Agricultural Machinery

Amac : Bu calismada, traktor otomatik dumenleme (OD) sistemi ile ve manuel dumenleme ile yapilan ilaclamada yan yana paralel gecislerdeki ortusme ve bosluk miktarlari karsilastirilmistir. Yontemler ve Bulgular : Veriler, OD sistemlerinin gercek ciftci kosullarindaki performansini degerlendirmek icin 13 ciftci tarlasindan (pamuk, misir ve yerfistigi) elde edilmistir. Ilaclama sirasinda traktorun izledigi noktalarin koordinatlari kayit altina alinmis, bu noktalardan olusturulan haritalar uzerinden ortalama ortusme ve bosluk hata degerleri (Hatalarin ortalama kare koku; Root mean square error: RMSE) belirlenmis ve analiz edilmistir. Tarlalar arasindaki degiskenlik de incelenmistir. RMSE degerinin ciftcilerin sirta toprak isleme, ekim ve ilaclama islemlerinin her ucunde OD kullandigi (RTK duzeltme sinyaliyle) tarlalarda en dusuk degerde (7.5 ± 1.7 cm) oldugu gozlemlenmistir. Ciftcilerin sadece sirta toprak islemeyi OD sistemiyle, ekim ve ilaclamayi manuel olarak (OD kullanmadan) yaptigi...

The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is used here to analyse a large set of experimental data regarding the mechanical and environmental performances of an internal combustion engine (ICE) used to power a farm tractor. The aim is twofold: (i) to demonstrate the effectiveness of RSM in quantitatively assessing the effects of biofuels on a complex system like an ICE; (ii) to supply the users with easy-to-use models to predict the effect of biofuel blends on performance and emissions of tractor engines and find an optimal blend according to given user-defined parameters. The methodology showed good prediction abilities: the calculated average errors for the first models were lower than 0.38 and 1.40% on 6 test cases, with a higher accuracy in the assessment of the ICE mechanical performance. As a result, two effective and user-friendly models for torque and NOx emissions were developed; they were subsequently used to single out some fuel blends having interesting effects in terms of ...

This study was conducted to predict contact area (A) of bias-ply tire based on contact area index (CAI), inflation pressure (P) and vertical load (W). For this purpose, contact area of four bias-ply tires with different contact area index were measured at three levels of inflation pressure and four levels of vertical load. Results of contact area measurement for bias-ply tires No. 1, 2 and 3 were utilized to determine regression model and three-variable linear regression model A = 113.33-0.0023 CAI-2108.6 P + 33.429 W with R = 0.901 was P 2 obtained. Also, results of contact area measurement for bias-ply tire No. 4 were used to verify model. The paired samples t-test results indicated that the contact area values predicted by model were more than the contact area values measured by test apparatus. To check the discrepancies between the contact area values predicted by model with the contact area values measured by test apparatus, RMSE and MRPD were calculated. The amounts of RMSE and MRPD were 30.4 cm and 33.1%, respectively. Amounts of RMSE and MRPD confirmed 2 that the three-variable linear regression model may be used to predict contact area of bias-ply tire based on contact area index, inflation pressure and vertical load. On the other hand, to calculate actual contact area values or contact area values measured by test apparatus (A) based on contact area values predicted by model M (A) the linear regression model A = 0.920 A-20.08 with R = 0.916 can be strongly recommended. P M P 2

Urea Super Granule (USG)Urea Super Granule (USG)Urea Super Granule (USG) Urea Super Granule (USG) Urea Super Granule (USG)Urea Super Granule (USG)Urea Super Granule (USG)Urea Super Granule (USG) Urea Super Granule (USG) Urea Super Granule (USG) Urea Super Granule (USG)Urea Super Granule (USG)Urea Super Granule (USG)Urea Super Granule (USG)Urea Super Granule (USG) application in paddy filed is an innovative technology to reduce the application in paddy filed is an innovative technology to reduce the application in paddy filed is an innovative technology to reduce the application in paddy filed is an innovative technology to reduce the application in paddy filed is an innovative technology to reduce the application in paddy filed is an innovative technology to reduce the application in paddy filed is an innovative technology to reduce the application in paddy filed is an innovative technology to reduce the application in paddy filed is an innovative technology to reduce the applicatio...

