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For the prompt planting of subsequent crops, most of China's corn harvest must occur before full maturity, with a grain moisture content above 25%. Harvesting moist corn presents challenges due to significant grain damage during threshing. We conducted a high-speed photography observation test of moist corn threshing. It demonstrated that corn ears, when passing through the threshing cylinder, often break into pieces. Grains on divided corncobs can be threshed more easily and earlier than those on undivided ones, suggesting that pre-dividing corn ears reduces grain damage. An experiment using the Lianchuang 825 variety examined the effect of moisture content and the divided rate of corncobs (DRC) on grain damage. The results showed that as moisture content increased from 25% to 37%, grain damage to undivided ears increased from 3.75% to 37.71%. Dividing corn ears before threshing significantly reduced damage, with an eight-piece division reducing damage by approximately 70% across all moisture levels. Verification with the Jinyu 1233 variety confirmed that a higher DRC consistently reduced damage. This study provides a new approach to reducing damage in moist corn threshing and aids in the development of low-damage threshing devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twelve phyto products and two forms of cow dung were evaluated during 2021- 22 in the Entomology Research Laboratory, M S Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Gajapati District of Odisha for their efficacy against Rhyzopertha dominica (F) in stored paddy. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with each treatment replicated thrice. Individual treatments comprised 20 g disinfested paddy seeds treated with test products @ 5g/ kg seed separately and an untreated check and inoculated with 20 adults /treatment. All the treatments were effective in suppressing the R. dominica, with maximum adult mortality (92.1%) being in black pepper powder followed by custard apple seed powder (88.4%) at 28 days after release. The least population buildup (2 adults), grain damage (3.3%), and weight loss (2.7%) were observed with black pepper powder treated paddy at 120 days after storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPost-harvest losses occur during storage mainly due to spills, fungal contamination, and pest damage. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the effect of post-harvest management and sanitation practices by grain traders on the quality of stored grains in Kenya. A total of 342 grain traders, distributed among three counties, namely Nairobi, Embu, and Machakos, were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Maize and common beans were the main crops stored in trader’s stores. Most of the traders obtained grains from the retail brokers (39.9%) and most of the grain stores were rented (73.3%). Traders sold stocks of grains less than a month and in the first three months. The grain traders used mainly propylene bags (>84%) and bought new propylene bags for the new stock (51%). The highest proportion of grains was sold to individual consumers or local retailers. Grain sampling followed by sorting and drying were the main procedures carried out within the traders’ stores after receiving new stock. In case of deteriorated grains caused by fungal infection, insect, or other factors, most traders immediately sold the grains while other traders sold to animal feed manufacturers. Most traders had knowledge of grain standards, but more than 95% of them used their own standards to grade their grains, and < 3% of the traders used East African grain standards. Inspection of insects infestation in stores by traders was ranked first (95.4%) followed by rodents (71.7%) and mold contamination (42.5%). These findings highlight the intervention needed in the practices of grain traders to reduce food losses.

For the prompt planting of subsequent crops, most of China’s corn harvest must occur before full maturity, with a grain moisture content above 25%. Harvesting moist corn presents challenges due to significant grain damage during threshing. We conducted a high-speed photography observation test of moist corn threshing. It demonstrated that corn ears, when passing through the threshing cylinder, often break into pieces. Grains on divided corncobs can be threshed more easily and earlier than those on undivided ones, suggesting that pre-dividing corn ears reduces grain damage. An experiment using the Lianchuang 825 variety examined the effect of moisture content and the divided rate of corncobs (DRC) on grain damage. The results showed that as moisture content increased from 25% to 37%, grain damage to undivided ears increased from 3.75% to 37.71%. Dividing corn ears before threshing significantly reduced damage, with an eight-piece division reducing damage by approximately 70% across all moisture levels. Verification with the Jinyu 1233 variety confirmed that a higher DRC consistently reduced damage. This study provides a new approach to reducing damage in moist corn threshing and aids in the development of low-damage threshing devices.

