Agricultural waste management
V. Ebrahim Khanloo Sisi; N. Monjezi; M. Soleymani
Abstract
IntroductionSugarcane is one of the strategic products of Khuzestan province, which is cultivated in 10 active agro-industrial sites and covers an area of about 110,000 hectares of irrigated farms in the province. Sugarcane harvesting, like most crops, is done by special sugarcane harvesters. Due to ...
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IntroductionSugarcane is one of the strategic products of Khuzestan province, which is cultivated in 10 active agro-industrial sites and covers an area of about 110,000 hectares of irrigated farms in the province. Sugarcane harvesting, like most crops, is done by special sugarcane harvesters. Due to the life of machines and also the amount of heavy machine operations in each season of sugarcane harvest, the loss is inevitable. On the other hand, in Khuzestan province, due to lack of studies, there is little information in this area. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the extent of losses during sugarcane harvesting operations, taking into account factors such as cultivars, age of sugarcane, and reaping speed of the Astaf 7000 model. The study will be conducted at the sugarcane agro-industrial site of Dehkhoda in 2021.Materials and MethodsThe experiment was conducted as a factorial split-plot design based on randomized complete blocks (RCBD) with three replications. The first factor included four levels of cultivars (IRC-12, CP48-103, CP 73-21, and CP69-1062), the second factor included three levels of harvest age (plant, Ratoon 1, Ratoon 2), and the third factor included three levels of speed (3, 5, and 7 km h-1). Sampling was carried out under the same and constant conditions with respect to soil moisture content, harvester operator, harvester characteristics, harvester settings, and crop density in each field.Results and DiscussionThe results of analysis of variance of the data obtained from measuring sugarcane losses showed that the effect of cultivar on yield, full-length sugarcane, chopped sugarcane and splinter sugarcane had a significant effect at a probability level of one percent. The effect of age had a significant effect on yield, full-length sugarcane, chopped sugarcane with a probability level of one percent, but had no significant effect on the amount of splinter sugarcane. The interaction between cultivar and age had a significant effect on yield, chopped sugarcane, and full-length sugarcane with a probability level of one percent and on splinter sugarcane with a probability level of five percent. The effect of machine speed had a significant effect on full-length sugarcane, chopped sugarcane and splinter sugarcane with a probability level of one percent, but had no significant effect on yield. The interaction of cultivar and machine speed had a significant effect on yield, full-length sugarcane, chopped sugarcane and splinter sugarcane with a probability level of one percent. The interaction effect of age and machine speed on yield had a significant effect on full-length sugarcane and splinter sugarcane with a probability level of one percent and on the amount of splinter sugarcane with a probability level of five but had no significant effect on yield. Also, the interaction of cultivar, age and machine speed had a significant effect on yield, full-length sugarcane and chopped sugarcane with a probability level of one percent, but had no significant effect on the amount of splinter sugarcane. The results showed that the highest yield in CP69-1062 variety was observed in the plant farm with average machine speed (144.33 tons per hectare). Also, the highest amount of sugarcane losses in cultivar CP48-103 in Raton II and with 7 km h-1 machine speed (3.32 tons per hectare), the highest amount of chopped sugarcane losses in cultivar CP48-103 in plant farm and with average speed (1.78 tons per hectare) was observed. According to the results under the interaction of cultivar and device speed, the highest amount of sugarcane losses in CP69-1062 cultivar and high speed (0.314 tons per hectare) as well as IRC-12 cultivar and high speed (0.308 tons in Hectares), and under the interaction of farm age and speed of the harvester, the highest amount of sugarcane losses was observed in Ratoon farm and the high speed of the harvester (0.300 tons per hectare).ConclusionTherefore, in order to reduce the amount of losses in sugarcane fields, it is recommended to use resistant and somewhat later cultivars for cultivation, because early cultivars are more fragile during harvest due to stem fragility and the rate of losses increases. Also, Harvester speed optimization reduces the amount of losses, and due to the increase in the rate of losses in reclaimed farms, it is recommended to create more resistant stem tissue by proper plant nutrition and more care to reduce the rate of losses in ratoon farms.
Agricultural waste management
H. Amiri; A. Asakereh; M. Soleymani
Abstract
IntroductionWheat, is the most important crop in the world. In Iran, wheat is the most important and strategic agricultural crop, due to its vital role in providing food and feeding livestock. Because wheat harvesting operation has a significant share of total grain losses, it is considered as the most ...
