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Open Access
Performance and ergonomic evaluation of direct pady seeder and mechanical rice transplanter in wet lands
(Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2013) Rathod Sachin, Ravsu; KAU; Sureshkumar, P K
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of the ‘Aiswarya’ 8 row direct seeder and ‘Mahindra PF455S’ 4 row walk behind mechanical transplanter with ‘Jyothi’ rice variety in wet lands from the ergonomic point of view. It conducted with selected male and female subjects in the age group of 25–35 years. The performance of these machines was compared with manual transplanting. The results show that the seed rate for direct seeder was very low with 37 kg ha-1 as compared to the mechanical transplanter (55 kg ha-1) and manual transplanting (72 kg ha-1). EFC found for direct seeder and mechanical transplanter was 0.11 ha h-1and 0.12 ha h-1 respectively. The field efficiency was found to be 69% for direct seeder and 74% for mechanical transplanter. Fuel consumption of the mechanical transplanter was found 3.7 l ha-1. The grain yield and straw yield in mechanical transplanting method was higher 2652 kg ha-1 and 3482 kg ha-1 as compared to 2265 kg ha-1 and 2885 kg ha-1 in the case of direct seeding. But in the case of manual transplanting, the yields were 2025 kg ha-1 and 2508 kg ha-1 respectively. The mean value of WHR and OCR with direct seeder was 145.5 beats min-1 and 0.95 l min-1 for male and 148.9 beats min-1 and 0.98 l min-1 for female. But in case of mechanical transplanter, the mean value of WHR and OCR was 131.6 beats min-1 and 0.80 l min-1 for male and 134.1 beats min-1 and 0.83 l min-1 for female. There was complete recovery of HR after 8 min with direct seeder and 6 min with mechanical transplanter. In case of direct seeder ODR, OSR, OER, BPDS values were given by male 6.5, 0, 6.0, 40.8 and by female 7.5, 0, 7.5, 45.6. The corresponding values for mechanical transplanter were 3.0, 1.5, 3.5, 36 by male and 3.5, 1.5, 5.0, 36. As per the grading of energy cost of work, direct seeder categorized as “very heavy type” and mechanical transplanter as “heavy type”. The 8 row direct seeder is not suitable for female subjects. A 4 row Mahindra walk behind mechanical transplanter could be used successfully not only to improve the yield but also to provide operator comfort as compared to the 8 row direct seeder.
Open Access
Development and evaluation of modified atmosphere packed passion fruit(Passiflora edulis)
(Department of Post harvest technology and agricultural processingKelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2012) Madhana Supriya, R; KAU; Sudheer, K P
Passion fruit is a tropical fruit which is extensively used in juice processing. The fruit is highly perishable and losses its quality immediately after the second day of harvest. The postharvest loss in quality and commercial value is due to the intense respiratory activity and significant moisture loss. Hence a study was undertaken to develop a wax applicator to extend the shelf life of passion fruit by adopting the postharvest technologies. A simple and efficient wax applicator with a capacity of 250 kg.hr-1 was developed based on the physical properties of the fruits. Various samples of the passion fruits were treated with bee wax and commercial wax packed in LDPE bags of 200 and 400 gauge. The effect on the shelf life extension of fruits was investigated individually and in combination of wax and LDPE bags. In the case of LDPE bags, different levels of perforations such as 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 2% were used. The samples were kept in ambient condition viz., 32 - 35°C and 70 - 80% RH and at cold conditions as 7ºC and 90% RH. The physicochemical characteristics of samples were tested periodically at an interval of 5 and 7 days, under ambient and cold storage conditions, respectively. The results obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. From the results it was revealed that the samples kept in non-perforated polythene covers were found to be better than those kept in perforated bags and in normal atmosphere. A maximum shelf life of 40 days was obtained for passion fruits at 7oC coated with commercial wax emulsion. Thus, commercial wax coating in combination with LDPE bags acted as a barrier against moisture loss and respiration rate of fruits. However, the fruits kept as control had lost consumer acceptability after the tenth day of study at cold condition and within two days at ambient storage conditions.
