Search Results (19)

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in agriculture is a critical concern worldwide, with self-propelled machinery accidents, particularly tip/roll-overs, being a leading cause of injuries and fatalities. In such a context, while great attention has been paid to machinery safety improvement, a major challenge is the lack of studies addressing the analysis of the work environment to provide farmers with precise information on field slope steepness. This information, merged with an awareness of machinery performance, such as tilt angles, can facilitate farmers in making decisions about machinery operations in hilly and mountainous areas. To address this gap, the Italian Compensation Authority (INAIL) launched a research programme to integrate georeferenced slope data with the tilt angle specifications of common self-propelled machinery, following EN ISO 16231-2:2015 standards. This study presents the first results of this research project, which was focused on vineyards in the alpine region of the Autonomous Province of Trento, where terrestrial LiDAR technology was used to analyze slope steepness. The findings aim to provide practical guidelines for safer machinery operation, benefiting farmers, risk assessors, and manufacturers. By enhancing awareness of tip/roll-over risks and promoting informed decision-making, this research aims to contribute to improving OHS in agriculture, particularly in challenging terrains. Full article

There are extensive areas of mugwort cultivation in China, making efficient harvesting crucial for the industry’s economic performance. However, the lack of specialized harvesting machinery for hilly and mountainous regions leads to reliance on manual operations, characterized by high labor intensity and low efficiency. To address these issues, a self-propelled mugwort harvester is designed based on mugwort planting patterns and the physical characteristics of mugwort during the harvesting period. Key structural components, such as drum dimensions, tooth shapes, and tine arrangements, are developed, and a defoliation force model is established to identify factors influencing the net rate of mugwort leaf harvesting, impurity rate, and mugwort leaf usability. The harvester employs a fully hydraulic drive system, for which the hydraulic system is designed and components are selected. A quadratic regression orthogonal rotary test determines the optimal parameters: a forward speed of 0.8 m/s, drum speed of 200 r/min, and cutting table height of 50 mm. Field tests show that the harvester achieves a net rate of mugwort leaf harvesting of 93.78%, an impurity rate of 13.96%, a mugwort leaf usability of 86.23%, and an operational efficiency of 0.155 hm²/h, while maintaining stable operation under field conditions. Beyond these performance metrics, the harvester reduces dependency on manual labor, lowers operational costs, and increases profitability for farmers. By improving the sustainability and mechanization of mugwort harvesting, this study provides an efficient solution for mugwort cultivation in hilly and mountainous regions and contributes to the sustainable development of the industry. Full article

Recent technological advancements and evolving regulatory frameworks are catalysing the integration of renewable energy sources in construction equipment, with the objective of significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The electrification of non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), particularly self-propelled Rough-Terrain Variable Reach Trucks (RTVRT) equipped with telescopic booms, presents notable stability challenges. The transition from diesel to electric propulsion systems alters, among other factors, the centre of gravity and the inertial matrix, necessitating precise load capacity determinations through detailed load charts to ensure operational safety. This paper introduces a virtual model constructed through multiphysics modelling utilising the bond graph methodology, incorporating both scalar and vector bonds to facilitate detailed interconnections between mechanical and hydraulic domains. The model encompasses critical components, including the chassis, rear axle, telescopic boom, attachment fork, and wheels, each requiring a comprehensive three-dimensional treatment to accurately resolve spatial dynamics. An illustrative case study, supported by empirical data, demonstrates the model’s capabilities, particularly in calculating ground wheel reaction forces and analysing the hydraulic self-levelling behaviour of the attachment fork. Notably, discrepancies within a 10% range are deemed acceptable, reflecting the inherent variability of field operating conditions. Experimental analyses validate the BG-3D simulation model of the telehandler implemented in 20-SIM establishing it as an effective tool for estimating stability limits with satisfactory precision and for predicting dynamic behaviour across diverse operating conditions. Additionally, the paper discusses prospective enhancements to the model, such as the integration of the virtual vehicle model with a variable inclination platform in future research phases, aimed at evaluating both longitudinal and lateral stability in accordance with ISO 22915 standards, promoting operator safety. Full article

