Journal of Agricultural Engineering最新文献

{"title":"Comparing actual transpiration fluxes as measured at leaf-scale and calculated by a physically based agro-hydrological model","authors":"Ameneh Sobhani, S. Hassan, G. Dragonetti, R. Balestrini, M. Centritto, A. Coppola, A. Comegna","doi":"10.4081/jae.2023.1527","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2023.1527","url":null,"abstract":"The main purpose of this paper is to compare the actual transpiration rates from tomato crop, as measured at leaf scale and estimated by a macroscopic approach in an agro-hydrological model, named FLOWS-HAGES, under variable soil properties and water availability. To this aim, sixteen plots were cultivated with tomatoes in Metaponto, Southern Italy. Soil hydraulic properties (SHP) were obtained using a fast in-situ characterization method. Leaf-area index (LAI) was measured using a leaf-area meter. SHP and LAI were then used in the physically-based FLOWS-HAGES which allowed calculating the macroscopic transpiration rates, Ta,m. Single-leaf transpiration rates, Ta,l, and stomatal conductance, gs,l, were measured in situ. For comparing with Ta,m, gs,l was upscaled by Big-Leaf approach to canopy scale stomatal conductance, gs,c, which was applied to Penman-Monteith model to obtain the canopy-scale transpiration, Ta,c. Finally, multiple linear regression (MLR) was used to find the statistical relationship between Ta,m and Ta,c, and the SHP and gs,c. Results showed that the macroscopic approach smooths the spatial variability of transpiration rates. Ta,c increased with the saturated water content, θs, and the slope of the water retention curve, n, while Ta,m decreased with increasing θs and n. MLR improved significantly by introducing gs,c to predict Ta,m.","PeriodicalId":48507,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agricultural Engineering","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91343471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Definition of linear regression models to calculate the technical parameters of Italian agricultural tractors","authors":"A. Calcante, R. Oberti, F. Tangorra","doi":"10.4081/jae.2023.1525","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2023.1525","url":null,"abstract":"As it is known, the modern agricultural tractor is no longer just a machine capable to pull agricultural trailers and to operate implements but has evolved into a multi-purpose and mobile energy source with standardized interfaces (mechanical, hydraulic and electronic) to connect to a several typologies of agricultural operating machines. It follows that the selection of the most appropriate tractors for the specific production realities is a crucial aspect for farmers, advisors, contractors and farm machinery experts. The tractors choice thus must consider different parameters, concerning not only the cost of the machines but also their dimensions, power, weight, technological level, etc. The availability of simplified models for estimating the purchase investment and sizing the machine in relation to its mechanical characteristics could be a useful tool in the choice of the tractor more suitable for the specific agricultural context. The aim of this study was to collect and to analyse the technical parameters of tractors present on the Italian market (more than 1300 models), divided into: i) four wheel-drive (4WD) standard tractors, ii) two wheel-drive (2WD) standard tractors, iii) narrow track 4WD tractors, iv) Isodiametric specialized 4WD tractors, v) crawler tractors and vi) rubber-tracked tractors), in order to define the most relevant parameter-to-parameter and parameter-to-price relations for updating reference models to calculate the machine price and the weight to engine power ratio. Other relations, including the three-point hitch efficiency with respect to tractor’s weight and the relationship between the rated engine power and its displacement, are proposed in order to provide synthetic tools to characterise and to compare - from the mechanical point of view - the different categories of agricultural tractors.","PeriodicalId":48507,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agricultural Engineering","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82837388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Modelling the impacts of water harvesting and climate change on rainfed maize yields in Senegal","authors":"A. Setti, G. Castelli, L. Villani, R. Ferrise, E. Bresci","doi":"10.4081/jae.2023.1524","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2023.1524","url":null,"abstract":"Senegalese agriculture is threatened by climate change effects, affecting rainfall variability both at interannual and interdecadal timescales. Using FAO’s AquaCrop crop-growth model, we tested the efficiency of an in situ water harvesting technique - tied ridges - for maize cropping in the Fatick region in Senegal, in response to changes in temperature and precipitation with different fertility levels and different soils. Results showed that, considering the current climate and soil fertility, tied ridges did not significantly impact maize yields. The rainfall amount was enough for maize production