Application of digital engineering methods in the agro-industrial complex on the example of crop productivity forecasting

The research is dedicated to the development of a method for quantifying the productivity of an agricultural crop with a long lifespan (using the example of an apple orchard). To achieve this goal, the possibility of predicting the yield of an apple orchard was evaluated using existing techniques and methods of data analysis; agrotechnical significant time points in the life cycle of an apple orchard were identified; a prognostic model was formed that simultaneously satisfies biological and agrotechnical constraints and provides the maximum tier of reliability of the yielding forecast result available for the crop under consideration. It is shown that the cumulative yield of an apple orchard lends itself to forecasting much better than the dynamics of the annual yield. As a consequence, in strategic planning in the agricultural and industrial complex, it makes sense to focus on integral performance indicators that level out deviations caused to varying degrees by random causes.

Hemispherical Solar Distiller With Truncated Circular Cone-Shaped Reflector Mirrors ( TCC-RM)

The present study aims to achieve the highest cumulative yield of the hemispherical distillers, by designing and constructing new reflector mirrors, which are truncated circular cone-shaped reflector mirrors (TCC-RM). To obtain the optimum inclination of TCC-RM that achieves a highest hemispherical distiller’s performance, eight inclination angles (10o, 15o, 20o, 25o, 30o, 35o, 40o and 45o with vertical) was experimentally studied. To achieve this, a series of experimental tests were carried out on the three hemispherical solar distillers, the first represents the reference distiller (traditional hemispherical solar distiller- THSD) and the other two devices are the hemispherical solar distiller with truncated circular cone-shaped reflector mirrors (HSD-TCCRM) with different inclination angles. The experimental results indicate that utilizing TCC-RM with a 25o inclination angle achieve the maximum cumulative yield of 8.35 L/m2 with an improvement of 42.74% compared to THSD. While the utilization of TCC-RM with the inclination angles by 30o, 35o, 20o, 40o, and 15o achieves the cumulative yield of 7.9, 7.3, 7.05, 6.67, 6.6 L/m2 compared with 5.85 L/m2 for THSD. On the contrary, adjusting the inclination angle of TCC-RM at 10o, and 45o affects negatively the cumulative yield of the HSD with TCC-RM in comparison with THSD. Based on the data of cumulative yield, daily efficiency, and the economics analysis its recommended to utilized TCC-RM with a 25o inclination angle to achieve the highest performance and minimum distillate cost of hemispherical solar distillers.

Early Performance of Several Prunus Interspecific Hybrid Rootstocks for Redhaven Peach in Southern Ontario

A multi-year orchard experiment was established to measure the performance of Rootpac®-R, Rootpac®-20, Rootpac®-40, and Rootpac®-70 rootstocks using ‘Redhaven’ peach (Prunus persica var. persica) as the scion, and compared with the Bailey peach seedling rootstock, the current industry standard. Tree survival after five years was 79% on Rootpac-40, whereas the remaining rootstocks showed no tree mortality. Tree vigour and canopy height and width were influenced by rootstock genotype beginning the year of planting in 2016. For the first five years of production, Rootpac-70 consistently produced the largest trees based on TCSA and by year five, all rootstocks produced trees with similar TCSAs, except for Rootpac-70, which was 38% larger than Bailey. By year five, cumulative yields were greatest on Rootpac-70, which were 10% higher than Bailey; cumulative yields of Rootpac-R, Rootpac-20, and Rootpac-30 were 98%, 89%, and 84% that of Bailey, respectively. Cumulative yield efficiency was significantly influenced by rootstock although the magnitude of the differences was small and likely of insignificant commercial importance. Rootpac-40 consistently produced the largest fruit. These results are only reflective of the orchard establishment years and additional data are required before peach producers can make fully informed decisions concerning the rootstocks evaluated in this study for their orchard systems. However, at this juncture, all the Rootpac rootstocks evaluated in this study are likely to impart excessive vigour to be used in a higher density system and offer little advantage over Bailey.

Characteristics of Fragaria vesca Yield Parameters and Anthocyanin Accumulation under Water Deficit Stress

Plants exposed to drought stress conditions often increase the synthesis of anthocyanins—natural plant pigments and antioxidants. However, water deficit (WD) often causes significant yield loss. The aim of our study was to evaluate the productivity as well as the anthocyanin content and composition of berries from cultivated Fragaria vesca “Rojan” and hybrid No. 17 plants (seedlings) grown under WD. The plants were grown in an unheated greenhouse and fully irrigated (control) or irrigated at 50% and 25%. The number of berries per plant and the berry weight were evaluated every 4 days. The anthocyanin content and composition of berries were evaluated with the same periodicity using HPLC. The effect of WD on the yield parameters of two evaluated F. vesca genotypes differed depending on the harvest time. The cumulative yield of plants under WD was not less than that of the control plants for 20–24 days after the start of the experiment. Additionally, berries accumulated 36–56% (1.5–2.3 times, depending on the harvest time) more anthocyanins compared with fully irrigated plants. Our data show that slight or moderate WD at a stable air temperature of about 20 °C positively affected the biosynthesis of anthocyanins and the yield of F. vesca berries.

