Sound waves technology has been applied to different plants. It has been found that sound waves were at different frequencies, sound pressure levels （SPLs）, exposure periods, and distances from the source of sound i...Sound waves technology has been applied to different plants. It has been found that sound waves were at different frequencies, sound pressure levels （SPLs）, exposure periods, and distances from the source of sound influence plant growth. Experiments have been conducted in the open field and under greenhouse growing conditions with different levels of audible sound frequencies and sound pressure levels. Sound waves at 1 kHz and 100 dB for 1 h within a distance of 0.20 m could significantly promote the division and cell wall fluidity of callus cells and also significantly enhance the activity of protective enzymes and endogenous hormones. Sound waves stimulation could increase the plant plasma-membrane IT-ATPase activity, the contents of soluble sugar, soluble protein, and amylase activity of callus. Moreover, sound waves could increase the content of RNA and the level of transcription. Stress-induced genes could switch on under sound stimulation. Sound waves at 0.1-1 kHz and SPL of （70＋5） dB for 3 h from plant acoustic frequency technology （PAFT） generator within a distance ranged from 30 to 60 m every other day significantly increased the yield of sweet pepper, cucumber and tomato by 30.05, 37.1 and 13.2%, respectively. Furthermore, the yield of lettuce, spinach, cotton, rice, and wheat were increased by 19.6, 22.7, 11.4, 5.7, and 17.0%, respectively. Sound waves may also strengthen plant immune systems. It has been proved that spider mite, aphids, gray mold, late blight and virus disease of tomatoes in the greenhouses decreased by 6.0, 8.0, 9.0, 11.0, and 8.0%, respectively, and the sheath blight office was reduced by 50%. This paper provides an overview of literature for the effects of sound waves on various growth parameters of plant at different growth stages.展开更多
Food quality is of primary concern in the food industry and to the consumer. Systems that mimic human senses have been developed and applied to the characterization of food quality. The five primary senses are: visio...Food quality is of primary concern in the food industry and to the consumer. Systems that mimic human senses have been developed and applied to the characterization of food quality. The five primary senses are: vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch. In the characterization of food quality, people assess the samples sensorially and differentiate “good”from “bad”on a continuum. However, the human sensory system is subjective, with mental and physical inconsistencies, and needs time to work. Artificial senses such as machine vision, the electronic ear, electronic nose, electronic tongue, artificial mouth and even artificial the head have been developed that mimic the human senses. These artificial senses are coordinated individually or collectively by a pat- tern recognition technique, typically artificial neural networks, which have been developed based on studies of the mechanism of the human brain. Such a structure has been used to formulate methods for rapid characterization of food quality. This research presents and discusses individual artificial sensing systems. With the concept of multi-sensor data fusion these sensor systems can work collectively in some way. Two such fused systems, artificial mouth and artificial head, are described and discussed. It indicates that each of the individual systems has their own artificially sensing ability to differentiate food samples. It further indicates that with a more complete mimic of human intelligence the fused systems are more powerful than the individual sys- tems in differentiation of food samples.展开更多
In this study,experiments were designed to reveal in-depth information of the effect of pH and hydraulic retention time（HRT）on biohydrogen fermentation from liquid swine manure supplemented with glucose using an Ana...In this study,experiments were designed to reveal in-depth information of the effect of pH and hydraulic retention time（HRT）on biohydrogen fermentation from liquid swine manure supplemented with glucose using an Anaerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor（ASBR）System.Five values of HRT（8,12,16,20,and 24 h）were first tested and the best HRT determined was further studied at five p H levels（4.4,4.7,5.0,5.3,and 5.6）.The results showed that for HRT 24 h,there was a dividing H2 content（around 37%）related to the total biogas production rate for the ASBR System running at p H 5.0.When the H2 content went beyond 37%,an appreciable decline in biogas production rate was observed,implying that there might exist an H2 content limit in the biogas.For other HRTs（8 through 20 h）,an average H2 content of 42%could be achieved.In the second experiment（HRT 12 h）,the highest H2 content（35%）in the biogas was found to be associated with p H 5.0.The upswing of p H from 5.0 to 5.6 had a significantly more impact on biogas H2 content than the downswing of p H from5.0 to 4.3.The results also indicated good linear relationships of biogas and H2 production rates with HRT（r=0.9971 and0.9967,respectively）.Since the optimal ASBR operating conditions were different for the biogas/H2 production rates and the H2 yield,a compromised combination of the running parameters was determined to be HRT 12 h and pH 5.0 in order to achieve good biogas/H2 productions.展开更多
