<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> This paper deals with milk processing with emphasis on pasteurization. The heat treatment of milk is important in terms of product quality and health safety. The goal of this paper is determination of heat consumption, inactivation effect and Pasteur criterion, by which pasteurization effectiveness is evaluated. The methodical part contains calculations, which were used for estimation of results and description of a pasteurization station used for milk processing. Results obtained in usual working time confirmed that necessary heating and cooling performance were achieved for guarantee of high-quality milk production. Real specific heat consumption was 51.69 kJ/kg. It was achieved by use of regeneration sections in the pasteurizer. These sections allow for a repeated use of 82 % of heat used for heating of raw milk in pasteurization.</abstract>

Heat Consumption and Quality of Milk Pasteurization

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Presented paper is focused on comparison of certain physical properties of selected vegetable oils. Physical properties, such as density, dynamic, kinematic viscosity and fluidity, were experimentally determined. All experiments were conducted on two samples of vegetable oils: sunflower and extra virgin olive oils with approximate temperature range of 5–32 °C. Density of oils was determined by oscillation method utilizing digital densimeter Anton Paar DMA 4500M at different temperatures. Dynamic viscosity was measured by means of rotational viscometer Anton Paar DV-3P. The rest of rheological parameters were determined on the basis of their definitions. Obtained results are depicted as graphical dependencies of rheological parameters and density on temperature. These dependencies of vegetable oils on dynamic and kinematic viscosity showed decreasing exponential shape, which is in compliance with Arrhenius equation; temperature dependencies on fluidity showed an increasing exponential shape for both samples. Density dependencies of samples on temperature were characteristic with decreasing linear function within measured temperature range. Similar results were achieved by other researchers. On the basis of measured values, it is evident that dynamic viscosity of extra virgin olive oil shows higher values than sunflower oil viscosity, which is a result of different composition of oils.</abstract>

Selected Physical Properties Assessment of Sunflower and Olive Oils

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> The effect of loading rate as well as the cocoa content on the tensile strength of dark chocolate has been studied. Tensile strength was measured using the Brazilian test. The main advantage of this test consists in the use of a specimen of simple geometry in comparison with a specimen for tensile tests. Tensile strength increases with loading rate. The cocoa content exhibits the same effect.</abstract>

Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic

Institute of Thermomechanics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

Tensile Strength of Dark Chocolate

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Controlled traffic farming is a machinery management system that confines all field vehicles to the least possible area of permanent traffic lanes. It has developed in response to research evidence of widespread soil damage from compaction due to field traffic. The history of research on soil compaction is explored and found to be a relatively new phenomenon. Controlled traffic farming as a topic for research did not appear until the 1980s although its principles and benefits were well established before then. Research expanded over the next decades but changed subtly to more reviews on the topic as well as emphasis on environmental deliverables and some economics studies. Few if any researchers attempted to develop on-farm systems using existing machinery until the mid 1990s when a small and dedicated team in Australia encouraged farmers to experiment. This quickly led to rapid expansion across the continent to its present day c. 13% of the cropped area. Despite changes to extension services in northern Europe at around the turn of the century and a move to subsidiarity, this did not alter the model of controlled traffic adoption. This followed a similar pattern to that in Australia involving individuals rather than organizations.</abstract>

Controlled Traffic Farming – From Worldwide Research To Adoption In Europe And Its Future Prospects

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Goal of this study was to investigate and evaluate an impact of two alternative fuels on smoke emissions in comparison to diesel fuel. This study observes three different combustion engine fuels: biodiesel produced by Meroco, Inc. Company (Alternative fuel I); biodiesel produced in factory situated in Sereď (Alternative fuel II); and conventional diesel fuel (Diesel fuel) from Slovnaft, Inc. Company service station. All measurements were repeated three times. Measurements were conducted by free acceleration test at different engine loads. A statistically significant difference (<italic>P</italic> &lt;0.05) in smoke emissions values was detected between Alternative fuel I and conventional Diesel fuel, and between Alternative fuel I and Alternative fuel II. The difference in smoke emissions values between conventional fuel and Alternative fuel II was not statistically significant (<italic>P</italic> &gt;0.05). Tested engine has met the requirements of the EURO 3 emission limit values in relation to the measurement results of particulate matter emissions.
</abstract>

