Up to 58% of NHsub.3 emissions can be reduced through the use of the urease inhibitor Atmowellsup.® in cattle farming. Automated manure scraper and drag hose systems should be used to apply urease ...inhibitors (UIs) to stable floors. Proof of safe use is also needed. A risk assessment of the urease inhibitor PPDA was conducted utilising estimated and calculated exposure data along with established and verified model calculation tools. Risk assessment models can be improved using measured dermal exposure data. The fluorescent dye pyranine and a Tyveksup.® collector were used to measure exposure. Tyveksup.® was attached to a lifelike cow dummy. Regarding the drag hose system, two worst-case scenarios were considered: over the cow and passing the cow. Regarding the robot application system, a 0 m frontal scenario was considered. The over the cow scenario exhibited the highest dermal exposure, with 1.5 mg of PPDA/cow per application run. The robot scenario exhibited the smallest amount, with 0.8 mg of PPDA/cow per application run. The risk of using PPDA was already excluded by model calculation tools in a risk assessment. Compared with the estimated and calculated dermal exposure values, the measured dermal exposure levels were reduced by a factor of two to six.
Economic analysis of forage production and handling aids in making an educated decision related to growing or buying forage, setting forage prices, and purchasing additional equipment. Manual ...calculation of economics is highly complex, tedious, and time-consuming. Therefore, a multi-device web-based tool, called the “forage economics calculator web tool” (FECWT) was developed using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The tool’s interface was designed for a user-friendly experience with easy access to commands set in an easy-to-follow layout. The FECWT uses 29 input variables to generate results “dynamically” for 37 output variables, based either on the supplied default data or with user-provided inputs (imperial or metric units). The tool emphasizes the cost of the bale collection activity performed using tractor or tractor pulling an “automatic bale picker” (ABP), while the cost of other activities (planting, fertilizer & chemical application, harvesting, and baling) are provided as direct inputs. The economic analysis outputs include net return, break-even ratio, payback period, and return on investment. Features of FECWT include the sensitivity of profit to changes in input values, and downloadable reports and charts for record-keeping. Two case studies using farmers’ actual field data inputs demonstrated the FECWT’s effectiveness, with its generated results corroborating well with farmers’ records. The tool allows for “what-if” scenario analysis related to equipment purchase, effect of forage crop, net-return, and low-inputs scenario for different field areas suggests that an ABP purchase for field areas greater than ≥65ha (≥160ac) could be profitable; alfalfa and corn were the most profitable forage and grain-forage crops, where the grain revenue stream of grain-forage crops easily covers the costs and makes a profit; and a low-inputs scenario (no fertilizers, chemicals, and/or seeds) for forages (alfalfa and grass) decreased the net returns on average by 8.1 times at 50% forage yield potential suggesting the use of all inputs and increased field areas (≥65ha) make a better profit in this low-inputs scenario. Potential users of this web tool include farmers, hay producers, custom hay operators, educators, agricultural extension and financial personnel, and others interested in the economics of handling bales.
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•Web tool calculator developed uses 29 inputs to generate 37 forage economics outputs.•Economics of bale collection using tractor and automatic bale picker is emphasized.•Tool’s features include inputs sensitivity and downloadable report and chart.•Tool allows what-if scenario analysis for many practical field situations.•Actual field data case studies reported satisfactory performance of the tool.
One of the crucial factors in grain storage is appropriate moisture content, which plays a significant role in reducing storage losses and ensuring quality. However, currently available humidity ...sensors on the market fail to meet the demands of modern large-scale grain storage in China in terms of price, size, and ease of implementation. Therefore, this study aims to develop an economical, efficient, and easily deployable grain humidity sensor suitable for large-scale grain storage environments. Simultaneously, it constructs humidity calibration models applicable to three major grain crops: millet, rice, and wheat. Starting with the probe structure, this study analyzes the ideal probe structure for grain humidity sensors. Experimental validations are conducted using millet, rice, and wheat as experimental subjects to verify the accuracy of the sensor and humidity calibration models. The experimental results indicate that the optimal length of the probe under ideal conditions is 0.67 m. Humidity calibration models for millet, rice, and wheat are constructed using SVM models, with all three models achieving a correlation coefficient R
greater than 0.9. The measured data and model-calculated data show a linear relationship, closely approximating y = x, with R
values of all three fitted models above 0.9. In conclusion, this study provides reliable sensor technological support for humidity monitoring in large-scale grain storage and processing, with extensive applications in grain storage and grain safety management.
