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In vitro bio-efficacy of the novel copper (NC101 and NCP102) and phosphonate (PN103 and PMN104) based fungicides against various soil borne and grape vine pathogens was evaluated at ICAR-National Research Centre for Grapes, Pune, Maharashtra, India during February - April 2021. The fungicides were screened against five bacterial pathogens viz. Xanthomonas campestris pv. citri, X. campestris pv. campestris, X. campestris pv. punicae, X. campestris pv. viticola and X. oryzae pv. oryzae and 10 fungal pathogens viz. Rhizoctonia bataticola, Sclerotium rolfsii, Cladosporium sp, Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Penicillium notatum, Magnaporthe oryzae, Fusarium oxysporium, Macrophomina phaseolina (Soyabean isolate) and Macrophomina phaseolina (Jute isolate) at different concentrations. Results indicated that among all the tested fungicides viz. NC101, NCP102, PN103 and PMN104, phosphonate based fungicides (PN103 and PMN104) were highly effective against bacterial isolates with zone of inhibition ranging between 8.75 - 31.12 mm in which X. campestris pv. viticola was found to express least inhibition zone. In case of pathogenic fungal isolates, similar trend was observed, most of the isolates showed cent percent inhibition at higher concentration of PN103 and PMN104. However Sclerotium rolfsii showed least or no inhibition when tested at different concentrations of fungicides. The chemicals exhibited wide range of inhibition and it was found to increase steadily with increase in concentrations of the test fungicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grading of dehusked coconut is an important postharvest mechanization needed in the marketing of the dehusked coconut. In India, farmers grade the dehusked coconut manually which is in lack of objectivity, accuracy and lower efficiency. This work aims to design, develop and evaluate the performance of an efficient weight grading machine for dehusked coconut. The developed grader characterized by an electronic weighing assembly, carrier cups with four bar linkage mechanism, proximity sensor, pneumatic actuators, and drive mechanism. Mild steel carrier cups with the tilt angle of 10o was optimised to ensure a free falling behaviour of dehusked coconut as well as return back position of carrier cups. The performance tests indicated that the design parameters viz angular velocity of carrier cup and the signal settling time of the load cell influenced the grading performance at 5% level of significance. An acceptable grading efficiency of 84% was obtained at an angular velocity of 16 rad min-1 and load cell settling time of 4 s. The error found in the weight prediction using load cell was ±10 percent suggesting a higher grading efficiency. Further there was no mechanical damage to the graded coconuts. The local vendors and wholesalers can be benefitted with the developed weight grader as it is user friendly, compact and have reasonable grading accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Development of decision support system for decentralised bioenergy planning. • Application of the DSS for rural biomass gasification electricity planning is presented. • Levelised cost of electricity ($/kWh) from different biomasses is investigated. • Usefulness of the DSS in bioenergy planning is reported. Biomass gasification is a promising source of decentralised electricity generation, especially in regions having abundant biomass resources. Parameters associated with demand-side and supply-side of biomass gasification-based electricity generation are integrated to develop a decision support system (DSS). The DSS platform enables to analyse wide variety of probable options concerning biomass gasification-based electricity generation. Geographical Information System (biomass assessment), Artificial Neural Network (performance analysis of gasifier), Cost modeling (scale-based cost estimation including levelised cost of electricity) have been the major components of the DSS architecture. Electricity generation using Dhaincha as feedstock in a mild steel made gasifier with a producer gas engine resulting in a levelised cost of electricity of 0.20 $/kWh was identified as the most economical combination for biomass gasification-based electricity generation in Sonitpur district of Assam, India as demonstrated by the DSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Over the past decade, plant extracts are ultimate green candidatures to substitute the expensive and noxious synthetic corrosion inhibitors. In this regard, this study aims to focus on evaluating anti-corrosion properties of green inhibitor Cyperus rotundus (C. rotundus), a perennial herb found throughout India. Design/methodology/approach: The biocompatible components present in C. rotundus extract was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy analysis. The corrosion inhibitory effect of C. rotundus was assessed by impedance, polarization and surface morphometric study [atomic force microscopy (AFM)]. Density functional theory (DFT) study was carried using DFT/B3LYP, and basis set used for calculations was 6-31G (d, p) using Gaussian 03 program package. Findings: Predominant components such as octadecanoicacid, ethylester, n-hexadecanoic acid, pentanoicacid-4-oxoethyl ester, cyclotrisiloxane, hexamethyl, cyclotetrasiloxane and octamethyl were identified from the extract of C. rotundus. Impedance study demonstrated that the addition of inhibitor reduces the double-layer capacitance and increases the charge transfer resistance. Furthermore, polarization studies indicated that the extract of C. rotundus acted as a mixed-type inhibitor with decrease in corrosion current density with increase in concentration. AFM study evinced the formation of inhibitor film on mild steel surface. The donor–acceptor interactions of active sites of predominant phytoconstituents were substantiated by computational analysis (DFT). Originality/value: This paper deals with the inhibition effect of extract of C. rotundus on mild steel in 0.5M H2SO4. C. rotundus has a capability to adsorb on the metal surface, thus hindering corrosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to investigate physical properties of soybean cultivated in NEH region of India. Major, minor and intermediate mean diameters of soybean seeds were 8.88±0.55 mm, 4.68±0.32 mm and 6.46±0.36 mm, respectively. Geometric mean diameter was 6.45±0.35 mm. Mean roundness of the seeds was 0.66±0.02, while mean sphericity of the seeds in their natural rest position was 0.73±0.02. Bulk density, true density, porosity, thousand seeds weight and angle of repose were 749.50±1.59 kg/m³, 1171.80±115.02 kg/m³, 34.62±9.00 %, and 177.55±3.04 g and 25.82±1.88 °, respectively. The coefficient of static friction over aluminum, mild steel, and plywood surfaces were 0.46±0.03, 0.45±0.03 and 0.47±0.02, respectively. Statistical analysis indicated that the indigenous cultivar commonly found in NEH region was significantly difference from the cultivars found in the plains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric corrosion rate of Al, Zn and mild steel (MS) as well as salinity and sulphation rate have been determined under outdoor exposure at Tithal (Dist. Valsad) situated in South Gujarat, India. MS samples exposed vertically suffer less corrosion than those exposed at an angle of 45°. Monthly corrosion rate was in the decreasing order of Al < Zn < MS; whereas yearly rate also follow the same trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]