Pearl millet(Pennisetum glaucum)is one of the major millets with high nutritional properties.This crop exhibits exceptional resilience to drought and high temperatures.However,the processing of pearl millet poses a si...Pearl millet(Pennisetum glaucum)is one of the major millets with high nutritional properties.This crop exhibits exceptional resilience to drought and high temperatures.However,the processing of pearl millet poses a significant challenge due to its high lipid content,enzyme activity,and presence of antinutrients.Consequently,it becomes imperative to enhance the quality and prolong the shelf life of pearl millet flour by employing suitable technologies.Hydrothermal treatment in the food industry has long been seen as promising due to its potential to reduce microbial load,inactivate enzymes,and improve nutrient retention.This study aims to investigate the effects of hydrothermal treatment on the quality characteristics of pearl millet.The independent variables of the study were soaking temperature(35,45,55℃),soaking time(2,3,4 h),and steaming time(5,10,15 min).Treatment conditions had a statistically significant effect on nutrient retention.Major antinutrients like tannins and phytates were reduced by 0.99% to 5.94% and 0.36% to 6.00%,respectively,after the treatment.Lipase activity decreased significantly up to 10% with the treatment conditions.The findings of this study could potentially encourage the use of pearl millet flour in the production of various food items and promote the application of hydrothermal treatment in the field of food processing.展开更多
Millets are widely recognized for their nutritional significance;however, the methods employed for their processing are currently lacking. This article primarily focuses on the advanced technologies and progressions i...Millets are widely recognized for their nutritional significance;however, the methods employed for their processing are currently lacking. This article primarily focuses on the advanced technologies and progressions in millet dehulling and polishing. These technologies operate based on the fundamental principles of compression-shearing, abrasion-friction, and centrifugal-impact forces. Processing of millets can be challenging because of the physical characteristics and tight attachment of hull and bran to the endosperm. However, several dehullers have been designed to solve this problem for different kinds of millets. In addition, the nutritional and anti-nutritional characteristics undergo alterations due to both dehulling and polishing processes. These alterations are thoroughly examined and discussed in this article. Specifically, anti-nutrients such as tannins and phytate are predominantly found in the outer pericarp of the grain and experience a reduction after undergoing dehulling and polishing. The nutritional properties are also subjected to a reduction;however, this reduction can be mitigated by subjecting the grains to certain pretreatments before dehulling and polishing. These treatments serve to enhance dehulling efficiency and nutrient digestibility while simultaneously reducing the presence of anti-nutrients. Novel thermal and non-thermal methodologies such as microwave, hydrothermal, high-pressure processing, and ohmic heating can be employed for processing millets, thereby diminishing the loss of nutrients. Additional research can be carried out to investigate their impact on the dehulling and polishing of millets.展开更多
Awareness on nutritive value and health benefits of rice is of vital importance in order to increase the consumption of rice in daily diet of the human beings. In this study, a total of six aromatic and two non-aromat...Awareness on nutritive value and health benefits of rice is of vital importance in order to increase the consumption of rice in daily diet of the human beings. In this study, a total of six aromatic and two non-aromatic rice accessions grown in India were analysed for their nutritional quality attributes including proximate composition, mineral contents and fatty acids. Data with three replications were used to measure Pearson＇s simple correlation co-efficient in order to establish the relationship among various nutritional quality attributes. The result on proximate composition showed that Govind Bhog had the highest moisture（13.57%） and fat（0.92%） content, which signifies its tasty attribute. Badshah Bhog exhibited the highest fibre content（0.85%）, carbohydrate content（82.70%） and food energy（365.23 k Cal per 100 g）. Among the minerals, the higher Ca（98.75 mg/kg）, Zn（17.00 mg/kg） and Fe（31.50 mg/kg） were in Gopal Bhog, whereas the highest Na（68.85 mg/kg） was in Badshah Bhog, the highest K（500.00 mg/kg） was in Swetganga, Khushboo and Sarbati. The highest contents of unsaturated fatty acids viz. oleic acid（49.14%）, linoleic acid（46.99%） and linolenic acid（1.27%） were found in Sarbati, whereas the highest content of saturated fatty acids viz. myristic acid（4.60%） and palmitic acid（31.91%） were found in Govind Bhog and stearic acid（6.47%） in Todal. The identified aromatic rice accessions Gopal Bhog, Govind Bhog and Badshah Bhog and non-aromatic rice accession Sarbati were found nutritionally superior among all eight tested accessions. The nutritional quality oriented attributes in this study were competent with recognized prominent aromatic and non-aromatic rice accessions as an index of their nutritional worth and recommend to farmers and consumers which may be graded as export quality rice with good unique nutritional values in international market.展开更多
The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of elevated [CO_2] with varying nutrient management on rice–rice production system. The experiment was conducted in the open field and inside open-top chamb...The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of elevated [CO_2] with varying nutrient management on rice–rice production system. The experiment was conducted in the open field and inside open-top chambers(OTCs) of ambient [CO_2](≈ 390 μmol L-1) and elevated [CO_2] environment(25% above ambient) during wet and dry seasons in 2011–2013at Kharagpur, India. The nutrient management included recommended doses of N, P, and K as chemical fertilizer(CF), integration of chemical and organic sources, and application of increased(25% higher) doses of CF. The higher [CO_2] level in the OTC increased aboveground biomass but marginally decreased filled grains per panicle and grain yield of rice, compared to the ambient environment. However, crop root biomass was increased significantly under elevated [CO_2]. With respect to nutrient management, increasing the dose of CF increased grain yield significantly in both seasons. At the recommended dose of nutrients, integrated nutrient management was comparable to CF in the wet season, but significantly inferior in the dry season, in its effect on growth and yield of rice. The [CO_2] elevation in OTC led to a marginal increase in organic C and available P content of soil, but a decrease in available N content. It was concluded that increased doses of nutrients via integration of chemical and organic sources in the wet season and chemical sources alone in the dry season will minimize the adverse effect of future climate on rice production in subtropical India.展开更多
