Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Design And Testing Of An Autonomous Ground Robot For Agricultural Applications, Lukas L. Hannemann

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design and testing of an autonomous ground robot for agricultural applications such as strawberries. The vehicle will feature a robotic arm that will be programmed to perform various tasks, such as collecting soil and leaf samples of the crop or measuring soil moisture and salinity. Various components were chosen to be implemented on the vehicle due its power requirements and operating environment. Finite Element Analysis testing was done on the frame of the vehicle to ensure the adequacy of the design.

Design, Construction, And Evaluation Of An Almond End-Row Nut Sweeper, Andrew J. Mancini

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design, construction, and evaluation of an almond end-row nut sweeper. The sweeper attached to the three-point hitch of a John Deere orchard tractor using a Category 2 hitch and was used to sweep nuts back into the orchard after they had been swept into windrows. This system worked by utilizing the tractor hydraulics to power an 18 inch diameter cylinder brush.

Proper field testing of the implement could not be done during the academic year in which this project was constructed since this implement was designed to be used as part of the California almond …

A Pump Monitoring Approach To Irrigation Pumping Plant Performance Testing, William Merritt Mcdougall

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally, irrigation pumping plants have been tested using an instantaneous appraoch, which tests performance parameters over a very short time interval. Using this method, the tester measures the necessary work and energy use parameters to calculate the desired pumping plant performance values. The primary limitation of this approach is its inability to determine the season long efficiency of an irrigation pumping plant.

A new approach to evaluating irrigation pumping plant performance is the use of pump monitoring systems which use high frequency, real-time data collection and telemetry to relay information directly from the pump to the user. This method of …

Creating A National Coalition To Address Tractor Overturn Fatalities., Pamela J. Tinc, Paul D. Ayers, John J. May, Mark A. Purschwitz, Julie A. Sorensen

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Tractor overturns continue to be the leading cause of death on U.S. farms. While rollover protective structures (ROPS) are effective in preventing these fatalities, they are underutilized due to a number of barriers. Past programs in the U.S. and abroad have targeted this area of agricultural safety; however, a national program is not yet in place for U.S. farmers. This study seeks to build a national partnership to address tractor overturn fatalities by increasing the number of tractors with ROPS. A diverse, multisector steering committee has been organized and is working together using Whole System in a Room methods. This …

Vulnerability Of Crops And Native Grasses To Summer Drying In The U.S. Southern Great Plains, Naama Raz-Yaseef, Dave P. Billesbach, Marc L. Fischer, Sebastien C. Biraud, Stacey A. Gunter, James A. Bradford, Margaret S. Torn

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The Southern Great Plains are characterized by a fine-scale mixture of different land-cover types, predominantly winter-wheat and grazed pasture, with relatively small areas of other crops, native prairie, and switchgrass. Recent droughts and predictions of increased drought in the Southern Great Plains, especially during the summer months, raise concern for these ecosystems. We measured ecosystem carbon and water fluxes with eddy-covariance systems over cultivated cropland for 10 years, and over lightly grazed prairie and new switchgrass fields for 2 years each. Growing-season precipitation showed the strongest control over net carbon uptake for all ecosystems, but with a variable effect: grasses …

Using Energy-Efficient Technologies To Produce Bedding Plants And Microgreens In Protected And Controlled Environments, Joshua R. Gerovac

Open Access Theses

Gerovac, Joshua R. M.S., Purdue University, December 2014. Using Energy-Efficient Technologies to Produce Bedding Plants and Microgreens in Protected and Controlled Environments. Major Professor: Roberto G. Lopez. Production of bedding plants in commercial greenhouses (GHs) located in northern latitudes begins in late winter and continues through late spring when low outdoor temperatures generally necessitate active heating to maintain temperatures suitable for growth and development. Meanwhile, year-round production of microgreens using multi-layer systems requires sole-source (SS) photosynthetic lighting for production. Energy used to provide active heating in commercial GHs or SS lighting in multi-layer systems is second only to labor as …

A Case Study Of Changing Cropping Diversity And Agricultural Risk In The Doulthabad Mandal Of Telangana State In India, Srikanth Kondabolu

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Doulthabad^[1] Mandal is a hot semi-arid agro-ecological sub-region (Rao et al. 2006) located in Mahbubnagar District on the North Telangana Plateau in the state of Telangana. Agriculture is the main occupation in this region, which is populated mostly with small and marginal farmers. This study uses the time period from 1971 to 2004 to study the variation in cropping pattern diversity and distribution of rainfall during the monsoons and understand the implications on production risk in agriculture. Quantitative methods were used in determining the changes in rainfall while qualitative methods were used to study cropping system changes. The …

Development Of A Public Education Website: Building Bridges Over Water, Angelina Mckee

Agricultural Education and Communication

Website created by Angelina McKee to educate the public about water resource issues. Water is the basic unit of life, water resources are the basis for what societies and ecosystems are founded upon. Water shortages and droughts are more prevalent in our ever-changing world. It is no shock that there are discrepancies between various stockholders on either sides of the dry riverbed. This senior project resulted in the development of a website that addresses global water resources, water use in California, water conservation, and water allocation. The website informs the public on water resources and related issues and will hopefully …

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.

