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Abstract The presented study explored the impact of He-Ne laser light stimulation on basic, selected mechanical properties of alfalfa seeds. The following parameters were considered: destructive force (F), destructive force work (W), and absolute longitudinal deformation (dL). Moreover, the single seed mass (m) was measured prior to the compression test, and the ratios of destructive force to absolute longitudinal deformation (F/dL) and destructive force work to single seed mass (W/m) were calculated. Subsequently, the mass of 1000 seeds was determined using RADWAG XA110.3Y scales, and the geometric dimensions of seeds were measured using a Keyence VHX-2000 microscope. Prior to the compression test, the seeds were subjected to laser light stimulation (λ = 632.8 nm, surface force density = 6 mW·cm− 2) with the exposure time of, respectively: 0 s (control – no stimulation – C), 30 s (L30s), 1 min (L1), 2 min (L2), and 3 min (L3). We observed an increase in most of the mechanical parameters measured under the influence of all the laser light stimulation variants. The only exception was the F/dL ratio, which decreased after 2 and 3-minute exposure, as compared to the control. The results evidenced increased mechanical strength of the stimulated seeds, which may prove significant to the cultivation of new, more resilient cultivars.

Designing an efficient muffler for single-cylinder IC engines is not an easy task due to the limitation in designing a large muffler and the possibility of engine suffocation. In this regard, this research aims to experimentally investigate the feasibility of inexpensive muffler modification of a small portable two-stroke engine to reduce noise pollution. In experiments, the default muffler as a control treatment and a modified muffler together with a redesigned muffler have been examined to investigate the effect of muffler internal geometry and muffler design on sound emission characteristics. Based on the obtained results, the sound pressure level (SPL) of the modified and redesigned mufflers decreased by 5.31 and 6.86 percent compared to the default muffler, respectively. Meanwhile, installing the modified and redesigned mufflers increased the transmission loss (TL) equal to 8.62 % and 10.08 % compared to the default muffler, respectively. Also, the outcome of Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) revealed that the intensity and amplitude of output frequencies from the redesigned muffler was significantly reduced in the frequency range of 2–6 kHz. As a general conclusion of this study, by installing the redesigned muffler, the maximum working times of the operator increased by 12.1 h at 5000 rpm.

Abstract The study analyses the impact of alternating (magnetic induction B = 30 mT for t = 60 s) and constant magnetic fields (B = 130 mT for t = 17 h) and alternating electric fields (electric current E = 5 kV/cm for t = 60 s) on various growth parameters of soy plants: the germination energy and capacity, plants emergence, the fresh mass of seedlings, protein content (Kjeldahl’s method), and photosynthetic parameters (with MINI-PAM 2000 WALTZ Photosynthesis Yield Analyser and a SPAD-502 Chlorophyll Meter). Four cultivars were used: MAVKA, MERLIN, VIOLETTA, and ANUSZKA. Moreover, the advanced Machine Learning processing pipeline was proposed to distinguish the impact of physical factors on photosynthetic parameters. The use of electromagnetic fields had a positive impact on the germination rate in MERLIN seeds. The best results in terms of germination improvement were observed for alternating magnetic field stimulation in all cultivars (p > 0.05). For the VIOLETTA cultivar an increase (p > 0.05) in the emergence and overall number of plants as well as fresh mass was observed after electromagnetic field stimulation. For the MAVKA and MERLIN cultivars, the concentration of proteins in the leaves was noticeably higher in plants grown from seeds stimulated using a constant magnetic field.

Index-based insurance is an innovative concept for evaluating agricultural risks and payouts, which uses an index instead of traditional on-site loss assessment. Area yield insurance, as an index-based approach, is an effective strategy to mitigate moral hazard and adverse selection issues. This study aims to develop area yield insurance as a new insurance plan in Iran for two major crops: wheat and barley. It utilized kernel and joint kernel distributions to price the insurance and assessed producer welfare benefits by comparing the certainty equivalence (CE) of farmers’ utility with and without the policy. Data were collected from East Azerbaijan Province, including county-level yield data for irrigated and rainfed wheat and barley from 1975 to 2019 and 446 individual-level yield data from 2015 to 2019. A two-stage method was used to model yield risk: the first stage fits a trend model, while the second estimates the yield distributions with the detrended data. The results showed a significant difference in premiums calculated by the two distributions, with joint kernel distribution offering the best empirical fit and reasonable premiums. The findings indicate that area yield crop insurance provides positive welfare benefits and should serve as a viable alternative or complement to existing yield insurance plans. The successful implementation of this policy in various countries suggests it can be a suitable risk management program for developing countries like Iran.

