Glycemic indices, glycemic load and glycemic response for seventeen varieties of dates grown in Saudi Arabia.

Science.gov (United States)

AlGeffari, Metab Ali; Almogbel, Ebtehal Solaiman; Alhomaidan, Homaidan Turki; El-Mergawi, Ragab; Barrimah, Issam Alsaed

2016-01-01

Dates are consumed worldwide, and are an important fruit for many individuals in Saudi Arabia. Currently, limited information is available on the glycemic indices of different date varieties. To determine the glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL) and glycemic response for 17 common date varieties in Saudi Arabia. Prospective clinical trial on healthy subjects. College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia. The available carbohydrate content of Tamer stage dates was determined using standard laboratory methods. Healthy subjects (ten males and nine females) received 50 g of glucose (on three separate occasions) and 50 g equivalent of available carbohydrates from the seventeen varieties of date (each once). The GI and GL were then calculated. GI, GL, and glycemic response. The mean (SEM) GI of the date samples was 55.2 (7.7) (range, 42.8-74.6). Sellaj and Maktoomi exhibited the highest GI (74.6 [10.1] and 71.0 [11.1]), respectively, whereas Shaqra, Sukkary, and Sag'ai had the lowest GI (42.8 [5.5], 43.4 [4.7] and 44.6 [6]), respectively. The GL of the date samples ranged from 8.5 to 24. Sellaj had a high GL (24), whereas Ajwah and Shaqra had a low GL (8.5 and 9.2). The analyses suggested no significant difference in GI between the date varieties. However, the GL values differed significantly between the 17 date varieties (P Saudi Arabia. The identification of date varieties with lower glycemic responses may help lower the GI of the diet of both healthy and diabetic Saudi individuals. We used dates at the Tamer stage, which may not be translatable to all types of dates.

Determination of ripeness stages of Mazafati variety of date fruit by Raman spectroscopy

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R Khodabakhshian

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The economical yield of date fruits depends on many factors (Al-Shahib and Marshall, 2003. One of them is harvesting in optimum stage. Generally, date fruits have four distinct stages of ripeness to satisfy different consumption requirements (e.g., fresh and processed. They are known throughout the world by their Arabic names which are Kimri, Khalal, Rutab and Tamr in order of ripeness (Imad and Abdul Wahab, 1995; Al-Shahib and Marshall, 2003; Sahari et al., 2007. Decreasing moisture content and increasing sugar content happens gradually while the date ripeness approaches to Tamr stage. From Kimri to Khalal stage, the size and acidity decreases when the color of Mazafati variety changes from green to red. The change in acidity continues from Rutab to Tamr stage while color transforms from brown to black. At the final stage of ripeness, Mazafati variety is soft and has a good storability (Al-Shahib and Marshall, 2003. The main Raman techniques commonly applied in agricultural product and food analyzing include dispersive Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform (FT, Raman spectroscopy, Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS and Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS. Synytsya et al. (2003 illustrated that FT-Raman spectroscopy is a valuable tool in structural analysis of commercial citrus and sugar beet pectin. Yang and Irudayaraj (2003 employed an FT-Raman approach to detect and classify foodborne microorganisms on the whole apple surface for the first time. Schulz et al., (2005 revealed the potential of FT-Raman spectroscopy in natural carotenoid analysis. Also, many researchers have attempted to apply FT-Raman spectra on the whole fruits and vegetables. FT-Raman spectroscopy was used by Veraverbeke et al. (2005 to evaluate the natural, intact wax layers on the surface of whole fruits. Nikbakht et al. (2011 used a FT-Raman spectroscopy for qualitative and quantitative analysis of tomato ripeness parameters. The scope of this

Absorption of macronutrients by cassava in different harvest dates and dosages of nitrogen

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Nádia Souza dos Santos

Full Text Available A field experiment was carried out in 2010-2011 crop years in the experimental area of the Centro de Ciências Agrárias of the Universidade Federal de Roraima, in Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of nitrogen availability on the concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S in cassava, cultivar Aciolina, in different harvest times. A randomized block design was used in split-plot, with four replications. Dosages of N in cover were applied randomly on the plots (0, 30, 60, 150 and 330 kg ha-1, and in the subplot the harvest dates 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270 and 300 days after emergence (DAE. The vegetal material was collected, ground and then underwent an analysis for determination of nutrients concentrations in the leaves (N, P, K, Ca Mg and S. The harvest dates and dosages of N affect the nutrient concentrations in the cassava leaves, cv. Aciolina. The macronutrients dosage in the leaves, 120 DAE, is a good indicator of the nutritional status of the cassava plant. The dosage of 150 kg ha-1 of N raises the tubers roots per plant. The sequence of the macronutrients concentration in the leaves of the cassava, cv. Aciolina is N>Ca>K>Mg>P>S.

Effect of Harvest Period on the Proximate Composition and Functional and Sensory Properties of Gari Produced from Local and Improved Cassava (Manihot esculenta Varieties

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Alphonse Laya

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study is aimed at evaluating the proximate composition and functional and sensory characteristics of gari obtained from five cassava varieties (EN, AD, TMS92/0326, TMS96/1414, and IRAD4115. These cassavas were harvested during the dry season 12 months after planting (12MAP and in the rainy season (15MAP. Results showed that the characteristics of gari varied significantly (p<0.05 with the variety and the harvest period. Gari from EN cassava harvested at 12MAP had the highest total carbohydrates (78.07% dry weight, starch (61%, and proteins content, while gari from TMS 96/1414 variety (12MAP had high amino acids (10.25 mg/g and phenolic compounds (9.31 mg/g content. The gari from IRAD4115 had the highest value of ash content (20.62 mg/g at 12MAP. The soluble sugar content was high in the gari from cassava harvested at 12MAP while free cyanide reduced significantly in gari from cassava harvested at 12MAP. The water absorption capacity, swelling power, and bulk density were significantly (p<0.05 high in the gari from EN cassava variety at 12MAP. Compared to commercial gari (3.30, gari from EN local cassava had the best overall acceptability (4.35 followed by those obtained from TMS92/0326 and TMS92/1414 varieties, respectively.

Metabolome based volatiles profiling in 13 date palm fruit varieties from Egypt via SPME GC-MS and chemometrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalil, Mohammed N A; Fekry, Mostafa I; Farag, Mohamed A

2017-02-15

Dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) are distributed worldwide as major food complement providing a source of sugars and dietary fiber as well as macro- and micronutrients. Although phytochemical analyses of date fruit non-volatile metabolites have been reported, much less is known about the aroma given off by the fruit, which is critical for dissecting sensory properties and quality traits. Volatile constituents from 13 date varieties grown in Egypt were profiled using SPME-GCMS coupled to multivariate data analysis to explore date fruit aroma composition and investigate potential future uses by food industry. A total of 89 volatiles were identified where lipid-derived volatiles and phenylpropanoid derivatives were the major components of date fruit aroma. Multivariate data analyses revealed that 2,3-butanediol, hexanal, hexanol and cinnamaldehyde contributed the most to classification of different varieties. This study provides the most complete map of volatiles in Egyptian date fruit, with Siwi and Sheshi varieties exhibiting the most distinct aroma among studied date varieties. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differentiation of Commercial PDO Wines Produced in Istria (Croatia) According to Variety and Harvest Year Based on HS-SPME-GC/MS Volatile Aroma Compound Profiling.

Science.gov (United States)

Lukić, Igor; Horvat, Ivana

2017-03-01

To differentiate monovarietal wines made from native and introduced varieties in Istria (Croatia), samples of Malvazija istarska, Chardonnay and Muscat yellow from two harvest years (2013 and 2014) were subjected to headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric analysis (HS-SPME-GC/MS) of volatile aroma compounds. Significant effects of variety and harvest year were determined, but their interaction complicated the differentiation. Particular compounds were consistent as markers of variety in both years: nerol for Malvazija, ethyl cinnamate and a tentatively identified isomer of dimethylbenzaldehyde for Chardonnay, and terpenes for Muscat yellow. Wines from 2013 contained higher concentrations of the majority of important volatiles. A 100% correct differentiation of Malvazija istarska and Chardonnay wines according to both variety and harvest year was achieved by stepwise linear discriminant analysis.

Effects of Post-harvest Storage Duration and Variety on Nutrient Digestibility and Energy Content Wheat in Finishing Pigs.

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Guo, P P; Li, P L; Li, Z C; Stein, H H; Liu, L; Xia, T; Yang, Y Y; Ma, Y X

2015-10-01

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of post-harvest storage duration and wheat variety on the digestibility and energy content of new season wheat fed to finishing pigs. Two wheat varieties (Shi and Zhong) were harvested in 2013 and stored in the warehouse of the Fengning Pig Experimental Base at China Agricultural University for 3, 6, 9, or 12 mo. For each storage period, 12 barrows were placed in metabolism crates and allotted to diets containing 1 of the 2 wheat varieties in a randomized complete block design. The experimental diets contained 97.34% wheat and 2.66% of a vitamin and trace mineral premix. With an extension of storage duration from 3 mo to 12 mo, the gross energy (GE) and crude protein (CP) of the wheat decreased by 2.0% and 12.01%, respectively, while the concentration of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and starch content increased by 30.26%, 19.08%, and 2.46%, respectively. Total non-starch polysaccharide, total arabinose, total xylose and total mannose contents decreased by 46.27%, 45.80%, 41.71%, and 75.66%, respectively. However, there were no significant differences in the chemical composition between the two wheat varieties with the exception of ADF which was approximately 13.37% lower in Shi. With an extension of storage duration from 3 mo to 12 mo, the digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME) content and the apparent total tract digestibility of GE, CP, dry matter, organic matter, ether extract, ADF and metabolizability of energy in wheat decreased linearly (pdigestibility of NDF changed quadratically (pdigestibility (pdigestibility of variety Zhong was stable during 9 mo of storage, while the CP digestibility of variety Shi decreased (p<0.05). In conclusion, the GE, DE, and ME of wheat was stable during the first 3 to 6 mo of post-harvest storage, and decreased during the following 6 to 12 mo of storage under the conditions of this study.

Differentiation of Commercial PDO Wines Produced in Istria (Croatia According to Variety and Harvest Year Based on HS-SPME-GC/MS Volatile Aroma Compound Profiling

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Igor Lukić

2017-01-01

Full Text Available To differentiate monovarietal wines made from native and introduced varieties in Istria (Croatia, samples of Malvazija istarska, Chardonnay and Muscat yellow from two harvest years (2013 and 2014 were subjected to headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric analysis (HS-SPME-GC/MS of volatile aroma compounds. Significant effects of variety and harvest year were determined, but their interaction complicated the differentiation. Particular compounds were consistent as markers of variety in both years: nerol for Malvazija, ethyl cinnamate and a tentatively identified isomer of dimethylbenzaldehyde for Chardonnay, and terpenes for Muscat yellow. Wines from 2013 contained higher concentrations of the majority of important volatiles. A 100 % correct differentiation of Malvazija istarska and Chardonnay wines according to both variety and harvest year was achieved by stepwise linear discriminant analysis.

Effect of cropping system and age of plant at harvest on tuber rot and performance of elite cassava varieties in derived savannah

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Joy N Odedina

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Devastated tuber rot disease among farmers prompted the evaluation of the elite improved varieties in the intercrop and the practice of delaying harvesting when there is glut in the market necessitated this study. Trial was carried out at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta between 2011 and 2014 to evaluate yield performance of 21 elite cassava varieties planted as sole crop verse intercropped and harvested at different age. The 2 x 21 x 3 factorial experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design and replicated three times. The tuber yield obtained from sole plot in 2011/2012 cropping season was significantly higher than intercrop whereas those of 2012/2014 cropping season were similar. Land Equivalent Ratio was above one in both cropping seasons indicating that the performance of the improved varieties in intercrop was efficient. The pooled mean tuber yield showed that TMS 30572, 92/0326, 95/0211, 01/1371, 00/0338, 01/0046, 00/0098, 01/1097, 01/0085, 98/0581 and 98/510 were among the top eight varieties. Harvesting could be delayed up to 15 months after planting to reduce tuber rot.

Identification of Heading Date Six (Hd6 Gene Derived from Rice Mutant Varieties

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Aryanti Aryanti

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Genes which were associated with flowering time to indicate the early maturity is known as heading date (Hd. Heading date six (Hd6 gene was identified from rice mutant varieties were Atomita 2, Atomita 3, Atomita 4, Bestari, Cilosari, Diah Suci, Sidenuk, Kahayan, Mayang, Meraoke, Mira-1, Pandan Putri, Superwin, Suluttan Unsrat 1, Suluttan Unsrat 2, Winongo, Woyla, Yuwono, while the rice var. Nipponbare was used as a positive control. All of rice mutant varieties derived from mutation induction by the dose of 0.2 kGy. The aim of this experiment was to find out the data base of mutant varieties which could be used as parent material with earlier maturity trait genetically. To obtain the DNA of plants, young leaves of each variety were extracted by liquid nitrogen, and then lysis and extracted by Kit Plant Genomic DNA. The amplification of DNA with 7 primers of Hd6 conducted of 40 cycles by PCR and were continues to separated by 1 % agarose. The results were shown that the rice Mira-1 and Bestari varieties obtained from mutation of Cisantana highly different from one to another on 7 primers of Hd6 used. Mayang variety from mutation of cross breeding between Cilosari and IR64, Pandan putri from Pandan wangi and Woyla from mutation of cross breeding from Atomita 2 and IR64 were highly different with those of their parents. Identification of Hd6 gene on Sidenuk variety was shown the same bands pattern with Nipponbare as control positive toward all primers used, this variety would be better for earlier maturity parent material compared to others. The information could be useful for breeding programs aiming to develop early maturing widely adaptive and high yielding rice cultivars.

Evaluation of Sowing Date, Plant Density and Harvest Method on Growth, Yield and Yield Components of Baby Corn (Zea mays L. var. SC403su

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A. Rahmani

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Considering importance of baby corn, the study was consisted of sowing date (14th June, 3th July and 24th July as main Plots and plant densities (6.5, 8.5 and 10.5. plant m-2 as sub Plots and two harvest methods (baby corn, as first harvest sweet corn and next ear as baby corn on Growth parameter and yield of baby corn (Zea mays L. Var SC403su in agricultural Research Center and Natural Resources of Khorasan Razavi Province, Mashhad on 2009. The experiment was carried out in a factorial split plot design based on randomized completely block design with 4 replications. The results showed the highest plant height on sowing date 3thJuly with average 168.6 cm. Also the highest standard ear percentage that one of the important factors for food manufactory had on sowing date 24th July with plant density 10.5 plants plant m-2, by harvesting method baby corn with 63.9 percentages. Also The results showed the highest substandard ear percentage of baby corn was belonged to sowing date 24th July with 8.5 plant m-2, by harvesting method (baby corn sweet corn with 74.6%. The highest harvest ear index was belonged to sowing date14thJune, by harvesting method (baby corn sweet corn with 35.29 percentages. Therefore, sowing date 3thJuly for forage production with average 4 kg m-2 by harvesting method baby corn are recommended for lateral produce production. Considering to Mashhad weather conditions, producing the highest and best standard ear percentage, density, 10.5 plants per square meter and 24th July planting is recommended.

Nutritional assessment and antioxidant analysis of 22 date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) varieties growing in Sultanate of Oman.

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Al-Harrasi, Ahmad; Rehman, Najeeb Ur; Hussain, Javid; Khan, Abdul Latif; Al-Rawahi, Ahmed; Gilani, Syed Abdullah; Al-Broumi, Mohammed; Ali, Liaqat

2014-09-01

To assess the nutritional values and antioxidant analysis of 22 varieties of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fruit collected from various regions of the Sultanate of Oman. Nutritional parameters including moisture, fats, fiber, proteins, carbohydrates, and energy value were determined using standard methods of Association of Official Analytical Chemists. The antioxidant activity was screened for their free radical scavenging properties using ascorbic acid as a standard antioxidant. Free radical scavenging activity was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical. The results of the date fruits (dried/tamar stage) revealed significantly higher moisture (15%-21%), dry matter (78%-86%), ash content (1.0%-2.0%), fiber (1.0%-2.5%), fat (0.1%-0.7%), protein (1.8%-3.8%), nitrogen (0.25%-0.55%), carbohydrates (74.5%-82.4%), and energy values (307-345.5 kcal/100 g). The antioxidant activity ranged between 40% and 86% depending upon the type of date and location. Overall, Khalas, Fardh and Khasab have significantly higher nutritional attributes; however, other varieties such as Barshi, Qush LuLu, Handal, and Khunaizi also have comparable nutritional values. The cluster analysis further evidenced the correlation of proximate parameters in different locations. Moreover, the nutritional and antioxidant attributes of similar date varieties collected from different locations were slightly varied. The present finding helps in understanding the nutritional significance of different date varieties in Oman while the lesser known varieties can be improved through sustainable horticultural practices as a valuable product. The study further reveals that the consumption of these dates' fruits would exert several beneficial effects by virtue of their antioxidant activity. Copyright © 2014 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Variety and Harvesting Season Effects on Antioxidant Activity and Vitamins Content of Citrus sinensis Macfad.

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Vanessa Cardeñosa

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Five sweet orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck varieties cultivated in Huelva (Spain and picked at two seasons during two consecutive years, were characterized for their antioxidant activity (free radicals scavenging activity, reducing power and lipid peroxidation inhibition and vitamin content (vitamin E and vitamin C. The effects induced by sweet orange variety and stage of maturity were comprehensively compared by applying 2-way ANOVA and linear discriminant analysis. The results indicated higher differences in antioxidant activity and vitamin contents in response to the effect of the harvesting season, when compared to the effect of sweet orange variety. Nevertheless, the results observed in 2012 showed less marked differences among the assayed sweet orange varieties. Either way, it might be concluded that oranges sampled in January show the highest antioxidant activity and vitamin contents. Furthermore, concerning the properties evaluated in this work, all sweet orange varieties represent good alternatives, except for Rhode Summer, which would not be the preferable choice as a target to enhance sweet orange overall characteristics.

Glycemic indices of five varieties of dates in healthy and diabetic subjects

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Gariballa Salah

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This study was designed to determine the glycemic indices of five commonly used varieties of dates in healthy subjects and their effects on postprandial glucose excursions in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods Composition analysis was carried out for five types of dates (Tamer stage. The weights of the flesh of the dates equivalent to 50 g of available carbohydrates were calculated. The study subjects were thirteen healthy volunteers with a mean (± SD age of 40.2 ± 6.7 years and ten participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (controlled on lifestyle measures and/or metformin with a mean HbA1c (± SD of 6.6 ± (0.7% and a mean age (± SD of 40.8 ± 5.7 years. Each subject was tested on eight separate days with 50 g of glucose (on 3 occasions and 50 g equivalent of available carbohydrates from the 5 varieties of date (each on one occasion. Capillary glucose was measured in the healthy subjects at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min and for the diabetics at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 min. The glycemic indices were determined as ratios of the incremental areas under the response curves for the dates compared to glucose. Statistical analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test and repeated measures analysis of variance. Results Mean glycemic indices ± SEM of the dates for the healthy individuals were 54.0 ± 6.1, 53.5 ± 8.6, 46.3 ± 7.1, 49.1 ± 3.6 and 55.1 ± 7.7 for Fara'd, Lulu, Bo ma'an, Dabbas and Khalas, respectively. Corresponding values for those with type 2 diabetes were very similar (46.1 ± 6.2, 43.8 ± 7.7, 51.8 ± 6.9, 50.2 ± 3.9 and 53.0 ± 6.0. There were no statistically significant differences in the GIs between the control and the diabetic groups for the five types of dates, nor were there statistically significant differences among the dates' GIs (df = 4, F = 0.365, p = 0.83. Conclusion The results show low glycemic indices for the five types of dates included in the study and

Effects of Post-harvest Storage Duration and Variety on Nutrient Digestibility and Energy Content Wheat in Finishing Pigs

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P. P. Guo

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to investigate the effects of post-harvest storage duration and wheat variety on the digestibility and energy content of new season wheat fed to finishing pigs. Two wheat varieties (Shi and Zhong were harvested in 2013 and stored in the warehouse of the Fengning Pig Experimental Base at China Agricultural University for 3, 6, 9, or 12 mo. For each storage period, 12 barrows were placed in metabolism crates and allotted to diets containing 1 of the 2 wheat varieties in a randomized complete block design. The experimental diets contained 97.34% wheat and 2.66% of a vitamin and trace mineral premix. With an extension of storage duration from 3 mo to 12 mo, the gross energy (GE and crude protein (CP of the wheat decreased by 2.0% and 12.01%, respectively, while the concentration of neutral detergent fiber (NDF, acid detergent fiber (ADF and starch content increased by 30.26%, 19.08%, and 2.46%, respectively. Total non-starch polysaccharide, total arabinose, total xylose and total mannose contents decreased by 46.27%, 45.80%, 41.71%, and 75.66%, respectively. However, there were no significant differences in the chemical composition between the two wheat varieties with the exception of ADF which was approximately 13.37% lower in Shi. With an extension of storage duration from 3 mo to 12 mo, the digestible energy (DE, metabolizable energy (ME content and the apparent total tract digestibility of GE, CP, dry matter, organic matter, ether extract, ADF and metabolizability of energy in wheat decreased linearly (p<0.01 by 5.74%, 7.60%, 3.75%, 3.88%, 3.50%, 2.47%, 26.22%, 27.62%, and 3.94%, respectively. But the digestibility of NDF changed quadratically (p<0.01. There was an interaction between wheat variety and storage time for CP digestibility (p<0.05, such that the CP digestibility of variety Zhong was stable during 9 mo of storage, while the CP digestibility of variety Shi decreased (p<0.05. In conclusion, the GE, DE, and ME

Irradiation versus methyl bromide fumigation or heating as procedures for increasing shelf life of dry date varieties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Samahy, S.K.; Abd El-Hady, S.A.; Swailam, H.M.

2004-01-01

The objective of this study is to evaluate the use of irradiation as an alternative method and comparing it with the traditional methods such as fumigation and heating for increasing shelf life dry date varieties. two varieties of dry dates, Malakaby and Gandilla, were obtained from Aswan, Upper Egypt and were used in this study. The irradiation was carried out with different doses of gamma rays to select the recommended dose to increase shelf life of dry dates. The fumigated, heated and irradiated samples were stored at room temperature after packaging in polyethylene plus cloth bags. The date characteristics such as insect infestation percent, weight loss, microbiological analyses, and firmness and chemical analyses were evaluated. The results obtained indicated that irradiation as a procedure for insect disinfestation and increasing shelf life of dry dates was better than both fumigation and heating methods. Where, irradiation of date fruits at dose of 1.0 kGy inhibited the insect infestation and improved the microbial quality of the date fruits during storage up to 18 months. Adding cloths to polyethylene packages raised the percentage of intact dry date fruits

April–August temperatures in the Czech Lands, 1499–2015, reconstructed from grape-harvest dates

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Možný, M.; Brázdil, Rudolf; Dobrovolný, Petr; Trnka, Miroslav

2016-01-01

Roč. 12, č. 7 (2016), s. 1421-1434 ISSN 1814-9324 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-19831S Grant - others:EHP(CZ) EHP-CZ02-OV-1-014-2014 Program:CZ02 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : Grape harvest dates * documentary evidence * temperature reconstruction * Czech Lands Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 3.543, year: 2016

Drought reconstruction based on grape harvest dates for the Czech Lands, 1499−2012

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Možný, M.; Dobrovolný, Petr; Trnka, Miroslav; Potopová, V.; Hlavinka, Petr; Bartošová, Lenka; Zahradníček, Pavel; Štěpánek, Petr; Žalud, Zdeněk

2016-01-01

Roč. 70, 2-3 (2016), s. 119-132 ISSN 0936-577X R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1415; GA ČR GA13-19831S; GA ČR GA13-04291S Grant - others:EHP(CZ) EHP-CZ02-OV-1-014-2014 Program:CZ02 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : Climate reconstruction * Drought * Grape harvest dates * SPEI * Bohemian wine-growing region Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 1.578, year: 2016

Antioxidant Enhancement of Some Arabic Date Varieties by Using Gamma Irradiation in Reference to Microbial Infection During Storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farag, S.A.; Abd EL-Magide, A.E.; Ahmed, G.B.

2014-01-01

Three semi-dry date varieties from Egypt (Siwi), Saudi Arabia (Sukkary) and Iraq (Zahdi) at t amr s tage were irradiated with safety low doses (3 and 5 kGy), as alternative for pesticides, for decontamination of molds and consequently improving the quality for human consumption. Gamma irradiated samples were analyzed for antioxidants (AA) mainly flavonoids and phenolic compounds and also for microbiological and mycotoxin contents. The detection of fungi revealed the presence of seven species of pathogenic fungi with high levels in non-irradiated dates such as Fusarium spp., Aspergillus parasiticus, A. flavus, A. niger, Penicillium spp., Cladosporium spp. and Mucor spp. Siwi variety (Egyptian) was contaminated more than Sukkary (Saudi Arabian). Gamma irradiation was more affecting in decontamination of molds in most samples especially at 5 kGy. Also, the presence of aflatoxins (AFT) resulted as B1, B2 and OTA in Egyptian dates (Siwi) while in contrary, some AFT were absent in Sukkary (Saudi Arabian). The results proved that AFT concentration of tested samples was less than the recommended dose (20 ppb) as reduced by gamma irradiation dose (5 kGy). HPLC analysis of AA (falvonoids and phenols) in three date verities proved the presence of 15 compounds such as quarctin, ferulic, caffeic, salicylic, eugonal, chatechol, chrysic, gallic, pyrogallic, protochechol, eugonol, syrining, rutinol, phenol and cumaric. The concentration of AA (mg/100 g) depends on variety. The enhancement % by irradiation was more clear with Sukkary (Saudi Arabian) than Siwi (Egyptian) or Zahdi (Iraqi). AA were enhanced strongly by irradiation dose of 5 kGy in all contents and the increase in AA concentration in date fruits decreased the growth of fungi counts or excretion of aflatoxins in selected samples of Siwi and Sukkary varieties. The increase in AA goes in parallel with the decrease in tannins content of most varieties during storage for 4 or 8 months. It could be concluded that using gamma

Effect of harvest date and stalk section on selected strength ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: The time required to harvest plant crops is important to the plant properties. It is affected by design of the harvest equipment and the desire for high-quality products with low energy usage. Materials and Methods: Strength characteristics of Origanum onites L., an important medicinal aromatic plant, harvested on ...

Investigation of Essential Metals in Branch, Pericarp and Seed of three Date Varieties at Different Maturity Stages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shar, G.Q.; Musavi, T.F.; Jatoi, W.B.; Shar, A.R.; Shar, N.U.H.; Ghouri, W.M.

2015-01-01

Date fruit contains a wide range of metals, including essential and toxic elements. The aim of present study was to explore the amount of essential metals in branch, pericarp and seed of the date fruit in order to examine correlation of these metals at various maturity stages. The studied parts are generally considered as waste. Therefore, levels of essential elements such as Na, Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn and Zn were determined in the branch, pericarp and seed of three date varieties ( Dallay wari, Noori and Khaki wari) at four ripening stages (kimri, khalal, rutab and tamar) using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Oven dried samples were digested separately in HNO/sub 3/ and H/sub 2/O/sub 2/ following wet acid digestion method. Analytical results shows that Na, Mg, Fe, Zn, and Mn were not detected in branch, pericarp and seed in Dallay wari variety at tamar stage, while Na and Mn were also absent in branch of Noori at tamar stage, whereas Mn was present in pericarp and seed at tamar stage of Noori variety. However, Mg was not detected in branch and pericarp at rutab and tamar, while Fe was not detected in pericarp at rutab and tamar stage in Khaki wari vareity. (author)

Investigation of Essential Metals in Branch, Pericarp and Seed of three Date Varieties at Different Maturity Stages

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Ghulam Qadir Shar

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Date fruit contains a wide range of metals, including essential and toxic elements. The aim of present study was to explore the amount of essential metals in branch, pericarp and seed of the date fruit in order to examine correlation of these metals at various maturity stages. The studied parts are generally considered as waste. Therefore, levels of essential elements such as Na, Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn and Zn were determined in the branch, pericarp and seed of three date varieties ( Dallay wari, Noori and Khaki wari at four ripening stages (kimri, khalal, rutab and tamar using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Oven dried samples were digested separately in HNO3 and H2O2 following wet acid digestion method. Analytical results shows that Na, Mg, Fe, Zn, and Mn were not detected in branch, pericarp and seed in Dallay wari variety at tamar stage, while Na and Mn were also absent in branch of Noori at tamar stage, whereas Mn was present in pericarp and seed at tamar stage of Noori variety. However, Mg was not detected in branch and pericarp at rutab and tamar, while Fe was not detected in pericarp at rutab and tamar stage in Khaki wari vareity.

Chemical composition, nitrogen degradability and in vitro ruminal biological activity of tannins in vines harvested from four tropical sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) varieties.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, R; Mlambo, V; Mangwe, M C; Dlamini, B J

2016-02-01

This study investigated the potential of vines from four sweet potato varieties (Tia Nong 57, Tia Nong 66, Ligwalagwala and Kenya) as alternative feed resources for ruminant livestock. The chemical composition [neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), crude protein (CP) and acid detergent insoluble nitrogen (ADIN)], in vitro ruminal nitrogen (N) degradability and in vitro ruminal biological activity of tannins in the vines, harvested at 70 and 110 days after planting (DAP), were determined. Variety and harvesting stage did not (p > 0.05) influence CP and NDF content of the vines. Concentration of CP ranged from 104.9 to 212.2 g/kg DM, while NDF ranged from 439.4 to 529.2 g/kg DM across harvesting stages and varieties. Nitrogen degradability (ND) at 70 and 110 DAP was highest (p ruminal cumulative gas production parameters (a, b and c). The in vitro ruminal biological activity of tannins, as measured by increment in gas production parameters upon PEG inclusion, had a maximum value of 18.2%, suggesting low to moderate antinutritional tannin activity. Ligwalagwala vines, with highly degradable N, would be the best protein supplement to use during the dry season when ruminant animals consume low N basal diets and maintenance is an acceptable production objective. Tia Nong 66 and Kenya varieties, with less degradable N, may be more suitable for use as supplements for high-producing animals such as dairy goats. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

The Effect of Plant Cultivar, Growth Media, Harvest Method and Post Harvest Treatment on the Microbiology of Edible Crops

Science.gov (United States)

Hummerick, Mary P.; Gates, Justin R.; Nguyen, Bao-Thang; Massa, Gioia D.; Wheeler, Raymond M.

2011-01-01

Systems for the growth of crops in closed environments are being developed and tested for potential use in space applications to provide a source of fresh food. Plant growth conditions, growth media composition and harvest methods can have an effect on the microbial population of the plant, and therefore should be considered along with the optimization of plant growth and harvest yields to ensure a safe and palatable food crop. This work examines the effect of plant cultivar, growth media, and harvest method on plant microbial populations. Twelve varieties of leafy greens and herbs were grown on a mixture of Fafard #2 and Arcillite in the pillow root containment system currently being considered for the VEGGIE plant growth unit developed by Orbitec. In addition, ,Sierra and Outredgeous lettuce varieties were grown in three different mixtures (Fafard #2, Ardllite, and Perlite/Vermiculite). The plants were analyzed for microbial density. Two harvest methods, "cut and come again" (CACA) and terminal harvest were also compared. In one set ofexpe'riments red leaf lettuce and mizuna were grown in pots in a Biomass Production System for education. Plants were harvested every two weeks by either method. Another set of experiments was performed using the rooting pillows to grow 5 varieties of leafy greens and cut harvesting at different intervals. Radishes were harvested and replanted at two-week intervals. Results indicate up to a 3 IOglO difference in microbial counts between some varieties of plants. Rooting medium resulted in an approximately 2 IOglO lower count in the lettuce grown in arscillite then those grown in the other mixtures. Harvest method and frequency had less impact on microbial counts only showing a significant increase in one variety of plant. Post harvest methods to decrease the bacterial counts on edible crops were investigated in these and other experiments. The effectiveness of PRO-SAN and UV-C radiation is compared.

Determinação do ponto de colheita na produção de alho Determination of the harvest date for garlic cultivars

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Carlos Manoel de Oliveira

2003-09-01

Full Text Available O ponto de colheita de cultivares de alho tropical foi obtido através de um experimento conduzido na UFLA (MG, no delineamento de blocos casualizados, em esquema fatorial 4 x 5, com quatro repetições, avaliando quatro cultivares (Gigante Curitibanos, Gravatá, Gigante Lavínia e Gigante Roxo e cinco épocas de colheita (134, 141, 148, 155 e 162 dias após o plantio. Avaliou-se a produtividade total de plantas, produtividade total de bulbos e características físico-químicas (teor de sólidos solúveis, acidez titulável e índice de pH. Os resultados obtidos permitiram verificar que as épocas de colheita influenciaram significativamente a produção e as características físico-químicas. A máxima produtividade foi obtida aos 148 e 156 dias após plantio, períodos em que se observou também aumento nas concentrações de sólidos solúveis e ácidos orgânicos no suco do alho.The harvest point for tropical garlic cultivars was determined through an experiment carried out in the Universidade Federal de Lavras, Brazil, with randomized block design, in a 4 x 5 factorial scheme, four replications, testing four cultivars: Gigante Curitibanos, Gravatá, Gigante Lavínia and Gigante Roxo and five harvesting dates: 134, 141, 148, 155 and 162 days after planting. The total yield of plant, total yield of garlic bulbs and physical-chemical characteristics (soluble acids content, titrable acidity and pH indices were determined. The harvest date influenced significantly the yield and physical-chemical characteristics: Maximum yield, soluble solids concentration, and organic acids in garlic juice were obtained when harvesting at 148 and 156 days after planting date.

Determination of Optimal Harvest Time of Chuchung Variety Green Rice(®) (Oryza sativa L.) with High Contents of GABA, γ-Oryzanol, and α-Tocopherol.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hoon; Kim, Oui-Woung; Ha, Ae Wha; Park, Soojin

2016-06-01

In our previous study, an early-maturing variety of rice (Oryza sativa L.), Jinbu can have feature with unique green color, various phytochemicals as well as nutritive components by the optimal early harvesting, called Green Rice(®) (GR). The aims of the present field experiments were to evaluate the changes in the weight of 1,000 kernels, yield, and contents of proximate and bioactive compounds in Chuchung, a mid-late maturing variety, during the pre-harvest maturation of rough rice and to research the appropriate harvest time and potent bioactivity of Chuchung GR. The weights of 1,000 kernels of Chuchung GR dramatically increased until 27 days after heading (DAH). The yields of Chuchung GR declined after 27 DAH and significantly declined to 0.0% after 45 DAH. The caloric value and total mineral contents were higher in the GR than in the full ripe stage, the brown rice (BR). In the GR, the contents of bioactive compounds, such as γ-aminobutyric acid, γ-oryzanol, and α-tocopherol, were much higher (P<0.05) than those in the BR, specifically during 24~27 DAH. Therefore, bioactive Chuchung GR can be produced with a reasonable yield at 24~27 DAH and it could be useful for applications in various nutritive and functional food products.

Determination of Optimal Harvest Time of Chuchung Variety Green Rice® (Oryza sativa L.) with High Contents of GABA, γ-Oryzanol, and α-Tocopherol

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hoon; Kim, Oui-Woung; Ha, Ae Wha; Park, Soojin

2016-01-01

In our previous study, an early-maturing variety of rice (Oryza sativa L.), Jinbu can have feature with unique green color, various phytochemicals as well as nutritive components by the optimal early harvesting, called Green Rice® (GR). The aims of the present field experiments were to evaluate the changes in the weight of 1,000 kernels, yield, and contents of proximate and bioactive compounds in Chuchung, a mid-late maturing variety, during the pre-harvest maturation of rough rice and to research the appropriate harvest time and potent bioactivity of Chuchung GR. The weights of 1,000 kernels of Chuchung GR dramatically increased until 27 days after heading (DAH). The yields of Chuchung GR declined after 27 DAH and significantly declined to 0.0% after 45 DAH. The caloric value and total mineral contents were higher in the GR than in the full ripe stage, the brown rice (BR). In the GR, the contents of bioactive compounds, such as γ-aminobutyric acid, γ-oryzanol, and α-tocopherol, were much higher (P<0.05) than those in the BR, specifically during 24~27 DAH. Therefore, bioactive Chuchung GR can be produced with a reasonable yield at 24~27 DAH and it could be useful for applications in various nutritive and functional food products. PMID:27390725

Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activity in Different Grafted Varieties of Bell Pepper

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Celia Chávez-Mendoza

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Grafting favors the presence of bioactive compounds in the bell pepper, but many species and varieties have not yet been analyzed in this sense, including commonly grafted varieties. The aim of the present study is to characterize the content in β-carotenes, vitamin C, lycopene, total phenols, and the antioxidant activity of bell pepper (Capsicum annum L. using the cultivar/rootstock combinations: Jeanette/Terrano (yellow, Sweet/Robusto (green, Fascinato/Robusto (red, Orangela/Terrano (orange, and Fascinato/Terrano (red. The plants were grown in a net-shading system and harvested on three sampling dates of the same crop cycle. The results show statistical differences (p ≤ 0.05 between cultivar/rootstock combinations and sampling dates for the content in bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity. Fascinato/Robusto presented the highest concentration of lycopene and total phenols as well as the greatest antioxidant activity of all cultivar/rootstock combinations evaluated. In addition, it was found that the best sampling time for the peppers to have the highest concentrations of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity was September.

Predicted harvest time effects on switchgrass moisture content, nutrient concentration, yield, and profitability

Science.gov (United States)

Production costs change with harvest date of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) as a result of nutrient recycling and changes in yield of this perennial crop. This study examines the range of cost of production from an early, yield-maximizing harvest date to a late winter harvest date at low moisture...

Effects of Planting Date and Plant Density on Physiological Indices, Quantity and Quality Traits of Two Varieties of Marigold (Calendula officinalis L.

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A Sepehri

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction Marigold (Calendula officinalis L. is originated from North West Africa and Mediterranean area, is a medicinal plant used for several purposes. It is an annual herb or short-lived perennial from the Asteraceae family with yellow or orange flowers. The Marigold has been used as a traditional medicine and food dye, but is currently used as an anti-inflammatory and wound healer. It is grown for drug, obtained from the flowers. The flowers blossom during summer three or more times per year. The essential oil of yellow or orange petals of Calendula officinalis L. is one of the important yield components which is used for food and medicine. Moreover, the seed has an oil content of 5-20 %. Seed oil could be used as a binder in paints, coating and cosmetics. Growth, development and production of medicinal plants, as well as other plants are affected by genetic and agronomic factors. Planting date and plant density are two most important factors that can affect yield and yield components. Planting date affects the quantity and quality of secondary metabolites of medicinal plants. The optimum sowing date and plant density can improve the light and temperature absorption and other factors during the growing season. The positive effects of optimal planting date and plant density has been described by a number of researchers. The Plant population is dependent on the plant characters, growth period, time and method of cultivation. Also, the suitable sowing date has advantages for maximum production. Early sowing in the spring causes weakly establishment of plant and late planting date shortens growth period and simultaneous flowering period due to high temperature in summer. In this study, the effects of plant density and planting date on physiological indices, quantity and quality of two varieties of spare and compact marigold has been evaluated. Materials and Methods In order to determine the effects of planting date and plant density on

Sustainable harvest of waterbirds: a global review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kanstrup, Niels

ABSTRACT Waterbirds have a long tradition of being harvested in various ways. In many countries, the harvest takes place as a primary food source, but recreational hunting is also very popular. Various methods are used. Subsistence hunting of waterbirds has a history that dates back to the dawn...... and the degree of stability in local communities obtained through nature conservation. In many countries there is a long tradition of detailed wildlife harvest management including programmes for bag surveys and monitoring of harvest levels. In most countries, however, the management of waterbird harvests...

Physico-chemical characteristics of olive fruits of Turkish varieties from the province of Hatay.

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Arslan, D.

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The olive fruits of four different Turkish varieties (Kargaburun, Erkence, Halhalı and Saurani from the province of Hatay which were harvested on three different occasions have been analyzed in order to determine the effects of both the nature of the cultivar and the time of harvest. Analyses of some physical properties were carried out such as fruit and pit weight, size, moisture and oil contents and instrumental color index along with some chemical properties such as individual phenolic compounds, total phenolics, DPPH radical scavenging activity and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and fatty acid composition. For all the varieties studied, oleuropein was the most abundant phenolic substance ranging from 41.39-159.73 mg/kg, for which the Saurani variety had the highest level. Saurani and Kargaburun varieties were found to possess characteristic phenolic profiles: Saurani for its high amount of oleuropein and Kargaburun for its high level of H-tyrosol. These two varieties had higher Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacities as well. Citric and succinic acids were the main organic acids determined in the olive fruits. The level of total phenolics in the olive fruits declined rapidly with a later harvest date. A general decreasing trend was also observed in the saturated fatty acid (palmitic and stearic acids concentrations of the olive oils with later harvest dates in the four varieties studied.

Aceitunas de cuatro variedades diferentes de la provincia de Hatay en Turquía (Kargaburun, Erkence, Halhalı y Saurani fueron recogidas en tres periodos diferentes y analizadas con el fin de determinar los efectos tanto de la naturaleza de la variedad como del tiempo de la cosecha. Se llevaron a cabo las determinaciones analíticas de algunos parámetros físicos (número y peso de frutos, dimensiones, humedad, contenido de aceite e índice instrumental de color de los frutos y químicos (compuestos fenólicos individuales, fenoles totales

Influences of Harvest Date on Yield, Quality and Resistance to Seed Deterioration of Spring Soybean in South%收获期对南方春大豆产量、品质及抗劣变性的影响

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

李小红; 谢运河; 郑贵辰; 阳小凤; 王业建

2013-01-01

In this study, the influences of harvest date on the yield, quality and resistance to seed deterioration were studied u-sing four cultivated spring soybean varieties of Hunan province. Results showed we could get the highest 100 - grain seed weight and seed weight per plant at full - ripe stage. If the soybean was harvested too early, the protein content and protein — fat total content in the seed were low. If the soybean was harvested too late, the fat content in the seed was low. Higher germination potential and germination rate of seeds could be harvested at ripening to full - ripe stage. It was also showed that the resistance to seed deterioration of spring soybean was high when the soybean was harvested more early in its harvest period.%通过田间试验,研究了收获期对湖南省主栽的4个春大豆品种产量、品质及抗劣变性的影响.结果表明:在完熟期收获的大豆百粒重和单株粒重均最高；过早收获时种子蛋白质含量、蛋脂总含量低,过迟收获时则脂肪含量低；在成熟期至完熟期收获能获得具有较高发芽势和发芽率的种子;收获期适当提前有利于增强大豆种子的抗劣变性.

New Developments in Forage Varieties

Science.gov (United States)

Forage crops harvested for hay or haylage or grazed support dairy, beef, sheep and horse production. Additional livestock production from reduced forage acreage supports the need for forage variety improvement. The Consortium for Alfalfa Improvement is a partnership model of government, private no...

Contrast Enhancement Using Brightness Preserving Histogram Equalization Technique for Classification of Date Varieties

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G Thomas

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Computer vision technique is becoming popular for quality assessment of many products in food industries. Image enhancement is the first step in analyzing the images in order to obtain detailed information for the determination of quality. In this study, Brightness preserving histogram equalization technique was used to enhance the features of gray scale images to classify three date varieties (Khalas, Fard and Madina. Mean, entropy, kurtosis and skewness features were extracted from the original and enhanced images. Mean and entropy from original images and kurtosis from the enhanced images were selected based on Lukka's feature selection approach. An overall classification efficiency of 93.72% was achieved with just three features. Brightness preserving histogram equalization technique has great potential to improve the classification in various quality attributes of food and agricultural products with minimum features.

Harvest time and post-harvest quality of Fuyu persimmon treated before harvest with gibberellic acid and aminoetoxyvinilglycine

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Ricardo Antonio Ayub

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of gibberellic acid (GA3 and aminoetoxyvinilglycine (AVG applied in preharvest spraying, on the retardation of the harvest and on the quality of persimmon fruits cv. Fuyu. The experiment was carried in randomized complete block design. The treatments were: control, 136mgL-1 of AVG, 272 mgL-1 of AVG, 36mgL-1 of GA3, 72mgL-1 of GA3 and 136mgL-1 of AVG + 36mgL-1 of GA3, spraying 30 days before the first harvest. The fruits were harvested twice and stored at 4ºC. The chemical and physical evaluations of the fruits were carried out the date of the harvest and at intervals of 15 days followed by four days at 20ºC. In conclusion, the application of AVG (136mgL-1 or GA3 (72mgL-1 maintained the firmness of the fruits and delayed harvest by twenty days. However, fruits harvested in the initial state of ripening were more sensitive to chilling injury and were unable to support 15 days of storage at 4ºC. The plant growth regulators were not efficient in prolonged storage due to the fact that the concentration of sugars was lower in the treatments than in the control.

Short communication. Harvest time in hedgerow Arbequina olive orchards in areas with early frosts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gracia, P.; Sanchez-Gimeno, A. C.; Benito, M.; Oria, R.; Lasa, J. M.

2012-11-01

The shortening of harvest time attained in hedgerow olive (Olea europaea L.) orchards represents an advantage for the adoption of this cropping system in areas that are prone to suffer frost during the harvest period. To establish an optimal harvesting window, we carried out a study of the fruit ripening process on a hedgerow orchard of Arbequina olive trees, located in Zaragoza (Spain). From 2007 to 2009, oil accumulation on the fruit (% of dry weight) and oil yield (grams of oil per 100 fruits) were monitored, from early September to late November. Over the three years both variables peaked around November 15th, indicating that Arbequina reached full ripening earlier than has been reported previously for this variety. In two of the three seasons the orchard suffered several frosts during November. Long term climatic data from this area indicated that the risk of early frosts (< -2 degree centigrade) increases as November progresses with a high risk after November 20{sup t}h. In conclusion, the optimal harvesting period for Arbequina in this area should not extend beyond November 20{sup t}h. A rapid harvesting before this date is advisable to avoid the risk of damage caused by early frost in Zaragoza. Hedgerow planting provides an additional advantage in frost-prone areas, because mechanization of operations permits a short harvest period, easier to fit into the optimal harvesting window. (Author) 20 refs.

Yield and quality of white mustard seed depending on the seeding dates

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Jevđović Radosav

2000-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of sowing dates and harvest dates on yield and quality of white mustard seed been investigated in this study. During the experiment two sowing dates have been tested the first one based on the crops in March, and the other one when the direct sowing was carried out in late May, after the harvest of camomile crops. The harvest of the seed crops in the first seeding date was performed on 1st July, and the second on 15th September. Seed fractioning extracted the following fractions: large (3mm, medium (2 mm and small (1mm. I he objective of the laboratory' experiments was to observe the effect of the seed fraction size on the most important parameters of its quality (germination energy, total germination and absolute mass according to the stipulated terms. Based on the data obtained in the survey, it can be concluded that the seed yield is significantly affected by the varied seeding dates. Earlier seeding date produced significantly increased seed yield (1920 kg/ha than the later seeding date (1160 kg/ha. According to the seed quality parameters, the best characteristics are found in the seed fraction of 3 mm, in both seeding and harvest dates.

Early ripening, productive soybean mutant variety suitable for combine harvesting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krausse, G.W.

1989-01-01

Between 1979 and 1981 seeds of the early ripening Swedish variety ''Fiskeby V'' were treated with N-nitroso-N-methylurea, sodium azide or gamma rays. Induced mutants were selected which are characterized by longer stalk, higher insertion point of the lowest pods and improved grain yield as well as sufficiently early maturity. Starting from 60 000 treated seeds, 6 mutant lines were developed, and in 1988 one variety named ''Dorado'' was released. Under optimal agrotechnical conditions in fields of 2-10 ha ''Dorado'' achieved grain yields between 1,5 and 2,3 t/ha during the last four years. It is intended to grow this variety in the middle and southern districts of the German Democratic Republic, primarily for human consumption. A technology for growing this variety was recommended

Advances in Non-Destructive Early Assessment of Fruit Ripeness towards Defining Optimal Time of Harvest and Yield Prediction—A Review

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Bo Li

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Global food security for the increasing world population not only requires increased sustainable production of food but a significant reduction in pre- and post-harvest waste. The timing of when a fruit is harvested is critical for reducing waste along the supply chain and increasing fruit quality for consumers. The early in-field assessment of fruit ripeness and prediction of the harvest date and yield by non-destructive technologies have the potential to revolutionize farming practices and enable the consumer to eat the tastiest and freshest fruit possible. A variety of non-destructive techniques have been applied to estimate the ripeness or maturity but not all of them are applicable for in situ (field or glasshouse assessment. This review focuses on the non-destructive methods which are promising for, or have already been applied to, the pre-harvest in-field measurements including colorimetry, visible imaging, spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging. Machine learning and regression models used in assessing ripeness are also discussed.

Interrelations between Herbage Yield, α-Tocopherol, β-Carotene, Lutein, Protein, and Fiber in Non-Leguminous Forbs, Forage Legumes, and a Grass−Clover Mixture as Affected by Harvest Date

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elgersma, Anjo; Søegaard, Karen; Jensen, Søren Krogh

2015-01-01

, protein and fiber contents and analyze the effect of harvest date. We hypothesized that interrelations would be similar across investigated forage species. Four nonleguminous forbs: salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor), caraway (Carum carvi), chicory (Cichorium intybus), and ribwort plantain (Plantago...

Potential Ambient Energy-Harvesting Sources and Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Yildiz, Faruk

2009-01-01

Ambient energy harvesting is also known as energy scavenging or power harvesting, and it is the process where energy is obtained from the environment. A variety of techniques are available for energy scavenging, including solar and wind powers, ocean waves, piezoelectricity, thermoelectricity, and physical motions. For example, some systems…

Field evaluation of cutter and feeder mechanism of chickpea harvester for lentil harvesting

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S Kamgar

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction The main producers of lentil are Canada, India, Nepal and China, respectively and Iran is the ninth producer in the world. The hand pulling is the usual method of lentil harvesting. Use of conventional combine because of short leg varieties, wide combine head in dry land and grain losses by cutter bar vibrations is impossible. So a mechanism should be designed to harvest the lentil plants with minimum damage. This mechanism should be evaluated under different tests of crop and machines such as forward speed (FS, grain moisture content (GMC, different varieties and other parameters. Some researchers studied the effects of GMC (Andrews and et al., 1993; Huitink, 2005; Adisa, 2009; Abdi and Jalali, 2013 and FS on grain losses (Geng et al., 1984; Swapan et al., 2001; Mostafavand and Kamgar, 2014; Hunt, 1995. Field tests were conducted at three levels of FS 1.5, 3 and 4.5 km.h-1; three levels of cutting height (CH 4, 8 and 13 cm and two levels of GMC, 8 and 14% on two varieties of lentils including Flip and Shiraz with three replications. Materials and Methods The feeder and cutter mechanism for chickpea harvesting that was the base design of device which is notched wheel and counter shear, was used. The other components of device were dividers, slat and chain feeders, belt and pulleys, chassis, elevator conveyor and storage. Two split plot design based on a randomized complete design was used to determine the effects of above treatments on lentil losses. Results and Discussion The ANOVA results indicated that the all studied factors; FS of feeder and cutter mechanism, CH and GMC had significant effect on losses of Shiraz variety (P0.05. The ranges of losses of Flip variety at 8% GMC were 8.6 to 10% for FS of 1.5 km.h-1, 9.1 to 10.4% for FS of 3 km.h-1and 10.4 to 11.4% for FS of 4.5 km h-1. These ranges at 14% GMC were 7.9 to 8.9% for FS of 1.5 km.h-1, 8.4 to 9.2% for FS of 3 km.h-1and 8.5 to 10% for FS of 4.5 km h-1. The ranges of

Irradiation disinfestation and decontamination of Iranian dates and pistachio nuts

Science.gov (United States)

Zare, Z.; Sayhoon, M.; Maghsoudi, V.

1993-07-01

Decontamination and disinfestation effect of gamma radiation on microflora of dates and artificially infested packed dates (Mazafaty, Zard and Sayer variety) with Tribolium Confusum, Oryzaephilus Surinamensis and Ephestia Cautella in different stages studied. Treatment with 0.75 kGy dose of gamma radiation leads to complete and satisfactory insect disinfestation of dates during a storage period of 9, 20 and 35 days. This study shows that microbiological quality of Mazafaty dates can be significantly improved when they have received a gamma radiation dose of 2.5 kGy. Finally the sugar content of irradiated and unirradiated samples have compared. In this study, we have also used gamma radiation treatment for the control of microbial spoilage of pistachio nuts caused by toxigenic Aspergillus Flavus. The first sequence involved, the freshly harvested pistachio nuts inoculated with A. Flavus spores and exposed to radiation treatment, then retention of samples in a environmental chamber, set at temperature of 15-20 C at 75-80% relative humidity and stored for six months. In the second sequence during the storage period the changes in protein, lipid content of pistachio nuts have analyzed.

[Effect of the harvest season on the composition of raw and fermented cotyledons of 2 varieties of cacao and shell fractions].

Science.gov (United States)

de Dios Alvarado, J; Villacís, F E; Zamora, G F

1983-06-01

A study was carried out wherein during the period August 1979 to January 1980, samples of raw and fermented cacao were analyzed monthly. These included two varieties: Arriba, taken from a farm in "Quevedo", and the EET-19, grown in "Pichilingüe" by the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP). Taking the ear of cacao as a basis, the weight of its main parts was determined. The proximal composition was established in the cotyledons, with significant statistical differences in regard to moisture, protein, and ether extract content according to the month of harvest. As to the fermentation process, differences in moisture, ether extract and ash content were detected; differences in the ether extract and ash content were found between the two varieties. The fat extracted from the cotyledons presented different iodine, saponification and acidity index values between the raw and fermented samples, but none were determined between the varieties; as far as the month of harvest is concerned, differences in the acidity index were observed. The percentage composition of the main fatty acids is reported (palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids). In order to suggest possible industrial ways of utilizing the cacao shell by-product which is discarded by the shelling machine, the chemical characteristics of five fractions were determined based on the functioning of the shelling machine. The moisture, protein, ether extract, ash, crude fiber, theobromine, and caffeine contents varied among the fractions, and it was dependent on the broken "nibs" content. Differences in the protein, ether extract, and ash content, according to the months of production, were found. Obviously, the high fat content in fractions A (fine dust) and B (fine ground), which varied from 30 to 11 g/100 g, merits its extraction; the remainder meal has a valuable protein and alkaloid content. The chemical characteristics of the fat extracted from the shell of two fractions were similar to

Eficiência da colheita mecânica em variedades paulistas de algodeiro Efficiency of mechanical harvesting in São Paulo cotton varieties

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Luiz Henrique Carvalho

1984-01-01

Full Text Available O comportamento das variedades paulistas de algodoeiro 'IAC 17' e 'IAC 18', em face da colheita mecânica, e a possibilidade de melhorá-lo mediante o uso do regulador de crescimento Cycocel, foram estudados em ensaio conduzido em 1978/79 e 1979/80 no município de Leme (SP. Na média dos dois anos, utilizando-se uma colhedeira John Deere 9900, foi colhido cerca de 89% do algodão produzido, o que representa eficiência comparável à obtida em países que adotam predominantemente essa prática. Em condições normais, as perdas foram 7%, porém, em ano adverso, com chuvas freqüentes na época da colheita e longa permanência do algodão aberto no campo, atingiram 16%. A colheita mecânica proporcionou tipos inferiores de algodão em caroço, situando-se entre 1 e 2 pontos, na escala de classificação comercial, a diferença em relação à colheita manual. As perdas foram maiores, cerca de 2%, para a variedade 'IAC 17', tendo a diferença se manifestado tanto em relação ao algodão caído ao solo, quanto ao que persistiu nas plantas, após a colheita. O prejuízo no tipo foi semelhante para as duas variedades, no ano normal, mas consideravelmente maior para a 'IAC 17', no ano desfavorável. O Cycocel, aplicado na base de 50g de princípio ativo por hectare, aumentou a porcentagem de algodão colhido pela máquina, porém, apenas no ano em que as condições climáticas foram adversas. Todavia, mesmo nesse ano, o produto não contribuiu para melhorar o tipo do algodão colhido mecanicamente. Excetuando tendência para queda na resistência, assim mesmo de forma inconsistente, as demais características tecnológicas da fibra não foram afetadas pela colheita mecânica.Adequacy of the cultivated cotton varieties 'IAC 17' and 'IAC 18' for mechanical harvesting and the possibility to improve their performance by using the plant growth regulator Cycocel, were studied at Leme, State of São Paulo, Brazil, in the 1978/79 and 1979/80 crop seasons

Energy Harvesting From Low Frequency Applications Using Piezoelectric Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Huidong; Tian, Chuan; Deng, Zhiqun

2014-11-06

This paper reviewed the state of research on piezoelectric energy harvesters. Various types of harvester configurations, piezoelectric materials, and techniques used to improve the mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency were discussed. Most of the piezoelectric energy harvesters studied today have focused on scavenging mechanical energy from vibration sources due to their abundance in both natural and industrial environments. Cantilever beams have been the most studied structure for piezoelectric energy harvester to date because of the high responsiveness to small vibrations.

