Moisture Dependent Physical Properties of Sour-sop

Some moisture-dependent physical properties of sour-sop seed were investigated. Results of experiments on rewetted sour-sop seed showed increasing in length, width, thickness, arithmetic and geometric mean diameter, volume, surface area, sphericity, and 1000 seeds weight from 14.91-15.69, 8.71-9.24, 5.39-5.56, 9.67 - 10.16, 8.81 - 9.27 mm, 0.57 – 11.67 cm3,  244.98 - 270.89 mm2, 0.56 - 0.59 and 255.7 – 285 g, respectively within moisture range of 8 – 32.5% (db). An increasing trend for bulk density and true density was observed from 0.52 – 0.59 g/cm3 and 0.47 – 0.60 gcm-3. Porosity of the seed decreased from 9.62 – 4.73 %. Angle of repose was increased linearly from 25.7 – 33.3o with increase in moisture content from 8.0 – 32.5% (db). At all moisture contents, coefficient of friction was highest for mild steel (0.37) followed by galvanized (0.29) and stainless steel surfaces (0.29)

A review of farm tractor overturning accidents and safety

Tractor rollover occurs when a tractor tips sideways or backwards and overturns, potentially crushing the operator. Rollovers are typically considered to occur more frequently during a sharp turn at a high speed on sloping terrains, although data show that rollovers do occur on flat land after hitting obstacles or through inappropriate use and hitching of implements. It is important to highlight that tractor overturns are the major cause of death in farm operations. The overturns are as a result of interactions between the tractor operator, the tractor and the environment. A review of the relevant literature reveals that more than 800 people are killed each year in tractor accidents, and for every person killed, at least 40 others are injured. This paper focuses on tractor overturns because they account for more than half of all the tractor-related deaths. In addition, farm tractor operational safety principles are also highlighted

Alternative fuels and their potentials for tractor engines

The entire world is aware of the adverse effect of global warming as a result of depletion of the ozone layer and the greenhouse gas (GHG) effect.  This study takes a critical look on the review of already existing alternative fuels that produce less emission or no emission at all.  The advantages of the alternative fuels are highlighted and exhaustively discussed.  The types of fuel engine systems are also discussed.  The possibility of using compressed natural gas (CNG) as an alternative fuel in tractor engines and other agricultural machines is investigated in terms of power generation, fuel economic indices and engine system dynamics.  Based on the study, CNG is more economical and can be used to power tractor engine with a reduced frequency of maintenance and it is more environmental friendly.  Keywords: alternative fuels, compressed natural gas engine, tractor diesel engine, fuel-engine systems, vehicle performance characteristics, vehicle emission characteristic

Some engineering properties of three selected groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) varieties cultivated in Nigeria

The importance of engineering properties on agricultural materials in determining the parameters for agricultural produce processing and equipment design and development cannot be over emphasized. Knowledge of these properties is necessary for the design of various separating, handling, storage and drying systems. Three varieties of groundnuts commonly cultivated in Nigeria were identified, selected and procured. They were: Samnut 10, Samnut 14 and Samnut 18. The aim of the study was to investigate varietal differences for seed weight, average length, thickness, width, geometric mean diameter, degree of sphericity, volume, true densities, surface area, aspect ratio and hydration capacity of the three selected groundnut pods and kernels at 8% moisture content. The average properties of pods for the selected varieties were found to be pod mass of 1.62 g, 1.31 g, 1.40 g; volume of 5.53 ml, 4.35 ml, 4.94 ml; geometric mean diameter of 18.1 mm, 16.43 mm, 17.90 mm; surface area of 10.37 cm², 8.50 cm², 10.08 cm²; sphericity of 0.56 %, 0.64 %, 0.60 %; aspect ratio of 28.26, 38.76, 39.41 and a hydration capacity of 0.36, 0.49, 0.70 g/pod for Samnut 10, Samnut 14, and Samnut 18, respectively. The respective values of the kernels for these varieties were determined to be kernel mass of 0.52 g, 0.47 g, 0.57 g; volume of 0.74 cm³, 0.57 cm³, 0.70 cm³; geometric mean diameter of 5.05 mm, 4.47 mm, 5.02 mm; surface area of 0.42 cm², 0.53 cm², 0.41 cm²; sphericity of 0.35, 0.39, 0.35; aspect ratio of 62.18, 69.90, 60.77 and a hydration capacity of 0.30, 0.17, 0.28 g/kernel. Correlation coefficient (r) was used to determine the degree of association between different parameters. The results of this study showed that each of these varieties has different physical properties and thus require careful study for successful design and development of optimal processing equipment

Present state of research on narrow wheels: a prerequisite for traction studies on non-lug narrow wheels

The use of narrow wheels as traction members of simple agricultural machinery and equipment has been investigated. This equipment can be easily acquired and maintained by low income earners and the rural dwellers whose occupation is predominantly farming. The off road performance of these narrow wheels in terms of rolling resistance, coefficient of rolling resistance, and the net traction ratio as they affect the tractive efficiency are discussed. The various factors such as the wheel diameter, inflation pressure, axle load and the operating speed on different soil conditions as they affect the off road performance are also highlighted. The size of the wheel and its weight is a good measure to combat the negative effects of soil compaction on agricultural soils. Existing models describing the tractive performance of agricultural wheels are stated and analyzed and the generalization of such models for predicting the tractive performance is discouraged

Development of a tractor-pulled motion resistance test rig for traction studies on towed narrow wheels

