Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Robotic Technologies For High-Throughput Plant Phenotyping: Contemporary Reviews And Future Perspectives, Abbas Atefi, Yufeng Ge, Santosh Pitla, James Schnable

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Phenotyping plants is an essential component of any effort to develop new crop varieties. As plant breeders seek to increase crop productivity and produce more food for the future, the amount of phenotype information they require will also increase. Traditional plant phenotyping relying on manual measurement is laborious, time-consuming, error-prone, and costly. Plant phenotyping robots have emerged as a high-throughput technology to measure morphological, chemical and physiological properties of large number of plants. Several robotic systems have been developed to fulfill different phenotyping missions. In particular, robotic phenotyping has the potential to enable efficient monitoring of changes in plant traits …

Creating A Field-Wide Forage Canopy Model Using Uavs And Photogrammetry Processing, Cameron Minch, Joseph S. Dvorak, Joshua J. Jackson, Stuart Tucker Sheffield

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Alfalfa canopy structure reveals useful information for managing this forage crop, but manual measurements are impractical at field-scale. Photogrammetry processing with images from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can create a field-wide three-dimensional model of the crop canopy. The goal of this study was to determine the appropriate flight parameters for the UAV that would enable reliable generation of canopy models at all stages of alfalfa growth. Flights were conducted over two separate fields on four different dates using three different flight parameters. This provided a total of 24 flights. The flight parameters considered were the following: 30 m altitude with …

Comparison Of Promoter, Dna Vector, And Cationic Carrier For Efficient Transfection Of Hmscs From Multiple Donors And Tissue Sources, Tyler Kozisek, Andrew Hamann, Luke Samuelson, Miguel Fudolig, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are primary cells with high clinical relevance that could be enhanced through genetic modification. However, gene delivery, particularly through nonviral routes, is inefficient. To address the shortcomings of nonviral gene delivery to hMSCs, our lab has previously demonstrated that pharmacological “priming” of hMSCs with clinically approved drugs can increase transfection in hMSCs by modulating transfection-induced cytotoxicity. However, even with priming, hMSC transfection remains inefficient for clinical applications. This work takes a complementary approach to addressing the challenges of transfecting hMSCs by systematically investigating key transfection parameters for their effect on transgene expression. Specifically, we investigated …

Computational Prediction Of Mutagenesis In Glycine Max Rubisco Activase Monomer For Increased Thermal Stability, Catherine B. Emanuel, Hamza Haq '21, Vasanth Ramesh '21, Jaden Wang '21, Angela Ahrendt, Sarah Stainbrook

Student Publications & Research

No abstract provided.

Center Pivot Project Specifications, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This note provides an example of items that are included in a specification for center pivots. It is a supplement to design drawings that have numerous additional details. This example combines items from various ITRC jobs, and therefore the units are not consistent (there is a mix of metric and English units). The intention, however, is not to provide a precise specification that can be replicated, but rather to show the key items that are typically included.

In such projects, there are two primary sets of specifications:

• The details of the center pivots themselves and warranties for the pivots
• The …

Modeling Vadose Zone Hydrology [Lecture Notes], Derek M. Heeren, Dean E. Eisenhauer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Modeling Vadose Zone Hydrology is a graduate-level course offered biennially in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering. Topics included hydraulic properties of porous media, application of Darcy's Law in variably saturated media, hydrologic and transport processes in the vadose zone, and solution of steady and unsteady flow problems using numerical techniques. A graphical approach for characterizing vertical one-dimensional problems with energy head profiles was emphasized. Common one-dimensional flow and transport problems were solved analytically. The course was taught using a combination of lecture notes and PowerPoint presentations. The lecture notes from 2021, captured using the Microsoft Whiteboard app with a …

Uavs For Vegetation Monitoring: Overview And Recent Scientific Contributions, Ana I. De Castro, Yeyin Shi, Joe Mari Maja, Jose M. Peña

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper reviewed a set of twenty-one original and innovative papers included in a special issue on UAVs for vegetation monitoring, which proposed new methods and techniques applied to diverse agricultural and forestry scenarios. Three general categories were considered: (1) sensors and vegetation indices used, (2) technological goals pursued, and (3) agroforestry applications. Some investigations focused on issues related to UAV flight operations, spatial resolution requirements, and computation and data analytics, while others studied the ability of UAVs for characterizing relevant vegetation features (mainly canopy cover and crop height) or for detecting different plant/crop stressors, such as nutrient content/deficiencies, water …

