• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.391-404
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• 2021

This study developed a long-term prediction model for the potential yield of garlic based on a genetic algorithm (GA) by utilizing global climate reanalysis data. The GA is used for digging the inherent signals from global climate reanalysis data which are both directly and indirectly connected with the garlic yield potential. Our results indicate that both deterministic and probabilistic forecasts reasonably capture the inter-annual variability of crop yields with temporal correlation coefficients significant at 99% confidence level and superior categorical forecast skill with a hit rate of 93.3% for 2 × 2 and 73.3% for 3 × 3 contingency tables. Furthermore, the GA method, which considers linear and non-linear relationships between predictors and predictands, shows superiority of forecast skill in terms of both stability and skill scores compared with linear method. Since our result can predict the potential yield before the start of farming, it is expected to help establish a long-term plan to stabilize the demand and price of agricultural products and prepare countermeasures for possible problems in advance.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.193-198
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• 2021

Recently, interests in the 4th industry have increased the level of demand for pest control by farmers in the field of rice farming, and the interests and use of agricultural pest control drones. Therefore, the diversification of agricultural control drones that spray high-concentration pesticides and the increase of agricultural exterminators due to the acquisition of national drone certifications are rapidly developing the agricultural sector in the drone industry. In addition, as detailed projects, an effective platform is required to construct large-scale big data due to pesticide management, exterminator management, precise spraying, pest control work volume classification, settlement, soil management, prediction and monitoring of damages by pests, etc. and to process the data. However, studies in South Korea and other countries on development of models and programs to integrate and process the big data such as data analysis algorithms, image analysis algorithms, growth management algorithms, AI algorithms, etc. are insufficient. This paper proposed an online drone pest control management information platform to meet the needs of managers and farmers in the agricultural field and to realize precise AI pest control based on the agricultural drone pest control processor using drones and presented foundation for development of a comprehensive management system through empirical experiments.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.71-85
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• 2022

The food self-sufficiency rate of agricultural products in Korea, excluding rice, is around 20%, and the government is promoting various policies including a Multiple-Purpose Utilization of Paddy Fields project, to increase the self-sufficiency rate of major grains. The project for Multiple-Purpose Utilization of Paddy Fields is being promoted as a part of a program to create farmland infrastructure to facilitate the cultivation of crops other than rice in rice paddies, and pilot projects were started in four regions in 2020. The purpose of this study is to analyze the economic effects of the pilot project for Multiple-Purpose Utilization of Paddy Fields, and to propose policies to increase the effectiveness of the project. In order to analyze the economic effect, we estimated the change in farm income generated by switching from rice to other crops, and measured the effect of welfare change using the Equilibrium Displacement Model (EDM). As a result of the analysis, social welfare is expected to increase when the pilot project for Multiple-Purpose Utilization of Paddy Fields is implemented, and the income of the beneficiary farmers is also expected to improve compared to that of single-cropping when double-cropping is implemented. However, it was found that the economic feasibility of the project differs depending on the crops converted. Juksan-myeon, Gimje-si, which is an area where soybean production was successful, was analyzed from the viewpoint of increasing the economic feasibility of the pilot project. Their success factors were analyzed into four major factors: infrastructure, farming methods, education, and collaboration with local agricultural organizations. If such a success story can be utilized in the future project implementation process, it can contribute to the improvement of farm household income and national economic welfare.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.248-254
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• 2022

Background: Occupational hazards in crop farms vary diversely based on different field operations as soil management, harvesting processes, pesticide, or fertilizer application. We aimed at evaluating the immunological status of crop farmers, as limited systematic investigations on immune alteration involved with crop farming have been reported yet. Methods: Immunological parameters including plasma immunoglobulin level, major peripheral immune cells distribution, and level of cytokine production from activated T cell were conducted. Nineteen grape orchard, 48 onion open-field, and 21 rose greenhouse farmers were participated. Results: Significantly low proportion of natural killer (NK) cell, a core cell for innate immunity, was revealed in the grape farmers (19.8±3.3%) in comparison to the onion farmers (26.4±3.1%) and the rose farmers (26.9±2.5%), whereas cytotoxic T lymphocyte proportion was lower in the grape and the onion farmers than the rose farmers. The proportion of NKT cell, an immune cell implicated with allergic response, was significantly higher in the grape (2.3±0.3%) and the onion (1.6±0.8%) farmers compared with the rose farmers (1.0±0.4%). A significantly decreased interferon-gamma:interleukin-13 ratio was observed from ex vivo stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells of grape farmers compared with the other two groups. The grape farmers revealed the lowest levels of plasma IgG1 and IgG4, and their plasma IgE level was not significantly different from that of the onion or the rose farmers. Conclusion: Our finding suggests the high vulnerability of workplace-mediated allergic immunity in grape orchard farmers followed by open-field onion farmers and then the rose greenhouse farmers.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.136-145
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• 2020

