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Robotics in Agriculture: Soil Fertility and Crop Management
Published in K. R. Krishna, Push Button Agriculture, 2017
A standard and earliest of the procedures that helped humans invent agricultural production depended predominantly on his ability to dibble seeds into earth at most appropriate depth, so that optimum aeration, soil temperature and moisture is perceived by the seed. This allows proper germination and leads to acceptable crop stand that are pre-requisites for better grain yield. For a long stretch of time, human laborers toiled like robots or zombies during dibbling seeds and thinning seedlings. Seeding techniques have evolved remarkably from primitive hand dibbling. Some of the improvements until the discovery of regular tractor driven planters are line sowing in furrows by hand, sowing in hills if seed viability and germination are in doubt, placing pre-germinated seeds, etc. Seed spacing and depth of sowing in the soil is a matter controlled by human accuracy. Planters drawn by animal traction (coulter planters) were common and continue to be so in many regions, where subsistence farming procedures are in vogue. Here, depth of sowing depended on soil tilth, compaction and texture at each spot and coulter adjustment. Then, automotive tractors became common in most agricultural zones. Introduction of tractor driven planters is an example of semi-autonomous robot with ability to dibble/place seeds into furrows. The seed rate, release of seeds by hand by farm workers decided number of seeds planted at a point and density of seedlings. Farmers generally thinned seedlings to achieve optimum plant population. Planting accuracy and crop stands derived out of it became important. During past 5 decades, semi-autonomous tractor driven planters have been effectively utilized to raise crops, all across different agricultural zones.
Conservation Tillage Systems and Equipment Requirements
Published in Frank M. D’Itri, A Systems Approach to Conservation Tillage, 1985
The straight coulter with a depth band, such as that on the Buffalo planter, if kept sharp, will cut the residue and will not poke it into the seedbed. Regardless of the soil conditions, with residue clippers on the planter, residue is always cut in two pieces and maybe as many as four. A straight coulter penetrates hard ground more easily and doesn’t throw as much soil as a fluted coulter when the soil is wet.
Stabilization of calcareous subgrade soils with polyelectrolytes: mechanisms and mechanical properties
Published in International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 2023
Jianxin Huang, Yosef Mohomad, Reginald B. Kogbara, Eyad Masad, Svetlana Sukhishvili, Dallas Little
Samples from a typical subgrade soil in Qatar, provided by the Qatar Primary Materials Company (QPMC), were used to investigate the effects of aqueous solutions of organic polymers in improving strength. The obtained subgrade soil was screened first and sizes smaller than 2 mm were further investigated and used to prepare test specimens. Basic characterisation tests on the screened soil including particle size distribution, wet sieve analysis, and hydrometer analysis were performed following relevant ASTM standards (ASTM D2487-172017, ASTM D7928-212021). The particle size distribution of the studied subgrade soil was determined by Beckman Coulter LS13 320 laser diffraction particle size analyzer and hydrometer analysis, and the resulting data are presented in Figure 1. The soil was classified as silty sand (SM) as per the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) (ASTM D2487-172017). The maximum dry density (MDD) and optimum moisture content (OMC) of the soil were measured using the standard Proctor compactor (ASTM D698-122012). The basic physical and mechanical properties of the studied soil are presented in Table 1.
Phytoremediation of azoxystrobin and imidacloprid by wetland plant species Juncus effusus, Pontederia cordata and Sagittaria latifolia
Published in International Journal of Phytoremediation, 2022
Alayne M. McKnight, Travis W. Gannon, Fred Yelverton
Azoxystrobin was analyzed from water by vortexing for 15 sec (230 V Vortex Mixer, VWR International, Radnor, PA), filtering (13 mm syringe filter with 0.45 µm PTFE membrane, VWR International, Radnor, PA) 1 mL of water sample and analyzing using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (Agilent-1260 Infinity; Agilent Technologies, Inc., Wilmington, DE) (Jeffries et al.2016). Azoxystrobin was extracted from soil by combining 15 g of soil with 25 mL acetonitrile (Optima® LC/MS, Fisher Chemical, Fair Lawn, NJ) in a 225 mL high-density polyethylene container, shaken for 30 min (200 rpm, 30 mm orbital diameter, KS501 Digital®, IKA Works Inc., Wilmington, NC) and centrifuged for 10 min (3500 rpm, Allegra 6KR®, Beckman Coulter Inc., Indianapolis, IN). Azoxystrobin was extracted from plant tissue by combining 10 g of processed above- or below-ground vegetation with 30 mL acetonitrile in a 225 mL high-density polyethylene container, shaken for 30 min and centrifuged for 10 min. Chlorophyll pigment was removed by vortex mixing 1.5 mL extracted sample with 2.5 mg graphitized carbon (QuECHERS, Bristol, PA) and centrifuging for 5 min. 1 mL of extracted sample was filtered and analyzed using HPLC-DAD methodology. Concentrations above the calibration curve were diluted and re-injected for analysis. Limits of quantification and detection for azoxystrobin and imidacloprid were 0.25 and 0.05 mg L−1, and 0.05 and 0.01 mg L−1, respectively. Fortification recovery checks for water, soil and plant tissue samples ranged from 94–108%, 98–105%, and 101–105%, respectively.
Ecological and Human Health Risk Assessment of Sediments near to Industrialized Areas along Langat River, Selangor, Malaysia
Published in Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal, 2021
Jia Xin Ng, Rosazlin Abdullah, Sharifah Norkhadijah Syed Ismail, Mohammed ELTurk
Sediment texture analysis was carried out using LS 230 Beckman Coulter Particle Size Analyzer and the texture class was determined using a triangle plot based on the percentage content of clay, silt and sand by USDA Soil Texture Calculator. The Loss on Ignition (LOI) method was used to assess the sediment organic matter content (OM) by ashing 2 g of dry sediment in a muffle furnace (Phang, Chou, and Friess 2015). Sediment pH was analyzed on a 1:2.5 suspension of sediment and distilled water using a glass rode pH meter (Starter 300 pH Portable pH Meter) (Ismail et al. 2015). Sediment electrical conductivity (EC) was analyzed on a 1:5 suspension of sediment and distilled water using HI-2315 Conductivity Bench Meter. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) and exchangeable base cations (Na⁺, K⁺, Mg2⁺ and Ca2⁺) were determined by using leaching method (Ismail et al. 2015). The CEC of each sediment was determined using Lachat QuikChem FIA+ 8000 Series AutoAnalyzer whereas the base saturation (BS) were determined using PerkinElmer AAnalyst 400 Atomic Absorption Spectrometer.