INDIAN STATE-LEVEL SORGHUM PRODUCTIVITY MEASURES

This paper has a three fold contribution to the existing literature - 1) Indian state level sorghum input and output data for the period 1970-71 to 2000-01 is collected, 2) non-parametric linear programming productivity measures are estimated, and 3) examine the impact of policy variables like percent of high yielding varieties, percent under irrigation, and herfindahl index of seasonal production (rabi and kharif) on productivity using two way random effects panel modelProductivity Analysis,

INDIAN STATE-LEVEL RICE PRODUCTIVITY AND ITS IMPACT ON POVERTY ALLEVIATION

This paper has a three fold contribution to the existing literature - 1) Indian state level sorghum input and output data for the period 1970-71 to 2000-01 is collected, 2) non-parametric and parametric productivity measures are estimated, and 3) examine the impact of percent acreage under high yielding varieties and irrigation, state domestic product, productivity and five year plans on poverty alleviation using error component and SUR models.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Estimation of Energy Intensity in Wood Processing Sawmills based on Analysis of Product, Process and System parameters

Energy costs have risen immensely in the recent past and have strained US industrial sectors. The forest products sector is considered as an energy intensive industry group and energy use has an important impact on sawmill\u27s financial integrity. Energy intensity or specific energy consumption (SEC) is an important aspect to wood products producing sawmills since it also represents production efficiency to some extent. This research focuses on developing SEC profiles for the manufacture of hardwood lumber in sawmills and estimating energy intensity based on product, process and system parameters. Energy benchmarking will help the sawmill industry to know their level of performance and opportunities to improve their energy efficiency and productivity. Process, production and energy data were gathered by visiting three sawmills with single sawing lines and two sawmills with double sawing lines in West Virginia.;Initially SEC was calculated in the traditional way as total energy consumption by total board feet sawn and the average SEC for all the sawmills was around 100 kWh per thousand board feet of lumber sawn. Effect of lumber sizes sawn on energy consumption was analyzed and a method to calculate SEC based on surface area sawn was developed. Sawmills\u27 SEC developed based on surface area sawn yielded better results than traditionally calculated SEC since it exposed production bottle necks.;Data from four sawmills was used to develop three estimation models to estimate SEC of the fifth sawmill based on product, process and system parameters. The parameters that were included in the model were: species and lumber sizes for product, sawing time and maintenance schedule for process, and motor horse power, availability of resaw and production line configuration for system. The model which had \u27motor horse power x minutes\u27 as one of the estimator variables was better than the other two models in terms of both R2 and ability to estimate SEC of the fifth sawmill. One estimation model was developed to predict total energy consumption and although this model had the highest R2, it didn\u27t estimate the fifth sawmill that well. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to find the effect of different widths of lumber sawn on energy consumption and also the parameters used in the estimation model were analyzed for their sensitivity towards the energy consumption. Energy consumption of Sawmill 3 was highly sensitive to estimator variables \u27motor horse power\u27 and \u27grade lumber sizes\u27. Energy consumption of sawmill motors were compared and the highest energy consumer of sawmill 2 and 4 motors was main saw and carriage feed, since there was no resaw or a gang saw in them. The energy consumption of sawmill 1 motors was similar to sawmill 3 and energy consumption of sawmill 2 motors was similar to sawmill 4.;The \u27Sawmill Energy Estimation Program\u27 that takes the inputs from the user and estimates sawmill\u27s energy intensity based on sawmill parameters and analyzes sawmill\u27s efficiency and gives recommendations with estimated savings to improve sawmill\u27s energy efficiency and productivity was also developed to help sawmill owners to analyze their sawmill

Ground penetrating RADAR (GPR) based system for nondestructive detection of interior defects in wooden logs

