• MECHANIZATION IN AGRICULTURE

    Automated installation and algorithmic platform for determining the quality indicators of seed potato tubers

    Mechanization in agriculture & Conserving of the resources, Vol. 69 (2025), Issue 2, pg(s) 41-45

    The article presents a comprehensive scientific and engineering development — an automated installation and an algorithmic platform for assessing the quality characteristics of varietal seed potato tubers. The development is aimed at solving key agroengineering problems related to increasing the accuracy, standardization and productivity of tuber analysis processes in seed production.
    The methodological basis of the study is a combination of tensometric measurement of tuber mass with computer vision algorithms based on the OpenCV library in the Python programming environment. The algorithm allows for automatic and highly accurate determination of mass, linear dimensions (length, width, height), area and perimeter of the tuber, as well as calculation of derived indicators such as shape index and shape coefficient, which are important for sorting and determining varietal affiliation.
    To verify the developed system, experimental studies were conducted on an automated setup using control measurements performed by traditional methods (calipers, electronic scales). The study included both mini-tubers and standard seed tubers of the Alliance potato variety. Statistical analysis of the data showed a high degree of consistency between digital and manual measurements, and also revealed a significant advantage of the automated method in terms of productivity: the analysis time for one tuber was reduced by an average of seven times.
    Particular attention is paid to the compliance of the proposed method with national and international standards, in particular, the requirements of GOST 33996–2016, which guarantees the possibility of its practical application in real production conditions. The authors substantiate that the introduction of digital technologies in the process of sorting seed potatoes allows minimizing subjective errors, reducing labor costs, increasing the speed of data processing and standardizing the quality assessment process.
    The scientific novelty of the work lies in the integration of algorithmic data processing with physical measurements on one platform, which allows for the implementation of a comprehensive agro-engineering system for solving problems of selection, seed production and automated sorting. The developed installation can be adapted and scaled for use with other fruit and vegetable crops, which opens up opportunities for further research and expansion of the range of applications.
    The results of the study are relevant for agro-industrial enterprises, research institutes, seed farms and agricultural machinery manufacturers. The proposed system can be integrated into existing sorting and processing lines, ensuring the transition to precision agriculture and industry 4.0 technologies in the agricultural sector..

  • QUALIMETRIC PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT OF REINFORCED STEEL

    Machines. Technologies. Materials., Vol. 9 (2015), Issue 11, pg(s) 31-33

    The paper considers the issues of qualimetric assessment of quality of reinforced steel. The dependences of the rate group of the mechanical properties from room profile. Built a regression equation characterizing the effects of deformation processing on the quality of rebar.

  • MECHANIZATION IN AGRICULTURE

    FIELD EXPERIMETAL RESEACH OF THE COMBINED FERTILIZING-SEEDING MACHINE-TRACTOR AGGREGATE

    Mechanization in agriculture & Conserving of the resources, Vol. 63 (2017), Issue 5, pg(s) 174-179

    The scientific problem of this study is the justification of the expediency of combining the technological operations of sowing cereals and applying the main and starting doses of mineral fertilizers when using a combined machine and tractor unit (aggregate). During the research there were used methods of conducting field experiments using standard equipment. During the planned experiments there were used correlation methods and methods of numerical calculations on a PC. The comparative studies of the quality of barley sowing with basic and modernized fertilizer-sowing units showed the following values of qualitative indicators. So, the coefficient of seed depth variation of the base unit was – 8.2%, and the combined (modernized) unit – 4.7%; The uniformity of seed distribution along the length of the line for the basic unit is – 63.8%, for the modernized unit – 84.9%; Field germination of seeds when sowing the basic unit is 80.4%, modernized – 87.4%. Thus, when using the combined fertilizer-seeding unit, the uniformity of seed distribution along the length of the string will be substantially increased. At the same time, the field germination of seeds will increase, and the coefficient of variation in the depth of seed placement in the furrow will decrease. Based on the results of field experimental studies, an increase in the yield of spring wheat and barley was found in the application of a combined fertilizer-seed aggregate with the simultaneous introduction of a basic fertilizer-seeded fertilizer into the soil and sowing of cereals with the application of a starting dose of mineral fertilizer in comparison with the known schemes of such operations. The obtained results confirm the expediency of combining these technological operations with one pass of the combined machine-tractor unit (aggregate).