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In precision farming technology, the interest of the researchers has been focused on the applications of autonomous mobile robots for agricultural operations such as planting, inspection, spraying, and harvesting. However, each autonomous robot generally performs a single agricultural task. In this context, complete autonomy in precision farming can be achieved by using coordinated multi-robot systems that can easily and safely cooperate to accomplish agricultural tasks. The efficiency of the multi-robot system depends on the number of robots, the size of the robots, the distance between each robot, the instant location and heading angle of the robots, and the size of the farmland. This paper describes the development of wireless Robot to Robot (R2R) communication system architecture and the collision avoidance algorithm for multi-robot precision farming applications. The developed system uses the fusion of a digital compass and GPS receiver for wirelessly broadcasting the spatial and temporal data of the mobile robots through WiFi. In this study, WiFi broadcasting was chosen for reasons such as the advantages of long wireless signal range and strength, not being easily affected by weather and dust, low cost, and so on. The proposed system realizes the real-time wireless broadcasting of the mobile robot information for eliminating the collision of mobile robots and improving the level of safety management. The results show that the system has flexible, reliable, and adaptable solution, and thus can increase the efficiency of the multi-robot system in precision farming applications.

It is critically necessary to maximize the efficiency of agricultural methods while concurrently reducing the cost of production. Varieties, types, and fruit classification grades are crucial to fruit production. High expenditure, inconsistent subjectivity, and tedious labor characterize traditional and manual varieties classification. This study developed machine learning (ML) models to classify ten apple varieties, extracting the histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) and color moments from RGB apple images. Support vector machine (SVM), random forest classifier (RFC), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and K-nearest neighbor (KNN) classification models were trained with 10-fold stratified cross-validation (Skfold) by using the textural and color features, and a GridSearch was implemented to fine-tune the hyperparameters. The trained models, SVM, RFC, MLP, and KNN were tested with separate test data and performed well, having an accuracy of 98.17%, 96.67%, 98.62%, and 91.28%, respectively. Having the top results, the MLP and SVM models demonstrated the potential of applying HOG and color moments to train ML models for classifying apple varieties. This study suggests conducting further research to thoroughly examine additional image features and determine the impact of combining features and utilizing different classifiers.

This study was carried out in order to compare in 20 different rangeland sample areas that determined in order to environmental variables, vegetation and soil properties by multivariate ordination analysis in Mugla province. Cluster analysis was made to determine the similarity and species compositions of sample areas, and as a result of this analysis, three different groups have occurred. Additionally, detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) was made after the indicator species analysis. The interaction between environmental and soil-borne factors as altitude, distance to village, soil depth, pH in saturated soil with water, lime and surface stoniness were found to be significant and this significance was expressed by graphs. Moreover, it was indicated that relationship with species in the vegetation of the variables that were determined as significant by tables and figures. The relationship with the species in the vegetation of the variables that were determined as significant was also indicated. The result of the study showed that environmental variables as soil depth, soil pH saturated with water, stony surface, altitude and distance to villages had a significant effect on the species diversity and distribution in the samples areas.

Turkey has a large agricultural area and produces 55–60 million tons of biomass waste/year. This study aimed to obtain bio-briquettes from three types of dried greenhouse wastes and to determine their strength parameters. A prototype of a mobile briquetting machine driven by power take-off (PTO), with hydraulic pistons, and comprising a shredder and grinding or crushing unit with a briquetting pressure in the range of 0–190 MPa, was used. The physical parameters of the obtained briquettes were determined, including density, tumbler and shatter resistance, compression resistance, water intake capacity, and resistance to moisture-humidity. The results of physical and mechanical tests showed that the briquettes are of an extremely high quality. The maximum density, shatter and tumbler resistance were 1143.52 kg·m−3, 99.24% in pepper plant waste, and 98.52% in eggplant plant waste, respectively. Based on the analysis of compression tests obtained under 190 MPa (maximum compaction force of 450 kN), the maximum compression force, compression stress, and specific compression force were found in briquettes made from tomato plant wastes (3315 N, 69.43 N·mm−2, 40.09 N·mm−1, respectively). Overall, the results and variables affecting the strength parameters showed that greenhouse waste biomass is an excellent feedstock for the production of high quality bio-briquettes. The valorization of briquetted greenhouse waste with the proposed prototype contributes to the sustainability of the environment and to a reduction in energy costs for farmers.

