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Okra is a well-known and economically important vegetable grown in Bangladesh for consumption and seed production. The yield of okra is low compared to developed countries that can be increased using irrigation water efficiently. Traditional irrigation methods are used for okra cultivation in the developing countries, resulting in significant water loss. One of the options that appears to be promising for reducing this water loss is drip irrigation since it applies water directly to the plant’s root zone. However, farmers frequently complain about manual inspection and water wastage from the overhead tanks in small-scale microirrigation systems. An automated microirrigation system can help to solve this problem. This approach was developed at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University to evaluate the performance of okra in terms of plant growth, seasonal water usage, and yield factors. For a better understanding of specialist crop irrigation management, the effectiveness of water utilization was also investigated. The experimental field was set up in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) from March to May 2021, with three different treatments such as T1 (Conventional irrigation), T2 (Drip irrigation) and T3 (Timer drip irrigation), for comparing the treatments with four replications. To construct an automated microirrigation system, a pump controller with sensing probes to regulate the water level in the irrigation tank and irrigation timers for watering the okra field depending on scheduling were used. According to the data, only the length of the pod varied significantly, whereas the other factors were non-significant. The yield components, such as the weight of pod per plant and yield, did not varied significantly among the treatments. The highest (12.95 kg/m3) and the lowest (10.47 kg/m3) water use efficiency were obtained in T3 (Timer drip irrigation) and T1 (Conventional irrigation) respectively. The study reveals that automated microirrigation technology can save 11% more irrigation water than conventional irrigation.

Concentrations of heavy metals in irrigation water and soil were examined to determine the level of contamination in a particular irrigation channel in Gazipur, Bangladesh. In this conduit, effluent from households, industries, and municipalities was combined with irrigation water. The study was carried out in order to estimate pollutant loads along a wastewater irrigation channel and to conceptualize seasonal changes in composite wastewaters. A total of six wastewater and nine contaminated soil samples were collected directly from the study area and analyzed for this project. From February to March, before the monsoon, the pH of the water is too low for this channel to be used for irrigation. At the end of the monsoon season, from April through May, all wastewater tests were within these parameters, making them suitable for irrigation. Considering the standard limits, Pb, Cr, and Cu concentrations in all wastewater samples were found unsuitable for irrigation and thus problematic for soils and crops. The concentration of Cd in the wastewater samples ranged from 27.82 to 88.36 mg/L, whereas the tolerance limit for Cd in irrigation water is 0.01 mg/L. In soil samples from the three places chosen, the levels of Pb were below the safe limit and the levels of Cr were above the safe limit. The heavy metal pollution index of all the sites crossed the safe limit. On the basis of the geo-accumulation index and the pollution index, Pb indicates no pollution and Cd indicates very high levels of pollution in all locations. The maximum enrichment factor was found for Cd, Pb, and Cu, which have minor enrichment, Ni, which has no enrichment, and Cr, which has moderate enrichment. The study also tried to link heavy metals in wastewater to their deposition in soil and seasonal and temporal variations. The study revealed that industrial effluent utilized for irrigation was closely related to the accumulation of heavy metals in soils. Since irrigated agricultural soils are likely to be exposed to harmful wastes, it is crucial that the effluents from the industrial region of Gazipur are appropriately controlled.

Background: Biscuits are the most popular cereal-based bakery and sugar is an important element of biscuits which provides unique taste, color and texture. However, the consumption of sugar is linked to potential health risks. Therefore, there is a scope to substitute sugar with natural non-caloric sweetener, maintaining all sensory and storage qualities of the biscuits. Methods: The present study was conducted to find an acceptable formulation to manufacture biscuits using stevia leaf. Dried leaf powder and fresh juice were used as a substitute for sugar in biscuit manufacturing. After baking, biscuits were tested for sensory qualities. In addition, biscuits were packaged with different packaging materials and organoleptic changes were assessed. Result: Biscuits made with 18 g stevia powder and 55 ml stevia juice per kg of flour showed the best results comparing all aspects of consumer preferences. The organoleptic and microbiological evaluations of stevia powder biscuit and stevia juice biscuit showed no significant changes and unsafe measures for one month of storage in glass, plastic jar and tin can. Therefore, sugar-free biscuits can be made following either stevia powder biscuit or stevia juice biscuit formulations and stored in either glass, plastic jar, or in tin can to remain safe for human consumption.

Building a vertical farm in unused residential and commercial spaces is a challenge. It is particularly hard to decide upon a space where varying degrees of lighting conditions may prevail at different times of a day. This experiment was focused on how innovative micro-irrigation technology could be coupled with vertical farms. In this regard, three storied racks were designed to accommodate multiple one-feet-square tubs large enough to hold five Indian spinach (BARI Puishak- 2) plants at a time. Sandy loam soil was used for farming along with recommended doses of fertilizers. Different lighting conditions (2- 145 W/m2 average solar irradiance) were employed on the fifth floor of an urban building. Drip emitters were coupled in the system for irrigation. The management allowed deficit was kept to a maximum of 50% of the readily available moisture below the field capacity. The results suggested that drip irrigation systems provide higher water productivity (up to 31.82 kg/m3) compared to the in-field conditions when BARI Puishak-2 is grown in vertical farming. Water productivity of spinach was improved by optimized set-up of a drip irrigation system. The study also concluded that vertical farming is only suitable for indoor places where plenty of direct sunlight or diffused sunlight (not below 70 W/m2) is available. The economic analysis suggests that vertical farms under direct sunlight can be made profitable (BCR>1) in the long run.

