The relationship between machine and soil
S. M. Seyedan; A. Heidari
Abstract
IntroductionSoil protection against water and wind erosion is of great importance. Since most soils of arid and semi-arid regions of Iran are poor in organic matter and continuous use of conventional tillage (moldboard plow) has increased the severity of soil organic matter depletion and degradation ...
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IntroductionSoil protection against water and wind erosion is of great importance. Since most soils of arid and semi-arid regions of Iran are poor in organic matter and continuous use of conventional tillage (moldboard plow) has increased the severity of soil organic matter depletion and degradation of soil structure. Therefore replacing conventional tillage with conservation tillage (reduced tillage and no tillage) is needed to improve soil structure and increase soil organic matter. Due to the increasing population growth and the limitation of arable land, it is necessary to remove the fallow year in dryland. Legumes are crops that can be in rotation with wheat. Materials and MethodsThis study was conducted to evaluate the effect of crop rotation and different tillage systems on rain-fed wheat farming in Kaboudarahang Township during 2012-2014. The experiment was conducted as split-plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications. In this study, different crop rotations including fallow-wheat rotation, and chickpea-wheat rotation as main plots and different tillage systems including conventional tillage (moldboard plow + power harrow), conservation tillage (chisel plow equipped with roller), conservation tillage (sweep plow equipped with roller) and direct drilling were investigated as subplots.In the economic evaluation of this project, the economic impacts of the treatments were analyzed using the partial budgeting method and the cost-benefit ratio. For this purpose, the difference between treatments income and cost compared with control treatment has been calculated and compared. The differences in the benefits of the treatments are due to the different yields of wheat. Results and DiscussionResults showed:1- The highest wheat yield in the first and second years of the study was 605.3 and 2135.1 kg ha-1, respectively in rotation of fallow wheat.2- In the first year, the highest wheat yield (690.7 kg ha-1) was related to direct planting (no tillage), but in the second year, the highest yield (2268.6 kg ha-1) was related to conservation tillage (sweep blades + roller).3- In the first and second year, the highest value of treatment was related to direct planting and conservation tillage (sweep tiller + roller), respectively.4- In the chickpea-wheat rotation, the highest net income in the first and second year was related to direct planting and conservation tillage (sweep + roller), respectively. Thebenefit-cost ratio in the conservation tillage (sweep + roller) (second year) and direct drilling (first year) methods shows that for each rial of expenses, 5.7 and 2.8 rials can be earned respectively. Therefore, economically, these tillage treatments are superior to the control treatment (conventional cultivation).5- In the wheat rotation, the highest net income in the first and second year was related to direct planting and conservation tillage (sweep + roller), respectively. The benefit-cost ratio in the conservation tillage (sweep + roller) (second year) and direct drilling (first year) methods shows that for each rial of expenses, 4.2 and 1.3 rials can be earned respectively. Therefore, it is economically justified and these tillage treatments are superior to the control treatment (conventional tillage).ConclusionThe results of this study showed that in the first and second years, economically the direct method and the conservation tillage treatment (sweep blades + roller) were superior to the conventional method, respectively. Therefore, conservation tillage methods can be replaced by the conventional method (plowing with moldboard plow) in dryland farming. Also, in dry years, direct cultivation (no tillage) is a good and economical method.
A. Heidari; A. Ghadami Firouzabadi
Abstract
Introduction: Conventional tillage is widely used in sugar beet growing areas. However, conventional farming uses more labour and machines that has a negative effect on soil and the environment. Due to limited water resources and recent droughts, proper use of modern tillage and irrigation methods can ...