Monocropping Cultures into Ruin: The Loss of Food Varieties and Cultural Diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter J. Jacques

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The loss of genetic diversity of thousands of plants and crops has been well documented at least since the 1970s, and has been understood as a result of epistemological and political economic conditions of the Green Revolution. The political economic arrangement of the Green Revolution, alongside a post-war focus on economies of scale and export-oriented growth, replace high-yield single varieties of crops for a diverse array of varieties that may not have the same yield, but may be able to resist pests, disease, and changing climatic conditions. Also, the harvest does not flow in all directions equally: Whereas small holder subsistence farming uses a large variety of crops as a food source and small-scale trade, the industrial economic system requires simplified, machine harvested ship-loads of one variety of maize, for example. Diverse varieties of different crops confound the machines, whereas one variety of wheat can be harvested with one setting on a machine. However, none of this is new. The purpose of this article is to analyze how the twin concerns of lost varietals and lost cultures are bound together in the socio-political process of standardization, and to explain some areas of resistance.

Determination of the antioxidant capacity, total phenolic and flavonoid contents of seeds from three commercial varieties of culinary dates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacopo Mistrello

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Date seeds are a major waste product of the date industry that could offer potentially valuable material for the production of useful food ingredients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the seeds of three date varieties of the UK market (Deglet Nour, Khouat Allig, and Zahidi for their proximate composition, total phenolic (TPC, total flavonoid (TFC contents and total antioxidant capacity (TAC with a view to their eventual industrial application. Carbohydrates were present in the highest concentrations varying between 74.13 and 76.54 g 100 g-1 of date seed powder (DSP on dry weight (DW basis, followed in descending order by fats (7.64-8.84 g 100 g-1 and proteins (4.35-5.51 g 100 g-1. Potassium was found in high amounts with values ranging between 280.55 and 293.13 mg 100 g-1. The majority of the total phenolic content (2058-2984 mg GAE 100 g-1 was assumed to be composed of flavonoids (1271-1932 mg CAE 100 g-1. These families of dietary phenolics may be the major ones responsible for the high antioxidant capacity reported in date seeds, which varied from 12540 and 27699 µmol TE 100 g-1. These results suggest that date seeds can be considered a potential raw material for natural, active ingredients for food applications as well as an unexplored source of novel nutraceuticals and dietary supplements.

Energy harvesting autonomous sensor systems design, analysis, and practical implementation

CERN Document Server

Tan, Yen Kheng

2013-01-01

This book is the considered the first to describe sensor-oriented energy harvesting issues. Its content is derived from the author's research on the development of a truly self-autonomous and sustainable energy harvesting wireless sensor network (EH-WSN). This network harvests energy from a variety of ambient energy sources and converts it into electrical energy to power batteries. The book discusses various types of energy harvesting (EH) systems and their respective main components.

Preharvest, harvest and postharvest factors inherent to roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L. crop: A review.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Balois-Morales, R.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Hibiscus sabdariffa L. is cultivated to obtain fiber from the stems, oil from the seeds, and to harvest its calyces. Currently, there is a growing interest for the calyces due to studies that have proven their functional feature as the antioxidant effect, alluded to its anthocyanin content, and other benefits that expand their use to the pharmaceutical sector. However, there are no studies focused on relating all the factors involved in the process, from sowing and preharvest management, to harvest, postharvest management, distribution and the sale of dried calyces. The aim of this review is to highlight the factors involved in Roselle management such as variety, crop nutrition, sowing date, irrigation, plagues and diseases incidence and use of phytohormones. To establish the optimal time of calyces harvest, studies have been focused on determining aspects such as size, pH, dry matter content and anthocyanins at different times after blooming. As for the postharvest, the trend marked by studies is to implement improvements in the drying process of calyces and to let producers, distributors and sellers know the quality standards because much of the damage during postharvest is associated with deficiencies in the way calyces are handled.

75 FR 65599 - Migratory Bird Subsistence Harvest in Alaska; Harvest Regulations for Migratory Birds in Alaska...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-26

...: April 2-May 31 and July 1-August 31. (ii) Closure: June 1-30. (k) Cook Inlet (Harvest area: portions of... Steller's eiders to be taken no longer exists. Dated: October 7, 2010. Thomas L. Strickland, Assistant...

Fabrication of SU-8 low frequency electrostatic energy harvester

KAUST Repository

Ramadan, Khaled S.

2011-11-01

A 1500μm × 1500μm × 150μm out-of-plane, gap closing, electrostatic energy harvester is designed and fabricated to harvest low-frequency ambient vibrations. SU-8 is used to fabricate the proof mass (1200μm × 1200μm × 150μm) and the 5 m springs. Different harvesters were designed to harvest at 50, 75 and 110 Hz. At 110 Hz, Simulations show that with an input vibration of 10 μm amplitude at the frequency of resonance of the structure, the energy harvester should generate an average output power density of 0.032μW/mm3. This is the most area-efficient low-frequency electrostatic harvester to-date. © 2011 IEEE.

The influence of stages of maturity on the agronomic traits of fibre flax introduced varieties

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Jasminka Butorac

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The harvest time of fibre flax is influenced by climatic conditions, varieties, stages of maturity and the crop’s final use. In addition, the time of harvesting of fibre flax affects the quality of the fibres. Fibre flax can be harvested in few stages of maturity. So, this paper presents the influence of three stages of maturity (green, yellow and full ripening on the agronomic traits (stem yield, stem yield after retting, total fibre yield, share of total fibre, long fibre yield, share of long fibre of five fibre flax varieties. Varieties trials with fibre flax were set up in two years (2010-2011 and in two locations: at the experimental fields of the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb on eutric cambisol and of the College of Agriculture at Križevci on pseudogley on level terrain. The trials were carried out according to the randomized complete block design (RCBD with four replications. According to the results of the two-years research into the agronomic traits of fibre flax, significant differences were established among the varieties and among the stages of maturity under study. The varieties Agatha, Viola and Electra recorded higher values of investigated traits. All varieties achieved higher values of investigated traits at Križevci (production on heavier soil in which some of winter moisture remained available in spring months. The highest values of investigated traits were recorded when the fibre flax were harvested in the green ripening.

RF power harvesting: a review on designing methodologies and applications

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Le-Giang; Cha, Hyouk-Kyu; Park, Woo-Tae

2017-12-01

Wireless power transmission was conceptualized nearly a century ago. Certain achievements made to date have made power harvesting a reality, capable of providing alternative sources of energy. This review provides a summ ary of radio frequency (RF) power harvesting technologies in order to serve as a guide for the design of RF energy harvesting units. Since energy harvesting circuits are designed to operate with relatively small voltages and currents, they rely on state-of-the-art electrical technology for obtaining high efficiency. Thus, comprehensive analysis and discussions of various designs and their tradeoffs are included. Finally, recent applications of RF power harvesting are outlined.

Effect of sowing date and plant density on grain and flower yield of Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis L.

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mohamad javad seghatol eslami

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis L. is a medicinal herb whose dried flower heads are used to heal wounds. In order to study the effects of sowing dates and plant density on grain and flower yield of pot marigold, an experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Center of Islamic Azad University, Birjand Branch in 2005. Three sowing dates (30 March, 14 April and 30 April and three plant densities (plant distances on row were 10, 20 and 30 centimeters were compared in a split- plot experiment based on a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Seed and flower yields were significantly different at planting dates and plant densities. Sowing date had significant effects on flower and seed harvest index. The latest sowing dates had the highest flower and seed harvest index. Plant density had not significant effect on flower harvest index, but the effect on seed harvest index, was significant. In total our result showed that the first sowing date with 25 plants/m2 had the highest grain and flower yield. Keywords: Marigold, sowing date, plant density, medicinal plant.

Influence of variety and harvest maturity on phytochemical content in corn silk.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarepoua, Eakrin; Tangwongchai, Ratchada; Suriharn, Bhalang; Lertrat, Kamol

2015-02-15

Corn silk has been used as a traditional herb in Asia. The objective of this study was to evaluate variability in phytochemicals in corn varieties at three maturity stages of corn silk. Ten vegetable corn varieties were evaluated in a completely randomized design with three replications. Data were recorded for total phenolic (TPC), total flavonoids (TFC), total anthocyanin (TAC) and antioxidant activity (AA) by DPPH free-radical-scavenging assays. Differences among corn varieties were observed for all parameters at all maturity stages, and the interactions between maturity stage and corn variety were significant. TPC and TAC were highest at the milky stage, whereas TFC and AA were highest at the silking stage. TPC, TFC and AA were highest in super sweet corn and white corn at the silking stage. PWC5 variety of purple waxy corn at the milky stage had the highest values for all parameters, and it is useful for further development of functional food products. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Galloping Energy Harvester with Attached Flow

Science.gov (United States)

Denissenko, Petr; Khovanov, Igor; Tucker-Harvey, Sam

2017-11-01

Aeroelastic energy harvesters are a promising technology for the operation of wireless sensors and microelectromechanical systems, as well as providing the possibility of harvesting wind energy in applications were conventional wind turbines are ineffective, such as in highly turbulent flows, or unreliable, such as in harsh environmental conditions. The development of aeroelastic energy harvesters to date has focused on the flutter of airfoils, the galloping of prismatic structures, and the vortex induced vibrations. We present a novel type of galloping energy harvester with the flow becoming attached when the oscillation amplitude is high enough. With the flow attached, the harvester blade acts closer to an aerofoil than a bluff body, which results in a higher efficiency. The dynamics of a prototype device has been characterised experimentally with the use of a motion tracking system. The flow structure in the vicinity of the device has been studied using smoke visualisation and PIV measurements. A lumped parameter mathematical model has been developed and related to the experimental results.

RB975242 and RB975201 - Late maturation sugarcane varieties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monalisa Sampaio Carneiro

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The sugarcane varieties RB975201 and RB975242 were developed and released for harvest at the end of the season (late maturation in the CentralSouth region of Brazil. In specific environments, these varieties were compared with commercial standards in sugar yield per area. They are resistant to major sugarcane diseases and present the Bru1 gene of resistance to brown rust.

Relationships between harvest time and wine composition in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon 1. Grape and wine chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Bindon, Keren; Varela, Cristian; Kennedy, James; Holt, Helen; Herderich, Markus

2013-06-01

The study aimed to quantify the effects of grape maturity on wine alcohol, phenolics, flavour compounds and polysaccharides in Vitis vinifera L. cv Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes were harvested at juice soluble solids from 20 to 26 °Brix which corresponded to a range of wine ethanol concentrations between 12% and 15.5%. Grape anthocyanin and skin tannin concentration increased as ripening progressed, while seed tannin declined. In the corresponding wines, monomeric anthocyanin and wine tannin concentration increased with harvest date, consistent with an enhanced extraction of skin-derived phenolics. In wines, there was an observed increase in yeast-derived metabolites, including volatile esters, dimethyl sulfide, glycerol and mannoproteins with harvest date. Wine volatiles which were significantly influenced by harvest date were isobutyl methoxypyrazine, C(6) alcohols and hexyl acetate, all of which decreased as ripening progressed. The implications of harvest date for wine composition is discussed in terms of both grape composition and yeast metabolism. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differentiation of Vitis vinifera varieties by MALDI-MS analysis of the grape seed proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Pesavento, Ivana Chiara; Bertazzo, Antonella; Flamini, Riccardo; Vedova, Antonio Dalla; De Rosso, Mirko; Seraglia, Roberta; Traldi, Pietro

2008-02-01

Until now the study of pathogenic related proteins in grape juice and wine, performed by ESI-MS, LC/ESI-MS, and MALDI/MS, has been proposed for differentiation of varieties. In fact, chitinases and thaumatin-like proteins persist through the vinification process and cause hazes and sediments in bottled wines. An additional instrument, potentially suitable for the grape varieties differentiation, has been developed by MALDI/MS for the grape seed protein analysis. The hydrosoluble protein profiles of seeds extract from three different Vitis vinifera grape (red and white) varieties were analyzed and compared. In order to evaluate the environmental conditions and harvest effects, the seed protein profiles of one grape variety from different locations and harvests were studied. (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Climate Change Decouples Drought from Early Wine Grape Harvests in France

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Benjamin I.; Wolkovich, Elizabeth M.

2016-01-01

Across the world, wine grape phenology has advanced in recent decades, in step with climate-change-induced trends in temperature - the main driver of fruit maturation - and drought. Fully understanding how climate change contributes to changes in harvest dates, however, requires analysing wine grape phenology and its relationship to climate over a longer-term context, including data predating anthropogenic interference in the climate system. Here, we investigate the climatic controls of wine grape harvest dates from 1600-2007 in France and Switzerland using historical harvest and climate data. Early harvests occur with warmer temperatures (minus 6 days per degree Centigrade) and are delayed by wet conditions (plus 0.07 days per millimeter; plus 1.68 days per PDSI (Palmer drought severity index)) during spring and summer. In recent decades (1981-2007), however, the relationship between harvest timing and drought has broken down. Historically, high summer temperatures in Western Europe, which would hasten fruit maturation, required drought conditions to generate extreme heat. The relationship between drought and temperature in this region, however, has weakened in recent decades and enhanced warming from anthropogenic greenhouse gases can generate the high temperatures needed for early harvests without drought. Our results suggest that climate change has fundamentally altered the climatic drivers of early wine grape harvests in France, with possible ramifications for viticulture management and wine quality.

Radiometric dating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, N.R.

2017-01-01

Since the discovery of natural radioactivity in uranium, in the last decade of the nineteenth century, the nuclear property of radioactive decay of radionuclides at immutable rates has been effectively utilized in dating of varieties of naturally occurring geological matrices and the organisms which constantly replenish their "1"4C supply through respiration when alive on earth. During the period, applications of radiometric dating techniques have been extensively diversified and have enabled the geologists to indicate the absolute time scales of geological formations and the evolution of the solar system, the earth, meteorites, lunar rocks, etc. and the archaeologists to record the facts of history of several important events like dinosaur era, Iceman, the Shroud in Turin and many other ancient artefacts. In the development of dating methods, varieties of naturally occurring radio-isotopic systems with favorable half-lives ranging from about 10 years to over 100 billion years have been used as radiometric clocks. (author)

OAI-PMH for resource harvesting, tutorial 2

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva; Nelson, Michael

2005-01-01

A variety of examples have arisen in which the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) has been used for applications beyond bibliographic metadata interchange. One of these examples is the use of OAI-PMH to harvest resources and not just metadata. Advanced resource discovery and preservations capabilities are possible by combining complex object formats such as MPEG-21 DIDL, METS and SCORM with the OAI-PMH. In this tutorial, we review community conventions and practices that have provided the impetus for resource harvesting. We show how the introduction of complex object formats for the representation of resources leads to a robust, OAI-PMH-based framework for resource harvesting. We detail how complex object formats fit in the OAI-PMH data model, and how (compound) digital objects can be represented using a complex object format for exposure by an OAI-PMH repository. We also cover tools that are available for the implementation of an OAI-PMH-based resource harvesting solution. Fu...

Storage Potential of Local Brazilian Pine Seed Varieties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristhyane Garcia Araldi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Brazilian pine seeds (Araucaria angustifolia are recalcitrant, and there are no studies evaluating the longevity of their different varieties. Our objective was to evaluate the capacity of different varieties of Brazilian pine seeds to maintain their physiological quality during storage. Seeds of the varieties: sancti josephi (I, angustifolia (II, caiova (III and indehiscens (IV were collected from two populations located in Santa Catarina, and stored under laboratory conditions and in a cold room for 90 days. On average, freshly harvested seeds showed 88% viability, and varieties II and III maintained the greatest viability (with the greatest vigor for variety II after 90 days in storage. Varieties I and II maintained their pre-germinative metabolism for a longer period than the other varieties during storage. Therefore, seeds from the angustifolia variety (II have higher storage potential than the other varieties, maintaining approximately 61% viability at 90 days of storage.

Effect of Cultivars and Planting Date on Yield, Oil Content, and Fatty Acid Profile of Flax Varieties (Linum usitatissimum L.

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Maricel Andrea Gallardo

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In order to determine the effect of cultivars and planting date on flax fatty acid profile, seed yield, and oil content, an assay with seven cultivars (Baikal, Prointa Lucero, Prointa Ceibal, Panambí INTA, Curundú INTA, Carapé INTA, and Tape INTA was carried out at Parana Agricultural Experimental Station, Argentina. Significant differences among cultivars were found for content of palmitic (5–7 g/100 g, stearic (5–8 g/100 g, linoleic (13–19 g/100 g, saturated (11–15 g/100 g, and unsaturated acids (92–96 g/100 g within the seven cultivars. The best seed yields were observed in Prointa Lucero and Carapé INTA varieties (2091.50 kg·ha−1 and 2183.34 kg·ha−1, respectively in the first planting date and in Carapé INTA and Prointa Lucero (1667 kg·ha−1 and 1886 kg·ha−1, respectively in the second planting date. A delayed planting date had a negative effect on seed yield (1950 kg·ha−1 and 1516 kg·ha−1 and oil content (845 kg·ha−1 and 644 kg·ha−1 but did not affect oil composition.

Cassava and its harvesting | La yuca y su cosecha

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Américo Hossne García

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crant is one of the most important economic crops in tropical and subtropical areas. The average yield, compared to its potential, is often low. Harvesting is done with several procedures in global areas; the operation is difficult, costly and of low productivity in most regions. The primary objectives of this study were: to assess the techniques of cassava harvest under different methods, land preparation and planting, damage or break of tubers, manual and mechanized harvesting, adaptation of varieties, the effect of agronomic parameters, soil moisture during harvest, new hand tools and mechanical harvesting. The evaluation methods consisted of literature reviewing, explorations, examination of existing tools, modifications and mathematical analysis with design and calculation. As a result, an assessment is made of manual and mechanized techniques for harvesting, and recommendations are provided about mechanical properties, devices for tuber collection, genetics, seed and importance of soil moisture during harvest.

Study of the evolution of nitrogen compounds during grape ripening. application to differentiate grape varieties and cultivated systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Garde-Cerdán, Teresa; Lorenzo, Cándida; Lara, José Félix; Pardo, Francisco; Ancín-Azpilicueta, Carmen; Salinas, M Rosario

2009-03-25

The aim of this work was to study the evolution of amino acids and ammonium during grape ripening and to evaluate its application to differentiate grape varieties and cultivated systems (organic and nonorganic). For this purpose, Monastrell, Syrah, Merlot, and Petit Verdot grapes produced using conventional agriculture and Monastrell grape cultivated using organic agriculture, collected during two consecutive harvests at different stages of ripening, were studied. These years of harvest were very different climatic years; even so, the grape varieties presented similar qualitative compositions. Therefore, the percentage of amino acids at harvest moment allowed differentiation of grapes according to variety and cultivated system, regardless of the year. The nitrogen composition could allow estimation of the fermentative aroma potential of grapes. Thus, Syrah was the grape with the greatest aroma potential at harvest. Monastrell nonorganic grape had a concentration of nitrogen compounds superior to that of Monastrell organic grape. In Monastrell, Syrah, and Merlot, traditional varieties in the area, the highest concentration of nitrogen compounds coincided with the highest degrees Baume/total acidity ratio and color index during 2007. Consequently, technological and phenolic maturity of these grape varieties coincided with the maximum composition of nitrogen compounds. However, in 2008, this did not happen because grape ripening was irregular as a consequence of different climatological conditions.

Performance of Northwest Washington Heirloom Dry Bean Varieties in Organic Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carol Miles

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This two-year study compared nine northwest Washington dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. heirloom (H varieties with 11 standard (S commercial varieties in matching market classes using organic, non-irrigated production practices. Heirloom and standard varieties differed in days to harvest (DTH (110 DTH and 113 DTH, respectively, while both days to harvest (113 DTH and 110 DTH and yield (2268 kg∙ha−1 and 1625 kg∙ha−1 were greater in 2013 than in 2014. Varieties with the shortest DTH both years were “Bale” (H, “Coco” (H, “Decker” (H, “Ireland Creek Annie” (H and S, “Kring” (H and “Rockwell” (H. Varieties that had the highest yield both years were “Eclipse” (S, “Lariat” (S and “Youngquist Brown” (H. Only “Eclipse” (S had the shortest cooking time both years, while “Rockwell” (H, “Silver Cloud” (S and “Soldier” (S had short cooking times in 2013, and “Orca” (S and “Youngquist Brown” (H had short cooking time in 2014. Varieties with the highest protein content both years were “Calypso” (S, “Coco” (S and “Silver Cloud” (S. Further research should investigate yield of early maturing standard varieties, with a focus on color-patterned beans that are attractive for local markets.

Profiling of the Contents of Amino Acids, Water-Soluble Vitamins, Minerals, Sugars and Organic Acids in Turkish Hazelnut Varieties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taş Neslihan Göncüoğlu

2018-09-01

Full Text Available Proximate composition, profiles of amino acids, sugars, organic acids, vitamins and minerals of fourteen Turkish hazelnut varieties harvested in 2013 and 2014 were investigated. Glutamic acid, arginine and aspartic acid were the most predominant amino acids, representing of about 50% of hazelnut protein. Individual amino acid profiles showed significant differences depending upon the harvest year (p<0.05. Concentration of sucrose was the highest followed by fructose, glucose, stachyose, raffinose and myo-inositol, respectively. Phytic acid was predominant organic acid in all varieties, followed by malic acid. Independent of the variety, hazelnuts were rich in pantothenic acid, nicotinic acid, pyridoxal, biotin, thiamine, nicotinamide. Pantothenic and nicotinic acid were significantly higher in most of the varieties in harvest year 2014. Potassium was the most predominant mineral, followed by magnesium, calcium, sodium, manganese, zinc, iron and copper, respectively.

Fatty acid composition of Dioscorea dumetorum (Pax) varieties ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The purpose of the present investigation was to study the fatty acid compositions of edible and wild Dioscorea dumetorum (Pax) varieties harvested from farms and forests of Ikot Akpanabia village in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria in order to evaluate their nutritional and biochemical significance. Tubers were conveyed from farm ...

Fluid flow nozzle energy harvesters

Science.gov (United States)

Sherrit, Stewart; Lee, Hyeong Jae; Walkemeyer, Phillip; Winn, Tyler; Tosi, Luis Phillipe; Colonius, Tim

2015-04-01

Power generation schemes that could be used downhole in an oil well to produce about 1 Watt average power with long-life (decades) are actively being developed. A variety of proposed energy harvesting schemes could be used to extract energy from this environment but each of these has their own limitations that limit their practical use. Since vibrating piezoelectric structures are solid state and can be driven below their fatigue limit, harvesters based on these structures are capable of operating for very long lifetimes (decades); thereby, possibly overcoming a principle limitation of existing technology based on rotating turbo-machinery. An initial survey [1] identified that spline nozzle configurations can be used to excite a vibrating piezoelectric structure in such a way as to convert the abundant flow energy into useful amounts of electrical power. This paper presents current flow energy harvesting designs and experimental results of specific spline nozzle/ bimorph design configurations which have generated suitable power per nozzle at or above well production analogous flow rates. Theoretical models for non-dimensional analysis and constitutive electromechanical model are also presented in this paper to optimize the flow harvesting system.

Leveraging Environmental Correlations: The Thermodynamics of Requisite Variety

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Alexander B.; Mandal, Dibyendu; Crutchfield, James P.

2017-06-01

Key to biological success, the requisite variety that confronts an adaptive organism is the set of detectable, accessible, and controllable states in its environment. We analyze its role in the thermodynamic functioning of information ratchets—a form of autonomous Maxwellian Demon capable of exploiting fluctuations in an external information reservoir to harvest useful work from a thermal bath. This establishes a quantitative paradigm for understanding how adaptive agents leverage structured thermal environments for their own thermodynamic benefit. General ratchets behave as memoryful communication channels, interacting with their environment sequentially and storing results to an output. The bulk of thermal ratchets analyzed to date, however, assume memoryless environments that generate input signals without temporal correlations. Employing computational mechanics and a new information-processing Second Law of Thermodynamics (IPSL) we remove these restrictions, analyzing general finite-state ratchets interacting with structured environments that generate correlated input signals. On the one hand, we demonstrate that a ratchet need not have memory to exploit an uncorrelated environment. On the other, and more appropriate to biological adaptation, we show that a ratchet must have memory to most effectively leverage structure and correlation in its environment. The lesson is that to optimally harvest work a ratchet's memory must reflect the input generator's memory. Finally, we investigate achieving the IPSL bounds on the amount of work a ratchet can extract from its environment, discovering that finite-state, optimal ratchets are unable to reach these bounds. In contrast, we show that infinite-state ratchets can go well beyond these bounds by utilizing their own infinite "negentropy". We conclude with an outline of the collective thermodynamics of information-ratchet swarms.

Natural strategies for photosynthetic light harvesting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Croce, R.; van Amerongen, H.

2014-01-01

Photosynthetic organisms are crucial for life on Earth as they provide food and oxygen and are at the basis of most energy resources. They have a large variety of light-harvesting strategies that allow them to live nearly everywhere where sunlight can penetrate. They have adapted their pigmentation

Modeling the Technological Process for Harvesting of Agricultural Produce

Science.gov (United States)

Shepelev, S. D.; Shepelev, V. D.; Almetova, Z. V.; Shepeleva, N. P.; Cheskidov, M. V.

2018-01-01

The efficiency and the parameters of harvesting as a technological process being substantiated make it possible to reduce the cost of production and increase the profit of enterprises. To increase the efficiency of combine harvesters when the level of technical equipment declines is possible due to their efficient operating modes within daily and every season. Therefore, the correlation between the operational daily time and the seasonal load of combine harvesters is found, with the increase in the seasonal load causing the prolonged duration of operational daily time for harvesters being determined. To increase the efficient time of the seasonal load is possible due to a reasonable ratio of crop varieties according to their ripening periods, the necessary quantity of machines thereby to be reduced up to 40%. By timing and field testing the operational factor of the useful shift time of combine harvesters and the efficient modes of operating machines are defined, with the alternatives for improving the technical readiness of combine harvesters being identified.

Adaptive harvest management for the Svalbard population of Pink-Footed Geese: 2014 progress summary

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Fred A.; Madsen, J.

2015-01-01

This document describes progress to date on the development of an adaptive harvest-management strategy for maintaining the Svalbard population of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) near their agreed target level (60 thousand) by providing for sustainable harvests in Norway and Denmark.  Specifically, this report provides an assessment of the most recent monitoring information and its implications for the harvest management strategy.

Screening of Jerusalem artichoke varieties for bio-ethanol production in Portugal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Passarinho, P.C.; Oliveira, A.C.; Rosa, M.F. [INETI, Departamento de Energias Renovaveis, Estrada do Paco do Lumiar, Ed. G, 1649-038, Lisboa (Portugal)

2008-07-01

The aim of this work was the evaluation of the potential of 9 Jerusalem artichoke varieties for the sustainable production of bio-ethanol in Portugal. The tubers, which are the part of the plant with higher sugar content, were harvested at different stages of development (29 to 55 weeks), and crashed for juice extraction. The two phases obtained were characterized in terms of total sugars, protein, ash and dry matter. The ethanol productivity of the different J. artichoke varieties was then evaluated fermenting juice or mixtures of juice and pulp aqueous extract with a strain of Kluyveromyces marxianus, a yeast able to hydrolyze and ferment inulin polymers. The chamical characteristic more dependable on the harvest period was the amount of total sugars in the tubers. Juices, obtained until 48 weeks development, contained 173 - 235 g/L of total sugars while juices from the last harvest presented markedly lower sugar contents, indicating crop degradation or sugar migration to the soil. Regarding the fermentative process, ethanol yields ranged from 0.3 to 0.5 g/g. The main conclusion of this work indicates C13 variety as the best. Although bearing a lower sugar concentration in tubers, the substantially higher agricultural productivities (kg/m2) after 8 months growing allowed to estimate productions higher than 10 000 L/ha.

Flow energy piezoelectric bimorph nozzle harvester

Science.gov (United States)

Sherrit, Stewart; Lee, Hyeong Jae; Walkemeyer, Phillip; Hasenoehrl, Jennifer; Hall, Jeffrey L.; Colonius, Tim; Tosi, Luis Phillipe; Arrazola, Alvaro; Kim, Namhyo; Sun, Kai; Corbett, Gary

2014-04-01

There is a need for a long-life power generation scheme that could be used downhole in an oil well to produce 1 Watt average power. There are a variety of existing or proposed energy harvesting schemes that could be used in this environment but each of these has its own limitations. The vibrating piezoelectric structure is in principle capable of operating for very long lifetimes (decades) thereby possibly overcoming a principle limitation of existing technology based on rotating turbo-machinery. In order to determine the feasibility of using piezoelectrics to produce suitable flow energy harvesting, we surveyed experimentally a variety of nozzle configurations that could be used to excite a vibrating piezoelectric structure in such a way as to enable conversion of flow energy into useful amounts of electrical power. These included reed structures, spring mass-structures, drag and lift bluff bodies and a variety of nozzles with varying flow profiles. Although not an exhaustive survey we identified a spline nozzle/piezoelectric bimorph system that experimentally produced up to 3.4 mW per bimorph. This paper will discuss these results and present our initial analyses of the device using dimensional analysis and constitutive electromechanical modeling. The analysis suggests that an order-of-magnitude improvement in power generation from the current design is possible.

Energy harvesting from low frequency applications using piezoelectric materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Huidong; Tian, Chuan; Deng, Z. Daniel

2014-01-01

In an effort to eliminate the replacement of the batteries of electronic devices that are difficult or impractical to service once deployed, harvesting energy from mechanical vibrations or impacts using piezoelectric materials has been researched over the last several decades. However, a majority of these applications have very low input frequencies. This presents a challenge for the researchers to optimize the energy output of piezoelectric energy harvesters, due to the relatively high elastic moduli of piezoelectric materials used to date. This paper reviews the current state of research on piezoelectric energy harvesting devices for low frequency (0–100 Hz) applications and the methods that have been developed to improve the power outputs of the piezoelectric energy harvesters. Various key aspects that contribute to the overall performance of a piezoelectric energy harvester are discussed, including geometries of the piezoelectric element, types of piezoelectric material used, techniques employed to match the resonance frequency of the piezoelectric element to input frequency of the host structure, and electronic circuits specifically designed for energy harvesters

components analysis and age at harvest effect on quality of gari from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2009-05-04

May 4, 2009 ... Four elite cassava varieties in Ghana released under the local names Afisiafi, Tekbankye, Abasafitaa and Gblemoduade were planted in June and harvested the following year at 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 months after planting, and processed into gari. The effect that age at harvest had on selected.

Development of energy harvesting modules based on piezoceramics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kulkarni, V.; Waechter, D.; Ben Mrad, R. [Toronto Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering; El-Diraby, T. [Toronto Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Civil Engineering; Somayajula, N.; Nemana, S.; Prasad, E. [Sensor Technology Ltd., Collingwood, ON (Canada)

2009-07-01

Self-powered devices can overcome the current reliance and limitations of finite-supply batteries. They have potential in developing next-generation wireless electronics for a wide variety of applications such as health monitoring in civil infrastructure, micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) sensor arrays for automotive and aerospace applications, and sensor arrays for environmental control. These energy harvesting devices capture the ambient energy surrounding a system and convert it into usable electrical energy. A common method of power harvesting is to convert ambient mechanical vibrations into electricity through the use of piezoelectric materials such as piezoceramics (PZT). This paper highlighted some of the recent developments in piezoceramic energy harvesting along with proposed circuits that can improve the performance of energy harvesters. The successful storage and use of energy generated by various harvesting devices requires the use of specific circuitry to optimize the output from the devices. Energy harvesting circuitry was characterized in terms of energy storage; AC/DC converter; DC-DC step down converter; and non-linear voltage processing. The patent activity and applications on piezoceramic energy harvesting was also summarized. It was concluded that despite significant research, piezoceramic energy harvesting remains an emerging technology that requires considerable advancement before it can be commercially viable. The power generated by current piezoelectric harvesters is too low for many applications. Alternative piezoceramic materials and their characteristics must be investigated. 31 refs., 1 tab., 4 figs.

Effects of different levels of nitrogen fertilizer and sowing dates on

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

korosh ehteramian

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to determine the optimal level of nitrogen fertilizer and planting date for cumin (Cuminum cyminum L. planting in Kooshkak region located in Doroodzan Dam Areas which represents a typical semiarid region. This research was carried out in the fall and winter 2000 and using a factorial experiment with two factors based on completely randomized block design with nitrogen fertilizer at three rates (0, 30, and 60 kg N ha-1 and sowing date (Nov. 6th, Dec. 21th, Feb. 6th, and March 6th in four replications. The effects of different nitrogen rates were significant on plant height, number of umbrella per plant and number of seed per umbrella, but it was not significant on number of seeds per plant, 1000-seed weight, biological yield, seed yield and harvest index. The effects of sowing dates were significant on number of seeds per umbrella, number of seeds per plant; 1000-seed weight, biological yield and seed yield; but it was not significant on plant height and harvest index. The interaction of nitrogen rates and sowing dates were significant on plant height, number of umbrella per plant and seed yield, but it was not significant on number of seeds per umbrella, number of seeds per plant, 1000-seed weight, biological yield and harvest index. It was concluded that for obtaining the high cumin yield, application of 30 kg N ha-1 and the late planting date (February 6th and March 6th due to probable winter cold, are recommended for this region.

Dating of cremated bones

OpenAIRE

Lanting, JN; Aerts-Bijma, AT; van der Plicht, J; Boaretto, E.; Carmi, I.

2001-01-01

When dating unburnt bone, bone collagen, the organic fraction of the bone, is used. Collagen does not survive the heat of the cremation pyre, so dating of cremated bone has been considered impossible. Structural carbonate in the mineral fraction of the bone, however, survives the cremation process. We developed a method of dating cremated bone by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), using this carbonate fraction. Here we present results for a variety of prehistoric sites and ages, showing a r...

Quality parameters of wine grape varieties under the influence of different vine spacing and training systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Tkachenko

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Physicochemical and biochemical indices, which characterize quality of white wine grape varieties Zagrey and Aromatnyi of selection of NNC «IV&W named after V. Ye. Tairov», (harvest of 2016 were determined. The field trial which includes various variants of planting density and vine training systems, made it possible to study the influence of viticulture practices on the criteria of carbohydrate-acid and phenolic complex, oxidative enzyme system of grapes. Low-density plantings of Aromatnyi variety (2222 vines per ha were characterized by harvest that slightly exceeded the grapes obtained from dense plantations (4000 vines per ha in terms of carbohydrate-acid and phenolic complexes. The most optimal in terms of the mass concentration of sugars, phenolic substances, polymer forms, macerating ability of must, activity of oxidizing enzyme system was cultivation of this variety on a 160 cm – high trunk. Growing grapes of Zagrey variety with vine spacing, corresponding to 4000 plants per ha, contributed to obtaining harvest with optimal parameters of carbohydrate-acid complex, low technological reserve and mass concentration of phenolic compounds, moderate macerating ability and activity of monophenol monooxygenase in must. Training vines of this variety on a 40 cm high trunk with vertical shoot positioning led to significant deterioration of grape quality due to increased content of phenolic substances and their polymer forms, high macerating capacity of must.

Innovative thermal energy harvesting for future autonomous applications

Science.gov (United States)

Monfray, Stephane

2013-12-01

As communicating autonomous systems market is booming, the role of energy harvesting will be a key enabler. As example, heat is one of the most abundant energy sources that can be converted into electricity in order to power circuits. Harvesting systems that use wasted heat open new ways to power autonomous sensors when the energy consumption is low, or to create systems of power generators when the conversion efficiency is high. The combination of different technologies (low power μ-processors, μ-batteries, radio, sensors...) with new energy harvesters compatible with large varieties of use-cases with allow to address this booming market. Thanks to the conjunction of ultra-low power electronic development, 3D technologies & Systems in Package approaches, the integration of autonomous sensors and electronics with ambient energy harvesting will be achievable. The applications are very wide, from environment and industrial sensors to medical portable applications, and the Internet of things may also represent in the future a several billions units market.

Innovative thermal energy harvesting for future autonomous applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monfray, Stephane

2013-01-01

As communicating autonomous systems market is booming, the role of energy harvesting will be a key enabler. As example, heat is one of the most abundant energy sources that can be converted into electricity in order to power circuits. Harvesting systems that use wasted heat open new ways to power autonomous sensors when the energy consumption is low, or to create systems of power generators when the conversion efficiency is high. The combination of different technologies (low power μ-processors, μ-batteries, radio, sensors...) with new energy harvesters compatible with large varieties of use-cases with allow to address this booming market. Thanks to the conjunction of ultra-low power electronic development, 3D technologies and Systems in Package approaches, the integration of autonomous sensors and electronics with ambient energy harvesting will be achievable. The applications are very wide, from environment and industrial sensors to medical portable applications, and the Internet of things may also represent in the future a several billions units market

Energy Harvesting Research: The Road from Single Source to Multisource.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Yang; Jantunen, Heli; Juuti, Jari

2018-06-07

Energy harvesting technology may be considered an ultimate solution to replace batteries and provide a long-term power supply for wireless sensor networks. Looking back into its research history, individual energy harvesters for the conversion of single energy sources into electricity are developed first, followed by hybrid counterparts designed for use with multiple energy sources. Very recently, the concept of a truly multisource energy harvester built from only a single piece of material as the energy conversion component is proposed. This review, from the aspect of materials and device configurations, explains in detail a wide scope to give an overview of energy harvesting research. It covers single-source devices including solar, thermal, kinetic and other types of energy harvesters, hybrid energy harvesting configurations for both single and multiple energy sources and single material, and multisource energy harvesters. It also includes the energy conversion principles of photovoltaic, electromagnetic, piezoelectric, triboelectric, electrostatic, electrostrictive, thermoelectric, pyroelectric, magnetostrictive, and dielectric devices. This is one of the most comprehensive reviews conducted to date, focusing on the entire energy harvesting research scene and providing a guide to seeking deeper and more specific research references and resources from every corner of the scientific community. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Content of phenolic acids and ferulic acid dehydrodimers in 17 rye (Secale cereale L.) varieties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, M. F.; Christensen, L. P.; Meyer, Anne Boye Strunge

2000-01-01

of the analyzed components were observed among the different rye varieties and also between different harvest years. However, the content of phenolic acids in the analyzed rye varieties was narrow compared to cereals such as wheat and barley. The concentration of ferulic acid, the most abundant phenolic acid...

Irradiation of dates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farkas, J.; Al-Charchafchy, F.; Al-Shaikhaly, M.H.; Mirjan, J.; Auda, H.

1974-01-01

Testing of the technical feasibility of radurization of fresh dates was attempted. In addition preliminary studies were carried out to investigate the applicability of gamma rays to date syrup manufacture. The varieties Zahdi, Lelwi and Tabarzel were studied at different stages of ripening. The eating quality of fresh dates was not affected significantly by irradiation even with doses of 270 and 540 krad. The duration of the softening process, after-ripening, of dates was prolonged by low doses of 10-30 krad in the majority of the experimental batches. The time period of after-ripening was reduced with 270 krad, as well as with 540 krad as a result of shortening of the induction period, i.e. the time after which the date begins to soften. The microbial spoilage of khalaal Lelwi dates was considerably reduced by irradiation with doses above 90 krad. The dibis yield of fully rutab dates was highly increased by the radiation doses of 375 to 2000 krad. The darkness and viable cell count of dibis pressed from irradiated dates were significantly lower than that of untreated dates. (F.J.)

Distribution and derivation of white-winged dove harvests in Texas

KAUST Repository

Collier, Bret A.; Skow, Kevin L.; Kremer, Shelly R.; Mason, Corey D.; Snelgrove, Robert T.; Calhoun, Kirby W.

2012-01-01

Band recoveries provide requisite data for evaluating the spatial distribution of harvest relative to the distribution of breeding stocks for a wide variety of migratory species. We used direct and indirect band-recovery data to evaluate the distribution and derivation of harvest of white-winged doves (Zenaida asiatica) banded before hunting season in 3 distinct strata in Texas, USA, during 2007-2010. We banded 60,742 white-winged doves during 2007-2010, and based on 2,458 harvest recoveries, the majority (>95%) of white-winged dove harvest occurred during the first 2 months of the hunting season (Sep-Oct). Juvenile white-winged doves represented a greater percentage of the direct recoveries than adults across all strata (north = 80%, central = 69%, south = 82%) and the majority of direct band recoveries (north = 75%, central = 90%, south = 78%) occurred within the original banding strata. Age-specific weighting factors and harvest derivation indicated that both juvenile and adult harvest were highest within the strata of original banding. Harvest distribution data corrected for band-reporting rates indicated high fidelity of white-winged doves to specific geographic strata, with little interplay between strata. Our results suggest that population vital-rate estimates for survival and harvest for use in future Adaptive Harvest Management should focus on stock-specific levels. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.

Distribution and derivation of white-winged dove harvests in Texas

KAUST Repository

Collier, Bret A.

2012-04-25

Band recoveries provide requisite data for evaluating the spatial distribution of harvest relative to the distribution of breeding stocks for a wide variety of migratory species. We used direct and indirect band-recovery data to evaluate the distribution and derivation of harvest of white-winged doves (Zenaida asiatica) banded before hunting season in 3 distinct strata in Texas, USA, during 2007-2010. We banded 60,742 white-winged doves during 2007-2010, and based on 2,458 harvest recoveries, the majority (>95%) of white-winged dove harvest occurred during the first 2 months of the hunting season (Sep-Oct). Juvenile white-winged doves represented a greater percentage of the direct recoveries than adults across all strata (north = 80%, central = 69%, south = 82%) and the majority of direct band recoveries (north = 75%, central = 90%, south = 78%) occurred within the original banding strata. Age-specific weighting factors and harvest derivation indicated that both juvenile and adult harvest were highest within the strata of original banding. Harvest distribution data corrected for band-reporting rates indicated high fidelity of white-winged doves to specific geographic strata, with little interplay between strata. Our results suggest that population vital-rate estimates for survival and harvest for use in future Adaptive Harvest Management should focus on stock-specific levels. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.

[CH4 emission features of leading super-rice varieties and their relationships with the varieties growth characteristics in Yangtze Delta of China].

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Xiao-Jun; Wang, Li-Li; Jiang, Yu; Deng, Ai-Xing; Tian, Yun-Lu; Zhang, Wei-Jian

2013-09-01

A pot experiment was conducted to study the CH4 emission features of fourteen leading super-rice varieties (six Japonica rice varieties and eight Indica hybrid rice varieties) and their relationships with the varieties growth characteristics in Yangtze Delta. Two distinct peaks of CH4 emission were detected during the entire growth period of the varieties, one peak occurred at full-tillering stage, and the other appeared at booting stage. The average total CH4 emission of Japonica rice varieties was 37.6% higher than that of the Indica hybrid rice varieties (Price types occurred at the post-anthesis phase. For all the varieties, there was a significant positive correlation between the total CH4 emission and the maximum leaf area, but the correlations between the CH4 emission and the other growth characteristics varied with variety type. The total CH4 emission of Japonica rice varieties had a significant positive correlation with plant height, while the correlations between the total CH4 emission of Indica hybrid rice varieties and their plant height were not significant. The total CH4 emission of Indica hybrid rice varieties had significant negative correlations with the total aboveground biomass, grain yield, and harvest index, but the correlations were not significant for Japonica rice varieties. The lower CH4 emission of Indica hybrid rice varieties was likely due to their significantly higher root biomass, as compared with Japonica rice varieties.

Temperature, Sowing and Harvest Dates, and Yield of Maize in the Southwestern US

Science.gov (United States)

Kafatos, M.; Stack, D.; Myoung, B.; Kim, S. H.; Kim, J.

2014-12-01

Since sowing date of maize is sensitive to climate variability and changes, it is of a practical importance to examine how sowing dates affect maize yields in various temperature regimes in the southwestern US. A 21-year (1991-2011) simulation of maize yield using Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) with observed meteorological forcing, shows that earlier sowing dates are favorable for higher yields primarily by increasing the length of growing season in cold mountaineous regions. In these regions, warmer conditions in the sowing period tend to advance the sowing date and then enhance yield. Over low-elevation warm regions, yields are less correlated with sowing dates and the length of growing season, perhaps because growing season temperatures are high enough for fast growth. Instead, in the warm regions, maize yields are sensitive to temperature variations during the late growing season due to adverse effects of extreme high temperature events on maize development.

Diameter sensors for tree-length harvesting systems

Science.gov (United States)

T.P. McDonald; Robert B. Rummer; T.E. Grift

2003-01-01

Most cut-to-length (CTL) harvesters provide sensors for measuring diameter of trees as they are cut and processed. Among other uses, this capability provides a data collection tool for marketing of logs in real time. Logs can be sorted and stacked based on up-to-date market information, then transportation systems optimized to route wood to proper destinations at...

A vibration energy harvesting device with bidirectional resonance frequency tunability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Challa, Vinod R; Prasad, M G; Shi Yong; Fisher, Frank T

2008-01-01

Vibration energy harvesting is an attractive technique for potential powering of wireless sensors and low power devices. While the technique can be employed to harvest energy from vibrations and vibrating structures, a general requirement independent of the energy transfer mechanism is that the vibration energy harvesting device operate in resonance at the excitation frequency. Most energy harvesting devices developed to date are single resonance frequency based, and while recent efforts have been made to broaden the frequency range of energy harvesting devices, what is lacking is a robust tunable energy harvesting technique. In this paper, the design and testing of a resonance frequency tunable energy harvesting device using a magnetic force technique is presented. This technique enabled resonance tuning to ± 20% of the untuned resonant frequency. In particular, this magnetic-based approach enables either an increase or decrease in the tuned resonant frequency. A piezoelectric cantilever beam with a natural frequency of 26 Hz is used as the energy harvesting cantilever, which is successfully tuned over a frequency range of 22–32 Hz to enable a continuous power output 240–280 µW over the entire frequency range tested. A theoretical model using variable damping is presented, whose results agree closely with the experimental results. The magnetic force applied for resonance frequency tuning and its effect on damping and load resistance have been experimentally determined

Control of electro-chemical processes using energy harvesting materials and devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yan; Xie, Mengying; Adamaki, Vana; Khanbareh, Hamideh; Bowen, Chris R

2017-12-11

Energy harvesting is a topic of intense interest that aims to convert ambient forms of energy such as mechanical motion, light and heat, which are otherwise wasted, into useful energy. In many cases the energy harvester or nanogenerator converts motion, heat or light into electrical energy, which is subsequently rectified and stored within capacitors for applications such as wireless and self-powered sensors or low-power electronics. This review covers the new and emerging area that aims to directly couple energy harvesting materials and devices with electro-chemical systems. The harvesting approaches to be covered include pyroelectric, piezoelectric, triboelectric, flexoelectric, thermoelectric and photovoltaic effects. These are used to influence a variety of electro-chemical systems such as applications related to water splitting, catalysis, corrosion protection, degradation of pollutants, disinfection of bacteria and material synthesis. Comparisons are made between the range harvesting approaches and the modes of operation are described. Future directions for the development of electro-chemical harvesting systems are highlighted and the potential for new applications and hybrid approaches are discussed.

Microfabrication and integration of a sol-gel PZT folded spring energy harvester.

Science.gov (United States)

Lueke, Jonathan; Badr, Ahmed; Lou, Edmond; Moussa, Walied A

2015-05-26

This paper presents the methodology and challenges experienced in the microfabrication, packaging, and integration of a fixed-fixed folded spring piezoelectric energy harvester. A variety of challenges were overcome in the fabrication of the energy harvesters, such as the diagnosis and rectification of sol-gel PZT film quality and adhesion issues. A packaging and integration methodology was developed to allow for the characterizing the harvesters under a base vibration. The conditioning circuitry developed allowed for a complete energy harvesting system, consisting a harvester, a voltage doubler, a voltage regulator and a NiMH battery. A feasibility study was undertaken with the designed conditioning circuitry to determine the effect of the input parameters on the overall performance of the circuit. It was found that the maximum efficiency does not correlate to the maximum charging current supplied to the battery. The efficiency and charging current must be balanced to achieve a high output and a reasonable output current. The development of the complete energy harvesting system allows for the direct integration of the energy harvesting technology into existing power management schemes for wireless sensing.

Retrospective search on biomass harvesting techniques including materials handling and storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1985-10-01

This literature search covers the period 1977 to date. The harvesting, materials handling and storage of the following materials: wood; crops and crop residues; peat; sugar cane; reeds, grasses and fers; algae and jojoba shrubs are covered.

COMPOSITION OF HERB AND SEED OIL AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF TWO VARIETIES OF OCIMUM BASILICUM HARVESTED AT SHORT TIME INTERVALS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pandu Sastry KAKARAPARTHI

2015-12-01

Full Text Available An experiment was conducted to study the changes in the chemical composition of the essential oil of two varieties of Ocimum basilicum over a period of six months at short harvest intervals for two crop seasons. In variety Vikarsudha, GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of eighteen essential oil constituents. Linalool (23.5­40.1% and 22.8­33.7% and methyl chavicol (25.4­51.9% and 40.0­52.7% were the major constituents in main and ratoon crops. Similarly, in variety Kuhmohak GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of linalool (19.2­25.4 % and 16.1­31.3% and methyl chavicol (34.7­53.4% and 39.4­59.2% in large quantities in main and ratoon crops, respectively. β myrcene, limonene, 1,8 cineole, ocimene, camphor, terpinen-4-ol, bornyl acetate, eugenol, methyl eugenol, β elemene, β caryophyllene, α humulene, γ Cadinene and cadinol were present in small quantities. Results pertaining to the zone of inhibition in the antimicrobial activity of essential oil indicated that Chromobacterium violaceum is more sensitive compared to Staphylococcus aureus. Among the fungal strains Aspergillus niger was found to be more sensitive. GC-MS analysis of the fixed oils obtained from the seeds in the ratoon crop revealed the presence of unsaturated and saturated fatty acids. The unsaturated fatty acids averaged 89% consisting of α-linolenic (49.3%­52.4%, linoleic (23.4%­26.0%, and oleic (10.3%­12.3% acids. The most abundant saturated fatty acids were palmitic and stearic acids.

Response of Soybean to Early-Season Planting Dates along the Upper Texas Gulf Coast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. James Grichar

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Soybeans (Glycine max L. can be planted along the upper Texas Gulf Coast from mid-March through May to take advantage of early season rains and to complete harvest before hurricane season and fall rains become a problem. However, in the Calhoun County area (28.5° north latitude, these planting dates have resulted in below average yields and reasons for these yield reductions are not clear. To determine if earlier planting dates could be an option to eliminate the low yields, field studies were conducted from 2005 through 2010 in Calhoun County, Texas, to determine soybean cultivar response to planting dates which ranged from mid-February through the last of April. Typically, soil temperatures in this area are above 18°C in mid-February and depending on weather patterns may not fall much lower during any time in the early portion of the growing season. The greatest yield was obtained with the mid-February and mid-March planting dates compared with early- or late-April planting dates. Typically, as planting date was delayed, the interval between planting and harvest decreased.

EFTIHIYA – THE NEWEST WINE AROMATIC VARIETY WITH PINK COLORED BERRY

OpenAIRE

Zamanidi P. C.; Troshin L. P.; Radchevskiy P. P.

2014-01-01

The newest wine grape variety Eftihiya with aromatic pink colored skin (in Greek the name means “happi-ness”) was breed with hybridization at the Athens In-stitute of Viticulture by P. Zamanidi, L. Troshin and P. Radchevskiy in 2005 by crossing the Greek varieties and Malaguzya with Eurasian Traminer pink. Dura-tion of production period from bud burst to harvest 146-155 days. Yields are very high: 25-30 t / ha. Modal mass of clusters is 250 g. Bunch is conical, me-dium density. Berry is mediu...

Single-step colloidal quantum dot films for infrared solar harvesting

KAUST Repository

Kiani, Amirreza; Sutherland, Brandon R.; Kim, Younghoon; Ouellette, Olivier; Levina, Larissa; Walters, Grant; Dinh, Cao Thang; Liu, Mengxia; Voznyy, Oleksandr; Lan, Xinzheng; Labelle, Andre J.; Ip, Alexander H.; Proppe, Andrew; Ahmed, Ghada H.; Mohammed, Omar F.; Hoogland, Sjoerd; Sargent, Edward H.

2016-01-01

. To date, IR CQD solar cells have been made using a wasteful and complex sequential layer-by-layer process. Here, we demonstrate ∼1 eV bandgap solar-harvesting CQD films deposited in a single step. By engineering a fast-drying solvent mixture for metal

The export potential of traditional varieties of rice from Bangladesh

OpenAIRE

Stringfellow, Rachel; Swetman, Tony

1996-01-01

This research is funded by the Overseas Development Administration's Crops Post Harvest Programme. The objective of the research is to bring together information on prevailing quality/price relationships for traditional varieties of rice in Bangladesh and for competing products on the world market in order to make a judgement about Bangladesh's ability to enter the export trade for speciality rices.

Wind energy harvesting with a piezoelectric harvester

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Nan; Wang, Quan; Xie, Xiangdong

2013-01-01

An energy harvester comprising a cantilever attached to piezoelectric patches and a proof mass is developed for wind energy harvesting, from a cross wind-induced vibration of the cantilever, by the electromechanical coupling effect of piezoelectric materials. The vibration of the cantilever under the cross wind is induced by the air pressure owing to a vortex shedding phenomenon that occurs on the leeward side of the cantilever. To describe the energy harvesting process, a theoretical model considering the cross wind-induced vibration on the piezoelectric coupled cantilever energy harvester is developed, to calculate the charge and the voltage from the harvester. The influences of the length and location of the piezoelectric patches as well as the proof mass on the generated electric power are investigated. Results show that the total generated electric power can be as high as 2 W when the resonant frequency of the cantilever harvester is close to the vortex shedding frequency. Moreover, a value of total generated electric power up to 1.02 W can be practically realized for a cross wind with a variable wind velocity of 9–10 m s −1 by a harvester with a length of 1.2 m. This research facilitates an effective and compact wind energy harvesting device. (paper)

Microfabrication and Integration of a Sol-Gel PZT Folded Spring Energy Harvester

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan Lueke

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the methodology and challenges experienced in the microfabrication, packaging, and integration of a fixed-fixed folded spring piezoelectric energy harvester. A variety of challenges were overcome in the fabrication of the energy harvesters, such as the diagnosis and rectification of sol-gel PZT film quality and adhesion issues. A packaging and integration methodology was developed to allow for the characterizing the harvesters under a base vibration. The conditioning circuitry developed allowed for a complete energy harvesting system, consisting a harvester, a voltage doubler, a voltage regulator and a NiMH battery. A feasibility study was undertaken with the designed conditioning circuitry to determine the effect of the input parameters on the overall performance of the circuit. It was found that the maximum efficiency does not correlate to the maximum charging current supplied to the battery. The efficiency and charging current must be balanced to achieve a high output and a reasonable output current. The development of the complete energy harvesting system allows for the direct integration of the energy harvesting technology into existing power management schemes for wireless sensing.