Projected changes in weather parameters, mainly temperature and rainfall, have already started to show their effect on agricultural production. To cope with the changing scenarios, adoption of appropriate management s...Projected changes in weather parameters, mainly temperature and rainfall, have already started to show their effect on agricultural production. To cope with the changing scenarios, adoption of appropriate management strategies is of paramount importance. A study was undertaken to evaluate the most appropriate combination of sowing date and phosphorus fertilization level for peanut crops grown in sandy loam soil in a subhumid region of eastern India. Field experiments were conducted during the summer seasons of 2012 and 2013 on peanut crops at the farm of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. The DSSAT v4.5 CROPGRO-Peanut model was used to predict the phenology, growth, and yield of peanut crop under combinations of four sowing dates and four phosphorus fertilization levels. The model was calibrated with a 2012 dataset of growth, phenology, and yield parameters for estimating the genetic coefficients of cultivar TMV-2 and was validated with a 2013 dataset of the same parameters. Simulations of pod yield and other yield parameters using the calibrated model were found to be quite accurate. The model was able to reasonably simulate pod yield and final biomass with low normalized root mean square error (RMSE_n), low absolute root mean square error (RMSE_a) and high coefficient of determination (R^2> 0.7) over a wide range of sowing dates and different phosphorus fertilization levels sensitivity analysis indicated that sowing from the second week of January to the end of February with 30–50 kg P_2O_5 ha^(-1)would give the highest pod yield.展开更多
The climate change due to mingled effect of rising[CO2]level and temperature will influence crop production by affecting various components of the production system.In the present study,Open Top Chamber(OTC)facility h...The climate change due to mingled effect of rising[CO2]level and temperature will influence crop production by affecting various components of the production system.In the present study,Open Top Chamber(OTC)facility has been used to realize the consequence of rising[CO2]with nutrient management on rice crop.The experiment was organized in open field and inside OTC with ambient[CO2](400 ppm)and elevated[CO2](25%,50%and 75%higher than ambient)in wet season of the year 2017-18 at Kharagpur,India.Increase in[CO2]level resulted decreasing trend in growth,yield attributes(filled grains number)and grain yield.The nutrient management with use of only chemical fertilizer at recommended dose gave highest grain yield,which was comparable with integrated management using chemical and biofertilizer.Post-harvest processing quality such as head rice percentage and the head rice yield decreased significantly with CO2 elevation.The elevated[CO2]with 25 to 75%higher than ambient,reduced the head rice percentage by 13 to 21%.The research stated that investigations on climate change adaptations should be made to avoid the negative impact of rising[CO2]level and temperature on crop yield and processing quality.展开更多
Mango(Mangifera indica)is one of the most popular fruits in the world.During processing,the byproducts such as peel,seed and kernel are produced,which are high in bioactive components.There is a need to utilize them t...Mango(Mangifera indica)is one of the most popular fruits in the world.During processing,the byproducts such as peel,seed and kernel are produced,which are high in bioactive components.There is a need to utilize them to formulate food products or extract the functional components.This paper provides an overview about the nutritional composition of mango byproducts besides discussing the bioactive compounds(BACs).The manuscript also explores the existing evidences on the biological activity of BACs and the potential of mango peel and seed kernel to develop value-added foods and beverages.Mango kernel is a great source of macronutrients and micronutrients with a relatively high antioxidant and polyphenolic content,whereas mango peels are rich in protocatechuic acids,mangiferin andβ-carotene.These BACs demonstrate numerous biological activities including anti-oxidant antimicrobial,anti-diabetic,anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties.One of the promising strategies to utilize these byproducts is the development of different value-added food products such as bakery products,meat products,and dairy-based products for improving their phenolic compounds,fiber content,carotenoids,and antioxidant activity.This review thus illustrates the nutraceutical and pharmacological properties of mango byproducts and their appropriate use to enhance nutrition and health.展开更多
Emerging evidence shows the trend of using safe and natural preservatives like bacteriocins in food processing.The increasing demand by the food industry to extend keeping quality and prevent spoilage of various food ...Emerging evidence shows the trend of using safe and natural preservatives like bacteriocins in food processing.The increasing demand by the food industry to extend keeping quality and prevent spoilage of various food products has appealed for new preservatives and new methods of conservation.Further,to discover the novel spectrum of antimicrobial compounds that could effectively battle food-borne pathogens,bacteriocins have been intensively studied in the last few years.Recently,great attention has been paid to the application of lactic acid-bacterial bacteriocins targeting food spoilage-causing or pathogenic microorganisms with no significant side effects.Different mechanisms of action like pore-formation,retarding cell-wall/nucleic acid/protein synthesis have been proposed and described for diverse bacteriocins.Therefore,the syntheses,purification of bacteriocins in addition to their applications as antimicrobial and preservative agents in food processing are reviewed in detail.The review will also discuss the preservative effect of bacteriocins and their combinations having multiple modes of action(hurdle approach)to reduce the microbial load as well as antimicrobial resistance.展开更多
Centella asiatica,a pre-historically utilized medicinal herb that is well recognized as a traditional phytotherapeutic substance for treating a variety of diseases.However,its phytochemicals use as a functional compon...Centella asiatica,a pre-historically utilized medicinal herb that is well recognized as a traditional phytotherapeutic substance for treating a variety of diseases.However,its phytochemicals use as a functional component in food and beverage has recently attracted the attentions of food researchers and scientists.C.asiatica possesses pharmacological value due to the presence of phytochemicals like flavonoids and terpenoids,mainly asiatic acid,asiaticoside,and madecassoside.Its role as a functional component in developing various processed food products and packaging films is continuously being explored.It improves the micronutrient profile and antioxidant potential of developed food products like noodles,chocolates,soups,pasta,etc.However,comprehensive scientific validation based on clinical trials is inadequate,which impede the perception of health benefits and nutritional importance of C.asiatica rich food products.Furthermore,there is a need to extensively examine the composition of C.asiatica active compounds in order to maximise its application in the food processing and preservation industry.Therefore,the goal of this paper is to investigate into the existing information on the extraction,identification,and quantification of C.asiatica phytochemicals,as well as to explore their biological activity.The potential of C.asiatica for developing functional foods and beverages,as well as their processing and preservation to improve human health,is also highlighted.展开更多
Biosensor development has recently advanced as a result of their strong and indisputable uses as analytical methods in a variety of sectors,including medicine,food industry,environmental monitoring,metabolism,agricult...Biosensor development has recently advanced as a result of their strong and indisputable uses as analytical methods in a variety of sectors,including medicine,food industry,environmental monitoring,metabolism,agriculture,military,and security.The popularity of biosensors as devices for a variety of applications may be ascribed to their distinct advantages of fast or rapid analysis,high sensitivity,minimal sample demand and preparation,and no need for the specific skill of operation that traditional analytical procedures require.We attempted to update earlier studies in this study by incorporating other materials that have been in use but have received less attention,such as carbon nano-onions(CNOs),metal-organic frameworks(MOFs),and biopolymers for biosensor manufacturing and design based on their unique properties.The assessment also took into account applicable applications in many sectors.Although considerable progress has been made in the application of biosensors,there is still a need for research development and enhancement,particularly in transforming most of the laboratory experiments that have already been published into portable on-site and implementable in the public domains.展开更多
