Non-Destructive Technologies for Detecting Insect Infestation in Fruits and Vegetables under Postharvest Conditions: A Critical Review

In the last two decades, food scientists have attempted to develop new technologies that can improve the detection of insect infestation in fruits and vegetables under postharvest conditions using a multitude of non-destructive technologies. While consumers\u27 expectations for higher nutritive and sensorial value of fresh produce has increased over time, they have also become more critical on using insecticides or synthetic chemicals to preserve food quality from insects\u27 attacks or enhance the quality attributes of minimally processed fresh produce. In addition, the increasingly stringent quarantine measures by regulatory agencies for commercial import-export of fresh produce needs more reliable technologies for quickly detecting insect infestation in fruits and vegetables before their commercialization. For these reasons, the food industry investigates alternative and non-destructive means to improve food quality. Several studies have been conducted on the development of rapid, accurate, and reliable insect infestation monitoring systems to replace invasive and subjective methods that are often inefficient. There are still major limitations to the effective in-field, as well as postharvest on-line, monitoring applications. This review presents a general overview of current non-destructive techniques for the detection of insect damage in fruits and vegetables and discusses basic principles and applications. The paper also elaborates on the specific post-harvest fruit infestation detection methods, which include principles, protocols, specific application examples, merits, and limitations. The methods reviewed include those based on spectroscopy, imaging, acoustic sensing, and chemical interactions, with greater emphasis on the noninvasive methods. This review also discusses the current research gaps as well as the future research directions for non-destructive methods\u27 application in the detection and classification of insect infestation in fruits and vegetables

Nondestructive Multivariate Classification of Codling Moth Infested Apples Using Machine Learning and Sensor Fusion

Apple is the number one on the list of the most consumed fruits in the United States. The increasing market demand for high quality apples and the need for fast, and effective quality evaluation techniques have prompted research into the development of nondestructive evaluation methods. Codling moth (CM), Cydia pomonella L. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is the most devastating pest of apples. Therefore, this dissertation is focused on the development of nondestructive methods for the detection and classification of CM-infested apples. The objective one in this study was aimed to identify and characterize the source of detectable vibro-acoustic signals coming from CM-infested apples. A novel approach was developed to correlate the larval activities to low-frequency vibro-acoustic signals, by capturing the larval activities using a digital camera while simultaneously registering the signal patterns observed in the contact piezoelectric sensors on apple surface. While the larva crawling was characterized by the low amplitude and higher frequency (around 4 Hz) signals, the chewing signals had greater amplitude and lower frequency (around 1 Hz). In objective two and three, vibro-acoustic and acoustic impulse methods were developed to classify CM-infested and healthy apples. In the first approach, the identified vibro-acoustic patterns from the infested apples were used for the classification of the CM-infested and healthy signal data. The classification accuracy was as high as 95.94% for 5 s signaling time. For the acoustic impulse method, a knocking test was performed to measure the vibration/acoustic response of the infested apple fruit to a pre-defined impulse in comparison to that of a healthy sample. The classification rate obtained was 99% for a short signaling time of 60-80 ms. In objective four, shortwave near infrared hyperspectral imaging (SWNIR HSI) in the wavelength range of 900-1700 nm was applied to detect CM infestation at the pixel level for the three apple cultivars reaching an accuracy of up to 97.4%. In objective five, the physicochemical characteristics of apples were predicted using HSI method. The results showed the correlation coefficients of prediction (Rp) up to 0.90, 0.93, 0.97, and 0.91 for SSC, firmness, pH and moisture content, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of long-term storage (20 weeks) at three different storage conditions (0 °C, 4 °C, and 10 °C) on CM infestation and the detectability of the infested apples was studied. At a constant storage temperature the detectability of infested samples remained the same for the first three months then improved in the fourth month followed by a decrease until the end of the storage. Finally, a sensor data fusion method was developed which showed an improvement in the classification performance compared to the individual methods. These findings indicated there is a high potential of acoustic and NIR HSI methods for detecting and classifying CM infestation in different apple cultivars

Conceptual aspects management of competitiveness the economic entities: collective monograph

The authors of the book have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to effectively use modern approaches the management of competitiveness the economic entities in order to increase the efficiency of using the resource potential, formation of competitive advantages and development strategies. Basic research focuses on economic diagnostics of ensuring the competitiveness of economic entities, marketing and logistics, analysis of energy-efficient potential, assessment of development potential. The research results have been implemented in the different models of inventory management, corporate social responsibility management, business process management and project management. The results of the study can be used in decision-making at the level the economic entities in different areas of activity and organizational-legal forms of ownership, ministries and departments that promote of development the economic entities and increase their competitiveness. The results can also be used by students and young scientists in modern concepts and mechanisms for management of competitiveness the economic entities in the context of efficient use the resource potential and introduction of modern innovations

Linking people, places and products. A guide for promoting quality linked to geographical origin and sustainable geographical indications

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of FAO. The views expressed in the contribution by SINER-GI members are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the potential use of the information contained herein

