Assessment of the Working Performance of an Innovative Prototype to Harvest Hemp Seed in Two Different Conditions of Terrain Slope

After many decades when its cultivation was prohibited, hemp is regaining its position as one of the most versatile cultivated crops. Multiplication of monoecious hemp varieties requires manual male plants rouging to keep a high share of monoecious plants in the population. It forces relatively small multiplication fields usually oscillating around 5 ha, where the use of big harvesting machines is not economically feasible. The B-800 mower prototype for hemp panicles proved to be a good alternative to harvest seeds of tall fibrous hemp. The test results of the mower analyzed in this study show that although seed loss on a moderate slope (0.37%) was significantly higher than on a flat slope (0.13%), it was still much lower than in the case of harvesting hemp seed with a combined harvester. Moreover, the field efficiency of 93% is very satisfactory as it is reported for much bigger machines. Finally, the harvesting costs proved to be much lower than most of the machines used for harvesting hemp seed.

Effectiveness of Three Terminating Products on Reducing the Residual Moisture in Dwarf Castor Plants: A Preliminary Study of Direct Mechanical Harvesting in Central Greece

The contribution of castor oil for reaching the targets set by RED1 and RED2 in Europe can be tangible if the problem related to the mechanical harvesting is overcome. Dwarf hybrids suitable for mechanical harvesting are already available on the market but the residual moisture of plants and capsules has to be lowered in order to allow mechanization. In the present case of study, three common terminating products (Glyphosate GLY, Diquat DIQ and Spotlight DEF) were tested on Kaiima C1012 hybrid in a complete randomized block design to assess the effectiveness of using chemical products to decrease residual moisture in castor plants. Plants were harvested via combine harvester equipped with cereal header to evaluate seed loss (due to dehiscence, impact and cleaning shoe) and the dehulling capacity of the combine harvester’s cleaning shoe. DIQ decreased significantly moisture content of capsules (7.32%) in comparison to the other treatments, while the lowest plant moisture was recorded in DIQ (62.38%) and GLY (59.12%). The use of DIQ triggered the highest impact seed loss (61.75%) in comparison with GLY (46.50%) and DEF (29.02%). Control plants could not be harvested mechanically due to the high residual moisture content and high density of weeds. The present case of study provides highlights regarding the need to further investigate the best practice to terminate castor plants and to develop a specific combine header to reduce seed loss from impact.

Symptoms of Damage to Soybean Varieties Due to Major Pest Attacks in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

South Sulawesi Province is one of the centers for soybean development in Indonesia. The varieties that are widely planted by farmers in South Sulawesi include Anjasmoro, Argomulyo, Grobogan, Gema, Dering-1, and Burangrang. These varieties have different levels of seed yield and damage levels. This paper aims to provide an overview and information about the types of soybean varieties, the level of pest damage, and the types of pests that cause damage to soybean varieties developed by farmers in South Sulawesi Province. The method used is to collect various information in the form of secondary data and primary data from research results related to soybean varieties, types of pests that damage soybean plants and the level of damage caused by soybean pests in South Sulawes. The results obtained provide information that the highest level of leaf damage caused by Spodoptera litura F. occurred in the Anjasmoro variety 10.94–32.69% followed by Argomulyo 10.16–26.17% and Grobogan 8.61–24.81%. The highest level of pod damage due to pod sucking was found in Burangrang varieties, namely 13.20%, Gema 12.51%, Dering 10.5%, Argomulyo 9.40%, Grobogan 8.50%, and Anjasmoro 7.70%. The level of fruit damage caused by the fruit borer Etiella zinckenella T., the highest occurred in Detam-1 15.71%, Ring 14.50%, Burangrang 10.60%, Gema 10.0%, Argomulyo 8.20%, Grobogan 7.10%, and Anjasmoro 6.70%. The rate of soybean yield loss caused by S. litura F. was the highest at Anjasmoro 8.97%–11.29%, then Grobogan 7.88–12.80%, and Argomulyo 6.77–14.90%. Meanwhile, the percentage of seed yield loss caused by the attack of the pest Nezara viridula L. ranged from 10.0–41.0% for all varieties. Likewise with Riptortus linearis F., the percentage of soybean seed loss caused ranged from 15 to 79% for all varieties.