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Introduction: Conventional tillage is widely used in sugar beet growing areas. However, conventional farming uses more labour and machines that has a negative effect on soil and the environment. Due to limited water resources and recent droughts, proper use of modern tillage and irrigation methods can increase water efficiency and prevent soil degradation as a result of sustainable agriculture.Materials and Methods: An experiment was conducted to investigate different methods of tillage and water requirements on quantitative and qualitative yield and sugar beet water productivity in the drip irrigation system in Ekbatan Research Station of Hamedan Province from 2018 to 2019. A strip plot experiment with sixteen treatments and three replications was used. Tillage methods in four levels, consisting of T1- plowing with moldboard plow to a depth of 25-30 cm in autumn + power harrow to a depth of 15-20 cm in spring, T2- subsoiling to a depth of 35-40 cm + plowing with moldboard plow to a depth of 25-30 cm in autumn + power harrow to a depth of 15-20 cm in spring, T3- plowing with chisel plow equipped with roller packer to a depth of 25-30 cm in autumn + power harrow to a depth of 15-20 cm in spring and T4- plowing with sweep plow equipped with roller packer to a depth of 25-30 cm in autumn + power harrow to a depth of 15-20 cm in spring and Irrigation factor consisting of I1-100%, I2- 90%, I3- 80% and I4- 70% sugar beet water requirement were considered. Soil penetration resistance (PR), the volume of water consumption, root yield, sugar yield, white sugar yield and molasses were measured. Water efficiency in tillage and irrigation treatments was also calculated. MSTAT-C software was used for statistical analysis of data. The Duncan's multiple range test at a 1% probability level was used to compare the means.Result and Discussion: At a depth of 0-30 cm, no significant difference was observed between tillage methods on soil penetration resistance. At greater depths (35-40 cm) T2 treatment (subsoil + moldboard plow) had the greatest effect in reducing soil resistance. The results showed that the effect of different tillage methods, water requirement and their interactions at the 1% probability level on root yield; sugar yield and white sugar yield were significant. There was no significant difference between sugar beet yield in the T4 tillage treatment and the conventional method (T1). Treatments T4 (with an average yield of 50686 kg ha-1) and T1 (with an average yield of 50507 kg ha-1) had the highest sugar beet root yield. Also, the tillage method (T4) compared to the conventional tillage method (T1) reduced fuel consumption by 14.7% and increased field capacity by 52.4% respectively. In the T4 tillage method, irrigation treatments I100, I90 and I80 with mean water productivity of 6.113, 6.087 and 5.523 kg m-3 of water consumption, respectively, had the greatest effect on increasing water productivity, while no significant difference was observed between them.Conclusion: The tillage method (T4) compared to the conventional tillage method (T1) reduced fuel consumption by 14.7% and increased field capacity by 52.4%, respectively. There was no significant difference between sugar beet yield and water productivity in the T4 tillage treatment and the conventional method (T1). Although full irrigation treatment (100% water requirement) has the highest water efficiency, there is no significant difference between 90 and 80% water requirement treatment. Therefore, in order to save water consumption, 80% water requirement is recommended. The result is that in the T4 tillage method with a supply of 80% water requirement of sugar beet after plant establishment (approximately from the middle of the growing season) about 12% (1207 m-3) in water consumption without significant reduction in water productivity.
A. Heidari; J. Amiri Parian
Abstract
Repetitive and dangerous tasks such as harvesting and spraying have made robots usable in the greenhouses. The mechanical structure and navigation algorithm are two important parameters in the design and fabrication of mobile greenhouse robots. In this study, a four- wheel differential steering mobile ...
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Repetitive and dangerous tasks such as harvesting and spraying have made robots usable in the greenhouses. The mechanical structure and navigation algorithm are two important parameters in the design and fabrication of mobile greenhouse robots. In this study, a four- wheel differential steering mobile robot was designed and constructed to act as a greenhouse robot. Then, the navigation of the robot at different levels and actual greenhouses was evaluated. The robot navigation algorithm was based on the path learning, so that the route was stored in the robot memory using a remote control based on the pulses transmitted from the wheels encoders; then, the robot automatically traversed the path. Robot navigation accuracy was tested at different surfaces (ceramics, concrete, dense soil and loose soil) in a straight path 20 meters long and a square path, 4×4 m. Then, robot navigation accuracy was investigated in a greenhouse. Robot movement deviation value was calculated using root mean square error (RMSE) and standard deviation (SD). The results showed that the RMSE of deviation of autonomous method from manual control method in the straight path to the length of 20 meters in ceramic, concrete, dense soil and loose soil were 4.3, 2.8, 4.6 and 8 cm, and in the 4×4 m square route were 6.6, 5.5, 13.1 and 47.1 cm, respectively.