and to avoid water stress during the cropping season. Under perturbed climates and, especially, in years with low average rainfall amounts, high losses in yield were registered under optimal fertility conditions (up to 80%). The strongest effect was obtained when tied ridges were simulated on clay soil, enhancing yields by 5.6% and 13% at actual and optimal fertility conditions, respectively. Our results highlighted how the current maize production in the Fatick region in Senegal is sustainable in the current climate scenario, while it could be potentially impacted by climate change in the near future. In a pessimistic climate change scenario, in situ water harvesting has the potential to avoid excessive crop losses.","PeriodicalId":48507,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agricultural Engineering","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89361354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of the ecosystem services given by rural and urban green areas to preserve high quality territories from land take: the case of the Province of Monza Brianza (Italy)","authors":"G. Senes, N. Fumagalli, Paolo Stefano Ferrario, R. Rovelli, F. Riva, G. Sacchi, P. Gamba, Giacomo Ruffini, Giacomo Redondi","doi":"10.4081/jae.2023.1526","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2023.1526","url":null,"abstract":"Rural and urban green areas are essential territories that support life and ecosystems. The significant reduction of these areas, due to the urbanization is a pressing issue. The process of land take not only consumes land resources but also the connected ecosystems and the benefits generated for the human society. \u0000Reducing the quantity of land taken is imperative but preserving high quality territories is essential to achieving sustainable development. Evaluating the quality of non-urbanized areas can be performed by assessing the Ecosystem Services (ESs) provided by these areas. \u0000In this paper, the authors present a further step, an evolution and deepening, of the previous methodology (published in 2020) for evaluating the quality of rural and urban green areas through the assessment of Ecosystem Services provided. \u0000The methodology first allows the identification of the ESs provided by different typologies of rural and urban green areas according to the CICES - Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (provisioning, regulation and maintenance, and cultural). Then, it allows the calculation of several singular indexes and a final Composite Quality Index (CQI) through the use of GIS (Geographical Information Systems). An Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was performed with the creation of different scenarios to consider the different importance of the singular indexes assigned by planners and communities involved. \u0000The methodology was applied to the Province of Monza Brianza (Italy) for testing and validation purposes. The application to the Municipality of Sovico, which is presented in this report, allowed for the identification of areas with higher quality in the different scenarios that were created to consider the relative importance of the territorial characteristics.","PeriodicalId":48507,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agricultural Engineering","volume":"491 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77056366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of energy savings in white winemaking: impact of temperature management combined with specific yeasts choice on required heat dissipation during industrial-scale fermentation","authors":"V. Giovenzana, R. Beghi, R. Guidetti, Massimiliano Luison, T. Nardi","doi":"10.4081/jae.2023.1523","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2023.1523","url":null,"abstract":"Heat removal significantly impacts energy request in the winery and is related to the temperature control of wine tanks during the fermentation process and the wine maturation phase. The aim of this work was to determine the heat required to be dissipated from wine tanks under different temperature programs, in order to evaluate the potential effects on energy saving during industrial-scale fermentations of Glera and Pinot Grigio wines. Comparative tests were carried out by using properly chosen yeast strains during fermentation at usual winery temperature (15°C or 17-15°C) and 19°C and verifying the quality of the resulting wines in term of sensory, chemical and aromatic features. Fermentation required on average 7.0 Wh dm-3 must at 19°C and 10.3 Wh dm-3 must at 15/17-15°C, reducing energy use by ~32 % at the higher temperature. The tested fermentation protocols, coupled with the use of some specific selected yeast strains, have positive effects on energy saving without compromising sensory, chemical and aromatic profiles of the resulting wine. This work suggests how wineries can adopt a more sustainable winemaking process with low energy consumption, and consequently to propose eco-labeling strategies and price-premium policies.","PeriodicalId":48507,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agricultural Engineering","volume":"9 Suppl 