Nonlinear metamaterials for electromagnetic energy harvesting (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Oumbe Tekam, Gabin Thibaut; Ginis, Vincent; Seetharamdoo, Divitha; Danckaert, Jan

2016-09-01

Surrounded by electromagnetic radiation coming from wireless power transfer to consumer devices such as mobile phones, computers and television, our society is facing the scientific and technological challenge to recover energy that is otherwise lost to the environment. Energy harvesting is an emerging field of research focused on this largely unsolved problem, especially in the microwave regime. Metamaterials provide a very promising platform to meet this purpose. These artificial materials are made from subwavelength building blocks, and can be designed by resonate at particular frequencies, depending on their shape, geometry, size, and orientation. In this work, we show that an efficient electromagnetic energy harvester can be design by inserting a nonlinear element directly within the metamaterial unit cell, leading to the conversion of RF input power to DC charge accumulation. The electromagnetic energy harvester operating at microwave frequencies is built from a cut-wire metasurface, which operates as a quasistatic electric dipole resonator. Using the equivalent electrical circuit, we design the parameters to tune the resonance frequency of the harvester at the desired frequency, and we compare these results with numerical simulations. Finally, we discuss the efficiency of our metamaterial energy harvesters. This work potentially offers a variety of applications, for example in the telecommunications industry to charge phones, in robotics to power microrobots, and also in medicine to advance pacemakers or health monitoring sensors.

THE INFLUENCE OF FERTILIZATION ON YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENT FORMATION OF SOYBEAN VARIETIES

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Eva CANDRÁKOVÁ

2009-03-01

Full Text Available In 2005 and 2006, the influence of fertilization was investigated on forming of yield components and yield of three soybean varieties in sugar beet growing area. Varieties Korada, Supra and OAC Vision were grown. Number of plants per m2, number of pods per plant, number of seeds in pod, thousand seeds weight, yield of seeds, yield of stems and harvest index were examined. Variants of fertilization: I. non-fertilized control, II. LAV 27 % (40 kg ha-1 net nutrient of N in growing stage of first pair of true leaves unfolded, III. Humix komplet (rate 8 l.ha-1 applied in growing stage of first pair of true leaves unfolded (4 l.ha-1 and in growing stage of first flower buds visible (4 l.ha-1, IV. Humix komplet in rate 8 l.ha-1 applied in growing stage of first pair of true leaves unfolded. The yields of seeds and stems were high significantly influenced by variety, fertilization and year. The significantly highest yield of seeds was achieved by Korada variety (4,04 t.ha-1. Varieties OAC Vision and Supra reached yields in interval 3,74-3,84 t.ha-1. Split rate of Humix komplet (III var significantly influenced yield of seeds and stems. The fertilization have increased weight of seeds in proportion to aboveground phyto-mass weight, what was expressed by harvest index.

From producer to consumer: greenhouse tomato quality as affected by variety, maturity stage at harvest, transport conditions, and supermarket storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Verheul, Michèl J; Slimestad, Rune; Tjøstheim, Irene Holta

2015-05-27

Possible causes for differences in quality traits at the time of buying were studied in two widely different red tomato types. Three maturity stages were harvested from commercial greenhouses and transferred immediately to controlled environments simulating different storage, transport, and supermarket conditions. Results show significant differences in development of color, fruit firmness, contents of soluble solids (SSC), titratable acids (TTA), phenolics, and carotenoids from harvest to sale, as related to postharvest conditions. Fruit firmness, SSC, and TTA of vine-ripened red cherry tomatoes was 30, 55 and 11% higher than for those harvested at breakers and ripened to red. Temperature, light, UVC radiation, or ethylene during 4 days transport affected tomato quality traits, and differences persisted during 3 weeks of supermarket storage. Ethylene exposure gave a 3.7-fold increase in lycopene content in cherry tomatoes, whereas UVC hormesis revealed a 6-fold increase compared with the control. Results can be used to update recommendations concerning optimal handling.

Population Modeling Approach to Optimize Crop Harvest Strategy. The Case of Field Tomato.

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Dinh T; Hertog, Maarten L A T M; Tran, Thi L H; Quyen, Nguyen T; Van de Poel, Bram; Mata, Clara I; Nicolaï, Bart M

2017-01-01

In this study, the aim is to develop a population model based approach to optimize fruit harvesting strategies with regard to fruit quality and its derived economic value. This approach was applied to the case of tomato fruit harvesting under Vietnamese conditions. Fruit growth and development of tomato (cv. "Savior") was monitored in terms of fruit size and color during both the Vietnamese winter and summer growing seasons. A kinetic tomato fruit growth model was applied to quantify biological fruit-to-fruit variation in terms of their physiological maturation. This model was successfully calibrated. Finally, the model was extended to translate the fruit-to-fruit variation at harvest into the economic value of the harvested crop. It can be concluded that a model based approach to the optimization of harvest date and harvest frequency with regard to economic value of the crop as such is feasible. This approach allows growers to optimize their harvesting strategy by harvesting the crop at more uniform maturity stages meeting the stringent retail demands for homogeneous high quality product. The total farm profit would still depend on the impact a change in harvesting strategy might have on related expenditures. This model based harvest optimisation approach can be easily transferred to other fruit and vegetable crops improving homogeneity of the postharvest product streams.

Response of wheat varieties to different nitrogen levels under agro-climatic conditions of mansehra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahzad, K.; Khan, A.

2013-01-01

A field experiment, comprising of three Nitrogen levels viz.0, 60, 120 and 180 kg/ha and five wheat varieties, viz., Pir Sabak-04 (P.S), P.S-05, P.S-08, Atta Habib and Siran, was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Baffa, Mansehra, in 2011. The experiment was laid out in randomised complete block design with split-plot arrangement. The results indicated that varieties and nitrogen levels were significantly different for tillers per m2, days to physiological maturity, plant height (cm), spike length, grains per spike, 1000 grains weight (gm), biological yield (kg/ha) and grain yield (kg/ha), while harvest index (%) was significantly affected by varieties only. Maximum tillers per m2 were produced in varieties P.S-2008, P.S-2004 and P.S-2005. Maximum days to physiological maturity and grains per spike were observed in variety P.S-2008. Taller plants were produced by variety P.S. 2005. Longer spikes, maximum thousand grains weight and grain yield (kg/ha) were obtained in varieties P.S-2008 and Atta Habib, respectively. Maximum biological yield (kg/ha) was recorded in Atta Habib. Among nitrogen levels, maximum tillers per m2, days to physiological maturity, longer spikes, number of grains per spike, thousand grains weight, biological yield and grain yield were maximum when N was applied at the rate of 120 kg/ha. Similarly the interactive response of varieties and nitrogen was significantly affected for days to emergence, grains per spike, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index (%). From the study, it was concluded that the varieties, Pir Sabak-2008 and Atta Habib, produced maximum seed yield whereas nitrogen applied at the rate of 120 kg/ha performed better in productivity than other treatments. (author)

Effect of Limited Irrigation on Yield and Yield Component of Several Sweet Corn (Zea mays L.var Saccharata Varieties

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Sh Ghazian Tafrishi

2013-08-01

Full Text Available A randomized complete block design with four replications and a split plot arrangement was conducted in 2010, in order to study the effect of limited irrigation on yield and yield component of sweet corn. Water levels were (100%, 80%, and 60% replacement of plant water requirement which served as main plots. Subplot was a factorial arrangement of three different sweet corn varieties (Merit, Obsession and KSC403 with two planting methods (raised bed and furrow planting. The evaluated traits were ear length, ear diameter, kernels number per row, seed rows per ear, kernel depth, seed thousands weight, kernel yield, shoot biomass, harvest index and Anthesis- silking interval. Results show that limited irrigation significantly decreased all measured characteristics but harvest index. Effect of varieties was significant on evaluated traits too. Kernel weight and seed depth were significantly affected by interaction between variety and planting method. The highest yield was found for 100% replacement of water requirement irrigation level whit 15.2 tones per hectare kernel weight and the lowest belongs to 60% replacement of water requirement by 8.6 tones per hectare kernel weight. Merit and KSC 403 produces the highest (15.9 ton/ha and lowest (8.8 ton/ha seed yield, respectively. Harvest index of different varieties were not affected by irrigation regime. Results show that, in whole, limited irrigation, decreased seed yield in all varieties by affecting diverse yield component.

Less adaption of newly approved variety Basmati 515 among aromatic basmati rice varieties in Kallar Tract of Punjab, Pakistan

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Muhammad Tahir Latif

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A field survey was conducted after harvesting of rice crop 2016 to identify the reasons for less adaption of aromatic rice variety Basmati 515. The rice growers adopting rice-wheat cropping pattern in kallar tract were included in population of research study. Thirty male farmers from each selected district making a total of 180 respondent farmers were interviewed by convenience sampling method. The survey findings showed that the aromatic rice variety Basmati 515 was cultivated on only 2.7% rice area while maximum area (47.3% was under Super basmati variety. The comparison of Basmati 515 was made with Super basmati and PS 2 due to comparatively more cultivated area and declared yield potential of these varieties. Overall the farmers were applying under dosed phosphorus fertilizer (DAP as 0.25, 0.20 and 0.22 bag ha-1 respectively for basmati 515, super basmati and PS-2 varieties. The descriptive analysis showed that the less adaptability of basmati 515 was due to less yield and more attacks of borer (11%, BLB (10% and leaf roller (3.25% in comparison to other aromatic and fine rice varieties. Similarly maximum lodging (16% was recorded on basmati 515. Maximum yield was estimated for PS 2 variety (4.7 t ha-1 followed by super basmati (4.0 t ha-1 and basmati 515 (3.78 t ha-1. The market price of super basmati was still higher due to its natural aroma, long & thin grain and export demand. The research institutes should focus for development of new aromatic high yielding and more qualitative rice varieties to increase the rice production and export.

Forensic applications of 14C bomb-pulse dating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zoppi, U.; Skopec, Z.; Skopec, J.; Jones, G.; Fink, D.; Hua, Q.; Jacobsen, G.; Tuniz, C.; Williams, A.

2004-01-01

After a brief review of the basics of 14 C bomb-pulse dating, this paper presents two unique forensic applications. Particular attention is dedicated to the use of the 14 C bomb-pulse to establish the time of harvest of illicit drugs such as heroin and opium. Preliminary measurements of 14 C concentrations in milligram samples taken from seized drugs are presented. 14 C bomb-pulse dating can determine whether drug distribution originates from stockpiles or recent manufacture, and support the action of law enforcement authorities against criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking. In addition, we describe the dating of wine vintages for a number of authenticated single label vintage red wines from the Barossa Valley - South Australia. Our results show that radiocarbon dating can be used to accurately determine wine vintages and therefore reveal the addition of unrelated materials of natural and synthetic origin

Forensic applications of 14C bomb-pulse dating

Science.gov (United States)

Zoppi, U.; Skopec, Z.; Skopec, J.; Jones, G.; Fink, D.; Hua, Q.; Jacobsen, G.; Tuniz, C.; Williams, A.

2004-08-01

After a brief review of the basics of 14C bomb-pulse dating, this paper presents two unique forensic applications. Particular attention is dedicated to the use of the 14C bomb-pulse to establish the time of harvest of illicit drugs such as heroin and opium. Preliminary measurements of 14C concentrations in milligram samples taken from seized drugs are presented. 14C bomb-pulse dating can determine whether drug distribution originates from stockpiles or recent manufacture, and support the action of law enforcement authorities against criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking. In addition, we describe the dating of wine vintages for a number of authenticated single label vintage red wines from the Barossa Valley - South Australia. Our results show that radiocarbon dating can be used to accurately determine wine vintages and therefore reveal the addition of unrelated materials of natural and synthetic origin.

Oil characteristics and fatty acid profile of seeds from three varieties ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Oil characteristics and fatty acid profile of seeds from three varieties of date palm ... of oils, as indicators of the quality and safety, and oxidative status of edible oils, ... industry, these data suggest that the potential applications of date seed oil for ...

estimation of planting dates for roselle (hibiscus sabdariffa l.)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

thinkexploitsint'l

2011-06-11

Jun 11, 2011 ... 2012 to evaluate the effects of planting dates and accessions on the growth and performance of roselle (Hibiscus ... vegetables in soup making, green calyx roselle should be sown in May and harvested not later ... Roselle is native to the region that stretched from India to Malaysia and almost all parts of.

Effects of different pollination combinations on fruit set in some lemon varieties

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Gülay DEMİR

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Some new lemon varieties and some standart lemon varieties were used as plant material in the planned project. The effects of selfing, crossing and reciprocal crossing methods on fruit set were investigated. The study was carried out in Batı Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute’s fruit department station in 2011-2012 years. In the study, it was determined the effects of self-pollination, naturel open pollination and reciprocal pollination on fruit set of limon varieties (BATEM Pınarı, BATEM Sarısı, Interdonato, Kütdiken, Italyan Memeli, Meyer, Lamas. According to results, İtalyan Memeli lemon with 35.17% was determined the highest rate on account of percentage of fruits at harvest time.

Population Development of Zabrotes subfasciatus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Landrace Bean Varieties Occurring in Southwestern Amazonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, L M; Araújo, A E F; Santos, A C V; Santos, V B; Sousa, A H

2016-02-01

The common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris (L.), is one of the most important sources of protein worldwide, and Latin America is one of the recognized centers of diversity of this species. However, storage of this product after harvest is not feasible because of bruchid attacks. This study determined the accumulated normalized rate of emergence and the daily emergence rate of Zabrotes subfasciatus (Boheman) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae:Bruchinae) in five landrace varieties of common bean (BRL 01, SNA 01, RDR 01, RBC 01, and RBC 13) that occurin southwestern Amazonia. These varieties were selected for this study because they are well-distributed throughout the Amazonian communities. Beans of each variety were infested with 50 unsexed adults, and the insects were removed 13 d after beginning the bioassays. The adult progeny obtained from the feeding substrate were counted and removed every other day after the first emergence, until the end of the emergence period. Differences were observed in the calculated rates of development; however, the time required for development and emergence of the insects was independent. Of the five varieties of bean investigated, we observed that the RDR 01, BRL 01, and SNA 01 cultivars are resistant to Z. subfasciatus; the results indicate that the use of these three varieties can reduce problems associated with bruchid attacks and enable storage of the product after harvesting.

Physical and Flavor Quality of Some Potential Varieties of Arabica Coffee in Several Interval Storage Periods

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Yusianto .

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Coffee storage was an active process, where the quality and flavor was depend on the origin, humidity, temperature, period, and ware house condition. The objective of this research was to know quality and flavor of some Arabica coffee varieties in interval of storage periods. The examined coffee varieties were BP 416 A, BP 430 A, BP 432 A, BP 509 A, BP 542 A, P 88, AS 1, S 795, and USDA-762. The treatments were recent harvest, one and two years stored green coffee. The green coffee were wet processed, sun dried, packed in polyethylene bags, one kg/pack and placed in some covered plastic boxes. The boxes were stored in ware house covered with wavy asbes roof and flat asbes ceiling. The green coffee was examined for its moisture content, color, and bulk density. The green coffee was roasted at medium level, and then examined for its the bulk density, yield, volume of swelling, and color of the roasted and powdered. The flavors examination was blind test method. The research showed that storage period significantly influenced the moisture content, color, and bulk density of green coffee, yield, volume of swelling, color of roasted coffee, color, and flavor profile of coffee powder. Those varieties tested showed significantly different on the moisture content, green coffee color, roasted coffee color, coffee powder color, and the profile flavor. The storage period influenced the green coffee color from greenish-gray to yellowish-red. The bulk density of green coffee decreased. The varieties that showed a little color changeduring storage, were BP 430 A,BP 416 A, AS 1, and S 795. One year of storage periode, the green coffee was still had the original color, but after two years, the original color had changed totally. The powder of recent harvest coffee was darker than that of one and two years storage. One year stored coffee had higher quality of aroma, intensity of aroma, quality of flavor, intensity of flavor, acidity, quality of after taste

Influence of sowing dates on phenological development and yield of dual purpose wheat cultivars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munsif, F.; Arif, M.; Ali, K.

2015-01-01

Dual-purpose wheat is getting recognition among community in diverse farming systems. Success of the system depends on management decisions regarding appropriate sowing dates, choice of cultivars, harvesting time and stage. A comprehensive understanding of how these factors influence the growth and phenology of dual purpose wheat is needed for comparison of grain only wheat to dual purpose system to feed the ever increasing population under this system. The existing higher yielding varieties (Saleem-2000, Bathoor-2007, Fakhre Sarhad-99, Uqab-2000, Siran-2008, and Ghaznavi-98) of wheat were sown on various planting dates from early to normal (15th, 30th October and 14th November) and were given cut after 70 days of sowing. The experiment was arranged in randomized complete block design having split plot arrangement with three replications. Results of the study indicated that booting, heading and physiological maturity were significantly influenced by planting dates, among the cultivars and cutting imposed 70 days after sowing. Mid October sowing prolonged booting, heading, anthesis, maturity and had long stature plants and higher grain yield than sowing in mid November. Uqab-2000 booted, headed and reached to anthesis and maturity earlier followed by Ghaznavi-98, Bathoor-2007 and Saleem-2000. Uqab-2000 and Siran-2008 had higher grain yield than other cultivars. Booting, heading, anthesis and maturity were significantly delayed in cutting as compared to no cut plots. Wheat varieties Bathoor-2007, Uqab-2000 and Fakhre Sarhad-99 produced taller plants compared to Saleem-2000. It is concluded that early sowing on mid October had prolonged phenological traits and higher yield of wheat with long stature plants than later sowing (15th November) and variety Fakhre Sarhad-99 unlike Uqab-2000 was late with respect to phenological development. Cutting prior to stem elongation had not delayed the maturity from three days without substantial yield reduction which revealed that

Phosphorus utilization by three rice varieties at different stages of growth in a vertisol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rastogi, A.K.; Mahajan, J.P.; Sinha, S.B.

1981-01-01

A pot experiment was conducted using labelled superphosphate to study the utilization of applied fertilizer phosphorus by three rice varieties, viz., Jaya, Ratna and Sona at tillering, flowering and harvesting stages. Total phosphorus uptake and phosphorus derived from fertilizer increased significantly with increasing level of phosphorus, but per cent utilization of applied phosphorus showed a reverse trend in all the three varieties at all the growth stages. Dry matter yield in general, increased significantly with increasing P levels in all the three varieties. Average soil-p uptake decreased with increasing levels of phosphorus at all the stages. (author)

Induced mutations in mungbean- variety BM-4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chavan, A.A.; Patil, V.D.; Pawar, R.B.

2000-01-01

Mung bean (Vigna radiata) is an important crop. Marathwada Agricultural University has developed and released a variety BM4 for Western Zone. This variety has got yield potential of 1200-1300 kg/ha. However it has small grain size and dull green colour resulting in less dahl recovery and less market price. To improve these parameters, a mutation breeding programme was taken up. Dry seeds of variety BM4 were treated with 10, 15, 25 kR gamma rays at BARC Mumbai. In M 1 generation, germination decreased with increased dose of gamma rays. Twenty five kR showed lowest germination, 10 and 15 kR showed satisfactory germination. Individual plants were harvested and plant to row progenies were grown in M 2 in augmented block design. Range of mean was 39.8 to 77.2, 6.3 to 45.4, 1.85 to 3.25 and 9.2 to 60.0 for plant height (cm), number of pods/plant, test weight (g) and yield/plant(g) respectively. Out of 3 doses of gamma rays 10 kR proved more effective in increasing seed size, number of pods and seed yield/plant. (author)

Effects of sowing date and plant density on morphological triats, yield and yield components of sweet corn (Zea mays L.

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A. Rahmani

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In order to evaluate the effect of sowing date and plant density on the morphological triats, yield and yield components of sweet corn (Zea mays L. var SC. 403 an experiment was conducted at the Khorasan Razavi Agricultural Research and Natural Resources Center, Mashhad, Iran during 2008. This experiment was carried out as split plot based on RCBD with four replications. The sowing date (14th June, 3th July and 24th July and plant densities (66600, 83300 and 111000 plants.ha-1 were arranged in main and sub plots, respectively. The results showed significant differences between different sowing dates for plant height, ear height, and no. of leaves/plant, no. of leaves above ear, stem diameter, dehusked ear yield, can grains yield, no. of grain rows/ear, ear length, ear diameter, kernel depth, no. of ear.plant-1, 1000 kernel weight, ear harvest index and plant harvest index. The highest and the lowest can grains yield with 18.27 and 0.930 ton ha-1 was belonged to 14th June and 24th July sowing date, respectively. Although, delay in sowing date, led to decrease of growth period and also decrease of temperature can lead to improper transfer of photosynthetic materials and cause to grains yield decrease. The plant density had significant effects on husked ear yield, dehusked ear yield and forage yield. The highest can grains yield was harvested from the highest plant density (8.862 t.ha-1 and the lowest can grains yield derived from the lowest plant density (66600 plants.ha-1 with 7.692 t.ha-1. Finally, the interaction of sowing date and plant density was significant only for harvest index. Therefore, the sowing date 14th June and the highest plant density (111000 plants.ha-1, is recommended for summer sowing date of sweet corn in Mashhad with maximum and better can grains production.

Evaluation of Over-The-Row Harvester Damage in a Super-High-Density Olive Orchard Using On-Board Sensing Techniques

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Manuel Pérez-Ruiz

2018-04-01

Full Text Available New super-high-density (SHD olive orchards designed for mechanical harvesting using over-the-row harvesters are becoming increasingly common around the world. Some studies regarding olive SHD harvesting have focused on the effective removal of the olive fruits; however, the energy applied to the canopy by the harvesting machine that can result in fruit damage, structural damage or extra stress on the trees has been little studied. Using conventional analyses, this study investigates the effects of different nominal speeds and beating frequencies on the removal efficiency and the potential for fruit damage, and it uses remote sensing to determine changes in the plant structures of two varieties of olive trees (‘Manzanilla Cacereña’ and ‘Manzanilla de Sevilla’ planted in SHD orchards harvested by an over-the-row harvester. ‘Manzanilla de Sevilla’ fruit was the least tolerant to damage, and for this variety, harvesting at the highest nominal speed led to the greatest percentage of fruits with cuts. Different vibration patterns were applied to the olive trees and were evaluated using triaxial accelerometers. The use of two light detection and ranging (LiDAR sensing devices allowed us to evaluate structural changes in the studied olive trees. Before- and after-harvest measurements revealed significant differences in the LiDAR data analysis, particularly at the highest nominal speed. The results of this work show that the operating conditions of the harvester are key to minimising fruit damage and that a rapid estimate of the damage produced by an over-the-row harvester with contactless sensing could provide useful information for automatically adjusting the machine parameters in individual olive groves in the future.

Nonlinear vibration analysis of the high-efficiency compressive-mode piezoelectric energy harvester

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Zhengbao; Zu, Jean

2015-04-01

Power source is critical to achieve independent and autonomous operations of electronic mobile devices. The vibration-based energy harvesting is extensively studied recently, and recognized as a promising technology to realize inexhaustible power supply for small-scale electronics. Among various approaches, the piezoelectric energy harvesting has gained the most attention due to its high conversion efficiency and simple configurations. However, most of piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) to date are based on bending-beam structures and can only generate limited power with a narrow working bandwidth. The insufficient electric output has greatly impeded their practical applications. In this paper, we present an innovative lead zirconate titanate (PZT) energy harvester, named high-efficiency compressive-mode piezoelectric energy harvester (HC-PEH), to enhance the performance of energy harvesters. A theoretical model was developed analytically, and solved numerically to study the nonlinear characteristics of the HC-PEH. The results estimated by the developed model agree well with the experimental data from the fabricated prototype. The HC-PEH shows strong nonlinear responses, favorable working bandwidth and superior power output. Under a weak excitation of 0.3 g (g = 9.8 m/s2), a maximum power output 30 mW is generated at 22 Hz, which is about ten times better than current energy harvesters. The HC-PEH demonstrates the capability of generating enough power for most of wireless sensors.

Effect of Planting Patterns' and Plant Population on Some of Morphological Traits, Harvest Index and Conservable Grain Yield of Sweet Corn

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M. Nasrolah Alhossini

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Sweet corn is one of the most important crops in Iran and due to its short period of growth, it has been an important position after wheat and barley in khorasane Razavi Province. In this study two methods of planting (one raised bed and furrow planting and 3 plant densities (65000, 75000 and 85000 plant/ha was evaluated on some of Morphological Traits, harvest index and conservable grain yield of sweet Corn(Chase and KSC403su Varieties in Torbat-e-Heidarie in saline (4.060ds/m condition on 2009. The experimental design was factorial based on RCBC with 4 replications. The result of ANOVA showed significant differences between Anthesis silking interval (ASI, tassel length, plant height, ear height, stem diameter, harvest index, and conservable grain yield of sweet corn varieties that effected by planting methods. the highest harvest index was belonged to Chase in 75000 Plant/ha on one raised bed planting method with 31.75% and the lowest mean was belonged to KSC403su in 85000 Plant/ha on furrow planting method with 14.93%. In addition the highest grain yield was belonged to chase variety at 75000 plant/ha and furrow planting method with 11.912 ton/ha, while the lowest grain yield was belonged to KSC403su variety at 85000 plant/ha and raised bed planting (3.610 ton/ha. The Chase variety was better than KSC403su Due to its canopy and photo period is shorter than KSC403su. The superiority of Chase variety can be related to better distribution of leaves, highest harvest index, conservable grain yield and plant arrangement in the row.

[Temporal and spatial variation of the optimal sowing dates of summer maize based on both statistical and processes models in Henan Province, China].

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Mei-xiu; Wang, Jing; Yu, Wei-dong; He, Di; Wang, Na; Dai, Tong; Sun, Yan; Tang, Jian-zhao; Chang, Qing

2015-12-01

Sowing date is one of the vital factors for determining crop yield. In this study, temporal and spatial variation of optimal sowing date of summer maize was analyzed by statistical model and the APSIM-Maize model in Henan Province, China. The results showed that average summer maize optimal sowing dates ranged from May 30 to June 13 across Henan Province with earlier sowing before June 8 in the southern part and later sowing from June 4 to June 13 in the northern part. The optimal sowing date in mountain area of western Henan Province should be around May 30. Late-maturing variety Nongda 108 should be planted at least two days earlier than middle-maturing variety Danyu 13. Under climate warming background, maize sowing should be postponed for at least 3 days if maize harvesting date could be delayed for a week. It was proposed that sowing should be delayed for about a week for a yearly less precipitation pattern while advanced for about a week for a yearly more precipitation pattern compared to the normal one. Across Henan Province, the optimal sowing dates of summer maize showed no significant change trend in 1971-2010, while the potential sowing period had been extended for some regions, such as south from Zhumadian, Yichuan, Nei-xiang and Nanyang in the middle part of Henan, Linzhou in the northern Henan and Sanmenxia in the western Henan, as a result from advanced maturity of winter wheat due to increasing temperature and winter wheat cultivar change. Optimal sowing dates at 76.7% of the study stations showed no significant difference between the two methods. It was recommended that the northern Henan should sow maize immediately after any rainfall and replant afterward, while the southern Henan should not sow maize until that there were valid precipitation (3.9 mm and 8.3 mm for upper south and south parts, respectively) during sowing period, both required enough precipitation during key water requirement period and optimal temperature during grain

Harvest Regulations and Implementation Uncertainty in Small Game Harvest Management

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Pål F. Moa

2017-09-01

Full Text Available A main challenge in harvest management is to set policies that maximize the probability that management goals are met. While the management cycle includes multiple sources of uncertainty, only some of these has received considerable attention. Currently, there is a large gap in our knowledge about implemention of harvest regulations, and to which extent indirect control methods such as harvest regulations are actually able to regulate harvest in accordance with intended management objectives. In this perspective article, we first summarize and discuss hunting regulations currently used in management of grouse species (Tetraonidae in Europe and North America. Management models suggested for grouse are most often based on proportional harvest or threshold harvest principles. These models are all built on theoretical principles for sustainable harvesting, and provide in the end an estimate on a total allowable catch. However, implementation uncertainty is rarely examined in empirical or theoretical harvest studies, and few general findings have been reported. Nevertheless, circumstantial evidence suggest that many of the most popular regulations are acting depensatory so that harvest bag sizes is more limited in years (or areas where game density is high, contrary to general recommendations. A better understanding of the implementation uncertainty related to harvest regulations is crucial in order to establish sustainable management systems. We suggest that scenario tools like Management System Evaluation (MSE should be more frequently used to examine robustness of currently applied harvest regulations to such implementation uncertainty until more empirical evidence is available.

Fabrication of Scalable Indoor Light Energy Harvester and Study for Agricultural IoT Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, M; Nakamura, A; Kunii, A; Kusano, K; Futagawa, M

2015-01-01

A scalable indoor light energy harvester was fabricated by microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and printing hybrid technology and evaluated for agricultural IoT applications under different environmental input power density conditions, such as outdoor farming under the sun, greenhouse farming under scattered lighting, and a plant factory under LEDs. We fabricated and evaluated a dye- sensitized-type solar cell (DSC) as a low cost and “scalable” optical harvester device. We developed a transparent conductive oxide (TCO)-less process with a honeycomb metal mesh substrate fabricated by MEMS technology. In terms of the electrical and optical properties, we achieved scalable harvester output power by cell area sizing. Second, we evaluated the dependence of the input power scalable characteristics on the input light intensity, spectrum distribution, and light inlet direction angle, because harvested environmental input power is unstable. The TiO 2 fabrication relied on nanoimprint technology, which was designed for optical optimization and fabrication, and we confirmed that the harvesters are robust to a variety of environments. Finally, we studied optical energy harvesting applications for agricultural IoT systems. These scalable indoor light harvesters could be used in many applications and situations in smart agriculture. (paper)

Fabrication of Scalable Indoor Light Energy Harvester and Study for Agricultural IoT Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, M.; Nakamura, A.; Kunii, A.; Kusano, K.; Futagawa, M.

2015-12-01

A scalable indoor light energy harvester was fabricated by microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and printing hybrid technology and evaluated for agricultural IoT applications under different environmental input power density conditions, such as outdoor farming under the sun, greenhouse farming under scattered lighting, and a plant factory under LEDs. We fabricated and evaluated a dye- sensitized-type solar cell (DSC) as a low cost and “scalable” optical harvester device. We developed a transparent conductive oxide (TCO)-less process with a honeycomb metal mesh substrate fabricated by MEMS technology. In terms of the electrical and optical properties, we achieved scalable harvester output power by cell area sizing. Second, we evaluated the dependence of the input power scalable characteristics on the input light intensity, spectrum distribution, and light inlet direction angle, because harvested environmental input power is unstable. The TiO2 fabrication relied on nanoimprint technology, which was designed for optical optimization and fabrication, and we confirmed that the harvesters are robust to a variety of environments. Finally, we studied optical energy harvesting applications for agricultural IoT systems. These scalable indoor light harvesters could be used in many applications and situations in smart agriculture.

Effect of 60Co gamma radiation on the performance of two soybean varieties in M1 and M2 generations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miah, M.A.; Rahman, L.

1982-01-01

Seed of two soybean varieties Bragg and Improved Pelican were treated with gamma-rays at 0, 11, 29, 47 and 65 Kr doses. Percentage of seedling emergence in both varieties in M 1 generation was not so seriously affected as in M 1 generation. The plant height of Bragg after one month of sowing was less influenced than Improved Pelican. Plant height of both the varieties decreased with increase in radiation doses; except 11 Kr in Bragg in both generations. Similar results were also obtained in plant height at harvest except that Improved Pelican in M 1 generation produced taller plants at 29 Kr than at 11 Kr level. Days required to harvest increased at higher doses in comparison to control, except 11 Kr for Improved Pelican and 29 Kr for Bragg in M 1 generation. (author)

Forensic applications of {sup 14}C bomb-pulse dating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zoppi, U. E-mail: ugo@ansto.gov.au; Skopec, Z.; Skopec, J.; Jones, G.; Fink, D.; Hua, Q.; Jacobsen, G.; Tuniz, C.; Williams, A

2004-08-01

After a brief review of the basics of {sup 14}C bomb-pulse dating, this paper presents two unique forensic applications. Particular attention is dedicated to the use of the {sup 14}C bomb-pulse to establish the time of harvest of illicit drugs such as heroin and opium. Preliminary measurements of {sup 14}C concentrations in milligram samples taken from seized drugs are presented. {sup 14}C bomb-pulse dating can determine whether drug distribution originates from stockpiles or recent manufacture, and support the action of law enforcement authorities against criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking. In addition, we describe the dating of wine vintages for a number of authenticated single label vintage red wines from the Barossa Valley - South Australia. Our results show that radiocarbon dating can be used to accurately determine wine vintages and therefore reveal the addition of unrelated materials of natural and synthetic origin.

Potential of mutation breeding in improving Indonesian local rice varieties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobrizal

2016-01-01

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important cereal crops for human nutrition, this species can be divided into sub-species i.e. Indica and Japonica. Japonica sub-species consists of Temprate and Tropical Japonica (it is called as Javanica) groups. Mostly Javanica group originated from Indonesia, the people mentioned as Indonesian local varieties, it was covering more than 8000 varieties. This paper aims is to discuss the potential of mutation breeding, success stories and on going activities improved genetically the local rice varieties. Indonesian local varieties have been tested naturally for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses so that they become useful collections of genetic resources. They usually adapted well toa specific environment where they grow largely, having good aroma and eating quality, but they have some weakness such very long growth duration, susceptible to lodging, unresponsive to fertilizer, and low yield. Seed multiplication is usually conducted by collecting seeds from farmer's fields so that the seed quality, especially for seeds purity level is very low. Improvements of seed quality is usually conducted through purification of exciting varieties, then, the result is released as a new variety. Other ways, some new varieties were improved through mutation breeding, for example, an early maturing mutant variety of Pandan Putri derived from irradiated Pandan Wangi variety from Cianjur area. The success story to reduce harvest age of Pandan Wangi variety through mutation breeding, it was triggers other local governments to use nuclear technology in improving agronomic traits of their local rice varieties, without altered another good characters. (author)

Sustainability of Mangrove Harvesting: How do Harvesters' Perceptions Differ from Ecological Analysis?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura López-Hoffman

2006-12-01

Full Text Available To harvest biological resources sustainably, it is first necessary to understand what "sustainability" means in an ecological context, and what it means to the people who use the resources. As a case study, we examined the extractive logging of the mangrove Rhizophora mangle in the Río Limón area of Lake Maracaibo, in western Venezuela. The ecological definition of sustainable harvesting is harvesting that allows population numbers to be maintained or to increase over time. In interviews, the harvesters defined sustainable harvesting as levels permitting the maintenance of the mangrove population over two human generations, about 50 yr. In Río Limón, harvesters extract a combination of small adult and juvenile trees. Harvesting rates ranged from 7-35% of small adult trees. These harvesting levels would be sustainable according to the harvester's definition as long as juvenile harvesting was less than 40%. However, some harvesting levels that would be sustainable according to the harvesters were ecologically unsustainable, i.e., eventually causing declines in mangrove population numbers. It was also determined that the structure of mangrove forests was significantly affected by harvesting; even areas harvested at low, ecologically sustainable intensities had significantly fewer adult trees than undisturbed sites. Western Venezuela has no organized timber industry, so mangrove logs are used in many types of construction. A lagging economy and a lack of alternative construction materials make mangrove harvesting inevitable, and for local people, an economic necessity. This creates a trade-off between preserving the ecological characteristics of the mangrove population and responding to human needs. In order to resolve this situation, we recommended a limited and adaptive mangrove harvesting regime. We also suggest that harvesters could participate in community-based management programs as harvesting monitors.

Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Pollinated and Non Pollinated Date Fruit of District Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan

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Wahid Bux Jatoi

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Elemental patterns are often used for the classification or identification of date fruit varieties. Five ripening stages of six date varieties were collected and studied from the pre ripening to the post ripening stage. Pollinated and non-pollinated date fruit of the same varieties were compared for their physical and chemical parameters. Physical parameters such as size, mass, colour, moisture, and pH were measured. In case of chemical characteristics the mineral composition of six different varieties of district Khairpur dates palm (Phoenix dactylifera L. fruit (Gorho, Asul Khurmo, Nur Aseel, Ghuray Wari, Toto, and Allah Wari were analysed using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS. Generally, size, moisture and mineral content of the pollinated fruit increased up to 3rd and 4th stage then declined.

77 FR 36260 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Puget Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvesting...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-18

... Collection; Comment Request; Puget Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvesting Project AGENCY: National Oceanic..., as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or... for a new collection of information. The Puget Sound estuary provides one of the most valuable...

Physiological Mechanisms behind Differences in Pod Shattering Resistance in Rapeseed (Brassica napus L. Varieties.

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Jie Kuai

Full Text Available Pod shattering resistance index (SRI is a key factor affecting the mechanical harvesting of rapeseed. Research on the differences in pod shattering resistance levels of various rapeseed varieties can provide a theoretical basis for varietal breeding and application in mechanical harvesting. The indicators on pod shattering resistance including pod morphology and wall components were evaluated on eight hybrids and open pollinators, respectively, during 2012-2014. The results showed the following: (1 From the current study, SRI varied greatly with variety, and conventional varieties had stronger resistance than hybrid according to the physiological indexes. and (2 Under the experimental conditions, the SRI was linearly related to pod wall weight and the water content in pod walls, and the goodness-of-fit measurements for the regression model of the SRI based on pod wall weight and water content were 0.584** and 0.377*, respectively, reaching the significant level. This illustrated that pod wall weight and the water content in pod walls determined the SRI. (3 Compared with the relative contents of biochemical components in pod walls, the contents of particular biochemical components in pod walls had closer correlations with SRI. Among the biochemical components, the hemicellulose content was the decisive factor for the SRI.

Evaluation of Spring Sweet Corn (Zea mays var saccharata Production in Different Planting Date under Plastic Cover in Gachsaran Province

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H. Naraki,

2012-08-01

Full Text Available In order to evaluate the performance of spring sweet corn (Zea mays var saccharata at different planting dates under plastic cover, a split plot experiment based on RCBD with three replications was conducted in Gachsaran, in southwest of Iran, during 2009-2010 growing season. Four sweet corn hybrids (Merit, Challenger, Chase and Basin were used as main factor and five sowing date (15th and 25th Jan, 4th, 14th and 24th Feb as sub factor. The results showed that hybrid effect was significant on the days to tassel and ear emergence, days to harvest, ear harvest index, ear length, number of row per each ear, wet biological yield and 1000 grains weight, at 1%, and ear wet yield and grain yield harvest index at 5% probability levels. Also the effect of sowing date was significant on the days to tassel and ear emergence, days to harvest, ear wet yield, ear harvest index, ear diameter, ear length, biological yield, and 1000 grains weight at the 1% probability level. 'Basin' and 'Chase' hybrids were determined to have highest and lowest ear wet yield (17.09 and 15.13 t.ha-1 respectively. The highest and the lowest wet ear yield (16.81 and 15.06 t.ha-1 belonged to 15th Jan. and 24th Feb. respectively. 'Basin' hybrid and 'Challenger' with 8.39 and 7.59 t.ha-1 grain yield were found to be highest and lowest yields. The highest and the lowest grain yield (8.41 t.ha-1 7.45 t.ha-1 were recorded for 15th Jan. and 24th Feb. respectively.' Merit' and 'Chase' hybrids were determined to have longest and shortest days to ear harvest (94.3 and 86.2 days. Longest and shortest days to ear harvest (101.5 and 82 days were recorded in 4th Jan. and 24th Feb. Sowing date and hybrids interaction effects showed that the longest and shortest days to ear harvest (104.7 and 78.3 days were calculated in 4th Jan. of Merit and in 24th Feb. for Chase. Based on these results, it can be concluded that 'Basin' hybrid Feb. 24 is the most suitable cultivar to be produced in Gachsaran.

Effect of harvest stage and drying methods on germination and seed ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Germination of seed and infection by seed-borne fungi of two maize varieties DMRLSR-W and DMRLSRY as affected by stage of harvest and method of drying were studied in the growing seasons of year 2002 and 2003 at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, Nigeria. The experiment ...

Chemical composition, antioxidant capacity, and mineral extractability of Sudanese date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruits

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed, Rania M A; Fageer, Aisha S M; Eltayeb, Mohamed M; Mohamed Ahmed, Isam A

2014-01-01

The aim of the present work was to investigate the chemical composition, mineral extractability, and antioxidant capacity of six date palm varieties grown in Sudan. The results showed that Sudanese date varieties contained significantly different (P varieties contained significantly varied (P varieties were as follows: ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) was within the range of 2.82–27.5 mmol/100 g, chelation of Fe2+ ion ranged from 54.31% to 94.98%, and scavenging of H2O2 ranged from 38.48% to 49.13%. There were many correlations (positive, negative, and weak) between antioxidant and mineral extractability of Sudanese date fruits. PMID:25473506

Designing A General Deep Web Harvester by Harvestability Factor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Khelghati, Mohammadreza; van Keulen, Maurice; Hiemstra, Djoerd

2014-01-01

To make deep web data accessible, harvesters have a crucial role. Targeting different domains and websites enhances the need of a general-purpose harvester which can be applied to different settings and situations. To develop such a harvester, a large number of issues should be addressed. To have

Plant Density Effect in Different Planting Dates on Growth Indices, Yield and

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F Azizi

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In order to determine the appropriate plant density in different planting dates for sweet corn cultivar KSC403su, an experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design in split plot lay out with three replications at Seed and Plant Improvement Institute in Karaj in 2006. Three planting dates (22 May, 5 June and 22 June were assigned as main plots and three plant densities (65000, 75000 and 85000 plants per hectare were considered as sub plots. Effect of planting date on row/ear, 1000 kernels weight, biological yield and harvest index was significant at 1% probability level and it was significant at 5% probability level for kernels/ear row and grain yield. All traits decreased with postponement of planting date to 5 June except for row/ear, kernels/row and grain yield. More delay in planting from 22 May to 22 June caused that grain yield was decreased significantly about 32.5% (from 14.45 to 9.78 ton/ha. Effect of plant density was significant at 1% probability level for all the traits. All of the traits decreased significantly with increasing plant density except for biological yield. The highest grain yield was resulted from 65000 plants per hectare density (14.20 ton/ha. Interaction effect of planting date and plant density was significant at 5% probability level for biological yield and harvest index but it wasn’t significant for the other traits. Growth indices decreased with delay in planting date and increasing plant density. Only leaf area index increased in more plant densities. From the results of this experiment it might be resulted that appropriate planting date to produce the highest grain yield is 22 May to 5 June for sweet corn cultivar KSC403su and also the highest grain yield can obtain from 65000 plants per hectare density.

Sustainable management of varieties of sugarcane in Cuba

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Irenaldo Delgado

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The frequency of the appearence of atypical dry and rainy seaso ns periods in the last years, has put up with the establishment of a new conception for the evalu ation and management of sugarcane varieties, with a view to framing correctly the harvesting stage and its p ossible lengthening in certain places. Under those new premises 48 experiments in blocks totally at random were de signed and established in four contrasting regions of the country. The behavior of three representative va rieties of sugarcane of three different maturity periods (early, middle and late, harvested during the whole ye ar, with ages between 9 and 24 months, in the variable t cane/ha,% pol in cane and t pol/ha was studied. The results corroborated the approach of maturity of the studied genotypes, the counties of Camagüey and Matanzas re ached the highest values in the pol percentage in cane at the beginnig of the harvesting period, while Holguín achieves them in the period from April - July. The results of the Factorial Analysis, showed that the best results in the cultivars were reached in Camagüey, followed by Holguín with ages among 13 - 16, 17 - 20 and 21 - 2 4 months fundamentally in the periods (February - March, April - May, June - August and September - O ctober, the environmental effect was the one that bigger contributed to the total phenotypic variation

Determination of biological nitrogen fixation capacities of winter and spring lentil varieties by using ''1''5N methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akin, A.

2001-01-01

In order to determine the biological nitrogen fixation capacities of winter and spring varieties of lentil which have of agronomic importance under the Central Anatolia region, the field experiments (winter and spring) were carried out. In both experiments, the effects of two different iconoclasts and different harvesting times on the biological nitrogen fixation capacities of lentil varieties, were investigated. The field experiments were conducted using by randomized block design as split-split plot for 4 replications. Barley was selected as the reference crop and 20 cm row spacing were used for lentil and barley. Inoculations were done immediately before sowing. 10.0 kg N/ ha for lentil varieties as 10.0 % ''1''5N atom excess and 40.0 kg N/ ha for barley (reference crop) as 2.0 % ''1''5N atom excess ammonium sulphate fertilizer were applied. In addition, 60.0 kgP 2 O 5 / ha were applied as triple superphosphate for all treatments. Plants were harvested at the different growth stages and than plant materials prepared for the analysis. Total nitrogen and % ''1''5N atom excess analysis were done by Kjeldahl method and Emission spectrometer, respectively. The amount of nitrogen fixation capacities of winter and spring lentil varieties were calculated according to the A-Value method (IAEA 1990). The results showed us that the winter varieties of lentil had higher dry matter yields and nitrogen fixation capacities than the spring varieties. Inoculation treatments had no statistically significant effects on the percentage of nitrogen derived from atmosphere (% Ndfa) and the amount of fixed nitrogen (kg N/ ha) for both experiments. In comparison between the harvesting times, the highest amount of fixed nitrogen was found at the pod formation stage for all cultivars. The average amounts of % Ndfa and fixed nitrogen (kg N/ ha) were 75.0 and 70.0 for winter cultivars, 70.0 and 45.0 for spring cultivars, respectively

Factors limiting the implementation of mechanical harvesting of sugarcane in Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil

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Cristóbal Soto Solano

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to identify and characterize the main technical factors that affect the deployment of the mechanized harvesting of sugarcane in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In general, it can be stated there were restrictive factors related to machinery, administrative management, and technical planning. We identified significant technical restrictions in the planting system, particularly in relation to the size and shape of the plots, length of the rows, row spacing, and inadequate varieties. For efficient use of mechanized harvesting, a technical planning is necessary with changes in the cropping system, adopting wider and more uniform plots regarding to its format, with rows over 500 m length and row spacing of 1.50 m and upright, productive, and deep-rooted varieties.

Argania spinosa var. mutica and var. apiculata: variation of fatty-acid composition, phenolic content, and antioxidant and α-amylase-inhibitory activities among varieties, organs, and development stages.

Science.gov (United States)

El Adib, Saifeddine; Aissi, Oumayma; Charrouf, Zoubida; Ben Jeddi, Fayçal; Messaoud, Chokri

2015-09-01

Argania spinosa includes two varieties, var. apiculata and var. mutica. These argan varieties were introduced into Tunisia in ancient times and are actually cultivated in some botanic gardens. Little is known about the chemical differentiation among these argan varieties. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the fatty-acid composition, the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and the antioxidant and α-amylase-inhibitory activities of leaf, seed, and pulp extracts of both argan varieties harvested during the months of January to April. The fatty-acid distribution was found to depend on the argan variety, the plant organ, and the harvest time. Significant variations in the phenolic contents were observed between the investigated varieties as well as between leaves, pulps, and seeds of each variety. As expected, phenolic compounds were found to be contributors to the antioxidant and α-amylase-inhibitory activities of both argan varieties. The chemical differentiation observed among the two argan varieties, based mainly on the fatty-acid composition, might have some chemotaxonomic value. Copyright © 2015 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich.

Influence of harvest day on changes in mechanical properties of grape berries

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Šárka Nedomová

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Changes in the composition, physical and mechanical properties occur in grape berries during the ripening process, but the heterogeneity of the grapes harvested at different ripening stages affects the reliability of the results obtained. The characterization of the mechanical properties of grape berries seems to be an important parameter for understanding grape ripening. In this work, these changes were studied in seven grapevine varieties (Riesling, Blaufränkisch, Pinot Noir, Cerason, Malverina, Laurot, and Hibernal harvested during six consecutive weeks. Mechanical behaviour was measured using compression and puncture tests using of TIRATEST 27025 testing machine. Skin mechanical properties were evaluated using a puncture test carried out on the equatorial side. The dependence of these properties on the chemical composition has been evaluated. These parameters of force/time curves were studied by puncture test: the berry skin break force, the needle displacement at the skin break and the berry skin break energy. The crushing force, the plate displacement at the crushing strength and the berry crushing energy were studied from force/time curves by compression test. Results of the puncture test shows that there the skin break strength and the acidity content are monotonic functions of the time. A comparison of different varieties from the point of the value of the crushing force was obtained by vertical and transversal loading. The crushing force is monotonically decreasing function of the harvesting time like the break force evaluated at the puncture test. The correlation between the skin break strength and the sugar content is significant namely for the varieties: Hibernal, Riesling, Malverina, and Cerason. 

Canadian peat harvesting and the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keys, D.

1992-01-01

In 1990, ca 749,000 tonnes of peat were sold by Canadian producers, a small volume in comparison to the estimated 50 million tonnes or more that accumulate naturally each year in Canada. Most of the harvested peat was used for horticultural purposes. The relationship between peatlands and the peat industry is examined, and issues related to the environment and sustainable resource use are discussed. Case studies are used to examine several specific situations where peatland development proposals have undergone environmental assessments. The present status of peatland conservation in Canada is reviewed. To date, developed peatlands are primarily situated in the boreal wetland regions and consist mainly of the bog wetland class. Environmental issues related to peatland development include the need for conservation of flora, fauna, and other ecological values or functions. The potential for release of carbon gases due to Canadian peat harvesting is considered to be insignificant in relation to other uses of carbon sources such as the combustion of fossil fuel, and is unlikely to influence global warming at the present or projected levels of peatland development in Canada. The influence and mitigation of the effects of drainage of peatlands for peat production on water quality and flow regime are being addressed on a site-specific basis through existing regulatory procedures and research. Reclamation and restoration options are being incorporated during design and operational development of new peat harvesting areas. 39 refs., 15 figs., 3 tabs

Energy harvesting from high-rise buildings by a piezoelectric harvester device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie, X.D.; Wang, Q.; Wang, S.J.

2015-01-01

A novel piezoelectric technology of harvesting energy from high-rise buildings is developed. While being used to harness vibration energy of a building, the technology is also helpful to dissipate vibration of the building by the designed piezoelectric harvester as a tuned mass damper. The piezoelectric harvester device is made of two groups of series piezoelectric generators connected by a shared shaft. The shaft is driven by a linking rod hinged on a proof mass on the tip of a cantilever fixed on the roof of the building. The influences of some practical considerations, such as the mass ratio of the proof mass to the main structure, the ratios of the length and flexural rigidity of the cantilever to those of the main structure, on the root mean square (RMS) of the generated electric power and the energy harvesting efficiency of the piezoelectric harvester device are discussed. The research provides a new method for an efficient and practical energy harvesting from high-rise buildings by piezoelectric harvesters. - Highlights: • A new piezoelectric technology in energy harvesting from high-rise buildings is introduced. • A new mathematics model to calculate the energy harvested by the piezoelectric device is developed. • A novel efficient design of the piezoelectric harvester device in provided. • An electric power up to 432 MW under a seismic excitation at a frequency of 30 rad/s is achieved.

Harvest time in sugar cane and varietal stability in five environmental conditions of Cuba

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irenaldo Delgado

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Harvesting of sugarcane at a proper time, by adopting right techniques, is necessary to make better use of the available genetic material. By determining the harvesting time period for each sugarcane variety to show its highest potential, both yield and sugar quality, higher levels of profitability are achieved. The aim of this study is to identify the harvest time of sugarcane cultivars, as well as the stability of the cultivars studied in five localities. The study was conducted at the Sugarcane Research Stations in Villa Clara, Sancti Spiritus, Camagüey, Holguin and Santiago de Cuba. Five experiments were planted (one for each locality, in a randomized complete block design with three replications under rainfed agriculture. Two harvest times were established, time 1 (M1, according to the harvest data from November to January (beginning of harvest, and time 2 (M2 taking into account the data collected from February to April (average stage- end of harvest. The discriminant analysis results allowed establishing two harvest times (November to January and February to April in these five localities, where the effectiveness of each cultivar-Iocality-harvest time combination was higher than 74%. In general, it is advisable the use of cultivars C86-12 and C92-514 during M1 in these five localities, as well as the use of C90-530 in specific zones; and the use of cultivars C92-514 and C89-165 during M2. .

Efeito do retardamento da colheita, na qualidade e na vida útil do melão Orange Flesh Effect of the harvest delay on the quality and post-harvest shelf-life of Orange Flesh melons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fábio Vinícius de S. Mendonça

2004-03-01

Full Text Available O efeito do retardamento da colheita na qualidade e na vida útil dos frutos do meloeiro foi avaliado. Os frutos, tipo Honey Dew Orange Flesh, foram colhidos no dia adotado pelos produtores como maturidade comercial, um, dois, três e quatro dias após e, foram armazenados a 7 ± 1ºC e UR de 90 ± 5%. O experimento foi conduzido obedecendo delineamento inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial 5 x 5, com cinco repetições, cinco tempos de retardamento (0; 1; 2; 3 e 4 dias após o adotado para a colheita e cinco tempos de armazenamento (0; 7; 14; 21 e 28 dias após a colheita. Foram avaliado a aparência externa e interna, firmeza de polpa, conteúdo de sólidos solúveis e incidência de rachadura no pedúnculo. Foi observada perda gradativa de firmeza da polpa para todos os retardamentos durante o armazenamento. Ao final do experimento os frutos ainda apresentavam aparência própria à comercialização. O conteúdo de sólidos solúveis ficou entre 9 e 12% e a incidência de rachaduras foi menor para os frutos colhidos aos 59; 60 e 61 dias após o plantio.The effect of harvesting delay on quality and postharvest shelf-life of Honey Dew Orange Flesh melons was examined. Fruits were harvested at the stage of commercial maturity and, one, two, three and four days after this period. Fruits were kept at 7 ± 1ºC and 90 ± 5% relative humidity. A 5 x 5 factorial scheme in a completely randomized design with five replications was used, with five harvesting dates (0; 1; 2; 3 and 4 days after the stage of commercial harvest and five storage periods (0; 7; 14; 21 and 28 days. During this period we evaluated the external and internal appearances, flesh firmness, soluble solid content and crack incidence of the peduncle. There occurred reduction of the flesh firmness for all harvest delaying dates. Fruits presented appropriate marketing appearance until the end of the experiment. The soluble solids content varied from 9 to 12%, and the cracking

Volatile compounds formation in alcoholic fermentation from grapes collected at 2 maturation stages: influence of nitrogen compounds and grape variety.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Gil, Ana M; Garde-Cerdán, Teresa; Lorenzo, Cándida; Lara, José Félix; Pardo, Francisco; Salinas, M Rosario

2012-01-01

The aim of this work was to study the influence of nitrogen compounds on the formation of volatile compounds during the alcoholic fermentation carried out with 4 nonaromatic grape varieties collected at 2 different maturation stages. To do this, Monastrell, Merlot, Syrah, and Petit Verdot grapes were collected 1 wk before harvest and at harvest. Then, the musts were inoculated with the same Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain and were fermented in the same winemaking conditions. Amino acids that showed the highest and the lowest concentration in the must were the same, regardless of the grape variety and maturation stage. Moreover, the consumption of amino acids during the fermentation increased with their concentration in the must. The formation of volatile compounds was not nitrogen composition dependent. However, the concentration of amino acids in the must from grapes collected 1 wk before harvest can be used as a parameter to estimate the concentration of esters in wines from grapes collected at harvest and therefore to have more information to know the grape oenological capacity. Application of principal components analysis (PCA) confirmed the possibility to estimate the concentration of esters in the wines with the concentration of nitrogen compounds in the must. © 2011 Institute of Food Technologists®

Single-step colloidal quantum dot films for infrared solar harvesting

KAUST Repository

Kiani, Amirreza

2016-11-01

Semiconductors with bandgaps in the near- to mid-infrared can harvest solar light that is otherwise wasted by conventional single-junction solar cell architectures. In particular, colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are promising materials since they are cost-effective, processed from solution, and have a bandgap that can be tuned into the infrared (IR) via the quantum size effect. These characteristics enable them to harvest the infrared portion of the solar spectrum to which silicon is transparent. To date, IR CQD solar cells have been made using a wasteful and complex sequential layer-by-layer process. Here, we demonstrate ∼1 eV bandgap solar-harvesting CQD films deposited in a single step. By engineering a fast-drying solvent mixture for metal iodide-capped CQDs, we deposited active layers greater than 200 nm in thickness having a mean roughness less than 1 nm. We integrated these films into infrared solar cells that are stable in air and exhibit power conversion efficiencies of 3.5% under illumination by the full solar spectrum, and 0.4% through a simulated silicon solar cell filter.

