Agricultural Structures and Irrigation

Accuracies of Real-Time Kinematic Global Positioning (RTK-GPS) system and Total Station (TS) were investigated in GIS environment. In geostatistical evaluations, Kriging method was used with spherical, exponential, and Gaussian models. The survey results demonstrated that an area of 3.5 ha or smaller can be best explained with Gaussian model, while the larger areas require a spherical model. A vertical error of 60 cm and a horizontal error of 30 cm can be observed when the survey points outside the construction area are eliminated. The optimum area per survey point was calculated to be 20×20 m 2 to increase the accuracy. This case study showed that an inaccurate survey can result cost over estimations up to 27%.

In this study 6 feedlots that are located on a watershed in North Dakota are evaluated considering the State Laws and literature with respect to their potential to cause water pollution. In the evaluation ArcView GIS software is used. Feedlots are evaluated considering the distance to surface water and aquifers, soil type, and slope-aspect criteria. The results found that all six feedlots evaluated needed runoff control facilities in order to meet all State Laws and/or literature criteria.

The purpose of this study was to develop a gas sensor array to estimate the manure nutrient contents. Three metal-oxide gas sensors including methane, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were used. Forty manure samples were collected from four beef operations in Southwest North Dakota. Manure samples were sent to be analyzed for moisture content, total-nitrogen (Total-N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and ammonium-nitrogen (NH 4 -N). Regression equations were developed showing the relationships between sensor array readings and the lab results. The sensor array was able to estimate manure N, P, and K with correlation coefficients of 0.80, 0.76 and 0.70, respectively.

Runoff from an unpaved bison feedlot was measured for 2 yr. The objective were to determine a runoff curve number, develop a relationship between rainfall and runoff, and evaluate the equations in the Erosion-Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) and Agricultural Non-point Source (AGNPS) models for the prediction of runoff nutrient contents from a bison feedlot. A runoff curve number of 93 was determined using rainfall/runoff data. A simple regression equation was developed to estimate runoff as a linear function of rainfall. Organic-N and P were predicted with high correlation coefficients of 0Á89 and 0Á81, respectively. Results showed that use of EPIC and AGNPS model equations is a promising method for runoff quality/quantity estimation.

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Water stress is one of the most important growth limiting factors in crop production. Several methods have been used to detect and evaluate the effect of water stress on plants. The use of remote sensing is deemed particularly and practically suitable for assessing water stress and implementing appropriate management strategies because it presents unique advantages of repeatability, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness over the ground-based surveys for water stress detection. The objectives of this study were to 1) determine the effect of water stress on sweet corn (Zea mays L.) using spectral indices and chlorophyll readings and 2) evaluate the reflectance spectra using the classification tree (CT) method for distinguishing water stress levels/severity. Spectral measurements and chlorophyll readings were taken on sweet corn exposed to four levels of water stress with 0, 33, 66 and 100 % of pot capacity (PC) before and after each watering time. The results demonstrated that reflectance in the red portion (600-700 nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum decreased and increased in the near infrared (NIR) region (700-900 nm) with the increasing field capacity of water level. Reflectance measured before the irrigation was generally higher than after irrigation in the NIR region and lower in the red region. However, when the four levels of PC and before or after irrigation only were compared, reflectance spectra indicated that water stressed corn plants absorbed less light in the visible and more light in the NIR regions of the spectrum than the less water stressed and unstressed plants. There was a similar trend to reflectance behaviour of water stress levels using chlorophyll readings that decreased over time. The CT analysis revealed that water stress can be assessed and differentiated using chlorophyll readings and reflectance data when transformed into spectral vegetation indices.

Environmental modeling of a greenhouse barn is conducted. Model results were correlated with observed values. Correlation coefficient between predicted and observed temperature was found to be 0.99. The model predicted the inside humidity with a correlation coefficient of 0.73. Temperature of greenhouse barn is compared to a similar size and capacity conventional reinforcement concrete barn. The greenhouse barn provided a cooler environment than the conventional barn with a very small difference from outside. Relative humidity of the greenhouse barn was also very close to outside relative humidity.

Two vegetative treatment and containment systems were designed in Oliver and Dunn Counties of North Dakota, USA. The results showed that unit costs for the systems designed in Oliver County were 8.83 and 7.18 $/m 2 for vegetative treatment system and containment systems, respectively. Same values for Dunn County design were 7.22 and 5.82 $/m 2. According to the results, vegetative treatment systems are not always the best practice to manage feedlot runoff. The topography and climate of the location should be carefully studied before making a decision.

