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Open Access
DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR CUM BATTERY OPERATED BOOM SPRAYER AND OPTIMIZATION OF SOLAR PANEL TILT ANGLE FOR MAXIMUM RADIATION AND DISCHARGE
(2023-02-01) Chaniyal, Divanshu; Kumar, Arun
Spraying pesticides is one of the most important process in agricultural production. A farmer must engage in spraying as a crucial task to safeguard cultivated crops from insects, pests, fungi, and diseases. The major drawback of a hand-operated spray pump is that it can not be used continuously for around 5 to 6 hours without tiring the user. The fuel-operated spray pumps required fuel, which was expensive, contribute to high CO2 emissions, and challenging to get in remote locations. Reducing the carbon footprint and being friendly to the environment, solar power can easily help with that. To solve challenges a solar cum battery-operated boom sprayer is required. It is suitable for small land holding farmers and has low cost of operation. The development and fabrication of sprayer was done in workshop, comprising of components angle adjustment mechanism, telescopic panel stand, rear axle and tyres for proper stability, frame, and supporting links. The performance of the developed sprayer was evaluated in laboratory to ensure that the objectives are fulfilled. Under laboratory conditions, sprayer was tested in solar power mode of operation. The independent parameters for lab test were nozzle type (flat fan), tilt angle of solar panel (20°, 30°, 40°, 50°), time ((10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.) and afternoon (2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.), height of solar panel ( highest, medium, and lowest). The developed sprayer performance was evaluated on the basis of net radiation, current ,voltage, discharge rate and pressure. The developed sprayer should be operated in Sunny day and can be switch to battery mode in non sunny day. Panel should be mounted at 30° in order to receive maximum radiation. The application rate of sprayer ranged from 356 to 432 l/ha which is adequate for spraying on different vegetable crop.
Open Access
Development and performance evaluation of smart drying cum storage bin for paddy
(G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, 2022-10) Lalwani, Charul; Lohani, U.C.
Agriculture meets the food and nutritional requirements of 1.39 billion Indians, and the agriculture & allied sectors share 20.2% of the country’s GDP. India has a major production of food grains and ranks second globally. In comparison with other crops, rice is the most cultivated grain worldwide. As the second-largest producer of rice after China, over 50% of India's population relies on it for food, making it the nation's most consumed grain, accounting for about 20% of global production. India is also one of the world's largest consumers of rice. But from climatic changes point of view, it is an intricate task to store and preserve the agricultural produce without proper facilities as it plays a significant role in maintaining agricultural production activities. Specifically, paddy is harvested in the months of September to October in North and North-Western India, which coincides with the rainy season in some areas, and in light of technical effectiveness, it becomes difficult to store paddy after harvesting and results in the highest loss compared to the other grains. Therefore, an effort was made to create a smart drying cum storage bin for paddy that used a central perforated duct to supply heated air to the grain bulk. It had an automatic cut-off system that made it easier because it displays the moisture content of the grain at any given time, eliminating the need for frequent moisture checks. The airflow rate and temperature of the heater was fixed at 27 m3/h and 45⁰C and thin-layer drying was observed for a depth of 20 cm with two basins having capacity of 18 kg each. The air passes horizontally through the grain bulk taking up the moisture and moves towards the perforated wall of the bin and proceeds towards the exhaust. Drying experiments were conducted to observe the drying characteristics of paddy and thereby evaluate the performance of the smart dryer. During drying, load cell efficiency was obtained as 92.2%. The temperatures and humidity recorded at the top and bottom layer of the paddy were similar. Automatic cut-off system efficiently worked during desorption and adsorption process. Drying of paddy from 19% to 13% moisture content (wb) occurred in falling rate period and it took 1.6 hours. Energy lost during initial heating of ambient air was obtained as 0.9% and 1.1% energy was lost during moisture removal from paddy. Overall, 1.06% energy loss was determined during complete drying process and it was compensated by energy used in heating paddy, basin air, and inner basin wall. The drying efficiency was 75.4% and energy efficiency was found to be 98.9% with 0.29 as heat utilization factor and 0.71 as coefficient of performance.