This work presents the development of a test rig (tractor pulled) for measurement of motion resistance of towed narrow wheels with a view to obtaining new design information to enhance the use of narrow wheels as traction members for low cost agricultural machines affordable by the low income earners or rural populace whose occupation is predominantly farming. ?The narrow wheels that can be used on the developed test rig are pneumatic bicycle wheels of different sizes, rigid bicycle wheel, motorcycle wheel and lugged-rigid wheel for a planting machine. ?The towing force which is equal to the motion resistance will be measured by the Mecmesin Basic Force Gauge (BFG) with a maximum capacity of 2.5 kN installed on the test rig. ?The gauge is connected to a notebook with a Dataplot program to record the towing force and import the measured force per unit time to the spread sheet for further analyses. ?The test rig comprises two parts, one part holding the wheel and the second part hitched to the tractor, in between the two is the BFG to measure the towing force and it is RS-232 interfaced to notebook PC. ?The test rig is designed for field use on different terrains to make comparison and obtain enough data to assist in the design and development of narrow wheel agricultural machinery. ?The effect of the different wheel sizes, axle loads and inflation pressures on the motion resistance of the test wheels can be investigated easily using the developed test rig

Modelling of motion resistance ratios of pneumatic and rigid bicycle wheels

The motion resistances of 660 mm pneumatic and rigid bicycle wheels of the same rim diameter were measured experimentally using the developed tractor-towed single non-lug narrow wheel motion resistance test rig for traction studies. The motion resistances measured were taken to be the towing forces determined in real time using Mecmesin Basic Force Gauge (BFG 2500). The test variables included two test surfaces [tilled and wet (mud) surfaces], the dynamic load and the towing velocity. The tyre inflation pressure of 414 kPa was chosen to make the surface synonymous with that of the rigid wheel. Motion resistance ratios of the two wheels were determined empirically and through semi-empirical approach. The motion resistances of the rigid wheel were found to be greater than those of the pneumatic wheel for both surfaces. Consequently, the motion resistance ratios of the rigid wheel were greater than those obtained from the pneumatic wheel. Analysis of variance showed that there were significant differences between the means of the motion resistance measured on the test surfaces, as well as between the two wheels and their interactions with the test surfaces. The motion resistance ratio exhibited a linear relationship with the towing velocity, while the relationship with the dynamic load was quadratic. However, such a relationship is either direct or inverse with the respective variables. The motion resistance ratio models for the pneumatic and rigid wheels showed that on different test conditions of the dynamic loads and the towing velocities, the relationships between the motion resistance ratio and the dynamic load, and motion resistance with dynamic load were also different

Energy Use Efficiency of Melon (Colocynthis Citrullus) Production under Different Tillage Methods

Since mechanization is inevitable and is associated with increase in productivity, there is need to find the most appropriate tillage method in crop production that minimizes energy consumption, enhance profitability and reduce environmental damage from fossil fuel related emission. This research investigates the energy use efficiency in melon production in three tillage methods (reduced, minimum and maximum). Human power, machinery, diesel fuel, fertilizers, seed and pesticides energy inputs were used during the cultivation of melon. Input and output energy analysis method was used to quantify the input and output energy in each of the tillage methods during the production of melon. The energy indices of melon production determined are; energy efficiency, energy productivity, specific energy, net energy and energy efficiency index. The total energy required per hectare in reduced, minimum and maximum tillage were 4528.29, 7191.07 and 8325.64 MJ/ha while the output energy were found to be 8112, 10404 and 10752 MJ/ha, respectively. The energy efficiency were estimated to be 1.79, 1.45 and 1.29 while net energy were found to be 3583.71, 3212.93 and 2426.36 MJ/ha for reduced, minimum and maximum tillage methods, respectively. The result revealed that maximum tillage is better than both reduced and minimum tillage in terms of energy efficiency and net energy gain. Keywords: energy, melon, tillage, energy efficiency, net energy DOI: 10.7176/JETP/9-9-05 Publication date: December 31st 201

Determination of Energy Balance and Economic Analysis of Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus) Production in Tillage Methods

Energy whatever might be its source viz. human, animal, machine, electricity, solar, seed, chemical, fertilizer, gasoline or diesel has become a crucial input of agriculture right from preparatory tillage to the disposal of farm produce, energy input is necessary. This study investigates the energy balance and economic analysis of cucumber production in tillage methods. A tin of 50 g of treated cucumber seeds was planted in three different tillage systems namely; reduced, minimum and maximum tillage using foot dibbling method. Human power, machinery, diesel fuel, fertilizer, seed and pesticides were various forms of energy inputs used during the field cultivation of cucumber in the selected tillage methods. Input and output method of energy analysis was used to analyze the amount of input and output energies in each of the three tillage systems used in the production of cucumber. The calculated energy indices determined are energy ratio, energy productivity, specific energy, net energy and energy efficiency index. The result revealed that the highest total energy input and output values of 8694.09 and 8359.33 MJha-1 were estimated in maximum tillage, minimum tillage has an average values of 7774.42 and 12015 MJha-1, while the least average values of 5688.26 and 12736.67 MJha-1 were estimated in reduced tillage, respectively. The highest benefit–cost ratio of 2.94 was found in minimum tillage, followed by maximum tillage with a value of 2.35, while least value of 2.08 was estimated in reduced tillage. Keywords: Cucumber, tillage, energy, energy indices and net profit DOI: 10.7176/JETP/10-1-08 Publication date: February 28th 202

Cutting tests of oil palm empty fruit bunches

The process of decomposition of oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) can be accelerated by chopping the bunches into small pieces. In this study, EFB cutting tests were carried out using knife blades and an experimental cylinder-type chopping machine. The knife edge angle had a significant effect on the specific cutting force and the cutting energy. For the impact cutting, the specific torque requirement was affected by the peripheral cutting speed. Increasing the speed from 5.3 to 14.3 m s-1 reduced the cutting torque by 14.3%. An experimental chopping machine with a capacity of 3540 kg h-1 has been developed and tested for the empty fruit bunches