This paper addresses the problem of path generation and motion control for the autonomous maneuver of a farm vehicle with a trailed implement in headland. A reverse turn planner is firstly investigated, based on primitives connected together to easily generate the reference motion. Then, both steering and speed control algorithms are presented to accurately guide the vehicle-trailer system. They are based on a kinematic model extended with additional sliding parameters and on model predictive control approaches. Real world experiments have been carried out on a low friction terrain with an experimental mobile robot pulling a trailer. At the end of each row, the reverse turn is automatically generated to connect the next reference track, and the maneuver is autonomously performed by the vehicle-trailer system. Reported experiments demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed algorithms.

The collection of residues from staple crop may contribute to meet EU regulations in renewable energy production without harming soil quality. At a global scale, chaff may have great potential to be used as a bioenergy source. However, chaff is not usually collected, and its loss can consist of up to one-fifth of the residual biomass harvestable. In the present work, a spreader able to manage the chaff (either spreading [SPR] on the soil aside to the straw swath or admixed [ADM] with the straw) at varying threshing conditions (with either 1 or 2 threshing rotors [1R and 2R, respectively] in the combine, which affects the mean length of the straw pieces). The fractions of the biomass available in field (grain, chaff, straw, and stubble) were measured, along with the performances of both grain harvesting and baling operations. Admixing chaff allowed for a slightly higher amount of straw fresh weight baled compared to SPR (+336 kg straw ha −1), but such result was not evident on a dry weight basis. At the one time, admixing chaff reduced the material capacity of the combine by 12.9%. Using 2R compared to 1R strongly reduced the length of the straw pieces, and increased the bale unit weight; however, it reduced the field efficiency of the grain harvesting operations by 11.9%. On average, the straw loss did not vary by the treatments applied and was 44% of the total residues available (computed excluding the stubble). In conclusion, admixing of chaff with straw is an option to increase the residues collected without compromising grain harvesting and straw baling efficiencies; in addition, it can reduce the energy needs for the bale logistics. According to the present data, improving the chaff collection can allow halving the loss of residues. However, further studies are needed to optimise both the chaff and the straw recoveries.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different mixtures of organic and inorganic local and imported materials on vegetative growth and yield of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) grown in pot culture, in summer during 2006 and 2007 seasons, at the Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate, Agricultural Research Center,Dokki, Giza Governorate. The organic and inorganic materials used in this study were peatmoss:perlite (1:1 V/V) (A), sand: peanut crushed husk (3:1V/V) (B), and sand: rice hull (3:1 V/V) (C). Four different manure rates were added to different mixtures (0 (control), 2, 4 and 6 % volume of the final mix). Plant height, number of leaf per plant, dry matter per plant (g) was investigated. In general, the best vegetative growth and yield of pepper and eggplant were obtained from media mixture (A). There were significant differences between manure levels and vegetative growth and yield of pepper and eggplant. The best treatment was media mixture (A), with
% manure level, while the lowest vegetative growth and yield were obtained by media mixtures (B) and (C), with control manure treatment during the two tested seasons. These results suggested that local media can be used, instead of imported media, with using rabbit manure to enhance plant growth and
productivity.

This paper deals with the role of Indigenous Agricultural System (IKS) as a system of locally evolved practices that are used by the villagers in a Punjabi village. The intent of the paper is to highlight that despite attacks on traditional practices and technologies, there are still people who use the centuries old heritage and are in favor of putting it again into the practice after effective revitalization at national level. Authors have tried to discuss the practical aspects of traditional farming practices with a purpose to record them in order to understand the socio-economic utility of them. Authors during interacted with people who compare their traditional agricultural practices with modern farming that was attempted to impose on farming community under the promise of economic prosperity and thus development. The paper is an attempt to discuss the effectiveness of traditional farming in order to generate a debate among the development school in Pakistan to further evaluate the utilities of the same. The study under reference was conducted in village Sacha Soda of Sheikhupura district in the Punjab.

