Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Implementation Of New Irrigation Protocols On Strawberry Transplants On The California Central Coast, Stuart Styles, Kerilyn Ambrosini

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

For the past five growing seasons, the Cal Poly Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) has conducted research on water use, salinity levels and various other factors related to strawberry transplant establishment. This report summarizes research that can be found online: www.itrc.org/projects.htm.

The project’s goal was to develop an analysis of irrigation practices of the strawberry growers on the central coast of California, primarily during the establishment of transplants. From the analysis, sprinkler use reduction methods were developed. These methods conserve water, save pumping costs, and reduce the runoff that can potentially contaminate local waterways. California growers contributed control and …

Damage Mapping Of Powdery Mildew In Winter Wheat With High-Resolution Satellite Image, Lin Yuan, Jingcheng Zhang, Yeyin Shi, Chenwei Nie, Liguang Wei, Jihua Wang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Powdery mildew, caused by the fungus Blumeria graminis, is a major winter wheat disease in China. Accurate delineation of powdery mildew infestations is necessary for site-specific disease management. In this study, high-resolution multispectral imagery of a 25 km2 typical outbreak site in Shaanxi, China, taken by a newly-launched satellite, SPOT-6, was analyzed for mapping powdery mildew disease. Two regions with high representation were selected for conducting a field survey of powdery mildew. Three supervised classification methods—artificial neural network, mahalanobis distance, and maximum likelihood classifier—were implemented and compared for their performance on disease detection. The accuracy assessment showed that the ANN …

Characterization Of Extraction Methods To Recover Phenolic-Rich Antioxidants From Blue Green Algae (Spirulina) Using Response Surface Approaches, Ahmad Salamatullah

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Blue green algae (spirulina) is a dietary system that is widely consumed as a whole food or as a supplement in many Asian countries where populations are mostly unaffected by many of the diseases currently afflicting western societies, such as cancer, heart disease and arthiritis. Indeed, spirulina is a rich source of antioxidants with the phenolic compounds playing a significant role. As components of a complex dietary system, phenolic compounds can act alone or through synergistic mechanisms to impart a greater biologic effect than can be elicited by a sum of the individual parts. Therefore, an understanding of the antioxidative …

Nuts & Bolts, Volume 2, Issue 2, Lance Todd, Julie Thomson, Louis Leviticus

Friends of the Larsen Tractor Museum

Museum Open House is a Success

The Passing of Museum Volunteer Larry Ehlers

Larsen Museum to Auction Twelve Tractors

Details an Estate Planning and Memorial Designation

Uncertainties In Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions From U.S. Beef Cattle, Quentin M. Dudley, Adam Liska, Andrea K. Watson, Galen E. Erickson

Adam Liska Papers

Beef cattle feedlots are estimated to contribute 26% of U.S. agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and future climate change policy could target reducing these emissions. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of GHG emissions from U.S. grain-fed beef cattle was conducted based on industry statistics and previous studies to identify the main sources of uncertainty in these estimations. Uncertainty associated with GHG emissions from indirect land use change, pasture soil emissions (e.g. soil carbon sequestration), enteric fermentation from cattle on pasture, and methane emissions from feedlot manure, respectively, contributed the most variability to life cycle GHG emissions from beef production. Feeding of …

Biofuels From Crop Residue Can Reduce Soil Carbon And Increase Co2 Emissions, Adam J. Liska, Haishun Yang, Maribeth Milner, Steve Goddard, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Matthew P. Pelton, Xiao X. Fang, Haitao Zhu, Andrew E. Suyker

Adam Liska Papers

Removal of corn residue for biofuels can decrease soil organic carbon(SOC) and increase CO₂ emissions because residue C in biofuels is oxidized to CO₂ at a faster rate than when added to soil. Net CO2 emissions from residue removal are not adequately characterized in biofuel life cycle assessment (LCA). Here we used a model to estimate CO₂ emissions from corn residue removal across the US Corn Belt at 580 million geospatial cells. To test the SOC model, we compared estimated daily CO₂ emissions from corn residue and soil with CO₂ emissions measured using eddy covariance, …

Biomass Round Bales Infield Aggregation Logistics Scenarios, Cannayen Igathinathane, David Archer, C. Gustafson, Marty Schmer, John Hendrickson, Scott Kronberg, Deepak R. Keshwani, Leslie Backer, Kenneth Hellevang, Timothy Faller

