and a field efficiency of 64%. The average spacing of single bud setts was 205-228 mm, with a miss index of 8.2-10.2% and a seed rate of 2,533.65-2,667 kg/ha. Operational costs were significantly reduced to Rs. 15,726.44 per hectare which was 67.8% lower than conventional methods. Additional performance metrics included a multiple index of 16.67-20.46%, a quality of feed index of 69.34-73.99%, and a precision coefficient of 25.75-27.5%. The planter reduced energy consumption to 19,137.18 MJ/ha, marking a 57.1% decrease compared to existing machines and a 60.2% reduction over traditional practices. Germination studies showed a minimal advantage for two budded setts (1-2% higher), indicating comparable performance of single bud setts under optimal conditions. Overall, this planter offers a cost-effective, energy-efficient, and precise solution for sugarcane planting, with significant implications of resource conservation for enhancing farm productivity.
Asia, South America, and Sub-Saharan Africa have been identified as the largest rice-consuming regions in the world. More than half of the global population depends on rice, which provides over 20% of their daily caloric intake. Rice is the second most important staple crop after maize. The Government of Nigeria is working to stop the continuous importation of rice by promoting local production among rice farmers. This initiative aims to strengthen the country's economy, as funds currently spent on food importation could instead be redirected to other critical sectors of national development. In the past, rice production in Nigeria grew at a slow pace. However, recent years have witnessed rapid progress, largely due to the efforts of the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM), which has introduced the Sawah Eco-technology for rice farming to many farmers across the country. The adoption of Sawah Eco-technology offers several advantages over the traditional rice cultivation methods previously used in Nigeria. This study is therefore significant in examining the past and present trends in rice production in Nigeria and highlighting the role of Sawah Eco-technology in transforming the country's rice sector.
Due to climate change, rainfed arable conditions have become quite unpredictable in semi-arid regions such as Botswana. This calls for innovative climate-smart technologies for the production of staple food crops such as sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). Conservation Agriculture (CA), which incorporates three practices (minimum soil disturbance for optimum soil water retention, mulching for the reduction of evaporation losses, and crop rotations for improvement of soil fertility through green manuring), has received considerable interest as one of the promising climate-smart initiatives. A study was conducted in Zwenshambe village in the North East District of Botswana to assess the effects of four different mulches on soil temperature, soil moisture retention, and sorghum biomass yield. The study consisted of five treatments in a Completely Randomised Block Design: (i) no mulch as the control, (ii) maize straw mulch (Zea mays), (iii) grass mulch (Eragrostis lehmanniana), (iv) Mophane (Colophospermum mopane) leaves, and (v) orange plastic mulch (250 & micro;m). Despite variations in soil temperature and soil moisture retention among treatments, none of the mulches displayed significant differences (p < 0.05). However, the biomass yield of sorghum under the orange plastic and Mophane leaves and twigs mulches (Colophospermum mopane) was significantly increased by 65.9% and 55%, respectively, compared to the control (p < 0.05).
This article described a feature of the data-driven agrifood systems as a new terminology of smart farming, which was introduced by the international organization for standardization (ISO), and discussed its impacts to small holder farmers. The digital farming has been changing the context of decision making that was the core action of farm management, and the farmers and stakeholders should re-watch the emerging technology to be adopted The data ownership was a critical issue for farm management sustainable, and community-based approaches should be re-evaluated in terms of business and technology.
The present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of hermetic storage cocoons compared with traditional storage systems under natural conditions. Hermetic storage cocoons are designed to create a modified atmosphere that restricts the movement of oxygen while increasing carbon dioxide levels, thereby controlling storage pests. The experiment was carried out at the Moti Auto Rice Mill, Shyamganj, Netrokona, Bangladesh, to assess the viability of the cocoons in preserving paddy grain. Three hermetic cocoons of 5,000 kg capacity each and two traditional gunny bag storage systems were used for comparative evaluation. The experiment was conducted from January 18, 2020 to November 25, 2020 under field conditions. The parameters studied included moisture content, germination percentage, insect count, and grain weight loss. The results indicated that hermetic storage significantly reduced insect infestation and grain damage compared with traditional storage. The insect count in the hermetic cocoon remained negligible throughout the storage period of paddy, while in traditional storageit was significant. Similarly, paddy stored in hermetic cocoons maintained higher germination rates (above 80%) compared with traditionally stored samples, which showed a drastic decline (below 70%) after four months. Hermetic cocoons also effectively minimized weight loss and moisture variation during storage. Overall, the findings confirm that hermetic storage cocoons are a viable and sustainable alternative to conventional storage systems, offering better protection against pests and maintaining grain quality under natural environmental conditions.