Identification of sugarcane stem nodes is generally dependent on high-performance recognition equipment in sugarcane seed pre-cutting machines and inefficient. Accordingly, this study proposes a ...novel lightweight architecture for the detection of sugarcane stem nodes based on the YOLOv5 framework, named G-YOLOv5s-SS. Firstly, the study removes the CBS and C3 structures at the end of the backbone network to fully utilize shallow-level feature information. This enhances the detection performance of sugarcane stem nodes. Simultaneously, it eliminates the 32 times down-sampled branches in the neck structure and the 20x20 detection heads at the prediction end, reducing model complexity. Secondly, a Ghost lightweight module is introduced to replace the conventional convolution module in the BottleNeck structure, further reducing the model's complexity. Finally, the study incorporates the SimAM attention mechanism to enhance the extraction of sugarcane stem node features without introducing additional parameters. This improvement aims to enhance recognition accuracy, compensating for any loss in precision due to lightweight modifications. The experimental results showed that the average precision of the improved network for sugarcane stem node identification reached 97.6%, which was 0.6% higher than that of the YOLOv5 baseline network. Meanwhile, a model size of 2.6MB, 1,129,340 parameters, and 7.2G FLOPs, representing respective reductions of 82%, 84%, and 54.4%. Compared with mainstream one-stage target detection algorithms such as YOLOv4-tiny, YOLOv4, YOLOv5n, YOLOv6n, YOLOv6s, YOLOv7-tiny, and YOLOv7, G-YOLOv5s-SS achieved respective average precision improvements of 12.9%, 5.07%, 3.6%, 2.1%, 1.2%, 3%, and 0.4% in sugarcane stem nodes recognition. Meanwhile, the model size was compressed by 88.9%, 98.9%, 33.3%, 72%, 92.9%, 78.8% and 96.3%, respectively. Compared with similar studies, G-YOLOv5s-SS not only enhanced recognition accuracy but also considered model size, demonstrating an overall excellent performance that aligns with the requirements of sugarcane seed pre-cutting machines.
The number of cameras utilised in smart city domains is increasingly prominent and notable for monitoring outdoor urban and rural areas such as farms and forests to deter thefts of farming machinery ...and livestock, as well as monitoring workers to guarantee their safety. However, anomaly detection tasks become much more challenging in environments with low-light conditions. Consequently, achieving efficient outcomes in recognising surrounding behaviours and events becomes difficult. Therefore, this research has developed a technique to enhance images captured in poor visibility. This enhancement aims to boost object detection accuracy and mitigate false positive detections. The proposed technique consists of several stages. In the first stage, features are extracted from input images. Subsequently, a classifier assigns a unique label to indicate the optimum model among multi-enhancement networks. In addition, it can distinguish scenes captured with sufficient light from low-light ones. Finally, a detection algorithm is applied to identify objects. Each task was implemented on a separate IoT-edge device, improving detection performance on the ExDark database with a nearly one-second response time across all stages.
The widespread use of garlic planters has been hampered by the lack of comprehensive applicability evaluation criteria, as their functional and structural designs are sometimes subpar and their ...purchase and use are not always financially advantageous. In order to close this gap in the applicability evaluation system for garlic planters, a three-level index system based on Technical indicators, Economic indicators, and Working condition indicators was proposed in the current study. A fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was then applied to achieve the evaluation with the help of an analytical hierarchy process and validity test. By providing basic descriptions, physical test results and specific calculation results to the consulted ten experts and collecting the scores for the 3rd level indicators, the first-generation garlic planter was analyzed for the practical application of the Pizhou-white garlic planting area based on the established applicability evaluation system. The evaluated score of 74.47 was towards the bottom of the "good" range. The findings also suggest that enhancing operational safety, implementing plant spacing and planting depth adjustments, enhancing ease of operation, and to some extent lowering capital cost will improve functional performance and economic performance. The upgraded machine was subsequently created using the optimization guidelines. Its applicability score was 77.52, representing a 4.1% gain over the original computer. It has reached the midpoint of the "good" range and has achieved the optimization goal. The proposed applicability evaluation system can generally draw unbiased conclusions and provide scientific evaluation methods for the promotion of garlic planters in specific areas, benefiting not only the design and improvement of garlic planters but also the purchasing and application of them. However, further indicator refinement and a more thorough evaluation method appear necessary before the evaluation system is made more widely available.
Devices with working body in shape of a spiral are now widely used in agricultural production to move liquid or granular materials. However, the existing theoretical descriptions of such processes ...are not resolved accurately and require significant improvements. The most effective device for grain turning is a flexible spiral transport system. The main element of this system is spiral screw, made of special high-strength spring steel. During the designing of spiral-screw device, it is necessary to have a data on the pattern of interaction between modal parameters and kinematic characteristics of moved material. Correct theoretical solution of the considered problem is difficult due to complex movement of moved grain material. Device settings for turning of grain material in grain storages were analyzed. As a result of theoretical research of devices for turning of grainmaterial, movement speed of device on the pile of grain, speed of grain movement inside the device, and the nozzle pressure of the device on the output of grain were determined. The studies revealed that the convergence of theoretical and experimental results is not less than 95 %. It means that the proposed method of research of devices for grain turning is accurate, and proposed device quite justifies its purpose of grain turning to prevent it from hay-heating and spoiling. In this case the specific energy consumption for grain turning did not exceed 1,117 (kWh)/kg.
