The changing climate, causing more frequent abiotic stresses, has generated interest in products that can mitigate the negative impacts of these changes. One such group of preparations includes plant extracts with biostimulant potential, produced using various methods and techniques, including cold plasma and low-pressure microwave discharge. However, there is limited research on how production methods and techniques affect the physical properties of biostimulants, such as density, viscosity, and surface tension. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the manufacturing process on these properties. The biostimulant was produced via hot water extraction using either cold plasma or low-pressure microwave discharge. Results showed that neither method reduced the surface tension of the biostimulants, but they significantly influenced the viscosity and density. Given these changes in physical properties, further research on droplet spectrum and plant coverage during application is necessary to determine the optimal technical parameters for effective spraying.

The aim of the research was to examine the effect of sandblasting the adherent surfaces on the shear strength of aluminium alloy–glass adhesive joints. An EN AW-1050A aluminium alloy and non-hardened soda-lime glass were used as samples. The sandblasting materials in the study were copper slag and glass beads. Due to the brittleness of the glass, an adhesive joint design was created to allow strength testing. The adhesive joints took the form of lap joints, where a glass sample was placed between two aluminium samples. The length of the glass sample corresponded to the length of the adhesive joint overlap. The bonding process of the glass samples was carried out in two stages in order to maintain the dimensions of the joint. The adhesive used in the test was a two-component epoxy adhesive prepared on the basis of bisphenol A and a polyamide curing agent mixed at a ratio of 80 g of curing agent per 100 g of epoxy resin. For each sandblasting agent, adhesive joints consisting of three variations of surface treatments were made: sandblasted aluminium alloy-sandblasted glass, sandblasted aluminium alloy-untreated glass, untreated aluminium alloy-sandblasted glass. The distance between the nozzle and treated surface was 10 ± 1 cm, and the pressure of sandblasting was 0.6 MPa. One sample of each material differing in surface preparation was selected for a topography analysis. The shear strength tests performed showed that sandblasting increased the strength of the adhesive joints of the glass and aluminium alloy. The highest strength was obtained for joints where both materials were prepared using copper slag sandblasting. This was confirmed through statistical analysis. Only for this type of joint, statistical significance relative to the other adhesive bonding variants was obtained.

The study of qualitative characteristics is becoming increasingly important due to determination of the purchase price and further use of seeds. An important problem of the modern sustainable agriculture is the production of seeds and products with appropriate quality parameters. The research carried out so far proves that the technology of harvesting, transport, and drying conditions as well as storage have an impact on the quality of seeds, determining their usefulness for the industry. The smallest irregularities can cause irreversible changes and significantly reduce the technological value of seeds and their processing products. The use of tools in the field of supporting electrical engineering enables detection and highlighting of image elements so that it becomes readable to the human eye. The aim of the research was to develop technology for evaluating grain in storage using electrotechnical tools and computer techniques.

The article presents the results of a statistical analysis of adhesive joints with identical structural and material factors in relation to technological factors. Four types of adhesive joints were made: butt joints, lap joints, scarf joints and wedge joints. The joined materials were pine and oak wood. Each type of adhesive joint was joined in the following wood configurations: pine-pine, pine-oak, oak-oak. The technological factors were the type of adhesive, the humidity of the wood and the surface preparation of the samples. The U Mann-Whitney test was used to perform the statistical analysis. Results of statistical tests showed the influence of the used adhesive on pine-oak butt joints and wood moisture on pine-oak butt joints. Furthermore, the effect of wood configurations on the strength for each of the tested adhesive joints was compared using the Dunn’s statistical test. The test showed that there were not statistical differences between the joints in configurations pine-pine and pine-oak.