A Technical-Economic Comparison between Conventional Tillage and Conservative Techniques in Paddy-Rice Production Practice in Northern Italy

In this study a technical-economic comparison was conducted to compare three different agronomic practices applied to paddy rice cultivation areas in Italy: one based on conventional tillage (CT), and two adopting conservative agriculture approaches, namely minimum tillage (MT) and no-tillage (NT). Data about production inputs (seed, fertilizers, agrochemicals, fuel) and working time were measured for each technique during the whole production season in three experimental fields. The total production costs were computed by adding the mechanization costs, calculated through the ASABE (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers) EP (Engineering Practice) 496.3 methodology, and the production input costs. The results of the study highlighted a significant reduction of total costs obtained with both minimum ( 1216%) and no-tillage ( 1219%) compared to conventional tillage

Optical devices evaluation for diagnosis of Plasmopara viticola

Remote sensing (RS) is the most widely adopted technique for crop monitoring in precision viticulture (PV).  Recent research looks at the development of proximal sensing technologies alternative to RS.  The present work considers the possible use of proximal sensing optical devices for diagnosis in vineyard; in particular, we evaluated the GreenSeeker RT100 and the Crop Circle (two commercial optical sensors) in detecting different levels of grapevine downy mildew symptoms.  The analysis was conducted on vine leaves that had been picked from plants of cv.  Cabernet Franc infected by Plasmopara viticola.  Leaves were divided into homogeneous infection classes and then analyzed through the optical devices and a portable Vis/NIR (visible/near infrared) spectrophotometer used as tester.  Data showed a linear relation between the percentage of symptomatic leaf area and normalized difference vegetation index NDVI calculated through the two optical sensors (R2 = 0.708 for GreenSeeker; R2 = 0.599 for Crop Circle; R2 = 0.950 for the spectrophotometer).  The regression obtained for GreenSeeker is more significant than the regression obtained for Crop Circle.  This fact suggests a greater capability of GreenSeeker than Crop Circle in detecting different disease levels and its possible use in diagnosis application in vineyard.Keywords: precision viticulture, diagnosis, NDVI, proximal sensing, optical devices 

Coefficients of repair and maintenance costs of self-propelled combine harvesters in Italy

Purchasing and maintaining agricultural machines are two of the most considerable costs of the agricultural sector, which includes farm equipment manufacturers, farm contractors and farms.  In this context, repair and maintenance costs (R&M costs) generally constitute 10%-15% of the total costs related to agricultural equipment and tend to increase with the age of the equipment; hence, an important consideration in farm management is the optimal time for equipment replacement.  R&M cost estimation models, calculated as a function of accumulated working hours, are usually developed by ASAE/ASABE for the agricultural situation in the United States, which is considerably different than agricultural context of other countries.  So, the goal of this work is to recalculate model parameters according to the Italian situation.  For this purpose, data related to 20 self-propelled combine harvesters in Italy were collected. According to the model, which was obtained by interpolating the data through a two-parameter power function (as proposed by the literature), the R&M cost incidence on the list price of Italian self-propelled combine harvesters at 3,000 working hours (estimated life of the machines) was 23.1% as compared with 40.2% calculated through the most recent U.S. model.    Keywords: operating costs, agricultural mechanization, machinery managemen

The profitability of precision spraying on specialty crops: a technical–economic analysis of protection equipment at increasing technological levels

A technical–economic analysis was conducted on three different technological levels of spraying equipment for specialty crops, based on the results on precision spraying technologies reported in scientific literature. The application scenarios referred to general protection protocols against fungal diseases adopted in vineyards and apple orchards in Central-Southern Europe. The analysis evaluated the total costs of protection treatments (equipment + pesticide costs), comparing the use of conventional air-blast sprayers (referred to as L0), of on–off switching sprayers (L1), and of canopy-optimised distribution sprayers (L2). Pesticide savings from 10 to 35% were associated with equipment L1 and L2, as compared to L0. Within the assumptions made, on grapevines, the conventional sprayer L0 resulted in the most profitable option for vineyard areas smaller than 10 ha; from 10 ha to approximately 100 ha, L1 was the best option, while above 100 ha, the more advanced equipment L2 resulted in the best choice. On apple orchards, L0 was the best option for areas smaller than 17 ha. Above this value, L1 was more profitable, while L2 never proved advantageous. Finally, in a speculation on possible prospectives of precision spraying on specialty crops, the introduction of an autonomous robotic platform able to selectively target the pesticide on diseased areas was hypothesised. The analysis indicated that the purchase price that would make the robotic platform profitable, thanks to the assumed pesticide and labour savings over conventional sprayers, was unrealistically lower than current industrial cost. This study showed that, in current conditions, profitability cannot be the only driver for possible adoption of intelligent robotic platforms for precision spraying on specialty crops, while on–off and canopy-optimised technologies can be profitable over conventional spraying in specific conditions