To address the challenges of digging deep-rhizome Chinese herbal medicines in northwest China’s hilly terrain, including difficulty, incompleteness, and herb damage, a specialized self-propelled digger with interlocking teeth has been developed. Designed for complex topography, small fields, and resistant soil, this digger provides an efficient and precise alternative to traditional methods. The prototype features in-place reverse differential steering, 360-degree digging capability, and minimized root and soil damage to promote future planting. Key components, including the digging mechanism, vibratory system, crawler chassis, hydraulic transmission system, and worm gear rotary hydraulic reducer, were analyzed and optimized through theoretical, graphical, and simulation studies using RecurDyn. Field tests demonstrated the digger’s effectiveness, achieving depths exceeding 600 mm with minimal herb damage and loss. The digger successfully navigated steep slopes and operated within noise regulations, surpassing industry standards, with less than 1.4% herb damage and a loss rate under 3%. The digger was capable of ascending gradients over 20° with driver noise levels below 92 dB. This innovative solution offers a valuable reference for developing specialized diggers for harvesting traditional Chinese medicinal materials in challenging conditions. Full article

The high clearance spray is a type of large and efficient agricultural machinery used for plant protection, and path tracking control is the key to ensure the efficient and safe operation of spray. Sliding mode control and other methods are commonly used abroad to track vehicles, while fuzzy control, neural networks and other methods are commonly used at home. However, domestic and foreign research on autonomous agricultural machinery is mainly focused on tractors and other machinery, while research on self-propelled spray in high clearance is less abundant. This paper takes the path tracking algorithm in the integrated navigation system of spray as the main research goal, studies the path tracking control algorithm for straight lines and turning curves that can realize the automatic driving of spray by establishing the path tracking algorithm for unmanned spray based on dual control strategies, designs the path tracking controller, including the preview model theoretical path tracking controller and variable domain fuzzy controller, and determines the preview model through the design of the preview model theoretical path tracking controller. The lateral and longitudinal errors of the model algorithm are analyzed, and the driving characteristics under the complex spray road surface are analyzed. The design of the variable domain fuzzy predictor theory path tracking controller is proposed, and the design of the road model selection controller is calculated and analyzed in detail, including the determination of the road roughness coefficient and the selection of the range of the difference between the average value of the excitation before and after sampling, which improves the performance of the spray path tracking algorithm. The experiment shows that the proposed path tracking control algorithm can meet the path tracking requirements of unmanned spray in the current road environment, and provide a reliable solution for the automatic control of high clearance spray. Full article

The precision of agro-technical operations is one of the main hallmarks of a modern approach to agriculture. However, ensuring the precise application of plant protection products or the performance of mechanical field operations entails significant costs for sophisticated positioning systems. This paper explores the integration of precision positioning based on the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) in agriculture, particularly in fieldwork operations, seeking solutions of moderate cost with sufficient precision. This study examines the impact of GNSSs on automation and robotisation in agriculture, with a focus on intelligent agricultural guidance. It also discusses commercial devices that enable the automatic guidance of self-propelled machinery and the benefits that they provide. This paper investigates GNSS-based precision localisation devices under real field conditions. A comparison of commercial and low-cost GNSS solutions, along with the integration of satellite navigation with advanced visual odometry for improved positioning accuracy, is presented. The research demonstrates that affordable solutions based on the common differential GNSS infrastructure can be applied for accurate localisation under real field conditions. It also underscores the potential of GNSS-based automation and robotisation in transforming agriculture into a more efficient and sustainable industry. Full article