Open Access
Evaluation of few reference evapotranspiration equations against standardized FAO56-PM model using compromise programming index and global performance indicator in two different climatic regions
(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. PIN - 263145, 2022-08) Shukla, Abhishek; Tomar, Arvind Singh
The present study was conducted to evaluate few reference evapotranspiration equations against standardized FAO56-PM model using Compromise Programming Index and Global Performance Indicator in two different climatic regions of humid and semi-arid prevailing at Dehradun and Ludhiana districts in terms of different statistical indices. The objectives of this study were, (i) to evaluate the performance of different temperature-, mass transfer-, and radiationbased ET0 equations in comparison to “standard” FAO56-PM model; and (ii) to rank all considered ET0 equations using Compromise Programming Index (CPI) and Global Performance Indicator (GPI). For this study, daily meteorological data for Dehradun and Ludhiana districts was obtained for a period of 31 years (1989-2019) and 30 years (1990-2019), respectively. The daily meteorological dataset was classified into 52 SMWs and 12 months in tune with CWS-1 format, recommended by IMD, Pune. The MicrosoftTM Excel® was employed as computing tool for conducting analysis and draw inferences from them. The analysis revealed that Among temperature-based ET0 equations, ranking in terms of CPI values confirmed that Dorji et al. equation was found first, followed by Hargreaves-Samani M3 and Hargreaves-Samani M1 equations on daily, weekly, and monthly basis, while Berti et al. equation ranked last for humid Dehradun district at all timescales.For semi-arid Ludhiana district, Hargreaves-Samani M3 equation topped all temperature-based ET0 equations, while Berti et al., and Berti et al. equations ranked last on the basis of highest CPI values on daily, weekly, and monthly basis, respectively. On the basis of GPI values for humid Dehradun district, Dorji et al. equation ranked first among temperature-based ET0 equations, followed by Kharrufa and Hargreaves-Samani M1 equations at all timescales, while for Ludhiana district, Berti et al., Dorji et al., and Hargreaves-Samani M3 equations topped the tally on daily, weekly, and monthly basis, respectively. The Berti et al. and Kharrufa equations performed worst among considered temperature-based equations for humid Dehradun district and semi-arid Ludhiana district, respectively on the basis of least GPI values at all timescales. Among mass transfer-based ET0 equations, on the basis of CPI values, the ranking indicated that Trabert equation was observed first, followed by Mahringer and Albrecht equations at all timescales, while Meyer equation was found bottom ranked for humid Dehradun district whereas, for semi-arid Ludhiana district, WMO equation topped among all mass transfer-based equations, followed by Saif and Mahringer equations. The Brockamp and Wenner equation ranked last on the basis of highest CPI values at all timescales. On the basis of GPI values for humid Dehradun district, Saif equation ranked first among mass transfer-based ET0 equations, followed by Mahringer and Trabert equations at all timescales. For semi-arid Ludhiana district, Saif, Albrecht, and Brockamp and Wenner equations were the top three mass transfer-based equations on daily, weekly, and monthly basis. The Penman equation performed worst among all considered mass transfer-based equations with least GPI values at both humid Dehradun district and semi-arid Ludhiana at all timescales. Among radiation-based ET0 equations, on the basis of CPI values for humid Dehradun district, Makkink-Hansen equation topped the tally with lowest CPI value, followed by Priestley-Taylor and Irmak et al.-Rn equations whereas, for semi-arid Ludhiana, Jones and Ritchie equation was ranked first, followed by Makkink-Hansen and Irmak et al.-Rs equations at all timescales. It was found that Turc equation ranked last for both humid Dehradun and semi-arid Ludhiana districts with highest CPI value at all timescales. Considering GPI values as the basis to rank radiation-based ET0 equations for humid Dehradun district, Oudin et al., Turc, and Makkink-Hansen equations occupied the top three positions with highest values, while Abtew equation performed worst with lowest GPI value at all timescales. For semi-arid Ludhiana district, Turc equation was top ranked, followed by Oudin et al., and Makkink-Hansen equations among considered radiation-based ET0 equations. The Priestley-Taylor equation ranked last with lowest GPI value at all timescales. On the basis of CPI values, overall ranking of different temperature-based, mass transfer-based and radiation-based ET0 equations indicated that temperature-based Dorji et al. equation topped the ranking, followed by two radiation-based Makkink-Hansen and Priestley-Taylor equations for humid Dehradun district, while temperature-based Berti et al. equation bottom-most ranked the tally with highest CPI value at all timescales. For semi-arid Ludhiana district, temperature-based Hargreaves Samani-M3 equation topped overall rankings with low CPI value at all timescales, whereas, Brockamp and Wenner equation was ranked last in the overall ranking of all considered temperature-, mass transfer-, and radiation-based ET0 equations at all timescales. Considering the overall ranking of different temperature-based, mass transfer-based and radiation-based ET0 equations on the basis of GPI values for humid Dehradun district, radiation-based Turc equation overall ranked first, followed by Saif and Oudin et al. equations at all timescales, while Berti et al., Berti et al., and Penman equations performed worst on daily, weekly, and monthly basis, respectively with least GPI values. For semi-arid Ludhiana district, radiation-based Turc equation topped overall ranking with highest GPI value at all timescales, while Penman equation ranked last among different temperature-, mass transfer, and radiation-based ET0 equations at all timescales
Open Access
Development of antioxidant film incorporated with beetroot stem extract and its application on food products
(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. PIN - 263145, 2022-09) Kathait, Princy; Omre, P. K.