The study was conducted to determine whether there is a difference in leaf breaking resistance between genotypes in order to minimize leaf breaks which cause large loss in alfalfa forage production. The experiment was carried out in the Batı Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute, at the Department of Field Crops in 2016. It was established by randomized complete block design. Breaking resistance of the leaves was measured using a universal testing machine on the main stem belonging to alfalfa genotypes which were collected from 40 different locations at the fourth-end leaves. In addition, thickness of leaf stalk, rupture energy of green and dry samples and rupture stress of green and dry samples were calculated. As a result of the experiment; in dry sample, Demre-1, Döşemealtı-2 and Konyaaltı-2, genotypes were determined to have the highest breaking resistance and Alanya-1, Alanya-2, Finike-1, Finike-2, Manavgat-1 Manavgat-2 and Gazipaşa-2 genotypes were determined to have the lowest breaking resistance. In the dry sample, while the highest breaking resistance value was measured at 1.0419 N, the lowest breaking resistance value was measured at 1.0022 N. A wide variation among genotypes was determined in terms of the characteristics examined and it can be said that the rupture resistance can be used as a selection criterion.

Soil electrical resistivity (ER) is an important indicator to indirectly determine soil physical and chemical properties such as moisture, salinity, porosity, organic matter level, bulk density, and soil texture. In this study, real-time ER measurement system has been developed with the help of an autonomous robot. The aim of this study is to provide rapid measurement of the ER in large areas using the Wenner four-probe measurement method for precision farming applications. The ER measurement platform consists of the Wenner probes, a y-axis shifter driven by a DC motor through a gear reducer, all installed on a steel-frame that mount to an autonomous robot. An embedded industrial computer and differential global positioning system (DGPS) were used to assist in real-time measuring, recording, mapping, and displaying the ER and the robot position during the field operation. The data acquisition software was codded in Microsoft Visual Basic.NET. Field experiments were carried out in a 1.2 ha farmland soil. ER and DGPS values were stored in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database, an ordinary Kriging interpolation technique by ArcGIS was used and the average ER values were mapped for the soil depth between 0 and 50 cm. As a result, ER values were observed to be between 30.757 and 70.732 ohm-m. In conclusion, the experimental results showed that the designed system works quite well in the field and the ER measurement platform is a practical tool for providing real-time soil ER measurements.

The hazelnut possesses a significant economic value and is extensively consumed on a global scale. Physico-mechanical properties such as linear dimensions, deformation, force, stress, and energy play an important role in the processing of hazelnut and hazelnut kernels, quality assessment, and the development of harvesting and post-harvest technologies. The data used in the data set was determined by applying compression tests and artificial neural networks, support vector regression, and multiple linear regression methods were applied to the data obtained. The aim of the study ws to determine the deformation energy of hazelnuts and hazelnut kernels based on some mechanical properties of hazelnuts using nondestructive machine learning methods instead of traditional measurement methods with minimum error, minimum labor, and in the shortest time. The average R2 for kernels and hazelnuts was ANN 95.2%, SVR 89.6%, and MLR 86.1%. The average MSE for kernels and hazelnuts was ANN 0.006, SVR 0.012, and MLR 0.072. The machine learning methods used in the study provided results close to the ideal statistical metrics. According to the analyses of the machine learning methods, results similar to the optimal statistical metrics were obtained. The most successful and least-error methods were the artificial neural network, support vector regression and multiple linear regression, respectively.

The article demonstrates the Brix content of melon fruits grafted with different varieties of rootstock using Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) model approaches. The analysis yielded primary fruit biochemical measurements on the following rootstocks, Sphinx, Albatros, and Dinero: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Established models were evaluated with Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), Mean Square Error (MSE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Coefficient of Determination (R2) metrics. In the test section, the results of the MLR model were calculated as MAE: 0.0728, MAPE: 0.0117, MSE: 0.0088, RMSE: 0.0936, and R2: 0.9472, while the results of the SVR model were calculated as MAE: 0.0334, MAPE: 0.0054, MSE: 0.0016, RMSE: 0.0398, and R2: 0.9904. Despite both models performing well, the SVR model showed superior accuracy, outperforming MLR by 54% to 82% in terms of predictions. The relationships between Brix levels and various nutrients, such as sucrose, glucose, and fructose, were found to be strong, while titratable acidity had a minimal effect. SVR was found to be a more reliable, non-destructive method for melon quality assessment. These findings revealed the relationship between Brix and sugar levels on melon quality. The study highlights the potential of these machine learning models in optimizing the rootstock effect and managing melon cultivation to improve fruit quality.