Germinated brown rice(GBR)is rich in gamma oryzanol which increase its consumption popularity,particularly in the health food market.The objective of this research was to apply the near infraredspectroscopy(NIRS)for e...Germinated brown rice(GBR)is rich in gamma oryzanol which increase its consumption popularity,particularly in the health food market.The objective of this research was to apply the near infraredspectroscopy(NIRS)for evaluation of gamma oryzanol of the germinated brown rice.The germinated brown rice samples were prepared from germinated rough rice(soaked for 24 and 48 h,incubated for 0,6,12,18,24,30 and 36 h)and purchased from local supermar kets.The germinated brown rice sampleswere subjected to NIR scanning before the evaluation of gamma oryzanol by using partial extractionmet hodology.The prediction model was established by partial least square regression(PLSR)andvalidated by full cross validation method.The NIRS model established from various varieties of germinated brown rice bought from diferent markets by first derivatives+vector normalizationpretreated spectra showed the optimal prediction with the correlation of determination(R?),root mean squared error of cross validation(RMSECV),and bias of 0.934,8.84×10^(-5) mg/100 g drymatter and 1.06×10^(-5) mg/100 g dry matter,respectively.This is the first report on the application of NIRS in the evaluation of gamma oryzanol of the germinated brown rice.This information is veryuseful to the germinated brown rice production factory and consumers.展开更多
In order to better design, fabricate and control pear handling machine, we should take into account mechanical and rheological properties of pear fruits as related to handling process. The changes in rheological prope...In order to better design, fabricate and control pear handling machine, we should take into account mechanical and rheological properties of pear fruits as related to handling process. The changes in rheological properties of pears stored at 5, 15, 25 ℃ and variable （fluctuating） temperature for 12 days were evaluated in terms of elasticity and viscosity parameters using creep tests. The elasticity and viscosity parameters in creep tests in general decreased with increase in storage time both under constant and variable storage conditions. For the variable storage condition, a bulk mean temperature calculated to account for a series combination of storage time and temperature to which the pears subjected. The changes in rheological properties due to variable storage temperature were described as a function of storage time. The result indicated that except the viscosity parameter of the Maxwell component of the four-element model, it was possible to describe the changes in rheological properties as a function of storage time, which are better physical parameters to estimate the quality of pears.展开更多
The goal of this research was to study the relationship between the eating quality of cooked rice and near infrared spectra measured by a Fourier Transform near infrared(FT-NIR)Spee-trometer.Samples of milled:parboile...The goal of this research was to study the relationship between the eating quality of cooked rice and near infrared spectra measured by a Fourier Transform near infrared(FT-NIR)Spee-trometer.Samples of milled:parboiled rioe,white rioe,new Jasmine rice(harvested in 2012)and aged Jasmine rice(harvested in 2006 or during the period 2007-2011)were used in this study.The eating quality of the cooked rioe,ie,adhesiveness,hardness,dryness,whiteness and aroma,were evaluated by trained sensory panelists.FT-NIR spectroscopy models for predicting the eating quality of cooked rioe were established using the partial least squares regression.Among the eating quality,the stickiness model indicated its highest prediction ability(ie,R2a=0.71;.RMSEP=0.65;Bias=0.00;RPD=1.87)and SEP/SD of 2.In addition,it was clear that the water content did not affect the eating quality of cooked rice,rather the main chemical com-ponent implicated was starch.展开更多
