An indirect solar drier of 25 kg capacity has been developed fitted with solar cell for running the fan. The bulbs are provided in the solar collector for air heating during clouds and evening & morning for faster...An indirect solar drier of 25 kg capacity has been developed fitted with solar cell for running the fan. The bulbs are provided in the solar collector for air heating during clouds and evening & morning for faster drying reducing drying time. Various hill crops (Punica granatum L, Ginger, Turmeric and Red chili) have been dried in open sun, oven and solar drier for quality/caparison. The dried products were tested in the post harvest technology laboratory for value addition. The market value of dried products has also been compared.展开更多
Traditionally, sorghum malts used for the chakpalo production are dried under the sun in not controlled conditions in Benin. In order to improve drying operation in a rural approach, a shell drier was tested and the q...Traditionally, sorghum malts used for the chakpalo production are dried under the sun in not controlled conditions in Benin. In order to improve drying operation in a rural approach, a shell drier was tested and the quality of the dried malts was evaluated. The germinated capacity, thousand kernel weight, moisture, protein and fat contents of the red sorghum used for malting were respectively 94 %, 27.81 %, 11.65 %, 11.4 % and 3.57 %. The quality of the dried malt in the shell drier and those of the dried malt directly under the sun was compared. The results showed that the speed of malt drying was higher in the shell drier than under the sun. Indeed, the moisture contents of the dried malts directly under the sun and in the shell drier after 12 hours were respectively 12.56 % and 7.66 %. The microbiological quality of the dried malts in the shell drier was better. There were free of faecal coliforms.The results of this study indicate that the controlled drying of sorghum malts by using a shell drier improved the drying speed and the microbiological characteristics of the dried malts. Shell drier would be easy to use in the rural areas to dry sorghum malt.展开更多
Background： Frequent outbreaks of insects and diseases have been recorded in the native forests of western North America during the last few decades, but the distribution of these outbreaks has been far from uniform....Background： Frequent outbreaks of insects and diseases have been recorded in the native forests of western North America during the last few decades, but the distribution of these outbreaks has been far from uniform. In some cases, recent climatic variations may explain some of this spatial variation along with the presence of expansive forests composed of dense, older trees. Forest managers and policy makers would benefit if areas especially prone to disturbance could be recognized so that mitigating actions could be taken. Methods： We use two ponderosa pine-dominated sites in western Montana, U.S.A. to apply a modeling approach that couples information acquired via remote sensing, soil surveys, and local weather stations to assess where bark beetle outbreaks might first occur and why. Although there was a general downward trend in precipitation for both sites over the period between 1998 and 2010 （slope =-1.3, R2 = 0.08）, interannual variability was high. Some years showed large increases followed by sharp decreases. Both sites had similar topography and fire histories, but bark beetle activity occurred earlier （circa 2000 to 2001） and more severely on one site than on the other. The initial canopy density of the two sites was also similar, with leaf area indices ranging between 1.7-2.0 m2. m-2. We wondered if the difference in bark beetle activity was related to soils that were higher in clay content at site I than at site II. To assess this possibility, we applied a process-based stand growth model （3-PG） to analyze the data and evaluate the hypotheses. Results： We found that when wet years were followed by drier years, the simulated annual wood production per unit of leaf area, a measure of tree vigor, dropped below a critical threshold on site I but not on site II. Conclusion： We concluded that the difference in vulnerability of the two stands to beetle outbreaks can be explained largely by differences in gross photosynthesis attributed to the fact that an equivalent amount of stored water in the rooting zone （100 mm） is extracted less efficiently from fine-textured soils than from coarse-textured ones.展开更多
文摘An indirect solar drier of 25 kg capacity has been developed fitted with solar cell for running the fan. The bulbs are provided in the solar collector for air heating during clouds and evening & morning for faster drying reducing drying time. Various hill crops (Punica granatum L, Ginger, Turmeric and Red chili) have been dried in open sun, oven and solar drier for quality/caparison. The dried products were tested in the post harvest technology laboratory for value addition. The market value of dried products has also been compared.
文摘Traditionally, sorghum malts used for the chakpalo production are dried under the sun in not controlled conditions in Benin. In order to improve drying operation in a rural approach, a shell drier was tested and the quality of the dried malts was evaluated. The germinated capacity, thousand kernel weight, moisture, protein and fat contents of the red sorghum used for malting were respectively 94 %, 27.81 %, 11.65 %, 11.4 % and 3.57 %. The quality of the dried malt in the shell drier and those of the dried malt directly under the sun was compared. The results showed that the speed of malt drying was higher in the shell drier than under the sun. Indeed, the moisture contents of the dried malts directly under the sun and in the shell drier after 12 hours were respectively 12.56 % and 7.66 %. The microbiological quality of the dried malts in the shell drier was better. There were free of faecal coliforms.The results of this study indicate that the controlled drying of sorghum malts by using a shell drier improved the drying speed and the microbiological characteristics of the dried malts. Shell drier would be easy to use in the rural areas to dry sorghum malt.
文摘Background： Frequent outbreaks of insects and diseases have been recorded in the native forests of western North America during the last few decades, but the distribution of these outbreaks has been far from uniform. In some cases, recent climatic variations may explain some of this spatial variation along with the presence of expansive forests composed of dense, older trees. Forest managers and policy makers would benefit if areas especially prone to disturbance could be recognized so that mitigating actions could be taken. Methods： We use two ponderosa pine-dominated sites in western Montana, U.S.A. to apply a modeling approach that couples information acquired via remote sensing, soil surveys, and local weather stations to assess where bark beetle outbreaks might first occur and why. Although there was a general downward trend in precipitation for both sites over the period between 1998 and 2010 （slope =-1.3, R2 = 0.08）, interannual variability was high. Some years showed large increases followed by sharp decreases. Both sites had similar topography and fire histories, but bark beetle activity occurred earlier （circa 2000 to 2001） and more severely on one site than on the other. The initial canopy density of the two sites was also similar, with leaf area indices ranging between 1.7-2.0 m2. m-2. We wondered if the difference in bark beetle activity was related to soils that were higher in clay content at site I than at site II. To assess this possibility, we applied a process-based stand growth model （3-PG） to analyze the data and evaluate the hypotheses. Results： We found that when wet years were followed by drier years, the simulated annual wood production per unit of leaf area, a measure of tree vigor, dropped below a critical threshold on site I but not on site II. Conclusion： We concluded that the difference in vulnerability of the two stands to beetle outbreaks can be explained largely by differences in gross photosynthesis attributed to the fact that an equivalent amount of stored water in the rooting zone （100 mm） is extracted less efficiently from fine-textured soils than from coarse-textured ones.