Background: Sorghum cultivars of widely diverse types of head structures and grain properties are produced in Ethiopia. These require different key threshing actions of various functional elements. But sorghum threshers with cylinder consisting of different functional elements are lacking in the country. Objective: The study was aimed to design, manufacture, and test the functionality of a sorghum thresher developed with a composite type cylinder using a selected sorghum variety. Materials and Methods: Fundamental theories, basic principles of design analysis and methods reviewed from the already published research output were followed to design the thresher. The produced prototype was tested at different levels of concave clearance, cylinder speed and feed rate factors laid in 2x3² factorial design with 3 replications using the sorghum variety of Gubbiye. Results: The test results indicated increasing mean threshing efficiency from 96.15% to 99.52%, an average cleaning efficiency of 95.43% and an average unthreshed grain loss of 1.42%. Grand mean of 0.77% grain damage was observed with the means ranging from 0.25% to 1.07%. Grains remained with glumes indicated the highest mean of 4.15% at 400 rpm that was reduced to 2.25% at 600 rpm. Conclusion: The results revealed an average of 98.58% threshing efficiency, grain damage of 0.77%, and 3.16% grains remaining in glumes from the test made on Gubbiye variety. This implies that a designed thresher is efficient which can be used by farmers for threshing grains of sorghum varieties in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Citrus aurantium essential oil was extracted from fruits collected from two regions namely Nabeul and Boussalem, characterized by diverse climatic and geographic conditions. Essential oils were investigated for their yield, chemical components, antioxidant and insecticidal activities against adults of the lesser grain borer Rhyzopertha dominica. Then, the essential oil that has the highest insecticidal activity was encapsulated into pectin:Gum Arabic and tested by fumigation against R. dominica adults. Additionally, emergence inhibition of their offspring was assessed. Methods: Pectin and essential oils were extracted from C. aurantium fruit peels by acid extraction chemical method and hydrodistillation, respectively. GC–MS analysis was used to identify the chemical components of the essential oils. Microcapsules were prepared at different ratios with various concentrations of pectin–Gum Arabic matrix. The encapsulation efficiency (EE %), loading capacity (LC %) and cumulative release (CR %) were determined using UV–Vis spectrophotometer. Crude and encapsulated Citrus aurantium essential oil in pectin–Gum Arabic-based microcapsules was tested by fumigation against adults of the lesser grain borer Rhyzopertha dominica for three storage durations (30, 60 and 90 days). Phosphine was used as conventional fumigant insecticide. Results: Results showed that microcapsules with pectin–Gum Arabic:Eo (0.5:2.5:1) was characterized by the highest EE (81.062%) and LC (5.79%). Fumigation tests revealed that encapsulated essential oil exhibited an effective control against R. dominica adults and their descendants during the three storage periods with 100% of mortality and emergence inhibition, compared to crude essential oil which generates 100, 90 and 60% of emergence inhibition, respectively after 30, 60 and 90 days of storage. Conclusion: Wastes from Citrus aurantium produce valuable products as pectin and rich limonene essential oils. Microcapsules based on pectin:Gum Arabic:essential oil could be utilized as an effective bio-insecticide for the control of insect pests in storage commodities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An industrial-scale handling system with a flight conveyor, a screw conveyor, and a rethresher as the core components was designed and built to validate a previously developed discrete-element-method-based (DEM) grain impact damage model. Corn and soybean samples were processed by the system at three impeller speeds and two feed rates, and the amount of damage caused by handling was evaluated. DEM simulations with the impact damage model were performed for the same test conditions. The experimental results showed that grain damage increased with increasing impeller speed and decreasing feed rate, which aligned with the simulation predictions. The damage fraction values estimated by the simulation were larger than the experimental measurements when the original DEM input parameters were used. The mean absolute error between the simulation and experimental results was 0.14 for the corn tests and 0.05 for the soybean tests. This overprediction may be because the particle-geometry coefficient of restitution (PG COR) was measured at low impact speeds but impact speeds in the validation system is high. The simulation predictions can be significantly improved by decreasing the PG COR from 0.75 to 0.55 for the corn and from 0.6 to 0.4 for the soybeans. The mean absolute error between the simulation and experimental results decreased from 0.14 to 0.02 for the corn tests and from 0.05 to 0.01 for the soybean tests after the reduction of PG COR. In addition, the sensitivity analysis suggested that the Young's modulus and particle shape contribute only minor changes to the damage fraction and the location of the damage for the conditions examined.

