Influence of Moisture Content,Variety and Parboiling on Milling Quality of Rice Grains

The effects of moisture content （8%, 10%and 12%）, variety （Tarom and Fajr） and parboiling on milling quality of rice as a function of milling recovery （MR）, head rice yield （HRY）, degree of milling （DOM） and whiteness were investigated. The parboiled grains was prepared with three soaking temperatures of 25 oC, 50 oC and 75 oC and three steaming times of 10, 15 and 20 min. As a result of parboiling, the increasing rates of MR and HRY values were 7.8%and 14.3%for Tarom and 9.8%and 10.0%for Fajr, respectively, and the decreasing rates for DOM and whiteness were 6.6%and 10.8%for Tarom and 6.8% and 10.5% for Fajr, respectively. Moreover, decreasing moisture content to 8%maximized MR （75.8% for Tarom and 74.3% for Fajr） and HRY （65.8% for Tarom and 57.0% for Fajr） while increasing that to 12%revealed maximum values of DOM （6.1%for Tarom and 6.2%for Fajr） and whiteness （24.8%for Tarom and 28.2%for Fajr）.

Assessment of land suitability and agricultural production sustainability using a combined approach (Fuzzy-AHP-GIS):A case study of Mazandaran province,Iran

This research was conducted to evaluate the sustainability of rice production using fuzzy logic in Mazandaran province,Iran.The untapped use of modern agricultural technology,such as agricultural machinery,has become a global dilemma,which has forced governments and environmentalists to take a serious stand against the dangers of massive non-standard agricultural practices in the environment.Three types of mechanization,socioeconomic,and economic modeling were used to determine the sustainability and their values were collected through interview method using a 320-item questionnaire from 2016 to 2018.Land evaluation was carried out using soil and climate characteristics,so that about 27.4%of the area was in the perfectly suitable range(S1),35.2%in the appropriate range(S2),19.5%in the critical range(S3),and 17.9%in the inappropriate range(N)for rice cultivation.Farmers were selected from two regions(R1 and R2)by the GIS on two lower levels and more than one hectare(A1,A2)according to agricultural methods(mechanical and traditional).The results showed that the highest and lowest means of the product were 4314.44 and 3501.95 kg ha1,respectively.The sustainability of production was within the range of“sustainability”and“almost sustainable”in terms of mechanistic and economic factors in the fuzzy range of“moderate sustainability”and also with respect to social factors that are in a better position than mechanistic and economic indicators.Results of final sustainability model showed that the average of the lasting sustainability index was in the range of“almost unsustainable”and“moderate sustainability”.

Ergonomic assessment of drivers in MF285 and MF399 tractors during clutching using algometer

Tractor as one of the most widely used agricultural machinery should be considered from different aspects.The frequent application of clutch and brake pedals and also the steering wheel within farms,along with the unfavorable working conditions,cause negative effects on the occupational health of the tractor drivers.Thus,in this research,the imposed forces on three engaged muscles including:Gastrocnemius,Trapezius and Quadrate’s lumborum of the tractor drivers during clutching have been studied.In this regard,algometer device was used to determine the applied forces on selective muscles of drivers during clutching of MF285 and MF399 tractors.The experiments were performed employing sample of 30 drivers and were conducted on two Iranian frequently used tractors including:MF285 and MF399 models.The results showed that the clutching forces for MF285 and MF399 tractors were 340 N and 290 N,respectively.The knee angle of the drivers of the two tractors was statistically different at the one percent level of significance.The reduction of pain threshold after 30 and 60 s clutching and also 60 s rest after clutching in MF285 tractor,for all three muscles,were more than those of MF399 tractor.The impact of clutching on the average decreases of pain threshold,for all drivers and all clutching periods,during and after clutching,in the Quadratus lumborum muscle was more than the other two muscles,in both tractors.In order to reduce the clutching force for MF285 tractor some modifications is suggested.In this regard the force transfer joint between the pedal and the clutch release linkage may be replaced with one made of cast iron.