Development of an automated irrigation system for horticultural nurseries

Horticulture is becoming an important sector in the agricultural industry. Due to increasing demand for planting materials, horticultural nurseries are being established in many parts of the country. Irrigation is one of the most important operations for any nursery to produce salable plants. With increasing cost of labour and less attractive working environment in the agricultural sector, automation of irrigation and other agricultural practices, is a necessity in order for the horticultural industry to survive. An automated micro-irrigation system is being developed and evaluated at UPM. An imported 6-station controller, solenoid valves, and micro-sprayers were installed to irrigate fruit seedlings grown in ceramic pots. Initial work is on determining plant water requirements for scheduling the system operation. For nurseries with enough pressure from the main, use of battery-operated valves are recommended

Bird Species Composition in Ayer Hitam Forest, Puchong, Selangor

This study focused on the avian species composition in Ayer Hitam Forest, Puchong, Selangor. The forest is an isolated secondary lowland forest and was logged between 1936 to 1954. Two methods were used to examine the composition of birds in the area namely by Mist-netting and Distance Sampling-Point Count. Results indicated that a total of 38 families which comprised of 160 species of birds have been recorded. The three biggest families that represent about 23.5 percent of the total species are Timaliidae, Cuculidae and Pycnonotidae. The most common individuals recorded belong to the family Pycnonotidae. The forest is dominated by insectivore/frugivore group which is represented by mainly colonising secondary species. Certain species of hornbills (e.g. Buceros rhinoceros) and babblers (e.g. Pomatorhinus montanus) that are normally found in primary forest are absent. These results suggested that the composition offamilies and trophic structures of birds in Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve are comparable with those at other forest reserve areas. However, the absence of many primary forest species suggested that the forest is still under recovering process. It is recommended that the major part of the forest is left undisturbed to prevent the few remaining wild life habitats from further destruction and to allow the wildlife species composition to return to the original condition

A study on motivational factors that influence employee performance at Majlis Perbandaran Sungai Petani Kedah (MPSPK) / Nurulhanim Aqela Zakaria and Siti Humairah Abdul Hamid

Employee perfonnance is an important principle for the successfulness of local governments. It is important as local governments cover up 70% of the population and an important institution in Malaysia. The extent of employee perfonnance in local government will indicates the perfonnance of the employees. In addition, motivation is one of the factors that can enhance the employee perfonnance in local governments. Therefore, this study aims to examine the relationship between motivational factors which include recognition, working environment, training and communication. A survey was conducted at Majlis Perbandaran Sungai Petani Kedah (MPSPK). TI1e data were collected using a self-administrated questionnaire from 165 respondents using a systematic sampling technique. However, only 148 responses with 89.7% response rate were deemed suitable for further analysis. The result of this study indicates that there is high extent of employee perfonnance at MPSPK and communication is the most dominant factor that influences employee perfonnance at MPSPK. This study also shows that all hypothesis on motivational factors listed were accepted

Effect of Groundnut Plant Residues on Germination and Radicle Elongation of Four Crop Species

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) )yield has been reported to decrease by more than 50% with successive croppings. Filtrates from fresh and decomposed groundnut plant residues were bioassyed for their effects on germination and radicle elongation of four crop species. Results obtained indicated that the inhibitory substance(s)present in the residues is soluble in water; heat treatment or prolonged decomposition seemed 10 reduces or possible eliminate the inhibitory activity of the residues. The production of the inhibitor(s) also seem to follow a cycle and may also be associated with changes in pH of the residue filtrates.Delaying D planting of the subsequent crop is suggested as a precaution against poor germination and early growth if plant residue Were incorporated or left on Ihe soilsurface after harvest

Growth inhibition and stimulation by groundnut plant residue

Groundnut plant residue at different placements in the soil was tested for phytotoxic and other effects on the growth and development of groundnut and maize plants. Results indicated that the residue released substances during decomposition that inhibited growth and development of groundnut. Residues mixed with the soil or banded in a layer below the seed was the most inhibitory to the growth of groundnut. However, early maize growth was stimulated by the presence of residue on the soil surface or in the soil

The generation of dual wavelength pulse fiber laser using fiber bragg grating

A stable simple generation of dual wavelength pulse fiber laser on experimental method is proposed and demonstrated by using Figure eight circuit diagram. The generation of dual wavelength pulse fiber laser was proposed using fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) with two different central wavelengths which are 1550 nm and 1560 nm. At 600 mA (27.78 dBm) of laser diode, the stability of dual wavelength pulse fiber laser appears on 1550 nm and 1560 nm with the respective peak powers of -54.03 dBm and -58.00 dBm. The wavelength spacing of the spectrum is about 10 nm while the signal noise to ratio (SNR) for both peaks are about 8.23 dBm and 9.67 dBm. In addition, the repetition rate is 2.878 MHz with corresponding pulse spacing of about 0.5 μs, is recorded

Monetary Policy, Debt and the Cyclical Behavior of Inventories

An earlier study on the determinants of inventories investment has been proposed by Lovel (1961). However, the study fails to mention the effects of financial variables. The puzzle prevails on account of imperfect capital markets. This implies that interest rate generally affects inventory investment indirectly through the debt channel. For instance, in the period of tight monetary policy, increasing interest rates have a negative impact on the present value of firms’ collateralizable net worth. In addition, they also weaken firms’ balance sheets as interest expenses also rise up. In imperfect capital markets, this fact indicates an increase in the amount of external financing that firms need, a rise in the premium on external financing that they face, and a reduction in their accumulation of assets, their spending and their production. Given the low adjustment cost that characterizes firms, it will be inventories that firms will initially reduce. Therefore, this paper is contributes to the issue of monetary policy transmission in Malaysia. Our specific attention is limited to the channel of monetary policy on a firm’s inventory. Using micro data, we try to take into account the relevance of the firm’s balance sheet conditions in the transmission of monetary policy

ANALISIS UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLIES DENGAN OUTPUT GELOMBANG SINUS

Dalam penulisan jurnal ini dibahas tentang Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) atau catu daya yang tidak terputus. UPS atau catu daya yang tak putus merupakan suatu alat yang dapat menggantikan catu daya PLN untuk sementara waktu. UPS mampu mencatu daya bagi suatu beban karena di dalam UPS terdapat akumulator yang dapat menyimpan energy listrik, Namun akumulator tidak akan mensuplai energi kebeban selama catu daya PLN masih bekerja. Akumulator akan bekerja secara otomatis mensuplai arus kebeban bila catu daya PLN padam setelah melalui inverter yang mana mengubah arus DC menjadi AC. Bila catu daya PLN telah normal kembali maka akumulator akan kembali terisi secara otomatis setelah tegangannya berkurang karena telah dipakai untuk men¬suplai beban. Cepat tidaknya energy akumulator habis atau berkurang tergantung dari bebannya, semakin besar bebannya semakin cepat pula energinya habis atau berkuran