The transmission system of the thresher was developed to suit the process of threshing cowpea seeds. The developed thresher included substantial modifications to the threshing concaves, threshing fan, and threshing drum. The speed of the threshing sieve, suction, and fan were increased while the drum speed was decreased. Concave hole diameters of 20, 24, and 28 mm; drum speeds of 17, 23, and 29 m s-1; and feed rates of 360, 540, and 720 kg h-1 were studied. Threshing efficiency, seed damage, losses of seed, and power requirements were computed. The main findings revealed that increasing the diameter of the concave holes increased threshing efficiency and seed losses while decreasing seed damage and power requirements. Increasing drum speed increases threshing efficiency, reduced seed damage, and lower power requirements while decreasing seed losses. The maximum threshing efficiency reached was 96.75%, while the seed loss was 4.25%, with a minimum seed damage of 1.18%. The power requirement was 7.38 kWh ton-1 at a moisture content of 14.6%. The operating costs using the developed threshing machine were decreased to 71.33 USD ha-1 instead of the manually threshed cowpea, which costs about 111 USD ha-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pro-Vitamin A Biofortified maize is one of the crops with the cheapest and most sustainable option for preventing Vitamin A deficiency in humans in Ghana. It is also a key energy component of feed for layer chicken, forming about 60-70% of the total feed. Sitophilus zeamais is one of the most serious primary internal feeding pests of maize and other grains in sub-Saharan Africa. It causes both quantitative and qualitative grain losses. Two no - choice laboratory experiments in 112 days cumulative feeding of S. zeamais and 60 days susceptibility of six pro- Vitamin A Biofortified Maize (PVABM) genotypes to the insect were conducted. The experimental designs were Completely Randomized Design in four replications. Percentage grain damage and weight loss were significantly lower (P<0.05) in Aburokokoo than the other genotypes. Significantly more S. zeamais emerged from Accession GH2354 which also had significant (P<0.05) higher percentage grain damage than other genotypes. In the 60-day susceptibility experiment, grain hardness had significant (P<0.05) negative correlation with F1 progeny, index of susceptibility and protein content but positive significant correlation with median development period. Large number of S. zeamais F1 progeny, high susceptibility index, high protein, low total carbohydrate content, short median development time with low grain hardness value were observed on accession GH2354. Aburokokoo had significantly (P<0.05) small number of F1 progeny, low index of susceptibility, low protein and high total carbohydrate, long development period and intermediate value of grain hardness. The ascending order of grain hardness among the maize genotypes was GH2354

Mechanized grain harvest of maize becomes increasingly important with growing land plot size in Northeast China. Grain moisture is an important factor affecting the performance of mechanized grain harvest. However, it remains unclear what influences grain dehydration rate. In this study, maize grain dehydrating process was investigated in a two-year field experiment with five hybrids under two planting densities in 2017 and 2018. It was found that damaged-grain ratio was the main factor affecting mechanized harvest quality, and this ratio was positively correlated with grain moisture content at harvest (R2=0.6372, P

Rice grain damage due to dark spots was noted more than 10 years ago in Russia. However, this phenomenon has long existed in other rice-growing countries. The factor limiting high rice yields are insect pests and pathogenic microorganisms, the vital activity of which leads to the occurrence of dark spots on the grain shells. This study hopes to assess the effects of dark spots on rice grains of six rice cultivars bred in Russia, i.e., Rapan, Khazar, Romans, Favorit, Trio, and Prestige. The study was carried out in 2020-2021 at the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution, Federal Scientific Rice Centre, Krasnodar, Russia. With an increase in the content of damaged grains from 5% to 10% and 20%, the mass of 1000 absolutely dry grains, vitreosity, and head rice content decrease, the filminess increased, and the content of damaged grains negatively affecting the quality traits of rice grains. If the content of damaged grains is up to 5%, grain quality decreases giving no impact of the parameter. The need to predict rice grain yield and quality based on grain damage intensity caused by dark spots ensures the profitability of growing various cultivars in rice production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pod fly, Melanagromyza obtusa (Malloch) is one among the economically important pests on pigeonpea and is responsible for major yield losses. Field survey carried out in different pigeonpea fields during 2020-21 revealed that, the severity of pod fly infestation varied across the locations as well as