The field harvesting process of harvesting machinery is often affected by high workload and environmental factors that can impede/delay manual rowing, thereby leading to lower efficiency and quality in the residual film collector. To address this challenge, an automatic rowing control system using the 4mz-220d self-propelled residual film collector as the experimental carrier was proposed in this study. Cotton stalks in the ridges were chosen as the research object, and a comprehensive application of key technologies, machinery, and electronic control was used, thereby incorporating a pure tracking model as the path-tracking control method. To achieve the automatic rowing function during the field traveling process, the fuzzy control principle was implemented to adjust the forward distance within the pure tracking model dynamically, and the expected steering angle of the steering wheel was determined based on the kinematic model of the recovery machine. The MATLAB/Simulink software was utilized to simulate and analyze the proposed model, thus achieving significant improvements in the automation level of the residual film collector. The field harvesting tests showed that the average deviation of the manual rowing was 0.144 m, while the average deviation of the automatic rowing was 0.066 m. Moreover, the average lateral deviation of the automatic rowing was reduced by 0.078 m with a probability of deviation within 0.1 m of 95.71%. The research study demonstrated that the designed automatic rowing system exhibited high stability and robustness, thereby meeting the requirements of the autonomous rowing operations of residual film collectors. The results of this study can serve as a reference for future research on autonomous navigation technology in agriculture. Full article

China’s Guizhou is a typical karst landscape province with high production of chili pepper, but it is mostly planted in mountainous areas, while manual harvesting of chili pepper has the deficiencies of high labor intensity, low efficiency, and high labor cost; in addition, there is no harvesting machinery applicable to the dense planting pattern of the chili pepper in mountainous areas in China. The fully hydraulic mountain track-based self-propelled pepper harvester 4JZ-1.0A is designed to solve the above problems. The pepper harvester spiral comb picking head is an important part of the whole machine design, the design of the hydraulic system of the working circuit of the picking head is the key to realizing the hydraulic control part of the whole system. In this paper, the working principle diagram of the improved load-sensitive hydraulic system is designed and analyzed for the study of whether the working circuit of the pepper picking head of the pepper machine can meet the requirements of mountain operation, taking the working circuit of the mountain pepper harvester as the research object. In addition, the load-sensitive pump model and the simulation model of the whole working circuit are established by the AMESim platform 2019.2 (Siemens simcenter amesim). The operating performance of the system under variable flow conditions, variable load conditions, and an improved sensitive system is analyzed. The simulation results show that the improved load-sensitive system can effectively reduce the oscillation and cavitation during cylinder operation and improve the system efficiency and the performance and service life of the components. The performance of the hydraulic system of the working circuit of the mountain pepper harvester was verified in the test, meeting the requirements of working use. This provides a theoretical basis for the improvement and optimal design of a mountain pepper harvester hydraulic system. Full article

The modern world industry involves the use of innovative approaches and optimisations of the existing agricultural management methods, which contribute to the implementation of the sustainable development of related industries and economies of different countries. The use of mobile agricultural units with extended functional properties can have a steady demand in the agricultural machinery market and contribute to the practical implementation of the philosophy of the “European Green Deal”. The research results show that when assembling a unit for mowing agricultural crops with simultaneous grinding and placing their stubble in the soil, preference should be given to a self-propelled machine with rear swivel wheels. When using a wheeled tractor, it must have a reversible control post and a reversible transmission. A mathematical model of the collecting unit was developed, which allows for obtaining the corresponding amplitude and phase frequency characteristics and, with their help, the stability of the horizontal movement was evaluated. According to the results of field studies, the dispersion of the angle of directional oscillation of the tractor with front-steered wheels was 4.48 grad². For the tractor with rear-steered wheels, the value of this statistical parameter was 2.90 grad², which, according to the F-test at the level of statistical significance of 0.05, is naturally lower. Full article

Vibration assessment of upland crop machinery under development is essential because high vibrational exposures affect machine efficiency, service life of components, degradation of the working environment, and cause health risks to the operator. It is intensively assessed for automobiles as well as large off-road agricultural vehicles (i.e., tractors). However, it is mostly overlooked in the case of the small or medium riding-type upland utility vehicles. Therefore, the vibration exposures of a 12-kilowatt self-propelled riding-type automatic onion transplanter were measured and evaluated to assess the performance of onion transplantation and the operator’s comfort in this study. Different types of driving surfaces, operating statuses (static and driving), and load conditions were considered to analyze the vibration exposure. The precision of transplantations was evaluated while operating the transplanter on the soil surface with different driving speeds and load conditions. Tri-axial accelerometers and a LabVIEW-coded program were used for data acquisition. The vibrational exposures were evaluated based on ISO standards, and power spectral density (PSD) was estimated to assess the major frequencies. According to the statistical analysis, the daily exposure value (A(8)) and the vibration dose value (VDV) varied from 10 to 15 ms⁻² and 20 to 31 ms^−1.75, respectively, which exceeded the ISO 2631-1 standards (i.e., A(8): 1.15 ms⁻² and VDV: 21 ms^−1.75). The calculated health risk factor (R^A) was moderate. Moreover, a high weighted acceleration (around 8 ms⁻²) was observed on the seedling conveyor belt, which might result in missing seedlings during transplanting. The vibration exposures of the developed onion transplanter need to be minimized following the ISO standards, and vibration reduction would also improve the market competitiveness. Full article

