1,720,988 research outputs found
A Facilitating Machine for Silkworm Rearing
No full textThe Silkworm breeding is an activity that was formerly practiced in China and began in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy) between 1400 and 1500 AD. In the Friuli countryside declining after 1950 and all attempts to revive this industry have subsequently failed for various reasons, not least the lack of adequate technology. The problem of producing silk today is in fact linked to the design and construction of machinery to facilitate silkworm rearing so as to make it attractive to farms in terms of both working conditions and production. The SILK project financed by the Friuli Venezia Giulia region was conceived within this framework with the aim of relaunching silk production. The agricultural mechanization research group of DI4A of the University of Udine took charge of the design and construction of a prototype of a facilitating machine for the first larval ages of the silkworm. The objectives conceived for the prototype machine were to allow the silkworm rearer to easily and relatively quickly manage the cleaning of the bedding with the aid of stainless steel trays fitted with mesh or perforated paper. To have also the possibility of keeping the silkworms on stackable shelves so as to rationally exploit the surface area of the available rooms. The design phase was done in CAD and then the machine was built, assembled and brought to a silkworm farmer where the first tests were carried out to check the advantages compared to the manual operations adopted up to that moment
Perdite a terra e deposito di prodotto sulle foglie in trattamenti antiparassitari su vigneto a spalliera
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La situazione del rischio alimentare dell’operatore e ambientale nella viticoltura friulana
No full textWhole-Body Vibration for Tractor Drivers
No full textAmong the main health risks for operators in the agricultural sector, exposure to mechanical vibrations is certainly one of the most difficult factors to quantify, in relation to the continuous and heterogeneous use of agricultural machinery during the agricultural year. According to data provided by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), 24% of workers in the European Union are exposed to mechanical vibration. Italian workers result to be exposed to the risk of this physical agents with frequencies around 21%. In reason of this data and in order to avoid the consequences of exposure to vibrations on workers’ health, it is therefore necessary to carry out a risk analysis in the workplace and, where necessary, to take appropriate preventive measures. The aim of our research was, therefore, to measure vibration exposure and disturbances that can be transmitted while driving agricultural tractors. In particular, the vibrations transmitted, through the seat, at the lumbar spine, lumbosacral spine and cervical-dorsal junction were assessed. The results showed that the vibrations were evenly distributed over the entire spinal column without statistically significant differences depending on the areas sampled. In some cases, higher accelerations were observed in the cervical-dorsal area, probably due to the vibrations transmitted by the steering wheel. The analysis of whole-body vibration transmission in relation to the different fat mass (BMI) of the operators involved in the tests showed no significant differences moment
Evaluation of Tracer dyes for spray deposit assessment in the vineyard
No full textResults are reported from a series of experiments performed to assess the suitability of 12 tracer dyes for sprayer deposit assessment: five fluorescent and seven non-fluorescent tracer dyes were tested.Tartrazine and Amaranthus proved to be the best tracers because of no toxicity, low cost, simple laboratory procedure, photostability, and high recovery rate from both artificial and natural targets.Results are also reported of the use of two different dyes on the same target, aiming at reducing the number of samples: analysis of the data in the specific test showed no significant difference between the use of two dyes on the same target, in comparison to a dye taken individually.In the field test with regard to the distribution the average deposition is about 54% with ground losses of about 26% and hidden losses (mostly drift) were about 20%. As far as the distribution is concerned, a significant difference was found for the height analysis, where the greatest amount of tracer was found on the leaves placed in a high position.With regard to exposure, all the differences were significant, with the greatest amount of tracer being found on the best exposed leaves and the least on those in the interior of the vegetation. The anova test shows that the two tracers did not show significant differences between them while the factors taken into account do, which means that they can basically be used together without affecting the significance of the factors that do show significant differences between them
Chemical Risk Assessment in Agriculture: A New Methodological Approach
No full textThere is a growing concern about the possible negative effects on the population (not only workers) and the environment deriving from the incorrect use of plant protection products (PPPs). So, some years ago, the European Union established a regulatory framework on the sustainable use of PPPs with Directive 2009/128/EC. In each operational phases involving PPPs, a greater or lesser exposure risk for workers may arise depending on the intrinsic hazardousness of the active principle, the levels of exposure and absorption into the body through the various pathways of penetration (ingestion, inhalation, contact), and the manner and frequency of use. A complete knowledge and detailed assessment of the effects of PPPs is complex to be obtained because toxicological tests are performed on active substances but not on commercial formulations or preparations on the market. Moreover, exposure to PPPs has its greatest consequences for human health when it occurs in chronic form, i.e. at low doses but prolonged in the course of professional activities. The aim of this study was, therefore, to present a novel mathematical method, namely 'AgriRisCh', to indirectly assess the risk factors due to the exposure of agricultural operators to chemicals, with particular reference to the activities of handling and storage, mixture preparation, and field distribution of PPPs. For this purpose, the new model has been compared to a more common Italian risk assessment system also based on mathematical relations, i.e. the MoVaRisCh. The presented tool allows the assessment of the chemical risk to workers' health according to the (Italian) law provisions
Gestione della sicurezza ambientale nelle cantine: proposta e applicazione di un metodo di analisi in Friuli Venezia Giulia
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