This study aimed to set a computer-integrated multichannel spectral imaging system as a high-throughput phenotyping tool for the analysis of individual cowpea seeds harvested at different developmental stages. The cha...This study aimed to set a computer-integrated multichannel spectral imaging system as a high-throughput phenotyping tool for the analysis of individual cowpea seeds harvested at different developmental stages. The changes in germination capacity and variations in moisture, protein and different sugars during twelve stages of seed development from 10 to 32 days after anthesis were nondestructively monitored. Multispectral data at 20 discrete wavelengths in the ultraviolet, visible and near infrared regions were extracted from individual seeds and then modelled using partial least squares regression and linear discriminant analysis(LDA) models. The developed multivariate models were accurate enough for monitoring all possible changes occurred in moisture, protein and sugar contents with coefficients of determination in prediction R^(2) of 0.93, 0.80 and 0.78 and root mean square errors in prediction(RMSEP) of 6.045%, 2.236% and 0.890%, respectively. The accuracy of PLS models in predicting individual sugars such as verbascose and stachyose was reasonable with R~2 of 0.87 and 0.87 and RMSEP of 0.071%and 0.485%, respectively;but for the prediction of sucrose and raffinose the accuracy was relatively limited with R^(2) of 0.24 and 0.66 and RMSEP of 0.567% and 0.045%, respectively. The developed LDA model was robust in classifying the seeds based on their germination capacity with overall correct classification of96.33% and 95.67% in the training and validation datasets, respectively. With these levels of accuracy,the proposed multichannel spectral imaging system designed for single seeds could be an effective choice as a rapid screening and non-destructive technique for identifying the ideal harvesting time of cowpea seeds based on their chemical composition and germination capacity. Moreover, the development of chemical images of the major constituents along with classification images confirmed the usefulness of the proposed technique as a non-destructive tool for estimating the concentrations and spatial distributions of moisture, protein and sugars during different developmental stages of cowpea seeds.展开更多
The purpose of this study was to develop a calibration model to evaluate the moisture content of tapioca starch using the near infrared(NIR)spectral data in conjunction with partial least square(PIS)regression.The pre...The purpose of this study was to develop a calibration model to evaluate the moisture content of tapioca starch using the near infrared(NIR)spectral data in conjunction with partial least square(PIS)regression.The prediction ability was asessed using a separate prediction data set.Three groups of tapioca starch samples were used in this study:tapioca starch cake,dried tapioca starch and combined tapioca starch.The opt imum model obtained from the baseline ofset spectra of dried tapioca starch samples at the outlet of the factory drying process provided a cofficient of determination(R^(2)),standard error of prediction(SEP),bias and residual prediction deviation(RPD)of 0.974,0.16%,-0.092%and 7.4,respectively.The NIR spectroscopy protocol developed in this study could be a rapid method for evaluation of the moisture content of the tapioca starch in factory laboratories.It indicated the possibility of real-tine online monitoring and control of the tapioca starch cake feeder in the drying process.In addition,it was determined that there was.a stronger influence of the NIR absorption of both water and starch on the prediction of moisture content of the model.展开更多
Water resources’ scarcity and increasing demand for water consumption have necessitated the use of unconventional water for optimized and sus-tainable consumption of water resources. The present project1 was con-duct...Water resources’ scarcity and increasing demand for water consumption have necessitated the use of unconventional water for optimized and sus-tainable consumption of water resources. The present project1 was con-ducted to investigate effects of domestic wastewater in comparison to well water, in a randomized complete block design with four treatments in three replications during three years. Concentrations of cations and anions in soil and plants as well as plants’ fresh and dry weight were measured in the present research per harvesting time. Results showed that the concentration of elements in alfalfa was higher in treatments being irrigated with wastewater resulting in the significant differences in nitrogen, phosphorus, sodium and chloride. The mean of elements’ concentration at soil with the depth of 0 - 30 cm in wastewater treatments was much more than those treatments irrigated with groundwater. Concentrations of elements in wastewater treatment with the depth of 30 - 60 cm were higher than well water treatments. Electrical conductivity, pH, total nitrogen, copper and iron significantly differed in different years and different treatments. Treatments irrigated with wastewater showed higher yield compared to treatments irrigated with well water (29,158 and 1252.5 kg per ha). Using wastewater of domestic treatment plant increased production per unit area and subsequently increased elements concentration in soil and plant.展开更多