Web harvesting for nuclear knowledge preservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

The IAEA has taken on the obligation to organize the continued availability of literature in the field of nuclear science and technology for peaceful applications. In the International Nuclear Information System (INIS), millions of scientific citations and the full texts of hundreds of thousands of pieces of non-conventional literature (NCL) have been collected worldwide and have been assembled into the INIS database of citations and the associated collection of NCL full texts. The next step in the IAEA's endeavour to secure the continued access to scientific and technical literature in the nuclear field which is now available on the Internet to its staff and to Member States. The IAEA is currently conducting pilot projects under the heading NuArch that could eventually become the seed of a comprehensive archive of electronic documents in the nuclear field. A pilot project was started in the IAEA for the period 2004-2005 and continues for the period 2006-2007. This publication provides information and examples based upon experience in a variety of Member States. It provides general information that present technical aspects of web harvesting in the context of knowledge preservation in the nuclear field, contemporary activities in the domain of web harvesting, document archiving and Internet access technology in order to obtain a contemporary technology overview. Several aspects of possible web harvesting methodologies are presented in some detail in this document which can also serve as a basis to establish future co-operation

Analysis Method of Combine Harvesters Technical Level by Functional and Structural Parameters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. V. Zhalnin

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The analysis of modern methods of evaluation of the grain harvesters technical level revealed a discrepancy in various criteria: comparative parameters, dimensionless series, the names of firms, the power of the motor, the width of the capture of the harvester, the capacity at the location of the manufacturer plant, advertising brands. (Purpose of research This led to a variety in the name of harvester models, which significantly complicates the assessment of their technical level, complicates the choice of agricultural necessary to him fashion, does not give the perception of the continuity of the change of generations of combines, makes it impossible to analyze trends in their development, does not disclose the technological essence of a model, but - most importantly - combines can not be compared with each other. The figures in the name of the harvester model are not related functionally to the main parameters and performance capabilities. (Materials and methods The close correlation in the form of a linear equation between their design parameters and the capacity of combines was revealed. Verification of this equation in the process of operation of the combine showed that it statistically stable and the estimates are always within the confidence interval with an error of 5-8 percent. It was found that four parameters of the variety of factors, that affect the performance of the harvester per hour net time, having most close correlation with it are: the motor power and the square of the separation concave, straw walkers and sieves for cleaning. (Results and discussion On the basis of the revealed correlation dependence we proposed a new method of assessment of the technical level of combines, which is based on the throughput (kg/s of the wetted material and the size series, indicating the nominal productivity of the combine in centners of grain harvested in 1 hour of basic time. The methodological background and mathematical apparatus

Effect of sowing date on biometrical features of Hamburg parsley plants

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Robert Gruszecki

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between sowing date and the biometrics features of the roots and leaves of parsley. Seeds of parsley cultivars ‘Berlińska PNE’ and ‘Cukrowa’ were sown in 5 times in 2004 year: 5 July, 25 August, 5 and 15 September, 17 November and 12 April 2005. Plants were harvested then the average root diameter was greater than 20 mm. Due to harvest time dependence of the size of the root, was no effect of sowing date on the diameter and the weight of gained parsley roots. Shorter roots and the lower coefficient of shape produced plants that sprouted before winter (5 July, 25 August, 5 and 15 September. The highest number of leaves produced by plants sowing on 5 July and 17 November, and the lowest – by plants sowing on 25 August and 12 April. The lowest length of leaves were found in plants obtained from sowing on 5 July (20.8 cm, it was more than twice shorter than in plants from different dates of sowing. The largest weight of leaves had the plants from sowing on 5 and 15 September or 17 November. Those plants are also characterized by a smaller root/shoot weight ratio. Tested cultivars differ in the length and coefficient of shape of the root and root/shoot weight ratio.

Experimental tests on a new harvesting system for Burley tobacco

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Salvatore Faugno

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The globalization of the tobacco production has led to a drop in competitiveness of the Italian tobacco on the world market. Burley is the main variety of tobacco cropped in Campania region of Southern Italy. Its leaves have to be sewn, in the curing phase. Aim of this work is to show the results of the implementation of a new harvest machine prototype. Basically, the machine used for Bright tobacco, totally mechanical harvested, which doesn’t need to be sewn because it requires an indirect-fire treatment into the curing furnaces. The machine was modified in order to mechanize harvesting of Burley tobacco, and tested on four cultivars of Burley tobacco under three different planting layouts. The Burley tobacco leaves can be harvested mechanically by pulling individual leaves off the stalk; leaves are then sorted and tied in bundles prior to sewing. A mechanical burley tobacco harvesting system was evaluated. This machine consists in realizing a leaves orientation system based on the different weight between the leaf blade and the stalk enhanced by an air flow. The measurements taken were harvest timing, work capacity, and quality standards of the work carried out. The results, in terms of user time, range from 6.67 h/ha to 7.80 h/ha while in terms of operational efficiency are between 88% and 89%. The average user capacity recorded for the four cultivars is equal to 0.14 ha/h, a value far from the one recorded for the same harvesting machine used for Bright tobacco (0.25 ha/h. The harvest timing capacity, range from 0.51 t/h to 0.99 t/h. The work productivity goes from 0.17 t to 0.33 t per hour of human unit respectively. The average number of detached leaves, depending on the cultivar, has been between 523 and 744. Concerning the leaf orientation, a general percentage of 73% was achieved.

Pre-harvest fruit drop, bunch weight and fruit quality of 'Rothana' and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ajl2

2012-10-09

Oct 9, 2012 ... Pre-harvest fruit drop is a serious problem of some date palm cultivars. During 2010 ... important subsistence crop in most of the hot arid regions. (Botes and .... diluted 10-fold with distilled water) and allowed to stand for 5 min before the ... made by F-test and the least significant differences (LSD) at P = 5%.

Comparative profitability of onions harvested as green and dry (mature in Botswana

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S.P. Baliyan

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This study was an attempt to calculate and compare the profitability of onions harvested as green and dry (mature in Botswana. Half of the planted onions were harvested and sold as green and half were harvested and sold as dry onions. The cost of production of green onions was 32.78% higher than the cost of production of dry onions. The irrigation and marketing expenses contributed the highest difference in the cost of production of green and dry onions. The major cost item contributing to the cost of green onions production was marketing cost (32.86% followed by irrigation cost (23.77% and harvesting cost (18.53% whereas the highest cost of production for dry onions was contributed by irrigation (38.58% followed by marketing (19.45% and planting (11.96%. The marketing cost for green onions was almost double (35.6% as compare to the dry onions (18.2%. The total return from green onions was 50.90% higher than the returns from dry onions. Gross margin of onions harvested as green was 63% higher than the gross margin from dry onions, which indicated that the production of green onions is more profitable as compare to production of dry onions. The farmers preferred onion harvested as green because it generates regular and higher returns than onions harvested as mature. Government should support farmers through some policies such as Minimum Support Price (MSP for dry onions, distribution of Mini Ferti–Seed Kit (Seeds of improved varieties and fertilizer package, construction of storages and formation of cooperatives.

Effect of the delay in olive processing after harvesting on some physicochemical and nutritional parameters of olive oil from the Racimilla variety; Influencia del retraso en el procesado de las aceitunas tras la recoleccion, en parametros fisico-quimicos y nutricionales de aceite de oliva de la variedad Ramicilla

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benito, M.; Oria, R.; Sanchez-Gimeno, A. C.

2009-07-01

The aim of this work was to study how the delay time between harvesting and processing affects the physicochemical and nutritional parameters of Racimilla olive (Olea europaea L.) oil. The physicochemical parameters (titratable acidity, peroxide value, coefficients of specific extinction and pigments content) changed remarkably. The nutritional parameters such as fatty acids profile, total phenols and vitamin E also suffered a change with the delay in processing. Physicochemical and nutritional parameter modifications were detrimental to olive oil quality. In conclusion, a delay in processing after harvesting is not efficient to preserve the physicochemical and nutritional quality of the olive oil from the Racimilla variety. (Author) 21 refs.

Energy Harvesting with a Liquid-Metal Microfluidic Influence Machine

Science.gov (United States)

Conner, Christopher; de Visser, Tim; Loessberg, Joshua; Sherman, Sam; Smith, Andrew; Ma, Shuo; Napoli, Maria Teresa; Pennathur, Sumita; Weld, David

2018-04-01

We describe and demonstrate an alternative energy-harvesting technology based on a microfluidic realization of a Wimshurst influence machine. The prototype device converts the mechanical energy of a pressure-driven flow into electrical energy, using a multiphase system composed of droplets of liquid mercury surrounded by insulating oil. Electrostatic induction between adjacent metal droplets drives charge through external electrode paths, resulting in continuous charge amplification and collection. We demonstrate a power output of 4 nW from the initial prototype and present calculations suggesting that straightforward device optimization could increase the power output by more than 3 orders of magnitude. At that level, the power efficiency of this energy-harvesting mechanism, limited by viscous dissipation, could exceed 90%. The microfluidic context enables straightforward scaling and parallelization, as well as hydraulic matching to a variety of ambient mechanical energy sources, such as human locomotion.

Sustainable Harvest for Food and Fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grosshans, Raymond R.; Kostelnik, Kevin, M.; Jacobson, Jacob J.

2007-04-01

The DOE Biomass Program recently implemented the Biofuels Initiative, or 30x30 program, with the dual goal of reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil by making cellulosic ethanol cost competitive with gasoline by 2012 and by replacing 30 percent of gasoline consumption with biofuels by 2030. Experience to date with increasing ethanol production suggests that it distorts agricultural markets and therefore raises concerns about the sustainability of the DOE 30 X 30 effort: Can the U.S. agricultural system produce sufficient feedstocks for biofuel production and meet the food price and availability expectations of American consumers without causing environmental degradation that would curtail the production of both food and fuel? Efforts are underway to develop computer-based modeling tools that address this concern and support the DOE 30 X 30 goals. Beyond technical agronomic and economic concerns, however, such models must account for the publics’ growing interest in sustainable agriculture and in the mitigation of predicted global climate change. This paper discusses ongoing work at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies that investigates the potential consequences and long-term sustainability of projected biomass harvests by identifying and incorporating “sustainable harvest indicators” in a computer modeling strategy.

Selection of Leafy Green Vegetable Varieties for a Pick-and-Eat Diet Supplement on ISS

Science.gov (United States)

Massa, Gioia D.; Wheeler, Raymond M.; Stutte, Gary W.; Richards, Jeffrey T.; Spencer, LaShelle E.; Hummerick, Mary E.; Douglas, Grace L.; Sirmons, Takiyah

2015-01-01

Several varieties of leafy vegetables were evaluated with the goal of selecting those with the best growth, nutrition, and organoleptic acceptability for ISS. Candidate species were narrowed to commercially available cultivars with desirable growth attributes for space (e.g., short stature and rapid growth). Seeds were germinated in controlled environment chambers under conditions similar to what might be found in the Veggie plant growth chamber on ISS. Eight varieties of leafy greens were grown: 'Tyee' spinach, 'Flamingo' spinach, 'Outredgeous' Red Romaine lettuce, 'Waldmann's Dark Green' leaf lettuce, 'Bull's Blood' beet, 'Rhubarb' Swiss chard, 'Tokyo Bekana' Chinese cabbage, and Mizuna. Plants were harvested at maturity and biometric data on plant height, diameter, chlorophyll content, and fresh mass were obtained. Tissue was ground and extractions were performed to determine the tissue elemental content of Potassium (K), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca) and Iron (Fe). Following the biometric/elemental evaluation, four of the eight varieties were tested further for levels of anthocyanins, antioxidant (ORAC-fluorescein) capacity, lutein, zeaxanthin, and Vitamin K. For sensory evaluation, 'Outredgeous' lettuce, Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage, and Mizuna plants were grown, harvested when mature, packaged under refrigerated conditions, and sent to the JSC Space Food Systems Laboratory. Tasters evaluated overall acceptability, appearance, color intensity, bitterness, flavor, texture, crispness and tenderness. All varieties received acceptable scores with overall ratings greater than 6 on a 9-point hedonic scale. Chinese cabbage was the highest rated, followed by Mizuna, 'Outredgeous' lettuce, and Swiss chard. Based on our results, the selected varieties of Chinese cabbage, lettuce, Swiss chard and Mizuna seem suitable for a pick-and-eat scenario on ISS with a ranking based on all factors analyzed to help establish priority.

Generating Electricity during Walking with a Lower Limb-Driven Energy Harvester: Targeting a Minimum User Effort.

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Michael Shepertycky

Full Text Available Much research in the field of energy harvesting has sought to develop devices capable of generating electricity during daily activities with minimum user effort. No previous study has considered the metabolic cost of carrying the harvester when determining the energetic effects it has on the user. When considering device carrying costs, no energy harvester to date has demonstrated the ability to generate a substantial amount of electricity (> 5W while maintaining a user effort at the same level or lower than conventional power generation methods (e.g. hand crank generator.We developed a lower limb-driven energy harvester that is able to generate approximately 9W of electricity. To quantify the performance of the harvester, we introduced a new performance measure, total cost of harvesting (TCOH, which evaluates a harvester's overall efficiency in generating electricity including the device carrying cost. The new harvester captured the motion from both lower limbs and operated in the generative braking mode to assist the knee flexor muscles in slowing the lower limbs. From a testing on 10 participants under different walking conditions, the harvester achieved an average TCOH of 6.1, which is comparable to the estimated TCOH for a conventional power generation method of 6.2. When generating 5.2W of electricity, the TCOH of the lower limb-driven energy harvester (4.0 is lower than that of conventional power generation methods.These results demonstrated that the lower limb-driven energy harvester is an energetically effective option for generating electricity during daily activities.

Generating Electricity during Walking with a Lower Limb-Driven Energy Harvester: Targeting a Minimum User Effort.

Science.gov (United States)

Shepertycky, Michael; Li, Qingguo

2015-01-01

Much research in the field of energy harvesting has sought to develop devices capable of generating electricity during daily activities with minimum user effort. No previous study has considered the metabolic cost of carrying the harvester when determining the energetic effects it has on the user. When considering device carrying costs, no energy harvester to date has demonstrated the ability to generate a substantial amount of electricity (> 5W) while maintaining a user effort at the same level or lower than conventional power generation methods (e.g. hand crank generator). We developed a lower limb-driven energy harvester that is able to generate approximately 9W of electricity. To quantify the performance of the harvester, we introduced a new performance measure, total cost of harvesting (TCOH), which evaluates a harvester's overall efficiency in generating electricity including the device carrying cost. The new harvester captured the motion from both lower limbs and operated in the generative braking mode to assist the knee flexor muscles in slowing the lower limbs. From a testing on 10 participants under different walking conditions, the harvester achieved an average TCOH of 6.1, which is comparable to the estimated TCOH for a conventional power generation method of 6.2. When generating 5.2W of electricity, the TCOH of the lower limb-driven energy harvester (4.0) is lower than that of conventional power generation methods. These results demonstrated that the lower limb-driven energy harvester is an energetically effective option for generating electricity during daily activities.

Volatile compounds formation in alcoholic fermentation from grapes collected at 2 maturation stages: Influence of nitrogen compounds and grape variety

OpenAIRE

Martínez-Gil, A. M.; Garde-Cerdán, Teresa; Lorenzo, Cándida; Félix Lara, J.; Pardo, F.; Rosario Salinas, M.

2012-01-01

The aim of this work was to study the influence of nitrogen compounds on the formation of volatile compounds during the alcoholic fermentation carried out with 4 nonaromatic grape varieties collected at 2 different maturation stages. To do this, Monastrell, Merlot, Syrah, and Petit Verdot grapes were collected 1 wk before harvest and at harvest. Then, the musts were inoculated with the same Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain and were fermented in the same winemaking conditions. Amino acids...

DOLGONOSIK IS A NEW ORIGINAL ORANGE TOMATO VARIETY FOR THE OPEN GROUND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Yu. Kondratyeva

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The description of a new determinant tomato variety for open field and greenhouse film with the original small dense fruit, keeping quite well its marketable qualities within 15-20 days after harvest in milk maturity phase is given. The fruits are rounded with sharp elongated spout. Fruits are good for fresh consumption, canning and pickling. Recommended for baby food and food for people with problems of the digestive system.

Post-harvest physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Weather and management constraints, as well as the intended use of the harvested forage, all influence the forage harvest system selected by the producer. Generally, maximum retention of dry matter from harvested forage crops is achieved at moistures intermediate between the standing fresh crop and ...

AN ECONOMIC STUDY OF ESTIMATING COST FUNCTION DATES PRODUCTION IN MURZUQ, SOUTHWESTERN LIBYA

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Ahmad ARIDAH

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The results showed that fixed cost represented (41% of the total cost of Murzuq, also the variable cost amounted toapproximately (59% the total cost of Murzuq, and that the optimal size of the production of dates amounted toapproximately (2.01 tons per hectare for Murzuq ,and that production was more than the average actualproduction of dates for the Murzuq by nearly (0.37 tons per hectare , while reported results that the production thatmaximize profit of dates have hit (4.25 tons per hectare for Murzuq , and for community sample as a whole andthat production is more than the actual production of dates by (2.61 tons per hectare. It also showed the results ofthe field study that the average price per ton of harvest dates had been hit (1293.50 dinars for the total samplerespectively.

Studies on optimum harvest time for hybrid rice seed.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Hong; Cao, Dong-Dong; Hu, Wei-Min; Guan, Ya-Jing; Fu, Yu-Ying; Fang, Yong-Feng; Hu, Jin

2017-03-01

Timely harvest is critical for hybrid rice to achieve maximum seed viability, vigor and yield. However, how to predict the optimum harvest time has been rarely reported so far. The seed vigor of Zhuliangyou 06 (ZLY06) increased and reached the highest level at 20 days after pollination (DAP), when seed moisture content had a lower value, which was maintained until final seed maturation. For Chunyou 84 (CY84), seed vigor, fresh and dry weight had relatively high values at 25 DAP, when seed moisture content reached the lowest value and changed slightly from 25 to 55 DAP. In both hybrid rice varieties, seed glume chlorophyll content declined rapidly from 10 to 30 DAP and remained at a very low level after 35 DAP. Starch content exhibited an increasing trend during seed maturation, while both soluble sugar content and amylase activity decreased significantly at the early stages of seed development. Moreover, correlation analyses showed that seed dry weight, starch content and superoxide dismutase activity were significantly positively correlated with seed vigor. In contrast, chlorophyll content, moisture content, soluble sugar, soluble protein, abscisic acid, gibberellin content, electrical conductivity, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activities were significantly negatively correlated with seed vigor. Physiological and biochemical parameters were obviously more closely related with seed vigor than with seed germinability during seed development. Seed vigor could be better used as a comprehensive factor to predict the optimum seed harvest time. It is suggested that for ZLY06 seeds could be harvested as early as 20 DAP, whereas for CY84 the earliest optimum harvest time was 25 DAP. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Harvesting energy from airflow with a michromachined piezoelectric harvester inside a Helmholtz resonator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matova, S P; Elfrink, R; Vullers, R J M; Van Schaijk, R

2011-01-01

In this paper we report an airflow energy harvester that combines a piezoelectric energy harvester with a Helmholtz resonator. The resonator converts airflow energy to air oscillations which in turn are converted into electrical energy by a piezoelectric harvester. Two Helmholtz resonators with adjustable resonance frequencies have been designed—one with a solid bottom and one with membrane on the bottom. The resonance frequencies of the resonators were matched to the complementing piezoelectric harvesters during harvesting. The aim of the presented work is a feasibility study on using packaged piezoelectric energy harvesters with Helmholtz resonators for airflow energy harvesting. The maximum energy we were able to obtain was 42.2 µW at 20 m s −1

Effects of tomato variety, temperature differential and post-stem removal time on internalization of Salmonella Thompson into tomatoes

Science.gov (United States)

Tomatoes have been implicated in several Salmonellosis outbreaks due to possible contamination through bacterial infiltration into tomatoes during post-harvest handling. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of tomato variety, dump tank water to tomato pulp temperature differential, and...

Survey of a fusion technology for wireless PEC with energy harvesting in nuclear industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jae Cheol; Choi, Yoo Rark

2008-01-01

The wireless sensor network has a power-supply problem by constitution. Large amount of sensors are used in wireless networks and each sensor needs energy source for its operation. The life of a battery used in a sensor is finite. When a battery went out, we must exchange it with new one. But the number of sensors used in the wireless network is too numerous, so it is somewhat terrible job to exchange the exhausted batteries with new ones. Various researches have been executed to solve this problem. The mainstreams of them are energy efficiency and energy harvesting. The protocols such as flat-based routing, hierarchical-based routing, location-based routing and MAC protocol have been developed and applied to sensor networks for energy efficiency. But energy harvesting methods can be a ultimate solution. Energy harvesting is the process for capturing and storing of energies. A variety of different sources exist for harvesting energy, such as solar power, thermal energy, wind energy, salinity gradients and kinetic energy. We described an energy harvesting technology and a wireless pulsed eddy currents(PEC) inspection based on it

Breeding for Quality Protein Maize (QPM Varieties: A Review

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Liliane N. Tandzi

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The nutritional evaluation of quality protein maize (QPM in feeding trials has proved its nutritional superiority over non-QPM varieties for human and livestock consumption. The present paper reviews some of the most recent achievements in development of QPM varieties using both conventional and molecular breeding under stressed and non-stressed environments. It is evident that numerous QPM varieties have been developed and released around the world over the past few decades. While the review points out some gaps in information or research efforts, challenges associated with adoption QPM varieties are highlighted and suggestions to overcome them are presented. The adoption of released varieties and challenges facing QPM production at the farmer level are also mentioned. Several breeding methods have been conventionally used to develop QPM varieties in stressed (drought, low soil nitrogen, resistance to grey leaf spot, Turcicum leaf blight, ear rot, and Striga and non-stressed environments. At least three genetic loci have been found to be implicated in controlling the levels of a protein synthesis factor correlated with lysine. They have been mapped on chromosomes 2, 4, and 7. While the use of molecular approaches will improve the efficiency and speed of variety development, the cost implications might limit the use of these technologies in the developing world. More emphasis should be given to breeding QPM for tolerance to environmental stresses, such as low soil pH, heat, and combined heat and drought stress. The post-harvest attack of QPM grains should also be considered. The adoption of QPM genotypes by farmers has been found to be limited mainly due to the minimal collaboration between maize breeders, farmers, agricultural extension workers, and other relevant stakeholders, as well as the need for isolating QPM varieties from normal maize. Therefore, there is need to use participatory plant breeding (PPB and/or participatory variety

Grain yield and baking quality of wheat under different sowing dates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raphael Rossi Silva

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Choosing the right sowing dates can maximize the outcomes of the interaction between genotype and environment, thus increasing grain yield and baking quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.. The present study aimed at determining the most appropriate sowing dates that maximize grain yield and baking quality of wheat cultivars. Seven wheat cultivars (BRS 179, BRS Guamirim, BRS Guabiju, BRS Umbu, Safira, CD 105 and CD 115 were evaluated at four sowing dates (the 1st and the 15th of June and July in two harvesting seasons (2007 and 2008. The study was setup in a completely randomized block design with four repetitions. The effects of the year and sowing date when combined explained 93% of the grain yield variance. In 2007, the CD 105 and Safira cultivars had the highest grain yield (GY for all sowing dates. Only the BRS Guabiju and Safira cultivars possessed high baking quality for all sowing dates assessed. In 2008, the environmental conditions were favorable for superior GY, but the baking quality was inferior. Considering adapted cultivars and sowing dates, it is possible to maximize grain yield and baking quality of wheat.

Helical Piezoelectric Energy Harvester and Its Application to Energy Harvesting Garments

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Minsung Kim

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a helical piezoelectric energy harvester, examine its application to clothes in the form of an energy harvesting garment, and analyze its design and characteristics. The helical harvester is composed of an elastic core and a polymer piezoelectric strap twining the core. The fabricated harvester is highly elastic and can be stretched up to 158% of its initial length. Following the experiments using three different designs, the maximum output power is measured as 1.42 mW at a 3 MΩ load resistance and 1 Hz motional frequency. The proposed helical harvesters are applied at four positions of stretchable tight-fitting sportswear, namely shoulder, arm joint, knee, and hip. The maximum output voltage is measured as more than 20 V from the harvester at the knee position during intended body motions. In addition, electric power is also generated from this energy harvesting garment during daily human motions, which is about 3.9 V at the elbow, 3.1 V at the knee, and 4.4 V at the knee during push-up, walking, and squatting motions, respectively.

Influence of harvesting and processing methods on organic viability of soybean seed

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Đukanović Lana

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Organic viability of soybean seed for three soybean varieties - elite (Bosa, ZPS 015 and Nena depending on methods of manipulation with seeds during harvesting and processing phase were determined in this paper. Trial was conducted in Zemun Polje during 1999; manual and mechanized harvesting or processing methods were applied. Seed germination was tested using ISTA methods (Standard method and Cold test. Following parameters were evaluated: germination viability, germination, rate-speed of emergence, length of hypocotile and main root Rate-speed of emergence was based on number of emerged plants per day. Length of hypocotile or root and percent of germination determined vigour index. Based on obtained results it maybe concluded that methods of seed manipulation during harvesting or processing phase were influenced on soybean seed quality parameters evaluated. Ways of seed manipulation - methods evaluated were influenced organic viability of soybean seed by decreasing germination viability, total germination and length of main root.

Assessment of genetic diversity for some Iraqi date palms ( Phoenix ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) were used to evaluate the genetic diversity between 18 date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) varieties (11 females and 7 males) collected from the center of Iraq. Six primer pairs were applied to detect polymorphism between varieties. A total of 83 polymorphic AFLP fragments ...

Physicochemical studies for detection of irradiated dry date fruits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farag, S.E.A.; El-Salhy, F.T.; Nassef, A.E.; El-beltagy, A.E.; Moharram, H.A.

2005-01-01

The kinetic of the water absorption properties of a selected varieties from the Egyptian dry date fruits were carried out. Sakoti, shamia bida, sokaria, candela and malkabee varieties were used to get an idea about their water absorption properties. Malkabee variety was selected for irradiation at different doses of 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 KGy. In order to obtain a fast, reliable and easy techniques for detecting irradiated dates, several physico-chemical and ultrastructural properties were elucidated in this investigation. Regarding to water absorption, the statistical analysis of the water absorption data revealed that, the amount of water absorption (g water/g dry solid) was decreased with increasing the irradiation doses. This phenomena was confirmed when SEM technique was applied, since irradiation caused shrinkage and reduction in the inner cells. The colour indices were measured by colour analyzer (hunter colorimeter). An inversely proportional relationship was observed between the hue angle and the progress in the irradiation dose, In contrast, direct proportional relationship is strongly observed when the color combination a/b was measured. From the chemical analysis point of view, it was observed that irradiation lowered the amount of total sugars by enhanced reducing sugars. From elucidating the physico-chemical properties of the irradiation date palm, it is now possible to establish a stainable fast, reliable and cheap detection method that could be used to distinguish between the irradiated and non-irradiated dry date fruits

Are the Economically Optimal Harvesting Strategies of Uneven-Aged Pinus nigra Stands Always Sustainable and Stabilizing?

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Carmen Fullana-Belda

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Traditional uneven-aged forest management seeks a balance between equilibrium stand structure and economic profitability, which often leads to harvesting strategies concentrated in the larger diameter classes. The sustainability (i.e., population persistence over time and influence of such economically optimal strategies on the equilibrium position of a stand (given by the stable diameter distribution have not been sufficiently investigated in prior forest literature. This article therefore proposes a discrete optimal control model to analyze the sustainability and stability of the economically optimal harvesting strategies of uneven-aged Pinus nigra stands. For this model, we rely on an objective function that integrates financial data of harvesting operations with a projection matrix model that can describe the population dynamics. The model solution reveals the optimal management schedules for a wide variety of scenarios. To measure the distance between the stable diameter distribution and the economically optimal harvesting strategy distribution, the model uses Keyfitz’s delta, which returns high values for all the scenarios and, thus, suggests that those economically optimal harvesting strategies have an unstabilizing influence on the equilibrium positions. Moreover, the economically optimal harvesting strategies were unsustainable for all the scenarios.

Effect of gamma irradiation on sugars from Iraqi dates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaddou, H; Al-Hakim, M; Mhaisen, M D [Iraq Atomic Energy Commission, Baghdad. Nuclear Research Inst.

1981-01-01

The possibility of using gamma-irradiation for date preservation had been considered as an alternative method to fumigation. Two varieties of Iraqi dates (Zahdi and Sayer) had been used in the study, and three doses of 50, 100 and 150 krads. A combination of treatments of heat plus irradiation were also applied and tests were conducted at three maturation stages. Gas chromatographic analysis was used to fractionate sugars from dates after converting to their TMS - ether derivatives. No qualitative or quantitative changes were observed in sugar components in either Zahdi or Sayer dates within the doses used in the experiments.

Minitubers production of four potato Cuban varieties in greenhouse with zeolite as substrate

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Manuel de Feria

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The obtaining of original seed of national potato varieties (Solanum tuberosum L. is of great importance. The objective of the present work was to obtain minitubers from four national potato varieties in a greenhouse with zeolite as substrate. The plants in vitro propagated of the varieties 'Grettel', 'Yuya', 'Ibis' and 'Marinca' were planted and received cultural and phytosanitary attention according to the protocol existing at IBP. Harvest was performed at 75 days of culture and the total number of minitubers and the number of minitubers with a diameter greater than 15 mm were quantified for each plant. Plants and tubers showed the typical characteristics of each variety under zeolite substrate culture conditions. The highest number of minitubers per plant was achieved in the 'Yuya' and 'Ibis' varieties with 3.84 and 3.52 respectively. For the number of minitubers available as original seed (>15 mm, the 'Yuya' variety was superior with 82.3%. The culture conditions with zeolite substrate allow to obtain minitubers of potatoes of the four varieties from plants in vitro cultured. 'Yuya' and 'Ibis' showed the best results and potentially could be incorporated into the national seed production program in Cuba.   Keywords: agamic seed, ‘Ibis’, ‘Grettel’, ‘Marinca’, Solanum tuberosum, ‘Yuya’

Reducing Mineral and Vitamin Deficiencies through Biofortification: Progress Under HarvestPlus.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouis, Howarth

2018-01-01

Fundamentally, the prevalence of mineral and vitamin deficiencies is high in developing countries due to the fact that agricultural systems do not produce sufficient foods rich in minerals and vitamins. Biofortification involves breeding staple food crops to increase their micronutrient content, targeting staple foods widely consumed by low-income families globally. In so doing, biofortification contributes to solving the underlying problem of mineral and vitamin deficiencies by increasing the amount of iron, zinc, and provitamin A produced by food systems. When HarvestPlus first started in 2003, there was much doubt among a range of stakeholders, that biofortification would work. First, we had to prove to the plant science community that higher target levels iron, zinc, and provitamin A could be bred into high-yielding, profitable varieties. Presently, over 150 varieties of 12 biofortified crops have passed the agronomic tests of varietal release committees in 30 developing countries. In 3-5 years, biofortified varieties will be available to farmers and consumers in an additional 25 countries. The nutrition community initially questioned the efficacy of biofortified crops - would the levels of retained nutrients and absorption be high enough? HarvestPlus has commissioned 15 efficacy trials, all undertaken in developing countries. While 5 of these studies are still in process, there is already sufficient positive published evidence for iron and provitamin A. Can adoption of biofortified crops by farmers be scaled up, and a public health impact demonstrated? HarvestPlus estimates that 20 million farmers and consumers presently grow and consume biofortified crops in 8 target countries. The final and major challenge is to mainstream biofortification into the fabric of "business-as-usual" of a range of organizations - public and private agricultural research, institutions that focus on bringing improved agricultural technologies to farmers including multi

Rainwater harvesting - An investigation into the potential for rainwater harvesting in Bradford

OpenAIRE

Doncaster, S.; Blanksby, J.; Shepherd, W.

2012-01-01

This report provides a brief review of rainwater harvesting and rainwater harvesting tools, which are then used in case study examples for domestic, office block and warehouse rain water harvesting scenarios. Rainwater harvesting is placed in an historical context as a source of water supply and in a modern context as being complementary to centralised water distribution networks with benefits for wider water management including flood risk treatment as well as providing environmental and eco...

Bundling harvester; Nippukorjausharvesteri

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koponen, K [Eko-Log Oy, Kuopio (Finland)

1997-12-31

The staring point of the project was to design and construct, by taking the silvicultural point of view into account, a harvesting and processing system especially for energy-wood, containing manually driven bundling harvester, automatizing of the harvester, and automatized loading. The equipment forms an ideal method for entrepreneur`s-line harvesting. The target is to apply the system also for owner`s-line harvesting. The profitability of the system promotes the utilization of the system in both cases. The objectives of the project were: to construct a test equipment and prototypes for all the project stages, to carry out terrain and strain tests in order to examine the usability and durability, as well as the capacity of the machine, to test the applicability of the Eko-Log system in simultaneous harvesting of energy and pulp woods, and to start the marketing and manufacturing of the products. The basic problems of the construction of the bundling harvester have been solved using terrain-tests. The prototype machine has been shown to be operable. Loading of the bundles to form sufficiently economically transportable loads has been studied, and simultaneously, the branch-biomass has been tried to be utilized without loosing the profitability of transportation. The results have been promising, and will promote the profitable utilization of wood-energy

Bundling harvester; Nippukorjausharvesteri

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koponen, K. [Eko-Log Oy, Kuopio (Finland)

1996-12-31

The staring point of the project was to design and construct, by taking the silvicultural point of view into account, a harvesting and processing system especially for energy-wood, containing manually driven bundling harvester, automatizing of the harvester, and automatized loading. The equipment forms an ideal method for entrepreneur`s-line harvesting. The target is to apply the system also for owner`s-line harvesting. The profitability of the system promotes the utilization of the system in both cases. The objectives of the project were: to construct a test equipment and prototypes for all the project stages, to carry out terrain and strain tests in order to examine the usability and durability, as well as the capacity of the machine, to test the applicability of the Eko-Log system in simultaneous harvesting of energy and pulp woods, and to start the marketing and manufacturing of the products. The basic problems of the construction of the bundling harvester have been solved using terrain-tests. The prototype machine has been shown to be operable. Loading of the bundles to form sufficiently economically transportable loads has been studied, and simultaneously, the branch-biomass has been tried to be utilized without loosing the profitability of transportation. The results have been promising, and will promote the profitable utilization of wood-energy

Quantitation of 4-Methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one (4MSP) in Hops by a Stable Isotope Dilution Assay in Combination with GC×GC-TOFMS: Method Development and Application To Study the Influence of Variety, Provenance, Harvest Year, and Processing on 4MSP Concentrations.

Science.gov (United States)

Reglitz, Klaas; Steinhaus, Martin

2017-03-22

A stable isotope dilution assay was developed for quantitation of 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one (4MSP) in hops. The approach included the use of 4-( 13 C)methyl-4-sulfanyl(1,3,5- 13 C 3 )pentan-2-one as internal standard, selective isolation of hop thiols by mercurated agarose, and GC×GC-TOFMS analysis. Application of the method to 53 different hop samples revealed 4MSP concentrations between <1 and 114 μg/kg. Notably high concentrations were associated with United States varieties such as Citra, Eureka, Simcoe, and Apollo, whereas 4MSP was absent from traditional German and English varieties. Further experiments showed that besides the variety, also harvest year and storage vitally influenced 4MSP concentrations, whereas the impact of provenance was less pronounced. Hop processing such as drying and pelletizing had only a minor impact on 4MSP concentrations. Like the majority of other hop volatiles, 4MSP is predominantly located in the lupulin glands.

Effect of harvesting with a trunk shaker and an abscission chemical on fruit detachment and defoliation of citrus grown under Mediterranean conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moreno, R.; Torregrosa, A.; Moltó, E.; Chueca, P.

2015-07-01

Spain ranks as the world’s leading exporter of citrus for fresh consumption. Manual harvest accounts for 50% of the total production costs. Mechanical harvest would increase labor productivity and benefits of growers. Efficiency of these machines depends on the varieties and operating conditions. Use of abscission chemicals has been promoted to increase the detachment rate of fruit without affecting its quality. This work is aimed at studying whether the mechanical harvest and/or the application of an abscission agent affect the quality and quantity of harvested fruit and tree defoliation under the conditions of citrus cultivation in Spain. Trials were made in a completely randomized experimental design. From 2008 to 2011, different orchards of mandarin and orange trees were sprayed with different doses of ethephon as abscission agent and harvested with a trunk shaker. Harvest related variables (detachment percentage, defoliation and fruit without calyx) were measured. The percentage of fruit detached by the trunk shaker ranged between 70 and 85% and it did not depend on the orchard. The shaker produced minimal damage to the bark when gripped incorrectly. Increased doses of ethephon increased fruit detachment except in ‘Clemenules’ orchard, but also increased the fruit without calyx in 1-9%. Moreover, ethephon promoted significant defoliation. Neither gummosis nor death of branches was observed. This work demonstrates that mechanical harvesting with trunk shakers may be a feasible solution for citrus cultivated in Spain for fresh market. Use of ethephon could only be recommended for citrus destined to industry and only for certain varieties. (Author)

Effect of harvesting with a trunk shaker and an abscission chemical on fruit detachment and defoliation of citrus grown under Mediterranean conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosana Moreno

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Spain ranks as the world’s leading exporter of citrus for fresh consumption. Manual harvest accounts for 50% of the total production costs. Mechanical harvest would increase labor productivity and benefits of growers. Efficiency of these machines depends on the varieties and operating conditions. Use of abscission chemicals has been promoted to increase the detachment rate of fruit without affecting its quality. This work is aimed at studying whether the mechanical harvest and/or the application of an abscission agent affect the quality and quantity of harvested fruit and tree defoliation under the conditions of citrus cultivation in Spain. Trials were made in a completely randomized experimental design. From 2008 to 2011, different orchards of mandarin and orange trees were sprayed with different doses of ethephon as abscission agent and harvested with a trunk shaker. Harvest related variables (detachment percentage, defoliation and fruit without calyx were measured. The percentage of fruit detached by the trunk shaker ranged between 70 and 85% and it did not depend on the orchard. The shaker produced minimal damage to the bark when gripped incorrectly. Increased doses of ethephon increased fruit detachment except in ‘Clemenules’ orchard, but also increased the fruit without calyx in 1-9%. Moreover, ethephon promoted significant defoliation. Neither gummosis nor death of branches was observed. This work demonstrates that mechanical harvesting with trunk shakers may be a feasible solution for citrus cultivated in Spain for fresh market. Use of ethephon could only be recommended for citrus destined to industry and only for certain varieties.

Thermoluminescence dating in the South-West Pacific region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prescott, J.R.

1982-01-01

The archaeometry laboratory of the University of Adelaide has undertaken a variety of dating projects for archaeologists in the region. For example, a survey of Pacific Island pottery has shown that themoluminescence dating is likely to be severely limited in usefulness on islands remote from the continental shelf i.e., the andesitic island arcs and oceanic islands. On the mainland of Australia, we have dated prehistoric campsites using ovenstones from fireplaces and have compared C-14 ages with themoluminescent ages. Where there is a close stratigraphic association of the C-14 and TL materials, there is good agreement between the two methods. (author)

The Effect of Sowing Date and Plant Density on Yield and Yield Components of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L. under Jiroft Climate Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B Parsa Motlagh

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction Details of the mutual effect with the agronomic factors, genetic and climatic conditions should be identified to crop a plant in a new area. The purpose of sowing date determination is to find the desired planting time as environmental factors at the time that is suitable for growing, seedling and plant’s survival and resume of growth and development and the plant does not meet unfavorable conditions. The plant density is the most important influencing factors on the development and production of medicinal plants and is an important factor in achieving optimal performance. This research has been conducted for determination of best sowing date and intra row Roselle cultivation in Jiroft area. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effects of plant density and sowing date on yield, yield components and some of morphological traits on Rosellee (Hibiscus sabdariffa L. and also determine the optimum intra-row spacing and sowing date in order to obtain better yield in Jiroft environment conditions. Materials and Methods The field experiment was split plot in a randomized complete blocks design with three replications in agricultural research field (Long. 57°44´ E., Lat. 28°40´ N., Alt. 650 m of Jiroft University at 2013-2014 growing season. Main plots were sowing date at five levels of 11th and 30th March, 14th April, 5th and 22th May and intra-rows were spaced of 100, 75 and 50 cm as sub plot. Each plot was 3×6 m. The spacing was 1 m between sub-plots, 2 m between main plots and replications. Traits such as plant height, the number of branches, the number of bolls per plant, boll dry weight of plant, sepal yield, seed yield, biomass yield, seed harvest index, and sepal harvest index were measured. Plants were harvested on 1th December, 2014. An area equivalent to 2 × 3 square meters from the center of each plot was harvested by removing the effect of marginal plants from the soil surface to measure the yield of sepal

Irradiation as an alternative post harvest treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Satin, M. [Agricultural Industries and Post-harvest Management Service, FAO, Rome (Italy); Loaharanu, P. [Head, Food Preservation Section, Joint FAO/ IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Wagramerstr. 5, A-1400, Vienna (Austria)

1997-12-31

This current world population has significantly added to the pressures placed upon our finite resources and our resulting ability to feed ourselves. In order to cope with current and future demands, the two established lines of action, that is, reduced population growth and expansion of agricultural production, must be supplemented with the parallel activity of reducing food losses during and after harvest. For developing countries in particular, enormous post-harvest losses result from spillage, contamination, pests and physiological deterioration during storage. Studies in these countries indicate that post-harvest losses are enormous and amount to tens of millions of tons per year valued at billions of dollars. Programs to reduce post-harvest losses, if applied properly, can result in realistic yield increases between 10 and 30%, which can be directly converted into increased consumption for humans. Post-harvest losses vary greatly and are a function of the crop variety, pest combinations in the environment, climate, the system of harvesting, storage, handling, marketing, and even the social and cultural environment. Pests are among the most criticals of these factors. Because of the disastrous potential consequences of such pests, quarantine regulations prohibit the entrance of plants or products which might hide the unwanted pest from countries where it is known to exist. Quarantine treatments are can be chemical, physical or ionizing radiation treatment. Numerous investigations on the use of ionizing radiation for the disinfestation of fresh plant materials indicate that rather low dosages will control fruit-fly problems, thus making it well suited for quarantine treatment. The effectiveness of the irradiation as a broad spectrum quarantine treatment of fresh fruits and vegetables was recognized by the several plant protection organizations around the world. Currently, some 40 countries have approved one or more irradiated food items or groups of food

Irradiation as an alternative post harvest treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satin, M.; Loaharanu, P.

1997-01-01

This current world population has significantly added to the pressures placed upon our finite resources and our resulting ability to feed ourselves. In order to cope with current and future demands, the two established lines of action, that is, reduced population growth and expansion of agricultural production, must be supplemented with the parallel activity of reducing food losses during and after harvest. For developing countries in particular, enormous post-harvest losses result from spillage, contamination, pests and physiological deterioration during storage. Studies in these countries indicate that post-harvest losses are enormous and amount to tens of millions of tons per year valued at billions of dollars. Programs to reduce post-harvest losses, if applied properly, can result in realistic yield increases between 10 and 30%, which can be directly converted into increased consumption for humans. Post-harvest losses vary greatly and are a function of the crop variety, pest combinations in the environment, climate, the system of harvesting, storage, handling, marketing, and even the social and cultural environment. Pests are among the most criticals of these factors. Because of the disastrous potential consequences of such pests, quarantine regulations prohibit the entrance of plants or products which might hide the unwanted pest from countries where it is known to exist. Quarantine treatments are can be chemical, physical or ionizing radiation treatment. Numerous investigations on the use of ionizing radiation for the disinfestation of fresh plant materials indicate that rather low dosages will control fruit-fly problems, thus making it well suited for quarantine treatment. The effectiveness of the irradiation as a broad spectrum quarantine treatment of fresh fruits and vegetables was recognized by the several plant protection organizations around the world. Currently, some 40 countries have approved one or more irradiated food items or groups of food

Irradiation as an alternative post harvest treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Satin, M [Agricultural Industries and Post-harvest Management Service, FAO, Rome (Italy); Loaharanu, P [Head, Food Preservation Section, Joint FAO/ IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Wagramerstr. 5, A-1400, Vienna (Austria)

1998-12-31

This current world population has significantly added to the pressures placed upon our finite resources and our resulting ability to feed ourselves. In order to cope with current and future demands, the two established lines of action, that is, reduced population growth and expansion of agricultural production, must be supplemented with the parallel activity of reducing food losses during and after harvest. For developing countries in particular, enormous post-harvest losses result from spillage, contamination, pests and physiological deterioration during storage. Studies in these countries indicate that post-harvest losses are enormous and amount to tens of millions of tons per year valued at billions of dollars. Programs to reduce post-harvest losses, if applied properly, can result in realistic yield increases between 10 and 30%, which can be directly converted into increased consumption for humans. Post-harvest losses vary greatly and are a function of the crop variety, pest combinations in the environment, climate, the system of harvesting, storage, handling, marketing, and even the social and cultural environment. Pests are among the most criticals of these factors. Because of the disastrous potential consequences of such pests, quarantine regulations prohibit the entrance of plants or products which might hide the unwanted pest from countries where it is known to exist. Quarantine treatments are can be chemical, physical or ionizing radiation treatment. Numerous investigations on the use of ionizing radiation for the disinfestation of fresh plant materials indicate that rather low dosages will control fruit-fly problems, thus making it well suited for quarantine treatment. The effectiveness of the irradiation as a broad spectrum quarantine treatment of fresh fruits and vegetables was recognized by the several plant protection organizations around the world. Currently, some 40 countries have approved one or more irradiated food items or groups of food

Temperature and sowing date affect the linear increase of sunflower harvest index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bange, M.P.; Hammer, G.L.; Rickert, K.G.

1998-01-01

The linearity of daily linear harvest index (HI) increase can provide a simple means to predict grain growth and yield in field crops. However, the stability of the rate of increase across genotypes and environments is uncertain. Data from three field experiments were collated to investigate the phase of linear HI increase of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) across environments by changing genotypes, sowing time, N level, and solar irradiation level. Linear increase in HI was similar among different genotypes, N levels, and radiation treatments (mean 0.0125 d-1), but significant differences occurred between sowings. The linear increase in HI was not stable at very low temperatures (down to 9 degrees C) during grain filling, due to possible limitations to biomass accumulation and translocation (mean 0.0091 d-1). Using the linear increase in HI to predict grain yield requires predictions of the duration from an thesis to the onset of linear HI increase (lag phase) and the cessation of linear HI increase. These studies showed that the lag phase differed, and the linear HI increase ceased when 91% of the anthesis to physiological maturity period had been completed

SMRT sequencing data for Garcinia mangostana L. variety Mesta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd Razik Midin

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The “Queen of Fruits” mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L. produces commercially important fruits with desirable taste of flesh and pericarp rich in xanthones with medicinal properties. To date, only limited knowledge is available on the cytogenetics and genome sequences of a common variety of mangosteen (Abu Bakar et al., 2016 [1]. Here, we report the first single-molecule real-time (SMRT sequencing data from whole genome sequencing of mangosteen of Mesta variety. Raw reads of the SMRT sequencing project can be obtained from SRA database with the accession numbers SRX2718652 until SRX2718659.

Effect of the calcium, boron and sulphur in pre harvest applications over the severity of anthracnose(Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz.) and the fruit's quality of two papaya's varieties in Perez Zeledon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montealegre Perez, Eduardo Antonio

2005-01-01

This research established the effect of the calcium, boron and sulphur in pre harvest applications over the severity of anthracnosis (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz.) and the fruit's quality of two papaya's varieties, one creole and a hibrido in Perez Zeledon. The treatments were the folloguings: oxide of calcium plus dolomite, oxide of calcium plus boric acid plus dolomite, boric acid plus sulphate of potassium and dolomite, boric acid less dolomite and witness. The utilized sources were nitrate of calcium, boric acid and sulphate of potassium. The evaluations were realized both in the rainy season like in the dry season. There were evaluated: severity of anthracnosis, weight of the fruits, total soluble solids, shell's hardness, and stability of the flesh. The experimental design utilized was a complete block at random. There were got that the applications of oxide of calcium and boric acid less dolomite decreased the severity of the disease in the papaya's fruits, while that the boric acid plus sulphate tend to increase the disease. The treatment of boric acid plus sulphate decreased the weight of the fruits both in the rainy and dry season. Besides this treatment decreased the hardness of the shell, while that the treatments with boron increased that. Also the treatments with boric acid plus dolomite and boric acid less dolomite, increased the levels of total soluble solids in the papaya's fruits in the two varieties. Finally; the treatments: oxide of calcium plus boric acid and boric acid plus sulphate decreased the stability of the flesh in both varieties and both evaluated seasons, while the treatment with oxide of calcium increased the stability of the flesh in the hibrido during the dry season. (Author) [es

Irradiation disinfestation and decontamination of Iranian dates and pistachio nuts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zare, Z.; Sayhoon, M.; Maghsoudi, V.

1993-01-01

The decontamination and disinfestation effect of gamma radiation on the microflora of dates and artificially infested packed dates was studied. Treatment with 0.75 kGy dose of gamma radiation leads to complete and satisfactory insect disinfestation of dates during a storage period of 9, 20 and 35 days. This study shows that the microbiological quality of Mazafaty dates can be significantly improved when they received a gamma radiation dose of 2.5 kGy. The sugar content of irradiated and unirradiated samples have been compared. In this study, we also used gamma radiation treatment for the control of microbial spoilage of pistachio nuts caused by the toxogenic Aspergillus flavus. The freshly harvested pistachio nuts were inoculated with A. flavus spores and exposed to radiation treatment, then samples were retained in an environmental chamber, set at a temperature of 15-20 C at 75-80% relative humidity and stored for six months. In the second batch during the storage period the changes in protein, lipid content of pistachio nuts were analysed. (author)

heteroHarvest: Harvesting Information from Heterogeneous Sources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qureshi, Pir Abdul Rasool; Memon, Nasrullah; Wiil, Uffe Kock

2011-01-01

The abundance of information regarding any topic makes the Internet a very good resource. Even though searching the Internet is very easy, what remains difficult is to automate the process of information extraction from the available online information due to the lack of structure and the diversity...... in the sharing methods. Most of the times, information is stored in different proprietary formats, complying with different standards and protocols which makes tasks like data mining and information harvesting very difficult. In this paper, an information harvesting tool (heteroHarvest) is presented...... with objectives to address these problems by filtering the useful information and then normalizing the information in a singular non hypertext format. Finally we describe the results of experimental evaluation. The results are found promising with an overall error rate equal to 6.5% across heterogeneous formats....

Agronomic evaluation of four improved rice varieties in different sowing periods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Genry Hernández Carrillo

2017-04-01

Full Text Available A study to evaluate the agronomic performance of four rice varieties in different seasons, on flooded soil, using direct plantation, was developed at the Local Station for Grain Research, in the municipality of Vertientes, province of Camaguey, Cuba. A block random design was used in the study, with five replicas, through a bifactorial experiment with four treatments (Prosequisa 4, IA Cuba 31, IACuba 40, and Jucarito 104, as control, the sowing period included January, February, March, April, May, June, July, and August. The parameters evaluated were, cycle (days from germination to harvest, final plant height, fertile panicles per m2, filled grain per panicle, 1000-grain mass (14% humidity, crop yields and industrial quality. The highest yields were accomplished in February and June (pattern variety and Prosequisa 4, with 8.2 t/ha-1, in each month. Concerning industrial yields, the best results were achieved in IACuba 31 (66.4; 66.1; and 63.3% full white grain in February, June and July. The most profitable varieties were Prosequisa 4, Jucarito 104, and IACuba 31, in the different seasons evaluated.

Breeding of new rice varieties by gamma-rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toda, Masayuki

1980-01-01

The breeding procedure for and the agronomic characteristics of some new rice varieties are reported. The seeds of the non-waxy variety ''Toyonishiki'' were exposed to 20 kR of gamma-ray. Two out of 20,000 panicles produced on these plants had waxy grain, and one of these brought forth a new commercial variety, ''Miyuki-mochi''. The yield of the new variety was reduced by 8% as compared with the original variety, but the heading date, culm length, panicle length and the number of panicles of the new variety were almost the same as those of the original variety. If compared with the old leading waxy variety, ''Shinano-mochi'', ''Miyuki-mochi'' is superior in yield by 15% and has high resistance to lodging and to rice blast. Seven other rice varieties were irradiated to obtain waxy mutants, and the frequency of R 1 panicles carrying waxy grains was found to be 1/10,000. There was marked difference in the 1,000 grain weight of these mutants relative to those of the respective original varieties and in amylose content among the waxy mutant strains. A new Saka-mai variety (for Sake brewing), ''Miyamanishiki'', was obtained from ''Takanenishiki'' (30 kR exposure of dry seeds). The most important character for Saka-mai is to have white-core grains. An experiment with several rice varieties showed that the frequency of white core grains was about 0.15% in the control and about 0.21% in the R 1 plants after irradiation. A desirable large grain strain, ''Shinho No. 12'', from ''Todorokiwase'', and a desirable mutant strain suitable as feed for domestic animals, ''Shinho No. 38'', from ''Toyonishiki'' were also obtained by gamma-ray irradiation. (Kaihara, S.)

THE GENETIC POTENCY OF PLANTAIN AGUNG SEMERU VARIETY FROM LUMAJANG REGENCY EAST JAVA INDONESIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P.E.R. Prahardini

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Lumajang regency is one of the banana production centre in East Java having high- diversity of banana germ plasm. There are 33 cultivars of banana germ plasm in the regency, consist of eaten ripe and plantain. One of uniqe plantain used as the symbol of Lumajang regency is plantain Agung Semeru variety, the local superior variety of this regency. This variety can grow well at 450 – 650 m above sea level. The uniqueness of banana Agung Semeru variety can be seen by the number of sucker per cluster (only 1 – 2 suckers per cluster, the size of the finger (33 – 36 cm long and 19 cm around and the number of hand per bunch (only 1 – 2 hand per bunch. Other characteristics of the variety are the thickness of fruit skin, the long period of fruit storage (3 – 4 weeks after harvesting and the sweetness of fruit flesh. Even though the skin changes from yellow to black, the flesh still can be consumed, because it doesn’t become soft. This variety also resistant to the Sigatoka disease compared to other plantain cultivars.

