Modeling
M. A. Hormozi; H. Zaki Dizaji; H. Bahrami; N. Monjezi
Abstract
IntroductionThe development of mechanization and machine technology can have positive and negative effects on the economic, social, and environmental conditions of a region. Conflicts in these areas complicate the selection and optimization of sustainable mechanization systems. One of the basic questions ...
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IntroductionThe development of mechanization and machine technology can have positive and negative effects on the economic, social, and environmental conditions of a region. Conflicts in these areas complicate the selection and optimization of sustainable mechanization systems. One of the basic questions in the selection of a sustainable agricultural mechanization system is how and with what methodology would it be possible to propose the closest mechanization model that will overcome the simultaneous contradictions between the three pillars of sustainability; taking into account the natural and technical limitations in agricultural production. What is the appropriate approach considering the economic, environmental, and social aspects? The current research aims to provide a framework for an optimal mechanization model to achieve the goals of agricultural sustainability so that it can be implemented and applied practically. It is possible to provide a model that addresses the conflicting economic, social, and environmental aspects by quantitatively optimizing the level of mechanization.Materials and Methods In this study, a framework is applied whereby contradictory goals of agricultural sustainability can be achieved simultaneously. After selecting the indices and data collection, by combining Shannon entropy and TOPSIS, the similarity index was obtained for each objective. The similarity indices and values of the Benefit-Cost Ratio calculated for each system were considered as coefficients of three objective (economic, social, and environmental) functions in multi-objective optimization. The multi-objective optimization model was applied to achieve sustainable mechanization patterns and was solved using the NSGA-II algorithm. For framework validation, paddy production mechanization systems in the Ramhormoz region located in southwestern Iran were analyzed with constraints: land, water, and machinery. The five mechanization systems of paddy production included puddled transplanted, un-puddled transplanted, water seeded, dry seeded, and, no-till.Results and DiscussionPareto-optimal solutions of different scenarios with water and machine constraints showed that this framework cannot only meet the sustainable goals, but also the optimal allocation of mechanization systems is identified and the effect of different scenarios under different constraints can be examined. The sustainability goals between the no-tillage and planting with puddling systems are highly contradictory. The no-tillage system has the highest score in the environmental aspect and the lowest score in the social and economic aspects. This modern system was developed in Ramhormoz three years ago and has faced technical, economic, and social challenges ever since. The cultivated area using this system was 43 hectares in 2019. Despite the speed and ease of planting with this system, and its direct environmental benefits, the possibility of fungal outbreaks is raised due to the presence of wheat residues from previous cultivation and the warm and humid environment of cultivation. Additionally, weed outbreaks caused by periodic irrigation have greatly affected the satisfaction and profitability of this system, leading to the highest amount of pesticides consumed among the studied systems. The results of multi-objective optimization of sustainable rice mechanization systems in Ramhormoz city showed that the total surface area of optimal point systems is in the range of 2700 to 3200 hectares, which is close to the area under rice cultivation in Ramhormoz (3310 hectares) and it indicates that the output of the model is according to the applied restrictions and close to reality. The limitation of machinery and water has made the two planting systems of un-puddled transplanting and dry-seeding better than other systems. Removing only the machinery restriction can lead to an increase in the area under rice cultivation by about 700 hectares. This means that the requirement for the development of sustainable rice cultivation in Ramhormoz is to strengthen and support modern mechanized systems of no-tillage, dry-seeding, and planting with puddling, with a focus on systems with less water consumption which are the systems with higher levels of mechanization. Without water limitation, if the model is subject to the current machinery limitations, the optimal mechanization systems are the more traditional ones such as transplanting without puddling and wet-seeding.ConclusionOne of the most fundamental challenges in the development of mechanization is identifying systems that can best balance the economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainability and minimize environmental damage whilst maximizing economic and social benefits. Using the framework for sustainable mechanization will not only accomplish sustainable goals in identifying the optimum agricultural mechanization level, but it will also allow researchers and implementers in the agricultural sector to examine the outcome of various scenarios under different constraints. This framework can be used to find the optimal model for mechanization of all stages of tillage, planting, harvesting, and post-harvest in diverse geographical areas.
Bioenergy
A. Waismoradi; M. E. Khorasani; H. Bahrami; S. M. Safieddin Ardebili; H. Zaki Dizaji
Abstract
IntroductionToday, the number of diesel engines is increasing due to their high efficiency and low greenhouse gases. In the present study, the effect of adding nano cellulose as nanoparticles to diesel fuel on the performance parameters and emissions of diesel engine was investigated. Nano cellulose ...