Early Detection Of Encroaching Woody Juniperus Virginiana And Its Classification In Multi-Species Forest Using Uas Imagery And Semantic Segmentation Algorithms, Lin Wang, Yuzhen Zhou, Qiao Hu, Zhenghong Tang, Yufeng Ge, Adam Smith, Tala Awada, Yeyin Shi

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Woody plant encroachment into grasslands ecosystems causes significantly ecological destruction and economic losses. Effective and efficient management largely benefits from accurate and timely detection of encroaching species at an early development stage. Recent advances in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) enabled easier access to ultra-high spatial resolution images at a centimeter level, together with the latest machine learning based image segmentation algorithms, making it possible to detect small-sized individuals of target species at early development stage and identify them when mixed with other species. However, few studies have investigated the optimal practical spatial resolution of early encroaching species detection. Hence, we …

Exploration Of The Sludge Biodiesel Pathway, Zachary Christman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wastewater sludge is an overlooked source of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) that could be converted into biodiesel. The United States produces about 8 million tons of sludge per year. The disposal cost for this amount of sludge is about 2 billion US dollars. The widespread availability and low cost of sludge compared to other biodiesel raw materials make it an economical choice for a renewable fuel. Using sludge as a raw material can produce 25 to 30 mg per gram of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME); the main component of biodiesel. Sludge biodiesel has the potential of transforming a …

Assessment And Improvement Of Performance Of Septic Systems In Cold Climates (Year 1), Stu Geza, Todd Menkhaus, Lianping Li, Galen Hoogestraat

SDWRI Publications and Reports

Onsite septic systems are used for wastewater treatment for households not connected to sewers. There is a concern about surface and groundwater pollution when effectiveness becomes limited due to soil texture, soil temperature, neighborhood density, and distance to water resources. The goal of this study was to assess treatment performance of local soils and selected treatment media. Lab-scale column experiments were conducted using wastewater from Wastewater Reclamation Facility in Rapid City. The experiments were conducted inside and outside the lab to evaluate the effect of temperature. The columns outside the lab were subject to seasonal variation in temperature. Moisture content, …

Economic And Ecosystem Impacts Of Gm Maize In South Africa, Kristiina Ala-Kokko

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

White maize in South Africa is the only staple crop produced on a widespread commercial basis for direct human consumption using genetically modified (GM) cultivars. Using a combined economic and environmental approach, we estimate the total welfare benefits attributable to GM white maize in South Africa for 2001-2018 are $694.7 million. Food security benefits attributable to GM white maize in South Africa also manifest through an average of 4.6 million additional white maize rations annually. To achieve these additional annual rations using conventional hybrid maize, the additional land required would range from 1,088 hectares in 2001 to 217,788 hectares in …

Sensor-Based Nitrogen Management On Non-Irrigated Corn Based Systems In Nebraska, Samantha L. Teten

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Optimizing nitrogen (N) fertilizer applications in corn to reduce environmental impacts while maintaining producer profitability remains a challenge due to spatial and temporal variability in crop yield potential and soil N dynamics. In response to these challenges, active crop canopy sensors and imagery systems have been studied to test the performance of vegetative index-based N management, but adoption has been low. There is also a lack of field-scale research evaluating this technology in water-limiting environments.

The evaluation of two sensor-based N management techniques was completed at nine non-irrigated sites in Eastern Nebraska. The first sensor-based N management technique evaluated an …

Estimating Irrigation In Rice Fields With A Water Balance Approach, Kristen Trinh

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Global food production must increase to meet the demand associated with increased population growth, so irrigation water use will continue to rise. Therefore, it is important to monitor water usage particularly when an irrigation flowmeter is unavailable. A field water balance was created for a selection of rice fields in East-central Arkansas under observation in 2018 and 2019. From those, irrigation inputs are deduced from the water balance alone. First, each field had sensors that collected water table level (WTL) data. Next, other water inputs and outputs such as precipitation and evapotranspiration (ET) were collected from two modeled sources. The …

Design Of Control Logic And The Human-Machine Interface For A Demonstration Plant Growth Chamber Implemented On A Programmable Logic Controller, Rachael Koehler

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This honors thesis covers the planning, development, and implementation of system controls and human-machine interface (HMI) for a demonstration plant growth chamber. The work is a continuation of an ongoing project to be used as an educational and recruiting tool manifesting the skills acquired from the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas’ College of Engineering. This work includes emergency controls, overall design interface, and controls for both the aeration and lighting subsystems of the growth chamber. Overall design interface controls established included development of two user modes, Administrator and Visitor. The Administrator user will have full …