Growing demand for forest machines that cost less to operate than current compared to traditional hydraulic and mechanical ones, along with regulatory pressures for lower emissions, is increasing manufacturers’ interest in developing electric and hybrid drives. While purely electric drives of forest machines meet a lot of bottlenecks (costs of the electric components, battery durability, duration of charging, access to the electrical grid, size of batteries that can ensure enough energy for 8 h working time), electric hybrid drives offer a favorable solution for the propulsion of forestry machinery in terms of lower fuel consumption and improved efficiency. Among all forest vehicles, specialized forest tractors (skidders), so far, have not been considered for forest vehicles with hybrid drive capabilities. A skidder is a forest-articulated self-propelled vehicle for pulling trees or parts of trees. In most countries in southern Europe, the use of skidders equipped with forest winches is the most common technique for timber extraction. The first goal of the research is to develop methods for measuring the energy consumption of skidders at different operating tasks and under different field conditions. Research was performed on the skidder Ecotrac 140V (from Croatian producer Hittner Ltd.) during timber extraction in mountainous terrains in Lika–Senj County. The skidder was equipped with a measuring device WIGO-E (Telematic Data collector) gateway with an integrated GPS system, which ensured data were collected from sensors and motor and stored in a computer via CANBUS and data transfer with GSM to Web platforms. Additionally, a fuel-flow meter was installed on the skidder. Data on fuel consumption (mL), position (traveling route), detection of winch work, engine rpm (min⁻¹), engine torque (% of max), throttle position (%), and engine temperature were measured with a sampling frequency of 5 s. Furthermore, skidder load volumes per cycles and slopes of tractor paths were constantly measured. The paper shows the skidder’s energy consumption per day, work cycle, and individual work procedure with regard to the size of the load, the slope of the tractor path, and the direction of movement based on overlapping and merging all measurement data. Using mathematical and simulation models of the drive with defined operating cycles obtained by measurement, the possibilities of the hybrid drive and the dimensions of the elements of the hybrid drive (internal combustion engine, electric motor, batteries, control unit) were determined and are presented in this paper. Full article

Soil compaction forms a major threat to the well-functioning of agricultural soils. This threat is primarily driven by the increasing wheel loads of modern farming machinery and the increased frequency of field operations in periods when the soil is moist to wet and thus more prone to compaction. The application of slurry in early spring can have a highly detrimental impact, certainly for a crop like sugar beet, which is sensitive to soil compaction. A one-year experiment was set up on silt loam soil in the Belgian loess belt to assess the short-term impact of this field operation on soil under conventional ploughing and under non-inversion tillage. Two types of farming machinery were compared: a widely used tractor-trailer combination and a less common self-propelled slurry spreader, with the latter having higher wheel loads. Both machines were operated according to common or standard practice and a practice that aims at preventing soil compaction. For the tractor-trailer, this was with tyre inflation pressure recommended for road traffic and field traffic, respectively, corresponding with high and low tyre inflation pressure. The self-propelled slurry spreader was operated under standard and crab steering, respectively. Lowering the tyre inflation pressure to the recommended level for field traffic limited soil compaction and sugar beet yield loss. Although the effects of crab steering were less pronounced, it lowered the impact on the soil by limiting the number of passages. The overall machinery effect remained limited. The heavier self-propelled slurry spreader did not significantly increase the level of soil compactness and reduce sugar beet yield compared to the more common tractor-trailer combination. Soil under conventional ploughing showed more soil compaction, while the effectiveness of reducing tyre inflation pressure as a prevention strategy was lower compared to non-inversion tillage. The tillage practice, however, did not have any overall influence on sugar beet yield. Full article