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IntroductionToday, the number of diesel engines is increasing due to their high efficiency and low greenhouse gases. In the present study, the effect of adding nano cellulose as nanoparticles to diesel fuel on the performance parameters and emissions of diesel engine was investigated. Nano cellulose was provided by the Nano Novin Company in Sari. Nano cellulose values were considered at 3 levels of zero, 25 ppm and 75 ppm. Also, the tests were performed at 3 engine speed of 1600, 2000 and 2400 rpm in full load mode.Materials and MethodsIn this study, nanocellulose was used as nanoparticles to add to diesel and to evaluate the performance and emission parameters of the engine. To prevent the deposition of nano cellulose in diesel fuel, jelly type nano cellulose was used. The samples were named after adding different amounts of nano cellulose, abbreviated D100N0, D100N25 and D100N75. D100 means 100% pure diesel and N means different amounts of nano cellulose with different amounts. Ultrasound was used to obtain homogeneous samples. About 3 liters were prepared from each sample so that it could be used for at least 3 repetitions. The required tests were performed at three different speeds of 1600, 2000 and 2400 rpm in full load mode. The necessary equipment was used to measure the performance parameters and air emissions, including diesel engine connected to the dynamometer, emissions measuring device, fuel system and control room (to apply the load and provide conditions for each treatment and data collection). The air-cooled, four-stroke, compression-ignition single-cylinder engine made by the Italian company Lombardini was used. The D400 eddy current dynamometer made in Germany was used. The ability to measure power by this dynamometer is a maximum of 21 hp, a maximum speed of 10,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 80 N.m. To measure of emissions, the MAHA MGT5 emissions meter was used. This device is able to measure the values of CO, CO2, NOX, O2 and UHC.Results and DiscussionThe results showed that increasing engine speed in all fuel combinations increased engine power, specific fuel consumption, carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons and decreased torque. Also, increasing the amount of nano cellulose per engine speed increased the amount of power and torque, but reduced the specific fuel consumption, carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons. The amount of NOX increased with increasing engine speed, but at each engine speed the addition of 25 ppm nanocellulose to pure diesel significantly increased the amount of NOX. But at low speed, increasing 75 ppm nanocellulose to pure diesel reduced the amount of NOX.ConclusionThe results of this study showed that the addition of nano cellulose as nanoparticles can improve the performance of diesel engines and also reduce the amount of emissions gases emitted from the engine. The results also showed that increasing 25ppm nanocellulose had a greater effect on engine performance. But to reduce the amount of emissions, 75 ppm nanocellulose was better.
Agricultural waste management
E. Alboativi; A. Asakereh; H. Zaki Dizaji; Y. Mansoori
Abstract
Introduction: Bagasse is the dry pulpy fibrous residue that remains after sugarcane stalks are crushed for juice extraction. Bagasse is widely used in conversional and by-product industries. Bagasse is commonly used as a substitute for wood in many tropical and subtropical countries for the production ...
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Introduction: Bagasse is the dry pulpy fibrous residue that remains after sugarcane stalks are crushed for juice extraction. Bagasse is widely used in conversional and by-product industries. Bagasse is commonly used as a substitute for wood in many tropical and subtropical countries for the production of pulp, paper, and board. One of the most important conversional industries in the sugarcane agro-industry is chipboard production. In recent years, two chipboard factories from bagasse were exploited in Khuzestan province. In the production of chipboard from bagasse, a lot of waste is produced, most of which include pith. The waste is transferred to the outside of the factory at a great cost and energy level. Also, annually, a large amount of surplus bagasse of conversional Industries is obtained in Khuzestan agro-industries. These wastes cause many environmental and health problems, while these wastes can be used to generate energy. On the other hand, chipboard industries consume a lot of energy which is mostly fossil energy. Nowadays, in many sugarcane agro-industries in different countries, wastes are used to generate energy for sugar plants and conversional industries. Bagasse is often used as a primary fuel source for sugar mills.Materials and Methods: Current research is focused on the direct energy consumed in chipboard production from sugarcane bagasse and whether it can be provided by using residues and wastes of Debal Khozaie Agro-Industry Company. Data were collected from agro-industry companies as well as by sampling and measuring waste, input and energy consumption at the chipboard factory of Debal Khozaie. Direct energy consumed in the chipboard production from bagasse includes diesel fuel, electricity, natural gas, and labor. Input and output values of materials (bagasse, pith, etc.), and energy consumption (electricity, diesel, natural gas, etc.) were collected using both laboratory tests and data available in agro-industry. Potential of energy generation from bagasse, pith, wood chips, and straw in Debal Khozaie agro-industry, were considered by the direct burning method. Also, the potential of biogas production from vinasse in agro-industry for energy production was