Field operation through the use of a tractor-implement/equipment combination needs proper monitoring for a desirable result to take place. The continuous monitoring of these farm implements and equipment is not as easy as envisaged by those who are not tractor operators. For proper monitoring operation to take place in the field, the tractor operator needs to adopt uncomfortable posture which involves the turning of his neck towards the backward direction in order to see the level of work done by the farm implements and equipment which usually results in muscular pain and fatigue of the tractor operator. In finding a solution to this problem, a camera based monitoring system was developed and evaluated. Drudgery reduction which form part of the performance indices was analyzed in terms of heart rate and SpO(2) level. Test results of the study revealed that there was a significant difference in heart rate as well as SpO(2) level measured with and without the camera based monitoring system. The tractor operator feels comfortable health wise after installing the camera based monitoring system on the tractor.
Paddy cultivation is practiced on around 43.78 Mha in India, generating more than 168.5 Mt of paddy straw. In Punjab, the area under paddy cultivation was about 3.06 Mha with the production of paddy about 20.07 Mt generating 20.17 Mt of paddy straw and around 50% of paddy straw during the year 2018-19 was burnt in the fields. The paddy straw is not being used as animal fodder but fermented paddy straw can be used as fodder. If the loose paddy residue coming out from conventional combine harvester will be fermented and baled successfully,then the problem of loose paddy residue burning can be reduced and the fermented baled straw can be used as fodder also. Therefore, the urea treatment assembly was designed, developed and evaluated for fermentation of loose paddy residue and was attached along with the baling attachment with the self propelled combine harvester. The urea treatment assembly consisted of liquid storage drum, PVC water supply pipe, diaphragm pump, pressure gauge and five flood jet nozzles. The independent variables i.e. nozzles (N1, N2 and N3) and pressure (P1 = 69, 137 and 206 kPa) and dependent variables i.e. rate of discharge,swath width and angle of spray were selected for the selection of nozzles. The flow rate of 1,593.33 mL min' was achieved at pressure P2 with nozzle N3 and was selected for the development of the sprayer assembly for spraying of urea solution on the loose residue for its fermentation. The samples of the fermented baled straw were taken for nutrient evaluation and compared with the samples of fermented stacked paddy straw and untreated straw. All the constituent values of urea treated paddy straw (both in stack and bale) varied significantly as compared with the untreated paddy straw at 5 % level of significance.
The field experiment was carried out at the research farm of ICAR-IIFSR, Modipuram, Meerut, during 2012-2019 to evaluate wheat establishment under different conservation techniques using various machinery, viz. zero till drill (ZT), happy turbo seeder (HT), raised bed planter (BP), rotary tiller (RT), and conventional tillage practice (CS). This study aimed to assess the energy dynamics, economic profitability, and productivity under different conservation tillage systems. The conventional tillage practice (CS) consumed about 28%, 25%, 24%, and 16% higher input energy than HT, ZT, BP, and RT, respectively. HT (88,757 MJ/ha) produced significantly higher output energy of grain, followed by ZT (88,339 MJ/ha), BP (87,187 MJ/ha), RT (86,769 MJ/ha), and CS (86,926 MJ/ha). Similarly, higher net return energy of grain was estimated for HT (69,406 MJ/ha), followed by ZT (68,259 MJ/ha), BP (66,946 MJ/ha), RT (64,222 MJ/ha), and the lowest in CS (60,117 MJ/ha). HT (4.59) produced a significantly higher output to-input energy ratio of grain than ZT (4.40), BP (4.31), RT (3.85), and CS (3.24). Moreover, CS required significantly more grain-specific energy (energy used for the production of one kg of grain) than RT, BP, HT, and ZT. The cost analysis revealed that the conventional tillage practice (CS, Indian Rupee47,199/ha) required significantly higher cultivation cost than other treatments: RT (Indian Rupee37,702/ ha), HT (Indian Rupee37,007/ha), BP (Indian Rupee38,078/ ha), and ZT (Indian Rupee36,211/ha). However, HT (Indian Rupee123,750/ha) produced the highest output cost, followed by ZT (Indian Rupee123,000/ha), BP (Indian Rupee1,21,800/ha), RT (Indian Rupee119,120/ha), and CS (Indian Rupee120,000/ha). The benefit-cost ratio (B:C ratio) was also found to be higher in ZT (2.34) and HT (2.29) than in RT (2.14), BP (2.10), and CS (1.51). The yield attributes showed no significant difference among the treatments. The grain yield was significantly higher in HT (5.68 t/ha) and ZT (5.63 t/ha) than in CS (5.47 t/ha), RT (5.53 t/ha), and BP (5.58 t/ha).