Kenya’s agricultural production process is plagued by low agricultural mechanization, coupled with the drudgery of manual production and manual post-harvest operations. This has led to low agricultural productivity below the country’s potential, leaving the agricultural sector struggling to meet the food production demand. Hello Tractor seeks to remedy the situation by providing Kenyan small-scale farmers in Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, Siaya and Homa Bay counties with mechanization services to increase their crop yield and subsequently increase their farming income, while providing the local youth with meaningful business opportunities as our booking agents who will recruit farmers and earn a 5% commission. This will ensure the sustainability of the business model. Hello Tractor will achieve this though the ‘Adopt an Acre model’ as explained in the Business Proposal

In this study, the required ventilation rates for winter and summer breeding season in poultry houses were analyzed according to the known 4 different methods. The methods used for this purpose are (Öztürk, 2003) calculation method, Czech Standards (Anonymous, 1998), ASAE Standards (American Society of Agricultural Engineers) (ASAE, 1987) and finally CIGR Standards (International Commission for Agricultural Engineers) (CIGR, 1984). Calculations were made for the ventilation capacities of a selected broiler house in Samsun region conditions by considering the equations and parameters in these standards, and the differences and similarities among them were discussed.

The performance of tractor Power Take Off (PTO) operated rotary mulchers was evaluated in the combine harvested paddy field in Village Jhaloor, Distt. Barnala (Punjab). Both Haryana and Punjab have large lands of paddy field and most of the paddy crop is harvested by using combine harvesters. Combine harvesters after harvesting paddy crop leave behind straw in the form of standing stubbles. The loose straw left after harvesting by combine, lying in the windrows resulted in frequent choking in between furrow openers and frame of the drill. The straw present in field often builds up in front of tynes of drill and eventually blocks the tynes and frame, causing uneven seeding depth, rate and a patchy stand of plants. Incorporation of the leftover straw into soil or chopping and spreading it on the soil surface to act as natural mulch is a better way of waste utilization which improves soil health and also reduces the difficulty faced during primary tillage. Thus performance of the rotary mulcher was evaluated in the field to check its applicability to overcome the problem faced by the farmers. The comparative analysis of the performance of different makes of rotary mulcher viz. Make ''A'' and Make ''B'' was also performed. The average field capacity, field efficiency, fuel consumption & percentage cut (height) observed in the field were 0.37 ha/h,

Finding solutions to farm problems and issues is a painstaking process which requires acceptance of new body of knowledge that may disprove and invalidate some long held theories and "truth". Poor and small (landowners of 3 has. and below) veteran Filipino farmers refrained from use while newly-bred farmers are reluctant to use the farm-machine---2WT, due to high-cost of fuel and or rental fee for the tractor which usually owned by merchants engaged in usurious cash-lending and rice trading. They prefer the hard way of farming to save a little amount for the socio-economically struggling family from tractor expenses contribution. The researcher-proponents, Automotive Technology students from College of Technology, Eastern Visayas State University, coached by Rannie C. Agustin, are investigating for the feasibility of manufacturing cost-efficient solar-powered 2WT to help the poor Filipino farmers increase their farm productivity, easing the hard-way of farming with efficient and effective farm technology as tools for strategic and engineered timely land preparation and sowing, harvesting, threshing, processing and  transporting. All of which, according to Biggs & Justice (2015)  lead to productivity gains and increases in cropping intensification through quicker and higher turn-around or turn-overs of production cycles.