Machine learning and artificial intelligence continue to evolve at a rapid pace, with many potential applications related to soil science. Even so, human experience and perception play an invaluable role in characteri...Machine learning and artificial intelligence continue to evolve at a rapid pace, with many potential applications related to soil science. Even so, human experience and perception play an invaluable role in characterizing soil properties, especially qualitative properties that may elude sensing/computer-based modeling approaches. The elegant solution to this conundrum relies on the synthesis of computer-aided predictive modeling with human insight and knowledge.As global population surpasses 8 billion, the importance of optimized agronomic production to feed a hungry world has never been more important.展开更多
Objectives:Due to health issues related to cholesterol and the emphasis on manufacture of low cholesterol food products,the research was undertaken for the extraction of cholesterol from cream powder using supercritic...Objectives:Due to health issues related to cholesterol and the emphasis on manufacture of low cholesterol food products,the research was undertaken for the extraction of cholesterol from cream powder using supercritical fluid extraction(SCFE)process.Materials and Methods:Face centered composite design(FCCD)was used to design the experiments with three independent variables viz.,extraction temperature(40˚C-75˚C),extraction pressure(100-250 bar)and dynamic time(2.5-3.5 h)taking two responses(cholesterol and fat content).The standardized flow rate and static time were 5 L/min(expanded CO_(2) gas)and 30 min,respectively.Response surface methodology was used for optimizing the process variables.Results:It was found that higher operating pressure,low extraction temperature and moderate amount of dynamic time facilitated the removal of cholesterol.The optimized process conditions of 75˚C,204 bar and 3.5 h dynamic time yielded 39%reduction in cholesterol content and 10.6%reduction in total fat content of the cream powder.Conclusions:Thus,a low cholesterol cream powder was developed with health benefits for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases.展开更多
This paper describes the development of an automated metering mechanism for vegetable transplanter.It consisted of a 3-DOF serial robotic arm and an automatic feeding conveyor.The robotic arm was developed to pick and...This paper describes the development of an automated metering mechanism for vegetable transplanter.It consisted of a 3-DOF serial robotic arm and an automatic feeding conveyor.The robotic arm was developed to pick and drop tomato seedlings raised in biodegradable paper pots.The volume of each pot was 50 cm^(3)(3.5 cmdiameter and 5.2 cmheight)with a maximumtotalweight of 47 g including potmix and seedling.Amatrix type feeding conveyorwas developed to convey the pot seedlings to a predefined positionwhere the robotic armcould pick up these seedlings one by one.LDR(Light Dependent Resistor)-LED(Light Emitting Diode)sensing unit was used to perform the intermittent movement of the conveyor.The developed system was evaluated under both laboratory and field conditions.The robotic arm was able to pick and drop 20 seedlings per minute and its effective cycle time per handling one seedling was varying from 2.5 to 3.1 s.Power consumption of the conveyor of the developed system and the robotic arm was 18 W and 16 W,respectively.The conveying,metering and overall efficiency of the developed metering mechanism under laboratory condition were 96.83%,95.91%and 92.86%,respectively as compared to 94.7%,93.28%and 88.33%,under field condition.The developed robotic armbasedmeteringmechanismwas simple,light inweight and effectively handled the pot seedlings without damage and would thus help in mechanizing transplanting of vegetable seedlings.展开更多
Objectives:Storage studies were carried out in wheat grains with different moisture contents,level of infestation,and storage days.Material and Methods:Wheat grain samples were infested with Rhyzopertha dominica and s...Objectives:Storage studies were carried out in wheat grains with different moisture contents,level of infestation,and storage days.Material and Methods:Wheat grain samples were infested with Rhyzopertha dominica and stored for up to 90 days under ambient conditions.Every 45 days,samples of wheat were collected and evaluated for protein,fat,ash,1000 kernel weight,and hardness.Results:The physicochemical parameters,namely,protein,1000 kernel weight,and hardness decreased while fat and ash content increased with the storage.Methodology for identification of infested samples was developed in Fourier transform near infrared(FT-NIR)and near infrared(NIR)using infested wheat and control samples.The linear regression plots for different quality parameters gave an R2 value of 82.04%and 97.15%via FT-NIR and 81.61%and 98.07%via NIR.The RMSEP values by NIR were in the range of 0.03 to 0.7,whereas the RMSECV values of FT-NIR were in the range of 0.03 to 1.2.Conclusions:Both the models performed well for the cross validation studies;hence,they can be used in future for the rapid assessment of storage quality of wheat grains.展开更多
This research evaluated the microencapsulation of the probiotic,Streptococcus thermophilus,in soy protein isolate(SPI)and sunflower oil(SO)emulsions using electrospraying and freeze-drying.Emulsions were formed with S...This research evaluated the microencapsulation of the probiotic,Streptococcus thermophilus,in soy protein isolate(SPI)and sunflower oil(SO)emulsions using electrospraying and freeze-drying.Emulsions were formed with SPI(3-15%w/v),Tween 80®(2%w/v),and SO(5%w/v)after homogenization and ultrasonication.The Emulsion Stability Index(ESI),Emulsifying Ability Index(EAI),ζ-potential,particle size,Polydispersity Index(PDI),conductivity,and viscosity were evaluated to compare the emulsion properties at varying SPI:SO concentrations.After probiotic inclusion,the emulsions were electrosprayed and freeze-dried,and the microcapsules’properties were evaluated(encapsulation efficiency,loss of viability,drying yield,surface hydrophobicity)and characterized(Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy,Scanning Electron Microscopy,Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy,and Differential Scanning Calorimetry).Theζ-potential(-51.51 mV)and other emulsion parameters obtained after ultrasonication indicated that the emulsion stability had improved.The secondary protein structure modifications were revealed by the emulsions’FTIR spectra,with significant increments in theα-helix andβ-turn of the ultrasonicated samples compared to SPI.The electrosprayed microcapsules(13%SPI,5%SO)demonstrated the highest encapsulation efficiency(90.51%)and the lowest loss of viability(1.05 log⋅CFUmL^(-1)).The probiotics in the microcapsules were validated by the LSCM images and FTIR spectra.The differences in the morphological properties of freeze-dried and electrosprayed particles were observed through SEM.The electrosprayed microcapsules demonstrated the highest intestinal phase survival(77.03%)of probiotics under simulated gastrointestinal conditions,suggesting targeted probiotic delivery with potential for inclusion in nutraceuticals and functional foods.展开更多