2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78351463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"3D numerical modeling of THI distribution in livestock structures: a cattle barn case study","authors":"Carlos Alejandro Perez Garcia, Marco Bovo, D. Torreggiani, P. Tassinari, S. Benni","doi":"10.4081/jae.2023.1522","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2023.1522","url":null,"abstract":"In dairy cattle farming, heat stress largely impairs production, health, and animal welfare. The goal of this study is to develop a workflow and a numerical analysis procedure to provide a real-time 3D distribution of the THI in a generic cattle barn based on temperature and humidity monitored in sample points, besides characterizing the relationship between indoor THI and outside weather conditions. This research was carried out with reference to the study case of a cattle barn. A model has been developed to define the indoor three-dimensional spatial distribution of the Temperature-Humidity Index of a cattle barn, based on environmental measurements at different heights of the building. As a core of the model, the Discrete Sibson Interpolation method was used to render a point cloud that represents the THI values in the non-sampled areas. The area between 1-2 meters was emphasized as the region of greatest interest to quantify the heat waves perceived by dairy cows. The model represents an effective tool to distinguish different areas of the animal occupied zone characterized by different values of THI.","PeriodicalId":48507,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agricultural Engineering","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84493027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Proposal of an integrated 3D architectural survey method for application in historic agri-food building analysis and representation","authors":"S. Praticò, R. Tripodi, Viviana Tirella, S. Di Fazio, F. Barreca, G. Modica","doi":"10.4081/jae.2023.1521","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2023.1521","url":null,"abstract":"In Italy historic agri-food buildings can be considered a relevant material expression and testimony of century-old agriculture and food processing practices handed down by generations. Recently they have gained ever-growing importance as a part of the wider architectural heritage. As such, they deserve dedicated general surveys to build a thorough knowledge of their distinctive characteristics and investigate their current condition, this way setting the basis for the implementation of planning and management actions for their sustainable valorisation. To this end, building information modelling (BIM) can be considered an efficient strategy to preserve construction information by creating 3D models based on surveys of the built heritage. To acquire in fast and accurate way geometric, reflectance and colour data of rural buildings, as 3D point-cloud, the terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) represents a powerful tool. The traditional TLS-based survey methods, in the context of historic agricultural buildings, have several limitations, mainly due to the presence of inaccessible parts and bulky machinery once used for processing and storage. In the present research, to overcome these issues and thus have a complete survey, we describe a proposal of an integrated methodology for obtaining 3D point-cloud data of existing rural agri-food buildings based on the integrated use of TLS, handheld scanner (HS), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) instruments. The proposed methodology was tested in surveying three historic agri-food buildings and the accuracy of the obtained 3D point-cloud was calculated by means of the root mean square error (RMSE) on the X, Y, and Z alignment of the two different 3D point-clouds in correspondence of the used B/W target. Moreover, a measure of the distance between two merged 3D point-clouds, in their overlap area has been performed using the multiscale model to model cloud comparison (M3C2). RMSE analysis always shows values lesser than 1 cm and M3C2 shows values between 0 and about 6 cm.","PeriodicalId":48507,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agricultural Engineering","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73605051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of Irrigation Level and Sowing Date on Yield of Field Bean in Saline Soils of Konkan Region of Maharashtra","authors":"","doi":"10.52151/jae2023601.1800","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52151/jae2023601.1800","url":null,"abstract":"A field experiment was conducted during consecutive Rabi seasons of 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 in coastal saline soils at Khar Land Research Station, Panvel, Maharashtra, India to study the effect of different sowing dates and irrigation levels on the production potential of field bean. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design (FRBD) with four replications, comprising three dates of sowing viz., immediately after harvest of paddy (D1 ), 10 days after harvest of paddy (D2 ), and 20 days after harvest of paddy (D3 ); and three irrigation levels viz., no irrigation (I0 ), one irrigation at flowering (I1 ), and one irrigation each at flowering and at pod formation (I2 ). The results showed that the treatment D1 recorded significantly higher seed yield of field bean (915 kg.ha-1) over D2 (713 kg.ha-1) and D3 (605 kg.ha-1). Among the irrigation levels, treatment I1 resulted in significantly higher seed yield of field bean (856 kg.ha-1) over I2 (726 kg.ha-1) and I0 (650 kg.ha-1). The treatment combination I1 D1 produced significantly higher seed yield of field bean (1065 kg.ha-1) with higher net realization (1,06,500 ₹.ha-1), net income (55,222 ₹.ha-1) and benefit cost ratio (2.08). Both sowing date and irrigation level played important role in management of root zone soil moisture and soil salinity which influenced the seed yield. Sowing of field bean immediately after the harvest of paddy and providing one irrigation at the time of flowering is recommended to obtain better yield and returns from the field beans cultivated in Konkan region of Maharashtra.","PeriodicalId":48507,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agricultural Engineering","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75178311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Postharvest Physicochemical Quality Assessment of Greenhouse Produced Soilless Cucumbers in Relation to Differential Fertigation","authors":"","doi":"10.52151/jae2023601.1795","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52151/jae2023601.1795","url":null,"abstract":"A study was undertaken to investigate the physico-chemical quality of cucumbers produced in soilless media under naturally ventilated greenhouse microclimatic conditions. The monitored microclimatic parameters included mainly air temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation. The air temperature varied in the range of 19.1-29.3°C and 22.6- 32.4°C during season 1 and season 2, respectively. Relative humidity varied in the range of 55.0-91.5% and 59.3-85.3% during season 1 and season 2, respectively. Solar radiation varied in the range of 80-147 W.m-2 and 97-172 W.m-2 during season 1 and season 2, respectively. The quality of cucumber was significantly affected by growing seasons, crop varieties, and fertigation levels. The vitamin C content, total phenolic content, and total chlorophyll content were significantly higher for PBRK-4 variety compared to Kafka and Multistar during both growing seasons, mainly due to varietal differences. Fruit firmness was also highest for PBRK-4 variety for both growing seasons at 100% level of fertigation. The vitamin C content, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, chlorophyll content, and firmness of cucumber fruit were in the range of 3.29-5.52 mg.100 g-1, 0.550-1,724 mg.100 g-1, 12.7-21.8%, 117.09-129.97 mg.100 g-1, and 30,960-34,030 gf, respectively. The partially controlled growing conditions helped in improving the physico-chemical quality of cucumber to a great extent compared to open field conditions.","PeriodicalId":48507,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agricultural Engineering","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86995017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Water Delivery Performance of Canal Irrigation: A Case Study of Chalakudy River Diversion Scheme","authors":"","doi":"10.52151/jae2023601.1798","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52151/jae2023601.1798","url":null,"abstract":"The role of irrigation is important in mitigating the challenges involved in food production under the changing climate scenarios. Adequacy and equity in water distribution are the primary concern regarding the performance of any irrigation scheme. Conveyance efficiency and two adequacy indicators, namely, Relative Water Supply and Adequacy were used to evaluate the performance of Chalakudy River Diversion Scheme (CRDS) located in central Kerala, India, in the present study, Water withdrawal data collected from Irrigation Department, and data collected from field measurements of canal discharge and seepage loss were used in the study. Irrigation requirement of the canal command area was worked out using the FAO’s CROPWAT 8.0 software. The results revealed that the average annual irrigation demand of the CRDS command area is 46.90 Mm3 . Measured flow rate through the canal system showed that the flow decreases towards the tail end. Loss of water through seepage from the canal was high in the irrigation scheme due to the highly damaged condition of canal lining and poor maintenance. The CRDS canal system’s overall conveyance efficiency was found to be 51%. Based on Relative Water Supply and Adequacy Indicator, functioning of the irrigation scheme falls in the category of ‘fair’. Apart from proper repair and maintenance of canal system, conjunctive use of groundwater and canal water for irrigation is suggested towards the tail reaches to alleviate irrigation water inadequacy problems in the CRDS command area.","PeriodicalId":48507,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agricultural Engineering","volume":"50 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84345818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}