Cotton(Gossypium hirsutum L.) is utilized commercially in the production of textile, clothing, and household goods. Its growth is affected by various environmental conditions such as soil, climate, and water supply. I...Cotton(Gossypium hirsutum L.) is utilized commercially in the production of textile, clothing, and household goods. Its growth is affected by various environmental conditions such as soil, climate, and water supply. Irrigation is one of the most important factors for crop management. This research was designed with the aim of studying the biochemical and anatomical features of two genotypes of cottonseed(Latif and Golestan) in order to determine optimum irrigation. Protein, starch, gossypol gland, total soluble protein, starch content, and the anatomical structure of the cotton seeds were investigated. The data were analyzed using the SAS Software. The results showed that when rainfed, Golestan genotype seeds had a larger number of secretory cavities, soluble protein, and starch compared to Latif seeds. There was also a noticeable difference in the size of the seeds. Cellulosic cell walls and protein particles were also observed in the seed structure under induced water stress conditions. It can therefore be concluded that in response to water shortage, there was a noticeable change in the morphometric, anatomic, and biochemical features of the cottonseeds. It can be concluded that when rainfed, the Golestan genotype of cottonseed has more compatibility than the Latif genotype. In general, the application of different levels of irrigation showed that at moderate levels of irrigation, anatomical features appeared more normal. The observations indicate that at high levels of irrigation, some cells begin to dehisce due to osmotic stress, which results in a lack of accurate formation of tissue structures. The Golestan genotype is therefore the best suited for dryland farming.展开更多
Early season maize is harvested with high moisture content that makes it impossible to store. The sale of early season maize in green form is uneconomical to the farmer. Experience had shown that farmers could hardly ...Early season maize is harvested with high moisture content that makes it impossible to store. The sale of early season maize in green form is uneconomical to the farmer. Experience had shown that farmers could hardly make the cost of production from their sales. Also, grain losses are high when maize is harvested green. To minimize grain losses and thereby increase value and the profit margin of the farmer, a grain dryer is necessary for wet grains. Therefore, this paper presents the design and development of a batch in-bin maize grain dryer. Some properties of maize such as moisture content and bulk density were determined to get information required for design of the dryer. The dimension of drying chamber, amount of moisture to be removed in a batch, quantity of air required to effect drying, volume of air required to effect drying, blower capacity, quantity of heat required to effect drying and actual heat used to effect drying were all designed for. A maize dryer was developed with a batch size of100 kg of threshed wet maize. The dryer can be used in laboratory for experimental purpose as well as on the farm for commercial purposes. The dryer can be used to measure drying rates of maize at different initial moisture contents, drying air temperatures, drying air velocities and grain beds. The effects of different drying temperature, air velocity, loading and agitating speed on the quality of dried maize can be investigated with the dryer.展开更多
Bacteria are the major cause of surface water contamination in the United States. US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) uses the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process to regulate the E. coli loads from fecal so...Bacteria are the major cause of surface water contamination in the United States. US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) uses the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process to regulate the E. coli loads from fecal sources in a watershed. Different point and non-point sources can contribute to the fecal contamination of a waterbody including municipal and on-site wastewater treatment plants, livestock, birds, and wildlife. Unfortunately, wildlife sources in many rural watersheds are poorly characterized. E. coli is also known to persist in waterbodies when no known fecal sources are present. In this study, E. coli from wildlife fecal material was enumerated and the fate of E. coli under different environmental factors was studied. No growth was observed in soil at 4% moisture content and in water at 10℃. The highest E. coli growth was recorded in water at 30℃. It can be seen from these results that there was variation in the fate of E. coli under different environmental conditions. The fate of E. coli in the environment is a complex process and is influenced by many factors and their interactions, making it difficult to predict. The findings from this study along with additional studies can be used to improve the accuracy of model predictions to estimate the E. coli loads in watersheds.展开更多
