Saad F Ahmed’s scientific contributions

Farmers use different types of sprayers for the management of the pest. Successful pest management depends not only on the quality of the pesticide and insecticides but also on the use of the right plant protection appliances. Hence, proper selection based on ergonomic, economic, efficacy, and ecological and use of equipment for pesticide application has a direct effect on crop productivity. Normally, the spray efficiency, which usually is estimated by cost-income of the agricultural industry, increases from hand-operated sprayers with low application rate, small coverage area in a certain time interval , and low travel speed to large-scale sprayers which could apply pesticide with much higher application rate, bigger coverage area in a certain time interval and higher travel speed. This research aims to identify and inventory the different types of pesticide application systems used around the world.

Accurate pesticide application from sprayers, is essential in modern farming practice as it increased pest control, reduced pesticide costs and wastage, and greater environmental safety. Evenness of flow characteristics of liquid from a sprayer nozzle is one of the requirements of accurate pesticide application. Hence, a study was undertaken to evaluate the flow characteristics of liquid from four different spray nozzles (hollow cone ceramic nozzle (HCC)) 422HCC02, 422HCC025, 422HCC03, and 422HCC05 on a horizontal spray patternator. The discharge rate, spray distribution pattern, spray swath of all the types of nozzles were measured with a pressure range from 6.0 to 9.5 bar at three different nozzle heights (30, 40, and 50 cm). Considerable variations in pattern occurred between successive runs with individual nozzles: The maximum coefficient of variation (C.V.) for the average of nozzle discharges was within the permissible limits because it is less than 10%. It was observed that with the increment of operating pressure and spraying height, the swath width was found to be increased. The average discharge from hollow cone ceramic nozzles has been increased as a result of the increased operating pressure of the pump where the average discharge for 422HCC02 nozzle ranged between (0.98 to 1.35 L/min), for 422HCC025 nozzle ranged between (1.15 to 1.65 L/min), for 422HCC03 nozzle ranged between (1.23 to 1.76 L/min), for 422HCC05 nozzle ranged between (1.35 to 2.03 L/min) when the pump pressure increased from 6.0 bar to 9.5 bar.

Sugarcane represents the main cash crop in Upper Egypt. Area cultivated with sugarcane over 300,000 feds with average production 48 t/fed and total production may reach 16 million tons. The cost of labor has been increasing where the price is uncompetitive with the cost of mechanical harvesting with imported machines. Egypt needs to change its sugarcane harvesting methods from manual harvesting to mechanization to match the development occurred in similar countries. To mechanize sugarcane harvesting. Local cheap harvester should be manufactured considering our particular conditions. The study aimed to review and conclude some parameters the base cutter of a sugarcane harvester. The parameters, many include Physical and mechanical properties of sugar cane, cutting methods and types of knife edges, blade angles for cutting blades, cutting velocity (rotational speed) and forward velocity. Several researchers have been reviewing and reporting these parameters from variable point of views and variable objectives. INTRODUCTION he parameters related to the base cutter of a sugarcane harvester: 1. Physical and mechanical properties of sugar cane: Bosoi et al. (1996) reported that the sugarcane cutting force depends on the physical and mechanical properties of the sugarcane stalk and the thickness of the cutting blade. El-Nakib et al. (1996) performed tests on the Egyptian sugar cane variety C9 and they found that the average diameter of the stalk was 2.3 cm, and the cane stalk hardness was 775 N. Drees, (2005) mentioned that the cutting force changed from 1272 N to 1140 N through the stalk bottom, at stalk middle decreased from 1116 to 936 N and at the top of stalk cutting force declined down to reach 768 N. The maximum diameters of the cane stalks during harvest were 2.1 cm and 3.05 cm respectively at bottom and top. Taghinezhad et al. (2012) found that the maximum force increased from 313.75 to 592.74 N when the stalk diameters increased between 1.715-1.764 to 2.547-2.729 cm at internode and it also increased from 350.30 to 811.97 N when the stalk diameters increased between 17.23-17.88 to 24.49-25.35 mm at node. Samaila et al. (2012) reported that 401.5 N and 1310.35 N were needed for cutting the top and base of the

A tractor-front mounted sugarcane harvester was fabricated and tested. The machine parts were designed using "SolidWorks" software. The machine was then manufacturing and constructed by using the low cost material available in local market. Main components of this machine are machine frame, cutter head, power transmission system, and power supply. Results of the tests showed that the effective field capacity ranged from 1.16 to 1.3 fed/h, and increased with an increase in row spacing and forward speed. In the high crop density fields, the cutter head efficiency averaged 100 %. It, however, increased with a decrease in cutting height and also, increased with an increase in row spacing and number of knives. The throughput capacity increased from 42.9 to 79.02 t/h as the row spacing increased from 71 to 88.75 cm and the maximum total operating costs are 120 EGP/h (98.5 and 92.3 EGP/Fed) depending on the power requirements.