Objectives:The study was conducted to prolong the shelf life of freshly harvested pomegranate fruits and to find out its physiochemical properties during storage.Materials and Methods:Pomegranate fruits of variety‘Bh...Objectives:The study was conducted to prolong the shelf life of freshly harvested pomegranate fruits and to find out its physiochemical properties during storage.Materials and Methods:Pomegranate fruits of variety‘Bhagawa’were stored in 200,300 gauge high-density polyethylene(HDPE)package,and silicone membrane modified atmospheric storage system at ambient conditions and 10℃.Gas composition inside the package,texture,color,and overall quality parameters were evaluated at these two storage temperatures.The physico-chemical properties such as total soluble solids,titratable acidity,ascorbic acid content,total,reducing,and non-reducing sugars,and physiological loss in weight(PLW)were also determined.Results:In ambient storage,the shelf life of pomegranate fruit was 10 days,whereas in modified atmosphere packaging(200 gauge HDPE,300 gauge HDPE,and silicone membrane system),the shelf life of pomegranate fruits was extended up to 60,60,25 days at ambient and 96,96,65 days at 10℃temperature,respectively.Conclusions:Among the 200,300 gauge HDPE package,and silicone membrane system treatments T1,T5,and T8,respectively,were found better with respect to all the sensory and quality parameters studied.展开更多
Optical remote sensing(RS)with robust algorithms is needed for accurate assessment of crop canopy features.Despite intensive studies on algorithms,their performance using RS needs to be improved.We evaluated five diff...Optical remote sensing(RS)with robust algorithms is needed for accurate assessment of crop canopy features.Despite intensive studies on algorithms,their performance using RS needs to be improved.We evaluated five different algorithms(partial-least-squares regression(PLSR),support vector regression(SVR),random forest regression(RFR),locally-weighted-PLSR(PLSRLW)and PLSR with feature selection(PLSRFS))for rapid assessment of leaf area index(LAI)and canopy water content(CWC)for rice canopies using canopy reflectance spectra over visible to short-wave infrared region.Two pooled datasets of LAI(600)and CWC(480)were collected from two replicated field experiments during 2014–15 and 2015–16 rice growing season.The performance of each algorithm was evaluated using coefficient of determination(R^(2)).Results showed that PLSRLW performed more accurately than other algorithms with R^(2) values 0.77 and 0.66 for LAI and CWC,respectively.We also used a bootstrapping approach to generate a kernel density estimator of root mean squared error values for each model.The results suggested that the improvement in prediction accuracy of LAI and CWC can be achieved if a suitable algorithm is selected by assigning higher weights to calibration samples,which has similar canopy structure as the test sample.Subsetting of the canopy spectral data results large error values in test dataset,therefore the use of entire season canopy spectral data should be used for model calibration.展开更多
Artificial aeration system for aquaculture ponds becomes essential to meet the oxygen requirement posed by the aquatic species.The performance of an aerator is generally mea-sured in terms of standard aeration efficie...Artificial aeration system for aquaculture ponds becomes essential to meet the oxygen requirement posed by the aquatic species.The performance of an aerator is generally mea-sured in terms of standard aeration efficiency(SAE),which is significantly affected by the different geometric and dynamic parameters of the aerator.Therefore,to enhance the aer-ation performance of an aerator,these parameters need to be optimized.In the present study,a perforated pooled circular stepped cascade(PPCSC)aerator was developed,and the geometric and dynamic parameters of the developed aerator were optimized using the hybrid ANN-PSO technique for maximizing its aeration efficiency.The geometric parameters include consecutive step width ratio(W_(i-1)/W_(i))and the perforation diameter to the bottom-most radius ratio(d/R_(b)),whereas the dynamic parameter includes the water flow rate(Q).A 3–6-1 ANN model coupled with particle swarm optimization(PSO)approach was used to obtain the optimum values of geometric and dynamic parameters correspond-ing to the maximum SAE.The optimal values of the consecutive step width ratio(W_(i-1)/W_(i)),the perforation diameter to the bottom-most radius ratio(d/R_(b)),and the water flow rate(Q)for maximizing the SAE were found to be 1.15,0.0027 and 0.0167 m^(3)/s,respectively.The cross-validation results showed a deviation of 3.07%between the predicted and experimen-tal SAE values,thus confirming the adequacy of the proposed hybrid ANN-PSO technique.展开更多
Uniformseed distribution within the row is the prime objective of precision planters for better crop growth and yield.Inclined plate planters are generally used for sowing bold seeds likemaize,groundnut,chickpea,and t...Uniformseed distribution within the row is the prime objective of precision planters for better crop growth and yield.Inclined plate planters are generally used for sowing bold seeds likemaize,groundnut,chickpea,and their operating parameters like the forward speed of operation,the seedmetering plate inclination,and the seed level in the hopper affect the cell fill and subsequently the uniformseed distribution.Therefore,to achieve precise seed distribution,these parameters need to be optimized.In the present study,out of the different optimization techniques,a new intelligent optimization technique based on the integrated ANN-PSO approach has been used to achieve the set goal.A 3–5-1 artificial neural network(ANN)model was developed for predicting the cell fill of inclined plate seedmetering device,and the particle swarmoptimization(PSO)algorithmwas applied to obtain the optimum values of the operating parameters corresponding to 100%cell fill.The most appropriate optimal values of the forward speed of operation,the seed metering plate inclination,and the seed level in the hopper for achieving 100%cell fill were found to be 3 km/h,50-degree,and 75%of total height,respectively.The proposed integrated ANN-PSO approach was capable of predicting the optimal values of operating parameters with amaximumdeviation of 2%compared to the experimental results,thus confirmed the reliability of the proposed optimization technique.展开更多
The agrochemical applicationwith conventional sprayers results inwastage of applied chemicals,which not only increases the economic losses but also pollutes the environment.In order to overcome these drawbacks,an imag...The agrochemical applicationwith conventional sprayers results inwastage of applied chemicals,which not only increases the economic losses but also pollutes the environment.In order to overcome these drawbacks,an image processing based real-time variable-rate chemical spraying systemwas developed for the precise application of agrochemicals in diseased paddy crop based on crop disease severity information.The developed system comprised ofweb cameras for image acquisition,laptop for image processing,microcontroller for controlling the system functioning,and solenoid valve assisted spraying nozzles.The chromatic aberration(CA)based image segmentation method was used to detect the diseased region of paddy plants.The system further calculated the disease severity level of paddy plants,based onwhich the solenoid valves remained on for a specific timeduration so that the required amount of agrochemical could be sprayed on the diseased paddy plants.Field performance of developed sprayer prototype was evaluated in the variable-rate application(VRA)and constant-rate application(CRA)modes.The field testing results showed a minimum 33.88%reduction in applied chemical while operating in the VRA mode as compared with the CRA mode.Hence,the developed systemappears promising and could be used extensively to reduce the cost of pest management as well as to control environmental pollution due to such agrochemicals.展开更多
基金the Ministry of Human Resource Development,Govt.of India,for providing scholarship grants to the authors.
