Current Issue : July - September Volume : 2013 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 5 Articles
The uses and application of Fertilizer by Nigerian Farmer has been in improper, especially Isuikwuato Local Government Area, Isuikwuato, Abia State of Nigeria. Fourteen Farmers from Isuikwuato Local Government Area, Isuikwuato, Abia State of Nigeria participated in the study. Two groups of Farmers were chosen thus: the first group as subsistence farmers group and the second medium scale farmers. The Farmers� interest and knowledge level were assessed through pre and post tests items designed by the researchers which were subsequently reviewed by three experts for reliability. To ascertain reliability of the survey and test items materials, Cronbach�s alpha reliability coefficient was computed for the pre and post-survey of each group. The subsistence farmers group had a reliability coefficient of 0.75 and 0.89 for the pre and post-survey respectively. The medium scale farmers group had a reliability coefficient of 0.82 and 0.91 for the pre and post-survey respectively. A reliability coefficient of 0.7 or greater is considered to be reliable; hence the reliability of the survey�s results. There was a significant gain in Farmers� knowledge of uses and application of fertilizers but not in interest. The uses and applications of fertilizers concepts were clearly displayed, while common errors were often related to lack of appropriate skills. The Farmers� understanding of the uses and application of Fertilizer improved and this was discussed in the context of several existing theories of learning....
Quality of dried product depends on the temperature and velocity at each position in the dryer. Simultaneous\r\nmicroscopic and macroscopic simulation on Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) is a general problem of fixed bed dryer\r\nconsisting of water transportation in porous media and dynamic flow of hot air in the dryer. Simplifying the dryer by\r\nassuming the packed bed as porous volume, viscous and inertial resistances (1/ and C2) are necessary for calculating the\r\npressure drop and velocity change in the bulk. Comparing the P/L of the standard packing with experimental results, the\r\nporosity and resistance parameters can be estimated. Simulation of unmodified, adding false floor and invest mesh, and\r\ninsulating the dryer wall are used for validation with previous results. Adding the round holed sieve as false floor and invert\r\nmesh can produce better profile but cannot obtain uniform distribution. Air velocity distribution shows similar but the\r\ncalculating temperature is higher than that from the experiment. By analysis of thermal efficiency of dryer without insulator,\r\nthe heat loss rates with flue gas and heat flux at wall are in the range 14%-17% and 5.5%-7.3%. Integrating with single fruit\r\nor thin layer drying kinetic in the future, the CFD simulation can be used for optimal design of fixed bed dryer....
Sugarcane is an important cash crop in southern China now planted on about 1.5 million ha in the main production\r\nareas in Guangxi, Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan, Guangdong, and Hainan Provinces. Since the cost of labor in\r\nChina is increasing rapidly and the price of local sugar is uncompetitive with the product from mechanized international\r\nproducers, China needs to change its sugarcane production methods from manual work to mechanization in order to catch up\r\nwith international trends in this global industry. Although a lot of effort in China have gone into sugarcane mechanization\r\nsince the 1960s, the overall level of mechanization in sugarcane production is still only approximately 30%, which is about 20%\r\nlower than that achieved in the other main field crops. Almost all of the sugarcane grown in China is still harvested by hand.\r\nIn order to summarize past experience and promote the mechanization of sugarcane production in China, this paper reviews the\r\nwhole process of developing mechanization since 1960s and describes the current state of sugarcane mechanization in China.\r\nThe research currently being undertaken and the main obstacles to be overcome in developing a mechanized sugarcane\r\nproduction system, are described. The design and testing of sugarcane harvesting machinery and its key components has been\r\na significant research area by some Chinese universities, research institutes, and manufacturing companies in these past decades.\r\nThis paper reviews that research and outlines the main achievements which have been made in this area. Mechanized\r\nharvesting systems for sugarcane, and the appropriate harvesting patterns suitable for different growing conditions applying in\r\nChina, have also been studied. The paper concludes with some comments on the future directions for progress in China�s\r\nmechanization of sugarcane production and some policy suggestions to facilitate the industry''s transition....
In recent years, microwave (MW) drying has gained popularity as an alternative drying method for a wide variety of\r\nfood and agricultural products because of increasing concerns over product quality and production costs. However, the\r\ndetermination of drying kinetics that accurately describes microwave drying characteristics is crucial for the optimization of\r\noperating parameters, performance improvement of the drying system and product quality. The objective of this study was to\r\ninvestigate the drying kinetics and the quality characteristics of corn kernels, especially the effects of different initial moisture\r\ncontents (18.3%, 26.3%, 34.3% and 42.3% db), MW power levels (70, 175 and 245 W) and exposure time (80 s and 120 s) on the\r\ndrying kinetics, drying rate and various key quality parameters. The results indicated that the increased drying rate at higher\r\npower levels (P3, 245 W) reduced the drying time considerably but increased stress crack index and reduced germination. In\r\naddition, it reduced bulk density, true density and thousand grain weight (TGW). The germination rate of corn was the highest at\r\nMW power level P1 (70 W), with the lowest drying rate and observed to decrease with increase in initial moisture content. The\r\nreduction in exposure time decreased stress crack index and increased germination rate, bulk density and true density. The\r\ncorrelation analysis among drying rate, germination, stress-crack index (SCI), bulk density, true density and TGW showed that\r\nincreasing drying rate could lead to an increase in SCI and decrease in germination, bulk density and true density....
Rapid detection of foodborne pathogens is a key step in the control of food related diseases. Conventional methods\r\nfor the detection of food pathogens, although typically sensitive, often require multiple time-consuming steps such as extraction,\r\nisolation, enrichment, counting, etc., prior to measurement, resulting in testing times which can be days. There is a need to\r\ndevelop rapid and sensitive detection methods. This review is intended to provide food scientists and engineers an overview of\r\ncurrent rapid detection methods, a close look at the nanoparticles especially magnetic nanoparticle-antibody conjugates based\r\nmethods, and identification of knowledge gaps and future research needs....
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