Drying is one of the most common and effective techniques for preserving the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of medicinal plants in the post-harvest phase. Therefore, in this research, the effect of the new refractance window (RW) technology on the kinetics, thermodynamics, greenhouse gasses, color indices, bioactive properties, and percentage of mint leaf essential oil was investigated in five different water temperatures in the form of a completely randomized design. This process was modeled by the methods of mathematical models and artificial neural networks (ANNs) with inputs (drying time and water temperature) and an output (moisture ratio). The results showed that with the increase in temperature, the rate of moisture removal from the samples increased and as a result, the drying time, specific energy consumption, CO2, NOx, enthalpy, and entropy decreased significantly (p < 0.05). In addition, the drying water temperature had a significant effect on the rehydration ratio, color indices, bioactive properties, and essential oil percentage of the samples (p < 0.05). The highest value of rehydration ratio was obtained at 80 °C. By increasing temperature, the main color indices such as b*, a*, L*, and Chroma decreased significantly compared to the control (p < 0.05). However, with the increase in temperature, the overall color changes (ΔE) and L* first had a decreasing trend and then an increasing trend, and this trend was the opposite for the rest of the indicators. The application of drying water temperature from 50 to 70 °C increased antioxidant, phenol content, and flavonoid content, and higher drying temperatures led to a significant decrease in these parameters (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the efficiency of the essential oil of the samples was in the range of 0.82 to 2.01%, and the highest value was obtained at the water temperature of 80 °C. Based on the analysis performed on the modeled data, a perceptron artificial neural network with 2-15-14-1 structure with explanation coefficient (0.9999) and mean square error (8.77 × 10−7) performs better than the mathematical methods for predicting the moisture ratio of mint leaves.

Abstract The aim of the study was to measure the tensile strength of 4-year-old alfalfa leaves cultivated from seeds exposed to pre-sowing stimulation with He–Ne laser light for 1 or 5 min (designated respectively as F1 and F5) and alternating magnetic field with the exposure time of 1 or 5 min (respectively, L1 and L5). The leaves were measured in terms of blade length and width as well as petiole thickness prior to the tensile test. Measurements were also conducted to determine the chlorophyll fluorescence lifetime and content of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, b, a + b and carotenoids). The observed tensile strength was between 1.59 and 2.45 N. In the test group, the observed strength was lower in leaves collected from the top and central section of the stem but higher in the bottom part of the stem as compared to the control. The maximum increase of the tearing tensile force relative to the control (C) was observed for the L1 and F1 stimulation samples in leaves collected from the top and bottom parts of the stem, while the maximum decrease for that force was recorded for L5 leaves from the middle and top part of the stem. Chlorophyll fluorescence lifetimes and the overall content of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a and b and carotenoids) were noticeably decreased in the leaves subjected to the stressors/stimulants applied. The results obtained for F1, L5 and, L1 stimulation revealed a decrease in fluorescence lifetimes. The content of photosynthetic pigments was also decreased under the influence of laser light stimulation (L1). This was a clear indication of plant ageing.

The study pertained to environmentally-friendly methods in the cultivation of cereal, and aimed to manage the quality of rye and triticale seeds and determine the impact of seed conditioning using effective microorganisms (EM), red light (RL), and a combination of the two (RL × EM) on the yield of grain and straw. Moreover, the seeds were sown into soil with and without EM conditioning, designated as 0 and PEM. The yield fluctuations depended mostly on the studied rye and triticale cultivars. The best effects we observed in soil without EM conditioning for Dańkowskie Złote rye and Moderato triticale. The increase in grain and straw yields was, respectively: 26% (RL), 31% (RL × EM), 40% (EM), and 17% (RL × EM), 23% (RL), 32% (EM) – Dańkowskie Złote, 27% (RL × EM), 44% (EM), 46% (RL), and 17% (RL × EM), 51% (EM), 78% (RL) – Moderato. In turn, seeds exposed to the experimental treatment and sown into soil containing EM produced reduced yields in both of the above cultivars. It is noteworthy that the conditioning methods employed in the field experiment can facilitate increased yields but most importantly contribute to the resilience of agrosystems and can therefore have environmental benefits. It is noteworthy that the conditioning methods employed in the field experiment can facilitate increased yields but most importantly contribute to the resilience of agrosystems and can therefore have environmental benefits.