In this study it was aimed to design a metal oxide gas sensor array to determine the bacterial load in soaking float of wet-salted domestic sheep skin for garment leather production. The results showed that an array of 4 metal oxide gas sensors employed with Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) can predict the 2 bacterial population in soaking float of leather manufacturing. The relationship between predicted and observed bacterial populations yielded a R value of 0.95 in model testing. Design procedures, gas sensors and other materials and techniques were explained in this paper. KEY WORDS: leather, bacteria, gas sensors, odor, artificial neural networks EVALUAREA RELAÞIEI DINTRE POPULAÞIA DE BACTERII ªI GENERAREA DE GAZE ASOCIATE ÎN FLOTA DE ÎNMUIERE A PIEILOR DE OAIE FOLOSIND UN SISTEM DE SENZORI REZUMAT. Acest studiu a avut ca scop proiectarea unui sistem de senzori de gaz pe bazã de oxizi de metal pentru a determina numãrul de bacterii în flota de înmuiere a pieilor ovine sãrate umed de provenienþã domesticã pentru producþia de piele pentru îmbrãcãminte. Rezultatele au arãtat ca o serie de 4 senzori de gaz pe bazã de oxid de metal utilizaþi în asociere cu reþele neuronale artificiale (RNA) pot prezice populaþia bacterianã în flota de înmuiere din procesul de fabricare a pielii. Relaþia 2 dintre populaþiile de bacterii prezise ºi observate au dat o valoare R de 0,95 la testarea modelului. Procedurile de proiectare, senzorii de gaz ºi alte materiale ºi tehnici au fost explicate în aceastã lucrare. CUVINTE CHEIE: piele, bacterii, senzori de gaz, miros, reþele neuronale artificiale ÉVALUATION DE LA RELATION ENTRE LA POPULATION BACTÉRIENNE ET LA PRODUCTION DE GAZ ASSOCIÉE DANS LA FLOTTE À TREMPAGE DE LA PEAU DE MOUTON EN UTILISANT UN SYSTÈME DE RÉSEAU DE CAPTEURS RÉSUMÉ. Cette étude a eu l'objectif de concevoir un système de réseau de capteurs de gaz à base d'oxyde de métal afin de déterminer la charge bactérienne dans la flotte a trempage de la peau de mouton domestique en saumure pour la production de cuir pour vêtements. Les résultats ont montré qu'une suite de 4 capteurs de gaz à base d'oxydes métalliques utilisés avec les réseaux de neurones artificiels (RNA) peut prédire la population bactérienne dans la flotte à trempage du processus 2 de fabrication du cuir. La relation entre les populations bactériennes prédites et observées a donné une valeur R de 0,95 dans le test de modèle. Les procédures de conception, les capteurs de gaz et d'autres matériaux et techniques sont expliquées dans cet article. MOTS CLÉS: cuir, bactéries, capteurs de gaz, odeur, réseaux de neurones artificiels 93 Revista de Pielarie Incaltaminte 14 (2014) 2 INTRODUCERE Industria de pielãrie este una din industriile bazate pe agriculturã care au creat noi locuri de muncã

Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is a new technology that offers a potential alternative to field surveying and photogrammetric techniques for the collection of elevation data. It has the advantages of being rapid accurate and able to map areas that are difficult to access. LIDAR has demonstrated the capability to accurately estimate important vegetation structural characteristics such as forest canopy height. For these reasons, airborne LIDAR data were used to compare vegetation height determinations with field observations on one selected transect in the vicinity of Lake Hatchineha in Florida, USA. The approach was based on the LIDAR and field measurements. The results showed that the lowest height (0 cm) appeared to be open water and barren fields. Vegetation heights of 0-30 cm corresponded to short grassy areas and 90-180 cm corresponded to medium height plants. Tall plants were determined to be vegetation heights ranging from 180 to 365 cm and very tall plants were determined to range from 365 to 600 cm. In addition, vegetation heights ranging from 600 to 1200 cm and from 1200 to 1700 cm corresponded to low and medium-height trees, respectively. Sources of potential error in determining forest tree canopy height were found to evolve from the fact that medium-height tree branches were sometimes reflected and recorded as a first hit and so were incorrectly classified as either low tree or tall plant classes. The results showed that, in most cases, while field and photogrammetric methods fail to determine tree and other plant heights, they could be accurately detected by using LIDAR classification in the wetlands where the ground is not visible. The next step will be to try to find a correlation between LIDAR vegetation heights and water boundaries.