Tomatoes are among the world’s most significant vegetables, both in terms of production and consumption. Harvesting takes place in tomato production when the important quality attribute of total soluble solids content reaches its maximum possible level. Tomato total soluble solids content (TSS) is among the most crucial attribute parameters for assessing tomato quality and for tomato commercialization. Determination of total soluble solids content by conventional measurement methods is both destructive and time-consuming. Therefore, the tomato processing industry needs a rapid identification method to measure total soluble solids content (TSS). In this study, we aimed to estimate how much soluble solids there are in beef tomato fruit by Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) methods. The models were assessed using the Coefficient of Determination (R2), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) metrics. The training data set results of the MLR model established to estimate the amount of brix in tomato fruit, calculated as MAE: 0.2349, RMSE: 0.3048, R2: 0.8441, and MAPE: 5.5368, while, according to the ANN model, MAE: 0.0250, RMSE: 0.031, R2: 0.9982 and MAPE: 0.5814. According to the metric outcomes, the ANN-based model performed better in both the training and testing parts.

The lowest height at which a product can fall without suffering severe harm is known as the “critical drop height” for agricultural products. It is a crucial factor to take into account for crops like loquats that are prone to bruising or damage upon impact. By establishing the minimum altitude at which the product can be dropped without experiencing substantial harm, suitable processing procedures may be established from harvest to the end consumer, thereby preserving product quality and worth. The critical drop height can be ascertained through swift, affordable, non-destructive, and non-traditional methods, rather than time-consuming and expensive laboratory trials. In the study, we aimed to estimate the critical drop height for loquat fruit using machine learning methods. Three different machine learning methods with different operating principles were applied. R2, MAE, RMSE, and MAPE metrics were used to assess the models. There were no obvious differences in both the comparisons within the models, namely the training and test results and the mutual comparisons of the models. However, with a slight difference, the SVMs model performed better in the training data set, and the ETs model performed better in the test data set. Plots were drawn to visualize model performances, and the results obtained from the plots and metrics support each other.

A time-varying, nonlinear soil-plant system contains many unknown elements that can be quantified based on analytical methodologies. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are a widely used mathematical computing, modelling, and predicting method that estimates unknown values of variables from known values of others. This paper aims to simulate relationship between soil moisture, bulk density, porosity ratio, depth, and penetration resistance and to estimate soil penetration resistance with the help of ANNs. For this aim, the Generalized Regression Neural network (GRNN) and Radial Basis Function (RBF) models were developed and compared for the estimation of soil penetration resistance values in MATLAB. A dataset of 153 samples was collected from experimental field. From the 153 data, 102 data (33%) were selected for training and the remaining 51 data (67%) were used for testing. The estimation process was implemented 10 replications using randomly selected testing and training data. Mean Squared Error (MSE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) were used to evaluate estimation accuracy on the developed ANN methods. Based on MSE, RMSE, MAE and Standard Deviation (SD), statistical results showed that the GRNN modelling presented better results than the RBF model in predicting soil penetration resistance success.

Alfalfa holds an extremely significant place in animal nutrition when it comes to providing essential nutrients. The leaves of alfalfa specifically boast the highest nutritional value, containing a remarkable 70% of crude protein and an impressive 90% of essential vitamins. Due to this incredible nutritional profile, it becomes exceedingly important to ensure that the harvesting and threshing processes are executed with utmost care to minimize any potential loss of these invaluable nutrients present in the leaves. To minimize losses, it is essential to accurately determine the resistance of the leaves in both their green and dried forms. This study aimed to estimate the breaking resistance of green and dried alfalfa plants using machine learning methods. During the modeling phase, five different popular machine learning methods, Extra Trees (ET), Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boost (GB), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB), and CatBoost (CB), were used. The correlation coefficient (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) metrics were used to evaluate the models. The obtained metric results and the graphs obtained from the prediction values of the models revealed that the machine learning methods made successful predictions. The best R2 (0.9853), RMSE (0.0171), MAE (0.0099) and MAPE (0.0969) values for the dry alfalfa plant were obtained from the model established with the ET method, while the best RMSE (0.0616) and R2 (0.96) values for the green alfalfa plant were obtained from the model established with the RF method and the best MAE (0.0340) value was obtained from the model established with the ET method. Additionally, the best MAPE (0.1447) value was obtained from the model established with the GB method.

