75 research outputs found

    A System to Simplify the Use of Mounted Shakers for Harvesting Olives and Dry Fruits

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    The shakers for harvesting olives and dry fruits have reached a high standard and their use is increasing rapidly. In order to satisfy the different demand, manufacturers offer a wide range of shakers, from the more expensive self-propelled ones to those to be mounted on the tractor’s power lift, with shaking headers of different mass and size, suitable for the different orchard characteristics. Self-propelled shakers have high steering capacity and optimum visual field for the operator, so their working capacity is very high with respect to that of mounted shakers, which are less expensive but have lower steering capacity and a limited view on the header. Therefore the approaching of mounted shakers to the plant and the fastening of the header to the trunk or branch of the tree is more difficult, and a second operator to pilot the tractor driver is needed, in order to increase the machine working capacity and to avoid plant and/or shaker damages. This paper proposes to use a system composed of a CCD video camera, installed on the frame of a mounted shaker and connected to a TFT monitor, fitted in the tractor cab. Comparative tests with and without the above system were carried out. The video camera was mounted on the shaker frame. The system is relatively cheap, user-friendly and can be mounted on any shaker. It provides the driver with an easy view of the lower dead angle and increases the working capacity and productivity of the machine

    Italian Potential Biogas and Biomethane Production from OFMSW

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    This work is aimed at predicting the potential biogas and biomethane production, using the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW), in Italy, where 1388 Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plants (power of 7.4 TWh, equal to 640.4 ktep) are nowadays available. In order to compute the potential biogas and biomethane production in the 20 Italian regions, the data about OFMSW production in 2010-2013 period have been evaluated. The Italian production of OFMSW, that was 5.2 million tons in 2013 (18% of MSW), could be used inside bioreactors for producing biogas and digestate, that must be aerobically composted into a biofertiliser. In 2013, the Italian potential biogas production from OFMSW was 739 million m3, that is equal to 444 million m3 of biomethane. The highest biogas production from OFMSW was in Lombardy region (143 million m3), having a potential biomethane production of 86 million m3. The highest OFMSW production per inhabitant was in Emilia-Romagna region (142 kg). Yet, if OFMSW was 37% of MSW, the potential biogas and biomethane production should be increased: the biomethane production increase would be 486 million m3, of which the maximum would be in Sicily region. The biogas produced can be used for generating heat and electricity or upgraded into biomethane, distributed at dedicated stations and useful as biofuel for powering means of transport. This biofuel would replace natural gas, and, therefore, allow a reduction of GreenHouse Gas emissions of 200 g of CO2 kWh-1 (5.5 times lower) and the import of fossil fuels from abroad

    A system for spatially variable rate fertiliser application

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    The crop yield can be spatially variable within the same field, because of spatially variable soil characteristics (slope, texture, pH, etc.), influencing the soil nutrient content (of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc.). Because of this within-field spatial variability, in the precision agriculture cycle, the targeted fertiliser spreading can be highly profitable for both environment protection and cost saving. For this aim the yield and, then, the soil nutrient content must be measured on a localised basis and, therefore, mapped. Relying on the yield map and on the map of each nutrient available in the field it is possible to produce the fertiliser application map, which must be stored on a portable computer, in order to perform the spatially variable rate fertiliser spreading. For this aim an electronic system able to apply fertiliser rates proportionally related to the machine forward speed is also needed; this system can be mounted not only on any pneumatic spreader but also on any centrifugal spreader with setting up system working by gravity. Yet, the fertiliser spreaders produced by different manufacturers, which are equipped with systems able to apply not only rates proportionally related to machine forward speed but also spatially variable rates, are very expensive. Therefore, the I.T.A.F. Department designed, developed and set up a system for spatially variable rate fertiliser application, compatible with most DGPS and spreaders able to apply rates proportionally related to the machine forward speed. The system is constituted by a data sensing system (DGPS and Doppler radar), a data processing system (portable computer, with a specifically developed software called Precision Agriculture Controller) and an active and control system (Land Manager of DICKEY-john with built-in display and keyboard), able to apply rates proportionally related to machine forward speed, by varying the size of the two hopper openings. The software is able to: receive and interpret DGPS position data and compare them with the fertiliser application map, in order to identify the rate related to the actual machine position; transmit commands to Land Manager; log the machine track and the applied rates