Ethephon-Induced Abscission of Oil Palm Fruits at Optimal Bunch Ripeness and Retting Period to Improve Commercial Seed Production

Oil palm seed producers typically require 10 months of various processes from pollination to seed germination to produce commercial dura × pisifera hybrid seeds. Conventional forced fruit shedding from underripe fresh fruit bunches (FFB) usually causes seed damage and an extended retting period (incubation for natural fruit abscission from spikelets), eventually leading to bunch rot and disease infection. As a fruit ripening agent, ethephon has been explored to hasten fruit abscission in many fruit crops and oil palm. Nevertheless, the previous studies in oil palm only focused on fruit shedding from FFB to improve oil extraction rate in oil mills without considering the actual FFB ripeness and retting period, which are critical for oil palm seed production. In this study, the application of ethephon containing buffer (adjusted to pH 9.0) to underripe FFB at 145 days after pollination (DAP), 135 DAP and 125 DAP resulted in 50% more fruit abscission after a 72-h incubation. Considering the minimal seed loss upon FFB harvest (<1%) and 50% reduction in retting period, underripe FFB at around 145 DAP was found to be optimum for seed production using ethephon treatment. The treatment, however, made negligible improvement in fruit detachment for ripe FFB at 150 DAP and older. Importantly, seed germination and culling rate at nursery stages were not significantly affected by the ethephon treatment. Hence, ethephon application can improve commercial seed production practices for oil palm.

Simulation of the process stripping harvester for the collection of oilseed flax seeds

The article presents the main results of research on the development of a physical and mathematical model of the technological process of collecting flax seeds with a combing header and the justification of the range of its operating parameters based on software simulation and numerical modeling. The process of harvesting agricultural crops, including oil flax, is an important technological operation of their production in the agricultural sector of Ukraine. The positive dynamics of the growth of oil flax production, which is due to the growing demand for seeds in the domestic and foreign markets, requires the intensification of harvesting equipment technological processes. The main reasons for restraining the production of oil flax are the imperfection of the equipment for harvesting and the inconsistency of the quality indicators of work with the established requirements. One of the directions for solving this problem is the technology of harvesting by stripping plants on the standing. Timely harvesting of oil flax seeds in optimal agrotechnical terms (plant condition, weather conditions, weediness, etc.) with minimal losses and contamination of the heap is one of the important scientific tasks of improving harvesting technology. Improving the efficiency of collecting oil flax seeds and, as a result, improving the quality of products requires new approaches to the development and implementation of technical means in progressive technologies. As a result of numerical modeling of the separation process of a heap in a combing header with a curvilinear casing shape, taking into account the physical and mechanical properties of its components, the dependences of the mass fraction of husk and stem particles leaving its area (an indicator of the quality of cleaning the heap from impurities) δh and the fraction of seeds and capsules leaving with seeds (seed loss index) δs from the rotation frequency of the beater-reflector n1 and the stripping drum n2, the position of the transparent zone of the boundary L and its width B. Solving the compromise problem, namely, maximizing the mass fraction of husk and stalk particles leaving the header area (quality indicator cleaning the heap from impurities) δh and minimizing the proportion of seeds and seed boxes leaving the header area (seed loss index) δs Obtained rational design and technological parameters of the combing type header with a curved casing: rotation frequency of the beater-reflector n1 = 782 rpm, combing drum rotation speed n2 = 671 rpm, transparent position zone of the boundaries L = 0.82 m and its width B = 0.45 m. In this case, the mass fraction of husk and stem particles leaving is δh = 42.4%, and the fraction of losses of seeds and capsules with seeds from the header area is in accordance with δs = 2.5%.

Longitudinal Axial Flow Rice Thresher Feeding Rate Monitoring Based On Force Sensing Resistors

The threshing unit is the main working unit of the combine harvester and plays an essential role in rice threshing efficiency, seed loss, and seed damage. Every thresher has its limitation for feeding quantity, and when the feeding quantity exceeds the maximum rated amount, the thresher gets blocked, which results in higher losses, low threshing efficiency, more power consumption, and combine overloading, then combine shutting down at the end. In this study, a longitudinal axial flow rice threshing platform has been constructed, and a stress monitoring system for the top cover of the threshing drum was designed using force sensing resistors. The sensors were installed on the thresher top cover inner surface to detect the impact and extrusion forces caused by the threshing process and detect the feeding rate when it exceeds the suitable feeding of the combine. Three feeding rates (0.8, 1.1, and 1.4 kg/s) and three thresher speeds (1100, 1300, and 1500 rpm) were tested. The time of the testing process was calculated using high-speed photography. The obtained results revealed that the force signals collected by thin-film sensors significantly correlated with thresher rotating speed and feeding rate. This study provides a new method for threshing drum real-time feeding quantity monitoring and early warning of thresher blockage.

