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The increase in irrigated crop areas, especially in countries such as Spain and Italy, has led to an increase in technological solutions for monitoring the irrigation. Furthermore, the centre pivot irrigation systems used in these crops have facilitated the daily work of farmers in recent years, however, the monitoring of these systems and the reporting of problems in their operation has become a key aspect during the growing season. For this reason, different monitoring solutions have been proposed from the area of Precision Agriculture and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Nevertheless, it is necessary that these solutions take into account the digital divide their potential users may suffer and be low-cost solutions in order to be attractive to the end-users. This paper presents several low-cost solutions using novel user interfaces and wireless communication technologies for the monitoring of this type of irrigation systems. This paper presents the results obtained after the deployment of the proposed systems on a real environment and the main conclusions drawn after their use in irrigated maize crops. • LoRaWAN and GPS allow affordable monitoring systems for centre pivot irrigation. • Chatbots and voice assistants help to avoid the digital divide. • Edge Computing Devices and LPWANs enable new AMR solutions for water meters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fully-autonomous vehicles, both aerial and ground, could provide great benefits in the Agriculture 4.0 framework when operating within cooperative architectures, thanks to their ability to tackle difficult tasks, particularly within complex irregular and unstructured scenarios such as vineyards on sloped terrains. A decentralised multi-phase approach has been proposed as an alternative to more common cooperative schemes. When perennial crops are considered, it is advantageous to build a simplified geometrical (and georeferenced) crops model, which can be identified by using 3D point clouds acquired during a-priori explorative missions by unmanned aerial vehicles. This model can be used to plan the tasks to be performed within the crops by the in-field aerial and ground drones. In this companion paper, the proposed strategy is applied to a specific case study involving a vineyard on a sloped terrain, located in the Barolo region in Piedmont, Italy. Ad-hoc technologies and guidance, navigation and control algorithms were designed and implemented. The main objectives were to improve the autonomous driving capabilities of the drones involved and to automate the process of retrieving low-complexity maps from the data collected with preliminary remote sensing missions to make them available for the autonomous navigation by a quadrotor and an unmanned 4-wheel steering ground vehicle within the vine rows. Preliminary results highlight the benefits achievable by exploiting the tailored technologies selected and applied to improve each of the analysed mission phases. • Autonomous ground and aerial vehicles can lead to improve agriculture management. • A collaborative scheme based on a multi-phase approach is proposed. • A specific case study involving a vineyard located in the Barolo is presented. • Design of advanced GNC schemes are proposed for autonomous navigation of drones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idling is a status of tractors in which the engine is not subjected to any substantial load and the vehicle is stationary. Idling is detrimental for the environment and health of people and it is a frequent status for agricultural tractors. Indeed, agricultural tractors may idle from 10 to 43% of their entire operating time. Only in some conditions idling is necessary (e.g. implement hitching), otherwise it is a condition which wastes fuel. The aim of this paper is to report on an updated methodology to analyse the idling practice of agricultural tractors. Idling was monitored through a dash-cam and a CAN-Bus data logger installed on a tractor with a maximum engine power of 191 kW. The tractor ran on idle for 17% of its entire operating time with the most frequent stops occurring for the adjustment of the implement when the soil engaging tools become clogged by crop residuals. Moreover, during 67% of the idling duration, no tractor subsystem was used, so most of the idling was not caused by a real need. This idling was responsible for a waste of 1.6% of the fuel used. Considering that in Italy 8.3% of the tractors belong to the same class (in terms of mass) of that used in this study, 43 million of litres of fuel are supposed to be wasted per year. The results of this study could be used for developing anti-idling devices on agricultural tractors. • Tractors stop for idling more often and for a shorter time than heavy-duty trucks. • In 67% of idling, the three-point hitch or auxiliary valves were not used. • 1.6% of fuel used was wasted in idling stops where any subsystem was used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Articulated steering arrangements, wheeled or tracked, are commonly used on agricultural tractors and earth moving machines. In Continental Europe and Italy in particular, this configuration is typical of narrow track tractors. Despite their widespread use, there is little research that specifically investigates articulated tractor rollover protective structure (ROPS) in-field performance with respect to the ROPS test procedures. The aim was to investigate the relevance of the standardised ROPS test procedures regarding articulation joint mobility. The shortcomings of the procedures concerning the Clearance Zone and ROPS testing are evidenced and discussed. It is a recommendation of this work that an update of the international testing procedure be developed for articulated tractor types. The paper indicates how this may be accomplished and presents remedial measures that can be implemented in the interim until this latter goal is achieved. • Articulated tractor yaw and roll DOF affect front/rear two-post ROPS clearance zone. • Tractor in straight configuration may not reveal clearance zone intrusion/exposure. • An experimental CAD method is proposed for clearance zone checking and ROPS design. • A ROPS capable of maintaining the clearance zone in all articulations was