scholarly journals The Most Frequent Agronomic Practices Used by the Coconut Farmers in the “Coconut Triangle” of Sri Lanka

CORD ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Lalith Perera
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agronomic Practices ◽  
Frequent Event ◽  
The Impact

The study was carried out to identify the most frequently practiced cultural practices by coconut growers in the main coconut growing area termed as “Coconut Triangle”, among a set of technical practices recommended by the Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka (CRISL). The objective was also to analyse the impact of these practices to the yield and to analyse the effects of the information sources to the growers to enhance the farmers skills. The study was carried out between June 2018 and August 2018. For the data collection, a questionnaire developed by CRISL was used and 62 growers were randomly selected. All the answers were gathered in a table file. Then, the data were analysed using tabular analysis and the software SPSS. The study reveals that most of the growers are having intercrops between the coconut trees, in large or very small scale even if the yield is lowand needs more space. For the soil moisture conservation around the coconut palm, the majority of the growers use the simple and low-cost technique; mulching around the coconut palms. However, 30.1% of the growers were found to not use any technique to improve the soil moisture even when the drought is a frequent event in the country, but this more valid for small scale growers. To improve their yield, majority of the growers preferred and used CRISL recommended coconut fertilizer mixture (Adult Palm Mixture or APM) over the other commercially available fertilizer mixtures. Finally, the study shows that farmers with large estates are the most involved to follow training programs and apply the advices given by the CRISL.           

scholarly journals The Most Frequent Agronomic Practices Used by the Coconut Farmers in the “Coconut Triangle” of Sri Lanka

CORD ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Lalith Perera
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agronomic Practices ◽  
Frequent Event ◽  
The Impact

The study was carried out to identify the most frequently practiced cultural practices by coconut growers in the main coconut growing area termed as “Coconut Triangle”, among a set of technical practices recommended by the Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka (CRISL). The objective was also to analyse the impact of these practices to the yield and to analyse the effects of the information sources to the growers to enhance the farmers skills. The study was carried out between June 2018 and August 2018. For the data collection, a questionnaire developed by CRISL was used and 62 growers were randomly selected. All the answers were gathered in a table file. Then, the data were analysed using tabular analysis and the software SPSS. The study reveals that most of the growers are having intercrops between the coconut trees, in large or very small scale even if the yield is lowand needs more space. For the soil moisture conservation around the coconut palm, the majority of the growers use the simple and low-cost technique; mulching around the coconut palms. However, 30.1% of the growers were found to not use any technique to improve the soil moisture even when the drought is a frequent event in the country, but this more valid for small scale growers. To improve their yield, majority of the growers preferred and used CRISL recommended coconut fertilizer mixture (Adult Palm Mixture or APM) over the other commercially available fertilizer mixtures. Finally, the study shows that farmers with large estates are the most involved to follow training programs and apply the advices given by the CRISL.           

Influence of nanoparticles on the polymer-conditioned dewatering of wastewater sludges

2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (9) ◽  
pp. 2117-2123
Author(s):  
N. J. Boyle ◽  
G. M. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
High Surface ◽  
High Surface Area ◽  
Wastewater Sludge ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Sludge Dewatering ◽  
Solids Content ◽  
The Impact

The effect of using small-scale, high surface area, nanoparticles to supplement polymer-conditioned wastewater sludge dewatering was investigated. Aerobically digested sludge and waste activated sludge sourced from the Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia, were tested with titanium dioxide nanoparticles. The sludge samples were dosed with the nanoparticles in an attempt to adsorb a component of the charged biopolymer surfactants present naturally in sludge. The sludge was conditioned with a cationic polymer. The dewatering characteristics were assessed by measuring the specific resistance to filtration through a modified time-to-filter testing apparatus. The solids content of the dosed samples was determined by a mass balance and compared to the original solids content in the activated sludge. Test results indicated that nanoparticle addition modified the structure of the sludge and provided benefits in terms of the dewatering rate. The samples dosed with nanoparticles exhibited faster water removal, indicating a more permeable filter cake and hence more permeable sludge. A concentration of 2–4% nanoparticles was required to achieve a noticeable benefit. As a comparison, the sludge samples were also tested with a larger particle size, powdered activated carbon (PAC). It was found that the PAC did provide some minor benefits to sludge dewatering but was outperformed by the nanoparticles. The solids content of the final sludge was increased by a maximum of up to 0.6%. The impact of the order sequence of particles and polymer was also investigated. It was found that nanoparticles added before polymer addition provided the best dewatering performance. This outcome was consistent with current theories and previous research through the literature. An economic analysis was undertaken to confirm the viability of the technology for implementation at a full-scale plant. It was found that, currently, this technology is unlikely to be favourable unless the nanoparticles can be sourced for a low cost.

