• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.63-77
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• 2024

Yield monitoring systems have become integral to precision agriculture, providing insights into the spatial variability of crop yield and playing an important role in modern harvesting technology. This paper aims to review current research trends in yield monitoring systems, specifically designed for non-grain crops, including cabbages, radishes, potatoes, and tomatoes. A systematic literature survey was conducted to evaluate the performance of various monitoring methods for non-grain crop yields. This study also assesses both mass- and volume-based yield monitoring systems to provide precise evaluations of agricultural productivity. Integrating load cell technology enables precise mass flow rate measurements and cumulative weighing, offering an accurate representation of crop yields, and the incorporation of image-based analysis enhances the overall system accuracy by facilitating volumetric flow rate calculations and refined volume estimations. Mass flow methods, including weighing, force impact, and radiometric approaches, have demonstrated impressive results, with some measurement error levels below 5%. Volume flow methods, including paddle wheel and optical methodologies, yielded error levels below 3%. Signal processing and correction measures also play a crucial role in achieving accurate yield estimations. Moreover, the selection of sensing approach, sensor layout, and mounting significantly influence the performance of monitoring systems for specific crops.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.103-109
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• 2018

Purpose: This study has been conducted to develop a potato yield monitoring system, consisting of a segmentation algorithm to detect potatoes scattered on a soil surface and a counting system to count the number of potatoes and convert the data from two-dimensional images to masses. Methods: First, a segmentation algorithm was developed using top-hat filtering and processing a series of images, and its performance was evaluated in a stationary condition. Second, a counting system was developed to count the number of potatoes in a moving condition and calculate the mass of each using a mass estimation equation, where the volume of a potato was obtained from its two-dimensional image, and the potato density and a correction factor were obtained experimentally. Experiments were conducted to segment potatoes on a soil surface for different potato sizes. The counting system was tested 10 times for 20 randomly selected potatoes in a simulated field condition. Furthermore, the estimated total mass of the potatoes was compared with their actual mass. Results: For a $640{\times}480$ image size, it took 0.04 s for the segmentation algorithm to process one frame. The root mean squared deviation (RMSD) and average percentage error for the measured mass of potatoes using this counting system were 12.65 g and 7.13%, respectively, when the camera was stationary. The system performance while moving was the best in L1 (0.313 m/s), where the RMSD and percentage error were 6.92 g and 7.79%, respectively. For 20 newly prepared potatoes and 10 replication measurements, the counting system exhibited a percentage error in the mass estimation ranging from 10.17-13.24%. Conclusions: At a travel speed of 0.313 m/s, the average percentage error and standard deviation of the mass measurement using the counting system were 12.03% and 1.04%, respectively.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.36-41
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• 1998

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the determination of 5-fluorourasil in human plasma is described. The method involves a single extraction procedure with 10 ml of isopropanol-ether(20:80) solution and pentafluoro-benzylation. Samples were injected using an automatic injector, followed by separation on a nonpolar capillary column and detection with a mass selective detector(MSD). No endogeneous compounds were found to interfere. The detection limit, based upon an assayed plasma volume of 0.5, was 3 ng/ml. The extraction yield was found to be above 80%. Plasma 5-FU concentrations were determined by this method in about 500 plasma samples from cancer patients undergoing treatment with 5-FU. This method is suitable for monitoring of 5-FU in plasma of cancer patients.