Agricultural Engineering Research Papers/Topics

ESTIMATING CROP WATER REQUIREMENT AND YIELD OF OKRA IN BIOCHAR AMENDED SOIL

ABSTRACT Vegetable crop production in Ghana over the past years has been a challenge due to water scarcity. The unpredictable and insufficient rainfalls has been a drawback on improving crop production and yield. This study aimed at estimating crop water requirement (CWR) and yield of okra in biochar amended soil. The FAO 56 dual crop coefficient approach was used to estimate CWR of a local variety of the test crop, okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.). Models were developed to predict crop coeff...

THE EFFECTS OF PRE-HARVEST FOLIAR SPRAY AND POST-HARVEST DIP OF ETHEPHON ON THE PHYSIOLOGY AND QUALITY OF ORANGE-FLESHED SWEET POTATO APOMUDEN DURING STORAGE

ABSTRACT The postharvest storage of sweet potato roots in the tropics is a major challenge in the crop’s value chain as it deteriorates readily in the hot climate. Although prolonged storage in the cold chain has been shown to be feasible, technical and economic constraints in the tropics makes cold storage inaccessible to growers and retailers of sweet potato. It has been demonstrated in several studies that the plant hormone ethylene greatly influences metabolic changes in many types of h...

EVALUATION OF SOME FARM STRUCTURE IN SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT A survey involving the use of questionnaires, personal communication, physical observation and photographic recording was undertaken in South western Nigeria comprising of Ekiti, Ogun, On do, Osun and Oyo states to identify the farm structures popularly used; materials used in their construction, their durability and maintenance culture adopted by the users. Farmhouses, cribs, barns, platforms, warehouses, silos, pens, yards and sheds, deep litter houses, palm fronds woven baskets, ...

PROBLEMSAND PROSPECTS OF METAL SILOS FOR GRAIN STORAGE IN WESTERN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT A survey involving the use of structured questionnaires and personal communication was carried out in Western Nigeria to ascertain the type and extent of use of silos for the storage of grains.

EFFECT OF INITIAL LAND PREPARATION METHODS ON SELECTED SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES IN AFRAM PLAINS, GHANA

Abstract The objective of the study was to determine the most appropriate methods of initial land preparations in Afram Plains based on their effect on selected soil physical properties such as dry bulk density, porosity, hydraulic conductivity and available water content. The study also sought to estimate the cost of preparing farm lands in the Afram Plains. The study was conducted in Odumesua in the Afram Plains District sampling soil from fields prepared with three identified and categoriz...

THE EFFECTS OF DEFICIT IRRIGATION, DEFICIT IRRIGATIONCHICKEN MANURE AND DEFICIT IRRIGATION-NPK 15:15:15 INTERACTIONS ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF OKRA (Abelmoschus esculentus) IN POT AND FIE

ABSTRACT The research was conducted at University of Cape Coast Research Farm, Cape Coast, Ghana, from February 2014 to February 2015. The objective of the research was to investigate the effects of deficit irrigation, deficit irrigationchicken manure combination and deficit irrigation-NPK 15:15:15 combination on the growth and yield of Okra in pot and field experiments. The Randomized Complete Block Design was used for the pot experiment with nine (9) treatments replicated three (3) times....

DETERMINATION OF ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF TWO SOILS AT FOHREC (KADE) AND SIREC (KPONG)

ABSTRACT Agriculture, its operations, and soils properties are inter-related. Cultivation of crops; tillage, irrigation and farm operations, commuting to and from farm plot and building of structures are greatly influenced by the soil specifically its properties. Shear stress, cohesion and angle of friction are parameters that play major roles in influencing how soils are used or worked on. It is, therefore, important to determine the shear stress, cohesion and angle of friction of the soils ...

DETERMINATION OF MODULI OF ELASTICITY AND RUPTURE AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF THE OIL PALM TRUNK

ABSTRACT The moduli of elasticity and rupture and the energy to cause failure under impact load of the oil palm trunk were determined.

Assessment of Injuries in Small Scale Sawmill Industry of South Western Nigeria

ABSTRACT Body injuries sustained in sawmill industry as a result of mill site activities in Ondo, Oyo and Osun states in the Western part of Nigeria was investigated. Nigeria Sawmill Industries are essentially distributed between small, medium and large scale in the proportion of 81%: 13%: 6% respectively (RMRDC, 2003). A survey involving the use of questionnaire, participatory approaches, on-the-spot assessments and interviews were used as tools for investigation. A total of 140 injury cases...

Determination of Discharge Co-efficient of Rectangular Side Weirs

ABSTRACT The characteristics of flow over side weirs are taken into consideration to verify the discharge coefficient for subcritical flow conditions under the assumption of constant specific energy. The main channel discharge, length of weir crest and sill height of the weir are treated as controlled variables. The discharge coefficient Cd is found to depend 011 the Upstream Froude No 171 and also on the ratio of sill height to upstream flow depth S/Yl . Simple linear regression analysis was...

THE EFFECTS OF MOISTURE AND FERMENTATION PERIODS ON THE PHYSICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF ‘AMELONADO’ AND ‘HYBRID’ VARIETIES OF COCOA BEANS

ABSTRACT The effect of moisture content (5-24%) on some physical and compressive properties of the ‘Amelonado’ and ‘Hybrid’ varieties of cocoa beans were studied. Alongside, the effects of fermentation periods (0-8 days) on the biochemical profiles of the dried beans were studied in three morphological parts (whole bean, nib and shell). Four experiments were separately conducted as completely randomized, factorial designs. Compared to the ‘Amelonado’ variety, the axial dimension...

ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON PEANUT YIELD IN SENEGAL THROUGH A MODELLING APPROACH

ABSTRACT This study assess of the potential impact of climate change on peanut yield in Senegal. Seven field experiments were conducted at three sites in the dry seasons of 2014 and 2015 and the rainy season of 2014. SIMPLACE1 crop model was calibration and validation at two sites Bambey and Nioro and for two peanut cultivars over two years. To assess the impact of climate change on peanut growth and yield in Senegal, outputs of four Regional Climate Models were used together accounting for ...

ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF SHEA WASTE FOR ENERGY GENERATION

ABSTRACT In search for an alternative source of energy and also in order to utilize the shea waste in an appropriate way and to reduce its negative impact on the environment, the waste was investigated to identify its potential in methane generation through anaerobic digestion. The basic raw materials for the study were shea waste and cow dung. Input substrates were prepared with addition of predetermined amounts of water to bring the substrates to the required organic dry matter (odm) conc...

CALIBRATION AND VALIDATION OF THE FAO AQUACROP MODEL FOR TOMATO (Solanum lycopersicon) IN THE COASTAL SAVANNAH AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ZONE OF GHANA.

ABSTRACT Two field experiments were conducted to compare the growth and yield of tomatoes using experimentation and FAO AquaCrop model at the University of Cape Coast Teaching and Research Farm in the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly of the Central Region of Ghana. The Randomized Complete Block Design was used with four (4) treatments and four(4) replications for the two experiments. The treatments used for both experiments were T1 – Full irrigation (100 %), T2 – 90 % irrigation, T3 – 8...

THE USE OF LOCAL BUILDING MATERIALS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF FARM STRUCTURES IN WESTERN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT A Survey of the pattern of usage of building materials in the small - to - medium farms in Western Nigeria was undertaken. Wood was the commonest construction material in use, followed by earth products and natural fibres. Decay,and weathering of natural fibres including timber; arid the erosion of earth products were the major problems experienced with their uses. Treatment of the natural products before use was found wanting. Adequate seasoning and preservative treatment of natural...


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