Book of abstracts of the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference: CHEMPOR 2008

This book contains the extended abstracts presented at the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference - CHEMPOR 2008, held in Braga, Portugal, over 3 days, from the 4th to the 6th of September, 2008. Previous editions took place in Lisboa (1975, 1889, 1998), Braga (1978), Póvoa de Varzim (1981), Coimbra (1985, 2005), Porto (1993), and Aveiro (2001). The conference was jointly organized by the University of Minho, “Ordem dos Engenheiros”, and the IBB - Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering with the usual support of the “Sociedade Portuguesa de Química” and, by the first time, of the “Sociedade Portuguesa de Biotecnologia”. Thirty years elapsed since CHEMPOR was held at the University of Minho, organized by T.R. Bott, D. Allen, A. Bridgwater, J.J.B. Romero, L.J.S. Soares and J.D.R.S. Pinheiro. We are fortunate to have Profs. Bott, Soares and Pinheiro in the Honor Committee of this 10th edition, under the high Patronage of his Excellency the President of the Portuguese Republic, Prof. Aníbal Cavaco Silva. The opening ceremony will confer Prof. Bott with a “Long Term Achievement” award acknowledging the important contribution Prof. Bott brought along more than 30 years to the development of the Chemical Engineering science, to the launch of CHEMPOR series and specially to the University of Minho. Prof. Bott’s inaugural lecture will address the importance of effective energy management in processing operations, particularly in the effectiveness of heat recovery and the associated reduction in greenhouse gas emission from combustion processes. The CHEMPOR series traditionally brings together both young and established researchers and end users to discuss recent developments in different areas of Chemical Engineering. The scope of this edition is broadening out by including the Biological Engineering research. One of the major core areas of the conference program is life quality, due to the importance that Chemical and Biological Engineering plays in this area. “Integration of Life Sciences & Engineering” and “Sustainable Process-Product Development through Green Chemistry” are two of the leading themes with papers addressing such important issues. This is complemented with additional leading themes including “Advancing the Chemical and Biological Engineering Fundamentals”, “Multi-Scale and/or Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Process-Product Innovation”, “Systematic Methods and Tools for Managing the Complexity”, and “Educating Chemical and Biological Engineers for Coming Challenges” which define the extended abstracts arrangements along this book. A total of 516 extended abstracts are included in the book, consisting of 7 invited lecturers, 15 keynote, 105 short oral presentations given in 5 parallel sessions, along with 6 slots for viewing 389 poster presentations. Full papers are jointly included in the companion Proceedings in CD-ROM. All papers have been reviewed and we are grateful to the members of scientific and organizing committees for their evaluations. It was an intensive task since 610 submitted abstracts from 45 countries were received. It has been an honor for us to contribute to setting up CHEMPOR 2008 during almost two years. We wish to thank the authors who have contributed to yield a high scientific standard to the program. We are thankful to the sponsors who have contributed decisively to this event. We also extend our gratefulness to all those who, through their dedicated efforts, have assisted us in this task. On behalf of the Scientific and Organizing Committees we wish you that together with an interesting reading, the scientific program and the social moments organized will be memorable for all.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Proceedings of the European Conference on Agricultural Engineering AgEng2021

This proceedings book results from the AgEng2021 Agricultural Engineering Conference under auspices of the European Society of Agricultural Engineers, held in an online format based on the University of Évora, Portugal, from 4 to 8 July 2021. This book contains the full papers of a selection of abstracts that were the base for the oral presentations and posters presented at the conference. Presentations were distributed in eleven thematic areas: Artificial Intelligence, data processing and management; Automation, robotics and sensor technology; Circular Economy; Education and Rural development; Energy and bioenergy; Integrated and sustainable Farming systems; New application technologies and mechanisation; Post-harvest technologies; Smart farming / Precision agriculture; Soil, land and water engineering; Sustainable production in Farm buildings