The leaves of scorzonera are vulnerable to mechanical damage due to heavy rainfall or wind. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of pre-sowing exposure of scorzonera seeds to laser light on the mechanical strength of the leaves and the content of photosynthetic pigments. The research material consisted of scorzonera leaves obtained from seeds treated with He-Ne laser light at the wavelength of 632.8 nm, surface power density of 5 mW cm –2 , and exposure time of 1, 5, 10, and 30 minutes. Young’s modulus measurements showed that the leaves of the plants grown from seeds subjected to laser light stimulation were characterized by better mechanical strength compared to the leaves of the control. The highest values ​​of the Young’s modulus were recorded for scorzonera plants grown from seeds subjected to laser light exposure for 10 minutes. Exposure to light for a period of 1, 5 and 30 minutes significantly affected the content of chlorophylls and carotenoids in the leaves relative to the control. The largest increase in the content of photosynthetic pigments was recorded for 1 minute. The improvement in the mechanical strength of scorzonera leaves may reduce their vulnerability to mechanical damage during vegetation.

Drying as an effective method for preservation of crop products is affected by various conditions and to obtain optimum drying conditions it is needed to be evaluated using modeling techniques. In this study, an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), artificial neural network (ANN), and support vector regression (SVR) was used for modeling the infrared-hot air (IR-HA) drying kinetics of parboiled hull. The ANFIS, ANN, and SVR were fed with 3 inputs of drying time (0–80 min), drying temperature (40, 50, and 60 °C), and two levels of IR power (0.32 and 0.49 W/cm2) for the prediction of moisture ratio (MR). After applying different models, several performance prediction indices, i.e., correlation coefficient (R2), mean square error index (MSE), and mean absolute error (MAE) were examined to select the best prediction and evaluation model. The results disclosed that higher inlet air temperature and IR power reduced the drying time. MSE values for the ANN, ANFIS tests, and SVR training were 0.0059, 0.0036, and 0.0004, respectively. These results indicate the high-performance capacity of machine learning methods and artificial intelligence to predict the MR in the drying process. According to the results obtained from the comparison of the three models, the SVR method showed better performance than the ANN and ANFIS methods due to its higher R2 and lower MSE.

The evaluation of a production system to analyze greenhouse gases is one of the most interesting challenges for researchers. The aim of the present study is to model almond nut production based on inputs by employing artificial neural networks (ANNs) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS) procedures. To predict the almond nut yield with respect to the energy inputs, several ANN and ANFIS models were developed, evaluated, and compared. Among the several developed ANNs, a network with an architecture of 8-12-1 and a log-sigmoid, and a linear transfer function in the hidden and output layers, respectively, is found to be the best model. In general, both approaches had a good capability for predicting the nut yield. The comparison results revealed that the ANN procedure could predict the nut yield more precisely than the ANFIS models. Furthermore, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in almond orchards are determined where the total GHG emission is estimated to be about 2348.85 kg CO2eq ha−1. Among the inputs, electricity had the largest contribution to GHG emissions, with a share of 72.32%.

The study aimed to determine the impact of laser light (L), magnetic stimulation (p) and silver nanocolloid (AgNC) on pumpkin seeds on the germination rate and content of photosynthetic pigments as well as the efficiency of photosynthesis and greenness index in the plant’s development stages. Seeds germinated after the use of various combinations of different refining techniques. The best results were observed for the alternating magnetic field, where the germination energy increased significantly by 20% relative to the control. A similar effect was observed in terms of germination capacity which increased by 4%. A decrease in terms of emergence rate was observed in all study groups. Leaves grown from seeds soaked in nanocolloidal silver on platters were characterised by a significantly higher content of chlorophyll a and b by, respectively, 53 and 11%, as well as 79% higher carotenoid content. The leaves of potted plants contained 42 and 43% more chlorophyll a in groups p and AgNC. In addition, 66 and 81% more carotenoids in groups L and p. At the stage of the onset of flowering of pumpkin, an improvement in terms of photosynthetic efficiency and greenness index was observed in all study groups. The highest improvement was recorded for seeds soaked in silver and reached 23% (intensity of photosynthesis) and 11% (greenness index SPAD).

The aim of the study was to determine the impact of red light (RL) and effective microorganisms (EMs) on the wheat yield of grain and straw, as well as the quality (protein, carbohydrates, gluten, index of sedimentation (SDS index), germination capacity). Moreover, the experiments measured the granulometric composition and pH of soil, as well as its content of microelements and major nutrients, including heavy metals. The field experiment was conducted in 2017, 2018, and 2019 at the experimental station (Felin) of the University of Life Sciences in Lublin (Poland). The best results in terms of overall yield, protein content, and SDS index were obtained after the red light treatment (RL). The three-year application of effective microorganisms (EMs) in the soil had a positive impact, relative to the control, on the grain yield, straw yield, starch, SDS index, and germination capacity. A slight decrease was observed in terms of the protein content. After the application of effective microorganisms (EMs) in soil, changes were observed in the soil’s granulometric composition, pH, humus, and microelements.

