As known, many multi-purpose plants can be used in different industries. This research is focused on the possibilities to utilize hemp as feedstock for thermal insulation products. The most advantageous features of hemp insulation are associated with health and environmental safety. The thermal conductivity of commercially available hemp insulation products is comparable with that of other fibrous insulation materials; however, it is possible to develop new products that could be more efficient in terms of cost and due to other important features.

One of the most delicate operations in the sugar beet harvesting process is removing the tops from the heads of the root crops without any mechanical damages. The aim of this study is to improve the design of the conveying and unloading system of the sugar beet topper machine. In this paper, a mathematical model of the motion of a cut beet tops particle M, along the conveying and unloading system, has been developed to support the evaluation of kinematic and design parameters, depending on the rotational speed of the thrower blade, the air flow speed, the required ejection speed of particle M, and the position of the trailer that moves alongside the harvester. It has been established that increasing the speed Va of the top particle M, which has left the end of the blade of the thrower, leads to an increase in the arc coordinate S(t) of its movement along the cylindrical section of the casing. Within the range of the speed change from 4 m·s^–1 to 8 m·s^–1, the value of the arc coordinate S(t) increases by 1.4 times during time t = 0.006 s. Moreover, a rapid decrease in speed V is observed with an increase in the length x of the discharge chute.

Despite the high nutritional value of cowpea and its potential for sustainable farming, its cultivation is limited by the lack of vegetable varieties adapted to different soil and climatic conditions, which complicates the fight against food insecurity in many countries. Therefore, this study aims to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. subsp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdc.) varieties with the aim of identifying genotypes with high productivity potential and resistance to the main adverse environmental factors of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. The experimental study was carried out in a three-year period (2014–2016). Depending on the variant of the experiment, cowpea germination was observed from 25 May to 30 May. The shortest sowing–shoot period (10 days) was observed in the variety ‘U-Tya-Kontou’ (China), with the longest (13 days) in the varieties ‘Kafedralna’ (Ukraine) and ‘American Improved’ (USA). In the control variant, shoots were obtained on 28 May. Flowering started from 9 July to 16 July; technical maturity (unripe (green) beans) started from 27 July to 2 July; and biological maturity of the seeds started from 30 August to 5 September. For the variety ‘American Improved’, the shortest period of seedling–technical maturity (unripe (green) beans) (58 days) and seedling–biological maturity (92 days) was recorded. By cultivar, the maximum plant height was achieved with varieties ‘Groik’ (Israel) at 100.5 cm and ‘Gasson’ (Vietnam) at 61.8 cm, which are 52 cm and 13.3 cm more than the control height. They differ by the quick growth of the main and side shoots, which allows them to be grown on supports. The highest yield of green beans was recorded in the cowpea variety ‘Gasson’ at 14.4 t∙ha⁻¹, which is 38.5% higher than the control. In the variety ‘Groik’, the yield of green beans (11.4 t∙ha⁻¹) did not differ significantly from the control (‘Kafedralna’—10.4 t∙ha⁻¹). The varieties ‘U-Tya-Kontou’ and ‘American Improved’ were characterized by the lowest yield of green beans, which reached 5.8 and 4.2 t∙ha⁻¹, respectively, which is 44.2 and 59.6% less than the control. As a result of statistical analysis of cowpea yields, the limits of its fluctuation were established as follows: fluctuations in the sum of effective temperatures by 10 °C (>10 °C) contributed to a deviation in green bean yields from 20.0 to 24.7 kg (ha)⁻¹, and fluctuations in precipitation by 10 mm contributed to a deviation in green bean yields in the range from 34.3 to 208.2 kg (ha)⁻¹. The results of the study presented in this article have practical application for the development of effective methods of growing local varieties of long-stemmed cowpea, which will increase yields and meet the needs of both farmers and consumers in regions with similar climatic conditions.

Energy and raw material costs, an increase in environmental pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, depletion of fossil raw materials stimulate to seek and study alternatives to the synthetic fibers and products made of them for full or partial replacement. Renewable raw materials, including natural fiber sources, are the future of storage resources with a variety of positive effects on both the planet ecosystem and the living and working environment, and the energy consumption of delivering the required functionality. One of the most important energy-saving types is to reduce energy consumption in buildings by insulating them.For Latvian conditions suitable crops are historically grown flax and hemp. Within the framework of the studies, hemp stems are being used. Hemp compared with flax, are less suffering from diseases and less damaged by pests, so hemp cultivation is practically free from use of chemical pesticides and herbicides reducing the risk to the ecosystem.One of the most frequently mentioned industrial hemp raw materials positive qualities are their very wide use, practically all plant parts can be used in production of different products. This work explores the possibilities and technologies within the Latvian grown hemp stems to work into board materials with insulation capability.Hemp fibers/shives mix boards can fulfill the main function of insulation materials, i.e., to reduce the transmission of heat, because they have a porous structure and low density. Material thermal insulation properties affect physical and structural properties of compounds. Cost effective particles board samples from chopped hemp stems with three types of adhesives and different thicknesses were produced and their thermal conductivity evaluated. The technologies applied and test results will be discussed in the paper.

The subject of studying physics at higher school, in addition to the system of ideas about the physical picture of the world, is the methods of scientific knowledge, its general structure and components. This study is devoted to the problem of organizing and conducting professionally oriented laboratory work in physics for training the future agricultural engineers. One of the ways how to implement the requirements of modern society for the quality of fundamental education is the professional orientation of the physics teaching. Physics is the basic foundation for the study of professional training disciplines at higher education institutions. In the system of physics education, a teaching experiment plays an important role for the development of skills of applying theoretical knowledge to practical activities. Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to the educational experiment in physics in the system of the students’ professional training. This is what determined the main goal of our research: to theoretically substantiate and develop a methodology for the formation of professionally oriented experimental skills of the future agricultural engineers in the process of performing laboratory work in physics under the conditions of integration of fundamental and professional training. A methodology has been developed for teaching physics to the students of educational institutions that would correspond to the professional direction of the laboratory work of the discipline and would be based on the unity of the fundamental and applied components of the discipline “Physics” at higher education institutions. There was experimentally studied the efficiency of the developed methodology for studying physics in terms of organizing the laboratory work with a professional direction. It has been proved that the professional orientation of physics training changes the student’s attitude towards theoretical training, helps him to identify the dependence of the theoretical issues of the course upon his future professional activity, his formation as a specialist.