The objective of this study was to reduce wear behavior of soil working tools by coating and treating processes of the tool surfaces. Three different carbon steel materials: API 52, M238 and K110. Some of the previous specimens were treated with two different coating materials: Hard chrome, HCR, and carbon nanotubes- hard chrome composite, CNTs+HCR. The other specimens were treated by: conventional heat treatment, HT, and nirtocarborizing treatment, NC. Both the coated and treated tool specimens were mounted on a circular soil bin containing sandy clay loam soil at 14% moisture content. The working speed was adjusted at 5 Km/h (1.39 m/s).The coating thickness and the mass of tools were measured before and after each test. The test duration of tillage operation was taken 200 hrs for both coated and treated tools. Results obtained from all tests showed that, the wearing rate of coated specimens by carbon nanotubes-hard chrome composite CNTs+HCR were the minimum compared with other treatments. Results also showed that the surface roughness was the minimum.

Sugar is an important strategic commodity for all countries of the world. Sugar after wheat is of strategic importance in Europe, Africa, the Americas and Australia, while sugar is second only to rice for Asian countries. It was therefore necessary to pay full attention to sugary crops, especially sugar cane, to increase productivity and to bridge the gap between production and consumption by increasing the productivity of sugarcane. The main problem of sugar cane plantation is the harvesting process. The sugarcane harvesting season lasts for 5 months in Egypt, starting in December and ending in May. The objectives of this study are to Design and construction of a prototype sugar cane harvester suitable for small holdings under Egyptian conditions, Test and evaluate the performance of the machine in the field and precede an economical evaluation of the machine. Which achieve the following aspects, increasing the sugar cane harvesting efficiency, Reducing the cost and time required for sugar cane harvesting and reducing farmer’s effort and solving the problem of labor shortage.To achieve the objectives proposed for the current research, an experimental sugar cane harvester was designed and manufacturing at a local workshop in El-Minya governorate - El-Minya, Egypt. This experimental unit was designed to cut two rows of sugar cane and windrow them in one row below the tractor. The experimental unit was designed for to be compatible with a wide range of row spacing, row height and tractor types. Results of the tests showed that the effective field capacity ranged from 1.16 to 1.3 fed/h, and increased with increase in row spacing and forward speed. In the high crop density fields, the cutter head efficiency averaged 100 %. It, however, increased with decrease in cutting height and also, increased with increase in row spacing and number of knives. The throughput capacity increased from 42.9 to 79.02 t/h as the row spacing increased from 71 to 88.75 cm and the maximum total operating costs are 120 EGP/h (98.5 EGP/Fed) depending on the power requirements.

Tillage consumes a large amount of energy because of the high draft requirements. Thus, the importance of soil-metal sliding action is an important factor, which consumes energy. The control of soil movement on the tillage tool is a major desired action. Also, the kind of surface governs the bath of movement of the soil. The adhesion between the tool surface and the soil is greater than that of the cohesion. Thus, the main objectives of this investigation are to determine the draft required for a simple tillage tool produced from different types of steel API 52, K110 and M238 which were treated with different treatments. The effect of these different treatments on the share hardness was tested and evaluated. Results showed that the draft requirements of coated shares by carbon nanotube-hard chromium composite were less than that of untreated shares by about 43.92%, 44.14 %, and 38.02 % respectively. Also, it was found that hardness was im-proved by coating with carbon nanotube-hard chromium composite CNT+HCR which gave the highest value for hardness compared to other treatments. On another hand, the lowest value of surface roughness was obtained in carbon nanotube-chromium composite treatment after tillage of 200 hours followed by hard chromium treatment in all type of steel. Keywords: draft, coating, roughness

The invention is a master designed machine for small-sized sugar cane harvesting suitable for small holdings. The invitation include the following: 1. Manufacturing a machine to cut two lines of reeds and leave them under the tractor. 2. Make the unit work on a wide range of the furrow width and cut the cane on any height. 3. Adjusting the frame of the machine so that the machine can be installed on a wide range of tractors. 4. The transfer of power from the front wheel axis, which maintains a constant rate of speed of all the front speeds, as well as reducing the cost of manufacturing by about 30% of the price of the machine, also from the efficiency of separation of power from the cutting device to increase the load from increasing the safety limit. 5. Adjust all cutting angles to minimize the required cutting capacity. 6. Put the knives upside down to reduce the rate of knives’ wear. As it is characterized by: 1. The operation price of the machine is compatible with the potential of the farmers as the operating cost is 35 LE / fed. 2. Do not need skilled technical labor and training for operation and maintenance. 3. It fits financial possibilities of farmers. 4. It fits with current agricultural practices. 5. It fits with the design of the charging and discharging system in the current factories. 6. It fits with the transportation system from field to factory. 7. High efficiency and productivity of machines as they reach up to 1.5 fed / hour.