Aggressive growth of land-based solar photovoltaic (PV) farms can create a land use conflict with agricultural production. Fortunately, this issue can be resolved using the concept of agrivoltaics, which is co-development of land area for both solar PV and agriculture. To investigate and quantify PV generation potential, without harming agriculture output, this study explores the viability of agrivoltaic farms deployment on existing grape farms in India. Considering the shade tolerance of grapes, an techno-economicanalysis is run for the installation of PV systems in the area available between the trellises on a grape farm. The electrical energy generation potential is determined per unit area and economic benefits for the cultivators is quantified over a number of design options. The results show the economic value of the grape farms deploying the proposed agrivoltaic systems may increase more than 15 times as compared to conventional farming, while maintaining the same grape production. If this dual use of land is implemented nationwide, it can make a significant impact by generating over 16,000 GWh electricity, which has the potential of meeting the energy demands of more than 15 million people. In addition, grape-based agrivoltaics can be implemented in rural areas to enable village electrification.

This paper reports on designing a simulation and control robotic harvesting platform robotic harvesting of sweet pepper. The objective was to provide a simulated environment for improvement of plant/fruit scanning and visual servoing task through easy testing and debugging of control algorithms with zero damage risk to the real robot and to the actual equipment. A simulated workspace, including an exact replica of the FANUC LR Mate 200iD robot manipulator (with six degrees of freedom), models of sweet pepper fruit and plant system, and different vision sensors were created in the Virtual Robot Experimentation Platform (V-REP). The Robot Operating System (ROS) was used for exchanging data between the simulated environment and the real workspace via it’s publish and subscribe architecture. Results provided a platform for testing new ideas in the robotic harvesting of sweet pepper, and for experimenting with different sensing instrumentation and different control strategies. Three summarized demos are provided for (i) fruit/plant scan (Demo link), (ii) for visual servo control task in detection, localization and tracking (Demo link), and (iii) for Ubuntu/VREP-ROS environment setup

Demo link: https://youtu.be/tKagjNQ9FW4).
Presentation file: https://youtu.be/sNBtU3YjGzk

La Meccanica Agraria, inserita nel Settore Concorsuale dell’Ingegneria Agraria, Forestale e dei Biosistemi, da sempre materia multidisciplinare, si caratterizza per l’individuazione di soluzioni tecniche innovative a problematiche tipiche dell’agricoltura meccanizzata e dei mezzi tecnici che concretamente la implementano.
La continua evoluzione della tecnica e l’introduzione di tecnologie sempre nuove pongono una serie di quesiti ai vari attori coinvolti, comportando una riflessione sulla natura della propria figura scientifica e professionale in relazione sia a settori di Aree Universitarie contigue (altre discipline delle Scienze Agrarie e Veterinarie, nonché dell’Ingegneria Industriale e dell’Informazione), sia ad interlocutori di ambiti applicativi interni ed esterni agli Atenei che continuamente si interfacciano tra loro.
Attraverso una quarantina di contributi scientifici, esposti dai relativi Autori in un convegno tenutosi il 23-24 novembre 2017 alla Libera Università di Bolzano, il presente volume cerca di illustrare al lettore la vivacità di questa disciplina, tutt’altro che in declino, testimoniata dall’estrema varietà di interessi di ricerca che caratterizza gli appartenenti.
Nelle intenzioni degli organizzatori e dei partecipanti, il lettore dovrebbe quindi essere in grado di trovare risposte non solo a domande formali come “Cosa rappresenta oggi la Meccanica Agraria nei programmi didattici?”, “È ancora valida la declaratoria ministeriale del settore?”, ma anche ad altri quesiti che rimandano alle vere sfide del futuro, quali “Dove andrà la Meccanica Agraria?”, “Come articolare i contenuti dei suoi insegnamenti nei futuri percorsi di studio universitari?”, “Quali competenze irrinunciabili richiedere ai nuovi discenti del settore?”.
Ben lungi dal pretendere di fornire risposte definitive, il Convegno di Bolzano ha rappresentato un primo momento di sintesi in cui tutti i ricercatori del settore, a tutti i livelli (dai dottorandi di ricerca ai professori ordinari) si sono confrontati apertamente e senza pregiudizi per definire le strategie future e le aspettative della propria disciplina.