The objective of this research was to develop a technical spray unit using locally available materials to concentrate whey as a byproduct. The experimental setup was created in the Agricultural Engineering Department workshop and laboratory at Kafrelsheikh University, using whey collected from the Dairy Lab at the Faculty of Agriculture. The concentrated unit was constructed using steel for the main tank manufacturing, an air induction nozzle atomizer, an electrical heater, valves, heat sensors, a compressor, a PC, and a whey pump. The container was insulated using thermal wool, and the air induction nozzle atomizer (Lechler 156.000.35.11) was installed at the top of the main container, with the electric heater at the bottom, and the PT 100 heat sensor fixed inside and outside the main container. The whey pump and air compressor were connected to the air induction nozzle, and the whey and air valves were adjusted to control the liquid pressure and air pressure. The energy consumption was 0.0325 kW.h, 0.0341 kW.h and 0.0348 kW.h for operating air compressor pressure 0.2 MPa, 0.3 MPa and 0.4 MPa respectively. The specific energy requirement to concentrate one litter of whey was 0.325 kW.h l-1, 0.272 kW.h l-1 and 0.139 kW.h l-1 at operating air compressor pressure 0.2 MPa, 0.3 MPa and 0.4 MPa respectively. The maximum whey concentration produced from the spray concentrated unit or dryer at full open valve and input concentration 10% solution were 37.5%, 37.5% and 39.97% at operating pressure 0.2 MPa, 0.3 MPa and 0.4 MPa operating and at temperature of the spray concentrated unit or dryer 66.5 degrees C, 69.5 degrees C and 72.5 degrees C, respectively. The findings indicated that raising the operating pressure and temperature of the spray concentrated unit or dryer generally led to an increase in the whey concentration produced by the fabricated unit. This was observed for various input concentrations (5%, 7%, and 10%) and for whey collected at both full and half open valve of the liquid (flow rate: 0.1 l min-1, 0.125 l min-1, and 0.25 l min-1). Conversely, at half open valve and input concentration of 10% solution, the spray concentrated unit or dryer produced a maximum whey concentration of 38.31%, 39.75%, and 40.02% at operating pressures of 0.2 MPa, 0.3 MPa and 0.4 MPa, respectively.
This study's objective is to analyze the power delivery and acceleration life test (ALT) of hydraulic components for a tractor-mounted harvester. Only 5.10% of the engine power was used for the tractor's hydraulic system and harvester. The measured warranty lifetimes were almost 1.27 and 0.39 times higher compared to standard and existing methods, respectively. The ALT analysis guaranteed satisfactory warranty lifetimes based on the developed method and the standard. The reliability analysis with low cost and shortened test time is essential to designing a hydraulic system of the agricultural machinery considering the workload for both straight and turning sections.
An engine operated paddy drum seeder was designed and developed for Basmati-370 rice seed based on the physical and engineering properties and agronomical considerations for hilly areas of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The developed prototype comprises six drums in which three drums are in front for fertilizer application and three drums are in the rear for seed application. The mechanism of machine is such that the furrow opener in front of machine opens furrow for placement of fertilizer and seed at proper depth and a leveler attached on the rear of the machine shall cover the seed and fertilizer with soil.
A combine harvester was used for the harvesting of wheat crop under various lodging conditions. The performance was also evaluated with various wheat varieties. As a general trend, the field capacity of combine harvester is seen decreasing as the crop lodging increases. The fuel consumption is also increased with lodging of wheat crop. The 869-wheat variety performed well under lodging and paddy straw conditions. The optimum parameters for the combine harvester under lodged conditions (> 70%) were 1.0-1.30 km/h between 2.0 and 2.5%. The operator operational and maintenance skills also played an important role in the overall performance of the combine harvester.