文摘Pearl millet(Pennisetum glaucum)is one of the major millets with high nutritional properties.This crop exhibits exceptional resilience to drought and high temperatures.However,the processing of pearl millet poses a significant challenge due to its high lipid content,enzyme activity,and presence of antinutrients.Consequently,it becomes imperative to enhance the quality and prolong the shelf life of pearl millet flour by employing suitable technologies.Hydrothermal treatment in the food industry has long been seen as promising due to its potential to reduce microbial load,inactivate enzymes,and improve nutrient retention.This study aims to investigate the effects of hydrothermal treatment on the quality characteristics of pearl millet.The independent variables of the study were soaking temperature(35,45,55℃),soaking time(2,3,4 h),and steaming time(5,10,15 min).Treatment conditions had a statistically significant effect on nutrient retention.Major antinutrients like tannins and phytates were reduced by 0.99% to 5.94% and 0.36% to 6.00%,respectively,after the treatment.Lipase activity decreased significantly up to 10% with the treatment conditions.The findings of this study could potentially encourage the use of pearl millet flour in the production of various food items and promote the application of hydrothermal treatment in the field of food processing.
基金the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, for providing technical and financial support for the research。
文摘Millets are widely recognized for their nutritional significance;however, the methods employed for their processing are currently lacking. This article primarily focuses on the advanced technologies and progressions in millet dehulling and polishing. These technologies operate based on the fundamental principles of compression-shearing, abrasion-friction, and centrifugal-impact forces. Processing of millets can be challenging because of the physical characteristics and tight attachment of hull and bran to the endosperm. However, several dehullers have been designed to solve this problem for different kinds of millets. In addition, the nutritional and anti-nutritional characteristics undergo alterations due to both dehulling and polishing processes. These alterations are thoroughly examined and discussed in this article. Specifically, anti-nutrients such as tannins and phytate are predominantly found in the outer pericarp of the grain and experience a reduction after undergoing dehulling and polishing. The nutritional properties are also subjected to a reduction;however, this reduction can be mitigated by subjecting the grains to certain pretreatments before dehulling and polishing. These treatments serve to enhance dehulling efficiency and nutrient digestibility while simultaneously reducing the presence of anti-nutrients. Novel thermal and non-thermal methodologies such as microwave, hydrothermal, high-pressure processing, and ohmic heating can be employed for processing millets, thereby diminishing the loss of nutrients. Additional research can be carried out to investigate their impact on the dehulling and polishing of millets.
基金financially supported by Department of Science and Technology,Ministry of Science and Technology,Government of India for an individual research fellowship(Grant No.IF120725 2012/686)
文摘Awareness on nutritive value and health benefits of rice is of vital importance in order to increase the consumption of rice in daily diet of the human beings. In this study, a total of six aromatic and two non-aromatic rice accessions grown in India were analysed for their nutritional quality attributes including proximate composition, mineral contents and fatty acids. Data with three replications were used to measure Pearson＇s simple correlation co-efficient in order to establish the relationship among various nutritional quality attributes. The result on proximate composition showed that Govind Bhog had the highest moisture（13.57%） and fat（0.92%） content, which signifies its tasty attribute. Badshah Bhog exhibited the highest fibre content（0.85%）, carbohydrate content（82.70%） and food energy（365.23 k Cal per 100 g）. Among the minerals, the higher Ca（98.75 mg/kg）, Zn（17.00 mg/kg） and Fe（31.50 mg/kg） were in Gopal Bhog, whereas the highest Na（68.85 mg/kg） was in Badshah Bhog, the highest K（500.00 mg/kg） was in Swetganga, Khushboo and Sarbati. The highest contents of unsaturated fatty acids viz. oleic acid（49.14%）, linoleic acid（46.99%） and linolenic acid（1.27%） were found in Sarbati, whereas the highest content of saturated fatty acids viz. myristic acid（4.60%） and palmitic acid（31.91%） were found in Govind Bhog and stearic acid（6.47%） in Todal. The identified aromatic rice accessions Gopal Bhog, Govind Bhog and Badshah Bhog and non-aromatic rice accession Sarbati were found nutritionally superior among all eight tested accessions. The nutritional quality oriented attributes in this study were competent with recognized prominent aromatic and non-aromatic rice accessions as an index of their nutritional worth and recommend to farmers and consumers which may be graded as export quality rice with good unique nutritional values in international market.
基金National Agricultural Innovation ProjectIndian Council of Agricultural Research New Delhi is gratefully acknowledged for providing a financial grant(NAIP/COMP-4/C-30023/2008-09Dated 06-01-2009)for execution of the research project
文摘The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of elevated [CO_2] with varying nutrient management on rice–rice production system. The experiment was conducted in the open field and inside open-top chambers(OTCs) of ambient [CO_2](≈ 390 μmol L-1) and elevated [CO_2] environment(25% above ambient) during wet and dry seasons in 2011–2013at Kharagpur, India. The nutrient management included recommended doses of N, P, and K as chemical fertilizer(CF), integration of chemical and organic sources, and application of increased(25% higher) doses of CF. The higher [CO_2] level in the OTC increased aboveground biomass but marginally decreased filled grains per panicle and grain yield of rice, compared to the ambient environment. However, crop root biomass was increased significantly under elevated [CO_2]. With respect to nutrient management, increasing the dose of CF increased grain yield significantly in both seasons. At the recommended dose of nutrients, integrated nutrient management was comparable to CF in the wet season, but significantly inferior in the dry season, in its effect on growth and yield of rice. The [CO_2] elevation in OTC led to a marginal increase in organic C and available P content of soil, but a decrease in available N content. It was concluded that increased doses of nutrients via integration of chemical and organic sources in the wet season and chemical sources alone in the dry season will minimize the adverse effect of future climate on rice production in subtropical India.