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Biomass bales often need to be aggregated (collected into groups and transported) to a field-edge stack or a temporary storage before utilization. Several logistics scenarios for aggregation involving equipment and aggregation strategies were modeled and evaluated. Cumulative Euclidean distance criteria evaluated the various aggregation scenarios. Application of a single-bale loader that aggregated bales individually was considered as the “control” scenario with which others were compared. A computer simulation program developed determined bale coordinates in ideal and random layouts that evaluated aggregation scenarios. Simulation results exhibited a “diamond pattern” of bales on ideal layout and a “random pattern” emerged when ≥ …

Design And Evaluation Of A Drip Irrigation System On Apple Orchards In Julian Ca, Jeffrey Huntley

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

A Farm Management Information System With Task-Specific, Collaborative Mobile Apps And Cloud Storage Services, Jonathan Tyler Welte

Open Access Theses

Modern production agriculture is beginning to advance beyond deterministic, scheduled operations between relatively few people to larger scale, information-driven efficiency in order to respond to the challenges of field variability and meet the needs of a growing population. Since no two farms are the same with respect to information and management structure, a specialized farm management information system (FMIS) which is tailored to the realities on the ground of individual farms is likely to be more effective than generalized FMIS available today.

This thesis presents the design of a FMIS using proven user-centered design principles. This approach resulted in the …

Developing An Unstructured Model To Investigate The Effect Of Ethanol On Product Yields For Glucose And Xylose Cofermentation In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae 424a (Lnh-St), Shane D. Clingenpeel

Open Access Theses

Production of bio-ethanol from lignocellulose requires the efficient fermentation of glucose and xylose, even in the presence of inhibitors. The desired product, ethanol itself, will inhibit the fermentation. A further understanding of how ethanol affects the organism is critical to overcoming its inhibition.

This thesis evaluated the effect of ethanol on the cofermentation of glucose and xylose in two different cases. The first case had an unstructured model created for Saccharomyces cerevisiae 424A (LNH-ST), a genetically modified strain of yeast capable of cofermenting glucose and xylose. The differential equations were based around sugar consumption, and the product yields were investigated …

Quality Changes In Hermetically Stored Corn Caused By Fungi And Sitophilus Zeamais, Nda-Agyima Addae-Mensah K

Open Access Theses

Hermetic storage has been shown to be effective in controlling insect pests and maintaining grain quality of dry grains at 13% moisture and below. However, the feasibility and use of hermetic storage for grains at intermediate mid-moisture levels under the influence of the sub-Saharan African weather conditions is relatively unknown. Hermetic storage experiments were conducted on grade 1 "6297 and 6333 VT RIB" hybrid corn under controlled temperature conditions at 10 degrees centigrade and 25 degrees centigrade at target approximate moisture content levels of 11, 15, 18 and 21% wet basis for a total storage period of 6 months. Corn …

Co2 Recycling Using Microalgae For The Production Of Fuels, Michael H. Wilson, John Groppo, Andrew Placido, S. Graham, S. A. Morton Iii, Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez, Aubrey Shea, Mark Crocker, Czarena Crofcheck, Rodney Andrews

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty and Staff Publications

CO₂ capture and recycle using microalgae was demonstrated at a coal-fired power plant (Duke Energy’s East Bend Station, Kentucky). Using an in-house designed closed loop, vertical tube photobioreactor, Scenedesmus acutus was cultured using flue gas as the CO₂ source. Algae productivity of 39 g/(m² day) in June–July was achieved at significant scale (18,000 L), while average daily productivity slightly in excess of 10 g/(m² day) was demonstrated in the month of December. A protocol for low-cost algae harvesting and dewatering was developed, and the conversion of algal lipids—extracted from the harvested biomass—to diesel-range hydrocarbons via catalytic …

Agricultural And Water Harvesting Opportunities In Kenya, Via A Crowd-Sourced, Citizen Science Hybrid Paradigm, Benjamin D. Branch, James Tindall, Rosemary Moki, Peter N. Baker, Jai Xu, Elisa Bertino

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This is potential joint collaborative research between the Purdue University and citizens of Kenya via the Global Engineering Program in the areas of agriculture in water harvesting. Specifically, in the rural part of Kenya, outside of Nairobi, lives can be greatly impacted. Libraries of tomorrow will have global capacity and responsibility to serve all aspects of global citizenry. Herein is one possible Kenyan example.

