This book comprehensively reviews current pest management practices and explores novel integrated pest management strategies in Brassica oilseed crops. It is essential reading for pest management ...practitioners and researchers working on pest management in canola and other Brassica crops worldwide.Canola, mustard, camelina and crambe are the most important oilseed crops in the world. Canola is the second largest oilseed crop in the world providing 13% of the world's supply. Seeds of these species commonly contain 40% or more oil and produce meals with 35 to 40% protein. However, its production has declined significantly in recent years due to insect pest problems. The canola pest complexes are responsible for high insecticide applications on canola. Many growers rely on calendar-based spraying schedules for insecticide applications. The diamondback moth Plutella xylostella and flea beetles Phyllotreta spp. (P. cruciferae and P. striolata)cause serious damage to canola. In the Northern Great Plains, USA, for instance, P. xylostella is now recorded everywhere that canola is grown. Severe damage to canola plants can be caused by overwintering populations of flea beetles feeding on newly emerged seedlings. Cabbage seed pod weevil (Ceutorhynchus obstrictus), swede midge (Contarinia nasturtii), and tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris) are also severe pests on canola. Minor pests include aphids (cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae and turnip aphid, Hyadaphis erysimi) and grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes.This book:· is the only single compiled source of information on integrated management of canola and other Brassica oilseed pests· presents the biology and management of all the major and minor pests of Brassica oilseed crops· is an essential source of information for applied entomologists, crop protection researchers, extension agents and stakeholders
Witchweeds (Striga species) decimate agriculture in much of Africa and parts of Asia, attacking the major cereal grains and legumes, and halving the already very low yields of subsistence farmers. ...Several years of research have provided promising technologies, based on the fundamental biology of the parasite–host associations, for dealing with this scourge. However, there is an apparent realization that these technologies will fail because highly successful weeds such as Striga evolve resistance to all types of controls unless proven methods are integrated with each other for a more sustainable solution.
Many potential applications of artificial intelligence involve making real-time decisions in physical systems while interacting with humans. Automobile racing represents an extreme example of these ...conditions; drivers must execute complex tactical manoeuvres to pass or block opponents while operating their vehicles at their traction limits
. Racing simulations, such as the PlayStation game Gran Turismo, faithfully reproduce the non-linear control challenges of real race cars while also encapsulating the complex multi-agent interactions. Here we describe how we trained agents for Gran Turismo that can compete with the world's best e-sports drivers. We combine state-of-the-art, model-free, deep reinforcement learning algorithms with mixed-scenario training to learn an integrated control policy that combines exceptional speed with impressive tactics. In addition, we construct a reward function that enables the agent to be competitive while adhering to racing's important, but under-specified, sportsmanship rules. We demonstrate the capabilities of our agent, Gran Turismo Sophy, by winning a head-to-head competition against four of the world's best Gran Turismo drivers. By describing how we trained championship-level racers, we demonstrate the possibilities and challenges of using these techniques to control complex dynamical systems in domains where agents must respect imprecisely defined human norms.
Varroa destructor is among the greatest biological threats to western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) health worldwide. Beekeepers routinely use chemical treatments to control this parasite, though ...overuse and mismanagement of these treatments have led to widespread resistance in Varroa populations. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an ecologically based, sustainable approach to pest management that relies on a combination of control tactics that minimize environmental impacts. Herein, we provide an in-depth review of the components of IPM in a Varroa control context. These include determining economic thresholds for the mite, identification of and monitoring for Varroa, prevention strategies, and risk conscious treatments. Furthermore, we provide a detailed review of cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical control strategies, both longstanding and emerging, used against Varroa globally. For each control type, we describe all available treatments, their efficacies against Varroa as described in the primary scientific literature, and the obstacles to their adoption. Unfortunately, reliable IPM protocols do not exist for Varroa due to the complex biology of the mite and strong reliance on chemical control by beekeepers. To encourage beekeeper adoption, a successful IPM approach to Varroa control in managed colonies must be an improvement over conventional control methods and include cost-effective treatments that can be employed readily by beekeepers. It is our intention to provide the most thorough review of Varroa control options available, ultimately framing our discussion within the context of IPM. We hope this article is a call-to-arms against the most damaging pest managed honey bee colonies face worldwide.
•PTCC (Performance based thermal comfort control) provides the optimal control scheme that minimizes energy consumption while satisfying the thermal comfort conditions.•We developed a co-simulation ...framework based on GPR-based thermal comfort model and deep Q-learning algorithm.•We developed the GPR-based PMV prediction model using commonly monitored data such as temperature and relative humidity.•PTCC achieved the energy-saving control without excessively lowering the PMV and not exceeding the criteria.
With the recent increase in energy consumption in buildings, energy-saving strategies in buildings have become a priority in the energy policies of many countries. Therefore, many recent research studies have emphasized the advanced control methods to attain comfortable thermal conditions while minimizing the energy consumption in buildings. A new approach of thermal comfort control for space cooling/heating system is needed to reflect the changing indoor environment information in real time, and to control various factors (e.g., humidity, air velocity, etc.) that affect not only the temperature but also the thermal comfort.
In this study, we propose the Gaussian process regression (GPR) for real-time thermal comfort prediction, a data-driven approach. These data-driven approaches will enable the monitoring of occupants and thermal comfort conditions based on real-time data and situational awareness. Then, based on the thermal comfort performance (PMV) prediction results obtained using the GPR, we investigated control methods involving the integration of systems, i.e., a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system and a humidifier, instead of using simple set-temperature control for space cooling. For this purpose, deep Q-learning, which is an reinforcement learning method, was employed to derive the VRF and humidification integrated control methods. During zone operation, this algorithm learned an effective control policy based on rewards (thermal comfort and energy consumption) without relying on a thermal dynamics model. Moreover, by comparing the thermal comfort and energy consumption results with those obtained using fixed set-point (rule-based) control and performance-based comfort control for cooling, the efficiency of the proposed performance-based thermal comfort control (PTCC) was evaluated.
As a results, it was found that PTCC yielded the optimal control action value that minimized the energy consumption while satisfying the thermal comfort conditions. In addition, applying the proposed PTCC strategy to cooling control could maintain the required performance level of thermal comfort by reflecting changing environmental conditions in real time, unlike the fixed set-point control.
Renewable microgrids provide a remarkable alternative to the general use of centralized generation sources, mostly supported by conventional fossil fuel resources. An advanced microgrid concept is ...networked microgrids, or multi-microgrids, formed by a group of microgrids. They provide reliability, resilience and robustness to the grid, reducing operational costs. Nevertheless, problems related to variability and uncertainty of these renewables impose remarkable difficulties to control and operate multiple microgrids at distribution and transmission level. Different solutions have been proposed to overcome these drawbacks. Moreover, some contributions suggest coordinated control, architectures and energy management strategies to be applied at networked microgrids. This paper identifies and analyzes aggregated and/or coordinated renewable-based microgrids being able to provide ancillary services, market participation and communication. These characteristics increase grid flexibility and reliability, promoting the variable renewable energy integration. Recent issues, such as cyber-security and cyber-attacks in microgrid networked operation, are also reviewed as for possible research directions in the future.
•Analysis and identification of aggregated/coordinated renewable based microgrids.•Ancillary services, market participation and communication of multi-microgrids.•Grid flexibility and reliability promoting variable renewable energy integration.•Cyber-security and cyber-attack in microgrids networked operation review.•Lack of standardization and additional cyber-security microgrid problems.
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