The CPB （Colorado potato beetle） is unquestionably the major insect pest of potato crops in North America, Europe, and Asia. The use of chemical insecticides to control this insect pest started in the 1860s. To date...The CPB （Colorado potato beetle） is unquestionably the major insect pest of potato crops in North America, Europe, and Asia. The use of chemical insecticides to control this insect pest started in the 1860s. To date, no registered chemical has been capable of effectively managing this agricultural pest. Moreover, the CPB has developed over the years a resistance to most of the registered chemical insecticides. The biological control through manual release of natural enemies of the CPB has been successful at small scale. However, hand release of these predators at large scale is not realistic. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of controlling the CPB through mechanical release of predator insects under real conditions in a potato field. Obtained results indicate that the mechanical release of predator insects resulted in a better control of the CPB populations and egg masses than the manual release. The success of this mechanical release of predator insects in potato fields will be highly valuable for the biological control of insect pests in many other row crops such as strawberry, lettuce, etc..展开更多
基金funded by the Chinese Government Doctorate Scholarship Particularly China Scholarship Council (CSC)the Urban Agriculture from Education Committee of Beijing,China
文摘Sound waves technology has been applied to different plants. It has been found that sound waves were at different frequencies, sound pressure levels （SPLs）, exposure periods, and distances from the source of sound influence plant growth. Experiments have been conducted in the open field and under greenhouse growing conditions with different levels of audible sound frequencies and sound pressure levels. Sound waves at 1 kHz and 100 dB for 1 h within a distance of 0.20 m could significantly promote the division and cell wall fluidity of callus cells and also significantly enhance the activity of protective enzymes and endogenous hormones. Sound waves stimulation could increase the plant plasma-membrane IT-ATPase activity, the contents of soluble sugar, soluble protein, and amylase activity of callus. Moreover, sound waves could increase the content of RNA and the level of transcription. Stress-induced genes could switch on under sound stimulation. Sound waves at 0.1-1 kHz and SPL of （70＋5） dB for 3 h from plant acoustic frequency technology （PAFT） generator within a distance ranged from 30 to 60 m every other day significantly increased the yield of sweet pepper, cucumber and tomato by 30.05, 37.1 and 13.2%, respectively. Furthermore, the yield of lettuce, spinach, cotton, rice, and wheat were increased by 19.6, 22.7, 11.4, 5.7, and 17.0%, respectively. Sound waves may also strengthen plant immune systems. It has been proved that spider mite, aphids, gray mold, late blight and virus disease of tomatoes in the greenhouses decreased by 6.0, 8.0, 9.0, 11.0, and 8.0%, respectively, and the sheath blight office was reduced by 50%. This paper provides an overview of literature for the effects of sound waves on various growth parameters of plant at different growth stages.
文摘Food quality is of primary concern in the food industry and to the consumer. Systems that mimic human senses have been developed and applied to the characterization of food quality. The five primary senses are: vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch. In the characterization of food quality, people assess the samples sensorially and differentiate “good”from “bad”on a continuum. However, the human sensory system is subjective, with mental and physical inconsistencies, and needs time to work. Artificial senses such as machine vision, the electronic ear, electronic nose, electronic tongue, artificial mouth and even artificial the head have been developed that mimic the human senses. These artificial senses are coordinated individually or collectively by a pat- tern recognition technique, typically artificial neural networks, which have been developed based on studies of the mechanism of the human brain. Such a structure has been used to formulate methods for rapid characterization of food quality. This research presents and discusses individual artificial sensing systems. With the concept of multi-sensor data fusion these sensor systems can work collectively in some way. Two such fused systems, artificial mouth and artificial head, are described and discussed. It indicates that each of the individual systems has their own artificially sensing ability to differentiate food samples. It further indicates that with a more complete mimic of human intelligence the fused systems are more powerful than the individual sys- tems in differentiation of food samples.