Устройства с рабочим органом в виде спирального в настоящее время широко применяют в сельскохозяйственном производстве для перемещения жидких и сыпучих материалов. Однако существующие теоретические описания таких процессов решены не достаточно точно и требуют существенных доработок. Наиболее эффективным устройством для ворошения зерновой насыпи, являются гибкие спиральные транспортные системы. Основной элемент такой системы – спиральный винт, который изготавливается из специальной высокопрочной пружинной стали. Проектируя спирально-винтовые устройства необходимо располагать данными о характере взаимодействия между его режимными параметрами и кинематическими характеристиками перемещаемого материала. Правильное теоретическое решение рассматриваемой задачи представляет трудности в связи со сложным движением перемещаемого зернового материала. Рассмотрены параметры устройства для ворошения зернового материала в зерноскладах. В результате проведенных теоретических исследований устройства для ворошения зернового материала, определены скорость перемещения устройства по насыпи зерна, скорость движения зерна внутри устройства, а также давление в сопле устройства при выходе зерна. В результате исследований выявлено, что сходимость результатов теоретических и экспериментальных составляет не менее 95 %. Это означает, что предложенная методика исследований устройства для ворошения зерна является достоверной, а предлагаемое устройство вполне оправдывает своё назначение – ворошение зерна, исключающее его самосогревание и порчу. При этом удельные энергозатраты на ворошение зерна не превысили 1,117 (кВт∙ч)/кг.
En el presente artículo se analiza la evolución de los censos de maquinaria agrícola existentes en la provincia de Huesca en el decenio comprendido entre los años 1954 y 1963, que se comunicaban al ...Ministerio de Agricultura a través de la Encuesta agropecuaria que anualmente confeccionaban las hermandades sindicales de labradores y ganaderos en cada término municipal. También se comparan los datos encontrados con los obtenidos en la Dirección General de Producción Agraria, que se publicaban en los anuarios de la Estadística agrícola.
This paper analyzes the evolution of agricultural machinery
censuses in the province of Huesca in the decade between the years 1954
and 1963, which were reported to the Ministry of Agriculture through the
encuesta agraria (agricultural survey), carried out annually by the union
guilds of farmers and ranchers in each municipal term. The data found is
also compared with that obtained in the General Directorate of Agricultural
Production, which was published in the anuarios de la Estadística agrícola
(yearbooks of agrarian statistics).
A dual-coil inductive displacement transducer is a non-contact type measuring element for measuring displacement and is widely used in large power equipment systems such as construction machinery and ...agricultural equipment. However, the effect of the coil excitation method on the performance of dual-coil inductive displacement sensors has not been studied. This paper investigates the impact of different coil excitation methods on the operating performance of displacement transducers. The working principle, electromagnetic characteristics, and electrical characteristics were analyzed by building a mathematical model. A transducer measurement device was used to determine the relationship between core displacement and coil inductance. Three coil excitation methods were proposed, and the effects of the three coil excitation methods on the amplitude variation, phase shift, linearity, and sensitivity of the output signal were studied by simulation based on the AD630 chip as the core of the conditioning circuit. Finally, the study's feasibility was demonstrated by comparing the experiment to the simulation. The results show that, under the uniform magnetic field strength distribution in the coil, the coil voltage variation is proportional to the inductive core displacement. The amplitude variation is the largest for the dual-coil series three-wire (DCSTW) and is the same for the dual-coil series four-wire (DCSFW) and dual-coil parallel differential (DCPD). DCSFW has an enormous phase shift. DCSTW has the best linearity. The research in this paper provides a theoretical basis for selecting a suitable coil excitation, which is conducive to further improving the operating performance of dual-coil inductive displacement transducers.
Trajectory tracking is one of the key technologies for tractor automatic navigation. Its main purpose is to adjust the steering mechanism of the tractor to follow the planned trajectory. Thus, in ...this paper a trajectory tracking control system is designed for an agricultural tractor with the electric power steering mechanism. A DC brush motor is added on the steering column of the tractor and the hardware circuits for the steering controller are designed to control the front wheel angel. The three degrees of freedom model of the tractor is established, and a trajectory tracking control system is proposed including a fuzzy sliding mode controller and a steering angle tracking controller designed according to the internal mode control and minimized sensitivity theory. The effectiveness of the designed trajectory tracking control system is demonstrated by simulation analyses in reference to the planed trajectory.