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IntroductionWheat, is the most important crop in the world. In Iran, wheat is the most important and strategic agricultural crop, due to its vital role in providing food and feeding livestock. Because wheat harvesting operation has a significant share of total grain losses, it is considered as the most important and sensitive stage of production. Recently, in Iran, the need for straw to feed livestock has increased sharply, and since wheat is the main source of straw production, changes have been made in the configuration of the grain combine harvester so that in addition to collecting grain, it can crush and collect straw. These combine harvesters are known as straw collecting combine harvesters. The growing need for straw, along with the high cost and difficulty of straw collecting, has made straw collecting combine harvesters more popular, especially in areas where animal husbandry is common alongside agriculture. Despite facilitating and increasing the possibility of straw collection by this type of combine harvesters, in many cases grain losses have increased. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the amount of grain losses in this type of combine harvester and determine the factors affecting its losses.Materials and MethodsThis study was conducted to investigate the effect of ground speed and wheat yield on grain loss in a straw collecting combine harvester. The use of this type of harvester was also analyzed economically. Two models of JD-1055 and JD-1165 combine harvesters were considered for evaluation. The experiments were performed in a split factorial design in the form of a randomized complete block design. Grain yield (at three yield levels: less than 2 Ton ha-1, 2 to 5 Ton ha-1, and more than 5 Ton ha-1) was the main factor and the other two treatments, the model of combine harvester and the ground speed (with three levels: 1, 1.5 and 3 km h-1) were factorially placed in subplots. Loss components including head loss, combine harvester body loss, end loss, threshing unit loss, cleaning unit loss, and quality losses were measured and compared with that of a conventional grain combine harvester. Field capacity and harvesting cost were also measured for both types of combine harvesters. Finally, based on cost-benefit analysis, the straw collecting combine harvester was compared with the conventional combine harvester economically.Results and DiscussionThe results showed that in addition to the main effects, the two-way and three-way interactions were also significant for the studied factors on head loss, body loss, end loss, threshing unit loss, cleaning unit loss, and quality losses of straw collecting combine harvester. The losses of the straw collecting combine harvester are strongly affected by the ground speed and the grain yield. The percentage of grain loss in low yields (less than 2 Ton ha-1) was significantly higher than that of medium (2 to 5 Ton ha-1) and high yields (more than 5 Ton ha-1). The average loss of JD-1055 was less than JD-1165, mainly because of more loss in threshing and cleaning units. The highest total losses, with a rate of 10.54%, were related to JD-1165 in low yields, while the lowest percentage of total losses, at a rate of 2.54%, was related to JD-1055 in medium grain yield and low speed (1 km h-1). The total grain losses of conventional combine harvesters obtained about 3.22% while the total grain losses of straw collecting combine harvesters were approximately 5.44%. In general, the losses of straw collecting combine harvester were about 2.22% more than that of the conventional combine harvester. The economic evaluation showed that in the region where animal farming is common along with agriculture, the use of straw collecting combine harvester is more economical than a conventional combine harvester.ConclusionCombine harvester model, grain yield, as well as ground speed of the combine harvester affects the grain losses in different units of a straw collecting combine harvester as well as total losses. As the grain yield and the feed rate increase, the total losses of this combine decrease at first but increase again in high yields. Adjusting the feed rate helps reduce the end losses and total losses of straw collecting combine harvester. In the study area, using a straw collecting combine harvester is more economical than a conventional combine harvester.
N. Monjezi; M. Soleymani
Abstract
Introduction Sugarcane cultivation in Khuzestan province is in the form of planting in-furrow. Due to the fact that in a machine harvesting, the reaper is not able to fully harvest the straw in the furrow, in the planting in-furrow method, it is necessary to transfer the rows of straw to the stack. So ...