基金the funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR),USA
文摘In this study,experiments were designed to reveal in-depth information of the effect of pH and hydraulic retention time（HRT）on biohydrogen fermentation from liquid swine manure supplemented with glucose using an Anaerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor（ASBR）System.Five values of HRT（8,12,16,20,and 24 h）were first tested and the best HRT determined was further studied at five p H levels（4.4,4.7,5.0,5.3,and 5.6）.The results showed that for HRT 24 h,there was a dividing H2 content（around 37%）related to the total biogas production rate for the ASBR System running at p H 5.0.When the H2 content went beyond 37%,an appreciable decline in biogas production rate was observed,implying that there might exist an H2 content limit in the biogas.For other HRTs（8 through 20 h）,an average H2 content of 42%could be achieved.In the second experiment（HRT 12 h）,the highest H2 content（35%）in the biogas was found to be associated with p H 5.0.The upswing of p H from 5.0 to 5.6 had a significantly more impact on biogas H2 content than the downswing of p H from5.0 to 4.3.The results also indicated good linear relationships of biogas and H2 production rates with HRT（r=0.9971 and0.9967,respectively）.Since the optimal ASBR operating conditions were different for the biogas/H2 production rates and the H2 yield,a compromised combination of the running parameters was determined to be HRT 12 h and pH 5.0 in order to achieve good biogas/H2 productions.
文摘Germinated brown rice(GBR)is rich in gamma oryzanol which increase its consumption popularity,particularly in the health food market.The objective of this research was to apply the near infraredspectroscopy(NIRS)for evaluation of gamma oryzanol of the germinated brown rice.The germinated brown rice samples were prepared from germinated rough rice(soaked for 24 and 48 h,incubated for 0,6,12,18,24,30 and 36 h)and purchased from local supermar kets.The germinated brown rice sampleswere subjected to NIR scanning before the evaluation of gamma oryzanol by using partial extractionmet hodology.The prediction model was established by partial least square regression(PLSR)andvalidated by full cross validation method.The NIRS model established from various varieties of germinated brown rice bought from diferent markets by first derivatives+vector normalizationpretreated spectra showed the optimal prediction with the correlation of determination(R?),root mean squared error of cross validation(RMSECV),and bias of 0.934,8.84×10^(-5) mg/100 g drymatter and 1.06×10^(-5) mg/100 g dry matter,respectively.This is the first report on the application of NIRS in the evaluation of gamma oryzanol of the germinated brown rice.This information is veryuseful to the germinated brown rice production factory and consumers.
文摘In order to better design, fabricate and control pear handling machine, we should take into account mechanical and rheological properties of pear fruits as related to handling process. The changes in rheological properties of pears stored at 5, 15, 25 ℃ and variable （fluctuating） temperature for 12 days were evaluated in terms of elasticity and viscosity parameters using creep tests. The elasticity and viscosity parameters in creep tests in general decreased with increase in storage time both under constant and variable storage conditions. For the variable storage condition, a bulk mean temperature calculated to account for a series combination of storage time and temperature to which the pears subjected. The changes in rheological properties due to variable storage temperature were described as a function of storage time. The result indicated that except the viscosity parameter of the Maxwell component of the four-element model, it was possible to describe the changes in rheological properties as a function of storage time, which are better physical parameters to estimate the quality of pears.
文摘The goal of this research was to study the relationship between the eating quality of cooked rice and near infrared spectra measured by a Fourier Transform near infrared(FT-NIR)Spee-trometer.Samples of milled:parboiled rioe,white rioe,new Jasmine rice(harvested in 2012)and aged Jasmine rice(harvested in 2006 or during the period 2007-2011)were used in this study.The eating quality of the cooked rioe,ie,adhesiveness,hardness,dryness,whiteness and aroma,were evaluated by trained sensory panelists.FT-NIR spectroscopy models for predicting the eating quality of cooked rioe were established using the partial least squares regression.Among the eating quality,the stickiness model indicated its highest prediction ability(ie,R2a=0.71;.RMSEP=0.65;Bias=0.00;RPD=1.87)and SEP/SD of 2.In addition,it was clear that the water content did not affect the eating quality of cooked rice,rather the main chemical com-ponent implicated was starch.