on different varieties of pigeonpea. Of different locations surveyed around Bengaluru for pod fly infestation, the highest pod damage (92%) and grain damage (65.22%) was recorded from the pigeonpea fields at Honnayyanapalya village, Magadi taluk, Ramanagara district, while minimum pod damage (18%) and grain damage (7.45%) were recorded from pods sampled from Basavapura village of Gowribidanur taluk, Chikkaballapur district. From survey studies, it was also found that, pigeonpea variety BRG 2 was highly susceptible to pod fly infestation and recorded the highest mean pod damage (42.57%) and grain damage (25.13%) followed by local varieties grown by the farmers. Studies on the biology of pod fly revealed that, the incubation period ranged from 2 to 4 days with an average of 2.75 ± 0.14 days. There were three maggot stages with a total mean duration of 9.5 days. The mean pupal duration was 9.15 ± 0.36 days. The average female and male fly longevity were 5.9 ± 0.32 and 3.45 ± 0.25 days, respectively. The lifecycle of adults was completed in 27.89 ± 0.64 days in case of females and 25.44 ± 0.51 days in case of males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents preliminary results on the assessment of algorithms used in image processing of the grain damage degree. The purpose of the work is developing a tool allowing to analyse sample cross-sections of rye germs. The analysis of the grain cross-sections was carried out on the basis of a series their photos taken at equal time intervals at a set depth. The cross-sections will be used to create additional virtual cross-sections allowing to analyse the whole sample volume. The ultimate plan is to generate two cross-sections perpendicular to each other. Based on volumetric data read from the sample section, a three-dimensional model of an object will be generated. The analysis of model surface will allowed us to detect possible grain damage. The developed method of preparing the research material and the proprietary application allowed for the identification of internal defects in the biological material (cereal grains). The presented methodology may be used in the agri-food industry in the future. However, much research remains to be done. These works should primarily aim at significantly reducing the time-consuming nature of individual stages, as well as improving the quality of the reconstructed image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sunn pest Eurygaster integriceps Put. is one of the most economically important insect pests of grain crops in many countries all over the world. This paper presents an analytical review of the world literature devoted to the harmful activity of the sunn pest and its biological background, in particular, variation in grain damage by the pest and methods of its assessment. All the currently known methods of detecting grain damage by the sunn pest (including visual assessment, radiography, infrared microscopy, and the express scanning method) have certain disadvantages and require improvement. Infrared microscopy and computer scanning methods provide the highest accuracy combined with the greatest ease of use in identifying damage caused by the sunn pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cowpea thresher that uses petrol engine was developed to overcome drudgery of threshing with manually operated thresher and also to replace motorized cowpea thresher that cannot be used in areas where there is no supply of electricity. The performance tests on the machine were replicated three times using 10000, 8000 and 6000 grams of kannanado cowpea pods at the threshing cylinder speed of 700, 800 and 900 rpm each and moisture contents of 11.05%, 13.65% and 14.75% respectively based on the following parameters; Threshing efficiency, throughput capacity and percentage seed damage. The findings of the tests showed that the thresher had highest threshing efficiency of 98% at moisture content of 11.05%, threshing cylinder speed of 900 rpm and feed rate of 6 kg/hr. The maximum throughput capacity was observed to be 46.18 kg/hr at the feed rate of 10 kg/hr, 11.05% grain moisture content and threshing cylinder speed of 900 rpm. A highest cleaning efficiency and grain damage of 93.06% and 4.90% respectively were observed. This revealed that as the cylinder speed increased the threshing and cleaning efficiency and the throughput capacity also increased whereas feed rate and moisture content were decreased. The test also showed that high moisture content has a tendency to reduce the mechanical seed damage for the variety (kannanado) of cowpea investigated. Therefore, cowpea moisture contents of 11.05 % and threshing cylinder speeds of 900 rpm are the crop-machine parameters combination for optimum thresher performance. The performance of the machine is satisfactory; small-scale farmers will find more comfort in using it for threshing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirteen long duration pigeonpea genotypes with two checks Bahar and MAL-13 were screened against pod fly damage for two consecutive years during kharif 2017 and 2018 at the Agricultural