Open Access
Development of microwave assisted fluidised bed dryer for nutmeg mace
(Department of Food and Agricultural Process Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2017) Yarrakula Srinivas; KAU; Santhi Mary, Mathew
Dried mace possess great importance in international trade and are used in the preparation of extractives and volatile oils. Among various hot air drying methods, the more efficient method is fluidized bed drying for drying of foods, fruits and vegetables. Microwave drying, an alternative method for the drying of food products has gained popularity and is widely adopted. In microwave heating, heat generation takes place from inside to outside of the material due to the absorption of microwave energy by the regions with higher moisture levels. Application of microwaves solely, can result in uneven heating of certain products, depending on their dielectric and thermo physical properties. Thus, combining microwave radiation with hot air fluidization also provides an effective means of overcoming the non-uniform heating problems in conventional microwave heating. The bulk density, L*, a* and b* values of the fresh mace sample were 1191 kg/m3, 21.28, 22.23, and 9.09 respectively. At 5.1 m/s the fresh mace sample attained the fluidization condition. The developed microwave assisted fluidized bed drying system consists of a fluidized bed dryer and a microwave oven unit. The microwave oven unit consists of control panel where cooking time, power indicators and clock time are displayed and controlled. This domestic oven was modified by making a hole of 14 cm at the bottom and inserting the fluidized bed dryer through the hole. The main components of a fluidized bed dryer are drying chamber, plenum chamber, heating chamber, blower with power source and an air flow control valve. Logarithmic model was found as the best fitting model for the drying data with highest R2 value of 0.9996 and lowest χ2, SSE and RMSE values of 1.2588e-05, 0.0003 and 0.01 respectively at 50°C drying temperature and 800 W microwave power. In order to evaluate the developed microwave assisted fluidized bed dryer for nutmeg mace, the process parameters such as microwave powers of 480, 640 and 800W and drying air temperatures of 40, 45 and 50°C were chosen as independent variables. The process parameters would influence drying rate, drying temperature, energy consumption and physico-chemical 120 parameters such as colour, moisture content, bulk density and essential oil yield. These parameters were chosen as dependent variables. The optimized conditions of drying temperature and microwave power for microwave assisted fluidized bed dryer were found to be 47.76 °C and 681.73W.
Open Access
Studies on microwave steam distillation process for extraction of lemongrass essential oil
(Department of Food and Agricultural Process Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agriculural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2017) Claudia, K L; KAU; Prince, M V
Essential oils are concentrated aromatic oily liquids distilled from different parts of aromatic plants. Conventionally steam distillation has been widely used for extraction. Modern technologies have been continuously developed to conquer the inadequacies of conventional methods. Microwave steam distillation is based on the interaction between water in the plant material and microwaves generated by the energy source. In this process, the steam generated outside accelerates evaporating and carrying of the essential oil, from the plant material, towards the condenser. In this study a microwave steam distillation system for extracting lemongrass essential oil was developed which composed of a microwave reactor, steam generator, cartridge, extraction unit, supporting stand, energy meter and temperature sensor and controller. In order to evaluate the developed system towards extraction of lemongrass essential oil, the effect of process parameters which would influence the essential oil yield, energy consumption and temperature of extraction such as bulk densities of 0.375, 0.675 and 0.875 g cm-3, microwave powers of 280, 420 and 560 W and soaking times of 30, 40 and 50 min were studied. The physical quality characteristics such as specific gravity, refractive index, solubility and colour of essential oil were analysed. The optimised operating conditions of bulk density, microwave power and time of extraction for lemongrass essential oil in microwave steam distillation were found to be of 0.375 g cm-3, 420 W and 30 min respectively. Scanning Electron Micrographs of lemongrass provided evidences to sudden rupture of essential oil glands with microwave steam distillation process. Gas Chromatographs of essential oil extracted through microwave steam distillation process showed higher percentage of Citral than that of steam distillation process. From the study it was concluded that microwave steam distillation could be considered as an extraction technique that results in the rapid production of high quality essential oil at shorter extraction period with minimum energy consumption.