Toward a semi-mechanical harvesting platform system for harvesting blueberries with fresh-market quality

Science.gov (United States)

Major concerns related to harvesting blueberries for fresh market with over-the-row (OTR) harvesters are that the quality of the fruit harvested with OTR machines is generally low and ground loss is excessive. Machine-harvested blueberries have more internal bruise and usually soften rapidly in col...

Performance modeling of unmanned aerial vehicles with on-board energy harvesting

Science.gov (United States)

Anton, Steven R.; Inman, Daniel J.

2011-03-01

The concept of energy harvesting in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has received much attention in recent years. Solar powered flight of small aircraft dates back to the 1970s when the first fully solar flight of an unmanned aircraft took place. Currently, research has begun to investigate harvesting ambient vibration energy during the flight of UAVs. The authors have recently developed multifunctional piezoelectric self-charging structures in which piezoelectric devices are combined with thin-film lithium batteries and a substrate layer in order to simultaneously harvest energy, store energy, and carry structural load. When integrated into mass and volume critical applications, such as unmanned aircraft, multifunctional devices can provide great benefit over conventional harvesting systems. A critical aspect of integrating any energy harvesting system into a UAV, however, is the potential effect that the additional system has on the performance of the aircraft. Added mass and increased drag can significantly degrade the flight performance of an aircraft, therefore, it is important to ensure that the addition of an energy harvesting system does not adversely affect the efficiency of a host aircraft. In this work, a system level approach is taken to examine the effects of adding both solar and piezoelectric vibration harvesting to a UAV test platform. A formulation recently presented in the literature is applied to describe the changes to the flight endurance of a UAV based on the power available from added harvesters and the mass of the harvesters. Details of the derivation of the flight endurance model are reviewed and the formulation is applied to an EasyGlider remote control foam hobbyist airplane, which is selected as the test platform for this study. A theoretical study is performed in which the normalized change in flight endurance is calculated based on the addition of flexible thin-film solar panels to the upper surface of the wings, as well as the addition

Physical Properties of two Acha varieties as a function of Moisture Content

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. A. Aviara

2017-10-01

Full Text Available "Acha" is a cereal crop of West African origin belonging to the family graminaea. There are many varieties of Acha, but the most prominent two are the white Acha (Digitaria exillis and brown Acha (Digitaria iburua. Acha is used in the production of food and beverages, and manufacture of medicines. The grain therefore, has immense economic values. However, the mechanization of Acha processing has been limited by shortage of data on its physical properties that would aid the design of equipment for its post-harvest operations. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine the variation of bulk density, particle size distribution, porosity, solid density, angle of repose and one thousand grain mass of the two varieties of the crop with moisture content. The moisture content range within which the study was conducted was 5 - 30% (d.b for both white and brown variety. Results showed that as the moisture content of the two varieties of Acha increased, there was decrease in bulk density, porosity and solid density. However, increase in moisture content increased the 1000-grain mass and angle of repose of both varieties, with the values for white Acha being higher than those of brown Acha. The operation and adjustment of any Acha processing and storage equipment would therefore require a consideration of the variety and moisture content to obtain good performance.

Optimum harvest maturity for Leymus chinensis seed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jixiang Lin

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Timely harvest is critical to achieve maximum seed viability and vigour in agricultural production. However, little information exists concerning how to reap the best quality seeds of Leymus chinensis, which is the dominant and most promising grass species in the Songnen Grassland of Northern China. The objective of this study was to investigate and evaluate possible quality indices of the seeds at different days after peak anthesis. Seed quality at different development stages was assessed by the colours of the seed and lemmas, seed weight, moisture content, electrical conductivity of seed leachate and germination indices. Two consecutive years of experimental results showed that the maximum seed quality was recorded at 39 days after peak anthesis. At this date, the colours of the seed and lemmas reached heavy brown and yellow, respectively. The seed weight was highest and the moisture content and the electrical conductivity of seed leachate were lowest. In addition, the seed also reached its maximum germination percentage and energy at this stage, determined using a standard germination test (SGT and accelerated ageing test (AAT. Thus, Leymus chinensis can be harvested at 39 days after peak anthesis based on the changes in parameters. Colour identification can be used as an additional indicator to provide a more rapid and reliable measure of optimum seed maturity; approximately 10 days after the colour of the lemmas reached yellow and the colour of the seed reached heavy brown, the seed of this species was suitable for harvest.

Development of multi-functional combine harvester with grain harvesting and straw baling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, Z.; Li, Y.; Cheng, C.

2017-01-01

The decomposition and burning of straw results in serious environmental pollution, and research is needed to improve strategies for straw collection to reduce pollution. This work presents an integrated design of multi-functional rice combine harvester that allows grain harvesting and straw baling. This multi-functional combine harvester could reduce the energy consumption required for rice harvesting and simplify the process of harvesting and baling. The transmission schematic, matching parameters and the rotation speed of threshing cylinder and square baler were designed and checked. Then the evaluation of grain threshing and straw baling were tested on a transverse threshing cylinders device tes rig and straw square bales compression test rig. The test results indicated that, with a feeding rate of 3.0 kg/s, the remaining straw flow rate at the discharge outlet was only 1.22 kg/s, which indicates a variable mass threshing process by the transverse threshing cylinder. Then the optimal diameter, length and rotating speed of multi-functional combine harvester transverse threshing cylinder were 554 mm, 1590 mm, and 850 r/min, respectively. The straw bale compression rotating speed of crank compression slider and piston was 95 r/min. Field trials by the multi-functional combine harvester formed bales with height×width×length of 40×50×54-63 cm, bale mass of 22.5 to 26.0 kg and bale density 206 to 216 kg/m3. This multi-functional combine harvester could be used for stem crops (such as rice, wheat and soybean) grain harvesting and straw square baling, which could reduce labor cost and power consumption.

Development of multi-functional combine harvester with grain harvesting and straw baling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tang, Z.; Li, Y.; Cheng, C.

2017-09-01

The decomposition and burning of straw results in serious environmental pollution, and research is needed to improve strategies for straw collection to reduce pollution. This work presents an integrated design of multi-functional rice combine harvester that allows grain harvesting and straw baling. This multi-functional combine harvester could reduce the energy consumption required for rice harvesting and simplify the process of harvesting and baling. The transmission schematic, matching parameters and the rotation speed of threshing cylinder and square baler were designed and checked. Then the evaluation of grain threshing and straw baling were tested on a transverse threshing cylinders device tes rig and straw square bales compression test rig. The test results indicated that, with a feeding rate of 3.0 kg/s, the remaining straw flow rate at the discharge outlet was only 1.22 kg/s, which indicates a variable mass threshing process by the transverse threshing cylinder. Then the optimal diameter, length and rotating speed of multi-functional combine harvester transverse threshing cylinder were 554 mm, 1590 mm, and 850 r/min, respectively. The straw bale compression rotating speed of crank compression slider and piston was 95 r/min. Field trials by the multi-functional combine harvester formed bales with height×width×length of 40×50×54-63 cm, bale mass of 22.5 to 26.0 kg and bale density 206 to 216 kg/m3. This multi-functional combine harvester could be used for stem crops (such as rice, wheat and soybean) grain harvesting and straw square baling, which could reduce labor cost and power consumption.

Yields Components and 48-H Rumen Dry Matter Degradation of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Two experiments were conducted to study the influence of harvesting date on three sweet potato varieties (TIS-87/0087, TIS-8164 and TIS-2532.OP.1.13). Fodder yields and leaf-to-stem ratio decreased (P < 0.05), while harvest index and 48-h rumen DM degradation increased with maturity from 12 to 20 weeks after ...

Volatile components of vine leaves from two Portuguese grape varieties (Vitis vinifera L.), Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz, analysed by solid-phase microextraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Bruno; Correia, Ana C; Cosme, Fernanda; Nunes, Fernando M; Jordão, António M

2015-01-01

The purpose of this work was to study the volatile composition of vine leaves and vine leaf infusion prepared from vine leaves collected at 30 and 60 days after grape harvest of two Vitis vinifera L. species. Eighteen volatile compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in vine leaves and in vine leaf infusions. It was observed that the volatile compounds present in vine leaves are dependent on the time of harvest, with benzaldehyde being the major volatile present in vine leaves collected at 30 days after harvesting. There are significant differences in the volatile composition of the leaves from the two grape cultivars, especially in the sample collected at 60 days after grape harvest. This is not reflected in the volatile composition of the vine leaf infusion made from this two cultivars, the more important being the harvesting date for the volatile profile of vine leaf infusion than the vine leaves grape cultivar.

Molecular marker analysis of heading date Hd1 locus in Egyptian ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nine molecular markers derived from the heading date QTL Hd1 DNA sequence for cultivated rice were used to study the heading date allelic diversity of the cultivated Egyptian rice varieties. The results showed that among the nine simple sequence repeats (SSR) and sequence tagged-sites (STS) markers used, one SSR ...

Stand, Harvest, and Equipment Interactions in Simulated Harvesting Prescriptions

Science.gov (United States)

Jingxin Wang; W. Dale Greene; Bryce J. Stokes

1998-01-01

We evaluated potential interactions of stand type, harvesting method, and equipment in an experiment using interactive simulation. We examined three felling methods (chain saw, feller-buncher, harvester) and two extraction methods (grapple skidder and forwarder) performing clearcuts, sheltenvood cuts, and single-tree selection cuts in both an uneven-aged natural stand...

Mutation Breeding and Selection for Phenotypic Mutants in Standard Rice Varieties by Ion Beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puddhanon, Prawit; Pintanon, Prateep; Chaithep, Waree; Songjuntuke, Ksan

2009-07-01

Full text: Effects of 80 keV ion beam (10 16 ion/cm 2 on mutations of RD6 and Sanpatong 1 rice varieties were studied in 2006. In order to obtain the phenotypic mutants, each variety was sown in the laboratory and under field conditions at Maejo University in 2007 dry season. Seed germination noticeably declined. For RD6, only 45.1% germinated in the laboratory, and 18.1% were established under the field condition. Similarly, 62.3% of Sanpatong 1 germinated in the laboratory and 31.4% established in the field. No phenotypic mutants were observed in the first generation (M 1 ). The M2 seeds were harvested separately from 3 panicles of each M plant in RD6 and Sanpatong1, totaling 810 and 1,878 lines, respectively. In 2007 rainy season, they were planted on a panicle to row basis. It was found that more phenotypic mutants were observed in the M 2 for Sanpatong 1 than for RD6. The mutant characters included dwarf plants, early maturity, male sterility and larger panicle sizes. As a result, about 420 within line selections were collected and the M 3 seeds were harvested for further field condition and gene markers evaluations

Effect of time of harvest, stage of fruit ripening, and post-harvest ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Seeds were extracted from half of the fruits harvested from each stage immediately after harvest while the other halves were stored at room temperature to ripen to the soft-red stage before seed extraction. Fruit weight in both cultivars decreased with plant age. Fruits harvested at the yellow-ripe stage produced the highest ...

Ancient pests: the season of the Santorini Minoan volcanic eruption and a date from insect chitin

Science.gov (United States)

Panagiotakopulu, Eva; Higham, Thomas; Sarpaki, Anaya; Buckland, Paul; Doumas, Christos

2013-07-01

Attributing a season and a date to the volcanic eruption of Santorini in the Aegean has become possible by using preserved remains of the bean weevil, Bruchus rufipes, pests of pulses, from the storage jars of the West House, in the Bronze Age settlement at Akrotiri. We have applied an improved pre-treatment methodology for dating the charred insects, and this provides a date of 1744-1538 BC. This date is within the range of others obtained from pulses from the same context and confirms the utility of chitin as a dating material. Based on the nature of the insect material and the life cycle of the species involved, we argue for a summer eruption, which took place after harvest, shortly after this material was transported into the West House storeroom.

Overview of approaches to sustain forest productivity during forest road development and timber harvesting activities

Science.gov (United States)

Charles R. Blinn; Rick Dahlamn; James A. Mattson; Michael A. Thompson

1999-01-01

Various approaches are available to minimize impacts on forest productivity during forest road building and timber harvesting activities. These approaches include a variety of practices and technologies. They include practices such as reducing road and trail development, using designated trails, and leaving slash at the stump on nutrient deficient sites. Technology...

Effects of chronic wasting disease on reproduction and fawn harvest vulnerability in Wisconsin white-tailed deer

Science.gov (United States)

Blanchong, Julie A.; Grear, Daniel A.; Weckworth, Byron V.; Keane, Delwyn P.; Scribner, Kim T.; Samuel, Michael D.

2012-01-01

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that affects free-ranging and captive North American cervids. Although the impacts of CWD on cervid survival have been documented, little is known about the disease impacts on reproduction and recruitment. We used genetic methods and harvest data (2002–04) to reconstruct parentage for a cohort of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns born in spring 2002 and evaluate the effects of CWD infection on reproduction and fawn harvest vulnerability. There was no difference between CWD-positive and CWD-negative male deer in the probability of being a parent. However, CWD-positive females were more likely to be parents than CWD-negative females. Because our results are based on harvested animals, we evaluated the hypothesis that higher parentage rates occurred because fawns with CWD-positive mothers were more vulnerable to harvest. Male fawns with CWD-positive mothers were harvested earlier (>1 mo relative to their mother’s date of harvest) and farther away from their mothers than male fawns with CWD-negative mothers. Male fawns with CWD-positive mothers were also harvested much earlier and farther away than female fawns from CWD-positive mothers. Most female fawns (86%) with CWD-positive mothers were harvested from the same section as their mothers, while almost half of male and female fawns with CWD-negative mothers were farther away. We conclude that preclinical stages of CWD infection do not prohibit white-tailed deer from successfully reproducing. However, apparently higher harvest vulnerability of male fawns with CWD-positive mothers suggests that CWD infection may make females less capable of providing adequate parental care to ensure the survival and recruitment of their fawns.

Impact of post-harvest radiation treatment timing on shelf life and quality characteristics of potatoes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rezaee, Mehdi; Paknejad, Farzad; Almassi, Morteza; Minaei, Saeed

2013-01-01

The effects of gamma radiation treatment (50 and 100 Gy) on potato tubers irradiated at different days (10th, 30th and 50th) after harvest were studied during 5 months of storage at 10°C using Agria and Marfona varieties. A factorial experiment was done, based on a Randomized Complete Block Design with four replications. The 100 Gy radiation treatments on 10th and 30th days after harvest completely prevented sprouting at both varieties studied but on 50th day only Agria tubers did not sprout. This study indicated that early irradiation and absorbed radiation doses significantly decreased sprouting, percent weight loss and specific gravity of tubers. Reducing sugar content significantly increased by delay in irradiation and lower dose of radiation while non-reducing sugars did not decrease significantly by delay in irradiation and higher dose of radiation. The least increase in reducing sugars (10.2%) and most decrease in non-reducing sugar (-12.75%) were observed in tubers that irradiated on 10th day after harvest. The content of ascorbic acid was decreased by irradiation with higher dose. Although delay in irradiation caused less loss of ascorbic acid (8.5%) but showed greater metabolic changes as sprouting, weight loss, firmness, and sugars contents. Also, more increased delay in irradiation needed higher radiation doses for sprout inhibition. (author)

Harvesting energy from airflow with a michromachined piezoelectric harvester inside a Helmholtz resonator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Matova, S.P.; Elfrink, R.; Vullers, R.J.M.; Schaijk, R. van

2011-01-01

In this paper we report an airflow energy harvester that combines a piezoelectric energy harvester with a Helmholtz resonator. The resonator converts airflow energy to air oscillations which in turn are converted into electrical energy by a piezoelectric harvester. Two Helmholtz resonators with

Fog Harvesting with Harps.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Weiwei; Anderson, Mark J; Tulkoff, Joshua B; Kennedy, Brook S; Boreyko, Jonathan B

2018-04-11

Fog harvesting is a useful technique for obtaining fresh water in arid climates. The wire meshes currently utilized for fog harvesting suffer from dual constraints: coarse meshes cannot efficiently capture microscopic fog droplets, whereas fine meshes suffer from clogging issues. Here, we design and fabricate fog harvesters comprising an array of vertical wires, which we call "fog harps". Under controlled laboratory conditions, the fog-harvesting rates for fog harps with three different wire diameters were compared to conventional meshes of equivalent dimensions. As expected for the mesh structures, the mid-sized wires exhibited the largest fog collection rate, with a drop-off in performance for the fine or coarse meshes. In contrast, the fog-harvesting rate continually increased with decreasing wire diameter for the fog harps due to efficient droplet shedding that prevented clogging. This resulted in a 3-fold enhancement in the fog-harvesting rate for the harp design compared to an equivalent mesh.

Suitability of some green pea (Pisum sativum L. varieties for processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jokanović Marija R.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Green pea (Pisum sativum L. has a long tradition in Serbia and Montenegro as a processing crop. Short growing season, relatively simple production, pleasant taste and high nutritional value stimulate both production and consumption of peas. The objective of this paper is to present the main characteristics of two pea varieties, domestic cultivar Tamis and imported cultivar Jof and the influence of prolonged time between harvest and processing on the changes of main characteristics. Both cultivars have grains of very high quality that can be used for industrial processing as well as for garden growing (the green market. In the present paper the results of one-year study are shown: cultivar characteristics, growing season length, and physico-chemical (tenderometer value (TM, dry matter, alcohol insoluble solids (AIS, sugar and starch measurements for texture determination. According to the results, the optimal way of processing for each variety was recommended. .

A new harvest operation cost model to evaluate forest harvest layout alternatives

Science.gov (United States)

Mark M. Clark; Russell D. Meller; Timothy P. McDonald; Chao Chi Ting

1997-01-01

The authors develop a new model for harvest operation costs that can be used to evaluate stands for potential harvest. The model is based on felling, extraction, and access costs, and is unique in its consideration of the interaction between harvest area shapes and access roads. The scientists illustrate the model and evaluate the impact of stand size, volume, and road...

Nuclear analysis techniques as a component of thermoluminescence dating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prescott, J R; Hutton, J T; Habermehl, M A [Adelaide Univ., SA (Australia); Van Moort, J [Tasmania Univ., Sandy Bay, TAS (Australia)

1997-12-31

In luminescence dating, an age is found by first measuring dose accumulated since the event being dated, then dividing by the annual dose rate. Analyses of minor and trace elements performed by nuclear techniques have long formed an essential component of dating. Results from some Australian sites are reported to illustrate the application of nuclear techniques of analysis in this context. In particular, a variety of methods for finding dose rates are compared, an example of a site where radioactive disequilibrium is significant and a brief summary is given of a problem which was not resolved by nuclear techniques. 5 refs., 2 tabs.

Nuclear analysis techniques as a component of thermoluminescence dating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prescott, J.R.; Hutton, J.T.; Habermehl, M.A. [Adelaide Univ., SA (Australia); Van Moort, J. [Tasmania Univ., Sandy Bay, TAS (Australia)

1996-12-31

In luminescence dating, an age is found by first measuring dose accumulated since the event being dated, then dividing by the annual dose rate. Analyses of minor and trace elements performed by nuclear techniques have long formed an essential component of dating. Results from some Australian sites are reported to illustrate the application of nuclear techniques of analysis in this context. In particular, a variety of methods for finding dose rates are compared, an example of a site where radioactive disequilibrium is significant and a brief summary is given of a problem which was not resolved by nuclear techniques. 5 refs., 2 tabs.

Microalgae harvesting techniques: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Gulab; Patidar, S K

2018-07-01

Microalgae with wide range of commercial applications have attracted a lot of attention of the researchers in the last few decades. However, microalgae utilization is not economically sustainable due to high cost of harvesting. A wide range of solid - liquid separation techniques are available for microalgae harvesting. The techniques include coagulation and flocculation, flotation, centrifugation and filtration or a combination of various techniques. Despite the importance of harvesting to the economics and energy balance, there is no universal harvesting technique for microalgae. Therefore, this review focuses on assessing technical, economical and application potential of various harvesting techniques so as to allow selection of an appropriate technology for cost effectively harvesting of microalgae from their culture medium. Various harvesting and concentrating techniques of microalgae were reviewed to suggest order of suitability of the techniques for four main microalgae applications i.e biofuel, human and animal food, high valued products, and water quality restoration. For deciding the order of suitability, a comparative analysis of various harvesting techniques based on the six common criterions (i.e biomass quality, cost, biomass quantity, processing time, species specific and toxicity) has been done. Based on the order of various techniques vis-a-vis various criteria and preferred order of criteria for various applications, order of suitability of harvesting techniques for various applications has been decided. Among various harvesting techniques, coagulation and flocculation, centrifugation and filtration were found to be most suitable for considered applications. These techniques may be used alone or in combination for increasing the harvesting efficiency. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficiency assessment of runoff harvesting techniques using a 3D coupled surface-subsurface hydrological model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verbist, K.; Cronelis, W. M.; McLaren, R.; Gabriels, D.; Soto, G.

2009-01-01

In arid and semi-arid zones runoff harvesting techniques are often applied to increase the water retention and infiltration on steep slopes. Additionally, they act as an erosion control measure to reduce land degradation hazards. Both in literature and in the field, a large variety of runoff collecting systems are found, as well as large variations in design and dimensions. Therefore, detailed measurements were performed on a semi-arid slope in central Chile to allow identification of the effect of a simple water harvesting technique on soil water availability. For this purpose, twenty two TDR-probes were installed and were monitored continuously during and after a simulated rainfall event. These data were used to calibrate the 3D distributed flow model HydroGeoSphere, to assess the runoff components and soil water retention as influenced by the water harvesting technique, both under simulated and natural rainfall conditions. (Author) 6 refs.

Informatic System for Improve of Sugarcane Harvest in Cubans Sugar Factories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alejandro Álvarez-Navarro

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The restructure of the sugar industry, led to the implementation of efficient methods in order to enhance the sugar cane harvest in the agroindustrial process. The Information and Communications Technology (ICT, associated to optimization methods, may allow take the right decisions at different levels of the productive process. The organization of the sugar cane harvest is an important moment within this scheme. The objective of this  investigation is to determine the optimal cutting strategy considering the new changes existing that permit obtain higher amount of sugar using the same quantity of raw material. Has been implemented a new informatic system, supported by a new branch of the goal programming with lexicographic priorities. The experimental results show that there is an impact at the planning level, as the cutting out of date decreases until a 15 %, and the sugar production increases in 2 043,89 t. 

Yield and biological nitrogen fixation of cowpea varieties in the semi-arid region of Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santiago de Freitas, Ana Dolores; Fernandes Silva, Acácia; Valadares de Sá Barretto Sampaio, Everardo

2012-01-01

Cowpea is an important crop in small properties of the Brazilian semi-arid region, where it is cultivated without fertilizer application. In spite of the fundamental role played by biological Nitrogen fixation (BNF), little is known of the symbiosis between cowpea varieties and native rhizobia or recommended rhizobia strains. A field experiment was conducted aiming to estimate BNF and productivities of local varieties, in association with two previously described bradyrhizobial inoculant strains and native rhizobia (no inoculation). The plants received 20 kg ha −1 of enriched 15 N fertilizer to allow the use of the isotopic dilution method. After harvest (80 days) straw and grain biomass was determined. The varieties differed in grain and straw productivity and in N and N derived from atmosphere (%Ndfa). Corujinha had the highest grain productivity (1147 kg ha −1 ), followed by Sempre Verde (920 kg ha −1 ), Azul (912 kg ha −1 ) and Cariri (889 kg ha −1 ). Costela de Vaca had the highest straw productivity (2258 kg ha −1 ), highest N content in the straw (28 g ha −1 ) and highest BNF (79 %Ndfa, corresponding to 45 kg ha −1 of N for total aboveground biomass and 39 kg ha −1 for the straw), but the lowest grain productivity (381 kg ha −1 ) and the lowest harvest index (0.14). The inoculations did not significantly alter productivities, N contents or %Ndfa but there was a tendency of lower grain productivities in the non-inoculated plants, which was reflected in lower total and biologically fixed N quantities, indicating that the native strains may be slightly less efficient. -- Highlights: ► We estimate N fixation and productivities of local cowpea varieties in Brazil. ► Plants were inoculated or not with two recommended rhizobia strains. ► All local varieties had high proportions of their N derived from the air (%Ndfa). ► They differed in BNF in grain and straw productivity. ► Inoculation did not alter productivities or %Ndfa but

Timber harvest as the predominant disturbance regime in northeastern U.S. forests: Effects of harvest intensification

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Michelle L.; Canham, Charles D.; Murphy, Lora; Donovan, Therese M.

2018-01-01

Harvesting is the leading cause of adult tree mortality in forests of the northeastern United States. While current rates of timber harvest are generally sustainable, there is considerable pressure to increase the contribution of forest biomass to meet renewable energy goals. We estimated current harvest regimes for different forest types and regions across the U.S. states of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine using data from the U.S. Forest Inventory and Analysis Program. We implemented the harvest regimes in SORTIE‐ND, an individual‐based model of forest dynamics, and simulated the effects of current harvest regimes and five additional harvest scenarios that varied by harvest frequency and intensity over 150 yr. The best statistical model for the harvest regime described the annual probability of harvest as a function of forest type/region, total plot basal area, and distance to the nearest improved road. Forests were predicted to increase in adult aboveground biomass in all harvest scenarios in all forest type and region combinations. The magnitude of the increase, however, varied dramatically—increasing from 3% to 120% above current landscape averages as harvest frequency and intensity decreased. The variation can be largely explained by the disproportionately high harvest rates estimated for Maine as compared with the rest of the region. Despite steady biomass accumulation across the landscape, stands that exhibited old‐growth characteristics (defined as ≥300 metric tons of biomass/hectare) were rare (8% or less of stands). Intensified harvest regimes had little effect on species composition due to widespread partial harvesting in all scenarios, resulting in dominance by late‐successional species over time. Our analyses indicate that forest biomass can represent a sustainable, if small, component of renewable energy portfolios in the region, although there are tradeoffs between carbon sequestration in forest biomass and sustainable

Transcriptomic Analysis Using Olive Varieties and Breeding Progenies Identifies Candidate Genes Involved in Plant Architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

González-Plaza, Juan J; Ortiz-Martín, Inmaculada; Muñoz-Mérida, Antonio; García-López, Carmen; Sánchez-Sevilla, José F; Luque, Francisco; Trelles, Oswaldo; Bejarano, Eduardo R; De La Rosa, Raúl; Valpuesta, Victoriano; Beuzón, Carmen R

2016-01-01

Plant architecture is a critical trait in fruit crops that can significantly influence yield, pruning, planting density and harvesting. Little is known about how plant architecture is genetically determined in olive, were most of the existing varieties are traditional with an architecture poorly suited for modern growing and harvesting systems. In the present study, we have carried out microarray analysis of meristematic tissue to compare expression profiles of olive varieties displaying differences in architecture, as well as seedlings from their cross pooled on the basis of their sharing architecture-related phenotypes. The microarray used, previously developed by our group has already been applied to identify candidates genes involved in regulating juvenile to adult transition in the shoot apex of seedlings. Varieties with distinct architecture phenotypes and individuals from segregating progenies displaying opposite architecture features were used to link phenotype to expression. Here, we identify 2252 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated to differences in plant architecture. Microarray results were validated by quantitative RT-PCR carried out on genes with functional annotation likely related to plant architecture. Twelve of these genes were further analyzed in individual seedlings of the corresponding pool. We also examined Arabidopsis mutants in putative orthologs of these targeted candidate genes, finding altered architecture for most of them. This supports a functional conservation between species and potential biological relevance of the candidate genes identified. This study is the first to identify genes associated to plant architecture in olive, and the results obtained could be of great help in future programs aimed at selecting phenotypes adapted to modern cultivation practices in this species.

mango (mangifera i

African Journals Online (AJOL)

dell

21: 542-544. Joshi PR and Shiralkar ND 1977. Polyphenolases of a local variety of mango J. Food Sci. and Technol. 14: 77-. 79. Kahn V 1997 Some biochemical properties of polyphenoloxidase from two avocado varieties differing in their browning rates. J. Food Sci. 42: 38–43. Klein JD 1987 Relationship of harvest date,.

Effects of variable-row-spacing harvesting picker platform scraping plates on cotton fiber quality and quantity

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Cíntia Michele de Campos Baraviera

2017-06-01

Full Text Available There have been increasing demands for high-quality cotton fibers that meet the textile industry quality standards. Concurrently, there have been efforts to reduce contaminants during harvesting to reduce harvesting costs. The goal of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of the picker platform with Variable-Row-Spacing (VRS for harvesting cotton in narrow rows, over two harvest seasons in two regions within the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. In this study, how the presence vs. absence of scraping plates and variations in travel speed was related to quantifiable levels of impurities the harvested fibers was examined. The research was divided into three experiments (Exp. I, II, and III, using cotton varieties FM 975 WS, IMA 5672 B2 RF, and IMA 5675 B2 RF, with row spacing of 0.45 m. The experimental design was randomized blocks, in a 2 ? 3 factorial design, using the presence/absence of the plate and three speeds (0.61, 1.0, and 1.42 m·s-¹, with seven repetitions, totaling 42 experimental plots. The plot size was 108 m² (3.6 ? 30 m. The data were analyzed using the F test in ANOVA and the post-hoc Tukey test (p < 0.05. The results showed that scraping plates increased the number of stems and cones, and reduced the harvest efficiency of cotton planted in narrow rows in the region of Sorriso-MT during the 2013/2014 harvest. For the 2014/2015 harvest, the highest speed and the presence of the scraping plates increased the number of cones in the cotton samples. In the experiment conducted in Serra da Petrovina, the removal of the scraping plates decreased the amount of cones in the harvested cotton.

Effects of local and spatial conditions on the quality of harvested rainwater in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilbers, Gert-Jan; Sebesvari, Zita; Rechenburg, Andrea; Renaud, Fabrice G.

2013-01-01

The objective of this study was to assess the quality of harvested rainwater in the Mekong Delta (MD), Vietnam for local (roof types, storage system and duration) and spatial (proximity of industry, main roads, coastline) conditions. 78 harvested rainwater samples were collected in the MD and analyzed for pH, turbidity, TDS, COD, nutrients (NH 4 , NO 3 , NO 2 , o-PO 4 ), trace metals and coliforms. The results show that thatch roofs lead to an increase of pollutants like COD (max 23.2 mgl −1 ) and turbidity (max 10.1 mgl −1 ) whereas galvanized roofs lead to an increase of Zn (max 2.2 mgl −1 ). The other local and spatial parameters had no or only minor influence on the quality of household harvested rainwater. However, lead (Pb) (max. 16.9 μgl −1 ) and total coliforms (max. 102 500 CFU100 ml −1 ) were recorded at high concentrations, probably due to a variety of household-specific conditions such as rainwater storage, collection and handling practices. -- Highlights: •Rainwater is a main drinking water source in the Mekong Delta. •Harvested rainwater is severely polluted for turbidity, lead and (total) coliforms. •Roof types significantly affect the quality of harvested rainwater. •Effects of household conditions on harvested rainwater quality should be further assessed. •Harvested rainwater is in potential a safe drinking water resource in the Mekong Delta. -- Concentrations of lead and total coliforms in household-harvested rainwater in the Mekong Delta exceed drinking water guidelines in 17% and 92% of the samples, respectively

Evaluation of Physico-biochemichal Characteristics of Fruits in New Varieties of Noushin and Shahin Mandarins During Storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javad Fatahi Moghadam

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: According to a breeding program that was carried out in Citrus and Subtropical Fruits Research Center, Noushin (C. reticulata cv Clementine × C. sinensis cv. Salustiana and Shahin (C. reticulata cv Clementine × C. sinensis cv. Hamlin mandarins were released by using crossing method in 20-year program. In general, mandarins do not have the ability of being kept in common or cold storage for long time compared to oranges. The main problem is the change of fruit taste during storage, therefore, it is an attracted subject for researchers. Furthermore, storage temperature plays an important role in the quality of the taste of mandarins. The new released mandarins, which hve not been yet studied completely for their storability, need to be evaluated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate fruit physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of Noushin and Shahin varieties in common and cold storages for two years. Materials and Methods: In this study, fruits of Noshin and Shahin mandarins were harvested at seasonal harvesting time and then placed in could storage (5 oC and 85% RH and common storage (7-10 oC and 60-70 %RH based on completely randomized design with three replications for 60 days every year. Fruits on days 0 (at harvesting time, 20, 40 and 60 of storage were sampled. Various physico-chemical and sensory characteristics were evaluated including iuice percentage, weight loss, peel color indices (L*, a*, b*, hue angle, chroma and CCI, total soluble solid (TSS, titratable acidity (TA, technological index (TI, skin disorder index (SDI, pH, electrical conductivity (EC, total phenolic, ascorbic acid, antioxidant capacity and sensory parameters during experiment. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using statistical software MSTAT-C. Analysis of variance combined in a randomized complete design (two years with three replications for each variety. Results and Discussion: The results showed that the amount of

78 FR 32181 - Fisheries in the Western Pacific; 5-Year Extension of Moratorium on Harvest of Gold Corals

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-29

... of Gold Corals AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric... on the harvest of gold corals in the U.S. Pacific Islands through June 30, 2018. NMFS intends this final rule to prevent overfishing and to stimulate research on gold corals. DATES: This rule is...

Design optimization of harvester head and actuation system of forest harvester

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Torben Ole; Hansen, Michael R.; Mouritsen, Ole Ø.

2005-01-01

This paper is on the analysis and subsequent efficiency optimization of a forrest harvester. As basis for the optimization the existing machine has undergone substantial experimental testing with a view to determine the loading that the harvester head is subjected to and also the corresponding...

Effect of Foliar Application of Iron, Zinc and Manganese on Quantitative and Qualitative Characteristics of Two Varieties of Grain Millet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Javadi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In order to study the effect of foliar application of Fe, Zn and Mn on yield, yield components and protein content of two varieties of grain millet an experiment was conducted as factorial based on randomized complete block design with three replications in research field of Birjand branch, Islamic Azad University at 2010.  In this study two millet varieties including Bastan (Setaria italica and Pishahang (Panicum miliaceum, and six levels of foliar micronutrient fertilizer including control, Fe, Zn, Mn, (Fe+Zn, (Fe+Zn+Mn were investigated. The results indicated that, panicle length, 1000 grain weight and panicle number per m2 were higher in Pishahang than Bastan, but grain yield, number of seeds per panicle, harvest index and protein yield were higher in Bastan. Characteristics such as panicle length, biological yield and harvest index and protein percentage were affected by foliar micronutrient fertilizer but grain yield remained unchanged. Foliar application with (Fe+Zn+Mn increased protein content compared to the control, but it did not affect protein yield. According to the results of this experiment, Bastan millet variety and foliar application of Zn is potent to produce the maximum grain yield, albeit it warrants further studies.

The Fiber Content in Fibrous Hemp Depending on Selected Agrotechnical Factors

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Kryszak N.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Relationship between genotypes represented by two fibrous hemp varieties and some agrotechnical factors was investigated in the study. The aim of it was finding how selected factors (three sowing dates, two sowing densities and five harvest dates influence on total fiber content using osmotic degumming of fibrous plants method for fiber content determination.

Determination and Investigation of Some Physical and Mechanical Properties of Date Fruit (Kabkab Variety

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A. M. Kermani

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Knowledge on physical and mechanical properties of fruits is necessary for designing and optimizing processing systems. In this study, several physical and mechanical properties of date fruit (Kabkab cultivar and its seed were determined. The average of length, width, thickness, unit mass, 1000 fruit mass, geometric mean diameter, unit volume, surface and projected areas, sphericity, fruit true and bulk densities, porosity of Kabkab cultivar date fruit were 36.89, 18.68, 23.56 mm, 8264.07 and 8.25 g, 25.24 mm, 8507.8 mm3, 2008.27 mm2, 502.07 mm2, 0.96 g/cm3, 0.51 g/cm3, 46.20%, respectively. The respective values for its seeds were 22.98, 6.25, 7.48 mm, 789.2 and 0.79 g, 10.23 mm, 568.24 mm3, 330.30 mm2, 82.58 mm2, 0.99 g/cm3, 0.65 g/cm3, 30.45%, respectively. The static coefficients of friction were 0.34 for galvanized, 0.30 for steel, 0.32 for plexiglass, 0.31 for glass and 0.42 for plywood. Compressive loading testes were conducted at three loading rates of 5, 15 and 25 mm/min for deformation of fruit until 15%, 30% and 45% of thickness of fruit with seven replications. Some mechanical parameters such as force-deformation, energy and toughness were determined. The results showed that the loading rates affected the mechanical parameters significantly. By increasing the loading rate, the mean values of the mechanical parameters increased significantly.

Harvest of table olives by mechanical harvesting equipment

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Filippo Gambella

2013-09-01

Full Text Available In this work, we have evaluated the performance, of an electric comb equipped with five undulated fingers used for mechanized the harvesting of table olives. The first aim of the work was to test three different types of coating materials used for covering the fingers: Silicon (S, Vulcanized rubber (VR and Natural rubber (NR. The diameter of the coating materials tested were 7mm (D1, 14 mm (D2, 19 mm (D3 in order to evaluate the damage of different working conditions on the intact olives. During harvesting, silicon at 7mm and 14mm resulted in the largest percentage of undamaged the fruit (67% and 65%, natural rubber 63% and vulcanized rubber at the 54%. The second aim was to evaluate the combination, in terms of the best performance, of the machines used for mechanized harvesting of table olives. Several factors have been examined: undulating fingers variation thickness, different rotational speeds and different coating materials used to reduce the impact damage on olives. From the tests on olive tree we have determined that while plastic materials (S and (NR appear to have a positive role in harvest quality, the vibration transmitted to the operator’s hand is great from 6.48 m/s2 for S to 6.31 m/ s2 for NR and 2.92 m/s2 for VR, respect to the materials used.

Energy harvesting “3-D knitted spacer” based piezoelectric textiles

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, S.; Soin, N.; Shah, T. H.; Siores, E.

2016-07-01

The piezoelectric effect in Poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, was discovered over four decades ago and since then, significant work has been carried out aiming at the production of high p-phase fibres and their integration into fabric structures for energy harvesting. However, little work has been done in the area of production of “true piezoelectric fabric structures” based on flexible polymeric materials such as PVDF. In this work, we demonstrate “3-D knitted spacer” technology based all-fibre piezoelectric fabrics as power generators and energy harvesters. The knitted single-structure piezoelectric generator consists of high p-phase (~80%) piezoelectric PVDF monofilaments as the spacer yarn interconnected between silver (Ag) coated polyamide multifilament yarn layers acting as the top and bottom electrodes. The novel and unique textile structure provides an output power density in the range of 1.105.10 gWcm-2 at applied impact pressures in the range of 0.02-0.10 MPa, thus providing significantly higher power outputs and efficiencies over the existing 2-D woven and nonwoven piezoelectric structures. The high energy efficiency, mechanical durability and comfort of the soft, flexible and all-fibre based power generator is highly attractive for a variety of potential applications such as wearable electronic systems and energy harvesters charged from ambient environment or by human movement.

Effect of water stress on total biomass, tuber yield, harvest index and water use efficiency in Jerusalem artichoke

Science.gov (United States)

The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of drought on tuber yield, total biomass, harvest index, water use efficiency of tuber yield (WUEt) and water use efficiency of biomass (WUEb), and to evaluate the differential responses of Jerusalem artichoke (JA) varieties under drought str...

Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting Sources

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Action NECHIBVUTE

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This radio frequency (RF energy harvesting is an emerging technology and research area that promises to produce energy to run low-power wireless devices. The great interest that has recently been paid to RF harvesting is predominantly driven by the great progress in both wireless communication systems and broadcasting technologies that have availed a lot of freely propagating ambient RF energy. The principle aim of an RF energy harvesting system is to convert the received ambient RF energy into usable DC power. This paper presents a state of the art concise review of RF energy harvesting sources for low power applications, and also discusses open research questions and future research directions on ambient RF energy harvesting.

Alfalfa variety selection for maximum fiber content, protein and nitrogen fixation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruhland, Christopher T. [Minnesota State Univ., Mankato, MN (United States); Knox, John [Minnesota State Univ., Mankato, MN (United States); Ward, Susan [Minnesota State Univ., Mankato, MN (United States); Agarwal, V. J. [Minnesota State Univ., Mankato, MN (United States); Frey, John [Minnesota State Univ., Mankato, MN (United States); Carrow, Duane [Minnesota State Univ., Mankato, MN (United States); Jones, Bruce [Minnesota State Univ., Mankato, MN (United States); Rife, James [Minnesota State Univ., Mankato, MN (United States)

2012-09-01

The fertile soils of Southern Minnesota are highly productive from both a natural and agricultural standpoint. We chose to examine potential feedstock in both of these settings as a focus for our study. In part one of this report we detail our findings examining potential feedstock in prairie and wetlands in the Mankato, MN area in 2009. We were able to familiarize ourselves with techniques used to isolate and quantify concentrations of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin in both a classroom and laboratory setting. These techniques were then used for our experiments that examined the effects of harvest regime, irrigation and salinity on eight potential-feedstock varieties of alfalfa (Medicago sativa).

Physical, Chemicals and Flavors of Some Varieties of Arabica Coffee

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Yusianto .

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Export of Arabica coffee was 28,100 tons/year or 8.28% total export of Indonesian coffee, most of them are specialty coffee. Beside their origin, variety and determine the of physical, chemical and flavors characters. The promising clones or varieties i.e. BP 416A, BP 418A, BP 430A, BP 431A, BP 432A, BP 507A, BP 508A, BP 509A, BP 511A, BP 513A, BP 516A, BP 517A and BP 518A still not be determined their quality This research was conducted to analyze their physicals, chemicals and flavors during 2 periods of harvesting (2004 and 2005, using AS 1, S 795 and USDA 762 as the control. Mature coffee berry was harvested, sorted manually, and depulped, cleaned manually and then fermented in plastic sacks during 36 hours. The fermented parchment was washed, and then sun dried, dehulled to get green coffee. Observations wre conducted on green coffee yield, husk content, color of green coffee, distribution of size, bulk density of green and roasted coffee, roasting characters, color of roasted beans, and pH, acidity and flavors. The results showed (a The lowest content of husk was BP 432A and the highest was USDA 762. The control varieties of AS 1, S 795 and USDA 762, showed husk content >15%, while those potential varieties were < 15% except BP 416A. (b Beans size >6,5 mm and more than 80% were BP 416A, BP 430A, BP 432A, BP 509A, P 88 and S 795. Green coffee of BP 430A, BP 432A and BP 509A were uniform, but S 795 was not uniform. AS 1 and BP 416A and P 88 was one group; S 795 was one group with BP 542A; BP 509 was a group with BP 432A; but BP4 30A and USDA 762 were the other groups. (c Green coffee of USDA 762 was the palest color, but BP 542A was the darkest color. AS 1 and S 795 were a group with all potential varieties, except BP 542A. (d Roasted coffee of USDA 762 was the palest color and AS 1 was the darkest. In this case, AS 1 was a group with BP 430A, BP 509A and P 88, while S 795 was a group with BP 416A and BP 432A, but USDA 762 and BP 542A were

Effects of intensive harvesting on forest floor properties in Betula papyrifera stands in Newfoundland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, B.A.; Deering, K.W.; Titus, B.D.

1998-01-01

This study investigates litter and organic matter production and related site ecology in nine medium to high quality Betula papyrifera stands in three locations in central Newfoundland on a variety of land form and drainage conditions. Three sites, Badger West (BW), Moose Pond (MP) and Middleton Lake (ML) were selected. The ML site has the highest quality (with the best height/age ratio, 18 m/60 yr, and height/DBH ratio, 18 m/30 cm), followed by MP and BW. Litter depth on well developed moders or mulls was usually 2 - 3 cm and varied from 1 - 15 cm. Forest floor depths (measured in 324 profiles) rarely reached 20 cm and was commonly 5 - 10 cm; it varied with position and site. Total and available nutrients indicate that B. papyrifera produces one of the highest-quality organic matter types of the local forest types and is important in improving site quality. The mean N-concentration in green foliage (2.21 %) and trapped litter (1.03 %) was highest at the best quality site ML, followed by MP and BW. The concentration of calcium, 0.85 %, was highest at the poorest quality site. Four years after harvesting, litter depth significantly decreased in all sites and treatments with the exception of the BW whole-tree harvest treatment. Total forest floor depth significantly decreased at all sites in the stem-only harvest treatment as well as the MP whole-tree harvest treatment. There was a significant decrease in available nitrogen following harvesting in both treatments at both the MP and BW sites. Change in available phosphorus was insignificant, with the exception of an increase in the MP stem-only harvest treatment. There was a significant decrease in available potassium at both the ML and BW whole-tree harvest treatments, but a significant increase in the stem-only harvest treatments at ML and MP. There was a significant decrease in available calcium in both treatments at both the MP and BW sites 34 refs, 4 figs, 1 tab

Harvesting a short rotation forest

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perttu, K L [ed.

1984-12-01

Willow and Sallow, considered of great interest for Swedish conditions, present new problems in harvesting. Traditional logging techniques offer few elements of equipment or methods. Light whips may be comminuted to a bulk product, easy to handle, difficult to store, requiring a hot logging system - and requiring a heavy, powerful harvester. Aggregating the material introduces an intermediate wood-fuel unit, suitable for storing, transport and infeed into any comminuter. If the harvester produced billets it would require less energy for its operation and it may be used for other purposes such as pre-commercial thinning or row thinning during the growing season. A few groups of designers have worked on analyses of requirements and possible solutions. Test rigs for severing and bundling were built and evaluated. Public funding was made available for design work on harvesters. Five groups were selected to produce layout designs of large and small harvesters. An evaluation procedure was performed, leading to selection of two concepts, slightly reworked from their original shapes. One is a large self-propelled front-sutting harvester, the other is a harvesting unit to be mounted on a suitable farm tractor. With 3 refs.

High relative humidity pre-harvest reduces post-harvest proliferation of Salmonella in tomatoes.

Science.gov (United States)

Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Marvasi, Massimiliano; Giurcanu, Mihai C; Hochmuth, George J; Speybroeck, Niko; Havelaar, Arie H; Teplitski, Max

2017-09-01

Outbreaks of human illness caused by enteric pathogens such as Salmonella are increasingly linked to the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Knowledge on the factors affecting Salmonella proliferation on fresh produce therefore becomes increasingly important to safeguard public health. Previous experiments showed a limited impact of pre-harvest production practices on Salmonella proliferation on tomatoes, but suggested a significant effect of harvest time. We explored the data from two previously published and one unpublished experiment using regression trees, which allowed overcoming the interpretational difficulties of classical statistical models with higher order interactions. We assessed the effect of harvest time by explicitly modeling the climatic conditions at harvest time and by performing confirmatory laboratory experiments. Across all datasets, regression trees confirmed the dominant effect of harvest time on Salmonella proliferation, with humidity-related factors emerging as the most important underlying climatic factors. High relative humidity the week prior to harvest was consistently associated with lower Salmonella proliferation. A controlled lab experiment confirmed that tomatoes containing their native epimicrobiota supported significantly lower Salmonella proliferation when incubated at higher humidity prior to inoculation. The complex interactions between environmental conditions and the native microbiota of the tomato crop remain to be fully understood. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Growth and yield response of wheat varieties to water stress at booting and anthesis stages of development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khakwani, A.A.; Abid, M.

2012-01-01

Plants of 6 bread wheat varieties (Damani, Hashim-8, Gomal-8, DN-73, Zam-04 and Dera-98) were subjected to 2 treatments i.e., control treatment (100% field capacity) and stressed treatment (20 days water stress was given during booting stage and 20 days water stress after anthesis). The findings revealed highly significant differences among means of wheat varieties in all physiological and yield traits. Almost all varieties showed their best adaptation under stressed environment however Hashim-8 and Zam-04 behaved exclusively and indicated higher relative water content (RWC), mean productivity (MP), geometric mean productivity (GMP) and stress tolerance index (STI) whereas stress susceptibility index (SSI) and tolerance (TOL) was estimated at its lowest, as these traits are recognised beneficial drought tolerance indicators for selection of a stress tolerant variety. Similarly, total grain yield per plant, biological yield per plant and harvest index was also higher in the same wheat varieties that put them as good candidates for selection criteria in wheat breeding program for drought resistant. (author)

Harvesting of short rotation coppice. Harvesting trials with a cut and storage system in Germany

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schweier, J.; Becker, G.

2012-11-01

Short rotation coppice (SRC) harvesting techniques are available in Germany, but broad experience and knowledge about machine performance and the related effective costs of harvesting operations are still missing. This information is crucial, as harvesting costs strongly influence the economic performance of the overall supply chain. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to collect and analyze productivity data of different harvesting systems for SRC. The combined cut and chip system on the one hand and the cut and storage system on the other hand were studied by literature review. Several studies analyze the combined cut and chip systems and the reported machine productivities showed great variations. The average was 30 green tons per scheduled machine hour (gt smh{sup -1}). Few studies are analysing the cut and storage system. They report that machines still are under development and that further research is needed. Therefore, time studies of harvesting operations using the cut and storage system were carried out. Five trials were performed with the harvesting machine 'Stemster MK III' developed by Nordic Biomass. The share of productive working time was 85% and the average productivity was 21 gt smh{sup -1}. These results were compared with values from the literature. Resulting harvesting costs were calculated per oven dry ton (Euro odt{sup -1}). The advantages and disadvantages of both harvesting systems are highlighted. (orig.)

A Piezoelectric PZT Ceramic Mulitlayer Stack for Energy Harvesting Under Dynamic Forces

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Tian-Bing; Siochi, Emilie J.; Kang, Jin Ho; Zuo, Lei; Zhou, Wanlu; Tang, Xiudong; Jiang, Xiaoning

2011-01-01

Piezoelectric energy harvesting transducers (PEHTs) are commonly used in motion/vibration energy scavenging devices. To date, most researchers have focused on energy harvesting at narrow bandwidths around the mechanical resonance frequency, and most piezoelectric harvesting devices reported in the literature have very low effective piezoelectric coefficient (d(sub eff)) (PZT ceramic multilayer stack (PZT-Stack) with high effective piezoelectric coefficient for high-performance PEHTs. The PZT-Stack is composed of 300 layers of 0.1 mm thick PZT plates, with overall dimensions of 32.4 mm X 7.0 mm X 7.0 mm. Experiments were carried out with dynamic forces in a broad bandwidth ranging from 0.5 Hz to 25 kHz. The measured results show that the effective piezoelectric coefficient of the PZT-stack is about 1 X 10(exp 5) pC/N at off-resonance frequencies and 1.39 X 10(exp 6) pC/N at resonance, which is order of magnitude larger than that of traditional PEHTs. The effective piezoelectric coefficients (d(sub eff)) do not change significantly with applied dynamic forces having root mean square (RMS) values ranging from 1 N to 40 N. In resonance mode, 231 mW of electrical power was harvested at 2479 Hz with a dynamic force of 11.6 N(sub rms), and 7.6 mW of electrical power was generated at a frequency of 2114 Hz with 1 N(sub rms) dynamic force. In off-resonance mode, an electrical power of 18.7 mW was obtained at 680 Hz with a 40 N(sub rms) dynamic force. A theoretical model of energy harvesting for the PZT-Stack is established. The modeled results matched well with experimental measurements. This study demonstrated that high effective piezoelectric coefficient structures enable PEHTs to harvest more electrical energy from mechanical vibrations or motions, suggesting an effective design for high-performance low-footprint PEHTs with potential applications in military, aerospace, and portable electronics. In addition, this study provides a route for using piezoelectric multilayer

Mineralogical Response of the Post harvest Mango (Mangifera Indica L.) to Different Levels of Bavistin DF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Islam, M.K.; Absar, N.; Sarkar, M.A.R; Khan, M.Z.H.; Yeasmin, S.; Hakim, K.A.

2013-01-01

This study was carried out with the post harvest mangoes (viz., the Langra and the Khirshapat) treating with different levels of Bavistin DF solution (namely, 250, 500, and 750 PPM) for obtaining results on the mineral content changes as well as storability of post harvest mango. The results of the experiments exhibited that only the single effect of varieties was found to be significant in most of the parameters studied. The Langra enriched a greater quantity of magnesium, iron and manganese constituents over the Khirshapat. On the other hand, Khirshapat enriched higher quantities of calcium, copper and zinc content at all the storage duration. Different post harvest treatments subjected to the investigation demonstrated significant variation in most of the mineralogical properties of mango at different days of storage. The result explored that calcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese contents were rapidly increased. On the other hand copper and zinc content drastically decreased from untreated mangoes. (author)

Energy harvesting for microsystems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruichao Xu

2012-05-15

The purpose of this project is to design and fabricate piezoelectric energy harvesters based on integration of Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 (PZT) thick film technology and silicon microtechnology. The fabrication processes are carried out in close collaboration with Meggitt Sensing Systems (MSS) who has the unique expertise to screen print piezoelectric thick film layers, thus all screen printing steps are done by MSS while the silicon micromachining is carried out at Danchip facility at DTU. The presented energy harvesters are all based on using piezoelectric thick film operating in the 31-mode to generate power when strained. Three archetypes of the numerous fabricated energy harvesters will be presented in detail, they represent three major milestones in this project. The first energy harvester archetype has an unimorph cantilever beam, which consists of a 20 {mu}m silicon layer and 10-30 {mu}m screen printed PZT layer, anchored on a silicon frame at one end and attached to a silicon proof mass at the other. Electrodes will cover both side of the PZT layer, so the harvested energy can be collected electrically. The second archetype has a bimorph cantilever beam, which consists of two 15-35 {mu}m PZT layers, anchored on a silicon frame at the one end and attached to a silicon proof mass at the other. Electrodes are deposited below, between and above the two PZT layers. The root mean square (RMS) power output measured on this type of harvesters is as high as 37.1{mu}W at 1 g. The third archetype is similar to the first one, the screen printed PZT layer is replaced by a lead free piezoelectric material, (KxNa1-x)NbO3 (KNN). Some of the major challenges encountered during the development processes are bad adhesion, fragile structures and short circuiting through the PZT layer. All of which have being fully or partially solved in this project. The final energy harvesters are designed to be used in an energy harvester powered wireless sensing system. (Author)

Comparison of Postoperative Pain Relief by Intercostal Block Between Pre-rib Harvest and Post-rib Harvest Groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bashir, M. M.; Shahzad, M. A.; Yousaf, M. N.; Khan, B. A.; Khan, F. A.

2014-01-01

Objective: To compare intercostal nerve block before and after rib harvest in terms of mean postoperative pain score and mean postoperative tramadol usage. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Plastic Surgery, Mayo Hospital, KEMU, Lahore, from January 2011 to July 2012. Methodology: Patients (n = 120) of either gender with ASA class-I and II requiring autogenous costal cartilage graft were inducted. Patients having history of local anaesthetic hypersensitivity and age 60 years were excluded. Subjects were randomly assigned to pre-rib harvest (group-1) and post-rib harvest (group-2). Local anaesthetic mixture was prepared by adding 10 milliliters 2% lidocaine to 10 milliliters 0.5% bupivacaine to obtain a total 20 ml solution. Group-1 received local anaesthetic infiltration along the proposed incision lines and intercostals block before the rib harvest. Group-2 received the infiltration and block after rib harvest. Postoperative consumption of tramadol and pain scores were measured at 6 and 12 hours postoperatively using VAS. Results: Mean age was 31.43 A +- 10.78 years. The mean pain scores at 6 hours postoperatively were 1.033 A +- 0.609 and 2.4667 A +- 0.812 in pre-rib harvest and post-rib harvest groups respectively (p < 0.0001). The mean pain scores at 12 hours postoperatively were 1.45 A +- 0.565 and 3.65 A +- 0.633 in pre-rib harvest and post-rib harvest groups respectively (p < 0.0001). The mean tramadol used postoperatively in first 24 hours was 169 A +- 29.24 mg and 255 A +- 17.70 mg in prerib harvest and post-rib harvest groups respectively (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Intercostal block administered before rib harvest as preemptive strategy result in decreased postoperative pain scores and narcotic use. (author)

[The content of phenolic acids in the edible parts of selected varieties of apples].