Light Intensity Control For Plc-Based Hydroponic Demonstration System, Christian Hitt

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In order to demonstrate a skill set obtained through the University of Arkansas Biological Engineering, a group of students and I developed a hydroponic system where plants could be grown in a chamber. System parameters such as air quality, irrigation, and lighting were controlled by a Programmable Logic Computer (PLC) and an array of sensors and actuators. Each student focused on a certain aspect of this system, mine being the lighting. Developing this system involved researching the relationship between light intensity and plant growth, designing a system to suspend the lights above the growth chamber, and develop a system to …

Control System For Variable-Orifice Mechatronic Spray Nozzle For Regulation Of Application Rate And Droplet Size Spectra, Rodney Rohrer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Traditional fixed-orifice spray nozzles are selected for flow rate and droplet spectra required for a given pesticide application. Although limited variation in flow can be achieved by adjusting system pressure, this can adversely affect spray quality. Other nozzle configurations, such as Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) nozzles or passive variable-orifice designs, are intended to maintain consistent droplet size and spray pattern as flow rate is changed but those too have limitations.

A variable-orifice nozzle modified by Luck (2012) can span multiple droplet spectra and offers independent control of flow and droplet size; however, an advanced control system must be developed to …

When It Rains, It Pours: A Case Study Of Spatio-Temporal Variations In High-Intensity Precipitation Events In Arkansas, Deanna Mantooth-Hendrix

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is having an impact on weather systems and ecosystems worldwide. Glaciers are receding, oceans are acidifying, hurricanes are stronger, and extreme precipitation is increasing in frequency. Even with the wealth of data and knowledge about the threat of climate change, some places are slow to adapt because they think that the impact to their ecosystem will not be severe. The goal of this project was to determine if climate change is having an impact on extreme precipitation in the top urban areas of Arkansas. The major concern with an increase in extreme events in urban areas is flooding. …

Challenges And Opportunities In Precision Irrigation Decision-Support Systems For Center Pivots, Jingwen Zhang, Kaiyu Guan, Bin Peng, Chongya Jiang, Wang Zhou, Yi Yang, Ming Pan, Trenton Franz, Derek M. Heeren, Daran R. Rudnick, Olufemi P. Abimbola, Hyungsuk Kimm, Kelly Caylor, Stephen Good, Madhu Khanna, John Gates, Yaping Cai

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Irrigation is critical to sustain agricultural productivity in dry or semi-dry environments, and center pivots, due to their versatility and ruggedness, are the most widely used irrigation systems. To effectively use center pivot irrigation systems, producers require tools to support their decision-making on when and how much water to irrigate. However, currently producers make these decisions primarily based on experience and/or limited information of weather. Ineffective use of irrigation systems can lead to overuse of water resources, compromise crop productivity, and directly reduce producers’ economic return as well as bring negative impacts on environmental sustainability. In this paper, we surveyed …

Preclinical Development Of Single Walled Carbon Nanotube-Based Optical Biosensors, Eric M. Hofferber

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

High resolution, long-term monitoring of key biological analytes would improve patient outcomes by providing earlier detection of disease states and improved efficacy of treatment. One class of biosensors that have gained much attention in recent years are optical biosensors. Optical probes are attractive biosensors due to their noninvasive nature of detection, as certain light can pass through tissue, water, and blood. Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) are a specific type of optical biosensor that fluoresce in the near infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum and offer unparalleled spatial and temporal resolution. SWNT have been applied as biosensors in vitro, …

Detecting Recent Crop Phenology Dynamics In Corn And Soybean Cropping Systems Of Kentucky, Yanjun Yang, Bo Tao, Liang Liang, Yawen Huang, Christopher J. Matocha, Chad D. Lee, Michael Sama, Bassil El Masri, Wei Ren

Geography Faculty Publications

Accurate phenological information is essential for monitoring crop development, predicting crop yield, and enhancing resilience to cope with climate change. This study employed a curve-change-based dynamic threshold approach on NDVI (Normalized Differential Vegetation Index) time series to detect the planting and harvesting dates for corn and soybean in Kentucky, a typical climatic transition zone, from 2000 to 2018. We compared satellite-based estimates with ground observations and performed trend analyses of crop phenological stages over the study period to analyze their relationships with climate change and crop yields. Our results showed that corn and soybean planting dates were delayed by 0.01 …