Diseases and pests are important factors in vegetable cultivation; they not only affect the growth and appearance of vegetables but also affect the yield and quality. The disease and pest control of vegetables is dominated by chemical sprays, for now. As a result, the excessive use of pesticides has been a crucial factor of pesticides’ non-point source pollution, and it is also the main cause of excessive pesticide residues in vegetables. Therefore, the design of efficient plant protection machinery and technology has become an urgent demand in order to ensure the quality and safety of vegetables. In this review, the machinery and technologies for vegetable protection are introduced from the aspects of chemical control and physical control. In the aspect of chemical control, handheld sprayers, self-propelled or track sprayers, fixed-pipe spray systems, vertical and horizontal boom sprayers, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and vegetable seed treatment techniques are introduced. In the aspect of physical control, soil physical disinfection, pest trapping technologies and ozone sterilizers are introduced. Finally, the existing problems and perspectives of pesticide application sprayers and physical control equipment for vegetables are summarized. This paper can provide references for vegetable growers and researchers. Full article

Agricultural policies should be aimed at enhancing production per unit area and help to reduce the cultivated area. To that end, it is critical to conserve soil fertility, promote ecological agriculture, employ climate change adaptation technology, significantly enhance irrigated agriculture, and decrease agricultural production risks. Sustainable agricultural production requires optimized land usage, increased energy efficiency, reduced use of fossil fuels, and minimized environmental consequences. Energy has been used in agriculture in a dramatically increased manner, and the agri-food chain now accounts for 30% of the total global energy use. Energy analysis quantifies the amount of energy used in agricultural production, so it may be used to optimize energy consumption and boost energy efficiency, further propelling the sustainable development of agriculture. Recently, the Mongolian government has expressed concerns about how to realize food sustainability and self-sufficiency in wheat production and agriculture, while also maintaining environmental sustainability. However, there is a substantial study gap between agriculture and energy analysis in Mongolia. This study investigated energy consumption and the effects of energy inputs and energy types on the agricultural production of Mongolia from 2005 to 2018. The output was calculated based on the annual wheat equivalent for the 14 major provinces as a whole. The output level is given as a function of human labor, machinery, electricity, diesel fuel, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation water, and seed energy, and the yield and different energy inputs are determined using the ordinary least squares of the Cobb–Douglas function. Total energy input grew from 2359.50 MJ ha⁻¹ in 2005 to 3047.61 MJ ha⁻¹ in 2018, while total output energy increased from 2312.08 MJ ha⁻¹ to 4562.56 MJ ha⁻¹. During this period, the energy use efficiency (input–output ratio), energy productivity, and net energy of wheat production were studied. The fertilizer inputs were statistically significant. The contribution of nitrogen, diesel, and irrigation water towards the production level was 3.52, 3.09, and 2.33, respectively. As a result, the data indicated that non-renewable, direct, and indirect energy sources all had a positive impact on the output level. Furthermore, non-renewable energy in Mongolian agriculture has been used in a significantly increased manner. Full article

In response to the poor adaptability of existing harvesters to complex operating conditions in the field, this study took a three-row four-wheel-drive (4WD) corn harvester as the research object, designed a traveling transmission system layout, proposed a control strategy of driving torque distribution, simulated, and analyzed each of the four states of harvester drive wheels slippage. The results showed that under the driving wheels slipping condition, after applying torque control, the adjustment time was 43.3% shorter than that without control in the case of single wheel slipping, 11.1% shorter than that without control in the case of two wheels slipping on the same axle, 41.4% shorter than that without control in the case of two wheels slipping on different axles, and 36.6% shorter than that without control in the case of three driving wheels slipping. The application of drive torque distribution control could significantly improve the traction and passing ability of the corn harvesters during operation, as well as made the harvester travel more smoothly, thus improving the harvest quality. The drive torque distribution control can be applied not only to the three-row corn harvester, but also to other types of harvesters, and self-propelled agricultural machinery to enhance their adaptability, improving their operation quality. It has a significant reference value for the development of the driving system on walking agricultural machinery. Full article