Determination of internal qualities such as total soluble solids (TSS) and pH is a paramount concern in strawberry cultivation. Therefore, the main objective of the current study was to develop a non-destructive approach with machine learning algorithms for predicting TSS and pH of strawberries. Six hundred samples (100 samples in each ripening stage) in six ripening stages were collected randomly for measuring the biometrical characteristics, i.e., length, diameters, weight and TSS and pH values. An image of each strawberry fruit was captured for colour feature extraction using an image processing technique. Channels of each colour space (RGB, HSV and HSL) were used as input variables for developing multiple linear regression (MLR) and support vector machine regression (SVM-R) models. The result of the study indicated that SVM-R model with HSV colour space performed slightly better than MLR model for TSS and pH prediction. The HSV based SVM-R model could explain a maximum of 84.1% and 79.2% for TSS and 78.8% and 72.6% for pH of the variations in measured and predicted data in training and testing stages, respectively. Further experiments need to be conducted with different strawberry cultivars for the prediction of more internal qualities along with the improvement of model performance.

Timely monitoring of fruit weight is a paramount concern for the improvement of productivity and quality in strawberry cultivation. Therefore, the present study was conducted to introduce a simple non-destructive technique with machine learning models in measuring fruit weight of strawberries. Nine hundred samples from three strawberry cultivars, i.e., Seolhyang, Maehyang, and Santa (300 samples in each cultivar), in six different ripening stages were randomly collected for determining length, diameter, and weight of each fruit. Pixel numbers of each captured fruit’s image were calculated using image processing techniques. A simple linear-based regression (LR) and a nonlinear regression, i.e., support vector regression (SVR) models were developed by using pixel numbers as input parameter in modeling fruit weight. Findings of the study showed that the LR model performed slightly better than the SVR model in estimating fruit weight. The LR model could explain the relationship between the pixel numbers and fruit weight with a maximum of 96.3% and 89.6% in the training and the testing stages, respectively. This new method is promising non-destructive, time-saving, and cost-effective for regularly monitoring fruit weight. Hereafter, more strawberry samples from various cultivars might need to be examined for the improvement of model performance in estimating fruit weight.

The academic institute, a huge consumer of energy, is still depending upon the grid and/or conventional fuel despite having potential areas of a solar PV installation. No such study has been reported in Nepal which has techno-economically discussed the potential use of academic institute rooftops for solar PV installation. In this study, we have investigated the techno-economic and environmental assessment of a 1 megawatt (MW) rooftop solar PV using PVsyst for Purwanchal Campus, Nepal. It has been estimated the plant will produce about 1,660 MWh of usable AC electricity annually and out of which 95% can be supplied to the grid. The remaining can fulfill the demand of the campus at sunshine hours. For this, a capital investment of about USD 961,404 is needed for the plant with an annual operating cost of USD 8,008. This project gives a 190% return of investment within its life of 25 years with a Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of 0.069 USD/kWh. The performance ratio and payback period of the project are calculated at about 0.765 and 8.4 years, respectively. The system will produce about 97% less emission than that of diesel generator, which is currently being used for power backup. It is concluded that a 1 MW grid-connected solar PV system is feasible for the studied campus.

Intensively grown strawberries in a greenhouse require frequent and precise soil physicochemical constituents for optimal production. Strawberry leaf color analyses are the most effective way to evaluate soil status and protect against excess environmental nutrients and financial setbacks. Meanwhile, precision agriculture (PA) endorsements have been utilized to mimic solutions to these problems. This research aimed to create machine learning models such as multiple linear regression (MLR) and gradient boost regression (GBR) for simulating strawberry leaf color changes related to soil physicochemical components and plant age using RGB (red, green, and blue) mean values. The soil physicochemical properties of the largest varied colored leaves of strawberry were precisely measured by a multifunctional soil sensor from the rooting zones. Simultaneously, 400 strawberry leaflets were detached in each vegetative and reproductive stage, and individual leaves were captured using a digital imaging system. The RGB mean values of colored images were extracted using the image segmentation algorithms of image processing technique. Consequently, MLR and GBR models were developed to predict leaf RGB mean values based on soil physicochemical measurements and plant age. The GBR model vigorously fitted with RGB mean values throughout the growth stage, with R² and RMSE values of (R = 0.77, 7.16, G = 0.72, 7.37, and B = 0.70, 5.68), respectively. Furthermore, the MLR model performed moderately with R² and RMSE values of (R = 0.67, 8.59, G = 0.57, 9.12, and B = 0.56, 6.81) when consecutively predicting RGB mean values in strawberry leaves. Eventually, the GBR model performed more effectively than the MLR model with high-performance metrics. In addition, the leaf color model uses visualization technology to measure growth progress, and it performs well in predicting dynamic changes in strawberry leaf color.