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Dissertation
Combining crop growth models with the Precision Agriculture concept of yield gap analysis to evaluate yield limiting and reducing factors
(2022)
The agricultural sector is considered as one of the main elements of a “functional” society and its welfare for providing means to fulfil the most basic human need for food. In the past, an improved overall welfare of developed countries was directly related to early investment in conventional farming machinery parallel to the industrial development. With the expected future population increase and climate change, farm yield gaps are expected to increase and become more volatile. The awareness of negative externalities ...
Dissertation
Sustainability of traditional cocoa agroforests in Ghana
(2022)
Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is an important agricultural commodity that is important to the economies of many countries in the world. Due to cocoa’s dependence on fertile forests soils, its production is a major cause of deforestation and soil degradation in producing countries. When grown in agroforestry systems it can conserve biodiversity, sequester carbon (C), and maintain soil fertility. There are many cocoa agroforests which are managed without synthetic agrochemicals. Because organic cocoa certification is now ...
Dissertation
Denaturation mechanism of whey protein by using the hot extrusion technology
(2022-02)
Milk proteins are one of the heat-sensitive nutritional components, especially whey proteins changing their structure through thermal treatment, consequently denaturizing and aggregating. The transformation of native whey proteins structure in presence of shear stress resulted in the microparticulation, which affected the functional properties. Many authors investigated these parameters with different conditions; however, understanding the combination of relevant parameters of the microparticulation process of whey ...
Dissertation
Using Optical Satellite Imagery to Monitor and Understand Agricultural Land-cover Change
(2020-06)
The activities of humans have transformed the earth over the last decades. The transformation is estimated to increase further in response to the growing world population. This has caused many countries to devise means to utilize resources sustainably. Bio-economy is seen as a means to reduce the high reliance on fossil materials and ensure the provision of raw materials, energy and food to the increasing world population in a sustainable manner. However, the rising demands for biomass to produce bioenergy have relied ...
Dissertation
Robustness of portable and laboratory-based visible/near- and mid-infrared spectroscopy for optimized determination of temporally and spatially variable soil properties
(2021)
Application of visible/near- (VISNIRS) and mid-infrared (MIRS) spectroscopy to the field of soil science is promising, as it allows information about a range of properties to be collected simultaneously and rapidly, thereby providing high spatial and temporal resolution data for use in, e.g., soil mapping, precision agriculture, and long-term monitoring. However, investigation of the conditions under which visNIRS and MIRS can replace traditional lab methods is required, as the accuracy, robustness, and efficiency ...
Dissertation
Challenges to ecosystem services of sustainable agriculture in West Africa
(2020)
Food security is still sub-optimal in many parts of West Africa calling for more efficient agricultural practices in mitigating food insecurity. Some of the problems faced in West African agricultural systems are bottlenecks in ruminant livestock supply, inefficiency in commercial poultry production, and loss of arthropod diversity. These issues require proper integration of farming systems, demand the closing of nutrient cycles, need diversi cation of production, and require enhancement of ecosystem services. To ...
Dissertation
Investigation of drying behavior and color development of beef slices for development of non-invasive monitoring approaches
(2021)
Meat drying has a long tradition worldwide and technically dried meat is increasingly valued as a low-fat snack or high-protein food product. Convection drying is widely used in industrial food preservation and has to provide high process efficiency and high product qualities, which can be contradictory. Therefore, it is important to understand the changes that occur in the product in order to develop drying strategies that consider process and product efficiency each at an acceptable level. The objective of this ...
Dissertation
Entwicklung einer Robotik-Lösung zur Schneckenbekämpfung in der Landwirtschaft
(2020)
Schnecken sind bedeutende Schädlinge in der Landwirtschaft. Die Ausbringung von Schneckenkorn zur Schneckenbekämpfung als Verfahren nach dem Stand der Technik hat jedoch erhebliche Nachteile. Der Erfolg ist abhängig von der vorherrschenden Witterung und damit unsicher, zudem schadet es auch Nützlingen. Eine Robotik-Lösung zu Schneckenbekämpfung arbeitet wetterunabhängig und ist in der Lage, zwischen Schädlingen und Nützlingen zu unterscheiden.
Durch einen Feldversuch konnte gezeigt werden, dass Überfahrten eines ...
Dissertation
Development of Energy use Profiles, Reduction Concepts, and Implementation of Renewable Energies in the Central Ugandan Pineapple Processing Chains
(2020-02)
Pineapples, like all fruits, are highly perishable and require either immediate consumption or preservation. To make them more stable and add value, four major processing methods are being employed in Uganda, i.e. drying, munaanansi (local drink), wine, and juice making. Energy is one of the main inputs required to achieve any of the processing methods. The aim of this research was to develop energy use profiles, gain insights into energy use reduction options, and to evaluate the applicability of renewable energies ...
Dissertation
Process optimisation and development of non-invasive monitoring approaches for the drying of apples
(2020)
Drying is of great importance particularly in the field of preserving agricultural products. It plays a very critical role by delivering nutrient rich products with a long shelf-life as well as help to combat food loss. Drying processing techniques have changed and improved significantly over time, helping to ensure food abundance in both aesthetical and nutritional regards. Convective hot air drying is one of the most common technique practiced by 85 % of industries. It can be easily applied in the remote areas of ...