scholarly journals Sustainable Design of a NanoSatellite Structure TypeCubeSat as a Modular Platform for Tests

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-134
Author(s):  
German Wedge Rodriguez Pirateque ◽  
Nelson Arzola de la Peña ◽  
Ernesto David Cortes Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Quality Function Deployment ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Experimental Development ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Modular Platform ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of

This article is intended to contribute to the development of proprietary technologies and the evaluation and selection of integrated technologies in the study of the aerospace concept necessary for the processes of technological appropriation. The problem addressed lies in the lack of modular platforms and lowcost test systems for experimental development and simulations of satellite systems. Therefore, compare to this the proposal of a scalable modular platform of the 1U CubeSat standard is presented as the main results. The design and characterization process presented from the concept of sustainability, contributes to the use and development of low-cost equipment that minimizes the impact on the environment and, in turn, is practical for its implementation in activities of groups and research centers that promote the diffusion of space technologies in Colombia. The methodology of sustainable design, the definition of design principles and conceptual design, which is materialized with the application of quality function deployment method (QFD), the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ)), the manufacturability-oriented design (DfM), assemblability (DfA), environmental impact (DfE), reliability (DfR), and safety assessment, are relevant for compliance with the CubeSat operating standards described in cds. Finally, several constructive modes of the low cost test platforms are proposed with different materials such as 3D prototyping in paper, abs, mdf wood and aluminum. All of them are small-scale satellite structures designed and constructed at low-cost. These designs result in the materialization to test on-board systems and integration resistance in assembly and materials, in laboratories as vibration test-bench, for research groups or companies interested in promoting the development of space technologies.

scholarly journals Reducing post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables for ensuring food security – Case of Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-16
Author(s):  
Leelananda Rajapaksha ◽  
DMC Champathi Gunathilake ◽  
SM Pathirana ◽  
TN Fernando
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Fruit And Vegetables ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Post Harvest ◽  
Wide Range

In Sri Lanka, 70% of 21 million population live in non-urban areas, and agriculture provides livelihood for approximately 40% of them. The agricultural marketing process in the country is a complex operation due to services and functions involved in moving a crop product from where it was produced to where it would finally be consumed. Further, with a wide range of agricultural crops being produced, post-harvest handling process create different degrees of quantitative and qualitative losses in a complex market chain, which are estimated at 20% to 40% for vegetables and 30% - 40% for fruits. Improper and non-scientific post-harvest practices and handling, gaps in integration of cold chain practices & elements with post-harvest process, and lack of knowledge & awareness on many related aspects at grass root farmer level etc. appear to contribute to losses that finally prevent due economic benefits reaching the small-scale producer. In order to increase the effectiveness of post-harvest process handling of fruit and vegetables, appropriate corrective measures targeting small scale producers as well as commercial scale producers need to be popularized and practiced. At small scale producer level, promotion of appropriate low-cost post-harvest practices and procedures, facilitating low-cost cold chain elements and user-friendly information flow mechanism on market situation would certainly help avoid some of the steps that lead to losses. Monitoring system of commercial post-harvest handling process that ensure scientific bulk handling, storage and transportation of fruit and vegetables, properly designed economic centers with well regulated environmentcontrolled storages etc. would greatly reduce loses in bulk handling, ensuring better food security in the island.

scholarly journals A Fully Reconfigurable Polarimetric Phased Array Antenna Testbed

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudantha Perera ◽  
Yu Pan ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Xining Yu ◽  
Dusan Zrnic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phased Array ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Array Antenna ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Circular Array ◽  
Phased Array Antenna ◽  
Planar Array ◽  
System Risk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mirror Configuration

The configurable phased array demonstrator (CPAD) is a low-cost, reconfigurable, small-scale testbed for the dual-polarized array antenna and radar prototype. It is based on the concept that individual transmit and receive (TR) modules and radiating elements can be configured in different ways to study the impact of various array manifolds on radiation pattern performance. For example, CPAD is configured as (a) a 4 × 4 planar array, (b) a planar array with mirror configuration, and (c) a circular array to support the multifunctional phased array radar (MPAR) system risk reduction studies. System descriptions are given in detail, and measurements are made and results are analyzed.

scholarly journals Impact of Soil Moisture and Mowing Height on Ataenius spretulus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Selection of Golf Course Turf Habitat in Choice Tests

HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 459-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-Ki Jo ◽  
David R. Smitely
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
The Other ◽  
Growth Chamber ◽  
Golf Course ◽  
Ovipositional Preference ◽  
Choice Tests ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of

Ataenius spretulus (Haldeman) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) is the most common grub in golf course fairways in Michigan. Ataenius spretulus grubs are 3- to 10-fold more abundant in golf course fairways (mowed at a height of 1.5 cm) than in the roughs (mowed at a height of 5.0 cm or higher). Predation and infection by Paenibacillus sp. were previously reported to be greater in the rough, and may partially explain outbreaks of A. spretulus grubs in golf course fairways. In addition to natural enemies, cultural practices of irrigation and mowing could also be important factors, especially if A. spretulus prefers to oviposit in the fairway over the rough. In this paper we examine the impact of soil moisture and mowing height on oviposition and habitat selection. In a greenhouse experiment where A. spretulus adults were given a choice of turf maintained at fairway or rough height, no ovipositional preference for one or the other was observed. In three different growth chamber experiments where adults were allowed to choose among fairway or rough turf plugs held in soil at different moisture levels, adults preferred turf plugs in soil at a volumetric moisture content of 13% to 26% over turf plugs in soil at 8% to 9% moisture for their habitat selection. We conclude from these greenhouse and growth chamber experiments that A. spretulus adults do not choose turf habitat based on mowing height, but may be influenced by soil moisture levels.

Effectiveness of green areas and impact of the spatial pattern on water infiltration within cities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Ferreira ◽  
Barbara Frigione ◽  
Milan Gazdic ◽  
Michelle Pezzagno ◽  
António Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Flood Hazard ◽  
Water Infiltration ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Rainfall Runoff ◽  
Runoff Reduction ◽  
Green Areas ◽  
The Impact

<p>Soil is a non-renewable resource subject to increasing degradation favoured by human activities, such as the creation of impervious surfaces. Driven by increasing global population, soil sealing became a major challenge due to growing expansion and its impact on decreasing ability of soil to provide ecosystem services. In order to mitigate the environmental and social impacts of sealing, a worldwide interest in greening the cities have been noticed among politicians and stakeholders. Urban green areas provide benefits for the urban water cycle, namely through reducing stormwater runoff and flood hazard. The effectiveness of green areas inside the cities on runoff reduction, is still not well understood. This is partially due to the role of complex landscapes, including distinct urban types (e.g. residential vs commercial) and spatial patterns, on rainfall-runoff processes. This study aims to investigate the impact of different spatial patterns of sealing and green areas on surface runoff. Inspired on the spatial patterns of green areas observed in several Portuguese city centres crossed by rivers, three spatial patterns were investigated: dispersed gardens with a narrow green strip along the stream (SS); small gardens along contours, with a large green strip downslope (HD); linear gardens along the slope, with a large green strip downslope (VD). The impact of these three patterns was assessed through lysimeter experiments, using concrete blocks to simulate sealed surfaces and turfgrass to mimic gardens. All the configurations included 60% sealing and 40% greening, which is the maximum allowed in several Portuguese municipalities for urban areas. The lysimeters have an area of 1.24 m<sup>2</sup> and a depth of 0.15 m, filled with sandy loam soil (1.4 kg/m<sup>3</sup>) bellow the pavement and the turfgrass, and are placed with a 13º-16º slope. The lysimeters were installed in October 2019 and are subject to natural rainfall. After each storm, runoff and leachate measurements have been performed. Three soil moisture sensors were installed per lysimeter, at 10 cm depth, and provide continuous records with 5 min intervals. Rainfall data is collected with a rain gauge installed nearby, with a 5 min resolution. Results show that 40% turfgrass is able to cope with the majority of rainfall and runoff from upslope paved surfaces. Runoff coefficient is typically less than 2% and attained a maximum of 4% during the largest (40 mm) and more intensive storm (9.4 mm/h). Although increasing soil moisture slightly enhances runoff generation, the spatial patterns investigated at small scale did not show significant impacts on rainfall-runoff processes. Turfgrass revealed effective to retain and infiltrate rainfall and runoff from paved surfaces. It may provide an adequate solution to mitigate the impact of urbanization on the water cycle and flood hazard within cities.</p>

scholarly journals The impact of observation nudging on simulated meteorology and ozone concentrations during DISCOVER-AQ 2013 Texas campaign