calculated. The moisture of bagasse (fresh bagasse, 24 hours, five days, 30 days, and 45 days after gathering), outdoor dried pith, outdoor dried straw and wood chip were measured based on the ASTM D2974 standard method in the laboratory. Ash percentage of bagasse, peat, straw, and Wood chips were measured using a furnace, desiccator and a scale. Also, the lower heating value of bagasse, straw, pith, and wood chips were measured using a calorimeter bomb.Results and Discussion: The direct energy consumption in the chipboard factory was determined to be 5.829 GJ m-3 of produced chipboard. Natural gas and electricity were the major sources of direct energy with 78.52% and 18.87% share, respectively. To replace these sources, pith and woodchips form chipboard factory, sugarcane leaves, remainder sugarcane bagasse, and vinasse from molasses-based Razi alcohol factory were considered. Properties of the substituted resources were determined including ash, moisture content, heating value (using bomb calorimeter), and amount of woodchips along with the biogas potential from anaerobic fermentation of vinasse. Results showed that woody residues from chipboard factory and Debal Khozaie Agro-Industry Company had the potential to provide 4.33 fold the energy provided by gas in the chipboard factory, considering the efficiency equal to 60%. Using the residues of the chipboard factory individually, it is possible to replace all the consumed natural gas and electricity energy needed in the chipboard factory as well. According to the volume of available vinasse, the potential biogas production from this resource estimated to be 8.82 Gm3.Conclusion: Electricity, natural gas, and diesel fuel constitute the direct energy consumed in the production of chipboard, and natural gas with 78.52% has the highest share. Electricity accounts for 18.87% of direct energy consumption. The specific energy of chipboard production at the chipboard factory was 5.829 GJ m-3. Only using the pith of chipboard factory can produce 2.85 times the total energy of natural gas consumed in chipboard factory. Investigation of the potential of biogas production from vinasse in Debal Khozaie agro-industry showed that it is possible to generate energy equivalent to 8824.3 thousand cubic meters of natural gas. Overall, the study showed that using the wastes of chipboard factory and sugarcane agro-industry has the potential to replace the entire natural gas and electricity consumption in chipboard factory.
Design and Construction
A. Rezaei; H. Masoudi; H. Zaki Dizaji; M. E. Khorasani
Abstract
Introduction The cereal combine harvester is one of the agricultural machines that works in difficult conditions and its parts are constantly under various static and dynamic loads. For the optimal design of vehicle parts, types and values of loads applied to them must be determined correctly. The purpose ...
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Introduction The cereal combine harvester is one of the agricultural machines that works in difficult conditions and its parts are constantly under various static and dynamic loads. For the optimal design of vehicle parts, types and values of loads applied to them must be determined correctly. The purpose of this study was to design and fabricate an electronic system that could instantly measure and store the amount of vertical load exerted on the rear axle of grain combine harvester in various conditions to be used in the design and optimization of the axle.Materials and Methods Main components of the designed system included a steel coupling, a disc loadcell (H2F-C2-10t ZEMIC model), an electronic board for amplifying loadcell output voltage, a data logger (AdvanTech DAQ Navi model), a 12-volt battery, and a laptop. A special steel coupling was designed in CATIA software for connecting the loadcell to the axle. The loadcell was placed between the coupling plates and then the coupling was installed on the center point of the rear axle of a JD 955 combine harvester. A standard tensile-compression testing machine (Cantam STM-150) was used to calibrate the loadcell. The relationship between the input load and the loadcell output voltage was linear and had a high coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.9991). In the static test, the vertical load exerted on the axle was recorded by the electronic system while the combine was stopped and the combine engine was in ON/OFF modes. In the dynamic test, the combine was driven in three positions including asphalt road, dirt road, and wheat field at three different forward speeds, and loads on the rear axle were recorded by the electronic system. Finally, the data obtained from the tests were analyzed as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with five replications in Excel and SPSS software.Results and Discussion The average static loads on the combine rear axle in ON and OFF modes were 14.908 and 14.905 kN, respectively. The results of the Student's t-test of paired samples to compare the values of axle vertical loads in two modes of static load measurement showed that there is no significant difference between the axle loads in ON and OFF mode of the engine at 1% probability level. The average vertical loads on the rear axle of the combine were equal to 15.20, 15.27, and 15.28 kN, while driving on asphalt roads at speeds of 10, 15, and 20 km h-1 respectively. These values were equal to 17.57, 17.99, and 18.15 kN, while driving on the dirt road at speeds of 2, 4, and 6 km h-1 respectively, and they were equal to 16.47, 18.01, and 17.78 kN when harvesting wheat in the field at speeds of 3, 4, and 5 km h-1 respectively. The average load applied on the axle in the turning path was more than the load applied in the straight path, which indicates load transfer to the rear axle