Nitrogen (N) fertilizer rate is important for high yield and good quality of potato tubers. In this dissertation, I seek to study the response of different potato cultivars under different N fertilizer rates and how that can impact tuber quality, examine the performance of active optical sensors in improving a potato yield prediction algorithm, and evaluate the ability of active optical sensors (GreenSeeker (GS) and Crop Circle (CC)) to optimize a N recommendation algorithm that can be used by potato growers in Maine. This research was conducted at 11 sites over a period of two years (2018–2019) in Aroostook County, Maine; all sites depended on a rainfed system. Three potato cultivars, Russet Burbank, Superior, and Shepody, were planted under six rates of N (0-280 kg ha-1), ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, and were applied in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. Active optical sensor readings (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)) were collected weekly after the fourth leaf stage began. The coefficient of determination (R2) between soil organic matter (OM) content and total tuber yield for all sites combined was 0.78**. Sites with ≥ 30 g kg-1 of soil OM produced higher total tuber yield, marketable yield, and tuber weight per plant (39.45%, 45.22%, and 54.94%, respectively) than sites with ≤ 30 g kg-1 of OM. Specific gravity increased by 0.18% in the sites with ≥ 30 g kg-1 of OM. The total tuber yield for the three cultivars was maximized at 168 kg N ha-1. Vegetation indices measurements obtained at stages of 16 or 20 fully expanded leaves were significantly correlated with tuber yield, which can be used in the yield prediction model. Sensor measurements obtained at the 20th leaf stage were significantly correlated with tuber yield, with the exponential model showing the best fit for the regression curve. The recommended N rate calculated based on in-season sensor readings was reduced by approximately 12–14% compared to the total N rate that growers currently apply based on the conventional approach.
Cadmium sulphide CdS films with 200 nm have been prepared by thermal evaporation technique on glass substrate at substrate room temperature under vacuum of 10-5mbar.In this paper, the effect of Dielectric Barrier Discharge plasma on the optical properties of the CdS film. The prepared films were exposed to different time intervals (0, 3, 5, 8) min. For every sample, the Absorption A, absorption coefficient α , energy gap Eg ,extinction coefficient K and dielectric constant ε were studied. It is found that the energy gap were decreased with exposure time, and absorption , Absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient, dielectric constant increased with time of exposure to the plasma. Our study conside
... Show MoreCdSe alloy has been prepared successfully from its high purity elements. Thin films of this alloy with different thicknesses (300,700)nm have been grown on glass substrates at room temperature under very low pressure (10-5)Torr with rate of deposition (1.7)nm/sec by thermal evaporation technique, after that these thin films have been heat treated under low pressure (10-2)Torr at (473,673)K for one hour. X-ray patterns showed that both CdSe alloy and thin films are polycrystalline and have the hexagonal structure with preferential orientation in the [100] and [002] direction respectively. The optical measurements indicated that CdSe thin films have allowed direct optical energy band gap, and it increases from (1.77- 1.84) eV and from
... Show MoreIn this report Silver doped Tin Sulfide (SnS) thin films with ratio of (0.03) were prepared using thermal evaporation with a vacuum of 4*10-6 mbar on glass with (400) nm thickness and the sample annealing with ( 573K ). The optical constants for the wavelengths in the range (300-900) nm and Hall effect for (SnS and SnS:3% Ag) films are investigated and calculated before and after annealing at 573 K. Transition metal doped SnS thin films the regular absorption 70% in the visible region, the doping level intensification the optical band gap values from 1.5- 2 eV. Silver doped tin sulfide (SnS) its direct optical band gap. Hall Effect results of (SnS and SnS:3% Ag) films show all films were (p-type) electrical conductivity with resistivity of
... Show MoreIn this study, cadmium oxide (CdO) was deposited on glass bases by thermal chemical spraying technique at three concentrations (0.05, 0.1, 0.15) M and then was irradiated by CO2 laser with 10.6 μm wave length and 1W power. The results of the atomic force microscope AFM test showed that the surfaces of these CdO thin films were homogenous and that the laser irradiated effect resulted in decreasing the roughness of the surface as well as the heights of the granular peaks, indicating a greater uniformity and homogeneity of the surfaces. The optical properties were studied to determine laser effect. The results of optical tests of these thin films showed that the photoluminescence spectra and absorption s
... Show MoreThe structural, optical properties of cupper indium gallium selenite (CuIn1-xGaxSe) have been studied. CuIn1-xGaxSe thin films for x=0.6 have been prepared by thermal evaporation technique, of 2000±20 nm thickness, with rate of deposition 2±0.1 nm/sec, on glass substrate at room temperature. Heat treatment has been carried out in the range (373-773) K for 1 hour. It demonstrated from the XRD method that all the as-deposited and annealed films have polycrystalline structure of multiphase. The optical measurement of the CIGS thin films conformed that they have, direct allowed energy gap equal to 1.7 eV. The values of some important optical parameters of the studied films such as (absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coeffici
... Show MoreThis study investigates the influence of silver oxide (Ag2O) concentration on the optical characteristics of phosphate bioactive glasses (PBGs). PBGs have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional silicate glasses in the medical field due to their excellent bioactivity and chemical resistance. Samples with varying Ag2O concentrations (0, 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75g) were sintered at 780°C for 2 hrs in an electric furnace. The samples were subjected to Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) tests to assess their functional groups and optical properties. By analyzing the FTIR spectrum of phosphate bioactive glass containing different amounts of Ag2O, it is
... Show MoreCdSe quantum dots possess a tuning energy gap which can control gap values according to the size of the quantum dots, this is made the material able to absorb the wavelengths within visible light. A simple model is provided for the absorption coefficient, optical properties, and optical constants for CdSe quantum dots from the size 10nm to 1nm with the range of visible region between (300-730) nm at room temperature. It turns out that there is an absorption threshold for each wavelength, CdSe quantum dots begin to absorb the visible spectrum of 1.4 nm at room temperature for a wavelength of 300 nm. It has been noted that; when the wavelength is increased, the absorption threshold also increases. This applies to the optical propertie
... Show MoreThis paper introduces the Multistep Modified Reduced Differential Transform Method (MMRDTM). It is applied to approximate the solution for Nonlinear Schrodinger Equations (NLSEs) of power law nonlinearity. The proposed method has some advantages. An analytical approximation can be generated in a fast converging series by applying the proposed approach. On top of that, the number of computed terms is also significantly reduced. Compared to the RDTM, the nonlinear term in this method is replaced by related Adomian polynomials prior to the implementation of a multistep approach. As a consequence, only a smaller number of NLSE computed terms are required in the attained approximation. Moreover, the approximation also converges rapidly over a
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