基金The authors are thankful to the Agricultural and Food Engineering Department of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India for providing facilities to conduct experiments.The authors acknowledge the India Meteorological Department, India for installing an automatic weather stationat the institute.
文摘Projected changes in weather parameters, mainly temperature and rainfall, have already started to show their effect on agricultural production. To cope with the changing scenarios, adoption of appropriate management strategies is of paramount importance. A study was undertaken to evaluate the most appropriate combination of sowing date and phosphorus fertilization level for peanut crops grown in sandy loam soil in a subhumid region of eastern India. Field experiments were conducted during the summer seasons of 2012 and 2013 on peanut crops at the farm of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. The DSSAT v4.5 CROPGRO-Peanut model was used to predict the phenology, growth, and yield of peanut crop under combinations of four sowing dates and four phosphorus fertilization levels. The model was calibrated with a 2012 dataset of growth, phenology, and yield parameters for estimating the genetic coefficients of cultivar TMV-2 and was validated with a 2013 dataset of the same parameters. Simulations of pod yield and other yield parameters using the calibrated model were found to be quite accurate. The model was able to reasonably simulate pod yield and final biomass with low normalized root mean square error (RMSE_n), low absolute root mean square error (RMSE_a) and high coefficient of determination (R^2> 0.7) over a wide range of sowing dates and different phosphorus fertilization levels sensitivity analysis indicated that sowing from the second week of January to the end of February with 30–50 kg P_2O_5 ha^(-1)would give the highest pod yield.
文摘The climate change due to mingled effect of rising[CO2]level and temperature will influence crop production by affecting various components of the production system.In the present study,Open Top Chamber(OTC)facility has been used to realize the consequence of rising[CO2]with nutrient management on rice crop.The experiment was organized in open field and inside OTC with ambient[CO2](400 ppm)and elevated[CO2](25%,50%and 75%higher than ambient)in wet season of the year 2017-18 at Kharagpur,India.Increase in[CO2]level resulted decreasing trend in growth,yield attributes(filled grains number)and grain yield.The nutrient management with use of only chemical fertilizer at recommended dose gave highest grain yield,which was comparable with integrated management using chemical and biofertilizer.Post-harvest processing quality such as head rice percentage and the head rice yield decreased significantly with CO2 elevation.The elevated[CO2]with 25 to 75%higher than ambient,reduced the head rice percentage by 13 to 21%.The research stated that investigations on climate change adaptations should be made to avoid the negative impact of rising[CO2]level and temperature on crop yield and processing quality.
文摘Mango(Mangifera indica)is one of the most popular fruits in the world.During processing,the byproducts such as peel,seed and kernel are produced,which are high in bioactive components.There is a need to utilize them to formulate food products or extract the functional components.This paper provides an overview about the nutritional composition of mango byproducts besides discussing the bioactive compounds(BACs).The manuscript also explores the existing evidences on the biological activity of BACs and the potential of mango peel and seed kernel to develop value-added foods and beverages.Mango kernel is a great source of macronutrients and micronutrients with a relatively high antioxidant and polyphenolic content,whereas mango peels are rich in protocatechuic acids,mangiferin andβ-carotene.These BACs demonstrate numerous biological activities including anti-oxidant antimicrobial,anti-diabetic,anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties.One of the promising strategies to utilize these byproducts is the development of different value-added food products such as bakery products,meat products,and dairy-based products for improving their phenolic compounds,fiber content,carotenoids,and antioxidant activity.This review thus illustrates the nutraceutical and pharmacological properties of mango byproducts and their appropriate use to enhance nutrition and health.
文摘Emerging evidence shows the trend of using safe and natural preservatives like bacteriocins in food processing.The increasing demand by the food industry to extend keeping quality and prevent spoilage of various food products has appealed for new preservatives and new methods of conservation.Further,to discover the novel spectrum of antimicrobial compounds that could effectively battle food-borne pathogens,bacteriocins have been intensively studied in the last few years.Recently,great attention has been paid to the application of lactic acid-bacterial bacteriocins targeting food spoilage-causing or pathogenic microorganisms with no significant side effects.Different mechanisms of action like pore-formation,retarding cell-wall/nucleic acid/protein synthesis have been proposed and described for diverse bacteriocins.Therefore,the syntheses,purification of bacteriocins in addition to their applications as antimicrobial and preservative agents in food processing are reviewed in detail.The review will also discuss the preservative effect of bacteriocins and their combinations having multiple modes of action(hurdle approach)to reduce the microbial load as well as antimicrobial resistance.
基金supported by the Ministry of Education(formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development)the Government of India for an Institute Research Assistantship,and the author,ST thanks Agricultural and Food Engineering Department,Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur for their assistance in this study。
文摘Centella asiatica,a pre-historically utilized medicinal herb that is well recognized as a traditional phytotherapeutic substance for treating a variety of diseases.However,its phytochemicals use as a functional component in food and beverage has recently attracted the attentions of food researchers and scientists.C.asiatica possesses pharmacological value due to the presence of phytochemicals like flavonoids and terpenoids,mainly asiatic acid,asiaticoside,and madecassoside.Its role as a functional component in developing various processed food products and packaging films is continuously being explored.It improves the micronutrient profile and antioxidant potential of developed food products like noodles,chocolates,soups,pasta,etc.However,comprehensive scientific validation based on clinical trials is inadequate,which impede the perception of health benefits and nutritional importance of C.asiatica rich food products.Furthermore,there is a need to extensively examine the composition of C.asiatica active compounds in order to maximise its application in the food processing and preservation industry.Therefore,the goal of this paper is to investigate into the existing information on the extraction,identification,and quantification of C.asiatica phytochemicals,as well as to explore their biological activity.The potential of C.asiatica for developing functional foods and beverages,as well as their processing and preservation to improve human health,is also highlighted.
基金funded by the Mexican Government Foreign Affairs Ministry under the Scholarship Program for Foreigner Researchers(S.R.E.-AMEXID 2019-2020).