Research Farm, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. In order to screen the pigeonpea genotypes the experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design and replicated thrice and kept free from spray of insecticides. To assess the degree of infestation caused by pod fly, hundred pods were picked out randomly from each replication of each genotype at the time of harvest and the per cent pod and grain damage was assessed. Investigation revealed that none of the entry was found free from incidence of pod fly. On the basis of present study, the genotypes with lowest pod and grain damage may be used in resistant breeding programme for improvement or developing resistant varieties of pigeonpea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many plant species have the potential to be used as therapeutic and medicinal agents. Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. (Rutaceae) is an example of a plant with numerous medicinal characteristics. Diarrhoea, dysentery, diabetes, cancer, leucoderma, asthama, constipation, peptic ulcer, and other ailments have all been treated with this herb in traditional medicine. The purpose of this study is to investigate the capacity of A. mermelos leaves to protect stored wheat from infestation by the rice weevil, S. oryzae. Toxicity of insect-resistant plants, percent grain damage, and percent weight loss were all measured in triplicates with four distinct concentrations. 0.3g, 0.6g, 1.2g and 1.8g/50g of wheat respectively. At lower concentration, the leaf powders do not showed any significant effect. At higher conc. i.e. 1.2g onwards, the leaf powder showed its effect with 100% mortality of S.oryzae, no grain damage and weight loss as compared to the control samples of wheat grain without test leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Enzymatic unhairing is a cleaner strategy for leather-making. It is a potential alternative to the traditional hair-burning process. However, several shortcomings, such as uncontrolled enzymatic reaction, and risk of grain looseness and damage have restricted the broad application of enzymatic unhairing. In this work, metal ions and organic additives were screened for lessening the hydrolytic activity of proteinase K to collagen fiber. Then, the selected additives were applied to the enzymatic unhairing process for bovine hide. The results showed that a suitable concentration of metal ions (Cu (II), Fe (III) and Al (III)) and organic additives (salicylate, laurate, adipate, gallate and epicatechin (ECG)) could diminish approximately 35% of the hydrolytic activity of proteinase K to collagen fibers. Then, the additives were applied for the bovine hide enzymatic unhairing process. Hydroxyproline determination in the unhairing float shows that applying additives could reduce collagen hydrolysis. The morphology results showed that the grain damage could be significantly reduced with the addition of the screened additives in the proteinase K enzymatic unhairing system, whereas the addition of ECG and gallate significantly slowed down the unhairing speed. This outcome provides new potential to reduce the risk of grain damage in enzymatic unhairing process. Graphical abstract

In Kenya, threshing of common beans is mainly made by traditional method using sticks and animal tramping, which are slow, inefficient and tedious. Consequently, there is a need to develop portable threshers locally available on the market for small and medium-scale farmers. The objective of this study was to simulate design variables effect on the performance of a common beans portable thresher. Sizing of design variables and parameters was the key in the development of the bean thresher. This could be achieved by costly experiments or use of prediction mathematical model equation. The later method was used by developing mathematical models from combination of Buckingham Pi theorem and reference to other similar works in literature. The predicting equation for power requirement, grain losses, grain damages, efficiency and throughput capacity were developed and validated using experimental thresher from the same study. The results showed that there was a positive correlation with R2 of 0.9. Based on actual data and 10% absolute residual error interval, the prediction performance of the developed models was above 77%. The results noted that increase in cylinder peripheral speed of the pegs resulted in the increase in power requirement, bean grains damage, threshing efficiency and throughput capacity. Also increase in effective cylinder diameter caused increase in threshing efficiency and grain damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory studies were conducted in order to assess the ability of Euphorbia balsamifera Aiton, Lawsonia inermis L., Mitracarpus hirtus (L.) DC and Senna obtusifolia (L.) Irwin and Bemeby in the protection of stored sorghum grains against damages caused by Sitophilus zeamais Motsch. Ten adult S. zeamais were introduced in 20 g of freshly harvested sorghum grains treated with 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 × 104 ppm of powders and ethanolic extracts of the botanicals separately. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) and replicated four times. The weevils were removed after 14 days leaving the grains only. All emerged adults were sieved and grain damage was assessed 84 days after treatment (DAT) while seed viability was determined after 6 months post treatment. Highest (10.00 ± 2.04 %) grain perforations (GP) was recorded in 2.5 × 104 ppm S. obtusifolia powder while 2.50 ± 1.44 % was the least GP recorded in 10.0 × 104 ppm E. balsamifera ethanolic extracts. Weight loss (WL) caused by the weevils due to their internal feeding as well as exit holes among the botanical treatments was high (4.16 ± 1.10 %) in 2.5 × 104 ppm S. obtusifolia powder, while it was low (0.89 ± 0.52 %) in 10.0 × 104 ppm E. balsamifera ethanolic extracts. Germination of treated sorghum varied between 77.50 ± 4.79 and 92.50 ± 2.50 %. The selected botanicals have shown considerable protectant ability to sorghum grains against S. zeamais infestations and could therefore be used while storing sorghum grains for seeds [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we evaluated the susceptibility of four different sorghum varieties to infestation by the khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium Everts (Coleoptera: Dermestidae), as compared with wheat, which served as a 'control' commodity. In population growth assays, there was preference for population development on wheat compared to the different sorghum varieties. In contrast, there were no significant differences in total population development among the four varieties of sorghum. However, the proportion of immature stages (larvae, pupae) in relation to the adult stage varied significantly among the different varieties. Moreover, significant differences were noted among the commodities tested regarding the final weight decrease, as well as the amount of frass and kernel damage. Our study clearly demonstrates noticeable differences in the susceptibility of the varieties to T. granarium infestation. These results show that this species can develop on different varieties of sorghum, and variety selection should be further considered in a host-plant resistance-based management program for T. granarium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven methods for storing maize were compared with traditional practice of storing maize in polypropylene bags. Twenty farmers managed the experiment under their prevailing conditions for 30 weeks. Stored grain was assessed for damage every six weeks. The dominant storage insect pests identified were the Maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais) and the Red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum). There was no significant difference (F = 87.09; P < 0.0001) in insect control and grain damage between hermetic storage and fumigation with insecticides. However, the insecticide treated polypropylene yarn (ZeroFly®) did not control insect infestation of grain for the experimental period under farmers’ management. Grain damage was significantly lower in hermetic storage and fumigated grain than ZeroFly® and polypropylene bags without fumigation. No significant difference in grain damage was found between airtight treatment alone and when combined with the use of insecticides. During storage, S. zeamais was predominant and could be of more economic importance than T. castaneum as far as maize damage is concerned. Even though ZeroFly®, and polypropylene bags without grain treatment did not control storage pests, farmers still prefered this cheap technology. Hermetic storage techniques can be recommended to farmers without the use of insecticides provided they are inexpensive, and the proper application of technologies is ensured.

As part of on-going efforts to use eco-friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides, leaf powder of Hemizygia welwitschii was sequentially extracted in hexane, acetone and methanol. Bioassays were carried out to establish the most active fraction(s) against Sitophilus zeamais in maize. Maize grains (50 g) were treated with concentrations within the range 2, 4, 6, and 10 g/kg of extract and Azadirachta indica seed oil (positive control) in the laboratory. The total number of progeny emerging from grains infested separately with S. zeamais eggs, larvae and pupae were recorded. Adult mortality counts were carried out 1, 3, 7 and 14 d post-exposure. Acetone extract was more toxic to the eggs, larvae and pupae than the other extracts, inhibiting progeny production by 90.90%, 88.10% and 100%, respectively, at the concentration 10 g/kg. For the same concentration, A. indica seed oil reduced progeny production by 100% for eggs, 96.08% for larvae and 70.93% for pupae. Hexane extract was more potent to the adult weevil than the other extracts, recording 100% mortality for the concentration 10 g/kg within 14 d. LC50 values were 0.78 (Hexane), 5.52 (acetone) and 1.69 g/kg (methanol). Extracts of H. welwitschii leaves had sufficient efficacy to be a component of storage pest management package for S. zeamais.