Comparison of Smoke Emissions in Different Combustion Engine Fuels

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
This paper deals with the determination of the absolute errors of a small time of flight (ToF) distance sensor with respect to coloured surfaces at different illumination intensities. The aim was to determine the absolute error of the measured distance by the VL53L1X sensor when set to short-mode and long-mode at different illumination intensities: 10 lx and 350 lx depending on the coloured surface using regression analysis methods. The research was performed using 7 colour samples with different spectral colours determined according to the CIE Lab colour model. Based on the performed experiments, it was found that the error at different sensor settings, change of colour surface and different illumination intensity is approximated by a linear function only up to a certain measured distance. The process is influenced by proposed factors such as: illumination intensity, coloured surface with different illumination reflectance and signal-noise parameters of the tested sensor during the experiment.
</abstract>

Characteristics of Distance Errors of Infrared Sensor Relation to Colour Surfaces

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The paper deals with the evaluation of service brake braking of a selected group of vehicles depending on the wear of brake system‘s parts. During the research, the technical condition of brake systems, the degree of wear of brake discs, brake pads, and the measurement of braking forces using a roller brake tester was monitored and evaluated on a sample of 16 intercity buses for a period of three years. The measurement was carried out on 2 selected intercity buses SOR C 10.5 and IVECO Crossway. The maximum braking forces on both axles of buses were measured using a roller brake tester. Then, the percentage braking of the vehicle was calculated and compared with the minimum required braking according to applicable legislation. Based on the inspection of technical condition of brake pads and discs, it was possible to detect the wear and tear of these elements of the brake system (which was manifested during the inspection of the vehicle on the roller brake tester), and it was also possible to record the insufficient value of the required minimum braking during the calculation.
</abstract>

Evaluation of Service Brake Braking of Selected Group of Vehicles Depending on Wear of Brake System‘s Parts

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Precision agriculture (PA) is a farm management strategy that relies on various technologies to improve the productivity and sustainability of farming operations. The adoption of PA entails on-farm and off-farm benefits; however, the adoption rates remain low in Iran. Using the socio-psychological framework of the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study examined agricultural extension experts‘ intentions to use precision agricultural technologies (PATs) in Ardabil province, Iran. Structural equation modelling (SEM-PLS) was used to map the components of the TAM (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and attitudes toward PATs). All the components of the TAM showed a significant effect on experts‘ intentions, confirming the importance of socio-psychological variables in predicting agricultural experts‘ decision to apply PATs. Experts perceived PATs as helpful and relatively easy to use. In addition, they had positive attitudes toward PATs and intended to use most PA technologies. The TAM posits that two attitudinal components of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) determine acceptance and use. PU is the degree to which one believes using technology would enhance job performance, while PEU is the degree to which using technology is free of effort. The results showed that PEU and PU had a positive impact on attitudes. The three constructs positively affected behavioural intention toward the application of PATs and explained 68.8% of the variance of this construct. Due to the novelty of PA in the country, PEU was the most critical determinant of intention.
</abstract>

Extension Experts‘ Intentions to use Precision Agricultural Technologies, a Test with the Technology Acceptance Model

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The study aimed to determine the optimal pulverisation index of soil for disk harrow by modelling. A mathematical model was developed using a Design-Expert software and response surface methodology. Experiments were carried out in silty loamy soil with three different levels of soil moisture content of 9.25%, 17.56%, and 22.32%, operating depths of 10 cm, 15 cm, and 20 cm, and operating speeds of 3.17, 4.85, and 5.47 km·h-1. The quadratic model proposed by the Design-Expert software was statistically significant (<italic>P</italic> &lt;0.01), with a strong correlation relationship (<italic>R</italic>2 = 0.989) between actual and predicted soil pulverisation index values. The adequacy precision achieved at 41.84 showed the models‘ ability to navigate the design space. However, statistical analysis, using the <italic>t</italic>-test and <italic>P</italic>-value, showed the actual and predicted values have no significant differences in the pulverisation index of soil. The optimal soil pulverisation index (8.61 mm) was achieved with a desirability of 1.00, at a soil moisture content of 14.43%, an operating depth of 11.64 cm, and a forward speed of 5.30 km·h-1. Model validation confirmed acceptability (<italic>R</italic>2 = 0.974) and a 99% accuracy in predicting the soil pulverisation index.
</abstract>