Threshing cylinder plays an important role in the design of millet thresher. The threshing cylinder was developed and the operational parameters of threshing cylinder such as feed rate, (kg/h), speed (rpm) and concave clearance (mm) were optimized. Thus, for the maximum threshing efficiency and minimum grain damage, the optimization of threshing cylinder was carried out by using response surface method (RSM) and central composite rotatable design (CCRD) statistical design. Values of the optimized operational parameters are feed rate 31 kg/h, concave clearance 5 mm and speed 40 rpm with predicted performance of threshing efficiency 95.5% and grain damage 0.06%. To authenticate the optimized parameters, the performance of threshing cylinder for the Kodo millet crop was carried out. The threshing efficiency was found 96.2% against predicted 95.5% and grain damage was 0.12% against predicted 0.06%, respectively.
A flexible picking robot end-effector was designed to solve the problems of large damage and low efficiency in apple mechanized picking. The end-effector was composed of three hollow fingers, which were made of TPU (thermoplastic urethane) material. The fingers moved inside and outside driven by a stepping motor and the lead screw, and bent inside and outside relied on their own structure, so as to achieve tight fitting and clamping with the irregular configuration of apples and achieved stable apple picking. The working performance and picking efficiency of the end-effector were obtained through dynamic analysis and experimental verification, the diameter of the apple that can be picked is 55-100 mm, the maximum picking speed is 5s per apple, the clamping force of a single finger is 150 N, and the contact pressure is 2.13 MPa, which is less than the damage pressure of the apple 2.2 MPa. The picking success rate is 95%, the direct damage rate in the picking process is 1.75%, and the flesh browning damage rate in 48 hours is 1.75%. The flexible end-effector has good picking performance for delicate and vulnerable fruits such as apples.
Transplanting using rice transplanter is a cost effective & laborsaving technology. In Bhutan, only virgin red soil is used for raising seedlings for rice transplanter, which is not easily available. Considering this constraint, an experiment was conducted at AMC, Paro to find out suitable seedling raising materials for tray nursery for transplanter as an alternative to red soil. Seedlings were raised on plastic trays using different soil mixtures; T1 (red soil), T2 (field soil-clay loam), T3 (75% clay loam +25% husk), T4 (75% Clay loam +25% decomposed cow dung), T5 (Sterilized clay loam), T6 (75% Sterilized clay loam +25% husk) & T 7 (75% Sterilized clay loam +25% decomposed cow dung). Sprouted seeds were placed on all the seedling raising material treatments. The recommended seedling population (2 to 3 leaves per seedling) and suitable height (12 cm to 15cm) was achieved for all the treatments. Rolling seedling mat for transportation purpose all the treatment showed good cohesiveness except T5 (Sterilized soil). Furthermore, no weeds were observed in all the treatments.