The puzzle of the unexpectedly high mobility of large geophysical flows has been reported as solved many times since Albert Heim drew attention to it after a disastrous landslide at Elm, Switzerland. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the hypermobility; however, no consensus position has emerged in more than a century, and debate rages on. We show a new trend of dense granular flow behavior above average normal stress of 0.3 MPa with weakening at high strain rate, which may be explained by shear‐thinning thixotropy. Experimental results for a given shear rate at normal stresses between 0.3 and 1 MPa show a bifurcation in shear‐resistance behavior. The trend of all our data deviates obviously from the traditional rheological model. We identified three regions of dense granular flow: a static region, an inertial region, and a weakening region at increasing strain rate in grain flows that results in widespread grain breakage. The former two regions agree with the traditional rheological model established at lower normal stresses; however, instead of entering a collisional region, a weakening region appeared. For gravity flows, it is possible for unstable flows to occur for certain combinations of normal stress and shear strain rate. An underlying mechanism of grain crushing and grain crushing‐induced special grain structure may greatly reduce the shear resistance due to thixotropy. The profound weakening provides a natural explanation for the observed high mobility in such geophysical behavior as the long runout of rock avalanches, fault weakening, impact‐crater evolution, and pyroclastic flows. Plain Language Summary: Very dense granular shear flows are intrinsic to many geophysical processes, such as rock avalanches, debris flows, pyroclastic flows, earthquake rupture on gouge‐filled faults, and evolution of impact craters. The rheological behavior of dense granular flows is crucial to the understanding of these high‐stress geophysical processes. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the hypermobility; however, no consensus has emerged in more than a century, and debate rages on. We show a new trend of dense granular flow behavior for crushable granular material. This new trend can be explained by the behavior of thixotropy. The granular materials show a profound decrease of shear resistance during prolonged rapid shear, which alters the material structure under the applied shear strain rate and applied normal stress. This provides a natural explanation of hypermobility of dense granular geo‐flows. Key Points: We show a new trend of dense granular flow behavior weakening at high strain rate, which may be explained by shear‐thinning thixotropyWe identified three regions of dense granular flow: a static region, an inertial region, and a weakening regionA mechanism of grain crushing may greatly reduce the shear resistance due to thixotropy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of farmers in India especially in Vidarbha Maharashtra is decreasing due to the continuous loss in cultivation. Harvesting technique is one of the primary reasons behind losses. Manual harvesting is dreary and tedious. To overcome this issue harvesting machines are accessible yet these are substantial and costly. Since farmers with small lands have constrained utilization and furthermore harvesting is done hardly twice or thrice in a year, so it is difficult to afford expensive machines. So, there is a need to develop a small scale and cost-efficient harvesting machine which is affordable and also evacuates the issue of manual harvesting. In the proposed research work combined harvester is manufactured and tested for wheat and rice. The examination work is on the simplicity of harvesting operation to the small landholders for harvesting wheat and rice crops in minimum time and at a minimum operating cost in view of various factors. Experimentation results are compared with traditional manual harvesting and standard tractor harvesting with regarding different parameters. Manufactured harvester found adequate with respect to time, labor and operating cost for small farm farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finger millet pearling process involves so many drudgery prone operations that specify the need for the development of finger millet pearling drum. The performance of pearling drum depends on its operational parameters. Therefore, this study aims to optimize the operational parameters of the pearling drum such as drum speed, concave clearance and pearling sieve size to obtain maximum pearling efficiency and minimum grain damage. The analysis was carried out using Response Surface Method along with the Box–Behnken Design tool. The optimum operational parameters were found as drum speed 7.25 m/s, concave clearance 3 mm and pearling sieve size 2 mm that predicts the maximum pearling efficiency of 98.95% and minimum grain damage of 0.73%. Finally, the performance of the pearling drum was validated setting optimum conditions. It results pearling efficiency of 99% along with 0.5% grain damage. Above results indicates that the validated pearling drum performance was better than predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Storage pests cause considerable damage to stored grains in Eritrea. A study on storage pest control was conducted at room temperature (25 °C) and 57% relative humidity, to evaluate the efficacy of botanicals and sodium chloride (table salt) against Zabrotes subfasciatus Boheman on field pea (Pisum sativum L.). The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design (CRD) in three replications. The treatments used were: neem (Azadirachta indica), red pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.), sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) oil, datura (Datura stramonium L.), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus Labill), table salt (sodium chloride) and a control without pesticide. Data collected were weight loss, damage percent and germination percent of field pea grain, and also adult mortality of Z. subfasciatus. Rates of application for all the treatments were 3% w/w and an untreated control. Results of the study showed that E. globulus leaf powder caused 88.89% mortality of Z. subfasciatus and sesame oil caused 100% mortality, three days after treatment. The other treatments were less effective in causing mortality of the insect. After five months of storage, the lowest weight loss was observed in grain treated with sesame oil (1.81%) and neem (4.02%) compared with the control that had 16.68% loss. Grain weight loss was 7.45% for treatment with table salt, 8.11% for eucalyptus, 9.62% for red pepper and 15.29% for datura. Grain damage and weight loss increased as storage time increased. Moreover, these plant materials and table salt had no effect on the germination capacity of field pea. In general, the results obtained indicate that these plant materials and table salt can be used for the control of Z. subfasciatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Machinery & Energetics is the property of National University of Life & Environmental Sciences of Ukraine and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)