The present work has been undertaken with the objectives of optimization of process parameters for the development of active films incorporated with beetroot stem extract, characterization of the developed active films and to study it’s application in food packaging. The study started with the development of PVAS/BRS (Polyvinyl alcohol-corn starch-beetroot stem extract) films. After the development of the films by using casting method, based on the mechanical properties and quality characteristics, the three level of independent parameters polyvinyl alcohol (3,4, and 5g), sorbitol (0.4, 1.4, and 2.4ml) and beetroot stem extract (10,15 and 20%) were selected. Response Surface Methodology was used for designing the experiments and to select the optimum levels of polyvinyl alcohol, sorbitol, and beetroot stem extract. Box-Behnken design with three replications was chosen to determine the levels of each experiment. Optimization of process parameters (i.e., polyvinyl alcohol, sorbitol, and beetroot stem extract) was carried out based on the responses (i.e., tensile strength, antioxidant activity, water vapor transmission rate).Design Expert 13 was used to examine data from all experiments, and multiple regression analysis was implemented to design the response function. The optimum level of variables of maximum desirability of developed PVAS/BRS films were 4.01 g/100ml DW Polyvinyl alcohol, 1.5 ml/100ml FS sorbitol and 20% FS beetroot stem extract concentration. The optimum values of responses were 12.95 MPa of tensile strength, 30.9 % antioxidant activity, and 1.917 g day-1 mm-2 water vapor transmission Rate. The significant effect (p<0.05) of process independent variables were found in all responses in fabricated PVAS/BRS (Polyvinyl alcohol-corn starch-beetroot stem extract) films. At optimum condition of developed PVAS/BRS films was characterized. The characterization of the developed optimized films was performed in which morphological structure (SEM), thermal testing (TGA), degree of crystallinity (XRD) and chemical interaction (FTIR) were studied. The sachets of PVAS and PVAS/BRS films were prepared to study the quality parameters (i.e., color analysis and pH) of onion ginger garlic paste by storing the samples in two different temperatures (7􀀀 and 25􀀀 ) for 30 days. From the study it was observed that the color difference in the PVAS film sachets was more compared to the PVAS/BRS films sachets, whereas the pH of paste was decreased (day 14 at 25􀀀 and day 7 at 7 ) in PVAS/BRS films sachets during the storage.
Open Access
Design development and performance evaluation of battery assisted weeder for aromatic and medicinal plants
(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. PIN - 263145, 2022-08) Sandeep Kumar Saroj; Singh, Jayant
Weed management is one of the most tedious operations in aromatics and medicinal plants. Here row to row spacing and plant to plant spacing is more hence a dense weed population is found in the field of such crops compared to other crops. Mechanical methods of weeding are recommended to prefer in place of chemical or biological methods of weed control because basic properties of aromatics and medicinal plants might get affected due to use of weedicides. Mechanization of mechanical weeding method is still not well evolved, it need to be more according to small and marginal farmers specially. In view of the above present study was undertaken to design and develop a weeder using mechatronics concept. The developed machine consisted of BLDC Hub motor, DMSC, LiFeP battery, flat cutting blade and weed collecting tool. The operator only needs to guide this weeder between rows of crop in field in terms of speed and direction. Effective width of cut of this prototype in one operational run was measured 20 cm and depth of operation was measured 2 to 4 cm. The average field capacity, field efficiency and weeding efficiency was found 0.0329 ha/h and 78.55% with 89.51% respectively with this machine. Labour requirement was least 30.28 man-hour/ha of mechatronic weeder whereas in single wheel hand hoe and in traditional grubber weeder it was found to be 171.41 man-hour/ha and 386.181 manhour/ ha respectively. Average cost of weeding -hoeing work was least amongst all 1202.90 Rs./ ha in case of mechatronic weeder as compared to in single wheel hand hoe Rs 7493.25 per ha and in traditional grubber weeder it was Rs 16927.70 per ha. During weeding operation, Average heart rate was 106.55 beats per minute and average oxygen consumption rate was recorded as 0.58 litre/min. Based on mean energy expenditure of 12.29kJ/min, working of weeding was graded as “operation of light weight”. On a discomfort scale of 10 points, Mean overall discomfort rating was recorded as 2 and work of weeding was graded as light discomfort. Developed prototype can be run for 60 to 90 minutes at stretch with selected 12 Ah LiFePO4 Battery. The machine is gender friendly with simple in design and technology and has a potential to be adopted by small and marginal farmers. The developed machine is eco-friendly as battery can be charged with solar panel.