during turning. The effect of forward speed and path type on the amount of axle load was significant at a 1% probability level, but their interaction was not significant. Therefore, the critical conditions for applying load on the rear axle of combine harvester are occurred while combine turns with high forward speed, and the design of the axle should be based on these conditions. The maximum load on the axle was obtained equal to 50 kN on the dirt road, which was due to the combine movement on a steep uphill at the end of the path.Conclusion Evaluation of the system in different conditions showed that the performance and accuracy of the system are acceptable and the data of this system can be trusted and used to measure the vertical load on the rear axle of the combine. The current rear axle of the JD955 combine harvester looks relatively safe, but at some very rugged elevations, especially steep uphills, it suffers from a lot of stress that may cause damage. So, optimizing the axle such as increasing the thickness of the triangular piece in the middle of axis and using a stronger alloy for the middle areas of the axle are recommended.
Modeling
H. Zaki Dizaji; H. Bahrami; N. Monjezi; M. J. Sheikhdavoodi
Abstract
Introduction The sugar industry usually gathers huge amounts of information during normal production operations, which is rarely used to study the relative importance of both management and environment on sugarcane yield performance. Yield prediction is a very significant problem of agricultural organizations. ...
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Introduction The sugar industry usually gathers huge amounts of information during normal production operations, which is rarely used to study the relative importance of both management and environment on sugarcane yield performance. Yield prediction is a very significant problem of agricultural organizations. Each agronomist wants to know how much yield to expect as soon as possible. The aim of this study was to determine the performance of C5.0 and QUEST algorithms to predict the yield of sugarcane production in Amir-Kabir agro-industry Company of Khuzestan province, Iran. However, the working method described in this paper is applicable to other geographical areas and other kinds of crops. Materials and Methods The data for the study were collected from Amir-Kabir agro-industry Company. The data is obtained from 2012 to 2016 years. The study area is located in Khuzestan Province which is a major agricultural region in Iran. The geographical location of the study area is between latitudes 31° 15′ to 31° 40′ north and longitudes 48° 12′ to 48° 30′ east. It covers an area of about 12000 ha. The average elevation of the study area is 8m above sea level. Mean annual rainfall within the study area is 147.1mm, the mean annual temperature is approximately 25°C and the mean soil temperature at 50cm depth is 21.2°C. The used data were obtained from a survey with 15 variables carried out on 1201 sugarcane farms. Variables used in the study of data mining can be divided into two categories: target variable and predictor variables. The variable of yield was used as the target variable (dependent) and other variables as predictor variables (independent). In two models, the input data included crop cultivar, month of harvest, chemical fertilizer (Nitrogen), chemical fertilizer (Phosphate), age (plant or ratoon), times irrigation, ratio of surface spraying, soil texture, soil electrical conductivity (EC), water consumption per hectare, drain, farm management, crop duration, area, and yield-category. The study was included in 1201 farms. The necessary data were collected and pre-processing was performed. We propose to analyze different decision tree methods (C5.0 and QUEST). Results and Discussion First, decision tree methods were analyzed for variables. Then, according to C5.0 method (error rate 0.2319 for the training set and 0.3306 for test set) performed slightly better than another method in predicting yield. Crop cultivar is found that an important variable for the yield prediction. 24 rules were found in this study, C4.5 showed a better degree of separation. The measured prediction rate of C5.0 was correct: 76.81% and wrong: 23.19% in the training data, and correct: 66.94% and wrong: 33.06% in the test data. The prediction rate of QUEST was correct: 68.25% and wrong: 31.75% in the training data, and correct: 70.83% and wrong: 29.17% in the test data. Using the training data comparison between the model types showed that the C5.0 model produces a more accurate prediction model and was, therefore, the model to use. Using the testing data in comparison with the model types showed that the QUEST model produced a more accurate prediction model. The results of our assessment showed that C5.0 and QUEST algorithms were capable to produce rules for sugarcane yield. Therefore, our proposed methods as an expert and intelligent system had an impressive impact on sugarcane yield prediction. Conclusion In today's conditions, agricultural enterprises are capable of generating and collect large amounts of data. Growth of data size requires an automated method to extract necessary data. By applying data mining technique it is possible to extract useful knowledge and trends. Knowledge gained in this manner may be applied to increase work efficiency and improve decision making quality. Data mining techniques are directed towards finding those schemes of work in data which are valuable and interesting for crop management. In this research, decision tree algorithms (C5.0 and QUEST) were used. This classification algorithm was selected because it has the potential to yield good results in prediction and classification applications. This study was performed to present a model-based data mining to predict sugarcane yield in 2012-2016. The 24 classification rules generated from the C5.0 decision tree algorithm have great practical value in agricultural applications. The results showed the QUEST and C5.0 decision tree algorithms produced the best prediction accuracy. Sensitivity analysis results indicated that crop cultivar was the most important variables. It was observed that efficient technique can be developed and analyzed using the appropriate data, which was collected from Khuzestan province to solve complex agricultural problems using data mining techniques (decision tree). The decision tree has been found useful in classification and prediction modeling due to the fact that it can capability to accurately discover hidden relationships between variables, it is capable of removing insignificant attributes within a dataset.