A machine is a tool used to make work easier. Simple machines are simple tools used to make work easier. Compound machines have two or more simple machines working together to make work easier. In science, work is defined as a force acting on an object to move it across a distance. Pushing, pulling, and lifting are common forms of work. Furniture movers do work when they move boxes. Gardeners do work when they pull weeds. Children do work when they go up and down on a seesaw. Machines make their work easier. The furniture movers use a ramp to slide boxes into a truck. The gardeners use a hand shovel to help break through the weeds. The children use a seesaw to go up and down. The ramp, the shovel, and the seesaw are simple machines. A simple machine is a non-motorized device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, a simple machine can be defined as one of the simplest mechanisms that provide mechanical advantage (also called leverage). A simple machine is an elementary device that has a specific movement (often called a mechanism), which can be combined with other devices and movements to form a machine. Thus simple machines are considered to be the "building blocks" of more complicated machines.

Agriculture serves the most fundamental task of providing humanity with adequate food supplies. The farmer's economy has to be met in order to accomplish this task. One of the best solutions for fulfilling the task is the marketing of agriculture. It involves the purchase from farmers of agricultural products. Some farmers are ignorant of the prices of commodities and sell their goods to third-party suppliers at low prices, resulting in huge losses for farmers. We will create an android application of farmer product marketing to solve this form of situation, which provides better knowledge of the commodity prices of current marketing strategies at different locations. This helps to find buyers and suitable sellers. It also allows farmers to select the best position on the market for the goods to be sold. They also required different farming machinery for crop production, but they are unable to buy the high cost equipment due to poor economic conditions, another choice left is to take the machines on loan. It helps to build a web-based business management system to ensure that agricultural machinery rental businesses are run efficiently and handled transparently.

This report deals mainly with maintenance of agricultural machinery in the Ho Municipality. The report emphasizes the tractor, because it is the major tool for agricultural mechanization in the Ho Municipality.
The report aims to identify the present status of agricultural machinery maintenance within the Municipality, the problems faced by tractor owners and operators when they undertake maintenance and the new approaches to agricultural machinery maintenance in the Ho Municipality. A survey of 50 tractor owners and operators in the Ho Municipality was conducted to identify their personal profile, their perception about the causes of tractor breakdown, and the major constraints affecting tractor maintenance and repair in the Municipality. Data was collected using questionnaires and this was administered to respondents who were the tractor owners and operators in the Ho Municipality. The data collected yielded some of the following results; farming in the Ho Municipality was male dominated, the most recurring age of the respondents was 25-40 years old, educational level of the respondents was above average. Also, tractor owners and operators perceived the causes of tractor breakdown to be careless tractor operation, inadequate maintenance, aged tractors, poor roads to farms, use of fake spare parts for tractor maintenance and repair, and obstacles to tractor operation in the farms including stumps, roots, and buried stones. Checking of water level in the radiator, checking the engine oil level, tightening of bolts and nuts, checking tire pressure, changing of engine oil, changing of oil and fuel filters, changing of worn out parts of the tractor and general overhauling at the end of the year was identified to be some of the maintenance schedule followed the tractor owners and operators. The major constraints affecting tractor maintenance and repair were found to be high cost of genuine spare parts, and lack of financial credit. The study draws attention to the need for the provision of financial credit, subsidized genuine spare parts and quality after-sales-service to tractor owners and operators as a recommendation.

Ang probinsya ng Occidental at Oriental Mindoro, partikular ang timog na bahagi ng Occidental Mindoro, ay isa sa mga naging pangunahing nakatanggap ng proyekto ng gobyernong sinasabing magiging sagot sa kakulangan ng produksyon ng bigas sa bansa. Ngunit, ang pag-unlad ng pamamaraan ng pagsasaka na hatid ng gobyerno ay mayroon palang mga kapalit: ang libo-libong pagkawala ng tradisyunal na trabaho ng mga mangagawang bukid.