Science.gov (United States)

Malik, Agnieszka; Kiczorowska, Bozena; Zdyb, Justyna

2009-01-01

Fruits and vegetables are essential sources of many nutritive substances which are necessary for normal function of the organism. One of the mostly consumed fruits in many European countries, including Poland is apples. The prohealthy properties of apples are associated with the contents of polyphenolic compounds, thus including in parts phenolic acids which have antioxidant properties. The concentration of these compounds depends on many factors such as variety climate and soil conditions, maturity as well as agro technical operations. The aim of this investigation was to compare the concentrations of phenolic acids and epicatechin in the varieties of apple Champion and Jonica, which were collected from different orchards around Lublin. The phenolic compounds were assayed using a Symmetry column carrier RP-C18 (Waters) integrated with a high pressure liquid chromatography apparatus. The dominant phenolic acids found in the Champion variety was chlorogenic acid, whereas in the Jonica variety, chlorogenic and homovanilic acids were the dominate once. The highest concentrations of chlorogenic acid was detected in the pulp of an apple (Jonica variety) collected from the orchards around the cities of Puławy and Lublin, whereas homovanilic acid was the highest in the other samples collected from the orchards in the vicinity of Stryjno and Góry Markuszowskie. Among the Jonica and Champion varieties of apples collected from various orchards in the vicinity of Lublin, the highest content of epicatechin (13,12 mg/kg) was found in the pulps of Champions variety collected in Puławy. In general, the Champion variety was the best source of phenolic acids and epicatechin compared to the Jonica variety independent of the harvest zone.

Human and environmental analysis of wearable thermal energy harvesting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, Amanda; Hodges, Ryan; Jur, Jesse S.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A series of TEGs are integrated into a wearable, flexible form factor. • Human trials are performed to study environmental and human effects on the TEGs. • Correlations are drawn between human induced movement and environmental conditions. • User movement is the most significant factor in wearable TE harvesting. - Abstract: In considering wearable energy harvesting, one must recognize the wide array of factors that lead to variations of energy harvesting. The objective of this work is to define analytical methods to study the effect of environmental and human factors on thermal energy generator (TEG) performance in a variety of use case scenarios. A test method for evaluating the performance of a TEG in a wearable form is developed and demonstrated using both in-lab and out-of-lab procedures. The fabrication procedure of an energy harvesting wearable device demonstrates a method of integrating rigid devices into a flexible substrate. The wearable device is used in a human trial which covered a series of activities in different environmental conditions. The results of these trials demonstrate the significant effect of movement, or convection, on thermal energy harvesting. Humidity levels do not have a significant correlation to power; however, wet bulb temperature must be taken into consideration due to the additional cooling effect of evaporation on temperature. The data collected indicates that while dry-bulb temperature does not have the greatest effect on TEG power generation, wet-bulb temperature is indicative of TEG performance. Additionally, user generated movement is the main consideration when designing a wearable device with TEGs as it had the largest effects on power generation. The results of this work quantify how a wearable device will perform throughout daily activities, allowing the definition of an operational scenario of a self-powered wearable device while choosing the most appropriate design for a particular application

A Piezoelectric PZT Ceramic Mulitlayer Stack for Energy Harvesting Under Dynamic Forces

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Tian-Bing; Siochi, Emilie J.; Kang, Jin Ho; Zuo, Lei; Zhou, Wanlu; Tang, Xiudong; Jiang, Xiaoning

2011-01-01

Piezoelectric energy harvesting transducers (PEHTs) are commonly used in motion/vibration energy scavenging devices. To date, most researchers have focused on energy harvesting at narrow bandwidths around the mechanical resonance frequency, and most piezoelectric harvesting devices reported in the literature have very low effective piezoelectric coefficient (d(sub eff)) (coefficients of about 100 pC/N. The level of harvested electrical power for CBPEHTs is on the order of microW even at resonance mode. In order to harvest more electrical energy across broader bandwidth, high effective piezoelectric coefficient structures are needed. In this study, we investigate a "33" longitudinal mode, piezoelectric PZT ceramic multilayer stack (PZT-Stack) with high effective piezoelectric coefficient for high-performance PEHTs. The PZT-Stack is composed of 300 layers of 0.1 mm thick PZT plates, with overall dimensions of 32.4 mm X 7.0 mm X 7.0 mm. Experiments were carried out with dynamic forces in a broad bandwidth ranging from 0.5 Hz to 25 kHz. The measured results show that the effective piezoelectric coefficient of the PZT-stack is about 1 X 10(exp 5) pC/N at off-resonance frequencies and 1.39 X 10(exp 6) pC/N at resonance, which is order of magnitude larger than that of traditional PEHTs. The effective piezoelectric coefficients (d(sub eff)) do not change significantly with applied dynamic forces having root mean square (RMS) values ranging from 1 N to 40 N. In resonance mode, 231 mW of electrical power was harvested at 2479 Hz with a dynamic force of 11.6 N(sub rms), and 7.6 mW of electrical power was generated at a frequency of 2114 Hz with 1 N(sub rms) dynamic force. In off-resonance mode, an electrical power of 18.7 mW was obtained at 680 Hz with a 40 N(sub rms) dynamic force. A theoretical model of energy harvesting for the PZT-Stack is established. The modeled results matched well with experimental measurements. This study demonstrated that high effective

Levels of b-carotene, ascorbic acid and total phenols in the pulp of five commercial varieties of mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Science.gov (United States)

Five varieties of mangoes from four countries were evaluated with multiple harvests over a year to compare the ß-carotene, total phenol, and ascorbic acid levels of the fruit pulp. Only soft fruit (0.5 to 1 N compression) with a minimum of 10% soluble solids were used for these measurements to minim...

The mechanism of deterioration of the glucosinolate-myrosynase system in radish roots during cold storage after harvest.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jeong Gu; Lim, Sooyeon; Kim, Jongkee; Lee, Eun Jin

2017-10-15

The hydrolysis of glucosinolates (GSLs) by myrosinase yields varieties of degradation products including isothiocyanates (ITCs). This process is controlled by the glucosinolate-myrosinase (G-M) system. The major ITCs in radish roots are raphasatin and sulforaphene (SFE), and the levels of these compounds decrease during storage after harvest. We investigated the G-M system to understand the mechanism behind the decrease in the ITCs in radish roots. Six varieties of radish roots were stored for 8weeks at 0-1.5°C. The concentrations of GSLs (glucoraphasatin and glucoraphenin) were maintained at harvest levels without significant changes during the storage period. However, SFE concentration and myrosinase activity remarkably decreased for 8weeks. Pearson correlation analysis between ITCs, GSLs, and myrosinase activity showed that a decrease of SFE during storage had a positive correlation with a decrease in myrosinase activity, which resulted from a decrease of ascorbic acid but also a decrease of myrosinase activity-related gene expressions. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

MECHANIZED HARVESTING TESTS PERFORMED BY GRAPE HARVESTERS IN SUPER INTENSIVE OLIVE ORCHARD CULTIVATION IN SPAIN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gennaro Giametta

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Today also those countries boasting a century-old olive growing tradition have to look at the latest, most dynamic, non labour-intensive olive growing systems to abate production (notably, harvesting operations costs and remain competitive in a globalized market. This is why over the last few years super intensive olive orchard cultivation has been attracting a lot of interest on the part of olive growers all over the world as it accounts for an innovative model whereby olive groves are tailored to the special needs of grape harvesters. This paper reports the first results of experimental mechanical harvesting tests in a super-intensive olive cultivation. The study is intended to explore both productivity and work capacity of two of the most commonly used grape harvesters, Grégoire G120SW and New Holland Braud VX680, in a view to assessing their harvesting performance by a series of tests conducted in Spain. On the basis of the tests it was possible to verify that the machines are able to detach the almost all the drupes (more than 90%, with one only passage, and this independently of both size and location of drupes on the tree crown and of their maturity stage. Using these machines, two people can often carry out the whole harvest process: an operator driving the harvester and another person transferring the fruit from the harvester in the field to the olive oil mill for processing. With this system, the work speed is usually, in the best working conditions, about 1.7 km/hour and the average harvesting time is about 2.5-3 hours/ha. For the time being it is however impossible to draw definitive conclusions in terms of performance of the above cultivation systems and harvesting machines. Additional key observational studies are needed in the years to come to assess the efficiency of the entire model.

Qualitative Indices of Istamaran Date Variety Affected by Various Drying Methods

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E. Mehryar

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Drying of fruits and vegetables is one of the oldest methods for preserving foods. Drying not only affects the moisture content of the product, but also changes other physical, chemical and biological properties of the product including enzymatic activity, microbial spoilage, viscosity, hardness, taste and aroma. In order to study the occurring changes in dried product, qualitative characteristics including shrinkage, color and water rehydration are commonly evaluated. The purpose of this research was to study the effect of drying methods on qualitative indices for dried Istamaran dates. The drying methods were hot air, microwave and vacuum drying. The photos of the final product were taken using a digital camera. Then, color parameters (L*, a* and b* of the samples were measured using Photoshop software. The amount of shrinkage for dried product was determined by liquid displacement method. For evaluating rehydration ability, water absorption capacity (WAC, dry matter holding capacity (DHC, and rehydration ability (RA were also estimated. Results showed that the effect of drying method on WAC, DHC, and RA was significant (p<0.01. Means comparison revealed that the structural damage into the final dried product occurred by microwave method was higher than that for hot air and vacuum drying methods. Drying method did not lead to any significant difference among shrinkage values. Drying temperature influenced shrinkage more than drying time. Analysis of variance showed that the effect of drying method on L*, a* and b* parameters was not significant. Since the temperature of drying in microwave method is very high, it is possible that caramelization occurs during this method. This phenomenon can be considered as the reason of color darkness caused by microwave method.

Strategies and knowledge used when reconstructing the dates of autobiographical events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Tine; Thomsen, Dorthe Kirkegaard

Strategies and knowledge used when reconstructing the dates of autobiographical events. Tine Holm and Dorthe Kierkegaard Thomsen Individuals rarely remember the dates of specific memories. Rather they reconstruct dates using a variety of strategies and knowledge. In this study, we examined how...... often individuals use and combine different types of strategies and knowledge. Forty-five participants were each presented with diary descriptions of approximately 42 events from their first term at university that they had written 3 ½ years prior and were asked to date remembered events while...... they thought out loud. The results revealed that participants most frequently used period knowledge as a strategy in dating events. Other frequently used strategies were temporal schemas and temporal landmarks. Participants often combined strategies. Most frequently they combined period knowledge and temporal...

Conductive Elastomers for Stretchable Electronics, Sensors and Energy Harvesters

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Jin-Seo Noh

2016-04-01

Full Text Available There have been a wide variety of efforts to develop conductive elastomers that satisfy both mechanical stretchability and electrical conductivity, as a response to growing demands on stretchable and wearable devices. This article reviews the important progress in conductive elastomers made in three application fields of stretchable technology: stretchable electronics, stretchable sensors, and stretchable energy harvesters. Diverse combinations of insulating elastomers and non-stretchable conductive materials have been studied to realize optimal conductive elastomers. It is noted that similar material combinations and similar structures have often been employed in different fields of application. In terms of stretchability, cyclic operation, and overall performance, fields such as stretchable conductors and stretchable strain/pressure sensors have achieved great advancement, whereas other fields like stretchable memories and stretchable thermoelectric energy harvesting are in their infancy. It is worth mentioning that there are still obstacles to overcome for the further progress of stretchable technology in the respective fields, which include the simplification of material combination and device structure, securement of reproducibility and reliability, and the establishment of easy fabrication techniques. Through this review article, both the progress and obstacles associated with the respective stretchable technologies will be understood more clearly.

Energy-Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fafoutis, Xenofon; Vuckovic, Dusan; Di Mauro, Alessio

2012-01-01

Energy Harvesting comprises a promising solution to one of the key problems faced by battery-powered Wireless Sensor Networks, namely the limited nature of the energy supply (finite battery capacity). By harvesting energy from the surrounding environment, the sensors can have a continuous lifetime...... Sensor Networks with energy harvesting capability....... without any needs for battery recharge or replacement. However, energy harvesting introduces a change to the fundamental principles based on which WSNs are designed and realized. In this poster we sketch some of the key research challenges as well as our ongoing work in designing and realizing Wireless...

Cantilever piezoelectric energy harvester with multiple cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

S Srinivasulu Raju; M Umapathy; G Uma

2015-01-01

Energy harvesting employing piezoelectric materials in mechanical structures such as cantilever beams, plates, diaphragms, etc, has been an emerging area of research in recent years. The research in this area is also focused on structural tailoring to improve the harvested power from the energy harvesters. Towards this aim, this paper presents a method for improving the harvested power from a cantilever piezoelectric energy harvester by introducing multiple rectangular cavities. A generalized model for a piezoelectric energy harvester with multiple rectangular cavities at a single section and two sections is developed. A method is suggested to optimize the thickness of the cavities and the number of cavities required to generate a higher output voltage for a given cantilever beam structure. The performance of the optimized energy harvesters is evaluated analytically and through experimentation. The simulation and experimental results show that the performance of the energy harvester can be increased with multiple cavities compared to the harvester with a single cavity. (paper)

Acoustic energy harvesting using an electromechanical Helmholtz resonator.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Fei; Phipps, Alex; Horowitz, Stephen; Ngo, Khai; Cattafesta, Louis; Nishida, Toshikazu; Sheplak, Mark

2008-04-01

This paper presents the development of an acoustic energy harvester using an electromechanical Helmholtz resonator (EMHR). The EMHR consists of an orifice, cavity, and a piezoelectric diaphragm. Acoustic energy is converted to mechanical energy when sound incident on the orifice generates an oscillatory pressure in the cavity, which in turns causes the vibration of the diaphragm. The conversion of acoustic energy to electrical energy is achieved via piezoelectric transduction in the diaphragm of the EMHR. Moreover, the diaphragm is coupled with energy reclamation circuitry to increase the efficiency of the energy conversion. Lumped element modeling of the EMHR is used to provide physical insight into the coupled energy domain dynamics governing the energy reclamation process. The feasibility of acoustic energy reclamation using an EMHR is demonstrated in a plane wave tube for two power converter topologies. The first is comprised of only a rectifier, and the second uses a rectifier connected to a flyback converter to improve load matching. Experimental results indicate that approximately 30 mW of output power is harvested for an incident sound pressure level of 160 dB with a flyback converter. Such power level is sufficient to power a variety of low power electronic devices.

Disinfestation of different varieties of potato naturally or artificially infested by the potato tuber moth, Phthorimea Operculella Zell. In the storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haiba, M.I.

1994-01-01

The exposure of potato tuber varieties of Alpha, Spunta, Cara and escort to radiation dose level of 150 Gy could be used to disinfest the potatoes from their natural attacked pest, Phthorimaea Operculella, after the harvest and before storage. Escort variety exhibited somewhat resistance to the natural infestation if compared with the others. The irradiation of the potato tubers did not protect them from the re infestation, during the storage. Also, there were significant changes in some biological properties of the resulted pests, among the four potato varieties, whether the potatoes were non-irradiated or irradiated. The feeding of the artificial infested larvae on the treated tubers gave some malformed adults. 3 tabs

Using microwaves in Disinsection of dates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zouba, Anis

2008-01-01

The date palm plays a very significant role in Tunisia in term of culture as well as social, economic and ecological aspects. The production of the dates which is estimated to 120.000 tons/year ensures the principal income for the majority of the oasis population of the South of Tunisia and constitutes the basis for agricultural, industrial, commercial and tourist activities, offering million of working days. The date palm is cultivated mainly for the production of dates which are consumed locally or also exported abroad but for its by-products (food of the cattle, wind breaks, fuel, construction) which are marketed and/ or used in the everyday life thus taking part in the sedentarisation of the populations and the maintenance of a fragile socio-economic balance. The date moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae Zell. ( L will epidoptera, Pyralidae) is without question the most significant problem of the Tunisian date palm. The infestation of dates in the field and in the storage and packing houses enormously depreciates the marketable quality of dates and risk to compromise exports in particular those of the variety Deglet Nour. rates of infestations of about 20% are often recorded in Tunisia where as the European standards require rates lower than 5%. In Tunisia the desinsectisation of dates is done until now by the use of methyl bromide, its high toxicity substantially reduces the duration of date treatment, and consequently the treated volumes. The replacement of this product becomes an urgent need its use will not be authorized by 2015. Within the framework of a agreement between the Regional Research Center in Oasis Agriculture (CRRAO), The Interprofessional Grouping of Fruits (GIF), and the Italian Company IMETEC, the use one of micro-waves as a desinsectisation method of dates was evaluated. The results of this present work showed that total desinsectisation of dates by microwaves can be obtained only with homogeneous dates in term of water content. Total

Assessment of the quality of bran and bran oil produced from some Egyptian rice varieties.

Science.gov (United States)

Salem, Eglal G; El Hissewy, Ahmed; Agamy, Neveen F; Abd El Barry, Doaa

2014-04-01

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the leading food crops of the world, the staple food of over half the world's population. The bran, which is an important byproduct obtained during rice milling, constitutes about 1/10 of the weight of the rice grain. Rice bran is the outer brown layer including the rice germ that is removed during the milling process of brown grain. This milling byproduct is reported to be high in natural vitamins and minerals, particularly vitamin E. The present study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of bran and bran oil of 13 different rice varieties commonly produced in Egypt, to study the utilization of rice bran in bread production, and to assess the quality and acceptance of the rice bran edible oil produced. Rice bran was produced from 13 Egyptian varieties of recently harvested rice as well as from paddy rice stored for 1 year. The extracted bran was immediately stabilized then subjected to chemical analysis (such as moisture content, protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, and ash) as well as trace and heavy metals determination (P, K, Na, Ca, Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mg). Bread was produced by adding Giza172 rice bran at three different concentrations to wheat flour then subjected to chemical analysis, caloric content, and organoleptic examination. Bran oil was extracted from the different varieties of rice bran (recently harvested and stored) then subjected to chemical and organoleptic examinations as well as vitamin E and oryzanol determination. The percentage of rice bran of newly harvested Egyptian rice was 11.68% and was 10.97% in stored rice. The analysis showed mean values of 5.91 and 5.53% for moisture, 14.60 and 14.40% for crude protein, 14.83 and 15.20% for fat, 44.77 and 45.40% for carbohydrates, 6.55 and 7.06% for crude fiber, and 8.87 and 8.50% for ash for newly harvested and stored rice bran, respectively. Bread containing 15% rice bran showed the highest score percentages for organoleptic quality compared with the

A METHOD TO SET-UP CALIBRATION CURVE FOR INSTRUMENTED SPHERE IS100 TO CONTROL MECHANICAL DAMAGE DURING POST-HARVESTING AND HANDLING OF ORANGES

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Giovanni Carlo Di Renzo

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Oranges quality is strictly dependent on their variety, pre-harvest and post-harvest practices. Especially post harvest management is responsible for fruits damages, causing quality deterioration and commercial losses, as underlined by many authors, which studied the influence of individual post harvest operations on the fruit quality. In this article Authors, using an instrumented sphere (IS 100 similar for shape and size to a true orange, showed a method for the control of orange damages along the processing line. Results allow a fundamental knowledge about the critical damage curve, which defines the incidence of the damages during the oranges processing and packaging. Data show that the fruit discharge (bins or boxes discharge and the packaging step are the most critical operations in order to reduce or eliminate the fruits collisions and the consequent damages

Plataformas de colheita e colheita manual com trilha mecânica sobre a qualidade de sementes de arroz ( Oryza sativa, L. Harvest header and manual harvest with mechanical strip on rice ( Oryza sativa, L. seeds quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Fernandez Franco

1999-06-01

Full Text Available Durante a colheita do arroz irrigado ocorrem perdas e danos físicos e fisiológicos às sementes. No final da década de oitenta, surgiram as plataformas recolhedoras, que retiram ou arrancam o grão ao invés de cortar a panícula, porém, pouco se conhece a respeito dos danos físicos e fisiológicos que este sistema de plataforma pode causar às sementes. Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar os danos mecânicos causados às sementes dos cultivares de arroz BR-IRGA 409 e BR-IRGA 410, por três formas de colheita: (a colheita manual e trilha mecânica; (b colheita com plataforma de corte; (c colheita com plataforma recolhedora. Quando a colheita foi mecânica, realizou-se a coleta das amostras diretamente no graneleiro. O delineamento experimental foi blocos ao acaso, com seis repetições. Os resultados demonstraram que as sementes de arroz irrigado dos cultivares estudados não apresentaram diferenças significativas em suas qualidades físicas e fisiológicas, quando colhidas com plataforma de corte e com a plataforma recolhedora. Estes dois métodos de colheita, porém, apresentaram danos significativamente maiores quando comparados à colheita manual e trilha mecânica.During irrigated rice harvesting occur losses and physical and phisiological seed damage. Late 80's, appeared the strippers headers that strip the grain, instead of cutting the spike. However, little is know about physical and phisiological seed damage by harvest header. The objective of this work was to evaluate the mechanical damage caused to BR-IRGA 409 and BR-IRGA 410 rice cultivars by three harvesting methods: (a manual harvesting and mechanical strip; (b cutterbar harvesting and; (c stripper header harvesting. Samples were collected directly in the grain tank when the harvest was mechanical. The experimental design was randomized blocks with six replications. Results demonstrated that the rice seeds of the studied variety didn't showed significant differences in

A Process-Based Model of TCA Cycle Functioning to Analyze Citrate Accumulation in Pre- and Post-Harvest Fruits.

Science.gov (United States)

Etienne, Audrey; Génard, Michel; Bugaud, Christophe

2015-01-01

Citrate is one of the most important organic acids in many fruits and its concentration plays a critical role in organoleptic properties. The regulation of citrate accumulation throughout fruit development, and the origins of the phenotypic variability of the citrate concentration within fruit species remain to be clarified. In the present study, we developed a process-based model of citrate accumulation based on a simplified representation of the TCA cycle to predict citrate concentration in fruit pulp during the pre- and post-harvest stages. Banana fruit was taken as a reference because it has the particularity of having post-harvest ripening, during which citrate concentration undergoes substantial changes. The model was calibrated and validated on the two stages, using data sets from three contrasting cultivars in terms of citrate accumulation, and incorporated different fruit load, potassium supply, and harvest dates. The model predicted the pre and post-harvest dynamics of citrate concentration with fairly good accuracy for the three cultivars. The model suggested major differences in TCA cycle functioning among cultivars during post-harvest ripening of banana, and pointed to a potential role for NAD-malic enzyme and mitochondrial malate carriers in the genotypic variability of citrate concentration. The sensitivity of citrate accumulation to growth parameters and temperature differed among cultivars during post-harvest ripening. Finally, the model can be used as a conceptual basis to study citrate accumulation in fleshy fruits and may be a powerful tool to improve our understanding of fruit acidity.

Energy harvesting for microsystems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Ruichao

The purpose of this project is to design and fabricate piezoelectric energy harvesters based on integration of Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 (PZT) thick film technology and silicon microtechnology. The fabrication processes are carried out in close collaboration with Meggitt Sensing Systems (MSS) who has...... the unique expertise to screen print piezoelectric thick film layers, thus all screen printing steps are done by MSS while the silicon micromachining is carried out at Danchip facility at DTU. The presented energy harvesters are all based on using piezoelectric thick film operating in the 31-mode to generate...... power when strained. Three archetypes of the numerous fabricated energy harvesters will be presented in detail, they represent three major milestones in this project. The first energy harvester archetype has an unimorph cantilever beam, which consists of a 20 µm silicon layer and 10-30 µm screen printed...

Applying New Technologies to Transform Blueberry Harvesting

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Fumiomi Takeda

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The growth of the blueberry industry in the past three decades has been remarkably robust. However, a labor shortage for hand harvesting, increasingly higher labor costs, and low harvest efficiencies are becoming bottlenecks for sustainable development of the fresh market blueberry production. In this study, we evaluated semi-mechanical harvesting systems consisting of a harvest-aid platform with soft fruit catching surfaces that collected the fruit detached by portable, hand-held, pneumatic shakers. The softer fruit catching surfaces were not glued to the hard sub-surfaces of the harvest-aid platform, but suspended over them. Also, the ergonomic aspect of operating powered harvesting equipment was determined. The pneumatic shakers removed 3.5 to 15 times more fruit (g/min than by hand. Soft fruit catching surfaces reduced impact force and bruise damage. Fruit firmness was higher in fruit harvested by hand compared to that by pneumatic shakers in some cultivars. The bruise area was less than 8% in fruit harvested by hand and with semi-mechanical harvesting system. The percentage of blue, packable fruit harvested by pneumatic shakers comprised as much as 90% of the total, but less than that of hand-harvested fruit. The ergonomic analysis by electromyography showed that muscle strain in the back, shoulders, and forearms was low in workers operating the light-weight, pneumatic shakers that were tethered to the platform with a tool balancer. The new harvesting method can reduce the labor requirement to about 100 hour/hectare/year and help to mitigate the rising labor cost and shortage of workers for harvesting fresh-market quality blueberries.

Review of magnetostrictive vibration energy harvesters

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Zhangxian; Dapino, Marcelo J.

2017-10-01

The field of energy harvesting has grown concurrently with the rapid development of portable and wireless electronics in which reliable and long-lasting power sources are required. Electrochemical batteries have a limited lifespan and require periodic recharging. In contrast, vibration energy harvesters can supply uninterrupted power by scavenging useful electrical energy from ambient structural vibrations. This article reviews the current state of vibration energy harvesters based on magnetostrictive materials, especially Terfenol-D and Galfenol. Existing magnetostrictive harvester designs are compared in terms of various performance metrics. Advanced techniques that can reduce device size and improve performance are presented. Models for magnetostrictive devices are summarized to guide future harvester designs.

In vitro evaluation of different varieties of maize fodder for their methane generation potential and digestibility with goat rumen liquor.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaswani, Shalini; Kumar, Ravindra; Kumar, Vinod; Roy, Debashis; Kumar, Muneendra

2016-11-01

To evaluate the methane generation potential and digestibility of different (normal and three high-quality protein maize [HQPM]) varieties of maize fodder with goat rumen liquor in vitro . Methane production potential and digestibility of different varieties of maize fodder were tested in in vitro gas production test. Seven varieties of maize, four normal (HTHM 5101, DHM 117, HM 5, and Shaktiman/900 M Gold), and three high-quality protein (HQPM 5, HQPM 7, and HQPM 9/Vivek) were grown in different plots under the same environmental and agro-climatic conditions. Fodders were harvested at 45-50 days of sowing, and the representative samples of fodder from different varieties of maize were collected for analysis. Dried and grinded form of these maize fodder varieties was tested for gas, methane, and digestibility using goat rumen microflora in in vitro gas syringes. Gas production (ml/g dry matter [DM]) was highest for HM5 variety (97.66, whereas lowest for HQPM 9 variety (64.22). Gas production (ml/g degraded DM [DDM]) and methane (%) were statistically similar in different varieties of maize fodder. The methane production expressed as ml/g DM and ml/g DDM was significantly (pproduction.

Development of Trombay pulse crop varieties mutation through induced mutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhole, V.J.; Reddy, K.S.

2016-01-01

The food prices including pulses were beginning to increase from 2008, something that was not expected to happen before 2020. It was due to climate change, a scarcity of good arable land, water and nutrients. With these obstacles, we must produce almost double than what we are producing now to achieve food security by 2050. It can be achieved through crop improvement. Crop improvement is the art and science of changing the genetic make of crop plant in desire direction through various method of plant breeding. Mutation breeding is one of the techniques which utilize the physical and chemical mutagens to create genetic variability. Till date more than 3200 mutant varieties have been developed worldwide in which two physical mutagens i.e. X-rays and gamma rays have major contributions. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is one of the leading institutes in India where nuclear energy is used for crop improvement, which resulted in to development of 43 improved high yielding varieties in different crops including 19 varieties of pulse crops. These varieties are contributing significantly to production of pulses and ultimately to national food security. (author)

Proteome Analysis for Understanding Abiotic Stress (Salinity and Drought Tolerance in Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.

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Haddad A. El Rabey

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out to study the proteome of date palm under salinity and drought stress conditions to possibly identify proteins involved in stress tolerance. For this purpose, three-month-old seedlings of date palm cultivar “Sagie” were subjected to drought (27.5 g/L polyethylene glycol 6000 and salinity stress conditions (16 g/L NaCl for one month. DIGE analysis of protein extracts identified 47 differentially expressed proteins in leaves of salt- and drought-treated palm seedlings. Mass spectrometric analysis identified 12 proteins; three out of them were significantly changed under both salt and drought stress, while the other nine were significantly changed only in salt-stressed plants. The levels of ATP synthase alpha and beta subunits, an unknown protein and some of RubisCO fragments were significantly changed under both salt and drought stress conditions. Changes in abundance of superoxide dismutase, chlorophyll A-B binding protein, light-harvesting complex1 protein Lhca1, RubisCO activase, phosphoglycerate kinase, chloroplast light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding protein, phosphoribulokinase, transketolase, RubisCO, and some of RubisCO fragments were significant only for salt stress.

Effect of sowing date on grain quality of sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

IVHAA) while minerals; iron and zinc were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Significant site by variety by sowing date interactions at P < 0.05 level of probability were obtained for protein, iron and zinc content of sorghum ...

Performance evaluation of prototype mechanical cassava harvester ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Large-scale cassava harvesting, especially during the dry season, is a major constraint to its industrial demand and commercial production. Manual harvesting is slow and ... Results from field trials showed prototype harvesters weighing 268 – 310 kg can achieve optimum performance on ridged landforms. When harvested ...

Flow Energy Piezoelectric Bimorph Nozzle Harvester

Science.gov (United States)

Sherrit, Stewart (Inventor); Walkemeyer, Phillip E. (Inventor); Hall, Jeffrey L. (Inventor); Lee, Hyeong Jae (Inventor); Colonius, Tim (Inventor); Tosi, Phillipe (Inventor); Kim, Namhyo (Inventor); Sun, Kai (Inventor); Corbett, Thomas Gary (Inventor); Arrazola, Alvaro Jose (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A flow energy harvesting device having a harvester pipe includes a flow inlet that receives flow from a primary pipe, a flow outlet that returns the flow into the primary pipe, and a flow diverter within the harvester pipe having an inlet section coupled to the flow inlet, a flow constriction section coupled to the inlet section and positioned at a midpoint of the harvester pipe and having a spline shape with a substantially reduced flow opening size at a constriction point along the spline shape, and an outlet section coupled to the constriction section. The harvester pipe may further include a piezoelectric structure extending from the inlet section through the constriction section and point such that the fluid flow past the constriction point results in oscillatory pressure amplitude inducing vibrations in the piezoelectric structure sufficient to cause a direct piezoelectric effect and to generate electrical power for harvesting.

OBSERVAÇÕES SOBRE DEGENERESCÊNCIA E COMPORTAMENTO EM DIFERENTES ÉPOCAS DE PLANTIO DE QUATRO VARIEDADES DE BATATA (Solanum Tuberosum L. COMMENTS ON DEGENERATION AND BEHAVIOR AT DIFFERENT PLANTING DATES OF FOUR POTATO (Solanum tuberosum L. VARIETIES

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Peter E. Sonnenberg

2007-09-01

Full Text Available

As variedades de batata DELTA-A, HANSA, HYDRA e TONDRA foram plantadas em duas gerações, a primeira na seca e a segunda, nas águas de 1971, em Goiânia. Para o primeiro plantio, usaram-se batatas-sementes importadas, para o segundo, as filhas destas. HANSA, HYDRA e TONDRA produziram mais na segunda geração do que na primeira, devido às melhores condições da época chuvosa. A produção da DELTA-A praticamente não variou nas duas épocas. HANSA foi significantemente superior às outras, em produção total, nas duas épocas e em produção de tubérculos comerciáveis (acima de 33 mm, na época chuvosa. Neste período, seus tubérculos grandes, (acima de 40 mm apresentaram-se com superdesenvolvimento de lenticelas e manchados internamente, ficando comercialmente desvalorizados. A variedade HYDRA destacou-se das demais pela produção de batatas grandes, principalmente na seca. Mostrou-se, porém, muito suscetível à sarna comum, cujo ataque inutilizou grande parte de seus tubérculos. TONDRA foi a variedade que melhor se adaptou ao período chuvoso. Produziu duas vezes mais tubérculos comerciáveis e quase três vezes mais tubérculos grandes, que na seca.

The four potato varieties DELTA-A, HANSA, HYDRA and TONDRA were tested in the dry and in the rainy season of 1971, in Goiânia. Imported certified seed potatoes were used for the first planting and the harvested tubers, for the second. All varieties, except DELTA-A, yielded more in the rainy than in the dry season. This difference was found to be caused by the better water supply during the rainy season. There was no significant influence of the season on the production of DELTA-A. HANSA produced in both seasons significantly more in total weight than the other varieties and more marketable potatoes (over 33 mm in the rainy season. But the large

Birationally rigid varieties. I. Fano varieties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pukhlikov, A V

2007-01-01

The theory of birational rigidity of rationally connected varieties generalises the classical rationality problem. This paper gives a survey of the current state of this theory and traces its history from Noether's theorem and the Lueroth problem to the latest results on the birational superrigidity of higher-dimensional Fano varieties. The main components of the method of maximal singularities are considered.

Chemical composition and methane yield of reed canary grass as influenced by harvesting time and harvest frequency

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kandel, Tanka Prasad; Sutaryo, Sutaryo; Møller, Henrik Bjarne

2013-01-01

This study examined the influence of harvest time on biomass yield, dry matter partitioning, biochemical composition and biological methane potential of reed canary grass harvested twice a month in one-cut (OC) management. The regrowth of biomass harvested in summer was also harvested in autumn...... as a two-cut management with (TC-F) or without (TC-U) fertilization after summer harvest. The specific methane yields decreased significantly with crop maturity that ranged from 384 to 315 and from 412 to 283 NL (normal litre) (kg VS)-1 for leaf and stem, respectively. Approximately 45% more methane...... was produced by the TC-F management (5430 Nm3 ha-1) as by the OC management (3735 Nm3 ha-1). Specific methane yield was moderately correlated with the concentrations of fibre components in the biomass. Larger quantity of biogas produced at the beginning of the biogas assay from early harvested biomass...

Effect of Planting Date on Reducing Growth Period of Spring Safflower Cultivars in Tabriz Cold and Semi-arid Climate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B Pasban Eslam

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction Safflower is a plant adaptable to areas with limited rainfall during winter and spring and dry air at flowering, seed filling and maturity stages, and tolerant to water deficit. The positive correlation coefficient observed between safflower seed yield with precipitation and low air temperature during seed germination to flowering and flowering to seed maturity. Furthermore, precipitation and low temperature during flowering to seed maturity significantly increased seed oil percentage. Therefore, it seems that, by adjusting the planting time can be adapted phenological stages of plant with appropriate weather conditions. The aims of this research were study the possibility reducing the growth period of safflower spring varieties with maintaining performance through delay in planting time, evaluate seed and oil yields at different planting times, and identify the best varieties for cold and semi-arid areas. Materials and Methods The experiment was conducted at the East Azarbaijan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center (46°2¢E, 37°58¢N, 1347 m a.s.l. during 2014-2015 growing season. According to Koppen climatic classification system, the area climate is semi-arid and cold. This study was carried out as factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments were four planting dates (30 March, 9, 19 and 29 April and three safflower spring cultivars (Sina, Soffeh and Goldasht. Plant spacing between rows was 24 cm and final plant density was 70 plant per m2. Each plot consisted of 6 rows in 5 meters. Plants were harvested on the 11th and 14th of August in the first and second years of experiment, respectively. At the harvest time, in order to control boarder effects, plants from the sides of each plot were removed. Measured traits were plant height, capitulum diameter, seed yield, capitula number per plant, seed number per capitulum and 1000-seed weight. Ten plants in each plot

Piloting the use of indigenous methods to prevent Nipah virus infection by interrupting bats' access to date palm sap in Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Nahar, Nazmun; Mondal, Utpal Kumar; Sultana, Rebeca; Hossain, M Jahangir; Khan, M Salah Uddin; Gurley, Emily S; Oliveras, Elizabeth; Luby, Stephen P

2013-09-01

People in Bangladesh frequently drink fresh date palm sap. Fruit bats (Pteropus giganteus) also drink raw sap and may contaminate the sap by shedding Nipah virus through saliva and urine. In a previous study we identified two indigenous methods to prevent bats accessing the sap, bamboo skirts and lime (calcium carbonate). We conducted a pilot study to assess the acceptability of these two methods among sap harvesters. We used interactive community meetings and group discussions to encourage all the sap harvesters (n = 12) from a village to use either bamboo skirts or lime smear that some of them (n = 4) prepared and applied. We measured the preparation and application time and calculated the cost of bamboo skirts. We conducted interviews after the use of each method. The sap harvesters found skirts effective in preventing bats from accessing sap. They were sceptical that lime would be effective as the lime was washed away by the sap flow. Preparation of the skirt took ∼105 min. The application of each method took ∼1 min. The cost of the bamboo skirt is minimal because bamboo is widely available and they made the skirts with pieces of used bamboo. The bamboo skirt method appeared practical and affordable to the sap harvesters. Further studies should explore its ability to prevent bats from accessing date palm sap and assess if its use produces more or better quality sap, which would provide further incentives to make it more acceptable for its regular use.

Magnetic Nanocomposite Cilia Energy Harvester

KAUST Repository

Khan, Mohammed Asadullah; Alfadhel, Ahmed; Kosel, Jü rgen

2016-01-01

An energy harvester capable of converting low frequency vibrations into electrical energy is presented. The operating principle, fabrication process and output characteristics at different frequencies are discussed. The harvester is realized

Criteria of assessing introduced varieties of the genus Heuchera L.

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Н. А. Андрух

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To identify and describe the basic criteria for studying and assessing decorative and economic-and-biological characters of the genus Heuchera L. varieties in the context of introduction. Methods. Introduction procedure, analytical approach, morphological analysis and biometric data evaluation. Results. Aided by the comparative morphological analysis of introduced varieties of the genus Heuchera, significant differences in their characters were revealed, including plant height, height and width of the basal rosette of leaves, generative shoot height. There was a significant variation of such parameters as the number of generative shoots within one plant, the number of flowers on a single generative shoot, flowering abundance. Based on investigation findings, 17 groups of varieties were identified for the dominant color of adaxial surface of the leaf blade and 7 groups – for inflorescence color. According to phenological observations, Heuchera varieties groups were determined and the dates of commencement and duration of plants flowering were registered in the context of introduction. The results of these investigations are the necessary basis for the study and evaluation of this culture assortment, they are important in breeding and landscaping. Conclusions. Based on the results of investigations of morphological features of introduced species of the genus Heuchera, traits and parameters for varieties grouping were defined as well as decorative and economic-and-biological traits that should be evaluated.

1970 Oregon timber harvest.

Science.gov (United States)

Brian R. Wall

1971-01-01

The 1970 Oregon timber harvest of 7.98 billion board feet was the lowest recorded since the recession year of 1961 when 7.41 billion board feet of timber was produced. The 1970 log production figure was 12.8 percent below the 1969 harvest, the second consecutive year of declining production in Oregon.

Avaliação da divergência nutricional de variedades de cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp. Evaluation of the nutritional divergence of the sugarcane (Saccharum spp. varieties

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José Augusto Gomes Azevêdo

2003-12-01

-1763, SP80-4445, SP79-1011, RB739359, RB867515 and SP80-3280, harvested at 426, 487 and 549 days post planting. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF, hemicellulose, lignin, undegradable NDF fraction and degradation rate of the potentially degradable NDF fraction were the evaluated discriminatory variables. Differences were observed for all the studied variables, except for the undegradable NDF fraction. The evaluation of the nutritional divergence of the sugarcane varieties based on the first three principal components, that explained 87.8% of the total variation. The NDF and the undegradable NDF fraction were the variables of smaller importance to explain the nutritional variability of the varieties. The SP80-1842 variety, harvested at 426 days post planting, and SP79-1011 variety, harvested at 549 days, were the ones that showed greater score dispersions for the first three principal components, being considered the most dissimilar, while the RB845257 variety, harvested at 487 days post planting, was located in the intermediary position between both. The principal components analysis was also efficient in selecting varieties with different harvesting times.

A Hip Implant Energy Harvester

Science.gov (United States)

Pancharoen, K.; Zhu, D.; Beeby, S. P.

2014-11-01

This paper presents a kinetic energy harvester designed to be embedded in a hip implant which aims to operate at a low frequency associated with body motion of patients. The prototype is designed based on the constrained volume available in a hip prosthesis and the challenge is to harvest energy from low frequency movements (< 1 Hz) which is an average frequency during free walking of a patient. The concept of magnetic-force-driven energy harvesting is applied to this prototype considering the hip movements during routine activities of patients. The magnetic field within the harvester was simulated using COMSOL. The simulated resonant frequency was around 30 Hz and the voltage induced in a coil was predicted to be 47.8 mV. A prototype of the energy harvester was fabricated and tested. A maximum open circuit voltage of 39.43 mV was obtained and the resonant frequency of 28 Hz was observed. Moreover, the power output of 0.96 μW was achieved with an optimum resistive load of 250Ω.

A Hip Implant Energy Harvester

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pancharoen, K; Zhu, D; Beeby, S P

2014-01-01

This paper presents a kinetic energy harvester designed to be embedded in a hip implant which aims to operate at a low frequency associated with body motion of patients. The prototype is designed based on the constrained volume available in a hip prosthesis and the challenge is to harvest energy from low frequency movements (< 1 Hz) which is an average frequency during free walking of a patient. The concept of magnetic-force-driven energy harvesting is applied to this prototype considering the hip movements during routine activities of patients. The magnetic field within the harvester was simulated using COMSOL. The simulated resonant frequency was around 30 Hz and the voltage induced in a coil was predicted to be 47.8 mV. A prototype of the energy harvester was fabricated and tested. A maximum open circuit voltage of 39.43 mV was obtained and the resonant frequency of 28 Hz was observed. Moreover, the power output of 0.96 μW was achieved with an optimum resistive load of 250Ω

Low power interface IC's for electrostatic energy harvesting applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kempitiya, Asantha

The application of wireless distributed micro-sensor systems ranges from equipment diagnostic and control to real time structural and biomedical monitoring. A major obstacle in developing autonomous micro-sensor networks is the need for local electric power supply, since using a battery is often not a viable solution. This void has sparked significant interest in micro-scale power generators based on electrostatic, piezoelectric and electromagnetic energy conversion that can scavenge ambient energy from the environment. In comparison to existing energy harvesting techniques, electrostatic-based power generation is attractive as it can be integrated using mainstream silicon technologies while providing higher power densities through miniaturization. However the power output of reported electrostatic micro-generators to date does not meet the communication and computation requirements of wireless sensor nodes. The objective of this thesis is to investigate novel CMOS-based energy harvesting circuit (EHC) architectures to increase the level of harvested mechanical energy in electrostatic converters. The electronic circuits that facilitate mechanical to electrical energy conversion employing variable capacitors can either have synchronous or asynchronous architectures. The later does not require synchronization of electrical events with mechanical motion, which eliminates difficulties in gate clocking and the power consumption associated with complex control circuitry. However, the implementation of the EHC with the converter can be detrimental to system performance when done without concurrent optimization of both elements, an aspect mainly overlooked in the literature. System level analysis is performed to show that there is an optimum value for either the storage capacitor or cycle number for maximum scavenging of ambient energy. The analysis also shows that maximum power is extracted when the system approaches synchronous operation. However, there is a region of

Breeding of Hangtian 36-an early-maturing variety of japonica rice by space mutation technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Junmin; Luo Rongting; Bao Genliang; Zhang Mingxian; Xu Jianlong; Wu Wei

2007-01-01

Hangtian 36; an early-maturing late Japonica rice variety with high grain quality and disease resistance was developed from the mutagenesis progeny of Bing 1067 carried by the recoverable satellite. Hangtian 36 has advantages over the original variety Bing 1067 in mature duration, grain quality and blast resistance. It has strong tolerant ability to late sow, varying from sowing date of single cropping to the end of July. So it is an ideal variety suitable for the use of emergency situation, such as in the natural disaster year resulting from typhoon. This variety was officially registered by Zhejiang Committee on Variety Registration in 2006, and is adaptable in the region of Zhejiang province and the Yangtze River delta. The successful breeding of Hangtian 36 showed that space mutation is an effective method of simultaneous improvement for multiple traits of rice. (authors)

A Process-Based Model of TCA Cycle Functioning to Analyze Citrate Accumulation in Pre- and Post-Harvest Fruits.

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Audrey Etienne

Full Text Available Citrate is one of the most important organic acids in many fruits and its concentration plays a critical role in organoleptic properties. The regulation of citrate accumulation throughout fruit development, and the origins of the phenotypic variability of the citrate concentration within fruit species remain to be clarified. In the present study, we developed a process-based model of citrate accumulation based on a simplified representation of the TCA cycle to predict citrate concentration in fruit pulp during the pre- and post-harvest stages. Banana fruit was taken as a reference because it has the particularity of having post-harvest ripening, during which citrate concentration undergoes substantial changes. The model was calibrated and validated on the two stages, using data sets from three contrasting cultivars in terms of citrate accumulation, and incorporated different fruit load, potassium supply, and harvest dates. The model predicted the pre and post-harvest dynamics of citrate concentration with fairly good accuracy for the three cultivars. The model suggested major differences in TCA cycle functioning among cultivars during post-harvest ripening of banana, and pointed to a potential role for NAD-malic enzyme and mitochondrial malate carriers in the genotypic variability of citrate concentration. The sensitivity of citrate accumulation to growth parameters and temperature differed among cultivars during post-harvest ripening. Finally, the model can be used as a conceptual basis to study citrate accumulation in fleshy fruits and may be a powerful tool to improve our understanding of fruit acidity.

Approaches to automated protein crystal harvesting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deller, Marc C., E-mail: mdeller@scripps.edu; Rupp, Bernhard, E-mail: mdeller@scripps.edu

2014-01-28

Approaches to automated and robot-assisted harvesting of protein crystals are critically reviewed. While no true turn-key solutions for automation of protein crystal harvesting are currently available, systems incorporating advanced robotics and micro-electromechanical systems represent exciting developments with the potential to revolutionize the way in which protein crystals are harvested.

The influence of crop density and harvesting time on yield and quality of various sugar beet cultivars

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Filipović Vladimir

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper the influence of crop density and harvesting time on yield and quality of various sugar beet cultivars has been analyzed. During three year research conducted on soil of carbonate chernozem on loess terrace on experimental field of Institute Tamiš in Pančevo. Method of completely random block system in four repetitions we're analyzed the influence of crop density (80.000 plants per ha, 100.000 plants per ha and 120.000 plants per ha and harvesting time (10th Sept, 01st Oct and 20th Oct on yield and quality of various sugar beet cultivars of different technological type (Esprit N - type, Belinda Z - type and Chiara NE - type. Increase in crop density had very little effect on increase on sugar beet yield. The yield was considerably increased in the period between the first harvesting date and the second. The highest yield of consumable sugar was obtained of cultivars of N - type Esprit and lower yield was obtained of cultivars of Z - type (Belinda. .

A review of the recent research on vibration energy harvesting via bistable systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harne, R L; Wang, K W

2013-01-01

The investigation of the conversion of vibrational energy into electrical power has become a major field of research. In recent years, bistable energy harvesting devices have attracted significant attention due to some of their unique features. Through a snap-through action, bistable systems transition from one stable state to the other, which could cause large amplitude motion and dramatically increase power generation. Due to their nonlinear characteristics, such devices may be effective across a broad-frequency bandwidth. Consequently, a rapid engagement of research has been undertaken to understand bistable electromechanical dynamics and to utilize the insight for the development of improved designs. This paper reviews, consolidates, and reports on the major efforts and findings documented in the literature. A common analytical framework for bistable electromechanical dynamics is presented, the principal results are provided, the wide variety of bistable energy harvesters are described, and some remaining challenges and proposed solutions are summarized. (topical review)

The ideal harvest time for seeds of hybrid maize (Zea mays L.) XY335 and ZD958 produced in multiple environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Riliang; Li, Li; Liang, Xiaolin; Wang, Yanbo; Fan, Tinglu; Wang, Ying; Wang, Jianhua

2017-12-13

To identify the ideal harvest time (IHT) for the seed production of XY335 and ZD958, six seed-related traits were evaluated in seeds harvested at 11 harvest stages in 8 environments. Standard germination (SG), accelerated aging germination (AAG) and cold test germination (CTG) were vigor traits; hundred-seed weight (HSW) and seed moisture content (SMC) were physiological traits; and ≥10 °C accumulated temperature from pollination to harvest (AT10 ph ) was an ecological trait. All the traits were significantly affected by harvest stage. The responses of SG, AAG, CTG and HSW to postponing harvest stage fit quadratic models, while SMC and AT10 ph fit linear models. The IHT (indicated by the last date to reach maximum SG, AAG and CTG) were 57.97 DAP and 56.80 DAP for XY335 and ZD958, respectively. SMC and AT10 ph at IHT were 33.15% and 1234 °C for XY335, and 34.98% and 1226 °C for ZD958, respectively. The period to reach the maximum HSW was 5 days later than the IHT. Compared to HSW and SMC, AT10 ph had a closer relationship to the seed vigor traits. Together with the fact that AT10 ph was less affected by environment, these results suggested that AT10 ph may be a novel indicator for determining the IHT.

Mechanical harvesting of pumpkin seeds

OpenAIRE

Sito, Stjepan; Ivančan, Stjepan; Barković, Edi; Mucalo, Ana

2009-01-01

One of the key problems in production technology of pumpkin seed for oil production is mechanized harvesting and losses of seed during mechanical harvesting. The losses of pumpkin seed during mechanical harvesting at peripheral velocity of 1.57 m/s (optimally adjusted machine) were 4.4% for Gleisdorf species, 5.2% for Slovenska species and 7.8% for pumpkin with husk. The higher average losses of pumpkin seed with husk were caused by tight connection of seed and pumpkin fruit.

Insect disinfestation of packed dates by gamma-radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, M.S.H.; Hameed, A.A.; Kadhum, A.A.; Ali, S.R.

1985-01-01

The effect of gamma-radiation on insect disinfestation of commercially packed dry dates was studied in collaboration with the Iraqui Date Administration. The wrapping of ''window carton lunch boxes'' (each holding 250 g of dry dates, Zahdi variety) with polyethylene film, compared to cellophane, prevented reinfestation for a long period of storage if treated with 0.70 kGy of gamma-radiation. All live insects that were found in the irradiated boxes and tested were genetically sterile, and those in different developmental stages died within a short period of time without passing through metamorphosis. In all cases (treated or control batches), cellophane-sealed boxes proved to be more vulnerable to reinfestation. Dates packed in plastic cups, used for N/sub 2/ vacuum packaging, were also effectively disinfested by the same dose of radiation. The value of airtight packaging will certainly add to the advantage of the high penetration power of gamma-radiation relative to methyl bromide fumigation. Results of the assessment of the damaging ability of irradiated insects indicate that treatment of packed dates with 0.70 kGy is sufficient as far as quarantine measures are concerned where the possible increase in infestation rate, brought about by radio-resistant insect stages that usually constitute a small fraction in nature, is negligible

Maple Sugar Harvesting/Wild Rice Harvesting.

Science.gov (United States)

Minneapolis Public Schools, MN.

Comprised of two separate booklets, this resource unit assists elementary teachers in explaining how the Ojibwe people harvest maple sugar and wild rice. The first booklet explains the procedure of tapping the maple trees for sap, preparation for boiling the sap, and the three forms the sugar is made into (granulated, "molded," and…

Physiological changes in pre-harvest dropped fruits in the pummelo cultivars ‘Thong Dee’ and ‘Khao Nam Phueng’

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Pongnart Nartvaranant

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This investigation of physiological changes in pummelo pre-harvest dropped fruit, termed “yellow fruit calyx symptoms” in Thailand, aimed to examine in two particular cultivars Thong Dee and Khao Nam Phueng grown in the central regionof Thailand. The results show that the normal pummelo fruits of either variety had statistically more total non-structuralcarbohydrate (TNC in their peel and pulp than did those of the dropped fruits. On the other hand, the leaves of normal fruittrees of both cultivars show less TNC than those found in the leaves of pre-harvest dropped fruit trees. There were significantdifferences in some plant nutrients in the leaves, peel and pulp of the dropped and normal pummelo cultivars. IAA concentration in fruit was determined with the result that normal fruits had a statistically higher IAA concentration than did those inpre-harvest dropped fruits. The PCR technique used for the greening disease test identified infections in leaves taken fromthe pre-harvest dropped fruit trees but none in leaves from the normal fruit trees. There were no differences in soil chemicalproperties between soil samples taken from the normal and pre-harvest dropped fruit trees. It seems likely that greeningdisease is the cause of ‘yellow fruit calyx symptom’ in Thailand and is the resulting from low TNC concentrations, low plantnutrients and low IAA concentrations in the pre-harvest dropped fruits in the pummelo cultivars.

Evaluation of Dual-purpose Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L. Walp. Varieties for Grain and Fodder Production at Shika, Nigeria

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Omokanye, AT.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available A three-year field study of eight new and one check dual-purpose cowpea varieties was carried out to evaluate their grain and fodder production potential. Germination and seedling establishment were both high and greater than 80%.Mean dry fodder and seed yields varied from 1,262 to 3,598 kg/ha and 528 to 1,149 kg/ha respectively, with varieties IAR 4/48/15-1, IAR 72 and TVU 12349 retaining larger amounts (> 50% of fresh green leaves at pod harvest during the dry season. Crude protein (CP content of fodder averaged between 15.2 and 21.6%. There were more pods/plant for varieties IAR 4/48/15-1, IAR 7/180-4-5 and TVU 12349. 100-seed weight was highest with IT89KD-288 and Kananado (check. Fodder yield, pods/plant and leaf content were moderately correlated with seed yield. Results showed that varieties TVU 12349, IT89KD-288, IAR 2/180/4-12 and IAR 4/48/15-1 appeared suitable for both fodder and grain production. The use of appropriate cowpea varieties to enhance farmer income in an integrated production system is suggested.

The Dynamics of Starch and Total Sugars during Fruit Development for Ionathan, Starkrimson and Golden Delicious Apple Varieties

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Elena Andruţa Mureşan

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Apples represent one of the most important elements in the human diet. The research carried out involved three apple varieties (Starkimson, Ionathan and Golden Delicious harvested during development, which were analyzed in terms of physico-chemical profile. During fruit development, diameter and mass increased continuously for all the three apple varieties studied, acidity decreased and total soluble solids content increased significantly. The pH values of the apple pulp also increased confirming the results obtained for the acidity. The starch concentration was reduced in the early stages of fruit development in all three varieties of apple studied. Starch concentration significantly increased (p <0.05 starting 35 days after full bloom, similar for all three varieties studied. The peak of starch concentration for all three varieties under study was reached at 65 days after full bloom. Starch concentration gradually decreased starting 107 days after full bloom until technological maturity. The results provide important information on how to make the best use of the apple cultivars investigated, and not only, for both technological research and processing practice. Also, they determine the best time to use the apples from physiological falls in different foods and pharmaceuticals.

Autotransplantation donor tooth site harvesting using piezosurgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Ylikontiola, Leena P; Sándor, George K

2016-01-01

The harvesting of a tooth as a candidate for tooth autotransplantation requires that the delicate dental tissues around the tooth be minimally traumatized. This is especially so for the periradicular tissues of the tooth root and the follicular tissues surrounding the crown. The aim of this report is to describe the use of piezosurgery as an attempt at morbidity reduction in the harvesting of teeth for autotransplantation. A piezosurgical handpiece and its selection of tips were easily adapted to allow the harvesting and delivery of teeth for autotransplantation purposes. Twenty premolar teeth were harvested using a piezosurgical device. The harvested teeth were subsequently successfully autotransplanted. All twenty teeth healed in a satisfactory manner without excessive mobility or ankyloses. Piezosurgery avoids some of the traumatic aspects of harvesting teeth and removing bone which are associated with thermal damage from the use of conventional rotary instruments or saws. Piezosurgery can be adapted to facilitate the predictable harvesting of teeth for autotransplantation purposes.