H. Zaki Dizaji; N. Monjezi
Abstract
Introduction Mechanized harvesting of sugarcane by harvesters and the lack of proper management of harvesting, increase the cost of production and eventually become unprofitable. In the case of sugarcane harvester, because the systems are used to be repaired, increasing in system consumption will reduce ...
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Introduction Mechanized harvesting of sugarcane by harvesters and the lack of proper management of harvesting, increase the cost of production and eventually become unprofitable. In the case of sugarcane harvester, because the systems are used to be repaired, increasing in system consumption will reduce machine reliability (Failure rate will increase). So, timely annual overhaul has effective role in enhancing the reliability of sugarcane harvesting machines. Because of time importance indicator for reducing timeliness cost and work breakdown, project scheduling techniques and work study especially network models are used. In this study, because of the ability of GERT networks capabilities in planning and scheduling, GERT networks were used and overhaul scheduling of sugarcane harvester in Amir Kabir Agro-Industry of Khuzestan province, Iran as a case study was analyzed. Materials and Methods The study was carried out in Khuzestan province of Iran in 2016. Data were collected from variety sources such as opinions and comments of experts and reports and statistics of Sugarcane Agro-Industry. All activity times are given in hour. At first, the project activities are determined and the work breakdown structure was drawn. Finally, GERT network was plotted and analyzed. GERT is a procedure, which combines the disciplines of the flow graph theory, Moment Generating Function (MGF) and Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) for analyzing stochastic networks having logical nodes and directed branches. Each branch has a probability that the activity associated with it will be performed. Therefore, GERT provides a visual picture of the system by means of the corresponding graph and makes it possible to analyze the given system in a less inductive manner. The following steps are employed, when applying GERT: 1. Convert a qualitative description of a system or problem to a model in a stochastic network form. 2. Collect the necessary data to describe the transmittances of the network. 3. Apply Mason’s rule to determine the equivalent function or functions of the network. 4. Convert the equivalent function into the following two performance measures of the network: (a) The probability that a specific node is realized. (b) The moment generating function of the time associated with a node, if it is realized. 5. Make inferences concerning the system under study from the information obtained in the Step 4. Results and Discussion In this paper the GERT method has been presented for operations modeling in overhaul sugarcane harvester. Correct scheduling of the agricultural mechanization project (overhaul) is the required condition for the project success therefore the GERT network of overhaul sugarcane harvester was plotted. A network is a powerful tool for scheduling and simulating a project. The project network is defined as a set of activities performed according to the precedence constraint of the activities. The advantage of the GERT network in the present context is two-fold. Firstly, this procedure gives the visual picture of the inspection system and secondly, it enables a thorough characterization of overhaul sugarcane harvester. In this project, after defining activities, we estimate for each activity as a time. Then we solved the network with the GERT method. According to the materials and methods, the probability and mean of the completion time of overhaul sugarcane harvester obtained. The worth of different parts of the network is calculated. For each node, to conclude about the probability and mean can use the above procedure and predict various events during operations. So with due attention to certain events that are occurring in the tracks of operation, good decisions can be adopted. Time completion of overhaul scheduling of the sugarcane harvester is equal to 1164.64 man-hours. Results showed that the network model is increasingly powerful tool to help project manager who could able to make optimum decision. Conclusion Optimized overhaul planning is a fundamental activity in business profitability because it can increase the returns from an operation with low additional costs. In this paper, a specific scheduling model for an overhaul operations scheduling is developed along with an optimal solution GERT method. The purpose of this paper is studying the application of project scheduling in agriculture, for overhaul scheduling of sugarcane harvester using GERT method in Khuzestan province of Iran. Time completion of overhaul scheduling of sugarcane harvester is equal to 1164.64 man-hours.