Open Access
Process standardization for infrared assisted pulsed microwave baked biscuits
(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2021-02) Gond, Priya; Lohani, U.C.
Baking is a complex process which involves simultaneous heat and mass transfer without direct exposure of food material to a flame. Many physical, chemical, and biochemical changes occur in food during baking. Combining microwave energy with infrared heating is a promising technology to reduce the problems in microwave baked products. It is highly profitable, as microwaves have greater penetration depth with volumetric heating and minimum temperature difference between the surface and interior of the food material. The present research work was undertaken for process standardization of infrared (IR) assisted pulsed microwave (MW) baking of biscuits with respect to its physiochemical properties. The experiments were conducted to optimize the baking parameters for developing the biscuits. The independent parameters selected were IR baking temperature (190, 200 and 210°C), IR baking time (160, 180 and 200s), MW baking power (960, 1080 and 1200W) and MW baking time (10, 15 and 20s). Color difference (ΔE), spread ratio (%), moisture content (%wb), free fatty acid (%), textural profile analysis (hardness, cohesiveness, and springiness) and sensory characteristics were analyzed. Box-Behken design was used for the aforementioned parameters. The data from all 29 experiments were analyzed using Design Expert 11.0.1 and the response functions were developed using multiple regression. The optimum level of variables for maximum desirability of developed biscuits was identified. An IR baking temperature of 210°C, IR baking time of 184.2s, MW baking power of 960W and MW baking time of 20s. resulted in IR-MW biscuits with a color difference of 15.1, spread ratio of 5.96%, moisture content of 3.86%wb and hardness of 159.2 N. Significant (p<0.05) effect of process parameters were found on all responses for developed wheat flour based biscuits. On validation of the model for responses of developed biscuits, it was found that the developed model was accurate as the prediction error was only in the range of 0.007 to 0.192 %. Biscuits developed at optimum conditions of IR assisted MW baking were compared with conventionally baked one with respect to color difference (ΔE), spread ratio (%), moisture content (%wb), hardness (N) and scanning electron microscopy. IR assisted MW baked biscuits were found superior in quality.
Open Access
Process development for microencapsulation of natural pigments from bio-residue and evaluation of its storage stability
(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2021-02) Purnima Kumari; Singh, Anupama
At present, due to regulatory decisions and consumers’ concern, the use of natural colorants as an alternative to synthetic colors in food applications has become a worldwide trend. In recent years, interest in natural pigments as well as their scientific study has increased largely because of their role as natural antioxidants and nutraceuticals promoting health benefits. Pigment stability, however, depends on a combination of environmental and chemical factors, such as light exposure, oxygen, temperature, pH and enzymatic activity. It is difficult to incorporate these compounds into food due to low stability during processing and storage. Therefore, the food industry is continuously looking for encapsulation technology as an innovative and inexpensive approach which could aim at improving the pigment stability and increasing the shelf life of the product as well. The present research work has been planned keeping in view the role of encapsulation for maintaining the stability of extracted anthocyanin based pigments and hence conducted to encapsulate anthocyanin based pigment (extracted from black soybean hull) using plants based coating wall materials using microwave drying technique. For microencapsulation of anthocyanin based pigment, designed experiments (Multilevel Categoric Full Factorial Design) having three independent parameters with three levels of each i.e., SPI:GA (1:3, 1:1, 3:1), core material (20, 22.5, 25 %) and particle size of microcapsules (300, 360, 420 μm) and their effect on five responses including encapsulation efficiency (%), moisture content (%), dissolution time (s), total phenolic content (mg GAE/g DW) and antioxidant activity (%) were carried out. Experimental data analysed by Design Expert (10.0.8) software reveals that the optimized conditions obtained for microencapsulation of anthocyanin based pigment were observed to be SPI: GA (w/w) ratio 23:50 as coating wall material, quantity of core material (25% of coating wall material) and microcapsules particle size 300 μm having encapsulation efficiency 82.3 %, moisture content 5.04 %, dissolution time 21 s, TPC 0.392 mg GAE/g DW and AA 32.4 %. Storage studies also revealed that microencapsulated anthocyanin based pigment was found to be more stable in terms of TAC, TPC and AA in comparison to non-encapsulated pigment. Second order polynomial model fitted well showing high correlation coefficient indicating the suitability of design in optimizing the process parameters for microencapsulation of anthocyanin based pigment.