Ascophyllum nodosum Extract (SealicitTM) Boosts Soybean Yield Through Reduction of Pod Shattering-Related Seed Loss and Enhanced Seed Production

Soybean is one of the most valuable commercial crops because of its high protein, carbohydrate, and oil content. The land area cultivated with soybean in subtropical regions, such as Brazil, is continuously expanding, in some instances at the expense of carbon storing natural habitats. Strategies to decrease yield/seed losses and increase production efficiency are urgently required to meet global demand for soybean in a sustainable manner. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness of an Ascophyllum nodosum extract (ANE), SealicitTM, in increasing yields of different soybean varieties, in two geographical regions (Canada and Brazil). In addition, we investigated the potential of SealicitTM to reduce pod shattering at the trials in Brazil. Three different concentrations of SealicitTM were applied to pod shatter-susceptible (SS) UFUS 6901 and shatter-resistant (SR) UFUS 7415 varieties to assess their impact on pod firmness. SS variety demonstrated a significant decrease in pod shattering, which coincided with deregulation of GmPDH1.1 and GmSHAT1–5 expression, genes that determine pod dehiscence, and higher seed weight per pod. SealicitTM application to the SR variety did not significantly alter its inherent pod shatter resistance, but provided higher increases in seed yield at harvest. This yield increase maybe associated with to other yield components stimulated by the biostimulant. This work demonstrates that SealicitTM, which has previously been shown to improve pod firmness in Arabidopsis and selected commercial oilseed rape varieties through IND gene down-regulation, also has the potential to improve pod resistance and seed productivity in soybean, a member of the legume family sharing a similar strategy for seed dispersal.

Minimizing Lentil Harvest Loss through Improved Agronomic Practices in Sustainable Agro-Systems

Lentils are one of the most common legume crops used to diversify the cereal-oilseed cropping system in semi-arid environments. Lentils are a major source of protein and fiber for human consumption worldwide. However, the morphological characteristics of lentil plants—such as a short stem and low pod positioning—and complicated combine harvesting methods often result in yield loss. This also increases the susceptibility of a lentil crop to disease and render it less competitive against weeds. As a result, producers have resorted to using pesticides in order to mitigate the effects of weeds and disease. As a consequence, there have been undesirable negative environmental impacts on sustainable agroecosystems. Although land rolling, stubble management, and pesticide usage are common agronomic practices used to increase lentil yield and mitigate the issues associated with its morphology, their comprehensive effects on lentil growth and harvest loss are still not fully understood. In this study, we examined the impact of stubble management, the timing of land rolling, and the application of common fungicides and herbicides on lentil growth and yield. We found that stubble management and the timing of rolling modified lentil morphological structures, and thus impacted lentil yield and seed loss. These results were influenced by environmental factors, such as precipitation during the growing season. Although the results did not show significant interaction between fungicide application and lentil growth and yield, herbicide applications, stubble management, and the timing of rolling, along with common pesticide application strategies tested in our study, showed effects that were dependent on environmental conditions. Based on our results, we concluded that stubble management and the timing of rolling, combined with pesticide applications, can affect lentil seed loss and yield by modifying plant morphology. This was largely influenced by environmental conditions such as precipitation.

Interference and management of herbicide-resistant crop volunteers

Since the commercialization of herbicide-resistant (HR) crops, primarily glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops, their adoption increased rapidly. Multiple HR traits in crops such as canola (Brassica napus L.), corn (Zea mays L.), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] are available in recent years, and management of their volunteers need attention to prevent interference and yield loss in rotational crops. The objectives of this review were to summarize HR crop traits in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), canola, corn, cotton, rice (Oryza sativa L.), soybean, sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.); assess their potential for volunteerism; and review existing literature on the interference of HR crop volunteers, yield loss, and their management in rotational crops. Herbicide-resistant crop volunteers are problem weeds in agronomic cropping systems, and the impact of volunteerism depends on several factors such as crop grown in rotation, the density of volunteers, management practices, and micro-climate. Interference of imidazolinone-resistant (IR) barley or wheat volunteers can be a problem in rotational crops, particularly when IR crops such as canola or wheat are grown. Herbicide-resistant canola volunteers are abundant in the Northern Great Plains due to high fecundity, seed loss before or during harvest, secondary seed dormancy, and can interfere in crops grown in rotation such as flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), field peas (Pisum sativum L.), and soybean. Herbicide-resistant corn volunteers are competitive in crops grown in rotation such as corn, cotton, soybean, and sugarbeet, with yield loss depending on the density of HR corn volunteers. Volunteers of HR cotton, rice, soybean, and sugarbeet are not major concerns and can be controlled with existing herbicides. Herbicide options would be limited if the crop volunteers are multiple HR; therefore, a record-keeping of cultivar planted the previous year and selecting herbicide is important. The increasing use of 2,4-D, dicamba, glufosinate, and glyphosate in North American cropping systems requires research on herbicide interactions and alternative herbicides or methods for controlling multiple HR crop volunteers.