To study the appropriate numerical simulation methods for venturi injectors, including the investigation of the hydraulic performance, mixing process, and the flowing law of the two internal fluids, simulations and experiments were conducted in this study. In the simulations part, the cavitation model based on the standard k–ε turbulence and mixture models was added, after convergence of the calculations. The results revealed that the cavitation model has good agreement with the experiment. However, huge deviations occurred between the experimental results and the ones from the calculation when not considering the cavitation model after cavitation. Thus, it is inferred that the cavitation model can exactly predict the hydraulic performance of a venturi injector. In addition, the cavitation is a crucial factor affecting the hydraulic performance of a venturi injector. The cavitation can ensure the stability of the fertilizer absorption of the venturi injector and can realize the precise control of fertilization by the venturi injector, although it affects the flow stability and causes energy loss. Moreover, this study found that the mixing chamber and throat are the main areas of energy loss. Furthermore, we observed that the internal flow of the venturi injector results in the majority of mixing taking place at the diffusion and outlet sections.

Various rapid propagation strategies have been discovered, which has facilitated large-scale plant reproduction and cultivar development. These methods, in many plant species, are used to rapidly generate large quantities (900 mini-tubers/m²) of high-quality propagule (free from contamination) at a relatively low cost in a small space. They are also used for plant preservation. This review article aims to provide potential applications for regeneration and clonal propagation. Plant propagation using advanced agrotechnology, such as aeroponics, is becoming increasingly popular among academics and industrialists. The advancement of asexual aeroponic propagation has been achieved through advancements in monitoring and control systems using IoT and smart sensor technology. New sensor technology systems have gained substantial interest in agriculture in recent years. It is used in agriculture to precisely arrange various operations and objectives while harnessing limited resources with minimal human intervention. Modern intelligent technologies and control systems simplify sensor data collection, making it more efficient than manual data collection, which can be slow and prone to errors. Specific ambient variables like temperature, humidity, light intensity, stock solution concentrations (nutrient water), EC (electrical conductivity), pH values, CO₂ content, and atomization parameters (frequency and interval) are collected more effectively through these systems. The use of intelligent technologies provides complete control over the system. When combined with IoT, it aids in boosting crop quality and yield while also lowering production costs and providing data directly to tablets and smartphones in aeroponic propagation systems. It can potentially increase the system’s productivity and usefulness compared to the older manual monitoring and operating methods.

The development of low-noise pumps is essential to design quiet fluid delivery systems. Due to the complicated internal flow, the flow-induced noise characteristics of high-speed centrifugal pumps have not been well understood. Taking engine cooling pumps as an example model, experimental measurements are performed in a semi-anechoic room and a CFD/CFA calculation method is proposed to study the fluid-borne noise and radiated noise characteristics. In the speed range of 5000–6750 r/min, both the pump head and the dimensionless radiated noise characteristics conform to similar laws, and the highest efficiency point pump presents the lowest noise level. Consistent with the experimental results, the predicted radiated noise of the model pump presents dipole characteristics at the required flow rate condition. Moreover, the spectrum of fluid borne noise at pump outlet shows broadband characteristics but with obvious discrete peaks, which are not only related to the fluid pressure pulsation characteristics (6f₀ and the multiple) at the low-frequency region, but also to the frequency of the structural mode (3000–6000 Hz region). Rotor-stator interaction of the pump flow field between the impeller and volute is the main reason of flow-induced noise; unstable flow also contributes to the broadband components in the noise spectrum.