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of most developing countries. In these countries, agriculture or farming is mostly done manually with little integration of machinery, intelligent systems and data monitoring. Irrigation is an essential process that directly influences crop production. The fluctuating amount of rainfall per year has led to the adoption of irrigation systems in most farms. The absence of smart sensors, monitoring methods and control, has led to low harvests and draining water sources. In this research paper, we introduce a 433 MHz Radio Frequency and 2G based Smart Irrigation Meter System and a water prepayment system for rural areas of Tanzania with no reliable internet coverage. Specifically, Ngurudoto area in Arusha region where it will be used as a case study for data collection. The proposed system is hybrid, comprising of both weather data (evapotranspiration) and soil moisture data. The architecture of the system has on-site weather measurement controllers, soil moisture sensors buried on the ground, water flow sensors, a solenoid valve, and a prepayment system. To achieve high precision in linear and nonlinear regression and to improve classification and prediction, this work cascades a Dynamic Regression Algorithm and Naïve Bayes algorithm.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.58-63
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• 2020

The ascidian Halocynthia aurantium (sea peach), which belongs to the phylum Chordata, is thought to be a valuable organism of aquaculture like H. roretzi (sea pineapple), but its biological characteristics such as development and ecology are not well known. In this study, in order to obtain basic data for H. aurantium farming, the development processes of H. aurantium inhabiting the east coast of Gangwon-do were investigated and compared with those of H. roretzi, a related species. As a result, the morphology and developmental stages of the fertilized eggs, embryos and larvae of H. aurantium were very similar to those of H. roretzi. Fertilized eggs of H. aurantium took about 42.1 hours to hatch at 11℃, almost similar to 40.9 hours of H. roretzi. The time required for larvae to metamorphose into juveniles after hatching was very similar between the two species. The hatched larvae of the two species became juveniles with oral and atrial siphons after 23 days at 11℃. Both types of embryos developed slowly in seawater at low temperatures and rapidly developed at high temperatures. Fertilized eggs of H. aurantium hatched in an average of 62.3 hours at 9℃, 42.1 hours at 11℃, and 36.3 hours at 13℃, whereas those of H. roretzi hatched in an average of 60.4 hours, 40.9 hours, and 35.2 hours. Most of H. aurantium embryos did not develop normally above 15℃, so it is thought that attention is needed in the seed production processes.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.312-320
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• 2021

In this study, we aimed to develop a feed additive that can promote the growth of stone flounder (Kareius bicoloratus). To this end, we fermented mealworm medium (5%, w/v) with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with antibacterial function (HeTm_LpWpPa) and evaluated its efficacy as a feed additive. Fish (approximately 5-6 g) were reared in six completely recirculating tanks (100 fish/tank) for 6 weeks. The total length of fish with and without HeTm_LpWpPa supplementation was 8.26 and 8.42 cm and body weight was 19.71 and 20.28 g, respectively, at 6 weeks. The weight gain of the control and experimental groups was 223.26 % and 248.76 %, respectively. The specific growth rate at 6 weeks was 2.79 % (control) and 2.98% (experimental), and the growth rate of the experimental group was slightly higher (0.19 %) than that of the control group. At the end of the experiment (i.e. 6 weeks), the number of fish below the mean weight in the experimental group was 3 (1 %) and that in the control group was 17 (5.7 %). These results indicate that feed supplementation of 10 % HeTm_LpWpPa could be utilized to promote the growth of flounder in farming.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.111-123
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• 2021