designed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a variety of crops that may be considered as potential biomass production crops. In order to select the best suitable for cultivation crop for a given area, a number of several factors should be taken into account. During the crop selection process, a common framework should be followed focussing on financial or energy performance. Combining multiple crops and multiple fields for the extraction of the best allocation requires a model to evaluate various and complex factors given a specific objective. This paper studies the maximisation of total energy gained from the biomass production by energy crops, reduced by the energy costs of the production process. The tool calculates the energy balance using multiple crops allocated to multiple fields. Both binary programming and linear programming methods are employed to solve the allocation problem. Each crop is assigned to a field (or a combination of crops are allocated to each field) with the aim of maximising the energy balance provided by the production system. For the demonstration of the tool, a hypothetical case study of three different crops cultivated for a decade (Miscanthus x giganteus , Arundo donax , and Panicum virgatum) and allocated to 40 dispersed fields around a biogas plant in Italy is presented. The objective of the best allocation is the maximisation of energy balance showing that the linear solution is slightly better than the binary one in the basic scenario while focussing on suggesting alternative scenarios that would have an optimal energy balance. • Energy balance estimation in multiple crops and multiple fields. • Multiple crops to fields spatial allocation. • Binary and linear programming solutions. • Optimization according to the optimal energy balance. • Alternative allocation scenarios and comparison with the basic scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the main phases and results of a study which is part of a broader research programme aimed at assessing the changes that have occurred in Italian rural landscapes since the Second World War. The research deals with the definition of a methodology suitable for analysing the changes in the rural built environment over wide areas. This methodology focuses on the definition of representative sample areas aimed to reduce survey costs while allowing results to be characterised by a known and provable degree of reliability and precision. Based on the results of a previous work (Tassinari, Carfagna, Benni, & Torreggiani (2008). Biosystems Engineering, 100, 435–447), where the authors defined the first phases of the sampling methodology and surveyed some building-density test variables on a pilot sample, this paper focuses on optimising both the criteria for the stratification of the sampling frame and the estimator used to assess the changes in the built area, as well as testing the method on a super-municipal study area in northern Italy for the 1975–2005 time span. The results contribute new knowledge within the broader field of the analysis and interpretation of trends in rural areas, which is fundamental to support proper land-use and landscape planning through accurate and efficient tools. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Certified plant production process usually requires the handling of a number of sub-products deriving from various production centres located in different geographical sites. In this context, supply-chain traceability systems are suitable tools for controlling plant disease diffusion and they can be implemented by means of integrated computer-based information systems (ICBISs) which incorporate data from different production centres. This paper proposes a methodology for the design of ICBISs to implement supply-chain traceability procedures regarding certified plants for food, fresh fruit production, and agro-processing industries. The use of international standards and regulations, put forward by plant certification programs to develop the phase of ‘Requirements analysis and specifications’, addresses the lack of standards application in certified plant traceability procedures. Conceptual and logical models are suggested to model information content and functions of the ICBIS. An innovative system architecture is developed to fulfil supply-chain traceability system requirements and specifications. The proposed methodology was applied to a case study of the Italian certified citrus-plant nursery chain. The results of this research could constitute guidelines for developing ICBISs for certified citrus-plant nursery chain traceability in other major producing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to discuss the results of a study conducted on the monitoring of the suspended sediment load and water flow of the Sillaro torrent, during 1997–2000. The river basin is located in the Northern Apennines in the province of Bologna in Italy. Its height is from 68 to 993 m above sea level. A clayey–waterproof soil characterises the 137·6 km2 basin surface. The mean annual precipitation is 942 mm (1962–1983). The mean annual temperature is 11·8°C, while the maximum, registered in July, is 22°C.A station for measuring the amount of sediment yield and water flow was established at the outlet from the mountain basin of the Sillaro Torrent. The monitoring station was equipped with an ultrasonic flow meter and an automatic water sampler. The flow meter measured the hydraulic level, computed the water flow and sent signal to the water sampler, so that there would be a sample of sediment yield every 100000 m3 of water crossing the section.The suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and the turbidity were measured on the samples, and the water samples were analysed by a laboratory turbidimeter. The best relationship between turbidity and SSC was established and applied to the turbidity of the samples so as to obtain the concentration of the suspended sediment. It was concluded that firstly, the instrumentation used for hydrologic monitoring is reliable, secondly, a simple linear regression of SSC and turbidity is adequate for an accurate estimation of the load and thirdly the multiplicative model of the suspended sediment yield on water flow is a statistically significant relationship. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]