In partnership with the Tinmore Institute, an International Food, Water, and Energy Security team of experts, such international collaboration with Purdue's Global Engineering program could be quite successful within the areas of agricultural and water security …

A Cris Data Science Investigation Of Scientific Workflows Of Agriculture Big Data And Its Data Curation Elements, Benjamin D. Branch, Peter N. Baker, Jai Xu, Elisa Bertino

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This joint collaboration between the Purdue Libraries and Cyber Center demonstrates the next generation of computational platforms supporting interdisciplinary collaborative research. Such platforms are necessary for rapid advancements of technology, industry demand and scholarly congruence towards open data, open access, big data and cyber-infrastructure data science training. Our approach will utilize a Discovery Undergraduate Research Investigation effort as a preliminary research means to further joint library and computer science data curation research, tool development and refinement.

Comparative Efficiency And Driving Range Of Light- And Heavy-Duty Vehicles Powered With Biomass Energy Stored In Liquid Fuels Or Batteries, Mark Laser, Lee R. R. Lynd

Dartmouth Scholarship

This study addresses the question, "When using cellulosic biomass for vehicular transportation, which field-to-wheels pathway is more efficient: that using biofuels or that using bioelectricity?" In considering the question, the level of assumed technological maturity significantly affects the comparison, as does the intended transportation application. Results from the analysis indicate that for light-duty vehicles, over ranges typical in the United States today (e.g., 560-820 miles), field-to-wheels performance is similar, with some scenarios showing biofuel to be more efficient, and others indicating the two pathways to be essentially the same. Over the current range of heavy-duty vehicles, the field-to-wheels efficiency is …

Under-Tree Sprinkler Design In A Walnut/Cherry Orchard, Edward Caminata

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The goal of this project is to design a permanent under-tree sprinkler system for a 50 acre walnut and cherry orchard in Linden, CA. This will allow irrigation water to be delivered to the trees more uniformly and decrease the labor requirements needed to irrigate. This design will target a value of 0.92 for the Distribution Uniformity of each set throughout the system.

Design Constuction And Evaluation Of A Vertical Hydroponic Tower, Nicholas A. Heredia

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project encompasses the design, construction, and evaluation of a vertical hydropoinc tower. The tower was designed to cycle nutrient rich water through two hydropoinc systems, drip and nutrient film technique then return the water back to the reservoir. The tower will grow 5 different plant varieties. Evaluations have been done on the elevation, system type, and crop type to determine the most productive.

The tower contained four troughs where plants were grown. Due to the structure of the tower two of the troughs were elevated 20” higher than the other two troughs. The elevation of the plants did not …

The Design, Construction, And Testing Of An In-Furrow Planter For The Planting Of Low Residue Cover Crops, Chandler A. Bennett

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project encompasses the design, construction, and evaluation of an in-furrow planter for the planting of low residue cover crops. The purpose of planting the furrow is for the management of off-site removal of residual pesticides, nutrients, and soil by mitigating water flow. Due to there being no current solution for the mechanized planting of furrows this project was pursued to provide a means for farmers to do so at the most cost effective means. The result of this project is a prototype planter that can be made with basic shop tools, be made with off the shelf parts, and …

Phanerochaete Chrysosporium Pretreatment Of Biomass To Enhance Solvent Production In Subsequent Bacterial Solid-Substrate Cultivation, Wanying Yao, Sue E. Nokes

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

This study investigated pretreatment of corn stover using solid substrate cultivation (SSC) of Phanerochaete chrysosporium (P. chrysosporium) to improve subsequent accessibility to cellulose. Thereafter, Clostridium thermocellum (C. thermocellum) was directly inoculated onto the pretreated biomass to accomplish hydrolysis, followed by solventogenesis by introducing Clostridium beijerinckii (C. beijerinckii).

An enzyme suite containing laccase, lignin peroxidase and manganese peroxidase activity was detected during the cultivation of P. chrysosporium on corn stover within 288 h at an initial moisture content 𝓌_H2O = 80% (mass of water/total mass). Incubation factors, such as substrate moisture content and cultivation …

Evaluation And Modification Of Solid Set Sprinkler System For Hirashima Berry Farms, Jeffrey Hirashima

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project encompassed the evaluation and recommendations for a solid set sprinkler system. This project will determined the distribution uniformity for an existing solid set sprinkler system located on Hirashima Berry Farms. After the evaluation was complete modifications were suggested to the farmer in order to lower watering costs during pre-irrigation and provide salt leaching. The results from the system evaluation show that the current system distribution uniformity is 0.69. The following recommendations and conditions were assumed; normal pre-irrigation practices, an EC threshold of 2.0 dS/m for strawberries, a leaching requirements of 0.15, and an improved DU to 0.80. With …