This study was conducted to investigate the growth characteristics of strawberries and N₂O emission by treating the compost for each type of livestock manure, which was an organic farming material, as a basal fertilization in plastic film house. Livestock manure compost, which made from cattle manure, swine manure, and poultry manure as raw materials, were applied to this experiment, treated by mixing or single on the basis of nitrogen content with the standard amount of fertilizer for strawberries. Total emission of N₂O were 10.7% higher than those in poultry manure compost treatment compared to the inorganic fertilizer treatment, but 16.5~41.9% lower than those in other livestock manure compost treatment. The period of N₂O emission mainly was up to the 17th day after fertilizer application, accounting for 70~87% of the total amount of discharge, and 13~30% of the total amount was emitted for 158 days later. N₂O emission was decreased significantly NH₄⁺-N content in the soil, and increased NO₃^--N. As compared with control, the number of leaves, leaf width and crown diameter of livestock manure compost treatments were not significantly different, leaf length of cattle+poultry, cattle+ swine, swine+poultry treatment higher, and SPAD (soil plant analysis development) values of cattle+poultry treatment highest. There was no significant difference in weight and sugar content of strawberry fruits among treatments.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.655-665
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• 2020

Background and objective: This study was conducted to compare the cultivation environment, growth of cut flowers, and management performance of conventional farms and smart farms growing the standard cut chrysanthemum, 'Jinba'. Methods: Conventional and smart farms were selected, and facility information, cultivation environment, cut flower growth, and management performance were investigated. Results: The conventional and smart farms were located in Muan, Jeollanam-do, and conventional farming involved cultivating with soil culture in a plastic greenhouse, while the smart farm was cultivating with hydroponics in a plastic greenhouse. The conventional farm did not have sensors for environmental measurement such as light intensity and temperature and pH and EC sensors for fertigation, and all systems, including roof window, side window, thermal screen, and shading curtain, were operated manually. On the other hand, the smart farm was equipped with sensors for measuring the environment and nutrient solution, and was automatically controlled. The day and night mean temperatures, relative humidity, and solar radiation in the facilities of the conventional and the smart farm were managed similarly. But in the floral differentiation stage, the floral differentiation was delayed, as the night temperature of conventional farm was managed as low as 17.7℃ which was lower than smart farm. Accordingly, the harvest of cut flowers by the conventional farm was delayed to 35 days later than that of the smart farm. Also, soil moisture and EC of the conventional farm were unnecessarily kept higher than those of the smart farm in the early growth stage, and then were maintained relatively low during the period after floral differentiation, when a lot of water and nutrients were required. Therefore, growth of cut flower, cut flower length, number of leaves, flower diameter, and weight were poorer in the conventional farm than in the smart farm. In terms of management performance, yield and sales price were 10% and 38% higher for the smart farm than for the conventional farm, respectively. Also, the net income was 2,298 thousand won more for the smart farm than for the conventional farm. Conclusion: It was suggested that the improved growth of cut flowers and high management performance of the smart farm were due to precise environment management for growth by the automatic control and sensor.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.267-276
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• 2020

Background and objective: Agro-healing is crucial with urban farming in the domestic. It is beyond the conventional agriculture. This study was carried out to assess the 2010s researches on domestic agro-healing and predict the future direction of agro-healing development. Methods: Among the articles published from 2010 to 2018, we collected some articles by searching keywords including agro-healing, garden activity, gardening, horticultural activity, horticultural program, horticultural therapy, plant effect, plant environment, plant growing program, plant impact, social gardening, urban agriculture and vegetable garden activity, selected 83 articles that were evaluated in advance, and analyzed by frequency analysis, t-test, and one-way ANOVA with SPSS 20.0. Results: Agro-healing journal articles were published the most in 2010, and have declined since then. In the classification according to the academic society, most of the journal articles were published by the Society for People, Plants, and Environment. The main targets of domestic agro-healing related to activities and programs were preschoolers, children and adolescents, accounting for 52.4% of the total. By the characteristics of the subjects, agro-healing programs and studies were conducted with special participants who needed special care compared to the general participants. The dependent variables were classified into six areas according to their attributes and the share of psychological and emotional areas was highest (42.6%) among them. In terms of the composition of the program, the share of those with 9-12 sessions was highest (36.7%) and the share of those with more than 20 participants was also highest (39.8%). Conclusion: It is recommended to operate agro-healing programs or industries focusing on the socially disadvantaged including those who have special needs or the underprivileged, but in order to create income for farms and expand the demand for agro-healing, it will be necessary to spread the perception that anyone without any physical or emotional issue can be the targets of and experience agro-healing. To meet the different needs of targets of agro-healing, it will be necessary to conduct objective and practical studies on broader areas and in the process the healing functions of agriculture and the strength of agro-healing needs to be further highlighted.