Reduction of grain size in processing of grain products for food and feed purposes is the most important and energy consuming process. The performance of animals consuming mixed feeds of different grain sizes may vary. Therefore, grinding efficiency is an important parameter and the use of grain size analysis in terms of machine technique; is one of the main parameters in the comparison of the performances of grinding purposes and grinding activities. In this study, the most commonly used grain size analysis techniques (sieve analysis, microscopic (image processing) analysis, laser diffraction analysis, electrical resistance analysis and sedimentation analysis) were tried to be given comparatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Briquetting is a compaction technology that has been used for many years to produce raw materials that are uniform in size and moisture content and are easy to process, transport and store. The physical and chemical properties of the raw material and the briquetting conditions also affect the density and strength of the briquettes. Nonetheless, assessing the quality of briquettes is challenging and extremely expensive, and necessitates lengthy laboratory investigations. In this study, a fast, cost-effective, and simple method using machine learning was used to evaluate the quality characteristics of briquette samples. The deformation energy, one of the most important briquette quality parameters, was predicted by machine learning methods, considering specific compression force, moisture content, compression resistance, briquette density, tumbler index, water resistance, shatter index and compression stress. For this purpose, Random Forest, Extreme Gradient Boosting, and CatBoost methods, which are among the ensemble learning methods, were used. The RMSE, MAE, MAPE, and R2 metrics were used to evaluate the models. With respect to the training data, the model created using the Extreme Gradient Boosting method was successful on all the metrics. However, for test data, the best RMSE (15.69), MAPE (0.0146), and R2 (0.9715) were obtained from the model established with the CatBoost method. The best MAE (10.63) was obtained from the model established with the Random Forest method. The metric results and the graphs obtained from the prediction values of the models revealed that machine learning methods were successfully able to predict briquette deformation energy.

Briquetting is considered one of the pre-treatment methods available to produce raw materials of uniform size and moisture content that are easy to process, transport, and store. The quality of briquettes in terms of density and strength depends on the physical and chemical properties of the raw material and the briquetting conditions. However, determining briquette quality is difficult, very costly, and requires long laboratory studies. In this paper, an easy, inexpensive, and fast methodology based on machine learning for the determination of quality parameters of briquette samples is presented. Compressive resistance, one of the most important briquette quality parameters, was estimated by machine learning methods, considering particle size, material moisture, applied pressure value, briquette density, shatter index, and tumbler index. Extra Trees, Random Forest, and Light Gradient Boosting regression models were used. The best estimate is seen in the Extra Trees regression model. The R2 and MAPE values are 0.76 and 0.0799, respectively.

For the design and sizing of equipment and structures in agricultural operations concerning the cherry tomato industry, especially harvesting operations and postharvest operations of the crops, it is very important to determine their mechanical properties. In the study, mass, length, thickness, width, geometric diameter, sphericity, surface area, rupture force, firmness, Poisson’s ratio, and modulus of elasticity were used as independent variables in the data set, and the dependent variable and deformation energy was estimated. Min–max normalization methods were used to increase the success and performance of the models. Three machine learning methods were utilized in the study, and statistical parameters, such as R2, MAE, and MSE, were used to evaluate the performance of the methods. The R2 of the artificial neural network (ANN), applied in the model as one of the machine learning methods, was found to be 96.8%, revealing the highest predictive power. Logistic regression with a 91.1% success rate, and decision tree regression with an 81.3% success rate, came second and third, respectively.

Hazelnut culture originated in Turkey, which has the highest volume and area of hazelnut production in the world. For the design and sizing of equipment and structures in agricultural operations for the hazelnut industry, especially harvesting operations and post-harvest operations, it is essential that an understanding of hazelnuts’ aerodynamic properties, i.e., terminal velocity and drag coefficient, is acquired. In this study, the moisture, mass, density, projected area, surface area, and geometric diameter were used as independent variables in the data set, and the dependent variables terminal velocity and drag coefficient estimation were determined. In this study, logistic regression (LR), support vector regression (SVR), and artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used based on machine learning methods. When the results were evaluated according to R2 (determination coefficient), MSE (mean squared error), and MAE (mean absolute error) metrics, it was seen that the most successful models were the ANN, SVR, and LR, respectively. According to the R2 metric, the ANN method achieved 91.5% for the terminal velocity of hazelnuts and 85.9% for the drag coefficient of hazelnuts. Using the independent variables in the study, it was seen that the terminal velocity and drag coefficient value of hazelnuts could be successfully estimated.

Following the harvest, agricultural products are subjected various negative impacts throughout the way to consumers. Mechanical damages such as color darkening, abrasion, cuts or punctures over the fruit surface are irreversible damages and such damages ultimately end up with significant quality and economic losses. In modern production systems, only a certain portion of the products directly reach from producer to consumers. Majority of these products are subjected to mechanical damages through crush, squeeze, vibration and similar impacts during the harvest and postharvest processes. In this study, Tybeef tomato cultivar grown over the experimental greenhouses of Bati Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute (BATEM) (control) and 14-193 and 14-206 coded candidate cultivars developed through breeding programs of BATEM were used as the plant material. Resistance parameters of tomato cultivars were determined at 4 different ripening stages (green, turning, pink and red) and 4 different storage durations (4, 8, 12 and 16 days). Resistance parameters decreased with the progress of ripening and storage durations. All measurements and assessments revealed that 14-193 coded candidate cultivar was prominent for resistance parameters.