文摘Biosensor development has recently advanced as a result of their strong and indisputable uses as analytical methods in a variety of sectors,including medicine,food industry,environmental monitoring,metabolism,agriculture,military,and security.The popularity of biosensors as devices for a variety of applications may be ascribed to their distinct advantages of fast or rapid analysis,high sensitivity,minimal sample demand and preparation,and no need for the specific skill of operation that traditional analytical procedures require.We attempted to update earlier studies in this study by incorporating other materials that have been in use but have received less attention,such as carbon nano-onions(CNOs),metal-organic frameworks(MOFs),and biopolymers for biosensor manufacturing and design based on their unique properties.The assessment also took into account applicable applications in many sectors.Although considerable progress has been made in the application of biosensors,there is still a need for research development and enhancement,particularly in transforming most of the laboratory experiments that have already been published into portable on-site and implementable in the public domains.
文摘Machine learning and artificial intelligence continue to evolve at a rapid pace, with many potential applications related to soil science. Even so, human experience and perception play an invaluable role in characterizing soil properties, especially qualitative properties that may elude sensing/computer-based modeling approaches. The elegant solution to this conundrum relies on the synthesis of computer-aided predictive modeling with human insight and knowledge.As global population surpasses 8 billion, the importance of optimized agronomic production to feed a hungry world has never been more important.
文摘Objectives:Due to health issues related to cholesterol and the emphasis on manufacture of low cholesterol food products,the research was undertaken for the extraction of cholesterol from cream powder using supercritical fluid extraction(SCFE)process.Materials and Methods:Face centered composite design(FCCD)was used to design the experiments with three independent variables viz.,extraction temperature(40˚C-75˚C),extraction pressure(100-250 bar)and dynamic time(2.5-3.5 h)taking two responses(cholesterol and fat content).The standardized flow rate and static time were 5 L/min(expanded CO_(2) gas)and 30 min,respectively.Response surface methodology was used for optimizing the process variables.Results:It was found that higher operating pressure,low extraction temperature and moderate amount of dynamic time facilitated the removal of cholesterol.The optimized process conditions of 75˚C,204 bar and 3.5 h dynamic time yielded 39%reduction in cholesterol content and 10.6%reduction in total fat content of the cream powder.Conclusions:Thus,a low cholesterol cream powder was developed with health benefits for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases.
基金support received from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR),Ministry of Agriculture,Govt.of India(Agri.Engg.27(4)/2015-AE)to carry out this research work is sincerely acknowledged.
文摘This paper describes the development of an automated metering mechanism for vegetable transplanter.It consisted of a 3-DOF serial robotic arm and an automatic feeding conveyor.The robotic arm was developed to pick and drop tomato seedlings raised in biodegradable paper pots.The volume of each pot was 50 cm^(3)(3.5 cmdiameter and 5.2 cmheight)with a maximumtotalweight of 47 g including potmix and seedling.Amatrix type feeding conveyorwas developed to convey the pot seedlings to a predefined positionwhere the robotic armcould pick up these seedlings one by one.LDR(Light Dependent Resistor)-LED(Light Emitting Diode)sensing unit was used to perform the intermittent movement of the conveyor.The developed system was evaluated under both laboratory and field conditions.The robotic arm was able to pick and drop 20 seedlings per minute and its effective cycle time per handling one seedling was varying from 2.5 to 3.1 s.Power consumption of the conveyor of the developed system and the robotic arm was 18 W and 16 W,respectively.The conveying,metering and overall efficiency of the developed metering mechanism under laboratory condition were 96.83%,95.91%and 92.86%,respectively as compared to 94.7%,93.28%and 88.33%,under field condition.The developed robotic armbasedmeteringmechanismwas simple,light inweight and effectively handled the pot seedlings without damage and would thus help in mechanizing transplanting of vegetable seedlings.
文摘Objectives:Storage studies were carried out in wheat grains with different moisture contents,level of infestation,and storage days.Material and Methods:Wheat grain samples were infested with Rhyzopertha dominica and stored for up to 90 days under ambient conditions.Every 45 days,samples of wheat were collected and evaluated for protein,fat,ash,1000 kernel weight,and hardness.Results:The physicochemical parameters,namely,protein,1000 kernel weight,and hardness decreased while fat and ash content increased with the storage.Methodology for identification of infested samples was developed in Fourier transform near infrared(FT-NIR)and near infrared(NIR)using infested wheat and control samples.The linear regression plots for different quality parameters gave an R2 value of 82.04%and 97.15%via FT-NIR and 81.61%and 98.07%via NIR.The RMSEP values by NIR were in the range of 0.03 to 0.7,whereas the RMSECV values of FT-NIR were in the range of 0.03 to 1.2.Conclusions:Both the models performed well for the cross validation studies;hence,they can be used in future for the rapid assessment of storage quality of wheat grains.
基金financial support from the Department of Science&Technology,Government of India,through DST-INSPIRE Fellowship(P.Yashaswini,No.DST/INSPIRE/Fellowship/2018/IF180047).
文摘This research evaluated the microencapsulation of the probiotic,Streptococcus thermophilus,in soy protein isolate(SPI)and sunflower oil(SO)emulsions using electrospraying and freeze-drying.Emulsions were formed with SPI(3-15%w/v),Tween 80®(2%w/v),and SO(5%w/v)after homogenization and ultrasonication.The Emulsion Stability Index(ESI),Emulsifying Ability Index(EAI),ζ-potential,particle size,Polydispersity Index(PDI),conductivity,and viscosity were evaluated to compare the emulsion properties at varying SPI:SO concentrations.After probiotic inclusion,the emulsions were electrosprayed and freeze-dried,and the microcapsules’properties were evaluated(encapsulation efficiency,loss of viability,drying yield,surface hydrophobicity)and characterized(Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy,Scanning Electron Microscopy,Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy,and Differential Scanning Calorimetry).Theζ-potential(-51.51 mV)and other emulsion parameters obtained after ultrasonication indicated that the emulsion stability had improved.The secondary protein structure modifications were revealed by the emulsions’FTIR spectra,with significant increments in theα-helix andβ-turn of the ultrasonicated samples compared to SPI.The electrosprayed microcapsules(13%SPI,5%SO)demonstrated the highest encapsulation efficiency(90.51%)and the lowest loss of viability(1.05 log⋅CFUmL^(-1)).The probiotics in the microcapsules were validated by the LSCM images and FTIR spectra.The differences in the morphological properties of freeze-dried and electrosprayed particles were observed through SEM.The electrosprayed microcapsules demonstrated the highest intestinal phase survival(77.03%)of probiotics under simulated gastrointestinal conditions,suggesting targeted probiotic delivery with potential for inclusion in nutraceuticals and functional foods.