The Effect of Different Storage Temperatures on the Agronomic Characteristics and Yield of Two Varieties of Potatoes

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A. H Jalali

2016-10-01

which plants from 341GDD seed tubers produced 70% of their total yield as marketable, while 64% of the total yield from 900 GDD seed tubers was graded as marketable. The harvest index is a change in potatoes varieties from 9% in the wild up to 81 percent of in new cultivars, respectively. But harvest index is usually considered to be 75% for new potato varieties. Conclusions The results of this study indicated that compared with younger tubers, the yield increased from older seed tubers but it must stress that the proper seed tuber age depends upon cultivar. With using of “controlled seed-tuber aging” techniques, process of plant development was accelerating and thus tuber set and tuber enlargement faced with optimum environmental conditions. This technique can be used in the following cases: when sowing date delayed and need to quickly grow, when a farmer or a company producing seed tuber for short growing season.

Pathogenic seedborne viruses are rare but Phaseolus vulgaris endornaviruses are common in bean varieties grown in Nicaragua and Tanzania.

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Noora Nordenstedt

Full Text Available Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris is an annual grain legume that was domesticated in Mesoamerica (Central America and the Andes. It is currently grown widely also on other continents including Africa. We surveyed seedborne viruses in new common bean varieties introduced to Nicaragua (Central America and in landraces and improved varieties grown in Tanzania (eastern Africa. Bean seeds, harvested from Nicaragua and Tanzania, were grown in insect-controlled greenhouse or screenhouse, respectively, to obtain leaf material for virus testing. Equal amounts of total RNA from different samples were pooled (30-36 samples per pool, and small RNAs were deep-sequenced (Illumina. Assembly of the reads (21-24 nt to contiguous sequences and searches for homologous viral sequences in databases revealed Phaseolus vulgaris endornavirus 1 (PvEV-1 and PvEV-2 in the bean varieties in Nicaragua and Tanzania. These viruses are not known to cause symptoms in common bean and are considered non-pathogenic. The small-RNA reads from each pool of samples were mapped to the previously characterized complete PvEV-1 and PvEV-2 sequences (genome lengths ca. 14 kb and 15 kb, respectively. Coverage of the viral genomes was 87.9-99.9%, depending on the pool. Coverage per nucleotide ranged from 5 to 471, confirming virus identification. PvEV-1 and PvEV-2 are known to occur in Phaseolus spp. in Central America, but there is little previous information about their occurrence in Nicaragua, and no information about occurrence in Africa. Aside from Cowpea mild mosaic virus detected in bean plants grown from been seeds harvested from one region in Tanzania, no other pathogenic seedborne viruses were detected. The low incidence of infections caused by pathogenic viruses transmitted via bean seeds may be attributable to new, virus-resistant CB varieties released by breeding programs in Nicaragua and Tanzania.

Determination of the Optimum Harvest Window for Apples Using the Non-Destructive Biospeckle Method

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Anna Skic

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Determination of the optimum harvest window plays a key role in the agro-food chain as the quality of fruit depends on the right harvesting time and appropriate storage conditions during the postharvest period. Usually, indices based on destructive measurements are used for this purpose, like the De Jager Index (PFW-1, FARS index and the most popular Streif Index. In this study, we proposed a biospeckle method for the evaluation of the optimum harvest window (OHW of the “Ligol” and “Szampion” apple cultivars. The experiment involved eight different maturity stages, of which four were followed by long cold storage and shelf life to assist the determination of the optimum harvest window. The biospeckle activity was studied in relation to standard quality attributes (firmness, acidity, starch, soluble solids content, Streif Index and physiological parameters (respiration and ethylene emission of both apple cultivars. Changes of biospeckle activity (BA over time showed moderate relationships with biochemical changes during apple maturation and ripening. The harvest date suggested by the Streif Index and postharvest quality indicators matched with characteristic decrease in BA. The ability of biospeckle method to characterize the biological state of apples was confirmed by significant correlations of BA with firmness, starch index, total soluble solids and Streif Index, as well as good match with changes in carbon dioxide and ethylene emission. However, it should be noted that correlations between variables changing over time are not as meaningful as independent observations. Also, it is a well-known property of the Pearson’s correlation that its value is highly susceptible to outlier data. Due to its non-selective nature the BA reflected only the current biological state of the fruit and could be affected by many other factors. The investigations showed that the optimum harvest window for apples was indicated by the characteristic drop of

Determination of the Optimum Harvest Window for Apples Using the Non-Destructive Biospeckle Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Skic, Anna; Szymańska-Chargot, Monika; Kruk, Beata; Chylińska, Monika; Pieczywek, Piotr Mariusz; Kurenda, Andrzej; Zdunek, Artur; Rutkowski, Krzysztof P

2016-05-10

Determination of the optimum harvest window plays a key role in the agro-food chain as the quality of fruit depends on the right harvesting time and appropriate storage conditions during the postharvest period. Usually, indices based on destructive measurements are used for this purpose, like the De Jager Index (PFW-1), FARS index and the most popular Streif Index. In this study, we proposed a biospeckle method for the evaluation of the optimum harvest window (OHW) of the "Ligol" and "Szampion" apple cultivars. The experiment involved eight different maturity stages, of which four were followed by long cold storage and shelf life to assist the determination of the optimum harvest window. The biospeckle activity was studied in relation to standard quality attributes (firmness, acidity, starch, soluble solids content, Streif Index) and physiological parameters (respiration and ethylene emission) of both apple cultivars. Changes of biospeckle activity (BA) over time showed moderate relationships with biochemical changes during apple maturation and ripening. The harvest date suggested by the Streif Index and postharvest quality indicators matched with characteristic decrease in BA. The ability of biospeckle method to characterize the biological state of apples was confirmed by significant correlations of BA with firmness, starch index, total soluble solids and Streif Index, as well as good match with changes in carbon dioxide and ethylene emission. However, it should be noted that correlations between variables changing over time are not as meaningful as independent observations. Also, it is a well-known property of the Pearson's correlation that its value is highly susceptible to outlier data. Due to its non-selective nature the BA reflected only the current biological state of the fruit and could be affected by many other factors. The investigations showed that the optimum harvest window for apples was indicated by the characteristic drop of BA during pre-harvest

Ultrasound acoustic wave energy transfer and harvesting

Science.gov (United States)

Shahab, Shima; Leadenham, Stephen; Guillot, François; Sabra, Karim; Erturk, Alper

2014-04-01

This paper investigates low-power electricity generation from ultrasound acoustic wave energy transfer combined with piezoelectric energy harvesting for wireless applications ranging from medical implants to naval sensor systems. The focus is placed on an underwater system that consists of a pulsating source for spherical wave generation and a harvester connected to an external resistive load for quantifying the electrical power output. An analytical electro-acoustic model is developed to relate the source strength to the electrical power output of the harvester located at a specific distance from the source. The model couples the energy harvester dynamics (piezoelectric device and electrical load) with the source strength through the acoustic-structure interaction at the harvester-fluid interface. Case studies are given for a detailed understanding of the coupled system dynamics under various conditions. Specifically the relationship between the electrical power output and system parameters, such as the distance of the harvester from the source, dimensions of the harvester, level of source strength, and electrical load resistance are explored. Sensitivity of the electrical power output to the excitation frequency in the neighborhood of the harvester's underwater resonance frequency is also reported.

Scavenging energy from the motion of human lower limbs via a piezoelectric energy harvester

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Kangqi; Yu, Bo; Zhu, Yingmin; Liu, Zhaohui; Wang, Liansong

2017-03-01

Scavenging energy from human motion through piezoelectric transduction has been considered as a feasible alternative to batteries for powering portable devices and realizing self-sustained devices. To date, most piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) developed can only collect energy from the uni-directional mechanical vibration. This deficiency severely limits their applicability to human motion energy harvesting because the human motion involves diverse mechanical motions. In this paper, a novel PEH is proposed to harvest energy from the motion of human lower limbs. This PEH is composed of two piezoelectric cantilever beams, a sleeve and a ferromagnetic ball. The two beams are designed to sense the vibration along the tibial axis and conduct piezoelectric conversion. The ball senses the leg swing and actuates the two beams to vibrate via magnetic coupling. Theoretical and experimental studies indicate that the proposed PEH can scavenge energy from both the vibration and the swing. During each stride, the PEH can produce multiple peaks in voltage output, which is attributed to the superposition of different excitations. Moreover, the root-mean-square (RMS) voltage output of the PEH increases when the walking speed ranges from 2 to 8 km/h. In addition, the ultra-low frequencies of human motion are also up-converted by the proposed design.

Dust emissions eliminated in pneumatic harvesting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kallio, M.

1998-01-01

Pneumatic harvesting is the most efficient milled peat production method in unsteady weather conditions. In good summers, the best contractors harvest more than 1 000 m 3 /ha milled peat from suitable production fields. The greatest problem of the method is caused by dust emissions, in particular in fields close to settled areas. About 15 % of Finland's present peat production is collected using pneumatic harvesters. A pneumatic harvester with smaller dust emissions has been developed by VTT Energy and Vapo Oy. The wagon is based on two-stage separation of peat. The main part of the coarser milled peat is first separated, e.g. in a settling chamber, and fine dry peat dust in correctly dimensioned side by side cyclones. The first series of pneumatic harvesters based on the new separation technology was employed in summer 1996. Besides decreasing the dust emissions the harvesting capacity of the new equipment was increased. The collection capacity of the pneumatic harvester can be made more effective by enlarging the container size, be decreasing the weight, by increasing the driving speed and by developing the suction capacity. Using lighter and durable construction materials combined with advanced design lighter and stronger pneumatic harvesters have been constructed. Nozzles and their mounting have also been developed. In the improvement of nozzles, the former studies with pneumatic simulator of VTT Energy, have been of great help. Studies with the pneumatic simulator and field conditions have been made in collaboration with Turveruukki Oy, Turvemetalli Oy, Raussin Metalli Oy and Vapo Oy, as well as VNIITP of St. Petersburg, Russia

Dielectric loss against piezoelectric power harvesting

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Junrui; Shu-Hung Chung, Henry; Liao, Wei-Hsin

2014-09-01

Piezoelectricity is one of the most popular electromechanical transduction mechanisms for constructing kinetic energy harvesting systems. When a standard energy harvesting (SEH) interface circuit, i.e., bridge rectifier plus filter capacitor, is utilized for collecting piezoelectric power, the previous literature showed that the power conversion can be well predicted without much consideration for the effect of dielectric loss. Yet, as the conversion power gets higher by adopting power-boosting interface circuits, such as synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI), the neglect of dielectric loss might give rise to deviation in harvested power estimation. Given the continuous progress on power-boosting interface circuits, the role of dielectric loss in practical piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) systems should receive attention with better evaluation. Based on the integrated equivalent impedance network model, this fast track communication provides a comprehensive study on the susceptibility of harvested power in PEH systems under different conditions. It shows that, dielectric loss always counteracts piezoelectric power harvesting by causing charge leakage across piezoelectric capacitance. In particular, taking corresponding ideal lossless cases as references, the counteractive effect might be aggravated under one of the five conditions: larger dielectric loss tangent, lower vibration frequency, further away from resonance, weaker electromechanical coupling, or using power-boosting interface circuit. These relationships are valuable for the study of PEH systems, as they not only help explain the role of dielectric loss in piezoelectric power harvesting, but also add complementary insights for material, structure, excitation, and circuit considerations towards holistic evaluation and design for practical PEH systems.

Dielectric loss against piezoelectric power harvesting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Junrui; Shu-Hung Chung, Henry; Liao, Wei-Hsin

2014-01-01

Piezoelectricity is one of the most popular electromechanical transduction mechanisms for constructing kinetic energy harvesting systems. When a standard energy harvesting (SEH) interface circuit, i.e., bridge rectifier plus filter capacitor, is utilized for collecting piezoelectric power, the previous literature showed that the power conversion can be well predicted without much consideration for the effect of dielectric loss. Yet, as the conversion power gets higher by adopting power-boosting interface circuits, such as synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI), the neglect of dielectric loss might give rise to deviation in harvested power estimation. Given the continuous progress on power-boosting interface circuits, the role of dielectric loss in practical piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) systems should receive attention with better evaluation. Based on the integrated equivalent impedance network model, this fast track communication provides a comprehensive study on the susceptibility of harvested power in PEH systems under different conditions. It shows that, dielectric loss always counteracts piezoelectric power harvesting by causing charge leakage across piezoelectric capacitance. In particular, taking corresponding ideal lossless cases as references, the counteractive effect might be aggravated under one of the five conditions: larger dielectric loss tangent, lower vibration frequency, further away from resonance, weaker electromechanical coupling, or using power-boosting interface circuit. These relationships are valuable for the study of PEH systems, as they not only help explain the role of dielectric loss in piezoelectric power harvesting, but also add complementary insights for material, structure, excitation, and circuit considerations towards holistic evaluation and design for practical PEH systems. (fast track communications)

The effects of harvest on waterfowl populations

Science.gov (United States)

Cooch, Evan G.; Guillemain, Matthieu; Boomer, G Scott; Lebreton, Jean-Dominique; Nichols, James D.

2014-01-01

Change in the size of populations over space and time is, arguably, the motivation for much of pure and applied ecological research. The fundamental model for the dynamics of any population is straightforward: the net change in the abundance is the simple difference between the number of individuals entering the population and the number leaving the population, either or both of which may change in response to factors intrinsic and extrinsic to the population. While harvest of individuals from a population constitutes a clear extrinsic source of removal of individuals, the response of populations to harvest is frequently complex, reflecting an interaction of harvest with one or more population processes. Here we consider the role of these interactions, and factors influencing them, on the effective harvest management of waterfowl populations. We review historical ideas concerning harvest and discuss the relationship(s) between waterfowl life histories and the development and application of population models to inform harvest management. The influence of population structure (age, spatial) on derivation of optimal harvest strategies (with and without explicit consideration of various sources of uncertainty) is considered. In addition to population structure, we discuss how the optimal harvest strategy may be influenced by: 1) patterns of density-dependence in one or more vital rates, and 2) heterogeneity in vital rates among individuals within an age-sex-size class. Although derivation of the optimal harvest strategy for simple population models (with or without structure) is generally straightforward, there are several potential difficulties in application. In particular, uncertainty concerning the population structure at the time of harvest, and the ability to regulate the structure of the harvest itself, are significant complications. We therefore review the evidence of effects of harvest on waterfowl populations. Some of this evidence has

Energy harvesting with Di-Electro Active Polymers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Due, Jens; Munk-Nielsen, Stig; Nielsen, Rasmus Ørndrup

2010-01-01

This article presents a way of using Di-Electro Active Polymers (D-EAPs) for harvesting mechanical energy sources. The article describes the basics of energy harvesting with D-EAPs, and an electrical model of a D-EAP is suggested. This leads to a converter design which is able to extract...... the electrical energy harvested by the D-EAP. This converter is simulated and realized. Through experimental results both the model of the DEAP and the converter are verified. It is found that it is possible to harvest energy with a D-EAP and build a converter that can extract the harvested energy....

Chemical composition and methane yield of reed canary grass as influenced by harvesting time and harvest frequency.

Science.gov (United States)

Kandel, Tanka P; Sutaryo, Sutaryo; Møller, Henrik B; Jørgensen, Uffe; Lærke, Poul E

2013-02-01

This study examined the influence of harvest time on biomass yield, dry matter partitioning, biochemical composition and biological methane potential of reed canary grass harvested twice a month in one-cut (OC) management. The regrowth of biomass harvested in summer was also harvested in autumn as a two-cut management with (TC-F) or without (TC-U) fertilization after summer harvest. The specific methane yields decreased significantly with crop maturity that ranged from 384 to 315 and from 412 to 283 NL (normal litre) (kgVS)(-1) for leaf and stem, respectively. Approximately 45% more methane was produced by the TC-F management (5430Nm(3)ha(-1)) as by the OC management (3735Nm(3)ha(-1)). Specific methane yield was moderately correlated with the concentrations of fibre components in the biomass. Larger quantity of biogas produced at the beginning of the biogas assay from early harvested biomass was to some extent off-set by lower concentration of methane. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of planting method on agronomic characteristics, yield and yield components of sweet and super sweet corn (Zea mays L. varieties under saline conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Faridi

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In order to evaluate the effects of planting pattern on morphological, Phonological, yield and yield components of sweet and super sweet corn (Zea mays L. varieties under saline conditions, a field experiment was conducted as split plots based on a randomized complete block design with four replications. Planting pattern in 3 levels included one row in ridge, two row in ridge and furrow planting, as a main plot and varieties in 4 levels sweet corn with 2 types (KSc 403 su, Merit and super sweet with two types (Basin, obsession as sub plots. The results showed that planting pattern had significant differences on plant height, ear height, leaf length, leaf width, number of kernel per row, number of rows per ear and 1000-kernel weight. but had no significant effects on the length of tassel, number of leaf/plant, number of leaf per plant above ear, stem diameter, time of anthesis, time of silking, anthesis silking interval ASI, grain yield, biological yield and harvest index. Different varieties had significant effects on the total characteristics studied except number of leaf above ear and stem diameter. Most of the conservable grain yield and harvest index was in Obsession variety (10 kg and 39%, respectively and the least was seen in Basin (4 kg and 20%, respectively. The result showed that use of furrow planting pattern for sweet and super sweet corn in saline conditions can effects result in higher yield.

Bundling harvester; Harvennuspuun automaattisen nippukorjausharvesterin kehittaeminen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koponen, K [Eko-Log Oy, Kuopio (Finland)

1997-12-01

The starting point of the project was to design and construct, by taking the silvicultural point of view into account, a harvesting and processing system especially for energy-wood, containing manually driven bundling harvester, automating of the harvester, and automated loading. The equipment forms an ideal method for entrepreneur`s-line harvesting. The target is to apply the system also for owner`s-line harvesting. The profitability of the system promotes the utilisation of the system in both cases. The objectives of the project were: to construct a test equipment and prototypes for all the project stages, to carry out terrain and strain tests in order to examine the usability and durability, as well as the capacity of the machine, to test the applicability of the Eko-Log system in simultaneous harvesting of energy and pulp woods, and to start the marketing and manufacturing of the products. The basic problems of the construction of the bundling harvester have been solved using terrain-tests. The prototype machine has been shown to be operable. Loading of the bundles to form sufficiently economically transportable loads has been studied, and simultaneously, the branch-biomass has been tried to be utilised without loosing the profitability of transportation. The results have been promising, and will promote the profitable utilisation of wood-energy. (orig.)

Electromagnetic energy harvester for harvesting acoustic energy

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Farid U Khan

Acoustics; energy harvesting; electromagnetic; Helmholtz resonator; sound pressure level; suspended coil. ... WSNs, which are supposed to operate for longer period of time. However ... several ambient energies such as wind, thermal, vibration, and solar are ..... textile plants in Northern India with specific reference to noise.

Energy harvesting for self-powered aerostructure actuation

Science.gov (United States)

Bryant, Matthew; Pizzonia, Matthew; Mehallow, Michael; Garcia, Ephrahim

2014-04-01

This paper proposes and experimentally investigates applying piezoelectric energy harvesting devices driven by flow induced vibrations to create self-powered actuation of aerostructure surfaces such as tabs, flaps, spoilers, or morphing devices. Recently, we have investigated flow-induced vibrations and limit cycle oscillations due to aeroelastic flutter phenomena in piezoelectric structures as a mechanism to harvest energy from an ambient fluid flow. We will describe how our experimental investigations in a wind tunnel have demonstrated that this harvested energy can be stored and used on-demand to actuate a control surface such as a trailing edge flap in the airflow. This actuated control surface could take the form of a separate and discrete actuated flap, or could constitute rotating or deflecting the oscillating energy harvester itself to produce a non-zero mean angle of attack. Such a rotation of the energy harvester and the associated change in aerodynamic force is shown to influence the operating wind speed range of the device, its limit cycle oscillation (LCO) amplitude, and its harvested power output; hence creating a coupling between the device's performance as an energy harvester and as a control surface. Finally, the induced changes in the lift, pitching moment, and drag acting on a wing model are quantified and compared for a control surface equipped with an oscillating energy harvester and a traditional, static control surface of the same geometry. The results show that when operated in small amplitude LCO the energy harvester adds negligible aerodynamic drag.

Piezoelectric energy harvesting with parametric uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, S F; Friswell, M I; Adhikari, S

2010-01-01

The design and analysis of energy harvesting devices is becoming increasing important in recent years. Most of the literature has focused on the deterministic analysis of these systems and the problem of uncertain parameters has received less attention. Energy harvesting devices exhibit parametric uncertainty due to errors in measurement, errors in modelling and variability in the parameters during manufacture. This paper investigates the effect of parametric uncertainty in the mechanical system on the harvested power, and derives approximate explicit formulae for the optimal electrical parameters that maximize the mean harvested power. The maximum of the mean harvested power decreases with increasing uncertainty, and the optimal frequency at which the maximum mean power occurs shifts. The effect of the parameter variance on the optimal electrical time constant and optimal coupling coefficient are reported. Monte Carlo based simulation results are used to further analyse the system under parametric uncertainty

Waste energy harvesting mechanical and thermal energies

CERN Document Server

Ling Bing, Kong; Hng, Huey Hoon; Boey, Freddy; Zhang, Tianshu

2014-01-01

Waste Energy Harvesting overviews the latest progress in waste energy harvesting technologies, with specific focusing on waste thermal mechanical energies. Thermal energy harvesting technologies include thermoelectric effect, storage through phase change materials and pyroelectric effect. Waste mechanical energy harvesting technologies include piezoelectric (ferroelectric) effect with ferroelectric materials and nanogenerators. The book aims to strengthen the syllabus in energy, materials and physics and is well suitable for students and professionals in the fields.

Variation in cassava germplasm for tolerance to post-harvest physiological deterioration.

Science.gov (United States)

Venturini, M T; Santos, L R; Vildoso, C I A; Santos, V S; Oliveira, E J

2016-05-06

Tolerant varieties can effectively control post-harvest physiological deterioration (PPD) of cassava, although knowledge on the genetic variability and inheritance of this trait is needed. The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters and identify sources of tolerance to PPD and their stability in cassava accessions. Roots from 418 cassava accessions, grown in four independent experiments, were evaluated for PPD tolerance 0, 2, 5, and 10 days post-harvest. Data were transformed into area under the PPD-progress curve (AUP-PPD) to quantify tolerance. Genetic parameters, stability (Si), adaptability (Ai), and the joint analysis of stability and adaptability (Zi) were obtained via residual maximum likelihood (REML) and best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) methods. Variance in the genotype (G) x environment (E) interaction and genotypic variance were important for PPD tolerance. Individual broad-sense heritability (hg(2)= 0.38 ± 0.04) and average heritability in accessions (hmg(2)= 0.52) showed high genetic control of PPD tolerance. Genotypic correlation of AUP-PPD in different experiments was of medium magnitude (ȓgA = 0.42), indicating significant G x E interaction. The predicted genotypic values o f G x E free of interaction (û + ĝi) showed high variation. Of the 30 accessions with high Zi, 19 were common to û + ĝi, Si, and Ai parameters. The genetic gain with selection of these 19 cassava accessions was -55.94, -466.86, -397.72, and -444.03% for û + ĝi, Si, Ai, and Zi, respectively, compared with the overall mean for each parameter. These results demonstrate the variability and potential of cassava germplasm to introduce PPD tolerance in commercial varieties.

Magnetic Nanocomposite Cilia Energy Harvester

KAUST Repository

Khan, Mohammed Asadullah

2016-02-11

An energy harvester capable of converting low frequency vibrations into electrical energy is presented. The operating principle, fabrication process and output characteristics at different frequencies are discussed. The harvester is realized by fabricating an array of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) - iron nanowire nanocomposite cilia on a planar coil array. Each coil element consists of 14 turns and occupies an area of 600 μm x 600μm. The cilia are arranged in a 12x5 array and each cilium is 250 μm wide and 2 mm long. The magnetic characteristics of the fabricated cilia indicate that the nanowires are well aligned inside of the nanocomposite, increasing the efficiency of energy harvesting. The energy harvester occupies an area of 66.96 mm2 and produces an output r.m.s voltage of 206.47μV, when excited by a 40 Hz vibration of 1 mm amplitude.

Integrated Solar-Energy-Harvesting and -Storage Device

Science.gov (United States)

whitacre, Jay; Fleurial, Jean-Pierre; Mojarradi, Mohammed; Johnson, Travis; Ryan, Margaret Amy; Bugga, Ratnakumar; West, William; Surampudi, Subbarao; Blosiu, Julian

2004-01-01

A modular, integrated, completely solid-state system designed to harvest and store solar energy is under development. Called the power tile, the hybrid device consists of a photovoltaic cell, a battery, a thermoelectric device, and a charge-control circuit that are heterogeneously integrated to maximize specific energy capacity and efficiency. Power tiles could be used in a variety of space and terrestrial environments and would be designed to function with maximum efficiency in the presence of anticipated temperatures, temperature gradients, and cycles of sunlight and shadow. Because they are modular in nature, one could use a single power tile or could construct an array of as many tiles as needed. If multiple tiles are used in an array, the distributed and redundant nature of the charge control and distribution hardware provides an extremely fault-tolerant system. The figure presents a schematic view of the device.

Improved Bean Varieties Make a difference in Western Kenya: An Impact Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Odendo, M.

2002-01-01

A survey was conducted in Kakamega and Vihiga District of Western Kenya during 2001 cropping seasons to analyze impacts of root rot resistance bean varieties introduced in Kakamega and Vihiga Districts by KARI and CIAT between 1989 and 1998. The objective of the study were to: assess adoption of the introduced root rot resistance bush and climbing bean varieties, determine technological and socio-economic factors that enhances or lessen adoption and attainment of the impacts, and examine types and magnitude of the impacts of adoption of the improved bean varieties at farm-level. To form a composite picture on spread and impact of the varieties, a systematic approach was developed to collect and put together data from several sources mainly literature reviews and household surveys. Data were collected through interviews of 233 randomly selected households, using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and Tobit model were used to analyse the data. The study showed that although several improved bean varieties were disseminated, most farmers did not adopt all the varieties; 35-80% of the farmers had mainly adopted three bush beans KK22, KK15 and KK8. A relatively small portion of farmers (8-19%) adopted climbers. Disease resistance (root rot) was only one of the criteria, but not the most important one, farmers used in selecting the varieties they adopted. Result of Tobit analysis showed that farmers perception of the trait of the bean varieties as well as farm-farmer characteristics were important determinants of decisions to adopt and intensity the adoption. The main impacts of the new beans were their contribution to equity by improving food self-sufficiency for about 97-99% of te farmers. Most farmers used their bean harvest mainly for subsistence, only a few farmers sold beans in any given season. The 63% of the households that sold beans to earn cash income to purchase other types of food as well as investing in capital assets, especially household

Variability, heritability and genetic advance in F2 populations of aromatic rice involving induced mutants and Basmati varieties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasib, K.M.; Ganguli, P.K.; Kole, P.C.

2000-01-01

The F 2 generation of five cross-combinations of aromatic rice involving two induced mutants 124-17-4 and 21-6-1 of aromatic tall Indica cultivar Gobindabhog and three basmati varieties was studied for mean performance, variability, heritability and genetic advance. The cross 21-6-1/Pakistan Basmati showed higher mean values for grain yield plant, and several yield components. Wide variability was observed for panicle number plant, filled grains panicle, test weight, dry matter production plant, harvest index and grain yield plant. Among the traits, filled grains panicle and test weight in all the crosses, grain yield plant, in five crosses and harvest index in two crosses had high heritability coupled with high genetic advance indicating predominant role of additive gene action. The crosses 21-6-1/Pakistan Basmati and 124-17-4/Pusa Basmati I could be exploited for isolation of promising aromatic recombinants. (author)

Changes over time in the allelochemical content of ten cultivars of rye (Secale cereale L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Reberg-Horton, S Chris; Burton, James D; Danehower, David A; Ma, Guoying; Monks, David W; Murphy, J Paul; Ranells, Noah N; Williamson, John D; Creamer, Nancy G

2005-01-01

Published studies focused on characterizing the allelopathy-based weed suppression by rye cover crop mulch have provided varying and inconsistent estimates of weed suppression. Studies were initiated to examine several factors that could influence the weed suppressiveness of rye: kill date, cultivar, and soil fertility. Ten cultivars of rye were planted with four rates of nitrogen fertilization, and tissue from each of these treatment combinations was harvested three times during the growing season. Concentrations of a known rye allelochemical DIBOA (2,4-dihydroxy-1,4-(2H)benzoxazine-3-one) were quantified from the harvested rye tissue using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Phytotoxicity observed from aqueous extracts of the harvested rye tissue correlated with the levels of DIBOA recovered in harvested tissue. The amount of DIBOA in rye tissue varied depending on harvest date and rye cultivar, but was generally lower with all cultivars when rye was harvested later in the season. However, the late maturing variety 'Wheeler' retained greater concentrations of DIBOA in comparison to other rye cultivars when harvested later in the season. The decline in DIBOA concentrations as rye matures, and the fact that many rye cultivars mature at different rates may help explain why estimates of weed suppression from allelopathic agents in rye have varied so widely in the literature.

Characterization of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting MEMS

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

of previously fabricated MEMS piezoelectric energy harvesters and use the results to optimize an advanced finite element model to be used in...possibilities of using solar power and the piezoelectric effect to harvest energy [12]. The design goal was to develop an energy harvester with a resonant... The piezoelectric properties of AlN are also relatively constant over a wide range of temperatures [7]. AlN was further characterized

DETERMINATION OF THE OPTIMAL MOMENT OF HARVESTING FOR CABERNET SAUVIGNON AND MERLOT GRAPES IN DRĂGĂŞANI VINEYARD

OpenAIRE

Ovidiu Tiţa; Ciprian Tuşa; Axenia Rădulescu

2011-01-01

This paper presents an analysis of the main characteristics of black grapes during ripening and determining the optimum moment to harvest the grapes in the vineyard Drăgăşani. Monitoring process of maturation of the grapes has been done on the varieties of grapes for red wines Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Drăgăşani vineyard.

Power harvesting in helicopter rotorblades

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Jong, Pieter; de Boer, Andries; Loendersloot, Richard; van der Hoogt, Peter

2010-01-01

Current power harvesting research has focused on bending beams and determining power output under a given excitation. For the European CleanSky – Green Rotor Craft project a tool is being developed which optimizes the piezoelectric material and placement thereof for power harvesting. It focuses on

Risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders among oil palm fruit harvesters during early harvesting stage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yee Guan Ng

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This cross-sectional study intends to investigate the associations of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs among foreign labourers on a socio-economic background, occupational exposure, social lifestyle, and postures adopted during harvesting tasks. A total of 446 male respondents (263 FFB cutters; 183 FFB collectors were studied using an interview-assisted questionnaire. OWAS was used to determine the severity of awkward posture based on videos of harvesting tasks recorded for each respondent. Analysis found that increasingly educated respondents had higher risk of developing MSDs. Shorter daily work duration and longer resting duration appear to increase the risk of neck and shoulder disorders among harvesters, which may be attributable to organizational work design. Awkward posture was a particularly significant risk factor of MSDs among FFB collectors. Among the results of the study, occupational exposure, postures and certain socio-demographic backgrounds explained some, but not all, the risk factor of MSDs among harvesters. An in-depth investigation, preferably a longitudinal study investigating the dynamic of work activities and other risk factors, such as psychosocial risk factors, are recommended.

Adipogenic differentiation by adipose-derived stem cells harvested from GFP transgenic mice - including relationship of sex differences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogawa, Rei; Mizuno, Hiroshi; Watanabe, Atsushi; Migita, Makoto; Hyakusoku, Hiko; Shimada, Takashi

2004-01-01

We have previously demonstrated that adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs) as well as bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BSCs) differentiate into a variety of cell lineages both in vitro and in vivo. Both types are considered to include mesenchymal stem cells. Taking advantage of homogeneously marked cells from green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic mice, we have also previously reported the plasticity of BSCs and ASCs. In this study, we focused on adipogenic differentiation in vitro by ASCs harvested from GFP transgenic mice. Moreover, preadipocytes and mature adipocytes were harvested at the same time, and the cells were cultured to compare them with ASCs. Inguinal fat pads from GFP transgenic mice were used for the isolation of ASCs, preadipocytes, and mature adipocytes. After expansion to three passages of ASCs, the cells were incubated in an adipogenic medium for two weeks. Adipogenic differentiation of ASCs was assessed by Oil Red O staining and the expression of the adipocyte specific peroxisome proliferative activated receptor γ2 (PPAR-γ2) gene. These ASCs stained positively, and expression of PPAR-γ2 was detected. Moreover, we also tried to characterize the influence of sex differences on the adipogenic differentiation of ASCs harvested from both male and female mice. This was assessed by the expression levels of the PPAR-γ2 gene using real-time PCR. The results showed that the expression levels of ASCs harvested from female mice were a maximum of 2.89 times greater than those harvested from male mice. This suggests that the adipogenic differentiation of ASCs is closely related to sex differences

Remaining questions in the case for balanced harvesting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burgess, Matthew G; Diekert, Florian K; Jacobsen, Nis Sand

2016-01-01

are controversial, including its call for extensive harvesting of juveniles and forage fish. Balanced harvesting also calls for targeting species and size-classes that are not currently marketable, possibly at a significant economic cost. Some have argued that this cost is outweighed by the ecological benefits......Balanced harvesting – harvesting all species and sizes in an ecosystem in proportion to their productivity – is a fisheries management strategy that has been suggested recently to increase yields, while reducing overall ecosystem impact. However, some aspects of balanced harvesting...

Smart multi-application energy harvester using Arduino | Rizman ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper presents a Smart Multi-App Harvester Energy Using Arduino for energy harvesting. The system consists of a few mechanical parts such as solar, thermal plate and dynamo (for kinetic) to harvest the energy. The objectives of the project are to harvest the wasted energy from the mechanical parts and used it as a ...

Do biomass harvesting guidelines influence herpetofauna following harvests of logging residues for renewable energy?.

Science.gov (United States)

Fritts, Sarah; Moorman, Christopher; Grodsky, Steven; Hazel, Dennis; Homyack, Jessica; Farrell, Chris; Castleberry, Steven

2016-04-01

Forests are a major supplier of renewable energy; however, gleaning logging residues for use as woody biomass feedstock could negatively alter habitat for species dependent on downed wood. Biomass Harvesting Guidelines (BHGs) recommend retaining a portion of woody biomass on the forest floor following harvest. Despite BHGs being developed to help ensure ecological sustainability, their contribution to biodiversity has not been evaluated experimentally at operational scales. We compared herpetofauanal evenness, diversity, and richness and abundance of Anaxyrus terrestris and Gastrophryne carolinensis among six treatments that varied in volume and spatial arrangement of woody biomass retained after clearcutting loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations in North Carolina, USA (n = 4), 2011-2014 and Georgia (n = 4), USA 2011-2013. Treatments were: (1) biomass harvest with no BHGs, (2) 15% retention with biomass clustered, (3) 15% retention with biomass dispersed, (4) 30% retention with biomass clustered, (5) 30% retention with biomass dispersed, and (6) no biomass harvest. We captured individuals with drift fence arrays and compared evenness, diversity, and richness metrics among treatments with repeated-measure, linear mixed-effects models. We determined predictors of A. terrestris and G. carolinensis abundances using a priori candidate N-mixture models with woody biomass volume, vegetation structure, and groundcover composition as covariates. We had 206 captures of 25 reptile species and 8710 captures of 17 amphibian species during 53690 trap nights. Herpetofauna diversity, evenness, and richness were similar among treatments. A. terrestris abundance was negatively related to volume of retained woody biomass in treatment units in North Carolina in 2013. G. carolinensis abundance was positively related with volume of retained woody debris in treatment units in Georgia in 2012. Other relationships between A. terrestris and G. carolinensis abundances and habitat metrics

Water harvest via dewing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Anna; Moon, Myoung-Woon; Lim, Hyuneui; Kim, Wan-Doo; Kim, Ho-Young

2012-07-10

Harvesting water from humid air via dewing can provide a viable solution to a water shortage problem where liquid-phase water is not available. Here we experimentally quantify the effects of wettability and geometry of the condensation substrate on the water harvest efficiency. Uniformly hydrophilic surfaces are found to exhibit higher rates of water condensation and collection than surfaces with lower wettability. This is in contrast to a fog basking method where the most efficient surface consists of hydrophilic islands surrounded by hydrophobic background. A thin drainage path in the lower portion of the condensation substrate is revealed to greatly enhance the water collection efficiency. The optimal surface conditions found in this work can be used to design a practical device that harvests water as its biological counterpart, a green tree frog, Litoria caerulea , does during the dry season in tropical northern Australia.

Soybean Yield along the Texas Gulf Coast during Periods of Variable Rainfall as Influenced by Soybean Cultivar and Planting Date

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. J. Grichar

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Soybeans (Glycine max can be planted along the upper Texas Gulf Coast from mid-March through May to take advantage of early season rains and to complete harvest before hurricane season and fall rains become a problem. When average to above average rainfall was received in May through July, yields were greater with the early April to mid-April planting; however, under high rainfall conditions throughout the season, the mid-April to early May planting produced the highest yields, with yields of over 4000 kg/ha. When rainfall was below normal, late March to early April plantings produced the greatest yields. When rainfall was above average, soybeans took longer to reach harvestability regardless of cultivar or plant dates, while under drought conditions the interval between planting and harvest was reduced. However, when planting was delayed, there was a greater risk of detrimental late-season effects from southern green stink bug (Nezara viridula or the brown stink bug (Euschistus heros.

Using the GENESYS model quantifying the effect of cropping systems on gene escape from GM rape varieties to evaluate and design cropping systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Colbach Nathalie

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Gene flow in rapeseed is a process taking place both in space and over the years and cannot be studied exclusively by field trials. Consequently, the GENESYS model was developed to quantify the effects of cropping systems on transgene escape from rapeseed crops to rapeseed volunteers in neighbour plots and in the subsequent crops. In the present work, this model was used to evaluate the risk of rape harvest contamination by extraneous genes in various farming systems in case of co-existing GM, conventional and organic crops. When 50 % of the rape varieties in the region were transgenic, the rate of GM seeds in non-GM crop harvests on farms with large fields was lower than the 0.9 % purity threshold proposed by the EC for rape crop production (food and feed harvests, but on farms with smaller fields, the threshold was exceeded. Harvest impurity increased in organic farms, mainly because of their small field size. The model was then used to evaluate the consequences of changes in farming practices and to identify those changes reducing harvest contamination. The effects of these changes depended on the field pattern and farming system. The most efficient practices in limiting harvest impurity comprised improved set-aside management by sowing a cover crop in spring on all set-aside fields in the region, permanently banning rape crops and set-aside around seed production fields and (for non-GM farmers clustering farm fields to reduce gene inflow from neighbour fields.

Harvesting systems for the northern forest hardwoods

Science.gov (United States)

Chris B. LeDoux

2011-01-01

This monograph is a summary of research results and environmental compliance measures for timber harvesting operations. Data are presented from the Northern Research Station's forest inventory and analysis of 20 states in the northern forest hardwoods. Harvesting systems available in the region today are summarized. Equations for estimating harvesting costs are...

Study of associative effects of date palm leaves mixed with Aristida ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The description of the fermentation profile of in vitro gas production showed that Sandoval model was poor and not appropriate for the characteristic varieties of arid and semi-arid areas in Algeria and the multiple regression models revealed a good linear regression for both mixtures. Keywords: Date palm leaves, forage, ...

Production of baker's yeast using date juice.

Science.gov (United States)

Beiroti, A; Hosseini, S N

2007-07-01

Baker's yeast is an important additive among the products which improves bread quality and for present time is being produced in different countries by batch, fed batch or continuous cultures. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used in fermentation of starch in dough, giving a favourable taste and produces a variety of vitamins and proteins. The main ingredient in yeast production is carbon source such as beet molasses, cane molasses, and so on. Since beet molasses has other major function as in high yield alcohol production and also due to the bioenvironmental issues and related wastewater treatment, the use of other carbohydrate sources may be considered. One of these carbohydrate sources is date which is wasted a great deal annually in this country (Iran) . In this study, the capability of date to act as a suitable carbon sources was investigated. The waste date turned into juice and consequently production and growth rate of Sacchromyces cervisiae were studied with this juice. A maximum possible yield of 50% was obtained by the optimum medium (P3), at pH 3.4, 30 degrees C, 1.4 vvm aeration rate and agitation of 500 r/min.

High-efficiency integrated piezoelectric energy harvesting systems

Science.gov (United States)

Hande, Abhiman; Shah, Pradeep

2010-04-01

This paper describes hierarchically architectured development of an energy harvesting (EH) system that consists of micro and/or macro-scale harvesters matched to multiple components of remote wireless sensor and communication nodes. The micro-scale harvesters consist of thin-film MEMS piezoelectric cantilever arrays and power generation modules in IC-like form to allow efficient EH from vibrations. The design uses new high conversion efficiency thin-film processes combined with novel cantilever structures tuned to multiple resonant frequencies as broadband arrays. The macro-scale harvesters are used to power the collector nodes that have higher power specifications. These bulk harvesters can be integrated with efficient adaptive power management circuits that match transducer impedance and maximize power harvested from multiple scavenging sources with very low intrinsic power consumption. Texas MicroPower, Inc. is developing process based on a composition that has the highest reported energy density as compared to other commercially available bulk PZT-based sensor/actuator ceramic materials and extending it to thin-film materials and miniature conversion transducer structures. The multiform factor harvesters can be deployed for several military and commercial applications such as underground unattended sensors, sensors in oil rigs, structural health monitoring, supply chain management, and battlefield applications such as sensors on soldier apparel, equipment, and wearable electronics.

Optical Sensing of Weed Infestations at Harvest.

Science.gov (United States)

Barroso, Judit; McCallum, John; Long, Dan

2017-10-19

Kochia ( Kochia scoparia L.), Russian thistle ( Salsola tragus L.), and prickly lettuce ( Lactuca serriola L.) are economically important weeds infesting dryland wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) production systems in the western United States. Those weeds produce most of their seeds post-harvest. The objectives of this study were to determine the ability of an optical sensor, installed for on-the-go measurement of grain protein concentration, to detect the presence of green plant matter in flowing grain and assess the potential usefulness of this information for mapping weeds at harvest. Spectra of the grain stream were recorded continuously at a rate of 0.33 Hz during harvest of two spring wheat fields of 1.9 and 5.4 ha. All readings were georeferenced using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver with 1 m positional accuracy. Chlorophyll of green plant matter was detectable in the red (638-710 nm) waveband. Maps of the chlorophyll signal from both fields showed an overall agreement of 78.1% with reference maps, one constructed prior to harvest and the other at harvest time, both based on visual evaluations of the three green weed species conducted by experts. Information on weed distributions at harvest may be useful for controlling post-harvest using variable rate technology for herbicide applications.

Hoof Growth Rates of the European Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus for Dating the Hoof’s Isotopic Archive

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin D. Hafner

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Hooves preserve the isotopic information laid down during their growth and may be used for reconstruction of animal feeding history. To assign certain positions along hooves to corresponding times, growth rates are required. Hoof growth rates are known for domestic animals; however, they cannot be obtained easily in wild animals. We estimated the hoof growth rate of the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L. by using the immediate drop in δ13C along the hoof as a tag that is assigned to the date of maize (Zea mays L. harvest. Keratin samples were taken each mm along 17 hooves and analyzed for their δ13C. A linear regression between (1 time differences of expected maize harvest to animal death and (2 distances between the points of the δ13C drop to the periople yielded the growth rate. Mean hoof growth rate was 0.122 mm/day (95% CI 0.014 mm/day and 0.365%/day (±0.026%/day of the hoof length and within the range of domestic animals. The method may be applied to determine growth rates of other incrementally growing tissues. Our estimated growth rate fosters dating isotopic information in hooves, facilitating research on feed resources and space use of roe deer.

Determination compliance abilities of some triticale varieties and comparison with wheat in Southeastern Anatolia conditions of Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Kendal, Enver; Tekdal, Sertaç; Aktas, Hüsnü; Karaman, Mehmet

2014-01-01

In this research, were used 3 triticale varieties (Tacettinbey, Karma 2000 and Presto), one durum (Sariçanak 98) and one bread (Nurkent) wheat varieties. The study, was randomized as complete block design with four replications in 4 location (southeastern Anatolia of Turkey) and under rainfed conditions during the growing season 2010-2011. With an analysis of variance, significant differences were determined among locations, genotypes and genotype x location interactions at the 1% and 5% level. Following results were obtained: period to heading 109 till 113 days, plant height between 96 and 127 cm, hectoliter weight between 68.2 and 81.7 kg/hl, thousand grain weight between 32.9 and 42.7 g, protein content between 13.3 and 14.7%, humidty kernels at harvest between 9.2 and 9.5% and grain yield between 4409 and 6119 kg/ha(-1). The highest grain yield was obtained with Sariçanak 98 (durum wheat variety) while the best thousant grain weight was obtained by the triticale variety Tacettinbey. The triticale variety Karma 2000 showed higher protein content (14.7%) than other the other triticale varieties as well as durum and bread wheat varieties included trial. For the Southeastern Anatolia Region he results of this study demonstrated that the grain yield of triticale varieties were lower compared to common wheat. Nevertheless the triticale grain yield was higher than these of durum and bread wheat varieties under the more extrem (higher temperature and drought) growing conditions of the Kiziltepe region. For triticale the highest mean grain yield has been obtained fwith the variety Tacettinbey which is spring type. New sping type vatieties are more suitable than wheat for the more extreme growing conditions of the Southeastern Anatolia Region.

Applications of different dose of irradiation on dates followed by quality parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haddad, Sofien

2007-01-01

The objective of this project is to evaluate the effects of radiation on the conservation of dates and the development of micro-organisms. Deglet Nour variety of dates were purchased from local market and irradiated at doses 0, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 kGy and stored at room temperature for 30 days. During storage, we evaluated the effects of radiation on the evolution of fructose, glucose, sucrose, pH, organic acid and moisture which are parameters of quality of dates. We have also checked its effect on the development on micro-organisms. During storage, there has been a change in the chemical composition and microbiological quality. However, these changes are proportional to the radiation doses applied. 1 kGy dose appears to be the best. It completely inhibits the development of micro-organisms and slows senescence dates. (Author)

Improving Vibration Energy Harvesting Using Dynamic Magnifier

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Almuatasim Alomari

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on the design and evaluation of vibration-based piezoelectric energy-harvesting devices based on a polyvinylidene fluoride unimorph cantilever beam attached to the front of a dynamic magnifier. Experimental studies of the electromechanical frequency response functions are studied for the first three resonance frequencies. An analytical analysis is undertaken by applying the chain matrix in order to predict output voltage and output power with respect to the vibration frequency. The proposed harvester was modeled using MATLAB software and COMSOL multi- physics to study the mode shapes and electrical output parameters. The voltage and power output of the energy harvester with a dynamic magnifier was 2.62 V and 13.68 mW, respectively at the resonance frequency of the second mode. The modeling approach provides a basis to design energy harvesters exploiting dynamic magnification for improved performance and bandwidth. The potential application of such energy harvesting devices in the transport sector include autonomous structural health monitoring systems that often include embedded sensors, data acquisition, wireless communication, and energy harvesting systems.

Renewal of Collaborative Research: Economically Viable Forest Harvesting Practices That Increase Carbon Sequestration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davidson, E.A.; Dail, D.B., Hollinger, D.; Scott, N.; Richardson, A.

2012-08-02

subcanopy trees by opening up the forest canopy to increasing light penetration. Decomposition of onsite harvest slash and of wastes created during timber processing releases CO{sub 2} to the atmosphere, thus offsetting some of the C sequestered in vegetation. Decomposition of soil C and dead roots may also be temporarily stimulated by increased light penetration and warming of the forest floor. Quantification of these processes and their net effect is needed. We began studying C sequestration in a planned shelterwood harvest at the Howland Forest in central Maine in 2000. The harvest took place in 2002 by the International Paper Corporation, who assisted us to track the fates of harvest products (Scott et al., 2004, Environmental Management 33: S9-S22). Here we present the results of intensive on-site studies of the decay of harvest slash, soil respiration, growth of the remaining trees, and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO{sub 2} during the first six years following the harvest. These results are combined with calculations of C in persisting off-site harvest products to estimate the net C consequences to date of this commercial shelterwood harvest operation. Tower-based eddy covariance is an ideal method for this study, as it integrates all C fluxes in and out of the forest over a large 'footprint' area and can reveal how the net C flux, as well as gross primary productivity and respiration, change following harvest. Because the size of this experiment precludes large-scale replication, we are use a paired-airshed approach, similar to classic large-scale paired watershed experiments. Measurements of biomass and C fluxes in control and treatment stands were compared during a pre-treatment calibration period, and then divergence from pre-treatment relationships between the two sites measured after the harvest treatment. Forests store carbon (C) as they accumulate biomass. Many forests are also commercial sources of timber and wood fiber. In most C accounting

Adaptation of six shallots varieties to phosphate solubilizing bacteria on the flower formation, seeds fromation, and yields on the lowland

Science.gov (United States)

Triharyanto, E.; Sudadi; Rawandari, S.

2018-03-01

Using seeds as planting materials is a solution to improve the quality and quantity of shallot. This study aims to determine the interaction between shallot varieties and Phosphate- Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB) on the flowering and shallot yield on the lowlands. The research was conducted in Mijil Village, Jaten, Karanganyar, 98 m altitude with Vertisol-type soil order in June to December 2016, using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two factors. Shallot varieties used as factors are Bima, Manjung, Ilokos, Bima (bulb seeds), Mentes and Rubaru. PSB factors are control and with PSB inoculation. Observed variables included plant height, number of leaves, flowering percentage, seed formation and shallot bulb yield. Results showed that there was no interaction between varieties and PSB inoculation on all observed variables. However, PSB inoculation were able to increase the number of flowering plants and seed weight per plot. Bima variety have the highest average yield compared to other varieties in terms of number of leaves, number of bulbs per plant and bulb weight per plot (fresh harvest weight 317.74 g equivalent to 17.65 ton per hectare and dry weight 288.16 g consumption equivalent to 16 ton per hectare).

Evaluating non-aromatic rice varieties for growth and yield different rates of soil applied boron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shah, J.A.; Abbas, M.; Memon, M.Y.; Raid, N.

2016-01-01

Balanced boron (B) fertilization has prime importance to obtain maximum paddy yield. The range between B deficiency and toxicity is smaller than most plant nutrients, though B requirement among different crops varies widely. The adequate dose of B for one genotype can either be insufficient or toxic to other. Hence, without knowing the actual requirements of crop varieties, B application can be risky due to the toxicity hazards. A field experiment was undertaken at experimental farm of Nuclear Institute of Agriculture (NIA), Tandojam during 2013, to evaluate the B requirement of two non-aromatic rice varieties.The experiment was arranged in split plot design with three repeats. Two rice varieties Sarshar and Shandar were grown in main plots with four rates of B: 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kg ha/sup -1/ and control (0 kg ha/sup -1/) in sub plots. Both the varieties responded differently to B rates. Sarshar produced the highest paddy yield (5691 kg ha/sup -1/) at a rate of 1.5 kg B ha/sup -1/ and was 18% greater than control, Shandar produced the highest yield (6075 kg ha/sup -1/) at a rate of 1.0 kg B ha/sup -1/ and was 5% greater than control. B accumulation in paddy and straw of both varieties increased with the increasing B rates. Both varieties were also significantly (p<0.05) varied in B accumulations. Comparatively, rice variety Sarshar accumulated 9% and 22% more B in straw and paddy than the Shandar. Thus, the B requirement of Sarshar was relatively higher than the Shandar. Shandar can be grown without the additional B application, whereas, Sarshar requires additional B for its maximum harvest in B deficient soils. (author)

Correlations between colonization of onion thrips and leaf reflectance measures across six cabbage varieties.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

János Bálint

Full Text Available The main purpose of this study was to reveal if the UV-A, and visible light reflection of leaves of white cabbage varieties is correlated to resistance against onion thrips. The antixenotic resistance (AR against onion thrips and thrips damage differed between varieties Balashi, Bloktor, Riana - considered resistant - and Green Gem, Hurricane, Quisor - considered susceptible. The solar UV-A (340-400 nm and visible (401-650 nm light reflection of white cabbage leaves were recorded. Correlation between AR against onion thrips and reflection of leaves in UV-A and visible range of the studied white cabbage varieties were computed. According to the AR evaluation onion thrips density was always higher on susceptible than on resistant varieties. The UV-A light reflection of head forming leaves and the contrast between head and exterior leaves (H/E was negatively correlated with onion thrips host preference at an early stage of cabbage head formation. The visible light reflection of both head forming and exterior leaves was also negatively correlated with onion thrips host preference. Susceptible varieties had greater damage ratings at harvest than resistant ones and positive correlations were observed between AR and damage. AR against onion thrips may be affected by differences in reflection of cabbage leaves at an early growth stage. It is suggested that more intensive reflection of leaves and/or higher contrast values between the reflectance intensity of head versus outer leaves made the resistant varieties less attractive to onion thrips. Our results reported here provide the first evidence of negative correlation between UV-A and visible reflection of leaves and AR of white cabbage against a dangerous insect pest, opening new perspectives for understanding the role of reflection by plant leaves in pest management.

Electrodynamic energy harvester for electrical transformer's ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Electrical transformer; electrodynamic; energy harvester; self-powered ...... Kennedy S P and Gordner T 2013 Hot spot studies for sheet wound transformer wind- ... and Lambert F 2011 Powering low-cost utility sensors using energy harvesting.

Genetic Diversity of Iraqi Date Palm (Phoenix ‎dactylifera L.) by using RAPD Technique

OpenAIRE

Muhanned Abdul Hasan Kareem; Ali Hmood Al-Saadi ‎; Hassan Fadhil Naji

2018-01-01

In this study provided all molecular markers of Random amplified polymorphic (RAPD) successfully with the sixty five Iraqi date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars, which collected from Hilla city in Iraq, to determine fingerprinting, polymorphic value, and relationships among varieties of date palm cultivars, and also with the same type of cultivars. Data analysis of ten RAPD has been revealed. Number of amplified DNA fragments were (592) bands, polymorphism per all primers were (%64.2),...

Genetic Diversity of Iraqi Date Palm (Phoenix ‎dactylifera L.) by using RAPD Technique

OpenAIRE

Muhanned Abdul Hasan; Ali ‎ Hmood Al-Saadi; Hassan Fadhil Naji

2017-01-01

In this study provided all molecular markers of Random amplified polymorphic (RAPD) successfully with the sixty five Iraqi date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars, which collected from Hilla city in Iraq, to determine fingerprinting, polymorphic value, and relationships among varieties of date palm cultivars, and also with the same type of cultivars. Data analysis of ten RAPD has been revealed. Number of amplified DNA fragments were (592) bands, polymorphism per all primers were (%64.2),...

DETERMINATION OF THE OPTIMAL MOMENT OF HARVESTING FOR CABERNET SAUVIGNON AND MERLOT GRAPES IN DRĂGĂŞANI VINEYARD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ovidiu Tiţa

2011-02-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an analysis of the main characteristics of black grapes during ripening and determining the optimum moment to harvest the grapes in the vineyard Drăgăşani. Monitoring process of maturation of the grapes has been done on the varieties of grapes for red wines Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Drăgăşani vineyard.