This research centres on the modification and performance evaluation of an already existing manual juice extractor fabricated using locally-available materials. The major improvement done on the machine was the addition of the electric motor and evaluation to ensure that the already existing extraction parts can work with the new amount of power that the motor produces in comparison with human power. The auger conveys, crushes, presses and squeezes the fruits to extract the juice. The juice extracted is filtered through the juice sieve into juice collector while the residual waste is discharged through waste outlet. When tested for freshly harvested orange and pineapple fruits, results show that the average juice yield for orange and pineapple were respectively 23.20% and 24.75 % as against 17.47% and 17.50% of the manual extractor; juice extraction efficiencies were respectively 60.22% and 65.76% as against 50.32% and 53.76% of the manual extractor; and juice extraction losses were respectively 12.86% and 14.04% as against 12.06% and 11.34% of the manual extractor at 1.2kg/min feed rate. The modified machine was calculated to be 21.04% more efficient than the manual operated machine. Powered by a 3hp electric motor, the machine has a capacity to process 16.2 litres/hr of oranges, 18 litres/hr of pineapples and the machine costs about ₦170,000, hence it is affordable for medium-scale farmers.

Рассмотрена методика  построения математических моделей  устойчивости функционирования механических  систем  по  теории Ляпунова  для  решения  задач земледельческой механики. Представлена система уравнений по методу Тейлора с точностью  до  первого  порядка  малости.  Разница  между  искомыми уравнений возмущенного  и  невозмущенного  движения механической  системы  определили систему  дифференциальных  уравнений  возмущений.  Приведены  результаты исследований на устойчивость движения комбинированной почвообрабатывающей машины и сеялки прямого сева для системы «No till», при возделывании зерновых культур. Обновлена и доработана «Методика построения математических моделей устойчивости  функционирования  механических  систем»  и «Теория воздействия
рабочих органов орудий на почву». Приведены новые технологии обработки почвы под овощные культуры.

Mechanical wheat threshing has gained a spectacular popularity in Pakistan over a short span of time and so is the population of beater-wheat threshers that are being manufactured and marketed by the roadside vendors with little scientific and engineering experience. In fact, the major problems on conventional threshers have been identified as bulky weight, poor machine performance, human accidents and a high fuel consumption rate. Therefore, the present study has been planned for investigation and improvements in the prevalent design of the indigenous beater-wheat thresher to bring about durability, reduction in weight of machine and grain losses in addition to an accident free and cost effective thresher. A review of the indigenous thresher suggests presence of three heavy flywheels with little scientific argument and similarly poorly designed beaters/spikes and five rings on the beater-drum appear injudicious and unscientific. A horizontal throw of straw from the exhaust-blower takes away a noticeable amount of grains with it. Indigenous threshers have witnessed terrifying accidents for the persons feeding the material. The local manufacturers least care about the fabrication drawings of the conventional machines and therefore their knowledge of manufacturing is restricted to the whims and wishes of "ustad-shagird" (seniors, juniors).In view of above mentioned problems, the present study hypothesizes engineering oriented solutions for the ill-designs of the conventional threshers. Modified designs and fabrication drawings of various components such as flywheel, beater, beater drum, blower and feeding conveyer were prepared. Both machines were operated during the wheat threshing seasons for two consecutive years at farmer's field. Total weight of redesigned wheat thresher was reduced from 1600 kg to 1300 kg by improving beaters in thresher drum and the grain damage in redesigned thresher reduced four times. The mean threshing efficiency is increased from 98% to 99%.The replacement of the three flywheels by one wheel of required size saved 24.37kN-m energy. The fluctuation in speed was reduced to 2.055 times and coefficient of energy two times than that of conventional thresher. By redesigning and redeveloping the direction of fan