文摘Objectives:The study was conducted to prolong the shelf life of freshly harvested pomegranate fruits and to find out its physiochemical properties during storage.Materials and Methods:Pomegranate fruits of variety‘Bhagawa’were stored in 200,300 gauge high-density polyethylene(HDPE)package,and silicone membrane modified atmospheric storage system at ambient conditions and 10℃.Gas composition inside the package,texture,color,and overall quality parameters were evaluated at these two storage temperatures.The physico-chemical properties such as total soluble solids,titratable acidity,ascorbic acid content,total,reducing,and non-reducing sugars,and physiological loss in weight(PLW)were also determined.Results:In ambient storage,the shelf life of pomegranate fruit was 10 days,whereas in modified atmosphere packaging(200 gauge HDPE,300 gauge HDPE,and silicone membrane system),the shelf life of pomegranate fruits was extended up to 60,60,25 days at ambient and 96,96,65 days at 10℃temperature,respectively.Conclusions:Among the 200,300 gauge HDPE package,and silicone membrane system treatments T1,T5,and T8,respectively,were found better with respect to all the sensory and quality parameters studied.
文摘Optical remote sensing(RS)with robust algorithms is needed for accurate assessment of crop canopy features.Despite intensive studies on algorithms,their performance using RS needs to be improved.We evaluated five different algorithms(partial-least-squares regression(PLSR),support vector regression(SVR),random forest regression(RFR),locally-weighted-PLSR(PLSRLW)and PLSR with feature selection(PLSRFS))for rapid assessment of leaf area index(LAI)and canopy water content(CWC)for rice canopies using canopy reflectance spectra over visible to short-wave infrared region.Two pooled datasets of LAI(600)and CWC(480)were collected from two replicated field experiments during 2014–15 and 2015–16 rice growing season.The performance of each algorithm was evaluated using coefficient of determination(R^(2)).Results showed that PLSRLW performed more accurately than other algorithms with R^(2) values 0.77 and 0.66 for LAI and CWC,respectively.We also used a bootstrapping approach to generate a kernel density estimator of root mean squared error values for each model.The results suggested that the improvement in prediction accuracy of LAI and CWC can be achieved if a suitable algorithm is selected by assigning higher weights to calibration samples,which has similar canopy structure as the test sample.Subsetting of the canopy spectral data results large error values in test dataset,therefore the use of entire season canopy spectral data should be used for model calibration.
文摘Artificial aeration system for aquaculture ponds becomes essential to meet the oxygen requirement posed by the aquatic species.The performance of an aerator is generally mea-sured in terms of standard aeration efficiency(SAE),which is significantly affected by the different geometric and dynamic parameters of the aerator.Therefore,to enhance the aer-ation performance of an aerator,these parameters need to be optimized.In the present study,a perforated pooled circular stepped cascade(PPCSC)aerator was developed,and the geometric and dynamic parameters of the developed aerator were optimized using the hybrid ANN-PSO technique for maximizing its aeration efficiency.The geometric parameters include consecutive step width ratio(W_(i-1)/W_(i))and the perforation diameter to the bottom-most radius ratio(d/R_(b)),whereas the dynamic parameter includes the water flow rate(Q).A 3–6-1 ANN model coupled with particle swarm optimization(PSO)approach was used to obtain the optimum values of geometric and dynamic parameters correspond-ing to the maximum SAE.The optimal values of the consecutive step width ratio(W_(i-1)/W_(i)),the perforation diameter to the bottom-most radius ratio(d/R_(b)),and the water flow rate(Q)for maximizing the SAE were found to be 1.15,0.0027 and 0.0167 m^(3)/s,respectively.The cross-validation results showed a deviation of 3.07%between the predicted and experimen-tal SAE values,thus confirming the adequacy of the proposed hybrid ANN-PSO technique.
文摘Uniformseed distribution within the row is the prime objective of precision planters for better crop growth and yield.Inclined plate planters are generally used for sowing bold seeds likemaize,groundnut,chickpea,and their operating parameters like the forward speed of operation,the seedmetering plate inclination,and the seed level in the hopper affect the cell fill and subsequently the uniformseed distribution.Therefore,to achieve precise seed distribution,these parameters need to be optimized.In the present study,out of the different optimization techniques,a new intelligent optimization technique based on the integrated ANN-PSO approach has been used to achieve the set goal.A 3–5-1 artificial neural network(ANN)model was developed for predicting the cell fill of inclined plate seedmetering device,and the particle swarmoptimization(PSO)algorithmwas applied to obtain the optimum values of the operating parameters corresponding to 100%cell fill.The most appropriate optimal values of the forward speed of operation,the seed metering plate inclination,and the seed level in the hopper for achieving 100%cell fill were found to be 3 km/h,50-degree,and 75%of total height,respectively.The proposed integrated ANN-PSO approach was capable of predicting the optimal values of operating parameters with amaximumdeviation of 2%compared to the experimental results,thus confirmed the reliability of the proposed optimization technique.
文摘The agrochemical applicationwith conventional sprayers results inwastage of applied chemicals,which not only increases the economic losses but also pollutes the environment.In order to overcome these drawbacks,an image processing based real-time variable-rate chemical spraying systemwas developed for the precise application of agrochemicals in diseased paddy crop based on crop disease severity information.The developed system comprised ofweb cameras for image acquisition,laptop for image processing,microcontroller for controlling the system functioning,and solenoid valve assisted spraying nozzles.The chromatic aberration(CA)based image segmentation method was used to detect the diseased region of paddy plants.The system further calculated the disease severity level of paddy plants,based onwhich the solenoid valves remained on for a specific timeduration so that the required amount of agrochemical could be sprayed on the diseased paddy plants.Field performance of developed sprayer prototype was evaluated in the variable-rate application(VRA)and constant-rate application(CRA)modes.The field testing results showed a minimum 33.88%reduction in applied chemical while operating in the VRA mode as compared with the CRA mode.Hence,the developed systemappears promising and could be used extensively to reduce the cost of pest management as well as to control environmental pollution due to such agrochemicals.
