Methodology for Olive Pruning Windrow Assessment Using 3D Time-of-Flight Camera

The management of olive pruning residue has shifted from burning to shredding, laying residues on soil, or harvesting residues for use as a derivative. The objective of this research is to develop, test, and validate a methodology to measure the dimensions, outline, and bulk volume of pruning residue windrows in olive orchards using both a manual and a 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) camera. Trees were pruned using trunk shaker targeted pruning, from which two different branch sizes were selected to build two separate windrow treatments with the same pruning residue dose. Four windrows were built for each treatment, and four sampling points were selected along each windrow to take measurements using both manual and 3D ToF measurements. Windrow section outline could be defined using a polynomial or a triangular function, although manual measurement required processing with a polynomial function, especially for high windrow volumes. Different branch sizes provided to be significant differences for polynomial function coefficients, while no significant differences were found for windrow width. Bigger branches provided less bulk volume, which implied that these branches formed less porous windrows that smaller ones. Finally, manual and 3D ToF camera measurements were validated, giving an adequate performance for olive pruning residue windrow in-field assessment

An automatic trunk-detection system for intensive olive harvesting with trunk shaker.

Trunk shakers are widely used for olive harvesting, being the main detachment system for fruit harvesting. In recent decades, the components of trunk shakers have evolved at mechanical, hydraulic and control levels. However, machine accuracy depends on the operator, whose expertise is a key factor for issues such as trunk debarking caused by grabbing systems, shaking parameters, or on-foot operator safety. The objective of this work was to develop an automatic trunk-detection system to reduce operator influence on the process. Thus, the automatic system via infrared sensor was implemented on a trunk shaker head hitched to a tractor. A control algorithm, control logic and display for trunk grabbing automation were developed. The automatic system was tested under laboratory and field conditions to assess the influence of some variables on trunk detection. The evaluated variables were colour, material, diameter, and target location within the sensor field of vision. The success rate of the automatic system was 91% for trunk grabbing. In the field phase, the efficacy of the automatic system was compared to an operator performing the tasks manually, obtaining times of 16.05 ± 2.8 s/tree and 21.54 ± 5.29 s/tree respectively, and a percentage of success in trunk grabbing of 92.9%. Automatic mode improved manual mode by saving 27.3% of time, improving effective field capacity. The automatic mode developed here provided a high ratio of success and it showed highly reliable and efficient performance compared with manual mode

La ampliación de la Unión Europea de 2004-2007: Pasado, Presente y Futuro

Desde la suscripción de los primeros tratados que dieron origen a la Comunidad Europea, constituida por seis países, hasta la actualidad en que la Unión Europea está conformada por veintisiete países se han producido seis procesos distintos de ampliación, siete si se cuenta la reunificación alemana: - En 1958 los seis estados fundadores de Comunidad Europea del Carbón y del Acero (Bélgica, República Federal Alemana, Francia, Italia, Luxemburgo y los Países Bajos), constituyeron la Comunidad Económica Europea y la Comunidad Europea de la Energía Atómica. - En 1973 se incorporaron el Reino Unido, Irlanda y Dinamarca (incluida Groenlandia y excluidas las Islas Feroe). - En 1981 se incorporó Grecia. En 1985 se retiró Groenlandia como consecuencia del referéndum de 1982. - En 1986 se incorporaron España y Portugal. - En 1990 se produjo la reunificación de la República Federal Alemana y la República Democrática Alemana (RDA) en una nueva RFA unificada, constituye una ampliación de la Unión sin que aumente el número de estados miembros. Comienza a usarse formalmente, en el año 1993, el término Unión Europea. - En 1995 se incorporaron Austria, Finlandia y Suecia. - En 2004 se incorporaron República Checa, Chipre (sólo la parte greco-chipriota), Eslovaquia, Eslovenia, Estonia, Hungría, Letonia, Lituania, Malta y Polonia. - En 2007 se incorporaron Rumanía y Bulgaria

Development of a citrus genome-wide EST collection and cDNA microarray as resources for genomic studies

A functional genomics project has been initiated to approach the molecular characterization of the main biological and agronomical traits of citrus. As a key part of this project, a citrus EST collection has been generated from 25 cDNA libraries covering different tissues, developmental stages and stress conditions. The collection includes a total of 22,635 high-quality ESTs, grouped in 11,836 putative unigenes, which represent at least one third of the estimated number of genes in the citrus genome. Functional annotation of unigenes which have Arabidopsis orthologues (68% of all unigenes) revealed gene representation in every major functional category, suggesting that a genome-wide EST collection was obtained. A Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan. cv. Clemenules genomic library, that will contribute to further characterization of relevant genes, has also been constructed. To initiate the analysis of citrus transcriptome, we have developed a cDNA microarray containing 12,672 probes corresponding to 6875 putative unigenes of the collection. Technical characterization of the microarray showed high intra- and inter-array reproducibility, as well as a good range of sensitivity. We have also validated gene expression data achieved with this microarray through an independent technique such as RNA gel blot analysis