Singular Value Decomposition Based Image Coding for Achieving Additional Compression to JPEG Images

Computer technology these days is most focused on storage space and speed. Considerable advancements in this direction can be achieved through the usage of digital image compression techniques. In this paper we present a well studied singular value decomposition based JPEG image compression technique. Singular Value Decomposition is a way of factorizing matrices into a series of linear approximations that expose the underlying structure of the matrix. SVD is extraordinarily useful and has many applications such as data analysis, signal processing, pattern recognition, objects detection and weather prediction. An attempt is made to implement this method of factorization to perform second round of compression on JPEG images to optimize storage space. Compression is further enhanced by the removal of singularity after the initial compression performed using SVD. MATLAB R2010a with image processing toolbox is used as the development tool for implementing the algorithm

A Survey on Adaptation Strategies for Mutation and Crossover Rates of Differential Evolution Algorithm

Differential Evolution (DE), the well-known optimization algorithm, is a tool under the roof of Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) for solving non-linear and non-differential optimization problems. DE has many qualities in its hand, which are attributing to its popularity. DE also is known for its simplicity in solving the given problem with few control parameters: the population size (NP), the mutation rate (F) and the crossover rate (Cr). To avoid the difficulty involved in setting of suitable values for NP, F and Cr many parameter adaptation strategies are proposed in the literature. This paper is to present the working principle of the parameter adaptation strategies of F and Cr. The adaptation strategies are categorized based on the logic used by the authors, and clear insights about all the categories are presented

Effect of Neat Sardine Oil with Varies Blends on the Performance and Emission Characteristics of Diesel Engine

This study investigates the performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine which is fuelled with neat sardine oil and diesel. A single cylinder four stroke diesel engine was used for the experiments at various load and speed of 1500 rpm. An AVL5 gas analyzer and a smoke meter were used for the measurements of exhaust gas emission. The results showed that break thermal efficiency is decreased and CO (Carbon-monoxide), HC (Hydro-Carbon) in the exhaust is increased when fuelled with neat sardine oil compared to diesel except NOx (Nitrogen Oxide). The future scope of the work is to do some modification (e.g may be engine, piston or values) in the engine to get better performance in same blending ratio

Evaluation of cocoa plus trees (Theobroma cacao L.) for high yield in Coimbatore plantations

A survey was conducted in cocoa growing areas of Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu for identifying the high yielding plus trees to increase the production and productivity of cocoa in Tamil Nadu. Thirty five high yielding plus trees were screened from farmer’s field and yield characters were recorded. Maximum flowering was observed in Tc (Vedapatti) 62 while the pod set percentage was high in Tc (Vedapatti) 2. Pod weight, single dry bean weight and dry bean weight per pod was maximum in Tc (Vedapatti) 99 while Tc (Vedapatti) 72 recorded higher number of beans pod–1 and dry bean yield tree–1. This study shows the variability among the plus trees and the identified well performing plus trees can be used in breeding programs to get sustainable yield in cocoa

Yield and quality improvement in Bt cotton through foliar application of trifloxystrobin and tebuconazole

In agriculture, fungi can cause serious damage, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality and profit. Fungicides help in reducing the damage caused by fungus, reduce the yield loss and play a major role in quality improvement. The present investigation was carried out at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to evaluate the influence of trifloxystrobin 50% + tebuconazole 25% (Nativo 75WG) on the yield and quality improvement on Bunny hybrid Bt cotton.  Nativo 75WG was applied on the leaves of cotton plants at 40-60 (DAS) and 60-80 (DAS) at the concentration of 250, 300, 350 g/ha and Carbendazim @ 500 g/ha.  The observations recorded were related to yield and quality attributes in all treatments. The application of Nativo @ 300 g/ha showed a significant increase in boll weight (4.86 g), lint yield per boll (3.86 g boll-1) and lint per plant (138.48 g plant -1) than other treatments. With respect to seed cotton yield and harvest index (0.37 %), the Nativo @ 300 g/ha registered a higher yield (20.2 %) and HI than control under the irrigated situation. Foliar application of treatments during the flowering stage (40-60 DAS) and boll formation stages (60-80 DAS) had increased the quality parameters such as fiber length (2.5% staple length, 50 % staple length) and fiber strength. Further, the foliar spray of  Nativo @ 300 g/ha applied to bunny hybrid Bt cotton had resulted in a higher yield (2920.15 kg ha-1) due to an increase in leaf area index, greenness of leaf and higher dry matter production of the plant

Response of flower quality and physiological characters of Jasminum sambac (L.) to modified planting system and pruning schedule