基金supported by the STDF-IRD-AUF Joint Research Project No. 27755 provided by Egyptian Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF)the Distinguished Scientist Fellowship Program (DSFP) of King Saud University。
文摘This study aimed to set a computer-integrated multichannel spectral imaging system as a high-throughput phenotyping tool for the analysis of individual cowpea seeds harvested at different developmental stages. The changes in germination capacity and variations in moisture, protein and different sugars during twelve stages of seed development from 10 to 32 days after anthesis were nondestructively monitored. Multispectral data at 20 discrete wavelengths in the ultraviolet, visible and near infrared regions were extracted from individual seeds and then modelled using partial least squares regression and linear discriminant analysis(LDA) models. The developed multivariate models were accurate enough for monitoring all possible changes occurred in moisture, protein and sugar contents with coefficients of determination in prediction R^(2) of 0.93, 0.80 and 0.78 and root mean square errors in prediction(RMSEP) of 6.045%, 2.236% and 0.890%, respectively. The accuracy of PLS models in predicting individual sugars such as verbascose and stachyose was reasonable with R~2 of 0.87 and 0.87 and RMSEP of 0.071%and 0.485%, respectively;but for the prediction of sucrose and raffinose the accuracy was relatively limited with R^(2) of 0.24 and 0.66 and RMSEP of 0.567% and 0.045%, respectively. The developed LDA model was robust in classifying the seeds based on their germination capacity with overall correct classification of96.33% and 95.67% in the training and validation datasets, respectively. With these levels of accuracy,the proposed multichannel spectral imaging system designed for single seeds could be an effective choice as a rapid screening and non-destructive technique for identifying the ideal harvesting time of cowpea seeds based on their chemical composition and germination capacity. Moreover, the development of chemical images of the major constituents along with classification images confirmed the usefulness of the proposed technique as a non-destructive tool for estimating the concentrations and spatial distributions of moisture, protein and sugars during different developmental stages of cowpea seeds.
文摘The purpose of this study was to develop a calibration model to evaluate the moisture content of tapioca starch using the near infrared(NIR)spectral data in conjunction with partial least square(PIS)regression.The prediction ability was asessed using a separate prediction data set.Three groups of tapioca starch samples were used in this study:tapioca starch cake,dried tapioca starch and combined tapioca starch.The opt imum model obtained from the baseline ofset spectra of dried tapioca starch samples at the outlet of the factory drying process provided a cofficient of determination(R^(2)),standard error of prediction(SEP),bias and residual prediction deviation(RPD)of 0.974,0.16%,-0.092%and 7.4,respectively.The NIR spectroscopy protocol developed in this study could be a rapid method for evaluation of the moisture content of the tapioca starch in factory laboratories.It indicated the possibility of real-tine online monitoring and control of the tapioca starch cake feeder in the drying process.In addition,it was determined that there was.a stronger influence of the NIR absorption of both water and starch on the prediction of moisture content of the model.
文摘Water resources’ scarcity and increasing demand for water consumption have necessitated the use of unconventional water for optimized and sus-tainable consumption of water resources. The present project1 was con-ducted to investigate effects of domestic wastewater in comparison to well water, in a randomized complete block design with four treatments in three replications during three years. Concentrations of cations and anions in soil and plants as well as plants’ fresh and dry weight were measured in the present research per harvesting time. Results showed that the concentration of elements in alfalfa was higher in treatments being irrigated with wastewater resulting in the significant differences in nitrogen, phosphorus, sodium and chloride. The mean of elements’ concentration at soil with the depth of 0 - 30 cm in wastewater treatments was much more than those treatments irrigated with groundwater. Concentrations of elements in wastewater treatment with the depth of 30 - 60 cm were higher than well water treatments. Electrical conductivity, pH, total nitrogen, copper and iron significantly differed in different years and different treatments. Treatments irrigated with wastewater showed higher yield compared to treatments irrigated with well water (29,158 and 1252.5 kg per ha). Using wastewater of domestic treatment plant increased production per unit area and subsequently increased elements concentration in soil and plant.