The ergonomic analysis of conventional tobacco cultivation activities inferred the postural stresses by the REBA (Rapid Entire Body Assessment) scores for transplanting, weeding, harvesting tobacco leaves and stringing were 8.0, 8.16, 8.2 and 6.8, respectively, which were in the category of "High risk, investigation and implements change". The BPDS (Body Part Discomfort Score) and ODS (Overall Discomfort Score) were the highest in harvesting of tobacco leaves (50.25 and 3.90), followed by the transplanting of seedlings (39.5 and 3.82), weeding (40.20 and 2.87) and stringing (34.33 and 2.66) respectively. An attempt is made to develop a two-row battery operated tobacco transplanter for ergonomic compliance. Major components of the developed machine were base frame, transplanting system, power transmission system, water discharging system and ground wheel. The base frame was made of mild steel square pipe (40 x 40 x 3 mm), the length of the frame was 960 mm and the width of the frame was 600 mm. The transplanting unit is made up of stainless steel with a length of 910 mm and width of 290 mm; the diameter of the opening unit for seedlings was 63 mm weighing 2,200 grams. These units will move in reciprocating motion with the help of Whitworth's quick return mechanism. A BLDC motor (Brushless DC electric motor, 800 W) was selected to integrate the Whitworth quick return mechanism operation. The four batteries were selected, each battery of 12 V and 42 Ah capacity because the required motor voltage was 48 V. The crop variety "Petit Havana" had seedling height, weight and number of leaves of 71.61 mm to 222.62 mm, 13.32 to 25.12 g and 4 to 7 respectively. The average moisture content, bulk density and soil cone index of the experimental field were 15.95 % (dry basis), 1.49 g/cm(3) and 7.23 kg/ cm2, respectively. The results of the developed two-row planter performance were that average plant-to-plant spacing, row-to-row spacing and depth of seedlings were 521.8 mm, 1,015.3 mm and 45.71 mm, respectively. The average miss index, multiple index and quality feed index of the developed machine were 3.52%, 4.81% and 91.67%, respectively. The average percentage of plant stands, plant mortality, field capacity and transplanting efficiency was 61.66%, 45.83%, 0.13 ha/h and 66.66%, respectively. The physiological parameter heart rate (HR) ranged from 84.99 to 120.17 beats/min with a mean HR of 105.39 beats/min, categorized the work under the medium workload. The O2 consumption and energy expenditure ranged from 0.5-1.0 to 1.0-1.5 lit/min and 10-20 to 20-30 kJ/min, respectively. The average REBA score was 7.12 (Medium risk, further investigation, change soon) and the risk index score was 1.70 (RI > 1). The developed two-row battery-operated tobacco transplanter improves the posture during transplanting operation with lesser exertion and fewer repetitive movements. It increases productivity and decreases the labour requirement for transplanting.
Potato has been one of the major crops cultivated in Gujarat since long. In Gujarat, the productivity of potato during the year 2000-01 was 21.83 tonnes per hectare while the national productivity was 18.3 tonnes and the productivity in Gujarat during the year 2019-20 was 30.32 tonnes per hectare when the national productivity was 23.10 tonnes per hectare. Even though the productivity of potato is higher in the state, the farmers in Gujarat face the problem of price fluctuations, which leads them to loss. In this scenario, the contract farming plays a major role. This present study looks at the estimation of costs and returns, and resource use efficiency in contract farming in comparison with the non-contract farming. The effect of contract farming on price and income from the potato cultivation is also studied in the study area. Sabarkantha and Banaskantha districts were selected purposively for this study as the maximum contract farming in potato represent both these districts. Idar taluka from Sabarkantha district and Deesa taluka from Banaskantha district were selected for the study. Thirty contract farmers and thirty non-contract farmers from all the three selected villages of each selected taluka was selected randomly for the comparative analysis-making a total sample size of 120 potato growers. Primary data was collected by survey method through well designed structured questionnaire for the year 2020-21 for this study. The results clearly indicated that there exist a substantial scope for increasing the production of potato through judicious use of critical inputs particularly machinery, manure and fertilizer on both contract and non-contract farms in Banaskantha and Sabarkantha districts. In both the districts, production and price obtained by the contract farmers were higher as compared to that of non-contract farmers which resulted in higher income of the contract farmers compared to non-contract farmers.
Carrots are prone to impact damage during the root-stem separation stage, and it is easy to cause fruit damage due to the impact between the pull rod and the carrot. To reduce the damage of carrots harvested by pulling, the finite element method was used to study the critical velocity of carrot damage after the improvement of the pull rod (a rubber cushioning material with a thickness of 2 mm, and inner diameter of 16mm, giving a 20 mm outside diameter, and elastic modulus of 100 MPa was wrapped outside the pull rod). The critical rotational speed of the disc driving the pull rods was solved by kinematic analysis of the pulling separation mechanism and impact velocity analysis of carrots. According to the nonuniform motion characteristics of the pull rod, a noncircular gear transmission device was designed, and a root-stem separation experiment was carried out. Because rubber cushioning material affected the success rate of separation and active disc rotational speed affected the damage rate of separation, the experimental factors were pull rod surface with or without rubber cushioning material and active disc rotational speed. Through the separation experiment, it was found that when the rubber cushioning material was used in the pull rod, and the conveyor belt velocity was 1 m center dot s(-1) and the input rotational speed of the disc driving the pull rods was 180 rpm, the separation success rate of carrot was 90% and the damage rate was 5%.