Agricultural waste management
H. Zaki Dizaji; N. Monjezi
Abstract
Introduction No use of advanced mechanization and weakness in post harvesting technology are the main reasons of agricultural losses. Some of these wastes (agricultural losses) are related to crop growing conditions in field and the remaining to processing of sugar in mill. The most useful priority setting ...
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Introduction No use of advanced mechanization and weakness in post harvesting technology are the main reasons of agricultural losses. Some of these wastes (agricultural losses) are related to crop growing conditions in field and the remaining to processing of sugar in mill. The most useful priority setting methods for agricultural projects are the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). So, this study presents an introduction of application manner of the AHP as a mostly common method of setting agricultural projects priorities. The purpose of this work is studying the sugarcane loss during production process using AHP in Khuzestan province. Materials and Methods The resources of sugarcane waste have been defined based on expert’s opinions. A questionnaire and personal interviews have formed the basis of this research. The study was applied to a panel of qualified informants made up of thirty-two experts. Those interviewed were distributed in Sugarcane Development and By-products Company in 2015-2016. Then, with using the analytical hierarchy process, a questionnaire was designed for defining the weight and importance of parameters effecting on sugarcane waste. For this method of evaluation, three main criteria considered, were yield criteria, cost criteria and income criteria. Criteria and prioritizing of them was done by questionnaire and interview with sophisticated experts. This technique determined and ranked the importance of sugarcane waste resources based on attributing relative weights to factors with respect to comments provided in the questionnaires. Analytical Hierarchy Process was done by using of software (Expert choice) and the inconsistency rate on expert judgments was investigated. Results and Discussion How to use agricultural implements and machinery during planting and harvesting of sugarcane, can increase or decrease the volume of waste. In planting period, the losses mainly consists of loss of setts during cutting them by machine, injury the setts by biological and physical agents, loss of growth in sett field, unsuitable sett covering and replanting the gaps. During cultivation period the losses include late in field harvesting and so late in regrows the cane, unsuitable ratooning and use of cultivator, varying the size of the furrows and ricks in around the field and destroyed the stubbles during rationing. In harvesting the losses easily seen and mainly associated by efficiency of harvester machines. Billets loss of the fleet in the transmission roads toward mill and late in harvest the burnet cane and then transport to mill are main sources of quantities and qualities of losses. The Expert Choice software performed well in conjunction with the panel of experts for choosing the criteria and assigning weights under the AHP methodology. According to the results, effective parameters on sugarcane waste consist of caused by harvesting, transportation, industry, planting, preserve operations, ratooning and land preparation. Weight of effective criteria (yield, cost and income) on losses of sugarcane obtained from paired comparison in the experts’ view which has been calculated with Expert choice software. The result of this survey by AHP techniques showed that yield criteria had the most and income criteria had the least importance for expert in sugarcane production. In this stage of research, alternatives of paired comparison relative to criteria was separately formed and information of questionnaire which relates to paired comparison of criteria was obtained. Between effective parameters on losses of sugarcane, harvesting with 0.243 weighted average was the most effective factor and transportation with 0.187 weighted average, industry with 0.179 weighted average, planting with 0.156 weighted average, preserve operations with 0.109 weighted average, ratooning with 0.071 weighted average, and land preparation with 0.055 weighted average was later, respectively (Inconsistence Rate =0.04). The results are examined by monitoring sensitivity analysis while changing the criteria priorities. Since different judgments are made on comparison of criteria, we use sensitivity analysis in order to provide stability and consistence of analysis. With increasing or decreasing of the criteria, we will conclude that ratio of other indices will not change. Conclusion This paper looks at AHP as a tool used in Sugarcane Agro-Industries to help in decision making. Results show that criteria studied in this research can help prioritizing of loss resources during sugarcane production process. According to the results, effective parameters on sugarcane waste consist of caused by harvesting, transportation, industry, planting, preserve operations, ratooning and land preparation.