Kirmizi lahana ( Brassica oleracea L.var.Rubra) uzerinde iki yil sureyle yurutulen bu calismada farkli sulama seviyelerinin verim, seker ve organik asit miktarlari uzerine etkisi belirlenmeye calisilmistir. Bu calisma killi-tin toprak bunyesi uzerinde damla sulama sistemi kullanilarak yurutulmustur. Her bir sulama konusu 4 gun araliklarla A-sinifi buharlasma kabina gore sulanmistir. Normal sulama (I 1.0 ) konusunda A-sinifi buharlasma kabindan meydana gelen buharlasmanin tamami (1.00xEp) uygulanmis, kisitli sulama konularinda uygulanan sulama suyu miktarlari bu uygulamanin farkli fraksiyonlari I 0.7 (0.7xEp), I 0.3 (0.3xEp), I 0.0 (0.0xEp) seklinde gerceklestirilmistir . Yapilan uygulamalar sonucunda, kirmizi lahananin olgunlasma ve veriminde toprak nem duzeyinin sulama ile belli duzeyde tutulmasinin onemli oldugu gozlemlenmis ve asiri su stresinin yasandigi I 0.3 ve I 0.0 konularinda bitkinin morfoloji ve veriminde onemli azalmalarin oldugu buna bagli olarak sulama ile verim arasin...

Emitter clogging is one of the most important factors that affect the performances on drip irrigation systems. Emitter clogging, which is formed in a short time due to irrigation systems’ running under an inadequate pressure or owing to water quality, not only negatively influences uniformity of water distribution but also causes inadequate irrigation. In this survey, the clogging level determination of the emitters used in drip irrigation systems of some agricultural farms situated in Canakkale and their effects on irrigation performances were observed. The emitters were obtained from different farms in the investigated area, and were tested under the pressures of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 kPa in hydraulic laboratories. The clogging extend of emitters, flushing of clogging increased pressure and also performance values as coefficient of variation (Cv) under 100 kPa pressure, statistical uniformity (Us), emission uniformity (Eu) and Christiansen’s uniformity coefficient (Cu) were ...

Nowadays, it is known that many vegetables and fruits can be obtained longer-lasting products with drying methods. Therefore, dried fruits are offered for consumption in Turkey. In the present study, it was investigated fat and protein contents on dried apple and pear chips. According to the results, the amount of fat and apple chips was determined as 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. On the other hand, the protein amount of apple and pear chips was found to be 3.84% and 3.58%, respectively. Consequently, it can be said that dried fruits can be consumed as a dietary food in terms of a low amount of fat and consumable protein.

The resistance of 63 tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) accessions to the twospotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), was investigated in screen house experiments and compared to Money Maker, a T. wrficae-susceptible variety widely grown in Kenya. The number of motile mite stages 12 days after inoculation with 5 adult female mites was significantly lower than in the control variety (Money Maker) in seven accessions (

The purpose of this study was to develop a gas sensor array to estimate the manure nutrient contents. Three metal-oxide gas sensors including methane, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were used. Forty manure samples were collected from four beef operations in Southwest North Dakota. Manure samples were sent to be analyzed for moisture content, total-nitrogen (Total-N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and ammonium-nitrogen (NH 4-N). Regression equations were developed showing the relationships between sensor array readings and the lab results. The sensor array was able to estimate manure N, P, and K with correlation coefficients of 0.80, 0.76 and 0.70, respectively.