Optimisation and Modelling of Soil Pulverisation Index Using Response Surface Methodology for Disk Harrow Under Different Operational Conditions

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The present study compares the consequences of soil compaction due to machinery in a selected 13.7 ha plot at Hronské Kosihy (Slovak Republic). The crop was winter wheat, while the changes of selected soil properties (penetration resistance and gravimetric soil water content) were monitored. The experimental plot was divided into 11 zones with different initial status of compaction: one of them was the reference zone without compaction (P1), five zones were out of the track line, four were directly in the track lines, and one was a collection route. The number of passages in each zone was from 0 up to more than 15. The impact of the number of machinery passages on gravimetric soil water content was found significant both in and out of the track lines with an average value of 17.37%. The monitoring of the passage number showed to be important also in the monitoring of soil penetration resistance (<italic>P</italic> &lt;0.05). The average value of penetration resistance in the P1 zone was 2.33 MPa. The dependence of soil compaction on passages (<italic>P</italic> &lt;0.05) was identified by the assessment and comparison of individual impacts of passages in the track zones (P3, P4, P6, and P7). A similar scenario was found also in case of the dependence of soil compaction on the passages monitored off the track lines (P2, P5). Also, the change of tire pressure was statistically significant, its decrease from 0.19 to 0.15 MPa showed to be beneficial. The highest compaction was monitored in the passages in P11 with an average value of 5.36 MPa, representing 2.3 times higher values than the reference one. The creation of a collection line enables reducing the compaction of the entire plot. The collection line should cover only a very small part of the plot.
</abstract>

Impact of Machinery Passages on Soil Compaction in Field Conditions

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The greenhouse sector is responsible for the largest proportion of total final energy consumption in agriculture. One effective method to reduce overall energy consumption in greenhouses is through an economical and efficient control strategy. In this study, a computer program was developed using the Visual Basic programming language to calculate the required heat flow for the growth and cultivation of greenhouse crops in most cities of Iran. The results indicated that the plastic covering material with double artificial plates was superior to other materials in maintaining internal heat. In the cities of Shiraz and Yazd, it was possible to cultivate pepper, tomato, cucumber, rose, lettuce, and strawberry with heat flow within the range of 0–24 kW and 0–30 kW, respectively. For colder cities such as Tabriz and Arak, the investigated parameter was calculated to be within the ranges of 24–70 kW and 17–63 kW, respectively. When comparing two other greenhouse covering materials, the minimum and maximum heat flow required for lettuce (glass with steel frame – Yazd and Shiraz) and rose cultivation (glass single plate – Tabriz) were observed to be 0 kW and 156.75 kW, respectively.
</abstract>

Evaluating Required Heat Flow by Software Analyses in Greenhouses: Case Study of Iran

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Corn is rich in fibre, vitamins, and minerals, and it is a nutritious source of carbohydrates. The area under corn cultivation is very large because, in addition to providing food for humans and animals, it is also used for raw materials for industrial products. Corn cultivation is exposed to the damage of various pests such as armyworm. A regional monitoring of pests is intended to actively track the population of this pest in a specific geography; one of the ways of monitoring is using the image processing technology. Therefore, the aim of this research was to identify healthy and armyworm-infected leaves using image processing and deep neural network in the form of 4 structures named AlexNet, DenseNet, EfficientNet, and GoogleNet. A total of 4500 images, including healthy and infected leaves, were collected. Next, models were trained by train data. Then, test data were evaluated using the evaluation criteria such as accuracy, precision, and F score. Results indicated all the classifiers obtained the precision above 98%, but the EfficientNet-based classifier was more successful in classification with the precision of 100%, accuracy of 99.70%, and <italic>F</italic>-score of 99.68%.
</abstract>

Identification of Armyworm-Infected Leaves in Corn by Image Processing and Deep Learning

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>This paper presents a review on current and emerging application possibilities for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The introduction section of the paper briefly describes some of the application areas in which drones are currently being used. The next chapters of the paper describe more detailly the use of UAVs for aerial photography, filming, security and logistics, GIS, land and water surveys. The main focus of the last chapters is on the advantages and the disadvantages of the drones usage in precision agriculture, wildlife and nature observations and archaeology. The last chapters also provide information on how the advanced information technology solutions can be implemented in order to provide means for fighting invasive species, to increase the yield of certain crops, to monitor and predict flooding, wildfires and other disasters, etc. This paper provides only overview of the most interesting and widely available applications of the UAVs, but there are also many other more specific and dedicated solutions for implementation of the drones for different purposes.</abstract>