Open Access
Development and quality evaluation of spray dried probiotic flavoured yoghurt containing
(Department of Food and Agricultural Process Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2017) Sreekutty Suresh, V; KAU; Rajesh, G K
Yoghurt is one of the most popular fermented milk products, it is a product of the lactic acid fermentation of milk by addition of a starter culture containing Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus . Commercial production of yoghurt has not been able to prove its supremacy in market due to its shorter shelf life. The shelf life of yoghurt can be improved by reducing its water content by drying. The dried products obtained are in shelf stable powder form which can be stored at ambient temperature. Spray drying technique has showed to be highly successful in prolonging the shelf life of food products. Considering these facts, a study was undertaken to develop a process protocol for flavored yoghurt powder. The objectives of the study are 1) Development of spray dried yoghurt powder using different carrier blend ratio and process conditions, 2) Standardisation of the process parameters and 3) Storage studies of the developed product. The physico-chemical characteristics of freshly prepared yoghurt were carried out. The spray drying of yoghurt was carried out in lab scale spray dryer with twin fluid atomizer. The spray drying experiments were conducted with different process parameters viz., carrier blend ratio (B1, B2, B3, B4 and B5), inlet air temperatures (T1, T2 and T3) and feed rates (F1, F2 and F3). Maltodextrin, corn starch and their combinations were used as wall material to produce yoghurt powder. Physicochemical properties of spray dried yoghurt powder were evaluated by standard procedures. The reconstituted yoghurt samples prepared from spray dried yoghurt powder were evaluated in terms of solubility and wettability. The process parameters were optimized based on the physico-chemical and microbiological properties of the developed yoghurt powder. By considering all the physico chemical and microbiological analyses done on the spray dried yoghurt powder at different processing conditions, powder sample processed at 170˚C inlet temperature with carrier blend B2 (3:1) at feed rate of 10 rpm was selected as optimized sample. The quality of plain yoghurt powder was improved by incorporating dried white pepper extract (C1- 2%, C2-2.5 % and C3- 3%) and ginger extract (G1-2%, G2-3% and G3-4%) at different combinations. The spices incorporated yoghurt product was spray dried at optimized operating parameters. The parameters of the flavored yoghurt powder were optimized based on physic-chemical and microbiological properties. By considering the physico-chemical qualities of the flavoured yoghurt under different processing conditions, the sample incorporated with 2.5 percent white pepper extract and 3 percent ginger extract (C2G2) was selected as the optimized sample. Flavoured yoghurt powder was packed in laminated aluminium pouches and sealed using a hand sealing machine and subjected to storage studies . Sealed pouches were stored at ambient and refrigerated storage(4°C) for a period of three months and the effect of physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics during storage was studied. The product stored at ambient condition is acceptable only up to 50 -75 days. But the product stored at refrigerated condition found safe up to 3 months.Cost analysis of the products was done and cost of production of one kilo gram was estimated as Rs.722/-.
Open Access
Comparative evalualtion of evapotranspiration parameters in a naturally ventilated polyhouse and open field
(Department of Irrigation and Drainge Engineering, Kelappapji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2017) Madhavi Tulluru; KAU; Rema, K P
Studies on the water requirement of horticultural crops in polyhouses are scarce and despite the water scarcity, irrigation is mainly scheduled according to farmer’s experience. Canopy development and management of some polyhouse horticultural crops is quite different from that outdoors. Differences in plant spacing, crop height and aerodynamic properties may affect the crop coefficient values. Moreover, the proportion of diffuse radiation in polyhouse is different from that outdoors. Thus it is questionable whether the standard crop coefficient values, determined experimentally outside polyhouse can be used directly to determine the evapotranspiration of the greenhouse crops. Complete data on meteorological parameters inside poly houses is very rarely obtained and it causes lot of limitations in applying indirect estimation methods of ET0 based on climatological data. Field experiment on the comparative evaluation of evapotranspiration parameters in a naturally ventilated polyhouse and open field was conducted in a naturally ventilated polyhouse and open field in the research plot of the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, in KCAET campus, Tavanur. In the study, Non-Weighing Mini-Lysimeters were used to determine evapotranspiration parameters and to develop crop-coefficient curves for Okra. Comparison with indirect methods was also done in order to assess the dependability of climatic data for evapotranspiration estimates. The study compares the data for open field and poly house conditions in order to quantify the effect of micro climatic variations. ETo estimated using climatological methods viz reduced pan, FAO -56 Penman-Monteith, FAO Blaney- Criddle and Thornthwaite were compared with measured lysimetric data using simple error analysis and linear regression. Out of all methods FAO-56 Penman-Monteith provides quite good agreement with evapotranspiration obtained by lysimetric data with a high correlation coefficient of 0.88 and 0.87 for polyhouse and open field conditions respectively. Studies on crop morphological parameters indicated that plant growth and yield parameters were not significantly different for polyhouse and open field conditions. Seasonal average ETo for polyhouse and open field were 4.74 and 5.02 mm/day. Seasonal average ETc values of Okra for polyhouse and open field conditions were 3.90 and 4.31mm/day. The calculated values of Kc for the initial, mid and late season stages were 0.58, 0.94 and 0.67 in polyhouse. Open field values were 0.61, 0.98 and 0.72 for different stages respectively. It was observed that polyhouse Kc values were lower than the open field. The variations in micro climate inside poly houses with reduced solar radiation and wind velocity combined with higher humidity and temperature may have contributed to lesser ET. The results implied that water requirement is lower inside the polyhouse compared to open field conditions. The results of this study can be used as a guideline in the computation of water requirement of poly house crops instead of depending on open field accepted values for Tavanur region. If the poly house irrigation is scheduled in such a way as to apply the right quantity of water enough to meet the evapotranspiration requirements of crops, considerable water saving can be achieved. The quality of produce is high, duration of crop season is longer and year round cultivation is possible inside poly houses which implies significant saving in water without compromising yield and product quality.