Influence of Different Types of Organic Manure and Weeding Frequencies on Weed Parameters and Leafy Yield of Jute Mallow (Corchorus olitorious)

Field trials were carried out during 2018 and during 2019 dry season period at Federal College of Forestry and Mechanization Afaka Kaduna, located between latitude 10° 35”N and longitude 007° 21”E at altitude 644 m above sea level, to determine the influence of different types of organic manure and weeding frequencies on weed parameters and leafy yield of jute mallow (Corchorus olitorious). The experimental treatments consists of ten combinations of poultry manure + weed free, cow dung + weed free, goat dropping + weed free, poultry manure + weeding at 2 WAT, cow dung + weeding at 2 WAT, goat dropping + weeding at 2 WAT, poultry manure + weeding at 4 WAT, cow dung + weeding at 4 WAT, goat dropping + weeding at 4 WAT and no organic manure application + no weeding which were laid out in a randomize complete block design (RCBD) and replicated 3 times. The weed parameters and yield component observed and measured were common weeds that infested the plots, weed dry weight, weed control index, weed competition index and cumulative leaf yield at 2, 4, 6 WAT and at harvest. The result revealed that the plots were highly infested with three major weed species namely Synedralla nodiflora Gaertn, Gomphrena celosiodes and Cyperus esculentus. Highest weed completion index was obtained from poultry manure + weeding at 2 WAT while the least weed competition index was observed with application of cow dung + weeding at 4 WAT and goat dropping + weeding at 4 WAT respectively. The result also revealed that application of poultry manure + weed free plots had the highest mean cumulative yield value of 236 kg per hectare, closely followed by plots with application of poultry manure + weeding at 4 WAS (223 kg) per hectare compared to the control treatment that plots that have no organic manure + no weeding that had the least mean cumulative yield value of 111 kg per hectare. The study concludes that the use of poultry manure plus weed free gave the best yield of jute mallow compared to other types of organic manure and the control. It is therefore recommended that farmers in the study area should adopt the use of poultry manure plus weed free treatment to obtain bumper harvest from cultivation of jute mallow (Corchorus olitorious).

Exploring and applying the substrate promiscuity of a C-glycosyltransferase in the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of bioactive C-glycosides

Bioactive natural C-glycosides are rare and chemical C-glycosylation faces challenges while enzymatic C-glycosylation catalyzed by C-glycosyltransferases provides an alternative way. However, only a small number of C-glycosyltransferases have been found, and most of the discovered C-glycosyltransferases prefer to glycosylate phenols with an acyl side chain. Here, a promiscuous C-glycosyltransferase, AbCGT, which is capable of C-glycosylating scaffolds lacking acyl groups, is identified from Aloe barbadensis. Based on the substrate promiscuity of AbCGT, 16 C-glycosides with inhibitory activity against sodium-dependent glucose transporters 2 are chemo-enzymatically synthesized. The C-glycoside 46a shows hypoglycemic activity in diabetic mice and is biosynthesized with a cumulative yield on the 3.95 g L‒1 scale. In addition, the key residues involved in the catalytic selectivity of AbCGT are explored. These findings suggest that AbCGT is a powerful tool in the synthesis of lead compounds for drug discovery and an example for engineering the catalytic selectivity of C-glycosyltransferases.

Long-term Performance of ‘Delicious’ Apple Trees Grafted on Geneva® Rootstocks and Trained to Four High-density Systems under New York State Climatic Conditions

We conducted a large (0.8 ha) field experiment of system × rootstock, using Super Chief Delicious apple as cultivar at Yonder farm in Hudson, NY, between 2007 and 2017. In this study, we compared six Geneva® rootstocks (‘G.11’, ‘G.16’, ‘G.210’, ‘G.30’, ‘G.41’, and ‘G.935’) with one Budagovsky (‘B.118’) and three Malling rootstocks (‘M.7EMLA’, ‘M.9T337’ and ‘M.26EMLA’). Trees on each rootstock were trained to four high-density systems: Super Spindle (SS) (5382 apple trees/ha), Tall Spindle (TS) (3262 apple trees/ha), Triple Axis Spindle (TAS) (2243 apple trees/ha), and Vertical Axis (VA) (1656 apple trees/ha). Rootstock and training system interacted to influence growth, production, and fruit quality. When comparing systems, SS trees were the least vigorous but much more productive on a per hectare basis. Among the rootstocks we evaluated, ‘B.118’ had the largest trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA), followed by ‘G.30’ and ‘M.7EMLA’, which were similar in size but they did not differ statistically from ‘G.935’. ‘M.9T337’ was the smallest and was significantly smaller than most of the other rootstocks but it did not differ statistically from ‘G.11’, ‘G.16’, ‘G.210’, ‘G.41’, and ‘M.26EMLA’. Although ‘B.118’ trees were the largest, they had low productivity, whereas the second largest rootstock ‘G.30’ was the most productive on a per hectare basis. ‘M.9’ was the smallest rootstock and failed to adequately fill the space in all systems except the SS, and had low cumulative yield. The highest values for cumulative yield efficiency (CYE) were with ‘G.210’ for all training systems except for VA, where ‘M.9T337’ had the highest value. The lowest values were for all training systems with ‘B.118’ and ‘M.7EMLA’. Regardless of the training system, ‘M.7EMLA’ trees had the highest number of root suckers. Some fruit quality traits were affected by training system, rootstock or system × rootstock combination.