Compilation Of A Handbook For The Cal Poly Tractor Pull Team, Jake Wilcox

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the compilation of a handbook for the Cal Poly Tractor Pull Team. The handbook was written to aid new team members and students in getting acquainted to the history of the motorsport, what is expected of a team member, standard operating procedures of equipment, and event operations.

Results were obtained from a quiz administered to various persons. Responses showed ease of locating information as well as areas of potential improvement.

Micro Sprinkler Irrigation Design On Almonds, Scott Trinta

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project is to design a micro sprinkler system with a cost analysis for a 17 acre field. This type of irrigation will allow for a more uniform distribution of water, with more water being beneficially used at low flow rates. This design should minimize unwanted runoff water and save the farmer money in the long run.

Design And Installation Of A Mobile Agriculture Chemical Mixing Station, Jason Mendes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project encompassed the design and fabrication of a Mobile Agricultural Chemical Mixing System. The design parameters were provided by Mark McKean and McKean Farms from Riverdale, Ca. The project’s objective was to provide safer working conditions for operators by improving their working environment while increasing mixing efficiency. This mobile system will provide storage for materials, as well as, a diversified mixing system at the site of applications.

The major components of the project include two chemical mixers to mix materials, a 2-inch suction pump to supply water from non-powered sources, and a flatbed trailer to encompass the unit …

Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics In Agriculture: Model Development And Application From Daily To Decadal Timescales, Matthew P. Pelton

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

Soil carbon (C) is the largest terrestrial C pool globally, containing more C than the atmosphere and biosphere. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a source and sink of CO₂ emissions to and from the atmosphere, thus influencing future climate change. Understanding SOC dynamics is also important for maintaining C stocks to sustain and improve crop yields. An existing model to estimate changes in SOC due to respiration was modified to operate in three computational platforms: MS Excel, MS Excel with Visual Basic for Applications, and supercomputing. This model was validated against CO₂ flux data from a 9-year field …

Increases In Rops Pricing From 2006-2012 And The Impact On Rops Demand, Julie A. Sorensen, Paul L. Jenkins, Barbara Bayes, Erin Madden, Mark Purschwitz, John J. May

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

In 2006, a social marketing campaign was developed to increase the installation of rollover protective structures (ROPS) on unprotected New York tractors. Using data gathered from the program's hotline, the impact of price increases on farmers' interest in ROPS is examined. Pricing data were obtained for all rigid ROPS kits commercially available in the U.S. since 2006. These data were stratified into two groups of ROPS suppliers: (1) tractor manufacturers that sell ROPS for their own tractors, referred to in this study as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and (2) aftermarket (AM) ROPS suppliers. The trend in price increases was contrasted …

Agricultural Irrigation Using Municipal Effluent, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The paper describes the development of a design and management plan for disposing of secondary effluent originating in the urban communities. It highlights the differences in approach that a public utility must take, versus a typical agricultural irrigation application. Costs and requirements for municipal effluent irrigation are many times greater. The complexity of regulations and agency procurement procedures relegates the actual irrigation system design to a relatively small role in the total project.

Systematic Framework For Evaluating Treated Wastewater Usage In Agricultural Irrigation, Yasser Kamal Nazzal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A general systematic framework with several sub-frameworks was developed to help managers make informed decisions related to the reuse of treated wastewater in agricultural irrigation. The framework involves the identification and evaluation of the short- and long-term effects of using treated wastewater with some common constituents of concern (e.g. salts and some specific ions, nutrients, heavy metals, organic compounds, and microorganisms) on the environmental elements (crop, soils, surface water, and groundwater), and on the public health. Local and/ or international standards, criteria, and guidelines related to agricultural reuse are applied to the evaluation of the effects. Based on the evaluation …

Review Of: Eat Your Genes: How Genetically Modified Food Is Entering Our Diet (Stephen Nottingham Ed.), Natalie Duval

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of the book: "Eat Your Genes: How Genetically Modified Food Is Entering Our Diet," by Stephen Nottingham, (St. Martin's Press 1999). Introduction, Glossary, Bibliography, Index. ISBN 1-85649-578-7 [212 pp. $17.95. Softbound, St. Martin's Press, Inc., New York, NY 10010].

Introducing The National Wildlife Research Center, Richard D. Curnow

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

The paper summarizes the background and historical events leading to the creation of the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) and describes the status of its research program and facilities development in Fort Collins, Colorado. Also, the relationship of the NWRC to the Denver Wildlife Research Center is presented.