Ülkemizdeki seralar çoğunlukla rüzgar ve kar yüklerine maruz kalan, genellikle hafif yapılardır. Halen, boru çerçeveli sera yapıları için standart projeleme ilkeleri bulunmamaktadır. Seraların herhangi bir mühendislik hesaplaması yapılmadan boru üreticileri veya tesisatçılar tarafından kuruldukları görülmektedir. Bununla birlikte boru profilli sera projelemesi sabit yükler, rüzgar ve kar gibi yükleme grupları, momentler, ve tepki kuvvetlerinin hesaplanmasını gerektirir. Seraların projelenmesindeki hataların minimize edilmesi için kullanımı kolay bir yazılıma gereksinim vardır. Bu çalışmada, MS Visual Basic programlama dili kullanılarak bir bilgisayar programı geliştirilmiştir. Program, moment ve tepki kuvvetlerinin hesaplanmasında Kleinlogel'in eşitliklerini kullanmaktadır. Boru çerçeveli sistemlerin inşasının ve Kleinlogel eşitliklerinin basitliği, kolay bir program geliştirme imkanı sağlamıştır. Anahtar kelimeler: Sera tasarımı, boru çerçeve, statik tasarım A Design Software for Plastic-Covered, Pipe-Framed Greenhouses Greenhouses in Turkey are generally light frame structures that are mainly subject to wind and snow loads. Currently, there is no standard design procedure for pipe-framed greenhouse structures. The greenhouse contractors are usually pipe producers or plumbers who don't apply engineering calculations. They basically build the greenhouses based on their experiences. However, pipe-framed greenhouse building design procedures do include the calculation of forces such as dead, wind, and snow, moments, reaction forces, etc. There has been a need for a user-friendly design tool that can minimize the failure of pipe-framed greenhouse structures. A software program is developed using MS Visual Basic programming language. The program employs Kleinlogel equations in the calculations of moments and reaction forces. The simplicity of building pipe-framed system and Kleinlogel equations provide a unique opportunity to develop a simple program. This study gives a detailed explanation of the methods and the software.

Water stress is one of the most important growth limiting factors in crop production around the world. Water in plants is required to permit vital processes such as nutrient uptake, photosynthesis, and respiration. There are several methods to evaluate the effect of water stress on plants. A promising and commonly practiced method over the years for stress detection is to use information provided by remote sensing. The adaptation of remote sensing and other non-destructive techniques could allow for early and spatial stress detection in vegetables. Early stress detection is essential to apply management practices and to maximize optimal yield for precision farming. Therefore, this study was conducted to 1) determine the effect of water stress on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown under different watering regime and 2) explore the performance of the artificial neural network (ANN) technique to estimate the lettuce yield using spectral vegetation indices. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), green NDVI, red NDVI, simple ratio (SR), chlorophyll green (CL g ), and chlorophyll red edge (CL r ) indices were used. The study was carried out in vitro conditions at three irrigation levels with four replicates and repeated tree times. The different irrigation levels applied to the pots were 33, 66 and 100 % (control) of pot water capacity. Spectral measurements were made by a hand-held spectroradiometer after the irrigation. Decrease in irrigation water resulted in reduction in plant height, plant diameter, number of leaves per plant, and yield. Using all indices in a feed-forward, back-propagated ANNs model provided the best prediction with R 2 values of 0.86, 0.75, and 0.92 for 100, 66, and 33 % water treatments, respectively. The overall results indicated that spectral data and ANNs have high potential to predict the lettuce yield exposed to water deficiency.

Water stress is one of the most important growth limiting factors in crop production. Several methods have been used to detect and evaluate the effect of water stress on plants. The use of remote sensing is deemed particularly and practically suitable for assessing water stress and implementing appropriate management strategies because it presents unique advantages of repeatability, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness over the ground-based surveys for water stress detection. The objectives of this study were to 1) determine the effect of water stress on sweet corn (Zea mays L.) using spectral indices and chlorophyll readings and 2) evaluate the reflectance spectra using the classification tree (CT) method for distinguishing water stress levels/severity. Spectral measurements and chlorophyll readings were taken on sweet corn exposed to four levels of water stress with 0, 33, 66 and 100 % of pot capacity (PC) before and after each watering time. The results demonstrated that reflectance in the red portion (600-700 nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum decreased and increased in the near infrared (NIR) region (700-900 nm) with the increasing field capacity of water level. Reflectance measured before the irrigation was generally higher than after irrigation in the NIR region and lower in the red region. However, when the four levels of PC and before or after irrigation only were compared, reflectance spectra indicated that water stressed corn plants absorbed less light in the visible and more light in the NIR regions of the spectrum than the less water stressed and unstressed plants. There was a similar trend to reflectance behaviour of water stress levels using chlorophyll readings that decreased over time. The CT analysis revealed that water stress can be assessed and differentiated using chlorophyll readings and reflectance data when transformed into spectral vegetation indices.