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 3127-3144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangshang Li ◽  
Yunsoo Choi ◽  
Beata Czader ◽  
Anirban Roy ◽  
Hyuncheol Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Chemical Transport ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Boundary Layer Height ◽  
Ozone Concentrations ◽  
Houston Ship Channel ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Accurate meteorological fields are imperative for correct chemical transport modeling. Observation nudging, along with objective analysis, is generally considered a low-cost and effective technique to improve meteorological simulations. However, the meteorological impact of observation nudging on chemistry has not been well characterized. This study involved two simulations to analyze the impact of observation nudging on simulated meteorology and ozone concentrations during the 2013 Deriving Information on Surface conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) Texas campaign period, using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) models. The results showed improved correlations between observed and simulated parameters. For example, the index of agreement (IOA) improved by about 9 % for surface temperature and 6–11 % for surface zonal (U-WIND) and meridional (V-WIND) winds when observation nudging was employed. Analysis of a cold front event indicated that nudging improved the timing of wind transition during the front passage. Observation nudging also reduced the model biases for the planetary boundary layer height predictions. Additionally, the IOA for CMAQ simulated surface ozone improved by 6 % during the simulation period. The high-ozone episode on 25 September was a post-front ozone event in Houston. The small-scale morning wind shifts near the Houston Ship Channel combined with higher aloft ozone early morning likely caused the day's ozone exceedance. While observation nudging did not recreate the wind shifts on that day and failed to reproduce the observed high ozone, analyses of surface and aircraft data found that observation nudging helped the model yield improved ozone predictions. In a 2 h period during the event, substantially better winds in the sensitivity case noticeably improved the ozone. The average IOA for ozone in the period increased from just over 0.4 to near 0.7. Further work on improving the capability of nudging to reproduce local meteorological events such as stagnations and wind reversals could enhance a chemical transport model's skill for predicting high-ozone events.

scholarly journals IoT Based Farming Recommendation System Using Soil Nutrient and Environmental Condition Detection

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 3055-3060
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Recommendation System ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Soil Productivity ◽  
Continuous Cropping ◽  
Financial Loss ◽  
Ph Level

Over one third of world workforce are employed in agriculture and the amount is steadily falling because of the financial losses of the farmers. One of the key reason behind this financial loss is the lack of technology in agriculture. Continuous cropping and overuse of fertilizers cause the decline in soil productivity and effect the environment as well. This paper demonstrates how the soil productivity can be optimized by implementing an IoT (Internet of Things) based model. Specifically, the paper describes the way to identify the amount of soil nutrients and environmental conditions, followed by the recommendations for cropping and site specific fertilization. Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are the key nutrients that are responsible for the plant growth. Soil moisture, pH level of soil and environmental conditions also effects the productivity of crops. In this present work, the system incorporated with various chemicals and sensors to report NPK level, pH level, soil moisture level, temperature and weather forecast. The proposed system takes the soil sample as the input and performs the chemical reactions, corresponding changes in the color of sample is sensed by color sensors and decoded by colorimetry technique. An android application has been built to show the test report and recommendations based on sensed data. The paper has proposed a scientific way to develop a robust, fully automated and low-cost smart farming solution to suit the socioeconomic conditions of small scale farmers in developing countries.

scholarly journals A Numerical Sensitivity Study on the Impact of Soil Moisture on Convection-Related Parameters and Convective Precipitation over Complex Terrain

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 2971-2987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Barthlott ◽  
Norbert Kalthoff
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Complex Terrain ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
Convective Precipitation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Initial Soil Moisture ◽  
Initial Soil ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The impact of soil moisture on convection-related parameters and convective precipitation over complex terrain is studied by numerical experiments using the nonhydrostatic Consortium for Small-Scale Modeling (COSMO) model. For 1 day of the Convective and Orographically Induced Precipitation Study (COPS) conducted during summer 2007 in southwestern Germany and eastern France, initial soil moisture is varied from −50% to +50% of the reference run in steps of 5%. As synoptic-scale forcing is weak on the day under investigation, the triggering of convection is mainly due to soil–atmosphere interactions and boundary layer processes. Whereas a systematic relationship to soil moisture exists for a number of variables (e.g., latent and sensible fluxes at the ground, near-surface temperature, and humidity), a systematic increase of 24-h accumulated precipitation with increasing initial soil moisture is only present in the simulations that are drier than the reference run. The time evolution of convective precipitation can be divided into two regimes with different conditions to initiate and foster convection. Furthermore, the impact of soil moisture is different for the initiation and modification of convective precipitation. The results demonstrate the high sensitivity of numerical weather prediction to initial soil moisture fields.

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