Open Access
Assessment of the impact of sand mining on the morphology of the severely affected reach of Bharathapuzha river between Pattambi and Kuttippuram using remote sensing and GIS
(Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering , Kellappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2017) Ardra Wilson; KAU; Vishnu, B
Rivers have been a subject of study by engineers and scientists who have been fascinated by their self-formed geometric shapes and their responses to changes in nature and human interference. Among various types of human interventions, indiscriminate extraction of sand and gravel is the most disastrous one, as it threatens the very existence of the riverine ecosystem. Bharatapuzha River in Kerala is a great victim of illegal sand mining. The effect of over exploitation of instream sand on the river morphology is very important for quantifying its effect and for exploring alternatives. The mining activity is particularly very high in the stretch between Pattambi and Kuttippuram of Bharathapuzha river. Use of remote sensing technology coupled with Geographical information system (GIS) is a quick means of gathering latest accurate information, economically. The study was undertaken to assess the morphological changes as well as the spatial and temporal variations along the reach due to sand mining The study utilized DEM imageries to evaluate the effect of sand mining. The study utilized DEM imageries to evaluate the effect of sand mining on the morphology of the river reach by analysing the cross-sectional details. LANDSAT imageries were used to analyse the spatial and temporal variations of channel in the reach. The analysis and assessment of satellite imageries were carried out using the ArcGIS 10.5 software. The Elevation profile add- in toolbar was utilised to create profile graphs by taking sections across the river course in ArcGIS and the morphological changes of the river were calculated by comparing the cross- section profiles. The spatial and temporal variations in river morphology were analysed by extracting the bank lines using Normalized difference Water Index (NDWI) and overlaying the extracted bank lines. The study revealed that the impact of sand mining was high at areas closer to Kuttippuram. Channel enlargement in the reach was found to be varying from 0.52-8.43 m/year. The reach experienced an average rate of change in width of 028m/ year. The shift in bank lines indicated the drifting of the river direction towards the north. From the study, it can be concluded that remote sensing and GIS techniques provided realistic information about the impacts of sand mining on the riverine ecosystem and have sufficient accuracy for use in morphological analysis of rivers.
Open Access
Development of attachments for four-wheel riding types rice transplanter
(Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji Colllege of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2017) Athul Chandran, K; KAU; Shaji James, P
Rice is the most important cereal food crop of the world providing major source of the food energy for more than half of the human population. Manual transplanting of paddy is being replaced by machine transplanting due to the drudgery and increased labour cost of the former. Four wheel riding type transplanters are getting popular as they can ensure speedy operation. These costly machines require an agro-economic analysis for their proper management. Another handicap in the use of these machines is that they need to be transported in another vehicle even to nearby areas, which results in increased cost of operation. The development of a suitable transport wheel system is also needed to reduce the cost of hire charges spent for transportation. The application of bio fungicides like pseudomonas and the foliar application of micro-nutrients on the mat nursery loaded in the seedling tray of these four-wheel transplanters will be a boon to farmers as this can reduce the labour cost simultaneously boosting the yield. Hence the development of an applicator attachment for spraying liquid formulations of bio-fungicides and micronutrients on the mat nursery loaded in the seedling tray of the machine, immediately before transplanting was also attempted. Economic parameters of three types of four-wheel riding type rice transplanters, viz. Yanmar Vp8D (TR1), Yanmar Vp6D (TR2) and Kubota NSPU- 68C (TR3) were estimated considering the agronomic requirements of common rice varieties Uma, Jyothi and Prathyasha. For developing transport wheel system, 6-row Kubota make transplanter was selected. The wheel hub assembly was fabricated according to the design considerations. An electrically operated applicator attachment suitable for all makes of 6-row four wheel riding type transplanters were developed and successfully field tested. From the agro economic analysis, it was found that the annual fixed cost, annual variable cost and hourly operational cost were maximum for TR1, followed by TR2 and the TR3 respectively. The Unit Area Operating Cost (UAOC) was dependent on hourly operational costs and field capacities of the machines. TR1 had the highest field capacity (0.4 ha h-1) followed by TR2 (0.38 ha h-1) and TR3 (0.33 ha h-1). TR1 had more UAOC than that of TR2 and TR3 up to the Annual Operating Hours (AOH) of 395 h. At 