Knowledge Organization and Terminology: application to Cork

This PhD thesis aims to prove the relevance of texts within the conceptual strand of terminological work. Our methodology serves to demonstrate how linguists can infer knowledge information from texts and subsequently systematise it, either through semiformal or formal representations. We mainly focus on the terminological analysis of specialised corpora resorting to semi-automatic tools for text analysis to systematise lexical-semantic relationships observed in specialised discourse context and subsequent modelling of the underlying conceptual system. The ultimate goal of this methodology is to propose a typology that can help lexicographers to write definitions. Based on the double dimension of Terminology, we hypothesise that text and logic modelling do not go hand in hand since the latter does not directly relate to the former. We highlight that knowledge and language are crucial for knowledge systematisation, albeit keeping in mind that they pertain to different levels of analysis, for they are not isomorphic. To meet our goals, we resorted to specialised texts produced within the industry of cork. These texts provide us with a test bed made of knowledge-rich data which enable us to demonstrate our deductive mechanisms employing the Aristotelian formula: X=Y+DC through the linguistic and conceptual analysis of the semi-automatically extracted textual data. To explore the corpus, we resorted to text mining strategies where regular expressions play a central role. The final goal of this study is to create a terminological resource for the cork industry, where two types of resources interlink, namely the CorkCorpus and the OntoCork. TermCork is a project that stems from the organisation of knowledge in the specialised field of cork. For that purpose, a terminological knowledge database is being developed to feed an e-dictionary. This e-dictionary is designed as a multilingual and multimodal product, where several resources, namely linguistic and conceptual ones are paired. OntoCork is a micro domain-ontology where the concepts are enriched with natural language definitions and complemented with images, either annotated with metainformation or enriched with hyperlinks to additional information, such as a lexicographic resource. This type of e-dictionary embodies what we consider a useful terminological tool in the current digital information society: accounting for its main features, along with an electronic format that can be integrated into the Semantic Web due to its interoperability data format. This aspect emphasises its contribution to reduce ambiguity as much as possible and to increase effective communication between experts of the domain, future experts, and language professionals.Cette thèse vise à prouver la pertinence des textes dans le volet conceptuel du travail terminologique. Notre méthodologie sert à démontrer comment les linguistes peuvent déduire des informations de connaissance à partir de textes et les systématiser par la suite, soit à travers des représentations semi-formelles ou formelles. Nous nous concentrons principalement sur l'analyse terminologique de corpus spécialisé faisant appel à des outils semi-automatiques d'analyse de texte pour systématiser les relations lexico-sémantiques observées dans un contexte de discours spécialisé et la modélisation ultérieure du système conceptuel sous-jacent. L’objectif de cette méthodologie est de proposer une typologie qui peut aider les lexicographes à rédiger des définitions. Sur la base de la double dimension de la terminologie, nous émettons l'hypothèse que la modélisation textuelle et logique ne va pas de pair puisque cette dernière n'est pas directement liée à la première. Nous soulignons que la connaissance et le langage sont essentiels pour la systématisation des connaissances, tout en gardant à l'esprit qu'ils appartiennent à différents niveaux d'analyse, car ils ne sont pas isomorphes. Pour atteindre nos objectifs, nous avons eu recours à des textes spécialisés produits dans l'industrie du liège. Ces textes nous fournissent un banc d'essai constitué de données riches en connaissances qui nous permettent de démontrer nos mécanismes déductifs utilisant la formule aristotélicienne : X = Y + DC à travers l'analyse linguistique et conceptuelle des données textuelles extraites semi-automatiquement. Pour l'exploitation du corpus, nous avons recours à des stratégies de text mining où les expressions régulières jouent un rôle central. Le but de cette étude est de créer une ressource terminologique pour l'industrie du liège, où deux types de ressources sont liés, à savoir le CorkCorpus et l'OntoCork. TermCork est un projet qui découle de l'organisation des connaissances dans le domaine spécialisé du liège. À cette fin, une base de données de connaissances terminologiques est en cours de développement pour alimenter un dictionnaire électronique. Cet edictionnaire est conçu comme un produit multilingue et multimodal, où plusieurs ressources, à savoir linguistiques et conceptuelles, sont jumelées. OntoCork est une micro-ontologie de domaine où les concepts sont enrichis de définitions de langage naturel et complétés par des images, annotées avec des méta-informations ou enrichies d'hyperliens vers des informations supplémentaires. Ce type de dictionnaire électronique désigne ce que nous considérons comme un outil terminologique utile dans la société de l'information numérique actuelle : la prise en compte de ses principales caractéristiques, ainsi qu'un format électronique qui peut être intégré dans le Web sémantique en raison de son format de données d'interopérabilité. Cet aspect met l'accent sur sa contribution à réduire autant que possible l'ambiguïté et à accroître l'efficacité de la communication entre les experts du domaine, les futurs experts et les professionnels de la langue

Geomatics in support of the Common Agriculture Policy

The 2009 Annual Conference was the 15th organised by GeoCAP action of the Joint Research Centre in ISPRA. It was jointly organised with the Italian Agenzia per le erogazioni in agricoltura (AGEA, coordinating organism of the Italian agricultural paying agencies). The Conference covered the 2009 Control with Remote sensing campaign activities and ortho-imagery use in all the CAP management and control procedures. There has been a specific focus on the Land Parcel Identification Systems quality assessment process. The conference was structured over three days ¿ 18th to 20th November. The first day was mainly dedicated to future Common Agriculture Policy perspectives and futures challenges in Agriculture. The second was shared in technical parallel sessions addressing topics like: LPIS Quality Assurance and geodatabases features; new sensors, new software, and their use within the CAP; and Good Agriculture and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) control methods and implementing measures. The last day was dedicated to the review of the 2009 CwRS campaign and the preparation of the 2010 one. The presentations were made available on line, and this publication represents the best presentations judged worthy of inclusion in a conference proceedings aimed at recording the state of the art of technology and practice of that time.JRC.DG.G.3-Monitoring agricultural resource