Stucker Andrew M, Morris Ethan, Stubbs Christopher J, Robertson Daniel J
AgMEQ Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive, Moscow, ID 83843, USA.
HardwareX. 2021 Aug 25;10:e00226. doi: 10.1016/j.ohx.2021.e00226. eCollection 2021 Oct.
Given the ever-increasing world population, maize plays a pivotal role in global food security. A major obstacle facing farmers is stalk lodging (the breakage of the stalk before harvest), which leads to substantial losses in annual yields. Weather, disease, and pest damage are major contributors to stalk lodging. Traditionally, evaluating a stalk's tendency to lodge was achieved with a 'pinch' test: pinching the stalk by hand to estimate its transverse stiffness. This test is inherently qualitative, and results vary from person to person. To combat these problems, a portable, battery-operated, non-destructive device for precisely measuring the transverse stiffness of maize stalks, known as the Crop Clamp, has been developed. The device is capable of recording over 100 measurements per hour and has been validated against laboratory tests.
鉴于世界人口不断增长，玉米在全球粮食安全中发挥着关键作用。农民面临的一个主要障碍是茎倒伏（收获前茎的折断），这导致年产量大幅损失。天气、疾病和虫害是茎倒伏的主要原因。传统上，评估茎倒伏的倾向是通过“捏”测试来实现的：用手捏茎以估计其横向刚度。这个测试本质上是定性的，结果因人而异。为了解决这些问题，一种便携式、电池供电、非破坏性的精确测量玉米茎横向刚度的设备——作物夹钳已经被开发出来。该设备每小时能够记录100多次测量数据，并且已经通过实验室测试验证。