Application Of Fuzzy Set Technique To Agricultural Planning, S Kumar, Narasingh Misra, B C Ghosh

IIMB Management Review

In India, agriculture remains the dominant sector of economic activity with 74 percent work force depending on it. But the share of income from agriculture sector is less than the employment in it. Also the menace of unemployment and food requirement is increasing with growing population. Hence , there is a great need for increasing production and net profit levels on one hand and employment generation on the other. Irrigation planning plays an .mportant role in increasing agricultural production, net benefit, employment generation etc. as only 32 percent of the total cultivated area is irrigated in our country. Irrigation Planning …

A Dss For Farm Management, Y Kashi Vishwanadhan

IIMB Management Review

Farm management is a decision process. The tarmer and the state as
decision makers at different operational levels have some what conflicting
objectives to achieve-the farmer has to choose between alternative use of
scarce resources - land, labour and capital and operate his farm to maximize
the net returns; whereas the state has to increase the agriculture production to
meet the demand of the population even at higher levels of input costs. It has to
take decisions relating to Support Prices for various crop products, credit and
input supply in such a manner as to ensure healthy progress in the …

Energy In Agriculture: Requirements For Farm Use Of Solar Energy In Kentucky, Richard S. Hiatt

Agricultural Engineering Energy Series

There is increasing interest in utilizing solar energy to supplement heating and grain drying energy needs on the farm, Many Kentucky farmers realize that their demands for heat and the orientation of certain buildings on their farms suggest solar heating potential. But most farmers are not familiar with the requirements and limitations of solar heating.

This publication discusses those factors a farmer must consider when evaluating the solar potential of agricultural structures on the farm. Solar requirements are divided into two main areas: (1) site requirements associated with the building and its surroundings and (2) load requirements associated with the …

Energy In Agriculture: Energy Resource Series For Youth And Adult Energy Programs: 11. Geothermal, George M. Turner

Agricultural Engineering Energy Series

Geothermal energy or earth heat has the potential of becoming the foremost source of energy during the next few decades just as the fossil fuels have been for the past 75 years. This source is so great that it is limitless, unlike the fossil or nuclear fission fuels. Yet there are formidable problems in the application of geothermal energy for useful work.

Energy In Agriculture: Energy Resource Series For Youth And Adult Energy Programs: 12. Alcohol, George M. Turner

Agricultural Engineering Energy Series

Today we often hear discussed the potential energy content and ability of alcohol to lessen our dependence on gasoline as a motor fuel. The alcohol in question is ethyl alcohol, a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid that is derived from growing plants, or the parts of growing plants, that are relatively high in carbohydrate content.

Energy In Agriculture: Energy Resource Series For Youth And Adult Energy Programs: 1. Energy Overview, George M. Turner

Agricultural Engineering Energy Series

Since the development of the internal combustion engine and its rapid adoption as a power source, the people of the United States and several other developed countries have enjoyed the benefits of relatively cheap energy. This has had a direct bearing on the standard of living we have today.

Energy In Agriculture: Energy Resource Series For Youth And Adult Energy Programs: 2. Definitions, George M. Turner

Agricultural Engineering Energy Series

The words described in this publication are used in the other publications in this energy resource series without further defining.

In most cases the first sentence, paragraph or formula describes a word or term sufficiently to use it . The added explanation is an attempt to give the reader a firm foundation for using the word confidently in energy programs.

Energy In Agriculture: Energy Resource Series For Youth And Adult Energy Programs: 3. Oil And Gas, George M. Turner

Agricultural Engineering Energy Series

The oil and gas in the earth today were formed many millions of years ago, long before humans appeared on the scene. Therefore, man can only theorize about the origin of these fossil fuels.

The most widely accepted theory is that the oil and gas found in the earth today had their beginnings in decomposed animals and plants. The decomposition was caused by bacteria and chemicals called enzymes which digested the plant and animal bodies.

Energy In Agriculture: Energy Resource Series For Youth And Adult Energy Programs: 5. Solar, George M. Turner

Agricultural Engineering Energy Series

Since 1973, when the public became aware that shortages of gasoline for automobiles could drastically affect their personal lives, there has been much interest in solar energy. Many articles have appeared in the popular press about the potential of solar energy, and the federal government has allocated large sums of money for research in this area of energy. Most science textbooks now contain a chapter or two on solar energy utilization. Most engineering colleges offer courses specifically related to energy, and many of these place emphasis on the solar aspect. There is little doubt that the public, in all sectors, …

Energy In Agriculture: Energy Resource Series For Youth And Adult Energy Programs: 6. Wind, George M. Turner

Agricultural Engineering Energy Series

There is a tremendous amount of energy at work in the atmosphere at all times in the form of wind. Man has recognized this for ages and has used it to a limited extent by constructing devices, such as windmills.

Today, the rapidly diminishing supply of fossil fuels has prompted us to take a new look at wind as a source of energy. This publication will study some of the ways engineers have devised to harness wind.

Energy In Agriculture: Energy Resource Series For Youth And Adult Energy Programs: 8. Nuclear Fusion, George M. Turner

Agricultural Engineering Energy Series

The subject of nuclear energy can be divided into two parts, fission and fusion. The purpose of this publication is to describe the process of nuclear fusion.

Fusion of atomic nuclei offers tremendous possibility of energy. Since all forecasts point toward a need for more energy in this country, this method of energy production can provide a significant share.

At the present time we do not know for certain that energy from the fusion process will be scientifically and economically successful. It is certain that much research will continue to take place; if fusion can be achieved, the promise of …