Open Access
Process optimization for development of natural gum hydrogel based biodegradable food packaging material
(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2021-02) Aman, Junaid; Shahi, N.C.
The present study entitled, “Process Standardization for the Development of Natural Gum Hydrogel Based Biodegradable Food Packaging Material” was conducted in the department of Post Harvest Process and Food Engineering, College of Technology, G.B.P.U.A.T., Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. Guar is one of the most important and occurring plant in India which releases gum. During cultivation of the guar plant, huge amount of guar gum is generated as waste. Guar gum can be used for development of value-added product due to the presence of sufficient quantities of sugars like galactose and mannose and variety of valuable compounds such as phenols, fibres, unsaturated fatty acids and amides. Developed hydrogel film from guar gum can be used as biodegradable food packaging material which might result in high commercial value use of the by-product. The research was therefore undertaken for development of natural gum based hydrogel film, optimization and study of the characteristics. The experiments were conducted to study the effect of developed hydrogel film on physico-mechanical, biological, chemical and thermal properties. The independent variables selected were initiator (0.05, 0.10 and 0.15 mg/100ml GS), cross linker (0.02, 0.05 and 0.08 mg/100ml GS) and plasticizer concentration (2,4 and 6 ml/100ml GS). The biodegradation (%wt. loss), colour difference (ΔE), hardness(N), swelling index(%) and transparency(%) of the film were analysed. The data from all 17 experiments were analysed using Design Expert 11.0.1 and the response functions were developed using multiple regression analysis. The optimum level of variables for maximum desirability of developed hydrogel film were 0.146 mg/100ml GS initiator, 0.026 mg/100ml GS cross linker and 2.886 ml/100ml GS plasticizer concentration. The optimum values of responses were 21.495% (wt loss) of biodegradation, 5.460 (ΔE) of colour difference, 122.983 N of hardness, 213.44 % of swelling index and 59.36% of transparency. Significant (p<0.05) effect of process parameters were found in all responses in developed guar gum based hydrogel film. On validation of the model for responses of hydrogel film, it was found that the developed model was accurate as the prediction error was only in the range of -3.19 to 2.99%. At optimum condition of developed hydrogel film was characterized using moisture content, chemical interactions (FTIR and SEM) and thermal tests (TGA and DMA) and found to be significant.
Open Access
Performance characterization of the spray nozzles based on CFD simulation
(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2020-11) Shaik Nasreen; Arun Kumar
The Plant protection is an essential operation in the basic practices of crop production. The relative balance between environmental contamination and biological efficacy determines the performance of Plant protection equipment. This balance is mainly affected due to design and operational parameters of the sprayers apart from the architecture of tree and environmental conditions. The design and operational parameters of the sprayer have been analyzed in this study to address this issue. Operating pressure, height and nozzle type, density and viscosity of fluid were considered for this study. The fluid properties like density and viscosity were calculated for lime juice and distilled water of six proportions having at a range of The density increase from 995.33 to 1019.32 (kg/m3) and viscosity increase from 1.03 to 1.9 Centipoise. CFD is a widely used numerical technique that deals with engineering problems which involve fluid flow. ANSYS FLUENT is one of the most common softwares used for CFD analysis. It has various methods of solving a problem. In this paper, the 3 D model of the parts of the models were made by Solid works and analysis were to be carried out by ANSYS FLUENT. The models were first generated using the data and then are meshed and then various spray flow profiles like pressure , eddy viscosity, density , Pressure volume rendering, density volume rendering and eddy viscosity volume rendering contours were to be drawn and graphed in this paper to analyze the flow through the model. From the results obtained I conclude that the flow from both hollow cone and flat fan assembly there was an increase in discharge rate and swath width with increase in pressure from 1.5 to 2.5 kg/cm2, the discharge 0.223 to 0.254 L/min for flat fan nozzle and 0.222 to 0.359 Lit/min for hollow cone nozzle and the swath width 372 to 558 mm for hollow cone nozzle and from 254 to 385 mm for flat fan nozzle. The droplet size decreases with increase in pressure i.e. flat fan (284-263 microns) and hollow cone (336-278 microns).The spray angle also increase with pressure(1.5 to 2.5 kg/cm2 ) and height(400 to 500 mm) i.e. (50 to 69 0 ) for hollow cone nozzle and (35-510 ) for flat fan nozzle.

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