This paper presents the results of a study on the effects of red light treatment of sweet corn seeds on the quantity and quality of the subsequent yield (total and marketable), as well as the length of cobs and thousand kernel weight. The respective groups of kernels were exposed to light: 1—once (K1), 2—twice (K2), and 3—thrice (K3); the control seeds were untreated. The light treatment had a positive impact on the analyzed values. Relative to the control, we observed a yield increase of approx. 5% for the Basin cultivar and approx. 25% for the Shaker and Powerhouse cultivars under the K2 mode. We also recorded an increase in the percentage of marketable yield of approx. 20%, 45%, and 48%, respectively for the Shaker, Powerhouse, and Basin cultivars. Positive effects were also observed in terms of cob length and thousand kernel weight for all treatment modes and cultivars analyzed. The obtained results support the inclusion of this method in the scope of recommendable agrotechnical practices aimed at improving the quantity and quality of yields of various crops and vegetables.

The paper explores the impact of electromagnetic stimulation of Ulstar alfalfa seeds on fresh mass yield, the quantum efficiency of the plants’ photochemical reactions, and the content of photosynthetic pigments in leaves. Before sowing, seeds were subjected to electromagnetic stimulation in the following configurations: control (C), no stimulation; stimulation with He–Ne laser light with the wavelength of 632.8 nm, surface power density of 3 mW·cm−2 and exposition time of 1 min (L1) or 5 min (L5); stimulation with alternating magnetic field with the induction of 30 mT and exposition time of 1 min (F1) or 5 min (F5). It was established that the variability of alfalfa yields at the onset of anthesis was dependent on weather conditions as well as, above all, on the electromagnetic stimulation employed. At the same time, the values of fresh mass yield of alfalfa and photosynthetic efficiency were higher in the first year of cultivation (2014) compared to the last year (2016). In terms of photosynthetic efficiency, the best results were observed for L1 and F5, respectively: 0.801 and 0.800. The significantly highest values in terms of chlorophyll a and b and carotenoid content were observed in 2014 at the onset of budding in the combination involving alternating magnetic field stimulation (F5), and were, respectively, 30%, 28% and 73% relative to the control.

Celem badań było określenie wpływu stymulacji laserowej nasion na wschody i plonowanie grochu łuskowego. Materiałem do badań były nasiona 6 partii grochu o różnej jakości wyrażonej zdolnością kiełkowania. Nasiona traktowano 3 dawkami światła lasera He-Ne (0, 6 i 8 mW · cm–2). W doświadczeniu polowym oceniano wschody siewek, liczbę strąków na roślinie, liczbę nasion w strąku, masę 1000 nasion, plon nasion z jednej rośliny oraz z jednostki powierzchni. Stymulacja laserowa istotnie poprawiła wschody siewek wyrosłych z nasion gorszej jakości. Nasiona wysokiej jakości nie zareagowały zwiększeniem liczby wschodów na przedsiewne traktowanie laserem. Nie stwierdzono istotnego wpływu stymulacji światłem lasera w zastosowanych dawkach na plonowanie nasion grochu.

Laser stimulation is a non-expensive and environmentally safe way of the improving of seeds quality. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of He-Ne laser irradiation on the germination parameters of scorzonera seeds. Seeds were characterized with different quality expressed by germination capacity. Experimental material consisted of 4 lots of scorzonera seeds having initial germination capacity between 50.8 and 93.0%. Seeds were treated with laser He-Ne light of surface power density of 3 mW·cm-2 and the time of exposition of 0 (control), 1, 5, 10 and 30 minutes. After pre-sowing stimulation of seeds the following parameters were estimated: germination energy, germination capacity, mean germination time, speed of germination, hypocotyl length, length of radicle, fresh and dry weight of seedling, field emergence, mean emergence time and speed of emergence. Pre-sowing laser treatment resulted in increasing of the several parameters such as germination energy, germination capacity, speed of germination, hypocotyl and radicle length, as well as fresh and dry weight of seedlings. Laser light stimulation was the most effective in the case of low quality seeds (initial germination capacity of 50.8%). Irradiation of the seeds belonging to this group also resulted in the increase of the seedling emergence and the speed of emergence.