Вісник Харківського національного технічного університету сільського господарства імені Петра Василенка (ХНТУСГ) включає статті, в яких приведені результати науково-дослідних робіт, проведених в університеті, а також в інших навчальних закладах України, на підприємствах, що мають сільськогосподарський профіль. У вісник включені статті за напрямками: механотроніка технічних систем; тракторна енергетика; експлуатація машинно-тракторного парку; сільськогосподарські машини; якість, стандартизація та сертифікація; механізація тваринницьких ферм і безпека життєдіяльності. Вісник розрахований на наукових співробітників, викладачів, аспірантів, магістрів, студентів інженерно-технічних факультетів вузів сільськогосподарського профілю, фахівців сільськогосподарського виробництва. АННОТАЦИЯ Вестник Харьковского национального технического университета сельского хозяйства имени Петра Василенко (ХНТУСХ) включает статьи, в которых приведены результаты научно-исследовательских работ, проведенных в университете, а также в других учебных заведениях Украины, на предприятиях, которые имеют сельскохозяйственный профиль. Вестник содержит статьи за направлениями: механотроника технических систем; тракторная энергетика; эксплуатация машинно-тракторного парка; сельскохозяйственные машины; качество, стандартизация и сертификация; механизация животноводческих ферм и безопасность жизнедеятельности. Вестник рассчитан на научных сотрудников, преподавателей, аспирантов, магистров, студентов инженерно-технических факультетов вузов сельскохозяйственного профиля, специалистов сельскохозяйственного производства.

There is growing evidence that low-cost open-source 3-D printers can reduce costs by enabling distributed manufacturing of substitutes for both specialty equipment and conventional mass-manufactured products. The rate of 3-D printable designs under open licenses is growing exponentially and there are already hundreds of designs applicable to small-scale organic farming. It has also been hypothesized that this technology could assist sustainable development in rural communities that rely on small-scale organic agriculture. To gauge the present utility of open-source 3-D printers in this organic farm context both in the developed and developing world, this paper reviews the current open-source designs available and evaluates the ability of low-cost 3-D printers to be effective at reducing the economic costs of farming.This study limits the evaluation of open-source 3-D printers to only the most-developed fused filament fabrication of the bioplastic polylactic acid (PLA). PLA is a strong biodegradable and recyclable thermoplastic appropriate for a range of representative products, which are grouped into five categories of prints: handtools, food processing, animal management, water management and hydroponics. The advantages and shortcomings of applying 3-D printing to each technology are evaluated. The results show a general technical viability and economic benefit to adopting open-source 3-D printing for any of the technologies, although the individual economic impact is highly dependent on needs and frequency of use on a specific farm. Capital costs of a 3-D printer may be saved from on-farm printing of a single advanced analytical instrument in a day or replacing hundreds of inexpensive products over a year. In order for the full potential of open-source 3-D printing to be realized to assist organic farm economic resiliency and self-sufficiency, future work is outlined in five core areas: designs of 3-D printable objects, 3-D printing materials, 3-Dprinters, software and 3-D printable repositories.

This unedited report documents research activity carried out by the author and other members of the Smart farming group at the Institute of Advanced Technology (ITMA), Universiti Putra Malaysia, during 2005-2006, on the topic of Design and Development of Smart Greenhouse for Tropical Lowlands Climate.

Con sede en México, el Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (cimmyt) es un organismo sin fines de lucro dedicado a la investigación agrícola y la capacitación. Trabaja para reducir la pobreza y el hambre mediante el aumento sustentable de la productividad del maíz y del trigo en el mundo en desarrollo. El cimmyt cuenta con el banco de semillas de maíz y trigo más grande del mundo y es conocido en particular por haber iniciado la Revolución Verde que salvó millones de vidas en Asia, hecho que motivó que el doctor Norman Borlaug, del cimmyt, recibiera el Premio Nobel de la Paz. El cimmyt es miembro del Consorcio del cgiar y recibe fondos de gobiernos nacionales, fundaciones, bancos de desarrollo y otras instituciones públicas y privadas. © Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (cimmyt), 2014. Todos los derechos reservados. Las designaciones empleadas en la presentación de los materiales incluidos en este documento de ninguna manera expresan la opinión del cimmyt o de sus patrocinadores respecto al estado legal de cualquier país, territorio, ciudad o zona, o de las autoridades de éstos, o respecto a la delimitación de sus fronteras. Las opiniones expresadas son las del (los) autor(es) y no necesariamente representan las del cimmyt ni las de nuestros aliados. El cimmyt autoriza el uso razonable de este material, siempre y cuando se cite la fuente.