A previous study used GPR to scan logs and the scanned data was processed and analyzed using RADAN software. This data processing using RADAN software needs an expert and is time consuming. Also, the output from RADAN software cannot be used to generate manufacturing process instructions since it will be in the form of an image. For online implementation of GPR scanning, a quick automated defect detection system with numerical output is required.;To incorporate automated defect detection system, a MATLAB algorithm has been developed. Validation of the MATLAB algorithm output has been done by comparing with the results of RADAN software. The results from the MATLAB algorithm are in agreement with the results of RADAN software. This algorithm also converts the location of the defect found in the GPR scanned data into X-Y coordinates in meters.;Developed Algorithm can process data to view only internal defects or both internal and surface defects. Noise reduction has been done by removing the bottom reflection of the log and edge effects. Automatic threshold calculation has detected all the major defects in the logs. The depth and length resolution of defect detection are comparable to RADAN software. Conversion of defect location into Y coordinates can be done either using dielectric constant value if known or by detecting the bottom of the log in the scan. Reflections in the scan have been removed by a trial code

Use of E-Resources in higher education: Advantages and Concerns

Higher education system has grown exponentially in the last five educational systems. E-resources have a prominent role to play in supporting higher education and in fulfilling educational objectives. It, however, creates some tensions among parents and teachers. With the world moving rapidly into digital media and information, the role of e-resources in higher education is becoming more and more important and its importance will continue to grow and develop in the 21st century. Thus, the paper aims to examine the advantages of e-resources in higher education and to identify the various concerns related to e-resources

In Vitro Culture Of Zea Mays Tassels And Viable Pollen Production

Studies on the in vitro culture of immature tassels of Zea mays are reported. These include, the development of a suitable medium and appropriate physical conditions which allow meiosis, microsporogenesis and pollen maturation to occur in cultured cv. Oh43 tassels, and some physiological and nutritional aspects. Sucrose served mainly as an energy source and not as an osmoticum for cultured tassels during the first 15 d. After 15 d of culture, tassels were shown to become autotrophic though sucrose seemed to be necessary for differentiation of normal spikelets.;Most single amino acid additions were either ineffective or inhibitory, though arginine, lysine, valine and proline were stimulatory. A mixture of these four stimulatory amino acids at their optimum concentrations duplicated the effect of an optimum concentration of casein hydrolysate.;For the first time, the production of germinable and viable pollen from cultured flower primordia was demonstrated. Under optimal conditions, normal spikelets from cultured tassels extruded anthers, which dehisced and released mature, normal pollen. This pollen germinated on agar and on receptive silks and also fertilized ovules to produce mature, viable kernels which grew into mature, fertile genetically true plants. These plants were similar in most respects to normal plants as shown by morphological and cytological analyses, and gel electrophoresis.;Tassel culture was also used to test the potential reversion of two genic male steriles (ms14 and ms24) with different plant growth regulators. None of the regulators used reverted either mutant to produce fertile pollen at the concentrations and forms applied.;Now that a significant component of the life cycle of maize, from stamen initiation to production of normal, viable pollen, can be carried out in vitro, a number of analyses and manipulations are possible for both basic and applied research. The possible importance of tassel culture for potential applications in plant breeding and biotechnology is recognized

Effective Properties of Randomly Oriented Kenaf Short Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composite

Natural fibers have drawn attention of researchers as an environmentally-friendly alternative to synthetic fibers. Developing natural fiber reinforced bio-composites are a viable alternative to the problems of non-degrading and energy consuming synthetic composites. This study focuses on (i) the application of kenaf fiber as a potential reinforcement and, (ii) determining the tensile properties of the randomly oriented short kenaf fiber composite both experimentally and numerically. Kenaf fiber micro-structure and its Young\u27s modulus with varying gage length (10, 15, 20, and 25.4 mm) were investigated. The variation in tensile strength of kenaf fibers was analyzed using the Weibull probability distribution function. It was observed that the Young\u27s modulus of kenaf fiber increased with increase in gage length. Fabrication of randomly oriented short kenaf fiber using vacuum bagging techniques and hand-lay-up techniques were discussed and the tensile properties of the specimens were obtained experimentally. The tensile modulus of the composite sample at 22% fiber volume fraction was found to be 6.48 GPa and tensile strength varied from 20 to 38 MPa. Numerical models based on the micro mechanics concepts in conjunction with finite element methods were developed for predicting the composite properties. A two-step homogenization procedure was developed to evaluate the elastic constants at the cell wall level and the meso-scale level respectively. Von-Mises Fisher probability distribution function was applied to model the random orientation distribution of fibers and obtain equivalent modulus of composite. The predicted equivalent modulus through numerical homogenization was in good agreement with the experimental results