A. Heidari
Abstract
IntroductionSoil compaction reduces soil porosity and thus, increases the resistance and bulk density of the soil. These changes limit water and air movement and root penetration in the soil and ultimately, they may reduce the seed germination and the crop yield. For planting sugar beets, tractors and ...
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IntroductionSoil compaction reduces soil porosity and thus, increases the resistance and bulk density of the soil. These changes limit water and air movement and root penetration in the soil and ultimately, they may reduce the seed germination and the crop yield. For planting sugar beets, tractors and equipment need to move several times on the ground, which is a factor in soil re-compaction and the loss of the effects of previous tillage. Therefore, if, after planting, inter-row tillage was done, it can have a positive effect on reducing the bulk density of the soil and it may even increase yield. Materials and MethodsAn experiment was conducted to determine the effect of inter-row tillage on the sugar beet yield and its quality and water use efficiency during two years cropping period (2016-2017) in Ekbatan Research Station, Hamadan with loam texture soil. A strip plot experiment with eight treatments and three replications was used. Irrigation regimes consist of 100% of sugar beet water requirement (I1) and 75% of sugar beet water requirement (I2) were considered as main plots. Inter-row tillage operations consist of combined cultivator equipped with chisel and crescent blades to 20-25 cm soil depth (T1), a simple cultivator equipped with crescent blades (T2), crescent cultivator + inter-row subsoiling to 30-35 cm soil depth (T3), combined cultivator equipped with rotary and sweep blades to 20-25 cm soil depth were considered (T4 ) as sub-plots. During the experiment, some physical properties of soil including bulk density and soil cone index were measured. At the end of the growth season, the root yield and yield of white sugar were measured and analyzed statistically. Results and DiscussionThe results showed that the effect of inter-row tillage methods on the soil bulk density and soil cone index was significant. The T3 treatment (crescent cultivator + inter-row subsoiling to 30-35 cm soil depth) had the highest effect on reducing the cone index and bulk density of soil, but the lowest root yield was obtained. Due to the low spacing of rows (50 cm) in the sugar beet cultivation, as well as the structure of the subsoiler and its depth, it is possible that the subsoiling caused the moving of the roots and minor damage to it. The effects of irrigation and inter-row tillage and their interactions on quantitative and qualitative yield of sugar beet were not significant. The results of analysis of variance of treatment effect on the water use efficiency showed that the effect of inter-row tillage on the water use efficiency was not significant. The effect of water requirement on the water use efficiency on the basis of sugar and white sugar performance was significant at 5% probability level. The treatment of 75% of water requirement increased the efficiency of water use based on the root yield, sugar yield and white sugar yield by 4%, 14% and 7%, respectively. Therefore, with the goal of reducing water consumption and not significantly reducing the yield, after plant establishment, it can reduce water use by about 25%. ConclusionThe effect of inter-row tillage on the cone index and bulk density of soil was significant and subsoiling treatment caused a further reduction of these two indices compared to the other inter-row tillage methods. The effect of inter-row tillage and water requirement on root and sugar yields was not significant. According to the results, after planting completely establishment, the water use can be reduced by about 25% (this decrease in the total length of sugar beet growing was about 15%).
Image Processing
A. Heidari; J. Amiri Parian
Abstract
Introduction Lack of water resources, increasing demands for food, the optimal use of water and land, and food security are of the most important reasons for the development of greenhouses in the country. The benefits of greenhouse cultivation consisted of the possibility to produce off-season, increase ...
