In this study, we developed 44 working motion detector templates and a behavioral recognition system with the motion templates to recognize worker behaviors, such as turning, squatting, and moving arms, performed by a worker along furrows in the cultivated field of peas. The 44 motion detector templates were designed to identify working motions such as sitting down, moving arms, turning counterclockwise, turning clockwise, up-and-down, side-to-side. The behavioral recognition system with the motion templates was designed to recognize the 12 behavior types and the three behavior category types of turning, squatting, and moving arms behaviors. In the experiments, the developed motion detector templates could consistently well respond to the working motions in the 12 types of behaviors performed by two workers. The behavioral recognition system with the motion templates could recognize the three behavior category types could be robustly determined with the total recognition rate of 80.5%. The results of the experiments demonstrated the applicability and robustness of the developed working motion templates and the behavioral recognition system with the motion templates to recognize the three behavior category types.

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This study set out to examine the effective utilization of operation data for agricultural cloud computing analyses and the creation of a simulation map for the amounts of agrochemical sprayed by a tractor to estimate the wind speed in a field. This estimation was based on the tractor trajectory and wind data obtained from an ultrasonic anemometer mounted on the roof of the tractor cabin. The wind data was applied to a model of the spray drift pattern for each nozzle, as measured in a wind tunnel at wind speeds of 0–3 m/s, such that a simulation map could be created. Eighty sheets of water-sensitive paper were placed in the field to enable the creation of an actual spray distribution map, against which the simulation results could be evaluated. There are some characteristic change appear on both maps and the results exhibited a correlation of 0.79. Therefore, the simulation was proven to be a viable means of evaluating the

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In this study, a modeling approach is used to clarify and estimate the exposure pathways of pesticides on tea plantations using a case study of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and an improvement to the Japanese good agricultural practice (GAP) is proposed. We develop a dynamic compartment model to project the fate and transport of a pesticide after application in accordance with the Japanese GAP. Two pesticides, Azoxystrobin and Clothianidin, were analyzed using the model for a given set of circumstances. The results indicate that the implementation of a fixed preharvest interval time, which is a crucial provision in the GAP, is not appropriate. The reason for this is that the dissipation rates of pesticides in tea leaves vary with the timing of the pesticide application and are influenced by factors specific to the plantation area. The dissipation rates are 1.5–3.9 days for Azoxystrobin and 3.8–9.5 days for Clothianidin. This study also clarifies that incorporating plantation-area-specific factors, such as temperature, in the GAP guidelines are essential to ensure that pesticide residues are lower than the desired level. Furthermore, to produce good-quality and safe green tea, the GAP should provide detailed and precise guidelines for the timing of pesticide application and formulation of the dosage treatment. These guidelines should be determined by considering specific provisions for the harvest times of fresh tea leaves.

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Mechanical harvest is one promising method to mitigate the labor pressure in fresh-market tree fruit industries. Due to the difficulty in adopting fully mechanical harvesting technologies in most of the current existing canopy architectures, this study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a mechanical-assist shake-and-catch system to harvest sweet cherries in a large range of commercial orchards. Field evaluation was conducted on four cherry varieties from nine orchards with three canopy architectures. Time distribution in each procedure, and the harvest rate defined as the amount of fruit harvested by a shake-and-catch team (two operators) or a skilled picker in a minute, were analyzed to determine the key factors in efficient harvesting. Time distribution study showed that shaking time accounted for less than 30% of entire operation time, while more than 50% of time was spent on relocation of the shake-and-catch system. Results showed that cherry trees with small pedicel fruit retention force, small canopy size and heavy fruit load had higher harvest rate for mechanical harvesting. The harvest rate could be potentially increased as high as 13.9 times if only the shaking time was considered, which indicated the substantial influence of the processes of catching fruit, relocating fruit catcher and moving ladders. The test results also indicated that the tree architecture had substantial influence on fruit removal efficiency, fruit catching rate, and fruit damage rate.

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The development of reliable means of charging for finely divided particulate matter is among the major portion of the research activities in electrostatic spraying. This paper presents the role of electrode material and engineering aspects in spray charging with emphasis on theoretical considerations of selection of electrode material and its dimensional shape and size. It reveals the charge-to-mass ratio dependency on variables such as electrode material, shape and geometrical specifications, which is in good agreement with the theoretical considerations. For the particular designed electrostatic nozzle, it is found that optimum electrode position is in the range of 2.0–3.0 mm from the nozzle tip. The copper electroplated with nickel as a charging electrode material can be plausible alternative for spray charging as excellent charge-to-mass ratio 2.8 mC/kg is attained for improved efficacy and efficiency of the electrostatic spraying processes. Possible limitations requiring further research includes the design for maximum charge injection rate, which is thought to be limited by corona breakdown, again a trade-off in air media between charging electrode and liquid sheet.

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The moisture adsorption isotherms of tef (Eragrostis tef) seeds were studied under temperature and relative humidity ranges of 10–40 °C and 15–90%, respectively. The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) decreased with increase in temperature and increased with increase in relative humidity significantly (p < 0.05). The adsorption isotherms exhibited sigmoid shape (type II) which is common for most biological and food materials. The GAB and Peleg models best described the moisture adsorption characteristics of tef seeds resulting in high R² (0.99), low mean relative percentage deviation, E (<5%) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values with random distribution of residuals. The thermodynamic properties determined in this study were net isosteric heat, differential entropy, spreading pressure, net integral enthalpy and net integral entropy. The net isosteric heats and the differential entropy decreased exponentially with increase in moisture content. The spreading pressure increased with increase in water activity. The net integral enthalpy decreased with increase in moisture content whereas the net integral entropy increased with increase in moisture content and remained negative in value.

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Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has been employed successfully to detect chemicals such as explosives, illicit drugs, chemical warfare agents, pharmaceutical chemicals, and environmental pollutants. However, applications of IMS in pre- and post-harvest agriculture production management has not been explored adequately. Characteristics such as high sensitivity, selectivity, analytical flexibility, field portability, and real-time monitoring abilities offer great potential of IMS applications in agriculture. In this paper, reviewed are the different types of IMS, their working principles, and agricultural applications. Some of the agricultural applications include; detection of contaminants affecting soil and plants, assessing plant stress, and monitoring postharvest agricultural produce quality and safety.

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The mechanization of rice production is important, especially for harvesting. To improve the work capacity and reduce the operating cost of rice combines, we studied the work patterns and the operating efficiency of the machinery. The factors affecting operating costs were evaluated. To study the effect of two harvesting patterns – circuitous and continuous on the efficiency of rice combine; we estimated a series of work locus equations. Work efficiency and capacity were defined by the area of the paddy field, type of machinery, and work patterns. With field area <0.4 ha, a circuitous pattern was efficient. With fields 0.4–0.5 ha, either pattern could be used. A continuous pattern was efficient for larger areas. Operating capacity and purchase price were the major factors determining operating cost. In terms of long-term development, a larger combine is more economical.

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Quality evaluation is a very challenging problem in the bakery industry, and, consequently, much time and attempts are spent on the techniques to address quality control. The quality evaluation and authentication of the bakery products is considered according to the knowledge on many food quality indicators like flavor. To deal with this new necessity, biomimetics or human sense inspired technologies, has been emerged. Hence, in order to provide and maintain an appropriate quality for the consumer demand, bakery technologists require reliable instruments for the determination of the quality of their products. Electronic nose, an innovative measurement system mimicking olfaction, has attracted much interest. This paper presents some key aspects on the motivation for the development and use of electronic nose in the bakery industry. Its applications, challenging problem, future trend and perspectives are discussed as well.

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