    A novel system for measuring damaging impacts on table olives

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    The consumer today demands high quality products; fruit with defects or in poor condition generate dissatisfaction and a consequent reduction in consumption. In recent years, interesting systems have been used (i. e. "artificial fruit") in order to identify the cause of damage during mechanical harvesting and/or post-harvest operations. In this paper, the authors present a new system designed to measure the impacts received by table olives in the processing stages from harvesting to packaging. The device is an instrumented sphere designed and implemented by the Agricultural Mechanics Section of the Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Italy. It contains a triaxial Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) sensor capable of acquiring acceleration from a few mg to 400 g (where g is the gravitational acceleration). It has a microcontroller with software developed for the specific application, a 16 bit A / D converter that allows a resolution of a few mg, a mini-USB port for connection to a master, which is connected to the PC via a common USB port. The master communicates with the sphere to download the data and to adjust parameters such as the data acquisition frequency, which can reach up to 1 kHz (50 Hz, 100 Hz, 400 Hz and 1 kHz). Preliminary tests performed on the functionality of the acquisition system show that the information obtained by the instrumented sphere are useful for identifying the stresses the fruits are subjected to during harvesting and post-harvest

    Multivariate geostatistics for assessing and predicting soil compaction

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    The aim of this research is to investigate the potential of geostatistical techniques for understanding and evaluating the spatial variability of soil compaction, caused by the traffic of agricultural machines and/or the action of tillage implements. Soil cone penetrometer resistance was measured in a field of inland Sicily, along a transect of 3 m length, from the soil surface until 70 cm depth. The 3D mean maps showed a random variation on the surface and a high spatial correlation among penetrometer resistance data measured at different depths. The map corresponding to five tractor passes showed the largest extension of the areas characterised by the highest values of penetrometer resistance. The probability maps showed that at least 20% of the monitored soil volume can exceed the critical penetrometer resistance for root growth

    Mapping of penetrometer resistance in relation to tractor traffic using multivariate geostatistics

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    The traffic of agricultural machines can cause soil compaction and high variability of soil structure, both along normal lines and along those parallel to the field plane. The aim of this research is to investigate the potential of geostatistical techniques for understanding and evaluating the within-field spatial variability of soil compaction, caused by the traffic of agricultural machines and/or the action of tillage implements. In July 2003 soil cone penetrometer resistance was measured in a sandy-silt Cambisol of inland Sicily, where a three-year rotation wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) - wheat - tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) was adopted, along three parallel 3-m long transects, from the soil surface to a depth of 0.70 m. A multivariate geostatistical approach, including exploratory analysis, variography, stochastic simulation and post-processing of simulations was applied to produce thematic maps of penetrometer resistance and probability maps exceeding a critical value, corresponding to different examples of tractor movement. Penetrometer resistance variation was erratic at the surface but showed high spatial correlation between data measured at different depths. The maps of probabilistic compaction risk showed that the soil volume, exceeding the penetrometer resistance of 2.5 MPa, critical for root growth, increased from 20% to 40% after the tractor had passed through five times

    Risk exposure to vibration and noise in the use of agricultural track-laying tractors

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    Human exposure to mechanical vibration may represent a significant risk factor for exposed workers in the agricultural sector. Also, noise in agriculture is one of the risk factors to be taken into account in the evaluation of workers’ health and safety. One of the major sources of discomfort for the workers operating a tractors is the noise to which they are exposed during work. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of exposure to whole-body vibration for the operator driving track-laying tractors in vineyard orchard and the noise level. The experimental tests were performed with six different track-laying tractors coupled with the same rototilling machine. The results showed that the vibration values of track-laying tractors coupled to rototilling machine, referred to the 8-hour working day, were always higher than 0.5 m s-2, the daily exposure action value established by Directive 2002/44/EC of the European Parliament. The daily noise exposure levels always exceeded the exposure limit value of 87 dB(A) established by Directive 2003/10/EC of the European Parliament. The ANOVA repeated measures model showed that the factor ‘site’, namely, the soil characteristics, did not influence the vibration level on the X and Y-axes of the tractors measured, regardless of their age. In the Z-axis, the vibration level was enhanced as the soil structure increased. As tractor age increased, the influence of soil characteristics was less important. In term of the age of the tractor and the number of hours worked, it was possible to identify three risk classes, which were up to 3,000 hours worked and offered a low risk; from 3,000 – 6,000 hours worked with a medium risk, and over 6,000 hours with a high risk level
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