395 h UAOC of both TR1 and TR2 were equal. Beyond 395 h TR2 had the maximum cost of operation among the three machines. Manual transplanting by labour contract required a cost of Rs. 10000 per ha and using these transplanters is economical than manual transplanting whenever the AOH is more than 102 h. The pneumatic wheels of 680 mm diameter and width of 100 mm were selected for front wheel. The front wheel has wheel track of 1.29 m. For rear wheel it has diameter of 720 mm and 130 mm width. The rear wheel track was 1.37 m. The maximum and minimum speeds possible using these wheels are 1.14 to 9.88 km h-1. The applicator attachment had a 12 V electrically operated diaphragm pump, LDPE pipes as conduit, five solid cone nozzles fitted on a LDPE boom. The pressure developed by the pump was 620 kPa with a discharge of 1.89 l min-1. The nozzles were selected based on the patternator studies. Five nozzles were placed at an equal distance of 35 cm on the boom of 1.8 m, with a spray span overlap of 14 cm. The droplet size was measured using bromide photo papers with pigmented spray solution and IMAGE-J image analyzing computer software. The droplet size at 50 cm height was in the range of 200 - 300 microns. The field studies on effect of pseudomonas fluorescence application revealed the enhanced growth of rice plants. No fungal attack was observed in the plots which were treated with pseudomonas. The plants subjected to application of ‘Sampoorna- KAU mutimix’ had increased plant height, more number of tillers per unit area, more productive tillers, more number of grains per panicle, higher paddy yield and increased grain weight.
Open Access
Assessment of evapotranspiration models for the humid tropical region of Tavanur
(Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2017) Pravalika, Y R; KAU; Asha Joseph
World is facing an acute water crisis due to the increase of world population, droughts, land degradation, and food demand. This increases the concern over conservation of water. One of the most important factors related to water management is crop evapotranspiration. In the present research work, the reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo) is estimated by using ten empirical models which are widely used in Indian conditions namely, Thornthwaite (1948), Hargreaves et al., (1985), Turc (1961), Christiansen (1968) Pan Evaporation, FAO-24 Blaney-Criddle (1977), FAO-24 Modified Penman (1977), FAO-24 Open Pan (1977), Preistly-Taylor, Makkinik and FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (1991). The accuracy of these reference evapotranspiration models were evaluated by comparing it with FAO-56 Penman-Monteith using six years monthly average meteorological data for the period January, 2011-December, 2016. Then the models were validated with lysimetric data. The weekly water balance studies were conducted in lysimeter to find the actual reference evapotranspiration. The model values were estimated using weekly meteorological data for the period January-May 2017 during which the lysimeter study was conducted. Then best fit relations were developed between the estimated values (EToEST) and observed values (EToLYM) for the humid tropical region. Among the different empirical models, Turc model showed the highest ETo value (14.92 mm/day) while the Priestly-Taylor showed the lowest (0.62 mm/day). Thornthwaite, Blaney-Criddle and Modified Penman model gave closer values to each other 7.32, 8.9 and 7.09 mm/day respectively. While Christiansen, Penman-Monteith, Open Pan and Makkinik models gave values like 3.08, 3.23, 3.24 and 2.22 mm/day respectively which were slightly lower compared to the values obtained from the Hargreaves model (4.7 mm/day). The statistical comparison was made by considering FAO-56 PMM as the standard model using six year average monthly meteorological data. The Modified Penman model gave the best performance with R2 of 0.96 with RMSE 3.95 and RelRMSE 1.22 followed by Hargreaves model. The Open Pan method ranked the third one. The models, Christiansen, Priestly-Taylor and Makkinik were underestimated while Thornthwaite, Turc and Blaney-Criddle models overestimated. For validation of the models, weekly ETo estimated from models were compared with ETo observed from lysimeter for the period January-May, 2017. The Hargreaves model showed the best performance with R2 0.83 and RMSE 0.82. The Turc model was highly over estimated while Blaney-Criddle and were only slightly overestimated. The Penman- Monteith and Makkinik models were slightly underestimated while Priestly- Taylor highly underestimated with R2 0.56 and the RMSE 4.29. Hence it is concluded that Hargreaves (HAM), Open Pan (OPM) and Christiansen (CHM) models were found to be in close agreement with lysimetric data and hence these models were suggested for use in this humid tropical region. Therefore relationships were developed between these empirical model output and the lysimetric data (LYM). The relationships developed were as follows: ETo LYM = 0.79HAM + 0.45, EToLYM = 0.79CHM + 1.60 and EToLYM = 0.63OPM + 2.04. Finally the results of this research can be recommended for humid tropical region for irrigation scheduling, selection of cropping pattern, optimum allocation of water resources and efficient use of water.

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