The higher chalkiness level of the white core kernel is prone to breakage during the high degree polishing. So, grading white core kernel based on chalkiness level is crucial to making premium quality Sake (rice wine) in the brewing industry. The chalkiness level in the white core kernel is currently performed destructively. Thus, a chalkiness index is required to assess the level in the white core kernel. This research assesses the white core rice kernel based on the chalkiness index non-destructively. Here, the optical transmission property in the visible to near-infrared (VIS-NIR) region of rice was measured using a V-670 spectrophotometer equipped with an integrating sphere to investigate the variation of chalkiness level rice samples. The images were then acquired by transmission mode of four types of intact Sake rice kernel using blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs), green, red, and NIR LEDs in which the peak wavelength of the LEDs was 465 nm, 525 nm, 630 nm, and 830 nm, respectively. The result indicates that the rice samples were more penetrated and better visualized chalkiness by light in the NIR region. Therefore, the wavelength region in NIR showed better discrimination between transparent and opaque parts in white core's Sake rice. Furthermore, the proposed chalkiness index was inversely correlated with the gray-level intensity of the transmittance image. This gray value was significantly correlated (R

Milk is an incredibly healthy food world-wide. However, the ‘lactase deficient’ individuals cannot digest milk’s carbohydrate lactose. A large part of the world population is depriving of highly beneficial milk proteins like casein, lactoalbumin, lactoglobulin, etc. due to lactose intolerance. Production of functional foods and bioactive peptides from milk with natural antioxidants and the addition of probiotics could be the best alternative to extend the use of milk functionalities. Among different probiotics, the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) like Lactobacillus delbrueckii sub sp. bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus and some species of Bifidobacteria and their metabolites (paraprobiotics and postbiotics) have been given more preference to add in milk-derived functional foods. These species are generally considered as heat-tolerant, highly proteolytic, and peptidolytic towards milk proteins and they liberate smaller molecules of bioactive peptides during fermentation and other processes that stimulate the enzyme lactase to help people in digestion of milk carbohydrate lactose. Moreover, the incorporation of natural antioxidants in yoghurt and other dairy products prevents the rancidity of milk fat. The level of bioactive peptides produced in milk-derived functional foods can be determined by capillary zone electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, fractionation, and other modern assessment techniques. Commercial production of functional probiotic products with bioactive peptides could significantly contribute to reduce milk spoilage, enhance health benefits as well as the growth of the agro-processing industry.

Recycled wastewater is considered as a sustainable source of irrigation water. Despite commendable safety records, viral contamination of agricultural products has occurred the past causing disease outbreaks. This review examines the apprehension that the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) may also spread through recycled wastewater irrigation (RWI) industry. The novel SARS-CoV-2 is now perceived as an enteric pathogen, and has been found to remain stable in the wastewater for days. Mounting evidences also suggest that viral particles shed by infected individuals through sewage, and greywater is much higher (up to 10 Log10) than the amount typically removed (6-7 Log10) through the recycled water disinfection processes. Such gap indicated an increased risk of infection through fecal-oral transmission route. This study also identified greywater irrigation schemes posing a higher risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2. It was recommended that countries putting greywater in the ‘low risk’ category may rewrite the safety guidelines in post COVID-19 times. This review also suggest that the choice of irrigation method could be critical in protecting the farmers, and the consumers from possible infections during the pandemic. In this regard, irrigation methods (i.e. sprinkler) that generate airborne droplet (leading to aerosols) may be operated with caution when public spaces are in the vicinity. The study also indicated that the developing countries should regulate surface irrigation practice that pump water from polluted rivers during the pandemic.

Mechanized farming is an indispensable part of modern agriculture. Bangladesh has managed to achieve significant progress in some components of farm mechanization i.e., irrigation and tillage. The majority of the agricultural operations are still being carried out with manual labor. This paper reports the status of agricultural machineries in the country while analyzing the historical policy changes towards intensive farm mechanization. The potential sectors requiring urgent attention for mechanization was also identified in this study. The manuscript discusses how mechanization could help ensure the food security of the country by maintaining timeliness of agricultural operation. Urgent introduction of mini-combined harvesters during COVID-19 pandemic was discussed as a commendable decision taken by the Government of Bangladesh. It also shows how the use of machine power is increasing in the country through custom hiring based ownership models of the machineries. Local manufacturing of agricultural machineries and spare parts was championed by the fact that small scale industries have developed in this sector. In line with this, we argued that the local companies should focus on precision manufacturing in the coming days. The manuscript also urged the need to include rural youth for sustainable farm mechanization process.

Manual grading and sorting of cardamom spices require a long time and considerable resources. The introduction of machine vision technology can substantially increase the timeliness of grading operation and reduce the associated drudgery. This research was carried out to contribute towards the use of machine vision technology in the grading of cardamom spices. In this regard, the utility of images captured by mobile devices was assessed using digital image processing techniques. The color images of cardamom capsules were acquired using an Apple iPhone 7 in the first place. The geometric features (major diameter, minor diameter, surface area, and perimeter) of the samples were calculated using MATLAB algorithms. The pixelated units were converted into SI units (mm). The predicted values of the parameters were compared with the actual values. The goodness of fit was assessed using the coefficient of determination (R2), which was found to be 0.92, 0.88, 0.95, and 0.97 for the major diameter, minor diameter, surface area, and perimeter of the samples, respectively. In terms of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), the accuracy of the model was found to be 95.64%, 94.74%, 95.32%, and 97.81% for the predicting major diameter, minor diameter, surface area, and perimeters of cardamom capsules, respectively. These results indicate that mobile images could be successfully incorporated in machine vision technology for the effective grading of cardamom capsules. [J Bangladesh Agril Univ 2021; 19(3.000): 398-405]