N. Monjezi; M. J. Sheikhdavoodi; H. Zaki Dizaji; A. Marzban; M. Shomeili
Abstract
Introduction Planning and scheduling of farming mechanized operations is very important. If the operation is not performed on time, yield will be reduced. Also for sugarcane, any delay in crop planting and harvesting operations reduces the yield. The most useful priority setting method for agricultural ...
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Introduction Planning and scheduling of farming mechanized operations is very important. If the operation is not performed on time, yield will be reduced. Also for sugarcane, any delay in crop planting and harvesting operations reduces the yield. The most useful priority setting method for agricultural projects is the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). So, this article presents an introductry application manner of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a mostly common method of setting agricultural projects priorities. Analytic Hierarchy process (AHP) is a decision making algorithm developed by Dr. Saatyin 1980. It has many applications as documented in Decision Support System literature. Currently, this technique is widely used in complicated management decision makings which AHP was preferred from other established methodologies as it does not demand prior knowledge of the utility function; it is based on a hierarchy of criteria and attributes reflecting the understanding of the problem, and finally, because it allows relative and absolute comparisons, thus making this method a very robust tool. The purpose of this research is to identify and prioritize the effective parameters on lack of timeliness of operations of sugarcane production using AHP in Khuzestan province of Iran. Materials and Methods The effective parameters effecting on lack of timeliness of operations have been defined based on expert’s opinions. A questionnaire and personal interviews have formed the basis of this research. The study was applied to a panel of qualified informants made up of fourteen experts. Those interviewed were distributed in Sugarcane Development and By-products Company in 2013-2014. Then, by using the Analytical hierarchy process, a questionnaire was designed for defining the weight and importance of parameters affecting on lack of timeliness of operations. For this method of evaluation, three main criteria considered were yield criteria, cost criteria and income criteria. Criterions and prioritizing of them was done by questionnaire and interview with sophisticated experts. This technique determined and ranked the importance of criteria affecting on lack of timeliness of operations based on attributing relative weights to factors with respect to comments provided in the questionnaires. By using of software (Expert choice) Analytical Hierarchy Process was done and the inconsistency rate on expert judgments was investigated. Expert Choice software (Expert Choice 1999) was applied to examine the structure of the proposed model and achieve synthesis/ graphical results considering inconsistency ratios. Results and Discussion The Expert Choice software performed well in conjunction with the panel of experts for choosing the criteria and assigning weights under the AHP methodology. According to results, effective parameters on lack of timeliness of operations of sugarcane production consist of delays caused by management, delays caused by human, delays caused by machine and delays caused by procedure (the production process).Weight of criteria effective factors (yield, cost and income) on lack of timeliness of operations obtained from paired comparison in the experts’ view which has been calculated with Expert choice software. The result of this survey by AHP techniques showed that cost criteria had the most and income criteria had the least importance for expert in sugarcane production. In this stage of research, alternatives paired comparison relative to criteria was separately formed and information of questionnaire which relates to paired comparison of criteria was obtained. Between effective parameters on lack of timeliness of operations, machine factors to 0.366 weighted average was the most effective factor and production process to 0.298 weighted average, management factors to 0.177 weighted average and human factors to 0.160 weighted average was later respectively (Inconsistence Rate =0.03). The results are examined by monitoring sensitivity analysis while changing the criteria priorities. Since different judgments are made on comparison of criteria, we use sensitivity analysis in order to provide stability and consistence of analysis. With increase or decrease of the criteria, we will conclude that ratio of other indices will not change. Conclusion The analytic hierarchy process, as developed by Saaty, has been successfully applied in recent research to cases of agricultural project. This paper looks at AHP as a tool used in Sugarcane Agro-Industries to help in decision making. Results showed that criteria studied in this research can help prioritizing the effective parameters on lack of timeliness of operations of sugarcane production. Cost criteria are the main criteria effective on lack of timeliness operations of sugarcane production. The most important factor is machine factor.
M. Hamid; H. Zaki Dizaji; A. Marzban
Abstract
Introduction: Nowadays, the tractor mounted boom sprayer is used in many agricultural fields. These sprayers have many advantages compared to other sprayers, but in Iran, their field efficiency is much lower than that of the developed countries, because the tank volume and consumption of pesticides per ...