Increasing planting density in Jasminum sambac (L.) is a recent trend among farmers and an effective strategy for improving flower productivity without affecting the standard of flower buds. This study aimed to establish the effect of varied plant density with different pruning levels on the flower quality during off, peak and lean seasons in J. sambac during 2021-‘22. The treatments comprised of four levels of plant density viz., D1- one plant pit-1 (control), D2 - two plants pit-1, D3 - three plants pit-1, D4 - four plants pit-1 and two levels of pruning viz., P1 - one pruning year-1(control), P2 - two prunings  year-1. The trial was laid out in Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with three replications. The important traits on flower quality parameters namely the total length of the flower bud, length of the flower bud without corolla tube and corolla tube length, were influenced significantly (P<0.05) by three plants pit-1 (D3) and two prunings year-1 (P2). But there was no interaction effect between plant density and pruning frequency for these flower quality parameters. The interaction effect was also significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the physiological and biochemical traits, namely chlorophyll content, total phenol content, soluble protein and Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) oxidase activity. The pooled analysis data of the treatment T6 (D3P2) was found superior due to increased plant density combined with alteration in pruning. This performed better with enhanced number of new shoots and produced good quality flower buds through enhancement of physiological activity in all three seasons (off, peak and lean) when compared to conventional planting T1 (D1P1) method

Molecular characterization of ten mango cultivars using simple sequences repeat (SSR) markers

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) which is an efficient genetic markers for comparative genome mapping can be helpful in the classification of genotypes, germplasm resource utilization and breeding programmes. Therefore, the present study was conducted to show genetic variation and investigate inter-relationship between ten mango genotypes. Twenty (20) SSR markers were tested with 10 genotypes: Kalepad, Neelum, Swarnarekha, Alphonso Rumani, Sendura, Banganapalli, Himayuddin, Mulgoa and Bangalora. The genomic DNA was extracted from the leaf samples using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) method. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the DNA isolated from 10 mango genotypes with 20 SSR primers produced a total of 240 amplified products, of which 184 were polymorphic and 56 monomorphic. The sizes of the alleles detected ranged from 120 to 369 bp. SSR markers were highly polymorphic with an average of 2.70 alleles per primers. SSRs gave moderate values of polymorphic information content (PIC) range of 0.320 to 0.774. The amplified products varied between 2 (LMMA 1, 5, 7, 12, 16, MiSHRS-1 and MiSHRS-37) to 3 and 4 (LMMA 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 MiSHRS-4, 48, 18, 39 and LMMA 8) bands per primer. We obtained moderate degree of genetic diversity, with Jaccard’s similarity co-efficient values ranging from 0.075 between cluster I and II to 0.285 between clusters II and III. The dendrogram generated from the unweighted pair group arithmetic average (UPGMA) cluster analysis broadly placed 10 mango cultivars into three major clusters at co-efficient similarity of 0.65. The cluster size varied from 1 to 6 and cluster III was the largest cluster comprising of six cultivars followed by cluster II possessing three and cluster I possessing one variety. Cluster I had the highest diverse cultivars namely, Kalepad, Neelum and Swarnarekha. Cluster II included cultivar of Alphonso. Cluster III contain the cultivars viz., Rumani, Sendura, Bangnapalli, Himayuddin, Mulgoa and Bangalora. Unique fingerprints were identified in the cultivars. The unique fingerprints size ranged from LMMA-8 (257-270 bp), LMMA-11 (232- 245 bp) to MiSHRS 39 (340-369 bp). The tendency of clustering among mango cultivars revealed that they have strong affinity towards further breeding programme.Key words: Cultivars, genetic diversity, mango, simple sequence repeats (SSR)

The Nitrogen Dynamics of Newly Developed Lignite-Based Controlled-Release Fertilisers in the Soil-Plant Cycle

(c) The Author/sThe effect of newly developed controlled-release fertilisers (CRFs); Epox5 and Ver-1 and two levels of Fe2+ applications (478 and 239 kg-FeSO4 ha−1) on controlling nitrogen (N) losses, were tested on ryegrass, in a climate-controlled lysimeter system. The Epox5 and Ver-1 effectively decreased the total N losses by 37 and 47%, respectively, compared to urea. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by Ver-1 were comparable to urea. However, Epox5 showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) N2O emissions (0.5 kg-N ha−1), compared to other treatments, possibly due to the lock-off nitrogen in Epox5. The application of Fe2+ did not show a significant effect in controlling the N leaching loss and N2O emission. Therefore, a dissimilatory nitrate reduction and chemodenitrification pathways were not pronounced in this study. The total dry matter yield, N accumulation, N use efficiency and soil residual N were not significantly different among any N treatments. Nevertheless, the N accumulation of CRFs was lower in the first month, possibly due to the slow release of urea. The total root biomass was significantly (p < 0.05) lower for Epox5 (35%), compared to urea. The hierarchical clustering of all treatments revealed that Ver-1 outperformed other treatments, followed by Epox5. Further studies are merited to identify the potential of Fe2+ as a controlling agent for N losses.fals