Effect of Various Potential Additives on Hydrogen Fermentation During the Co-Digestion of Food Waste and Cow Dung

The effect of calcium peroxide (CaO2), zinc oxide (ZnO), copper oxide (CuO), and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as additives during the anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and cow dung is experimentally investigated to enhance the hydrogen fermentation. The maximum concentration of hydrogen in the generated gas is found to be 26.43%, 21.67%, 17.64%, and 20.84% while the cumulative yield of hydrogen remains 114.1, 109.27, 104.87, and 107.38 mL g− 1 Total Solid (TS) with CaO2, ZnO, CuO, and CaCO3 respectively. The sample in which no additive is used (control) exhibits a maximum hydrogen concentration of 17% and a cumulative hydrogen generation of 101.57 mL g− 1 TS in the produced gas. Result reveals an enhancement in the hydrogen concentration up to 9.43% whereas the cumulative hydrogen yield is increased up to 11% with additives compared to the control sample. Overall the hydrogen fermentation can be significantly enhanced with the additives through the anaerobic co-digestion process.

Hydrogenation and Hydrodeoxygenation of Oxygen-Substituted Aromatics over Rh/silica: Catechol, Resorcinol and Hydroquinone

The hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of dihydroxybenzene isomers, catechol (1,2-dihydroxybenzene), resorcinol (1,3-dihydroxybenzene) and hydroquinone (1,4-dihydroxybenzene) was studied in the liquid phase over a Rh/silica catalyst at 303–343 K and 3 barg hydrogen pressure. The following order of reactivity, resorcinol > catechol > hydroquinone (meta > ortho > para) was obtained. Kinetic analysis revealed that catechol had a negative order of reaction whereas both hydroquinone and resorcinol gave positive half-order suggesting that catechol is more strongly adsorbed. Activation energies of ~30 kJ·mol−1 were determined for catechol and hydroquinone, while resorcinol gave a value of 41 kJ·mol−1. Resorcinol, and similarly hydroquinone, gave higher yields of the hydrogenolysis products (cyclohexanol, cyclohexanone and cyclohexane) with a cumulative yield of ~40%. In contrast catechol favoured hydrogenation, specifically to cis-1,2-dihydroxycyclohexane. It is proposed that cis-isomers are formed from hydrogenation of dihydroxycyclohexenes and high selectivity to cis-1,2-dihydroxycyclohexane can be explained by the enhanced stability of 1,2-dihydroxycyclohex-1-ene relative to other cyclohexene intermediates of catechol, resorcinol or hydroquinone. Trans-isomers are not formed by isomerisation of the equivalent cis-dihydroxycyclohexane but by direct hydrogenation of 2/3/4-hydroxycyclohexanone. The higher selectivity to HDO for resorcinol and hydroquinone may relate to the reactive surface cyclohexenes that have a C=C double bond β-γ to a hydroxyl group aiding hydrogenolysis. Using deuterium instead of hydrogen revealed that each isomer had a unique kinetic isotope effect and that HDO to cyclohexane was dramatically affected. The delay in the production of cyclohexane suggest that deuterium acted as an inhibitor and may have blocked the specific HDO site that results in cyclohexane formation. Carbon deposition was detected by temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) and revealed three surface species.

Spatiotemporal Spread of Cacao Swollen Shoot Virus Severe Strain 1A in Mixed Hybrid Cacao Pre-inoculated With Mild Strain N1

The spatiotemporal spread of cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD), which is caused by cacao swollen shoot virus (CSSV) severe strain 1A in mixed hybrid cacao pre-inoculated with CSSV mild strain N1 (CSSV-N1), was investigated during a field experiment from 2006 to 2017, at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana. The development of disease epidemics has been described by the use of statistical modeling. Protecting all cacao plants with CSSV-N1 reduced the rate of CSSV-1A symptom appearance by 43% (P = 0.05) compared with the nonprotected control and by 33% compared with plots where cacao plants in the outer three or five rows were protected with CSSV-N1. Similarly, creating the protective outer rings three or five rows deep reduced the rate of CSSV-1A symptoms by 14% (P = 0.05) compared with the nonprotected control. CSSV-1A epidemics increased approximately 18% faster (P = 0.05) in transects oriented from the north and east compared with those oriented from the south and west. During the last 2 years of the study, CSSVD spread decreased significantly (P = 0.05) faster in plots where all test cacao plants were inoculated with CSSV-N1 compared with other treatments. The growth of cacao did not differ significantly among the treatments over the 9-year assessment period. Similarly, differences in the cumulative yield among the treatments over the 8-year assessment period were not significant.