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Introduction: Nowadays, the tractor mounted boom sprayer is used in many agricultural fields. These sprayers have many advantages compared to other sprayers, but in Iran, their field efficiency is much lower than that of the developed countries, because the tank volume and consumption of pesticides per hectare is often so highthat spraying per hectare takesa long time for handling the solutions and transporting the sprayers. Also spray droplet size is ordinarily high and its distribution is unknot uniform. So, often spraying and dropping top parts of plants on the earth is inevitable. According to studies carried out in the country during the years 2005-2008 in the agricultural research centers in several provinces such as Khuzestan, four types of sprayers including tractor mounted sprayer, atomizer, microner, and electrostatic atomizer were studied and some of the results obtained include the following. From the point of view of percentage of crash crop, tractor mounted sprayer has the highest percentage, but microner sprayer had the lowest. From the point of view of the solution of consumption amount and spraying cost per hectare, the operation of the tractor mounted sprayer and electrostatic sprayer had the highest and the lowest ranks, respectively. Atomizer sprayer had the highest effect on the percentage amount of weed control, but it requires a high amount of water consumption, high drift and low operation (Safari and Lovaimi, 2010).
Materials and Methods: The experiment was carried out during 2012-2013 in the field of agricultural research located in the Mollasani city located 20 km near Ahvaz. In this study, tractor mounted spinning disk sprayer (mounted microner sprayer) was evaluated in comparison with conventional boom sprayer on weeds control. The treatments included medium (3500 rpm) and low (2000 rpm) speed rotation disk sprayer and two types of nozzle in conventional boom sprayer. One of them was an Italian tee jet nozzle and the other one was flowage nozzle and they were compared with control treatment. Experiment design was Randomized Completed blocks Design (RCBD) with seven replications. Parameters such as spraying quality, diameter, volume mean diameter and numerical mean of droplets, spray quality factor, the percentage of crash crop, weeds dry weight and number, percentage of weed control and the drift were measured. The results were compared with a control treatment. For comparative tests between the sprayers, the measured parameters were compared with each other using SAS software.
Results and Discussion: Volume mean diameter and numerical mean diameter in tractor mounted microner sprayer with medium and low speed rotation disk treatment and also tractor mounted boom sprayer with Italian fan nozzle treatment were metered 162.5, 461 and 635.5 micron, and 138.5, 355 and 452.5 micron, respectively. Volume mean diameter related to numerical mean diameter was obtained to be 1.17 and 1.3 for tractor mounted microner sprayer with medium and low levels of speed rotation disk, and 1.4 for tractor mounted boom sprayer with Italian fan nozzle, respectively. Whenever the spray quality coefficient is closer to one, the spray quality is better. So microner sprayer treatment with 1.17 coefficient has the best spray quality. The results about weeds control numbers showed all treatments had significant difference with control treat in 1% levels (Table 3). Evaluating all treatment results showed the flowage nozzle with 22.57 weeds number and 27.26 g. weeds dry weight had significant difference with other treatments in 1% levels that was the best operation (Table 4). In comparison of sprayers’ technical evaluation, all treatments had significant difference in 1% levels, so the flowage nozzle with 191.66 l.ha solution consumption and microner treatment with medium speed rotation disk with 44.38 l.ha solution consumption were the most and the least treatments. And they have significant difference in 1% levels (Table 5). The most percent of crop loss belonged to sprayer boom tractor with flowage nozzle (27.03%) and the least belonged to microner boom sprayer tractor (6%). The most percent of drift belonged to microner boom sprayer tractor with medium speed of rotation disk (76.19%) and the least belonged to sprayer boom tractor with flowage nozzle (23.81%). The best spraying quality (1.17) was for microner with medium rotation disk treat (Table 6).
Conclusions: Performance of a sprayers mostly depends upon the working of its nozzle. In this research, two different sprayers with three typical nozzles were used to control wheat crop weeds. In general, the tractor sprayer of microner (40 million Rials) is more expensive than the typical boom sprayer, and because most farmers owntractor mounted boom sprayers the most convenient and least expensive method is to use Italian fan nozzle (standard) due to lower cost and higher performance. However, there are many effectiveness parameters to select a suitable sprayer for the field. But on the bases of the sprayer's technological specifications, weed control parameters, economical parameters and etc., technical methods such as Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) or other ones are proposed to choose the better sprayer for pesticide applications.