Comparing commercial optical sensors for crop monitoring tasks in precision viticulture.

The emergence of precision agriculture technologies and an increasing demand for higher quality grape products has led to a growing interest in Precision Viticulture. Actually, cultural monitoring is the most important application in PV systems: it requires specific technologies able to investigate the cultural conditions. To this aim, typically remote sensing surveys are adopted. These, anyhow, involve technical, economical and organisational barriers hampering a wide diffusion of their application. In order to overcome these problems, it would be necessary to substitute and/or integrate remote sensing information with alternative ground sensing technologies, to be employed directly inside the vineyard. This paper considers a commercial optical sensor, the GreenSeeker, useful in ground sensing surveys, and it compares its performances in monitoring vine with results obtained by a multispectral digital camera used as a tester. The experimentation was carried out in a greenhouse, on an artificial row including 15 grapevines (Cabernet Sauvignon variety). In front of the row, it was fixed a metallic rail gauge in order to permit a longitudinal movement of the Greenseeker sensor. Each plant was investigated at three different heights with a 5 s data time acquisition. Simultaneously, photos of the same grapevine were took by a multispectral digital camera, in order to obtain NDVI values through image analysis. The multispectral digital camera, normally used for remote sensing survey in agriculture, was considered as a test. Results demonstrate a strength correlation (R2 = 0.97) between the NDVI values measured through the two methods. This shows the same behaviour of the two tools, according to crop vigour and stress conditions induced into the plants. Consequently the GreenSeeker can be considered as a suitable solution for cultural monitoring in viticulture

Analysis of electric energy consumption of automatic milking systems in different configurations and operative conditions.

Automatic milking systems (AMS) have been a revolutionary innovation in dairy cow farming. Currently, more than 10,000 dairy cow farms worldwide use AMS to milk their cows. Electric consumption is one of the most relevant and uncontrollable operational cost of AMS, ranging between 35 and 40% of their total annual operational costs. The aim of the present study was to measure and analyze the electric energy consumption of 4 AMS with different configurations: single box, central unit featuring a central vacuum system for 1 cow unit and for 2 cow units. The electrical consumption (daily consumption, daily consumption per cow milked, consumption per milking, and consumption per 100L of milk) of each AMS (milking unit + air compressor) was measured using 2 energy analyzers. The measurement period lasted 24h with a sampling frequency of 0.2Hz. The daily total energy consumption (milking unit + air compressor) ranged between 45.4 and 81.3 kWh; the consumption per cow milked ranged between 0.59 and 0.99 kWh; the consumption per milking ranged between 0.21 and 0.33 kWh; and the consumption per 100L of milk ranged between 1.80 to 2.44 kWh according to the different configurations and operational contexts considered. Results showed that AMS electric consumption was mainly conditioned by farm management rather than machine characteristics/architectures