Olive paste oil content on a dry weight basis (OPDW): an indicator for optimal harvesting time in modern olive orchards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zipori, I.; Bustan, A.; Kerem, Z.; Dag, A.

2016-07-01

In modern oil olive orchards, mechanical harvesting technologies have significantly accelerated harvesting outputs, thereby allowing for careful planning of harvest timing. While optimizing harvest time may have profound effects on oil yield and quality, the necessary tools to precisely determine the best date are rather scarce. For instance, the commonly used indicator, the fruit ripening index, does not necessarily correlate with oil accumulation. Oil content per fruit fresh weight is strongly affected by fruit water content, making the ripening index an unreliable indicator. However, oil in the paste, calculated on a dry weight basis (OPDW), provides a reliable indication of oil accumulation in the fruit. In most cultivars tested here, OPDW never exceeded ca. 0.5 g·g–1 dry weight, making this threshold the best indicator for the completion of oil accumulation and its consequent reduction in quality thereafter. The rates of OPDW and changes in quality parameters strongly depend on local conditions, such as climate, tree water status and fruit load. We therefore propose a fast and easy method to determine and monitor the OPDW in a given orchard. The proposed method is a useful tool for the determination of optimal harvest timing, particularly in large plots under intensive cultivation practices, with the aim of increasing orchard revenues. The results of this research can be directly applied in olive orchards, especially in large-scale operations. By following the proposed method, individual plots can be harvested according to sharp thresholds of oil accumulation status and pre-determined oil quality parameters, thus effectively exploiting the potentials of oil yield and quality. The method can become a powerful tool for scheduling the harvest throughout the season, and at the same time forecasting the flow of olives to the olive mill. (Author)

Computer Vision for Timber Harvesting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dahl, Anders Lindbjerg

The goal of this thesis is to investigate computer vision methods for timber harvesting operations. The background for developing computer vision for timber harvesting is to document origin of timber and to collect qualitative and quantitative parameters concerning the timber for efficient harvest...... segments. The purpose of image segmentation is to make the basis for more advanced computer vision methods like object recognition and classification. Our second method concerns image classification and we present a method where we classify small timber samples to tree species based on Active Appearance...... to the development of the logTracker system the described methods have a general applicability making them useful for many other computer vision problems....

Desert water harvesting to benefit wildlife: a simple, cheap, and durable sub-surface water harvester for remote locations.

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, William E

2004-12-01

A sub-surface desert water harvester was constructed in the sagebrush steppe habitat of south-central Idaho, U.S.A. The desert water harvester utilizes a buried micro-catchment and three buried storage tanks to augment water for wildlife during the dry season. In this region, mean annual precipitation (MAP) ranges between about 150-250 mm (6"-10"), 70% of which falls during the cold season, November to May. Mid-summer through early autumn, June through October, is the dry portion of the year. During this period, the sub-surface water harvester provides supplemental water for wildlife for 30-90 days, depending upon the precipitation that year. The desert water harvester is constructed with commonly available, "over the counter" materials. The micro-catchment is made of a square-shaped, 20 mL. "PERMALON" polyethylene pond liner (approximately 22.9 m x 22.9 m = 523 m2) buried at a depth of about 60 cm. A PVC pipe connects the harvester with two storage tanks and a drinking trough. The total capacity of the water harvester is about 4777 L (1262 U.S. gallons) which includes three underground storage tanks, a trough and pipes. The drinking trough is refined with an access ramp for birds and small animals. The technology is simple, cheap, and durable and can be adapted to other uses, e.g. drip irrigation, short-term water for small livestock, poultry farming etc. The desert water harvester can be used to concentrate and collect water from precipitation and run-off in semi-arid and arid regions. Water harvested in such a relatively small area will not impact the ground water table but it should help to grow small areas of crops or vegetables to aid villagers in self-sufficiency.

CRITICAL INDICATORS IN MECHANIZED HARVEST GRAINS AND FIBER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Boeing

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Due to the growth in grain production and intensification of production systems losses are inevitable. The harvest as the last operation performed in the field requires better attention. Although the origins are varied and losses occur both before and during harvesting, approximately 80% of them occur by mechanisms of action of the harvester cutting platform. It is necessary to know the causes of losses, whether physical or physiological operational. Thus, the objective was to conduct a survey of potential losses and / or environmental factors that affect machinery and effectively and should be prioritized in a management program in order to raise the efficiency of harvesting. From the collected data determined if the potential of critical failures through the method of analysis and failure mode effects, using a questionnaire listed with the selected quality indicators. It was concluded that in the mechanical harvesting of cotton harvested product loss and impurity had insusceptible rates be prioritized goals in the management of the production process. While the grain crop (soybean / corn moisture grain and grain breaks are still the main causes in the loss of quality of the product, stressing the importance of harvesters in improving the characteristics at harvest in order to minimize qualitative grain losses.

Combined Euler column vibration isolation and energy harvesting

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, R. B.; McDowell, M. D.

2017-05-01

A new device that combines vibration isolation and energy harvesting is modeled, simulated, and tested. The vibration isolating portion of the device uses post-buckled beams as its spring elements. Piezoelectric film is applied to the beams to harvest energy from their dynamic flexure. The entire device operates passively on applied base excitation and requires no external power or control system. The structural system is modeled using the elastica, and the structural response is applied as forcing on the electric circuit equation to predict the output voltage and the corresponding harvested power. The vibration isolation and energy harvesting performance is simulated across a large parameter space and the modeling approach is validated with experimental results. Experimental transmissibilities of 2% and harvested power levels of 0.36 μW are simultaneously demonstrated. Both theoretical and experimental data suggest that there is not necessarily a trade-off between vibration isolation and harvested power. That is, within the practical operational range of the device, improved vibration isolation will be accompanied by an increase in the harvested power as the forcing frequency is increased.

Flexible Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting from Mouse Click Motions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Youngsu Cha

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we study energy harvesting from the mouse click motions of a robot finger and a human index finger using a piezoelectric material. The feasibility of energy harvesting from mouse click motions is experimentally and theoretically assessed. The fingers wear a glove with a pocket for including the piezoelectric material. We model the energy harvesting system through the inverse kinematic framework of parallel joints in a finger and the electromechanical coupling equations of the piezoelectric material. The model is validated through energy harvesting experiments in the robot and human fingers with the systematically varying load resistance. We find that energy harvesting is maximized at the matched load resistance to the impedance of the piezoelectric material, and the harvested energy level is tens of nJ.

Refreshing Music: Fog Harvesting with Harps

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Weiwei; Anderson, Mark; Kennedy, Brook; Boreyko, Jonathan

2017-11-01

Fog harvesting is a useful technique for obtaining fresh water in arid climates. The wire meshes currently utilized for fog harvesting suffer from dual constraints: coarse meshes cannot efficiently capture fog, while fine meshes suffer from clogging issues. Here, we design a new type of fog harvester comprised of an array of vertical wires, which we call ``fog harps.'' To investigate the water collection efficiency, three fog harps were designed with different diameters (254 μm, 508 μm and 1.30 mm) but the same pitch-to-diameter ratio of 2. For comparison, three different size meshes were purchased with equivalent dimensions. As expected for the mesh structures, the mid-sized wires performed the best, with a drop-off in performance for the fine or coarse meshes. In contrast, the fog harvesting rate continually increased with decreasing wire diameter for the fog harps, due to its low hysteresis that prevented droplet clogging. This resulted in a 3-fold enhancement in the fog harvesting rate for the harp form factor compared to the mesh. The lack of a performance ceiling for the harps suggest that even greater enhancements could be achieved by scaling down to yet smaller sizes.

36 CFR 223.219 - Sustainable harvest of special forest products.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Sustainable harvest of....219 Sustainable harvest of special forest products. (a) Sustainable harvest levels. Prior to offering... product's sustainable harvest level. A special forest product's sustainable harvest level is the total...

The effect of gamma irradiation of seeds on germination - growth - mineral content and yield of two barley varieties grown under saline conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charbaji, T.; Khalifa, Kh.; Al-Ain, F.

2003-01-01

Seeds of two barley varieties [Arabi Abiad (AA) and Pakistani PK 30163 (PK)] were irradiated with 0 and 15 Gy doses of gamma irradiation. Then, they were sown on salty soil (16.8-18 dS/m) and irrigated with salty water (7-8 dS/m). Gamma irradiation significantly increased the % of seedling emergence of PK only. At the heading stage, gamma irradiation decreased the % of total N of PK and increased shoot dry weight, Mg++ and P content and the % of total N of AA. K+ content of PK was lower than that of AA. At harvest stage, gamma irradiation increased total and grain yields and harvest index of PK; however, straw yield and 1,000 grain weight of AA were higher than those of PK [it

Recent Progress in Piezoelectric Conversion and Energy Harvesting Using Nonlinear Electronic Interfaces and Issues in Small Scale Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Guyomar

2011-06-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at providing an up-to-date review of nonlinear electronic interfaces for energy harvesting from mechanical vibrations using piezoelectric coupling. The basic principles and the direct application to energy harvesting of nonlinear treatment of the output voltage of the transducers for conversion enhancement will be recalled, and extensions of this approach presented. Latest advances in this field will be exposed, such as the use of intermediate energy tanks for decoupling or initial energy injection for conversion magnification. A comparative analysis of each of these techniques will be performed, highlighting the advantages and drawbacks of the methods, in terms of efficiency, performance under several excitation conditions, complexity of implementation and so on. Finally, a special focus of their implementation in the case of low voltage output transducers (as in the case of microsystems will be presented.

Small-Sized Whole-Tree Harvesting in Finland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaerhae, Kalle [Metsaeteho Oy, Helsinki (Finland)

2006-07-15

In Finland, there are two mechanized harvesting systems used for small diameter (d{sub 1.3}= 10 cm) thinning wood: 1) the traditional two-machine (harvester and forwarder) system, and 2) the harwarder system (i.e. the same machine performs both felling and haulage to the roadside). At present, there are more than 20 energy wood harwarders in use in Finland. However, there have been no comprehensive studies carried out on the energy wood harwarders. This paper looks into the productivity results obtained with energy wood harwarders. In addition, the energy wood harvesting costs for harwarders are compared with those of the two-machine system. The results clearly indicated what kind of machine resources can be profitably allocated to different whole-tree harvesting sites. The energy wood harwarders should be directed towards harvesting sites where the forwarding distances are small, the trees harvested are relatively small, and the total volume of energy wood removed is quite low. Respectively, when the stem size removed is relatively large in young stands, and the forest haulage distances are long, the traditional two-machine system is more competitive.

Tropical forest harvesting and taxation: a dynamic model of harvesting behavior under selective extraction systems

Science.gov (United States)

Robert F. Conrad; Malcolm Gillis; D. Evan Mercer

2005-01-01

A dynamic model of selective harvesting in multi-species,multi-age tropical forests is developed. Forests are predicted to exhibit different optimal harvesting profiles depending on the nature of their joint cost functions and own or cross-species stock effects. The model is applied to the controversy about incentives produced by various taxes. The impacts of specific...

Harvesting of microalgae by bio-flocculation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salim, S.; Bosma, R.; Vermuë, M.H.; Wijffels, R.H.

2011-01-01

The high-energy input for harvesting biomass makes current commercial microalgal biodiesel production economically unfeasible. A novel harvesting method is presented as a cost and energy efficient alternative: the bio-flocculation by using one flocculating microalga to concentrate the

Experimental measurement of energy harvesting with backpack

Science.gov (United States)

Pavelkova, Radka; Vala, David; Suranek, Pavel; Mahdal, Miroslav

2017-08-01

This article deals with the energy harvesting systems, especially the energy harvesting backpack, which appears as a convenient means for energy harvesting for mobile sensors power. Before starting the experiment, it was necessary to verify whether this energy will be sufficient to get acquainted with the human kinematics and analyze problematics itself. For this purpose there was used motion capture technology from Xsens. Measured data on the position of a particle moving man and back when walking, these data were then used for experimental realization of energy harvesting backpack and as input data to the simulation in Simulink, which brought us a comparison between theoretical assumptions and practical implementation. When measuring characteristics of energy harvesting system we have a problem with measurements on backpack solved when redoing of the hydraulic cylinder as a source of a suitable movement corresponding to the amplitude and frequency of human walk.

Apparatus and method for harvesting woody plantations

Science.gov (United States)

Eggen, D.L.

1988-11-15

A tree harvester for harvesting felled trees includes a wheel mounted wood chipper which moves toward the butt ends of the tree stems to be processed. The harvester includes a plurality of rotating alignment discs in front of the chipper. These discs align the tree stems to be processed with the mouth of the chipper. A chipper infeed cylinder is rotatably mounted between the discs and the front end of the chipper, and lifts the tree stem butts up from the ground into alignment with the chipper inlet port. The chips discharge from the chipper and go into a chip hopper which moves with the tree harvester. 8 figs.

Microelectronic circuit design for energy harvesting systems

CERN Document Server

Di Paolo Emilio, Maurizio

2017-01-01

This book describes the design of microelectronic circuits for energy harvesting, broadband energy conversion, new methods and technologies for energy conversion. The author also discusses the design of power management circuits and the implementation of voltage regulators. Coverage includes advanced methods in low and high power electronics, as well as principles of micro-scale design based on piezoelectric, electromagnetic and thermoelectric technologies with control and conditioning circuit design. Provides a single-source reference to energy harvesting and its applications; Serves as a practical guide to microelectronics design for energy harvesting, with application to mobile power supplies; Enables readers to develop energy harvesting systems for wearable/mobile electronics.

The Complexities of Adolescent Dating and Sexual Relationships: Fluidity, Meaning(s), and Implications for Young Adults' Well-Being

Science.gov (United States)

Manning, Wendy D.; Longmore, Monica A.; Copp, Jennifer; Giordano, Peggy C.

2014-01-01

The complexity of adolescents' dating and sexual lives is not easily operationalized with simple indicators of dating or sexual activity. While building on prior work that emphasizes the "risky" nature of adolescents' intimate relationships, we assess whether a variety of indicators reflecting the complexity of…

Pyroelectric Energy Harvesting: With Thermodynamic-Based Cycles

OpenAIRE

Saber Mohammadi; Akram Khodayari

2012-01-01

This work deals with energy harvesting from temperature variations using ferroelectric materials as a microgenerator. The previous researches show that direct pyroelectric energy harvesting is not effective, whereas thermodynamic-based cycles give higher energy. Also, at different temperatures some thermodynamic cycles exhibit different behaviours. In this paper pyroelectric energy harvesting using Lenoir and Ericsson thermodynamic cycles has been studied numerically and the two cycles were c...

75 FR 3888 - Migratory Bird Subsistence Harvest in Alaska; Harvest Regulations for Migratory Birds in Alaska...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-25

...-0082; 91200-1231-9BPP-L2] RIN 1018-AW67 Migratory Bird Subsistence Harvest in Alaska; Harvest Regulations for Migratory Birds in Alaska During the 2010 Season AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior... Service, are reopening the public comment period on our proposed rule to establish migratory bird...

Nano/microscale pyroelectric energy harvesting: challenges and opportunities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Devashish Lingam

2013-12-01

Full Text Available With the ever-growing demand for renewable energy sources, energy harvesting from natural resources has gained much attention. Energy sources such as heat and mechanical motion could be easily harvested based on pyroelectric, thermoelectric, and piezoelectric effects. The energy harvested from otherwise wasted energy in the environment can be utilized in self-powered micro and nano devices, and wearable electronics, which required only µW–mW power. This article reviews pyroelectric energy harvesting with an emphasis on recent developments in pyroelectric energy harvesting and devices at micro/nanoscale. Recent developments are presented and future challenges and opportunities for more efficient materials and devices with higher energy conversion efficiency are also discussed.

Adventitious presence of other varieties in oilseed rape (¤Brassica napus¤) from seed banks and certified seed

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, T.; Hauser, Thure Pavlo; Bagger Jørgensen, Rikke

2007-01-01

To obtain information on possible sources of contamination of the seed harvest of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L., spp. napus) by other varieties (adventitious presence), we investigated the purity of certified seed lots; the abundance and origin of volunteers; and longevity and origin of seeds...... in the soil seed-bank. This information was acquired through DNA analysis of volunteers collected in the field and seedlings derived from the soil seed-bank. DNA profiles of the volunteers and seedlings were obtained using Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers, and the profiles were compared with ISSR...... profiles from an assortment of 14 of the most commonly cultivated oilseed rape varieties from 1985 to 2004. This comparison was performed using the assignment program, AFLPOP. The age of the seed bank germinating to become volunteers was assumed from information on previously cultivated oilseed rape...

Gene action in the inheritance of date to ear emergence and time to physiological maturity in bread wheat crosses (Triticum aestivum L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Tsenov

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract. The date of ear emergence (DEE and the date (time of physiological maturity (TPM, as quantitative indication affect yield and in this respect any information about their genetic nature is important for breeding in climatic anomalies of the country. This study aims to give a detailed analysis of the succession of traits DEE and TPM to gather updated information on the genetic control of contrast by combining traits varieties. We studied six generations originating from 6 hybrid combinations of "early " and "late " with respect to the varieties of both traits. It was determine the type of inheritance and coefficients of heritability. To identify real opportunities for breeding of early forms recurrent combinations with each of the parental varieties are made. Data suggest complex interactions between genes for both traits .An inspection for the presence of epistas by applying the well-known 3-parameter test, is calculated. For additional information components of genetic diversity were calculated. In crosses in which is found non-allelic interaction is applied 6 - parameter model, that explains the specific nature of these interactions on a cross. The combination of varieties with different dates of ear emergence and maturation succession of both traits is partially dominant to the complete domination of the "late" parent. Performing backcross procedure changes significantly in direct proportion to recurrent that in late varieties causes heterosis . At 2 /3 of the combinations studied non-allelic interaction are set at both traits. On the inheritance of every trait share a non-allelic interactions between genes that are specific for each cross and defy generalization. The direction of the inheritance to the later date suggests that the breeding of the early forms is preferable by making recurrent crosses . Earlier of ear emergence date varieties as Enola, Galatea and Obrii should be used in terms of a compromise combination of early ear

Piezoelectric energy harvesting from broadband random vibrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adhikari, S; Friswell, M I; Inman, D J

2009-01-01

Energy harvesting for the purpose of powering low power electronic sensor systems has received explosive attention in the last few years. Most works using deterministic approaches focusing on using the piezoelectric effect to harvest ambient vibration energy have concentrated on cantilever beams at resonance using harmonic excitation. Here, using a stochastic approach, we focus on using a stack configuration and harvesting broadband vibration energy, a more practically available ambient source. It is assumed that the ambient base excitation is stationary Gaussian white noise, which has a constant power-spectral density across the frequency range considered. The mean power acquired from a piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvester subjected to random base excitation is derived using the theory of random vibrations. Two cases, namely the harvesting circuit with and without an inductor, have been considered. Exact closed-form expressions involving non-dimensional parameters of the electromechanical system have been given and illustrated using numerical examples

Piezoelectric energy harvesting from broadband random vibrations

Science.gov (United States)

Adhikari, S.; Friswell, M. I.; Inman, D. J.

2009-11-01

Energy harvesting for the purpose of powering low power electronic sensor systems has received explosive attention in the last few years. Most works using deterministic approaches focusing on using the piezoelectric effect to harvest ambient vibration energy have concentrated on cantilever beams at resonance using harmonic excitation. Here, using a stochastic approach, we focus on using a stack configuration and harvesting broadband vibration energy, a more practically available ambient source. It is assumed that the ambient base excitation is stationary Gaussian white noise, which has a constant power-spectral density across the frequency range considered. The mean power acquired from a piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvester subjected to random base excitation is derived using the theory of random vibrations. Two cases, namely the harvesting circuit with and without an inductor, have been considered. Exact closed-form expressions involving non-dimensional parameters of the electromechanical system have been given and illustrated using numerical examples.

A Miniature Coupled Bistable Vibration Energy Harvester

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, D; Arthur, D C; Beeby, S P

2014-01-01

This paper reports the design and test of a miniature coupled bistable vibration energy harvester. Operation of a bistable structure largely depends on vibration amplitude rather than frequency, which makes it very promising for wideband vibration energy harvesting applications. A coupled bistable structure consists of a pair of mobile magnets that create two potential wells and thus the bistable phenomenon. It requires lower excitation to trigger bistable operation compared to conventional bistable structures. Based on previous research, this work focused on miniaturisation of the coupled bistable structure for energy harvesting application. The proposed bistable energy harvester is a combination of a Duffing's nonlinear structure and a linear assisting resonator. Experimental results show that the output spectrum of the miniature coupled bistable vibration energy harvester was the superposition of several spectra. It had a higher maximum output power and a much greater bandwidth compared to simply the Duffing's structure without the assisting resonator

PROTOCOL FOR HARVESTING ‘BRS PRINCESS’ BANANA FRUITS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LUIZ FERNANDO GANASSALI DE OLIVEIRA JUNIOR

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to develop a protocol to determine the ideal harvest time for ‘BRS Princess’ banana, using the number of aborted bracts. The bananas were selected according to the number of aborted bracts since the flowering until the time of harvest, yield clusters with 90, 95, 100 and 105 aborted bracts. The physical and chemical analyzes were performed every 3 days on fruits: soluble solids, titratable acidity, weight loss, length and diameter, pH, firmness, skin color (CIELab and pectin enzyme activity. The statistical design was completely randomized in a 4x5 factorial, with 4 points and 5 periods of harvest analysis and data were evaluated using analysis of variance and regression. For all parameters, fruits harvested at 90 and 105 aborted bracts had unwanted changes in its metabolism when compared to the other treatments, while fruits harvested at 95 and 100 aborted bracts had the best post-harvest characteristics. This method was effective in determining the point of harvest in ‘BRS Princess’ banana fruits, since it allows to obtain fruit quality after storage, and is a simple and objective method.

Reducing electrocoagulation harvesting costs for practical microalgal biodiesel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Dassey, Adam J; Theegala, Chandra S

2014-01-01

Electrocoagulation has shown potential to be a primary microalgae harvesting technique for biodiesel production. However, methods to reduce energy and electrode costs are still necessary for practical application. Electrocoagulation tests were conducted on Nannochloris sp. and Dunaliella sp. using perforated aluminium and iron electrodes under various charge densities. Aluminium electrodes were shown to be more efficient than iron electrodes when harvesting both algal species. Despite the lower harvesting efficiency, however, the iron electrodes were more energy and cost efficient. Operational costs of less than $0.03/L oil were achieved when harvesting Nannochloris sp. with iron electrodes at 35% harvest efficiency, whereas aluminium electrodes cost $0.75/L oil with 42% harvesting efficiency. Increasing the harvesting efficiencies for both aluminium and iron electrodes also increased the overall cost per litre of oil, therefore lower harvesting efficiencies with lower energy inputs was recommended. Also, increasing the culturing salinity to 2 ppt sodium chloride for freshwater Nannochloris sp. was determined practical to improve the electrocoagulation energy efficiency despite a 25% reduction in cell growth.

Wireless Energy Harvesting Using Signals from Multiple Fading Channels

KAUST Repository

Chen, Yunfei

2017-08-01

In this paper, we study the average, the probability density function and the cumulative distribution function of the harvested power. In the study, the signals are transmitted from multiple sources. The channels are assumed to be either Rician fading or Gamma-shadowed Rician fading. The received signals are then harvested by using either a single harvester for simultaneous transmissions or multiple harvesters for transmissions at different frequencies, antennas or time slots. Both linear and nonlinear models for the energy harvester at the receiver are examined. Numerical results are presented to show that, when a large amount of harvested power is required, a single harvester or the linear range of a practical nonlinear harvester are more efficient, to avoid power outage. Further, the power transfer strategy can be optimized for fixed total power. Specifically, for Rayleigh fading, the optimal strategy is to put the total power at the source with the best channel condition and switch off all other sources, while for general Rician fading, the optimum magnitudes and phases of the transmitting waveforms depend on the channel parameters.

Effect of Sowing Date on Some Agronomic Characteristics and Seed Yield of Winter Wheat Cultivars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Ganbari

2012-08-01

Full Text Available To evaluate the effect of sowing dates on yield, yield components and some agronomic characteristics of four winter wheat cultivars and also their phenological changes, a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications was carried out at the Agriculture Research Station of Ardabil (Iran during 2009 growing season. First factor consisted of four wheat cultivars (Azar2, Sabalan, Sardari and Zagros and second factor consisted of four sowing dates (1st, 10th, 20th and 30th of September. The results showed that sowing date had significant effect on the number of spikes, the number of seed per spike, 1000-seed weight, germination percentage, days to spike appearance, days to ripening, growing degree days, biological yield, seed yield and harvest index. The highest and lowest seed yields of wheat were obtained from sowing date of the September the first (4616 kg/ha and sowing date of September 30th (2197 kg/ha respectively. Delaying planting decreased the number of spikes per m2 and 1000-seed weight. Cultivars had significant effect on all of the traits measured, except leaf number, fertile and non-fertilie tillers. The highest and the lowest seed yields were obtained from Sabalan (4750 kg/ha and Zagros (2757 kg/ha cultivars respectively. Interaction of sowing date and cultivar were significant on all of traits measured, except stem height, the leaf number, the number of spikes, 1000-seed weight and seed yield (P

Harvesting budworm-damaged stands for fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henley, S.G. (York, Sunbury, Charlotte Wood Products Marketing Board, (Canada))

1985-01-01

This project was initiated to demonstrate the economics and logistics of harvesting budworm-damaged stands for use as fuel. Dead spruce and balsam fir were to be harvested from small private woodlots in southwestern New Brunswick, using an integrated, full-tree harvesting system to produce wood chip fuel and other forest products. The overall objectives of the study are listed. The harvesting equipment and the selection of sites are discussed. The most efficient methods of finding candidate woodlots was found to be by advertising and word of mouth. Contact was made with 85 woodlot owners, and 45 woodlots were visited and evaluated for their suitability. A further 150 management plans were screened and rejected for various reasons. Only 2 woodlots were initially recognized as potential sites; however, after showing some interest, the owners decided not to participate. The reasons for the rejection of the various woodlots are listed. The fact that a number of owners were against clearcutting, and, in some cases, against any cutting, and that others showed no interest in the study, is attributed to the high percentage of white-collar workers owning woodlots. Other strategies for harvesting dead or scrap wood are suggested. 1 ref., 1 tab.

Effect of gamma irradiation on the sugar and protein composition of Iraqi dates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auda, H.; Khalaf, Z.; Mirjan, J.

1978-01-01

Completely ripened date fruits of several Iraqi varieties were irradiated with 30, 70, 100, 270 and 500krad of gamma irradiation and stored at a temperature of 25-35 0 C in wooden boxes or in plastic bags. At various intervals samples were taken and analysed by paper-chromatography, gas-chromatography and spectrophotometry for quantitative and qualitative changes in carbohydrates. The results showed no effect of gamma irradiation on reducing sugar and major carbohydrate components. The formation of malonaldehyde under gamma irradiation of dates and solid standard sugars was also studied up to 500krad. The results showed no formation of malonaldehyde in irradiated date samples as well as standard sugars. Gamma irradiation showed no effect on the protein content of dates. However, storage showed some reduction in the protein content of both unirradiated and irradiated samples. (author)

Vibration energy harvesting using the Halbach array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Dibin; Beeby, Steve; Tudor, John; Harris, Nick

2012-01-01

This paper studies the feasibility of vibration energy harvesting using a Halbach array. A Halbach array is a specific arrangement of permanent magnets that concentrates the magnetic field on one side of the array while cancelling the field to almost zero on the other side. This arrangement can improve electromagnetic coupling in a limited space. The Halbach array offers an advantage over conventional layouts of magnets in terms of its concentrated magnetic field and low-profile structure, which helps improve the output power of electromagnetic energy harvesters while minimizing their size. Another benefit of the Halbach array is that due to the existence of an almost-zero magnetic field zone, electronic components can be placed close to the energy harvester without any chance of interference, which can potentially reduce the overall size of a self-powered device. The first reported example of a low-profile, planar electromagnetic vibration energy harvester utilizing a Halbach array was built and tested. Results were compared to ones for energy harvesters with conventional magnet layouts. By comparison, it is concluded that although energy harvesters with a Halbach array can have higher magnetic field density, a higher output power requires careful design in order to achieve the maximum magnetic flux gradient. (paper)

Evaluating Non-Aromatic Rice Varieties for Growth and Yield under Different Rates of Soil Applied Boron

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javaid Ahmed Shah

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Balanced boron (B fertilization has prime importance to obtain maximum paddy yield. The range between B deficiency and toxicity is smaller than most plant nutrients, though B requirement among different crops varies widely. The adequate dose of B for one genotype can either be insufficient or toxic to other. Hence, without knowing the actual requirements of crop varieties, B application can be risky due to the toxicity hazards. A field experiment was undertaken at experimental farm of Nuclear Institute of Agriculture (NIA Tandojam during 2013, to evaluate the B requirement of two non-aromatic rice varieties. The experiment was arranged in split plot design with three repeats. Two rice varieties Sarshar and Shandar were grown in main plots with four rates of B: 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kg ha-1 and control (0 kg ha-1 in sub plots. Both the varieties responded differently to B rates. Sarshar produced the highest paddy yield (5691 kg ha-1 at a rate of 1.5 kg B ha-1 and was 18% greater than control, Shandar produced the highest yield (6075 kg ha-1 at a rate of 1.0 kg B ha-1and was 5% greater than control. B accumulation in paddy and straw of both varieties increased with the increasing B rates. Both varieties were also significantly (p<0.05 varied in B accumulations. Comparatively, rice variety Sarshar accumulated 9% and 22% more B in straw and paddy than the Shandar. Thus, the B requirement of Sarshar was relatively higher than the Shandar. Shandar can be grown without the additional B application, whereas, Sarshar requires additional B for its maximum harvest in B deficient soils.

The consequences of balanced harvesting of fish communities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Nis Sand; Gislason, Henrik; Andersen, Ken Haste

2014-01-01

community structure and yield. We use a size- and trait-based model that resolves individual interactions through competition and predation to compare balanced harvesting with traditional selective harvesting, which protects juvenile fish from fishing. Four different exploitation patterns, generated......Balanced harvesting, where species or individuals are exploited in accordance with their productivity, has been proposed as a way to minimize the effects of fishing on marine fish communities and ecosystems. This calls for a thorough examination of the consequences balanced harvesting has on fish...... by combining selective or unselective harvesting with balanced or unbalanced fishing, are compared. We find that unselective balanced fishing, where individuals are exploited in proportion to their productivity, produces a slightly larger total maximum sustainable yield than the other exploitation patterns and...

The flavor and nutritional characteristic of four strawberry varieties cultured in soilless system.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Li; Ji, Mei-Ling; Chen, Min; Sun, Ming-Yue; Fu, Xi-Ling; Li, Ling; Gao, Dong-Sheng; Zhu, Cui-Ying

2016-11-01

Strawberry fruits (cv. Benihoppe, Tochiotome, Sachinoka, and Guimeiren) were harvested and evaluated the flavor and nutritional parameters. By principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis, differences were observed based on the volatile compounds composition, sugar and acid concentration, sweetness, and total soluble sugars/total organic acids of the four varieties. A total of 37, 48, 65, and 74 volatile compounds were identified and determined in cv. Benihoppe, Tochiotome, Sachinoka, and Guimeiren strawberry fruits extracted by head-space solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), respectively. Esters significantly dominated the chemical composition of the four varieties. Furaneol was detected in cultivars of Sachinoka and Guimeiren, but mesifuran was only found in cv. Tochiotome. Tochiotome and Sachinoka showed higher content of linalool and (E)-nerolidol. Sachinoka showed the highest content of total sugars and total acids. Guimeiren showed higher sweetness index than the other three cultivars. Firmness of Tochiotome was highest among all the varieties. The highest total soluble solids TSS value was found in cv. Sachinoka, followed by the Guimeiren and Tochiotome varieties. Sachinoka had the highest titratable acidity TA value. The content of ascorbic acid (AsA) of cv. Tochiotome was higher than the others, but there was no significant difference in cultivars of Benihoppe, Tochiotome, and Sachinoka. Fructose and glucose were the major sugars in all cultivars. Citric acid was the major organic acid in cv. Tochiotome, cv. Sachinoka, and cv. Guimeiren. Tochiotome had higher ratios of TSS/TA and total sugars/total organic acids than others, arising from its lower acid content. The order of the comprehensive evaluation score was Sachinoka>Guimeiren>Tochiotome>Benihoppe.

Adaptation of soybeans to northern climatic conditions and modern harvesting technique by mutation breeding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krausse, G.W.

1990-01-01

Full text: For growing soybean in northern countries early ripening and cold tolerant varieties with stable yield are necessary. For combine harvesting these varieties have to have a sufficient plant length and the insertion height of the lower pods has to be high. Two directions were followed in mutation breeding: After mutagenic treatment of middle late, highly productive, long-stalked initial varieties (as for instance 'Maple Arrow') early ripening mutants were searched for. On the other hand, the extremely early ripening, but too short-stalked 'Fiskeby V' was the initial variety for selecting long-stalked mutants with higher insertion of the lowest pods. Methyl-nitrosourea, sodium azide (0,5...2 mM) or γ-rays (50...250 Gy) served as mutagens. In the period 1979-1987 the following quantities of material have been dealt with: 11 initial varieties, 356000 treated seeds, 38000 progeny rows (= 736,000 plants) in M 2 , 5519 lines in M 3 , 557 lines in M 4 and 226 lines in M 5 . Vegetation period of early mutants was 3-8 days shorter, grain yield being the same or slightly increased. Extremely early ripening mutants showed strong yield depression. These mutants are still not suitable for growing in the GDR, because they ripen only in October but they are used as crossing parents and tested in warmer regions. The induction and selection of long-stalked mutants with higher insertion of the lowest pods in the early ripening Swedish variety 'Fiskeby V' led to the release of a mutant variety 'Dorado' in 1988. Further mutants with a yield potential of 1,5-2 t/ha are tested in official trials. (author)

Browse Title Index

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Items 251 - 300 of 775 ... Vol 8, No 1 (2015), Effect of imazapyr treated maize on Striga infestation and time of intercropping cowpea in Samaru, Nigeria, Abstract PDF ... Vol 3, No 1 (2010), Effect of water harvesting methods, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer on leaf length of different date palm (phoenix d-) varieties, Abstract ...

An autonomous robot for harvesting cucumbers in greenhouses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Henten, van E.J.; Hemming, J.; Tuijl, van B.A.J.; Kornet, J.G.; Meuleman, J.; Bontsema, J.; Os, van E.A.

2002-01-01

This paper describes the concept of an autonomous robot for harvesting cucumbers in greenhouses. A description is given of the working environment of the robot and the logistics of harvesting. It is stated that for a 2 ha Dutch nursery, 4 harvesting robots and one docking station are needed during

Carbon sequestration via wood harvest and storage: An assessment of its harvest potential

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeng, Ning; King, Anthony W.; Zaitchik, Ben

2013-01-01

A carbon sequestration strategy has recently been proposed in which a forest is actively managed, and a fraction of the wood is selectively harvested and stored to prevent decomposition. The forest serves as a ‘carbon scrubber’ or ‘carbon remover’ that provides continuous sequestration (negative ...... to be managed this way on half of the world’s forested land, or on a smaller area but with higher harvest intensity.We recommendWHS be considered part of the portfolio of climate mitigation and adaptation options that needs further research....

An optimal staggered harvesting strategy for herbaceous biomass energy crops

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhat, M.G.; English, B.C. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

1993-12-31

Biofuel research over the past two decades indicates lignocellulosic crops are a reliable source of feedstock for alternative energy. However, under the current technology of producing, harvesting and converting biomass crops, the cost of biofuel is not competitive with conventional biofuel. Cost of harvesting biomass feedstock is a single largest component of feedstock cost so there is a cost advantage in designing a biomass harvesting system. Traditional farmer-initiated harvesting operation causes over investment. This study develops a least-cost, time-distributed (staggered) harvesting system for example switch grass, that calls for an effective coordination between farmers, processing plant and a single third-party custom harvester. A linear programming model explicitly accounts for the trade-off between yield loss and benefit of reduced machinery overhead cost, associated with the staggered harvesting system. Total cost of producing and harvesting switch grass will decline by 17.94 percent from conventional non-staggered to proposed staggered harvesting strategy. Harvesting machinery cost alone experiences a significant reduction of 39.68 percent from moving from former to latter. The net return to farmers is estimated to increase by 160.40 percent. Per tonne and per hectare costs of feedstock production will decline by 17.94 percent and 24.78 percent, respectively. These results clearly lend support to the view that the traditional system of single period harvesting calls for over investment on agricultural machinery which escalates the feedstock cost. This social loss to the society in the form of escalated harvesting cost can be avoided if there is a proper coordination among farmers, processing plant and custom harvesters as to when and how biomass crop needs to be planted and harvested. Such an institutional arrangement benefits producers, processing plant and, in turn, end users of biofuels.

Flag varieties, toric varieties, and suspensions: Three instances of infinite transitivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arzhantsev, Ivan V; Zaidenberg, M G; Kuyumzhiyan, Karine G

2012-01-01

We say that a group G acts infinitely transitively on a set X if for every m element of N the induced diagonal action of G is transitive on the cartesian mth power X m backslash Δ with the diagonals removed. We describe three classes of affine algebraic varieties such that their automorphism groups act infinitely transitively on their smooth loci. The first class consists of normal affine cones over flag varieties, the second of nondegenerate affine toric varieties, and the third of iterated suspensions over affine varieties with infinitely transitive automorphism groups. Bibliography: 42 titles.

Chemical characterisation of two Australian-grown strawberry varieties by using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Samykanno, Kavitha; Pang, Edwin; Marriott, Philip J

2013-12-01

The volatile compositions of two strawberry varieties ('Albion' and 'Juliette') grown in Australia were analysed with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ToFMS). A suitable data processing method was created that should be sufficiently robust to compare sample chromatograms within a harvest season as well as between seasons with relative ease. Ninety-four compounds were tentatively or positively identified between the two varieties of which 20 have apparently not been previously reported to be components of strawberry volatiles. It was determined that Albion and Juliette have comparable total soluble solids content close to 11°Brix. However, since Juliette exhibited a lower titratable acidity content than Albion, it consequently has a slightly larger sugar/acid ratio. The presence of 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-(2H)-furan-3-one (furaneol) was detected only in Juliette and this variety also had a higher area percentage of 2,5-dimethyl-4-methoxy-(2H)-furan-3-one (mesifuran), according to the sampling protocol. These experimental results offer possible explanations as to why Juliette is perceived to have a sweeter flavour than Albion. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analytical model for nonlinear piezoelectric energy harvesting devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neiss, S; Goldschmidtboeing, F; M Kroener; Woias, P

2014-01-01

In this work we propose analytical expressions for the jump-up and jump-down point of a nonlinear piezoelectric energy harvester. In addition, analytical expressions for the maximum power output at optimal resistive load and the 3 dB-bandwidth are derived. So far, only numerical models have been used to describe the physics of a piezoelectric energy harvester. However, this approach is not suitable to quickly evaluate different geometrical designs or piezoelectric materials in the harvester design process. In addition, the analytical expressions could be used to predict the jump-frequencies of a harvester during operation. In combination with a tuning mechanism, this would allow the design of an efficient control algorithm to ensure that the harvester is always working on the oscillator's high energy attractor. (paper)

Learning and adaptation in the management of waterfowl harvests

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Fred A.

2011-01-01

A formal framework for the adaptive management of waterfowl harvests was adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1995. The process admits competing models of waterfowl population dynamics and harvest impacts, and relies on model averaging to compute optimal strategies for regulating harvest. Model weights, reflecting the relative ability of the alternative models to predict changes in population size, are used in the model averaging and are updated each year based on a comparison of model predictions and observations of population size. Since its inception the adaptive harvest program has focused principally on mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), which constitute a large portion of the U.S. waterfowl harvest. Four competing models, derived from a combination of two survival and two reproductive hypotheses, were originally assigned equal weights. In the last year of available information (2007), model weights favored the weakly density-dependent reproductive hypothesis over the strongly density-dependent one, and the additive mortality hypothesis over the compensatory one. The change in model weights led to a more conservative harvesting policy than what was in effect in the early years of the program. Adaptive harvest management has been successful in many ways, but nonetheless has exposed the difficulties in defining management objectives, in predicting and regulating harvests, and in coping with the tradeoffs inherent in managing multiple waterfowl stocks exposed to a common harvest. The key challenge now facing managers is whether adaptive harvest management as an institution can be sufficiently adaptive, and whether the knowledge and experience gained from the process can be reflected in higher-level policy decisions.

Spring harvest of corn stover

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lizotte, P.L. [Laval Univ., Quebec City, PQ (Canada). Dept. des sols et de genie agroalimentaire; Savoie, P. [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec City, PQ (Canada)

2010-07-01

Corn stover is typically left behind in the field after grain harvest. Although part of the stover should remain in the field for soil organic matter renewal and erosion protection, half of the stover could be removed sustainably. This represents about one million t dry matter (DM) of stover per year in the province of Quebec. Stover harvested in the fall is very wet. While there are applications for wet stover, the available markets currently require a dry product. Preliminary measurements have shown that stover left in the field throughout the winter becomes very dry, and a considerable amount would still be harvestable in the spring. In the spring of 2009, corn stover was harvested at 2 sites, each subdivided into 2 parcels. The first parcel was cut and raked in the fall of 2008 (fall parcel), while the second parcel was cut and raked in spring 2009. Fibre from both parcels was baled in the spring 2009. At the first site, a large square baler was used in late April to produce bales measuring 0.8 m x 0.9 m x 1.8 m. On the second site a round baler was used in late May to produce bales of 1.2 m in width by 1.45 m in diameter. On the second site, a small square baler was also used to produce bales of 0.35 m x 0.45 m x 0.60 m (spring cutting only). With the large square baler, an average of 3.9 t DM/ha was harvested equally on the fall parcel and the spring parcel, representing a 48 per cent recovery of biomass based on stover yields.

Thermodynamic limits of energy harvesting from outgoing thermal radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Buddhiraju, Siddharth; Santhanam, Parthiban; Fan, Shanhui

2018-04-17

We derive the thermodynamic limits of harvesting power from the outgoing thermal radiation from the ambient to the cold outer space. The derivations are based on a duality relation between thermal engines that harvest solar radiation and those that harvest outgoing thermal radiation. In particular, we derive the ultimate limit for harvesting outgoing thermal radiation, which is analogous to the Landsberg limit for solar energy harvesting, and show that the ultimate limit far exceeds what was previously thought to be possible. As an extension of our work, we also derive the ultimate limit of efficiency of thermophotovoltaic systems.

Triboelectric effect in energy harvesting

Science.gov (United States)

Logothetis, I.; Vassiliadis, S.; Siores, E.

2017-10-01

With the development of wearable technology, much research has been undertaken in the field of flexible and stretchable electronics for use in interactive attire. The challenging problem wearable technology faces is the ability to provide energy whilst keeping the endproduct comfortable, light, ergonomic and nonintrusive. Energy harvesting, or energy scavenging as it is also known, is the process by which ambient energy is captured and converted into electric energy. The triboelectric effect converts mechanical energy into electrical energy based on the coupling effect of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction and is utilized as the basis for triboelectric generators (TEG). TEG’s are promising for energy harvesting due their high output power and efficiency in conjunction with simple and economical production. Due to the wide availability of materials and ease of integration, in order to produce the triboelectric effect such functional materials are effective for wearable energy harvesting systems. Flexible TEG’s can be built and embedded into attire, although a thorough understanding of the underlying principle of how TEG’s operate needs to be comprehended for the development and in incorporation in smart technical textiles. This paper presents results associated with TEG’S and discusses their suitability for energy harvesting in textiles structures.

The content of vitamine E in hop cones of the Saaz variety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helena Pluháčková

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The activity of vitamin E, total content of tocols and the content of individual isomers: α-tocopherols, β-tocopherols, γ-tocopherols and δ-tocopherols was monitored in samples of hop cones of the world-important Saaz variety. Hop cone samples originated from hop-breeding area Tršice, Czech Republic. The method used for the determination of vitamin E in barley was modified and used for this quantitative analysis. The results indicate that monitored characteristics are influenced by the year of harvest (2010 or 2011 but also by the age of hop-gardens (hop bucks. High values of vitamin E activity (up to 67.79 mg.kg−1 and total content of tocols (up to 76.31 mg.kg−1 in hop cones are worth further attention from the viewpoint of alternative use of hops.

Productivity and cost of harvesting a stemwood biomass product from integrated cut-to-length harvest operations in Australian Pinus radiata plantations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walsh, D.; Strandgard, M.

2014-01-01

Significant quantities of woody biomass from the tops of trees and larger woody ‘waste’ pieces that fall outside existing sawlog and pulpwood specifications are left on site post final harvest in Australian radiata Pinus radiata (D. Don) (radiata pine) plantations. Woody biomass is a potential product for pulp making or energy generation. Commercial use of woody biomass from radiata pine plantations would add extra value to the Australian plantation estate through improved resource utilisation, and potentially reduced post-harvesting silvicultural costs. This study investigated the productivity and cost impact of the harvest and extraction to roadside of woody biomass in an integrated harvest operation in a typical Australian two machine (harvester/processor and forwarder), cut-to-length, clearfall operation in a mature, thinned radiata pine plantation. The harvest operation yielded 23 GMt/ha (5% of the total yield) of woody biomass (known as ‘fibreplus’), 443 GMt/ha of sawlogs and 28 GMt/ha of pulpwood. The mean quantity of biomass left on site was 128 GMt/ha, mainly consisting of branches and needles, sufficient to minimise nutrient loss and protect the soil from erosion. Woodchips derived from the fibreplus product were suitable for kraft pulp making, (when blended in small amounts with clean de-barked roundwood woodchips), and for energy generation. The method trialed with the fibreplus product being produced did not impact harvesting and processing productivity and costs, but extraction was 14% less productive. Through analysis of the productivities of each phase and development of a cost model the harvest and extraction of the fibreplus product was estimated to increase total unit costs by ∼4.9%. - Highlights: • Study of the productivity and cost impact of producing a woody biomass product. • We compared two scenarios – harvesting with and without the biomass product. • An additional 23 GMt/ha (5% of the total yield) of woody biomass

Conceptual design of a chickpea harvesting header

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Golpira

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Interest in the development of stripper headers is growing owing to the excessive losses of combine harvesters and costs of manually harvesting for chickpeas. The design of a new concept can enhance the mechanized process for chickpea harvesting. A modified stripper platform was designed, in which passive fingers with V-shape slots removes the pods from the anchored plant. The floating platform was accompanied by a reel to complete the harvesting header. Black-box modeling was used to redesign the functional operators of the header followed by an investigation of the system behavior. Physical models of the platform and reel were modified to determine the crucial variables of the header arrangement during field trials. The slot width was fixed at 40 mm, finger length at 40 mm, keyhole diameter at 10 mm and entrance width at 6 mm; the batted reel at peripheral diameter of 700 mm and speed at 50 rpm. A tractor-mounted experimental harvester was built to evaluate the work quality of the stripper header. The performance of the prototype was tested with respect to losses and results confirmed the efficiency of the modified stripper header for chickpea harvesting. Furthermore, the header with a 1.4 m working width produced the spot work rates of 0.42 ha h-1.

Wireless Energy Harvesting Using Signals from Multiple Fading Channels

KAUST Repository

Chen, Yunfei; Zhao, Nan; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2017-01-01

fading or Gamma-shadowed Rician fading. The received signals are then harvested by using either a single harvester for simultaneous transmissions or multiple harvesters for transmissions at different frequencies, antennas or time slots. Both linear

Pre and post harvest IPM for the mango fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verghese, Abraham; Sreedevi, K.; Nagaraju, D.K.

2006-01-01

The fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) is a major pest of mango in India. So, investigations were carried out to standardize an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for fruit fly-free and residue-free mango fruits. The study required orchard and laboratory studies, which were conducted on the commercial variety Banganapalli, at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta Lake P.O., Bangalore, India, during 2004 and 2005. Results showed that a pre harvest IPM combination of male annihilation technique (MAT) (using methyl eugenol as a lure) + sanitation brought down B. dorsalis infestation to 5.00% from an infestation ranging from 17 to 66% in control in both years. An additional cover spray of Decamethrin 2.8EC 0.5ml/l (which is half the recommended dose) + Azadirachtin (0.03 %) 2ml/l (neem based botanical) gave 100% control in both the years. Post harvest treatments with hot water at 48 degree C for 60 and 75 min resulted in 100% control at both the time regimes in 2004 and 2005. The untreated fruits, which were also exposed to gravid females (but not treated in hot water) showed 30% and 5.5% infestations, respectively, in 2004 and 2005. (author)

Pre and post harvest IPM for the mango fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verghese, Abraham; Sreedevi, K.; Nagaraju, D.K., E-mail: avergis@iihr.ernet.i [Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore, Karnataka (India)

2006-07-01

The fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) is a major pest of mango in India. So, investigations were carried out to standardize an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for fruit fly-free and residue-free mango fruits. The study required orchard and laboratory studies, which were conducted on the commercial variety Banganapalli, at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta Lake P.O., Bangalore, India, during 2004 and 2005. Results showed that a pre harvest IPM combination of male annihilation technique (MAT) (using methyl eugenol as a lure) + sanitation brought down B. dorsalis infestation to 5.00% from an infestation ranging from 17 to 66% in control in both years. An additional cover spray of Decamethrin 2.8EC 0.5ml/l (which is half the recommended dose) + Azadirachtin (0.03 %) 2ml/l (neem based botanical) gave 100% control in both the years. Post harvest treatments with hot water at 48 degree C for 60 and 75 min resulted in 100% control at both the time regimes in 2004 and 2005. The untreated fruits, which were also exposed to gravid females (but not treated in hot water) showed 30% and 5.5% infestations, respectively, in 2004 and 2005. (author)

Increasing global crop harvest frequency: recent trends and future directions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ray, Deepak K; Foley, Jonathan A

2013-01-01

The world’s agricultural systems face the challenge of meeting the rising demands from population growth, changing dietary preferences, and expanding biofuel use. Previous studies have put forward strategies for meeting this growing demand by increasing global crop production, either expanding the area under cultivation or intensifying the crop yields of our existing agricultural lands. However, another possible means for increasing global crop production has received less attention: increasing the frequency of global cropland harvested each year. Historically, many of the world’s croplands were left fallow, or had failed harvests, each year, foregoing opportunities for delivering crop production. Furthermore, many regions, particularly in the tropics, may be capable of multiple harvests per year, often more than are harvested today. Here we analyze a global compilation of agricultural statistics to show how the world’s harvested cropland has changed. Between 2000 and 2011, harvested land area grew roughly 4 times faster than total standing cropland area. Using a metric of cropland harvest frequency (CHF)—the ratio of land harvested each year to the total standing cropland—and its recent trends, we identify countries that harvest their croplands more frequently, and those that have the potential to increase their cropland harvest frequency. We suggest that a possible ‘harvest gap’ may exist in many countries that represents an opportunity to increase crop production on existing agricultural lands. However, increasing the harvest frequency of existing croplands could have significant environmental and social impacts, which need careful evaluation. (letter)

Energy harvesting from hydraulic pressure fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunefare, K A; Skow, E A; Erturk, A; Savor, J; Verma, N; Cacan, M R

2013-01-01

State-of-the-art hydraulic hose and piping systems employ integral sensor nodes for structural health monitoring to avoid catastrophic failures. Energy harvesting in hydraulic systems could enable self-powered wireless sensor nodes for applications such as energy-autonomous structural health monitoring and prognosis. Hydraulic systems inherently have a high energy intensity associated with the mean pressure and flow. Accompanying the mean pressure is the dynamic pressure ripple, which is caused by the action of pumps and actuators. Pressure ripple is a deterministic source with a periodic time-domain behavior conducive to energy harvesting. An energy harvester prototype was designed for generating low-power electricity from pressure ripples. The prototype employed an axially-poled off-the-shelf piezoelectric stack. A housing isolated the stack from the hydraulic fluid while maintaining a mechanical coupling allowing for dynamic-pressure-induced deflection of the stack. The prototype exhibited an off-resonance energy harvesting problem since the fundamental resonance of the piezoelectric stack was much higher than the frequency content of the pressure ripple. The prototype was designed to provide a suitable power output for powering sensors with a maximum output of 1.2 mW. This work also presents electromechanical model simulations and experimental characterization of the piezoelectric power output from the pressure ripple in terms of the force transmitted into the harvester. (paper)

A novel bistable energy harvesting concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scarselli, G; Nicassio, F; Pinto, F; Ciampa, F; Iervolino, O; Meo, M

2016-01-01

Bistable energy harvesting has become a major field of research due to some unique features for converting mechanical energy into electrical power. When properly loaded, bistable structures snap-through from one stable configuration to another, causing large strains and consequently power generation. Moreover, bistable structures can harvest energy across a broad-frequency bandwidth due to their nonlinear characteristics. Despite the fact that snap-through may be triggered regardless of the form or frequency of exciting vibration, the external force must reach a specific snap-through activation threshold value to trigger the transition from one stable state to another. This aspect is a limiting factor for realistic vibration energy harvesting application with bistable devices. This paper presents a novel power harvesting concept for bistable composites based on a ‘lever effect’ aimed at minimising the activation force to cause the snap through by choosing properly the bistable structures’ constraints. The concept was demonstrated with the help of numerical simulation and experimental testing. The results showed that the actuation force is one order of magnitude smaller (3%–6%) than the activation force of conventionally constrained bistable devices. In addition, it was shown that the output voltage was higher than the conventional configuration, leading to a significant increase in power generation. This novel concept could lead to a new generation of more efficient bistable energy harvesters for realistic vibration environments. (paper)

Performance Limits of Communication with Energy Harvesting

KAUST Repository

Znaidi, Mohamed Ridha

2016-01-01

In energy harvesting communications, the transmitters have to adapt transmission to the availability of energy harvested during communication. The performance of the transmission depends on the channel conditions which vary randomly due to mobility

Electronically droplet energy harvesting using piezoelectric cantilevers

KAUST Repository

Al Ahmad, Mahmoud Al; Jabbour, Ghassan E.

2012-01-01

A report is presented on free falling droplet energy harvesting using piezoelectric cantilevers. The harvester incorporates a multimorph clamped-free cantilever which is composed of five layers of lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric thick films

Cost, energy use and GHG emissions for forest biomass harvesting operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Fengli; Johnson, Dana M.; Wang, Jinjiang; Yu, Chunxia

2016-01-01

For forest-based biomass to become a significant contribution to the United States' energy portfolio, harvesting operations must be physically feasible and economically viable. An assessment of cost, energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of forest biomass harvesting was conducted. The assessment differentiates harvesting systems by cut-to-length and whole tree; harvest types of 30%, 70%, and 100% cut; and forest types of hardwoods, softwoods, mixed hardwood/softwood, and softwood plantations. Harvesting cost models were developed for economic assessment and life cycle energy and emission assessment was applied to calculate energy and emissions for different harvesting scenarios, considering material and energy inputs (machinery, diesel, etc.) and outputs (GHG emissions) for each harvesting process (felling, forwarding/skidding, etc.). The developed harvesting cost models and the life cycle energy and emission assessment method were applied in Michigan, U.S. using information collected from different sources. A sensitivity analysis was performed for selected input variables for the harvesting operations in order to explore their relative importance. The results indicated that productivity had the largest impact on harvesting cost followed by machinery purchase price, yearly scheduled hours, and expected utilization. Productivity and fuel use, as well as fuel factors, are the most influential environmental impacts of harvesting operations. - Highlights: • Life cycle energy and emissions for forest biomass harvesting operations. • Harvesting cost models were developed for economic assessment. • Productivity had the largest impact on harvesting cost. • Fuel use contributes the most emissions while lubricants contribute the least.