基金partly funded by a common project which is funded by a grant from the Cotton Research Institute, Gorgan (7-07-07-931-06)Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz Research Council, Iran (p.2.2186, 1392.10.8)
文摘Cotton(Gossypium hirsutum L.) is utilized commercially in the production of textile, clothing, and household goods. Its growth is affected by various environmental conditions such as soil, climate, and water supply. Irrigation is one of the most important factors for crop management. This research was designed with the aim of studying the biochemical and anatomical features of two genotypes of cottonseed(Latif and Golestan) in order to determine optimum irrigation. Protein, starch, gossypol gland, total soluble protein, starch content, and the anatomical structure of the cotton seeds were investigated. The data were analyzed using the SAS Software. The results showed that when rainfed, Golestan genotype seeds had a larger number of secretory cavities, soluble protein, and starch compared to Latif seeds. There was also a noticeable difference in the size of the seeds. Cellulosic cell walls and protein particles were also observed in the seed structure under induced water stress conditions. It can therefore be concluded that in response to water shortage, there was a noticeable change in the morphometric, anatomic, and biochemical features of the cottonseeds. It can be concluded that when rainfed, the Golestan genotype of cottonseed has more compatibility than the Latif genotype. In general, the application of different levels of irrigation showed that at moderate levels of irrigation, anatomical features appeared more normal. The observations indicate that at high levels of irrigation, some cells begin to dehisce due to osmotic stress, which results in a lack of accurate formation of tissue structures. The Golestan genotype is therefore the best suited for dryland farming.
文摘Early season maize is harvested with high moisture content that makes it impossible to store. The sale of early season maize in green form is uneconomical to the farmer. Experience had shown that farmers could hardly make the cost of production from their sales. Also, grain losses are high when maize is harvested green. To minimize grain losses and thereby increase value and the profit margin of the farmer, a grain dryer is necessary for wet grains. Therefore, this paper presents the design and development of a batch in-bin maize grain dryer. Some properties of maize such as moisture content and bulk density were determined to get information required for design of the dryer. The dimension of drying chamber, amount of moisture to be removed in a batch, quantity of air required to effect drying, volume of air required to effect drying, blower capacity, quantity of heat required to effect drying and actual heat used to effect drying were all designed for. A maize dryer was developed with a batch size of100 kg of threshed wet maize. The dryer can be used in laboratory for experimental purpose as well as on the farm for commercial purposes. The dryer can be used to measure drying rates of maize at different initial moisture contents, drying air temperatures, drying air velocities and grain beds. The effects of different drying temperature, air velocity, loading and agitating speed on the quality of dried maize can be investigated with the dryer.
文摘Bacteria are the major cause of surface water contamination in the United States. US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) uses the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process to regulate the E. coli loads from fecal sources in a watershed. Different point and non-point sources can contribute to the fecal contamination of a waterbody including municipal and on-site wastewater treatment plants, livestock, birds, and wildlife. Unfortunately, wildlife sources in many rural watersheds are poorly characterized. E. coli is also known to persist in waterbodies when no known fecal sources are present. In this study, E. coli from wildlife fecal material was enumerated and the fate of E. coli under different environmental factors was studied. No growth was observed in soil at 4% moisture content and in water at 10℃. The highest E. coli growth was recorded in water at 30℃. It can be seen from these results that there was variation in the fate of E. coli under different environmental conditions. The fate of E. coli in the environment is a complex process and is influenced by many factors and their interactions, making it difficult to predict. The findings from this study along with additional studies can be used to improve the accuracy of model predictions to estimate the E. coli loads in watersheds.
文摘The CPB （Colorado potato beetle） is unquestionably the major insect pest of potato crops in North America, Europe, and Asia. The use of chemical insecticides to control this insect pest started in the 1860s. To date, no registered chemical has been capable of effectively managing this agricultural pest. Moreover, the CPB has developed over the years a resistance to most of the registered chemical insecticides. The biological control through manual release of natural enemies of the CPB has been successful at small scale. However, hand release of these predators at large scale is not realistic. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of controlling the CPB through mechanical release of predator insects under real conditions in a potato field. Obtained results indicate that the mechanical release of predator insects resulted in a better control of the CPB populations and egg masses than the manual release. The success of this mechanical release of predator insects in potato fields will be highly valuable for the biological control of insect pests in many other row crops such as strawberry, lettuce, etc..