Design and testing of a GPS/GSM collar prototype to combat cattle rustling

Rustling is an age-old practice that was widespread in Italy until the first half of the 20th century. Today, incidents of cattle rustling are again being reported. However, the problem is not only found in Italy. It is also becoming a plague for ranchers in the US and is still rampant in East Africa. In Italy, the cattle rustling phenomena have usually been limited through the direct control of the herdsmen. Global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information system (GIS) combined technologies are increasingly applied for tracking and monitoring livestock with greater spatial and temporal resolution. However, so far, no case studies of the use of GPS technology to combat cattle rustling have been reported in the literature. The aim of this research was to develop a GPS/GSM (global system for mobile communication) collar, using commercial hardware and implementing a specific software [ARVAshepherd 1.0; ARVAtec Srl, Rescaldina (MI), Italy] to track animals' movements outside their grazing area and to signal when animals are straying outside virtual perimeters. A phase I study was conducted from January to June 2011 to build the GPS/GSM collar and to assess its performances in terms of GPS accuracy and precision, while a phase II study was conducted in July 2011 to test the GPS collar under real-life operating conditions. The static GPS positioning error achieved a circular error probable (50%) and horizontal 95% accuracy of 1.462 m and 4.501 m, respectively. This is comparable with values obtained by other authors in static tests of a commercial GPS collar for grazing studies. In field tests, the system was able to identify the incorrect position of the cattle and the warning messages were sent promptly to the farmer, continuing until the animals had been repositioned inside the fence, thus highlighting the potential of the GPS/GSM collar as an anti-theft system

Analysis of Hazardous Emissions of Hand-Operated Forestry Machines Fuelled with Standard Mix or Alkylate Gasoline

In addition to safety, small hand-operated forestry machines can be criticised for affecting the operators\u2019 health, especially because of high levels of exhaust gas emissions, noise and vibrations. In this study, gas emissions, noise and hand-arm vibrations (HAV) levels have been measured on chainsaws, hedge cutters and blowers fuelled with two different types of fuel: a commercial RON 95 gasoline with the addition of 2% of synthetic oil suitable for two-stroke engines and, as an alternative, a specific advanced mixture available on the market, based on alkylate gasoline. For two different running conditions, i.e. with the engine at idle speed and when executing a typical working routine (maximum speed with load), tests were carried out for: \u21d2 ggas emissions, using a gas analyser, for measuring the volatile organic compounds (VOC) values \u21d2 gnoise, using a sound level meter, to record the levels at both of the operator\u2019s ears \u21d2 gHAV, using a tri-axial accelerometer fixed on the handgrip(s) of the machines. The results demonstrated that, when using the alkylate fuel, the VOC emissions were reduced, in the considered machines, from 23 to over 77%, while for noise and HAV, the differences in level were not statistically significant. The present study confirms that the reduction in the amount of emissions can be remarkably improved by adopting advanced fuels that lead to a more efficient combustion process

Analisi tecnico-economica di cantieri per la difesa delle colture con tecnologie a diverso grado di innovazione

Nel presente studio \ue8 stata condotta un\u2019analisi tecnico-economica su tre cantieri a diverso grado di innovazione per la distribuzione di agrofarmaci su colture specializzate, a partire da dati scientifici presenti in letteratura. In particolare, il lavoro si \ue8 concentrato sull\u2019applicazione di fungicidi in vigneto e in meleto nel contesto del centro-sud europeo. L\u2019analisi ha permesso di confrontare i costi totali legati ai trattamenti (ovvero comprendenti costi per macchine e agrofarmaci) tra: a) un cantiere trattore-atomizzatore convenzionale (L0), b) un cantiere con atomizzatore in grado di realizzare una distribuzione on-off in funzione della presenza o meno della parete vegetale (L1), e c) un cantiere con atomizzatore a distribuzione variabile in funzione della densit\ue0 della chioma (L2). Adottando i cantieri L1 e L2 \ue8 stato osservato un risparmio in agrofarmaci compreso tra il 10 e il 35% rispettivamente. In particolare, su vigneto l\u2019adozione del cantiere L1 \ue8 risultata conveniente gi\ue0 per superfici comprese tra 10 e 100 ha mentre, oltre i 100 ha, \ue8 apparso pi\uf9 conveniente il cantiere L2. In meleto, L1 e risultato conveniente per superfici aziendali superiori a 17 ha, mentre la configurazione L2 non \ue8 apparsa mai la soluzione pi\uf9 sostenibile dal punto di vista economico. Infine, in vista di un possibile scenario futuribile, \ue8 stato valutato l\u2019impiego di una piattaforma robotizzata completamente autonoma in grado di effettuare distribuzioni mirate sui focolai di malattia. L\u2019analisi ha dimostrato che il valore a nuovo del robot, stabilito a partire dal risparmio ottenibile grazie alla minore quantit\ue0 di agrofarmaci distribuiti e alla minore richiesta di manodopera necessaria rispetto ai cantieri L0 e L2, non appare ad oggi realistico considerando gli attuali costi di produzione