Crop yields remain significantly low in underdeveloped countries, such as Pakistan, primarily due to the prevalent use of traditional farming methods by most farmers. Resource-saving strategies, like ridge and raised flat bed systems, could boost water use efficiency and production per acre. However, further research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of these methods, along with different levels of soil moisture depletion (SMD), on wheat development in the climatic conditions of Sindh Province. Thus, field trials were undertaken at Sindh Agriculture University’s Tandojam for two years (2022 and 2023) during the wheat growing seasons. The experiment included six treatments, viz., T1 (raised flat bed method under 40% depletion), T2 (ridge method under 40% depletion), T3 (raised flat bed method under 50% depletion), T4 (ridge method under 50% depletion), T5 (raised flat bed method under 60% depletion), and T6 (ridge method under 60% depletion). The bed planter was employed to make raised flat beds, and the ridges were prepared using a ridge planter. Wheat variety (TJ-83) was sown. Under all treatments, the plant population, plant height, and seed index were statistically significant (p < 0.05), although spike length, grain spikes⁻¹, and grain weight spikes⁻¹ were non-significant at different SMD levels. To compute water saving through the ridge and raised flat methods, the recommended delta value for wheat crops under the traditional method was used as a benchmark. Both irrigation technologies conserve water compared to traditional irrigation methods. The T5 treatment conserved the most water, followed by T6. Under a 60% depletion level, the ridge approach produced the highest yield of 2175 kg ha⁻¹, compared to 601 kg ha⁻¹ with the raised flat bed method. The best crop water productivity (CWP) of 1.34 kg m⁻³ was achieved under T6, whereas raised flat beds attained the lowest CWP of 0.27 kg m⁻³ under T1. In terms of wheat grain production and CWP, the ridge furrow method outperformed the raised flat bed furrow method. Based on the results, it is recommended that farmers should use the ridge furrow method and allow a 60% depletion of soil moisture to obtain a high yield of wheat crops.

Drip emitter clogging is closely related to the presence of particulate matter, nutrients, organic matter and microorganisms in irrigation water and severely restricts the performance, service life and popularization of drip irrigation systems. Micro/nanobubbles can effectively remove suspended particles in water, limit microbial activity, and significantly increase the concentration of dissolved oxygen in water to promote crop growth. However, the effects of micro/nanobubbles on drip emitter clogging remain to be studied. Thus, taking micro/nanoaerated drip irrigation as the research object, five different types of emitters were selected, and the clogging characteristics of the different types of emitters under micro/nanoaerated conditions were studied by performing an emitter clogging test. The influence of emitter clogging on the uniformity of the irrigation provided by the micro/nanoaerated drip system was explored. The results showed that emitter clogs developed gradually and that the clogging developed slowly at the early stage of irrigation. When a slight clogging occurred, the emitter clogged rapidly, resulting in severe or even complete clogging. The cylindrical emitters had the worst anti-clogging performance among the tested emitters, while the emitters with no pressure compensation function and high rated flows had the better performance. Micro/nanoaeration had a significant effect on emitter clogging and increased the normal working times of the E1, E2, E3, E4 and E5 emitters by 38%, 20%, 30%, 28% and 130%, respectively. In addition, micro/nanoaeration reduced the sensitivity of the Christiansen uniformity coefficient (Cu) and the statistical uniformity coefficient (Us) in the drip system to the discharge ratio variation (Dra) and enhanced the stability of the uniformity coefficients of the drip system. Therefore, micro/nanoaeration can help to inhibit clog development in emitters, extend the service life of emitters, and maintain good uniformity in drip irrigation systems. The results of this paper provide a theoretical reference for revealing the clogging mechanisms of micro/nanoaerated drip irrigation emitters and provide theoretical support for the efficient operation of micro/nanoaerated drip irrigation systems.

The drip emitter is a fundamental component of the drip irrigation system, and its performance directly influences the efficiency of water–fertilizer–gas (WFG) coupling irrigation. However, the precise mechanism through which WFG coupling affects emitter clogging and system uniformity remains unclear. To address this, this study conducted a hydraulic performance test of the drip irrigation system based on micro-nano aerated drip irrigation technology. The clogging patterns of emitters and system uniformity were compared and analyzed under non-aerated drip irrigation and WFG coupling drip irrigation conditions. The results indicate that WFG coupling significantly alters the micromorphological structure and microbial diversity of clogged emitters. This change reduces clogging and can delay the clogging process of different types of emitters, thereby extending their service life by up to 29%. Additionally, it effectively improves the uniformity of the drip irrigation system. These findings highlight the potential of WFG coupling as an effective strategy to mitigate emitter clogging and optimize drip irrigation system performance.