A Review on Current and Emerging Application Possibilities for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> The Six Sigma DMAIC can be considered a guide for problem solving and product or process improvement. The majority of companies start to implement Six Sigma using the DMAIC methodology. The paper deals with application of Six Sigma using the DMAIC methodology in the process of product quality control. The case study is oriented on the field of metallurgical operations. The goal of the Six Sigma project was to ensure the required metallurgic product quality and to avoid an increase in internal costs associated with poor product quality. In this case study, a variety of tools and techniques like flow chart, histogram, Pareto diagram, analysis of FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) data, cause and effect diagram, logical analysis was used. The Sigma level has improved by approximately 13%. The achieved improvements have helped to reduce the quantity of defective products and the processing costs (technology for re-adjusting). Benefits resulting from the DMAIC implementation can be divided into three levels: the qualitative, economic and safety level.</abstract>

Application of Six Sigma Using DMAIC Methodology in the Process of Product Quality Control in Metallurgical Operation

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
In the recent years, robotic systems became more advanced and more accessible. This has led to their slow, but stable integration and use in different processes and applications, including in the agricultural domain. Nowadays, agricultural robots are developed with the aim to replace the human labour in the otherwise exhausting, time-consuming or dangerous activities. Agricultural robotic systems provide many advantages, which can differ based on the type of the robot and its sensors, actuators and communication systems. This paper presents the design, the construction process, the main characteristics and the evaluation of a prototype of a small-scale agricultural robot that can be used for some of the simplest activities in agricultural enterprises. The robot is designed as an end-user autonomous mobile system, which is capable of self-localization and can map or inspect a specific farming area. The decision-making capabilities of the robot are based on artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, which allow it to perform specific actions in accordance to the situation and the surrounding environment. The presented prototype is in its early development and evaluation stages and the paper concludes with discussions on the possible further improvements of the platform.
</abstract>

Artificial Intelligence-Driven Autonomous Robot for Precision Agriculture

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> Strawberry is a non-climacteric fruit with a limited harvesting period. Because of high susceptibility to mechanical damage, strawberry has a small postharvest life. In this research, an experiment was designed to study the mechanical damage phenomena in strawberry during the harvest and postharvest operations together with some physical properties of strawberry. Influences of some other factors such as variety, fruit position in the box as well as box position on the truck were also investigated. Results indicated that the variety, operation stage, fruit position in the box, and box position on the truck, had significant effects on the extent of the fruits‘ mechanical damage. Maximum damage index was related to picking stage. The variety Gaviota showed more susceptibility to mechanical damage than Selva. The maximum damage occurred at the bottom rows in the boxes. Furthermore, it was observed that the higher the position of a box on the truck, the more the susceptibility of fruits would be to mechanical damage.</abstract>

Mechanical Damage Of Strawberry During Harvest And Postharvest Operations

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> This paper deals with the relationship between grain yield and grain losses during harvest. Measurements were carried out on a combine harvester with axial harvesting device allowing various adjustments to combine harvester parameter settings, such as rotor speed, gap between separator and rotor, fan speed, holes of the upper and lower sieves. Values of harvest losses in combine harvester with custom settings for the given crops were compared with values of losses obtained by a harvester with manufacturer’s recommended settings. This paper observes the losses in grains of spring barley and winter wheat crops. All the measurements made showed lower grain losses when the combine harvester settings were customized. In general, custom settings provided quantitative losses lower by 0.198% than settings recommended by manufacturer.</abstract>

Influence of the Combine Harvester Parameter Settings on Harvest Losses

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Acta Technologica Agriculturae

The Scientific Journal for Agricultural Engineering
The Journal of Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra

 Acta Technologica Agriculturae (ATA) is an international scientific journal focused on agricultural engineering. The journal is multidisciplinary and publishes a wide range of...

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 Acta Technologica Agriculturae (ATA) is an international scientific journal focused on agricultural engineering. The journal is...

Acta Technologica Agriculturae

The Scientific Journal for Agricultural Engineering The Journal of Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra

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