RWIS is a half yearly newsletter aimed at providing information about various activities, projects, technologies developed and other events of significance in rice-wheat arena. It is brought to you by the Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains (RWC), an ecoregional program of CGIAR.

A comprehensive performance evaluation was conducted on an existing IAR multi crop thresher to identify its
capabilities and limitations on sorghum threshing. The threshing unit was identified to have some deficiencies in the
form of inadequate number of beaters and the absence of cutting knives on the cylinder cover. Test result showed that
its performance parameters were low. The output capacity, threshing efficiency, cleaning efficiency, grain damages
and scatter losses were found to be 76.32 kg/hr, 90.87%, 88.95%, 5.17% and 4.30% respectively. The thresher was
modified by redesigning the threshing, cleaning and feeding units. To increase threshing effectiveness; the number of
pegs around the threshing cylinder was increased, three rows of cutting knives were mounted on the cylinder cover
and the size of the sieve shaker holes were redesigned by considering sorghum grain size characteristics. The
redesigned thresher was fabricated using locally available materials. Its performance was evaluated under four feed
rates; 3, 4, 5 and 6 kg/min, four cylinder speeds; 600, 700, 800, and 900 rpm and two levels of moisture content (8.93
and 10.38%). Test result of the modified thresher indicate an average output capacity, threshing efficiency, cleaning
efficiency, grain damages and scatter losses values of 219.92 kg/hr, 98.00%, 95.58 %, 1.78% and 4.36% respectively

Матеріали Міжнародної науково-практичної конференції «ІННОВАЦІЙНІ РОЗРОБКИ В АГРАРНІЙ СФЕРІ» Том 1. – Харків: ХНТУСГ, 2018. – 270 с.
Із надісланих матеріалів оргкомітетом до друку рекомендовані тези 206 доповідей від 253 авторів із 17 установ та організацій.

Peeling and slicing of green mature plantains of Nendran variety are labor intensive and costly. Based on the physical and mechanical properties of green mature plantain the peeler cum slicer was developed. The peeling unit of the fabricated machine consists of feeding cylinders, peeling blades, conical throat, and splitters. The green plantain fed into the feeding cylinder was pushed down by a pushing mechanism. Slicing unit consists of a cylindrical guide, slicing disc and blade. Slicing was achieved by rotating the disc at 300 min-1. Average peeling efficiency and material loss were obtained at 88.94% and 13.69%, respectively. The diameter of feeding cylinder was significant at 1% (P<0.01) level of overall capacity of the ​machine. The overall capacity, slicing efficiency and effective capacity of the plantain slicer was found to be 89.27 kg·h-1, 89.16 kg·h-1 and 79.59 kg·h-1, respectively. The capacity of the developed peeler cum slicer was four times higher than manual operation.

The study dealt with the design and technical evaluation of a pellet mill developed in the Philippines that utilizes the roll-type extrusion method of producing powder materials of different mixtures into pelleted feeds and driven by a 2 Hp electric motor. It is comprised of a feed hopper, pelleting chamber, pellet roll, die plate, discharge chute and frame. As the pellet rolls rotated, force is also applied creating rearrangement of the particles in order to fill the voids or holes of the die plate. The machine can produce 1.272±0.009 kg/min or about 76.32±0.54 kg/hr of pelletized feeds. It is an efficient, portable and user-friendly machine that can convert a kilo of mash feeds by 97.87±0.596%. The pellets produced have a 4-mm diameter with a length and weight of 10.667±0.667 mm and 0.138±0.005 g, respectively, while the moisture content after sundrying was 25.467±9.744% and the total solids was 74.533±9.744%. In addition, the pellets produced had a bulk density of 0.510±0.015 g/cc, pellet durability index of 95.77±0.596% and a percent fine of 1.8±0.115.