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Introduction Lack of water resources, increasing demands for food, the optimal use of water and land, and food security are of the most important reasons for the development of greenhouses in the country. The benefits of greenhouse cultivation consisted of the possibility to produce off-season, increase harvest period, reduce the production costs, increase economic efficiency and etc. Regarding the conditions of the greenhouse, in terms of temperature and humidity, a site is susceptible to contamination with various pests and diseases, which can cause a lot of damages to the products. So, for a high-quality product, identification and timely control of pests are necessary. The need for spraying in a timely manner, with a sufficient number of times, is to have accurate information on the population of pests in a greenhouse environment at different times. Whiteflies, thrips, and aphids are among the most commonly known harmful insects in the world, causing severe damages to greenhouse plants. Materials and Methods Twenty yellow sticky cards were randomly selected in different parts of the greenhouse of cucumbers in the Amzajerd district of Hamadan. From each card, 45 photos were taken with Canon IXUS 230HS digital camera with a resolution of 12.1 Megapixels at a distance of 20 centimeters. Before each image processing, trapped insects were initially identified and counted by three entomologists. At this stage, three types of insects (two harmful insects, whitefly and thrips and non-harmful insect) were identified. Then the images were transferred to Matlab software. The algorithm of identifying and counting the whitefly was the following six steps: Step 1: Convert the original image to the gray level image Step 2: Correcting the effects of non-uniform lighting Step 3: Determine the optimal threshold and convert the gray level image to the binary image Step 4: Remove objects smaller than Whitefly Step 5: Fill the holes in the image Step 6: Counting broken segments The algorithm of identifying and counting the thrips was the following eight steps: Step 1: Convert the original image to the gray level image Step 2: Correcting the effects of non-uniform lighting Step 3: Determine the optimal threshold and convert the gray level image to the binary image Step 4: Prepare image negatives Step 5: Remove objects smaller than the thrips Step 6: Remove the thrips and isolate the rest of the objects Step 7: Split the thrips Step 8: Count the thrips Results and Discussion Relative accuracy, root mean square error (RMSE) and Coefficient of variation of the RMSE of Whitefly counting in image processing system were 94.4%, 15.3 and 5.5% respectively. The results of the T-test between two methods indicated that there was no significant difference between them. The mean relative accuracy, root mean square error (RMSE) and Coefficient of variation of the RMSE of the thrips count in the image processing system were 87.4%, 18 and 5.9% respectively. There was no significant difference between the two methods. Conclusion The proposed image processing algorithm was able to detect whiteflies and thrips with a relative accuracy of 94.5% and 87.4%, respectively. In addition to simplicity, this method has the ability to adapt to different conditions. Also, with some changes in the proposed algorithm, the system will also be able to identify other pests. In order to design an intelligent spray system in the greenhouse, the population of pests needs to be monitored frequently, so the identification and counting of pests will be necessary for the intelligent spray system.
A. Heidari; I. Eskandari
Abstract
A three-year field experiment (2004-2007) was conducted on a silty clay loam soil at Tajarak Research Station of Hamedan to determine proper grain drill for wheat in Hamedan dryland areas. In this study, three grain drills including: Hamedani Barzegar; Sahalan Kesht; and Kesht Gostar with wheat seed ...
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A three-year field experiment (2004-2007) was conducted on a silty clay loam soil at Tajarak Research Station of Hamedan to determine proper grain drill for wheat in Hamedan dryland areas. In this study, three grain drills including: Hamedani Barzegar; Sahalan Kesht; and Kesht Gostar with wheat seed broadcasting and disking were used. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with four replications. In laboratory, the precision of metering device and the amount of seed damage by metering mechanism were measured. At the end of growth season (harvesting time), crop yield and the associated parameters (spike per m2, number of grain per spike, wheat kernel) were determined. Results showed that planting methods did not affect wheat grain yield significantly. However, wheat grain yield was significantly higher for Kesht Gostar grain drill than the other two machines in two drier years. Mean wheat grain yield was 1224 kg ha–1. Mean wheat grain yield was the greatest (1275 kg ha-1) for Kesht Gostar and the least (1174 Kg ha-1) for Hamedani Barzegar grain drill. Mean straw yield was not affected by planting methods. Mean wheat straw yield was the greatest (2349 kg ha-1) for Hamedani Barzegar grain drill, and the least (2009 Kg ha-1) for the combination of seed broadcasting and disking. The amounts of rainfall during growing season strongly influenced wheat grain and straw yields. Mean wheat grain yield was 1572 Kg ha-1 and 1026 Kg ha-1 in wet year and dry years, respectively. This study showed that a wide range of grain drills is adaptable for dryland wheat cropping system for the semiarid Hamedan areas.
