This study aimed to construct a cultivation simulator of high-quality tomato cultivation in hot and humid areas. In particular, the heat-shielding film characteristics and fruit cracking specific to high temperatures and humidity were modeled. The results of yield simulations based on meteorological data were compared with the results of cultivation test. As a result, these were almost in agreement with the cultivation results, suggesting the effectiveness of the simulation considering the characteristics of the film and the fruit cracking rate.

View full abstract

The major drawback of microwave drying is non-uniform heating which may result in low quality dried products. To monitor the electromagnetic field distribution, a simulation process using Finite Element Methods was conducted. Three geometries in different sizes were selected as the microwave cavity. Analysis of variance for the non-uniform heating index showed that cavity size has significant effect ( p < 0.05) on the index. Additionally, it was shown that in cube and cylinder type cavities, the positioning of the lamp has no significant effect on the electromagnetic field distribution. However, this is not true when more than 1 lamp is used. Experimental validation of simulated results proved that simulation can cover the pattern of temperature distribution with R² of 0.96.

View full abstract

This study has set out to clarify the side effects of flying copters in greenhouses with a special focus on disturbances on plant growth and its vibration due to propeller turbulences. To achieve this, images of seedlings were taken then processed by image processing algorithms to find the optimum copter flying height in order to detect the finest details (leaves, stems etc.). The results hint that growth of basil plants could be significantly hindered by copter-based vibration and in case of using copters for monitoring tasks with sporadic flights, the risk of plant growth reduction is negligible. In conclusion, the side effects of using copters in greenhouses are visible on plant growth.

View full abstract