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Introduction Sugarcane cultivation in Khuzestan province is in the form of planting in-furrow. Due to the fact that in a machine harvesting, the reaper is not able to fully harvest the straw in the furrow, in the planting in-furrow method, it is necessary to transfer the rows of straw to the stack. So one of the measures at the time was hilling up operations or stacking reeds planted in the furrow. Therefore, due to the salinity of irrigation water and high groundwater levels, which have increased the salinity of sugarcane fields in Khuzestan province, planting this product in summer to protect the seedlings against salinity is mandatory in the furrow. On one hand, due to the difficulty of harvesting operations in the furrow during the harvest season, and on the other hand, because of the reduction of waste during harvesting, the plant needs to be located on the ridge. Therefore, in sugarcane fields, when the seedlings are established and grown, the furrow and ridges are replaced, and to perform this operation special machines are required. According to the study, so far there has been no scientific and reasoned report on the study and evaluation of different types of hilling up devices and different speeds in sugarcane cultivation, and the use of machines in sugarcane cultivation and industry is based solely on objective observations. Therefore, in this study, three different types of devices have been evaluated in two soil textures and three different forward speeds as a step towards choosing the best type of machine and optimal speed of hilling up operations in sugarcane cultivation.Materials and Methods The purpose of this study was to evaluate three different methods of sugarcane hilling up in two soil textures and three different forward speeds. Research treatments include: soil texture (clay loam and silty clay loam), hilling up methods (6-shanks subsoil + 10-shanks subsoil, 8-shanks subsoil + hilling up device No. 1 and 8-shanks subsoil + hilling up device No. 2), and forward speeds (5, 6, and 7 kilometers per hour). Design of a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications in Amirkabir field 208 (ALC 200 field 8) with clay loam texture and cultivar CP69-1062 and farm ARC14-22 with silty clay loam texture and cultivar CP69-1062, 15% moisture, and first-year cultivation was performed. The test plot includes 108 furrows. The area of each plot was two furrows. The length of each furrow was 250 meters (equal to the length of the sugarcane rows). To avoid affecting the interactions of the treatments, a distance was given between the treatments. The farms being tested were newly cultivated farms. The surface of the farm was furrowed and ridged. Care was taken in selecting the farm so that the humidity was similar in its different sections. After setting the right time for the hilling up and before starting the operation, soil sampling is required to determine the soil cone index and soil moisture. The physical properties of this study include Mean Weight Diameter (MWD), bulk density, soil surface uniformity, soil water permeability, and furrow depth (stack height). Analysis of variance and Duncan test were used to compare the treatments using SAS 9.4 software.Results and Discussion The results showed that there was a significant difference between soil Mean Weight Diameter, bulk density, soil surface uniformity, and soil water permeability in soil texture treatments, type of hilling up machine, and forward speed. Furrow depth index (stack height) was significantly different in treatments of type of machine and forward speed but not in soil texture treatments. The comparison of means showed that the whole loam texture treatment had 6-shanks + 10-shanks at a speed of 7 km h-1 with the smallest mean weight diameter (16.06 mm). The use of 6-shanks subsoil + 10-shanks subsoil in hilling up in whole texture and speed of 5 km h-1 significantly reduced soil bulk density. The lowest coefficient of variation of soil surface uniformity was obtained with 8-shanks subsoil + hilling up device No. 1 in clay loam texture and 7 km h-1 forward speed. The highest rate of water permeability in the soil was obtained after the hilling up operation with 6-shanks subsoil + 10-shanks subsoil in a total texture of 2.32 cm h-1. Furrow depth index (stack height) was also within the acceptable range (10-15 cm) in all treatments. But in addition to height, the appearance of the ridges is also important. In the treatment of 6-shanks + 10-shanks in plant stacking and embankment operations, sometimes in fields, there are parts where this operation is not done well and the machine is not capable enough and is in the middle of the created ridges. Harvesting operations do not cause proper reed flooring. Therefore, to solve this problem, it is necessary to perform the hilling up operation at the appropriate speed and humidity so that the soil is well placed on the rows of reeds and the proper appearance of the ridge is maintained.Conclusion In this study, three different types of devices have been evaluated in two soil textures and three different forward speeds as a step towards choosing the best type of machine and optimal speed of hilling up operations in sugarcane cultivation. The physical properties of the soil, including the soil Mean Weight Diameter, bulk density, soil surface uniformity, soil water permeability, and the size of the furrow depth (ridge height) were measured, and the best treatments were identified. Considering the importance of hilling up operations in sugarcane cultivation and to complete the results of this experiment, the following items that could not be studied in this study are suggested. The effect of using different methods on hilling up should be investigated on the yield of sugarcane. The effect of using different devices on hilling up in terms of tensile strength, work efficiency, and time required to do the work, fuel consumption, cost of timely work, and maintenance costs in operations on sugarcane hilling up should be investigated.
