Current Science

J. K. Nayak ¹, S. B. Kedare ¹, Rangan Banerjee ¹, S. Bandyopadhyay ¹, N. B. Desai ¹, S. Paul ¹, A. Kapila ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400 076, IN

Abstract

Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants have invited wide attention in various sunlight-rich regions around the world, including India. Under sponsorship of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai has conceptualized and carried out the basic engineering design, installation, commissioning and operation of a 1 MW(e) CSP plant in the campus of the National Institute of Solar Energy at Gwalpahari, near Gurgaon, Haryana, India. This is a unique facility integrating two different solar collector fields; direct steam-generating linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) field and conventional heat transfer fluid-based parabolic trough collector (PTC) field. It is a researchcum- demonstration facility intended to enable the development of future cost-effective CSP plants in the country. The design basis, brief description of the power plant, learning experiences during commissioning and operation of the plant, as well as preliminary performance results are presented here. The plant is grid-connected and operational. The preliminary results show low performance due to the lower optical efficiencies of both the collector fields, tracking error, loop imbalance of PTC field, and improper receiver size of LFR field.

Keywords

Concentrating Solar Power Plants, Linear Fresnel Reflector, Parabolic Trough Collector, Researchcum-Demonstration Facility.

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Arkendu Ghosh ¹, K. Dey ¹, N. Bhowmick ², S. K. Ghosh ², S. Bandyopadhyay ³, P. S. Medda ⁴, A. Ghosh ⁵

Affiliations
1 Department of Fruits and Orchard Management, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia 741 252, IN
2 Department of Pomology and Post Harvest Technology, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Pundibari, Cooch Behar 736 165, IN
3 Department of Agronomy, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Pundibari, Cooch Behar 736 165, IN
4 Department of Plantation Crops and Processing, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Pundibari, Cooch Behar 736 165, IN
5 Department of Agricultural Statistics, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Pundibari, Cooch Behar 736 165, IN

Abstract

A field experiment was laid out in two factorial randomized block design with four levels of pruning and seven levels of nutrients, consisting recommended dose of fertilizers and different combinations of organic manure (vermicompost), inorganic fertilizer, bio-fertilizer (azotobacter), mycorrhiza (VAM) and their interaction between 2013 and 2015 on 9-year-old lemon plants. Studies revealed that all physicochemical parameters, viz. fruit weight, puncture force, total soluble solid, total sugar, ascorbic acid were highest in (P3N4) combination of higher level of pruning. However, the maximum availability of leaf and soil nutrients was recorded in N₄.

Keywords

Lemon, Nutrient Management, Pruning, Soil-Leaf Nutrient Availability, Yield and Quality.

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Shelton Padua ¹, T. Chattopadhyay ², S. Bandyopadhyay ², S. Ramchandran ³, R. K. Jena ³, P. Ray ³, P. Deb Roy ³, U. Baruah ³, K. D. Sah ³, S. K. Singh ⁴, S. K. Ray ³

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi 682 018, IN
2 ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional Centre, Kolkata 700 091, IN
3 ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional Centre, Jorhat 785 004, IN
4 ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Amravati Road, Nagpur 440 033, IN

Abstract

Soil fertility has direct implications on the agricultural production scenarios of a region. Surface soil samples at 1 km grid were collected to assess the fertility status of Lakhimpur district (Assam) in North East India. Fertility parameters like soil organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, manganese, zinc and copper were determined using standard analytical procedure. Spatial distribution maps of the soil parameters were generated using regularized spline method in ArcGIS 10.0. The average soil organic carbon content was 1.05% and the maximum area was under high availability status (78%). In the case of nitrogen, 57% of the area was under low availability status. In the case of available potassium and phosphorus, the areas under low availability status were 48% and 49% respectively. But for micronutrients, in general, the availability status was high except for zinc, which indicated that 40% of the area was under low availability. A methodology was developed to integrate the individual nutrient layers using a set of decision rules to identify the multinutrient deficient zones. The integrated map showed that 24% of the area had multiple nutrient deficiencies and fell under high priority zone that warrant immediate nutrient management interventions to mitigate the situation.

Keywords

Decision Rules, Multinutrient Deficiency, Soil Fertility, Spatial Variability, Spline Interpolation, Soil Information System.

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Bimal K. Bhattacharya ¹, Robert O. Green ², Sadasiva Rao ³, M. Saxena ¹, Shweta Sharma ¹, K. Ajay Kumar ¹, P. Srinivasulu ³, Shashikant Sharma ¹, D. Dhar ¹, S. Bandyopadhyay ⁴, Shantanu Bhatwadekar ⁴, Raj Kumar ¹

Affiliations
1 Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Ahmedabad 380 015, IN
2 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, CA 91109, IN
3 National Remote Sensing Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Hyderabad 500 625, IN
4 Earth Observation Science Directorate, Indian Space Research Organisation, Bengaluru 560 231, IN

Abstract

The first phase of an airborne science campaign has been carried out with the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) imaging spectrometer over 22,840 sq. km across 57 sites in India during 84 days from 16 December 2015 to 6 March 2016. This campaign was organized under the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) joint initiative for HYperSpectral Imaging (HYSI) programme. To support the campaign, synchronous field campaigns and ground measurements were also carried out over these sites spanning themes related to crop, soil, forest, geology, coastal, ocean, river water, snow, urban, etc. AVIRIS-NG measures the spectral range from 380 to 2510 nm at 5 nm sampling with a ground sampling distance ranging from 4 to 8 m and flight altitude of 4–8 km. On-board and ground-based calibration and processing were carried out to generate level 0 (L0) and level 1 (L1) products respectively. An atmospheric correction scheme has been developed to convert the measured radiances to surface reflectance (level 2). These spectroscopic signatures are intended to discriminate surface types and retrieve physical and compositional parameters for the study of terrestrial, aquatic and atmospheric properties. The results from this campaign will support a range of objectives, including demonstration of advanced applications for societal benefits, validation of models/techniques, development of state-of-the-art spectral libraries, testing and refinement of automated tools for users, and definition of requirements for future space-based missions that can provide this class of measurements routinely for a range of important applications.

Keywords

Airborne Science Campaign, Hyperspectral Sensing, Imaging Spectrometer, Surface Reflectance.

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