The application of plasma-activated water (PAW) in agriculture has gained the attention of researchers and practitioners. In particular, treatment with PAW is a promising method for increasing scion and rootstock survival as well as augmenting the mineral nutrition applicable to tree fruit crops. However, the applications of PAW are hampered by the lack of information about the effects of PAW on apple tree condition and yield. The increase in survival rate by PAW is believed to stem from the general stimulation of physiological processes in the plant tissue. To assess the actual effect of the PAW treatments, one needs to consider an important indicator of young tree quality such as their vegetative growth. We conducted field experiments to study the possibility of use of PAW for increase in primary nutrient contents in fruits and leaves in an orchard, as well as to assess the scion survival rate and vegetative growth of young grafts in a nursery. The application of PAW influenced the fruitset, yield, leaf nitrogen (N) and potassium (K), fruit phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca) ascorbic acid (AA) and titratable acidity (TA). Treatment with PAW did not significantly reduce the negative impact of the rootstock thickness on the survival rate of bench grafts and their subsequent development. At the same time, scion survival tended to increase in the case when the scions and the rootstocks were of compatible thickness. Further studies of the PAW treatment effects are needed to better understand its applicability in diverse fields of horticulture.

Recognizing and classifying localized lesions on apple fruit surfaces during automated sorting is critical for improving product quality and increasing the sustainability of fruit production. This study is aimed at developing sustainable methods for fruit sorting by applying hyperspectral analysis and machine learning to improve product quality and reduce losses. The employed hyperspectral technologies and machine learning algorithms enable the rapid and accurate detection of defects on the surface of fruits, enhancing product quality and reducing the number of rejects, thereby contributing to the sustainability of agriculture. This study seeks to advance commercial fruit quality control by comparing hyperspectral image classification algorithms to detect apple lesions caused by pathogens, including sunburn, scab, and rot, on three apple varieties: Honeycrisp, Gala, and Jonagold. The lesions were confirmed independently using expert judgment, real-time PCR, and 3D fluorimetry, providing a high accuracy of ground truth data and allowing conclusions to be drawn on ways to improve the sustainability and safety of the agrocenosis in which the fruits are grown. Hyperspectral imaging combined with mathematical analysis revealed that Venturia inaequalis is the main pathogen responsible for scab, while Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum are the main causes of rot. This comparative study is important because it provides a detailed analysis of the performance of both supervised and unsupervised classification methods for hyperspectral imagery, which is essential for the development of reliable automated grading systems. Support Vector Machines (SVM) proved to be the most accurate, with the highest average adjusted Rand Index (ARI) scores for sunscald (0.789), scab (0.818), and rot (0.854), making it the preferred approach for classifying apple lesions during grading. K-Means performed well for scab (0.786) and rot (0.84) classes, but showed limitations with lower metrics for other lesion types. A design and technological scheme of an optical system for identifying micro- and macro-damage to fruit tissues is proposed, and the dependence of the percentage of apple damage on the rotation frequency of the sorting line rollers is obtained. The optimal values for the rotation frequency of the rollers, at which the damage to apples is less than 5%, are up to 6 Hz. The results of this study confirm the high potential of hyperspectral data for the non-invasive recognition and classification of apple diseases in automated sorting systems with an accuracy comparable to that of human experts. These results provide valuable insights into the optimization of machine learning algorithms for agricultural applications, contributing to the development of more efficient and accurate fruit quality control systems, improved production sustainability, and the long-term storage of fruits.

Magnetic-pulse processing of seeds of berry crops | Andrey Izmailov, Igor Smirnov, Dmitriy Khort, Rostislav Filippov, Alexey Kutyrev | Agricultural Journals

The description of a new method of winter grafting of sweet cherry varieties “Revna” is given. The novelty of the method lies in the use of a portable device for generating cold plasma, as well as a plasma-treated solution, developed by the team of authors. It has been established that exposure to cold plasma affects the growth length of “Revna” cherries by 17–28%, while an increase in the diameter of the root collar by 20–23% was observed. The electrical resistivity in the grafting zone after exposure to plasma or plasma-activated water decreased by an average of 14% compared to the control, which indicated a better fusion of the transport fibers of the rootstocks and scions.

Introduction. The justification of parameters and introduction of new environmentally friendly technologies and technical means for weed control in the stalk zone is a pressing issue of major economic importance. The aim of the study is to justify the effective modes of operation trailer machine for the hydraulic removal weeds on the industrial plantation of horticultural crops. Materials and Methods. According to the analysis of existing technologies and technical means for weed vegetation removal from the stalk zone of garden plantings, a device for hydraulic removal of weed vegetation without the use of herbicides has been developed at Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM. To identify the most effective modes of operation of the machine on an industrial plantation of an apple orchard, a factorial experiment was conducted. Statistical processing of the obtained experimental results was carried out using mathematical modeling. Results. The statistical analysis of the factor experiment data showed that the following operating modes of the device are the most effective for performing the technological operation of hydraulic removal weeds: the distance between the soil and the spray head is 14.5 cm, the working fluid supply pressure is 759 bar, the movement speed is 2.4 km/h. The static treatment mode for estimating the penetration depth of the jets with exposures of 10, 5, and 3 sec showed a penetration depth of 62, 34 and 12 mm, respectively. The diameters of the track were: In the first case 350 mm external and 330 mm internal (cutting width 24 mm); in the second and third cases – 340 mm for the outer and 328 mm for the inner (cutting width 16 mm). Discussion and Conclusion. As a result of the experiment, it was established that the machine is able to provide high-quality processing stalk zone when using water from the central water supply. After the unit cultivated the soil, 90% which was covered with weeds, only 20–30% of the visible green mass remains, the rest is mixed with the soil. After doube cultivation, the root system of weed vegetation remained in 10–13% of the area. The device meets the requirements of the technological operation weed vegetation removal in the stalk zone without the use of herbicides with sufficiently high technological parameters.

The present study explored the effect of the irradiation of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) seeds by a lowfrequency magnetic field with the help of a developed device for magnetic-pulse processing of plants.The experiment was repeated three times; 24 batches of 30 seeds per batch were involved and one batch of 100 seeds was taken as a control.The induction of the pulsed magnetic field in the processing zone was 4, 5, 6 mT, regulated by moving the working body of the inductor (magnetic coil).The experiment showed that low-frequency pulsed magnetic had a positive effect on the germination energy and the germination of strawberry seeds. Statistical processing of the obtained experimental results was carried out by means of mathematical modeling by orthogonal planning of experiments.On the 18th day of registration, the germination energy of strawberry seeds treated with a low-frequency pulsed magnetic field exceeded the control indicators by 21%. Based on the calculated coefficients of the mathematical model, the response function and equation of the mathematical model were found.The graphical interpretation of the function of three variables and the chart of lines of equal level (contours) were constructed.The values of the extremum of the response function and the corresponding values of the factors in the coded and natural form were obtained.The analysis of these factorial experiments showed that the most effective parameter of irradiation for increasing germination and seed germination energy is irradiation with a frequency of 15.325 Hz, a duty ratio of 16.145 and magnetic induction in the irradiation zone of 5.05 MT.