A. Mirzaee; M. Soleymani; H. Bahrami; M. Norouzi Masir
Abstract
Introduction: Almost 18 percent of emitted greenhouse gasses in Iran come from livestock industries, especially from manure decomposition. With the anaerobic digestion of animal wastes, in addition to eliminating its disadvantages, biogas as a clean and renewable energy carrier is produced. In addition, ...
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Introduction: Almost 18 percent of emitted greenhouse gasses in Iran come from livestock industries, especially from manure decomposition. With the anaerobic digestion of animal wastes, in addition to eliminating its disadvantages, biogas as a clean and renewable energy carrier is produced. In addition, the resulting sludge is a more healthy and nutritious fertilizer for use in agriculture. One of the challenges of the bio-gas industry is to increase gas production efficiency. Various approaches are proposed to enhance manure digestion efficiency and increase biogas production, which can be mentioned below: Changing operating parameters such as temperature, hydraulic retention time (HRT), and particle size of the substrate; adding some effective additives; returning the resulting sludge into the digestion process and using bio-filters. Therefore in this study, in order to increase biogas production from poultry manure, two methods (co-digestion with rumen contents, and chicken intestine and its contents, and returning the slurry into the reactor) were tested. The alkaline composition of chicken manure and its high content of ammonia makes it difficult to digest alone, and co-digestion with high-carbon organic matter improves its digestibility.Materials and Methods: Polyethylene bottles were used as batch reactor units. In order to the possibility of gas exit, as well as taking samples of the digester, two valves were placed on the bottle cap. All digesters were placed in a hot water bath and a 700 watts electric heater and a thermostat were used respectively to supply heat and to keep the temperature constant. A U-shaped tube, connected to the reactor output pipe was used to measure the amount of produced gas. The volume of water removed from the tube was an indicator of produced gas. The experiment was carried out in two stages. In the first stage 21 reactors were used according to the design of the experiment which was a completely randomized design with 7 treatments (adding rumen fluid in three levels (10, 20, and 30 percent of chicken manure (weight basis), respectively), adding chicken intestines and its content in three levels (10, 20, and 30 percent of chicken manure (weight basis), respectively), and control treatment), and three replicates of each treatment. During the whole experiment period, the pH and temperature were kept constant, respectively between 7.2-8.2 and 40-35 °C (mesophilic range). In the second stage of the experiment, after all the treatments reached the end of their hydraulic retention time, the resulting sludge was filtered and the liquid part was returned to the cycle. Three treatments were also provided here (supplying 50% of the water required by sludge liquid, supplying 100% of the water required by sludge liquid, and control treatment (no liquefied sludge).Results and Discussion: Based on the results, although the type of organic supplementation had a significant effect on the amount of biogas production, the quantity of them had not. Treatments of chicken manure + 20%, 30%, and 10% of chicken intestines resulted in the highest amount of biogas production, respectively. But these three treatments were not significantly different. Also, the co-digestion of chicken manure with chicken intestines was more effective than the co-digestion of chicken manure with rumen fluid. The return of sludge, resulted from anaerobic digestion of chicken manure, again into the cycle, in addition to enhancing the amount of produced gas, can reduce the waiting time to start gas production by at least six days (in the treatment of providing 100% of required water from returned sludge). This can lead to continuous gas production and availability of sufficient gas in commercial gas-producing units. The effect of treatments on the time of reaching the cumulative gas production index to 100 mm was significant (α= 5%) and treatment of S100 reduced this duration by approximately 17 days (65%) and S50, for approximately 16 days (74%). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, co-digestion of chicken manure with cow rumen fluid did not have a significant effect on the increase of biogas production, but co-digestion of chicken manure with chicken intestine and its contents (at least by 20% of chicken manure (weight basis)) can have a significant effect on the increase in the production of biogas and can increase the amount of gas at least twice. The highest amount of gas volume was about 305 Ml.gr-1 VSadded and came from the treatment of co-digestion of chicken manure with 20% (weight base) chicken intestine and its contents. The return of the resulting sludge of anaerobic digestion of chicken manure, back into the cycle, in addition to increasing the amount of gas, can minimize the time it takes to start to produce gas and help to produce gas continuously. Moreover, the water used for digestion will also be significantly reduced (at least 50%).
