Preface

Chapter 8 **Microaggregate Stability of Tropical Soils and its Roles on Soil**

Chapter 9 **Soil Physical Properties and Nitrous Oxide Emission from**

**Section 3 Physical Properties of Plants and Their Products 221**

Chapter 10 **Identification of Wheat Morphotype and Variety Based on X-**

Chapter 11 **Physical Properties of Seeds in Technological Processes 269**

Chapter 12 **Criteria of Determination of Safe Grain Storage Time –**

Agnieszka Nawrocka and Joanna Lamorska

Chapter 15 **Plant Fibres for Textile and Technical Applications 369**

Agnieszka Kaleta and Krzysztof Górnicki

Alexander M. Demyanchuk, Stanisław Grundas and Leonid P.

L. Moscicki, M. Mitrus, A. Wojtowicz, T. Oniszczuk and A. Rejak

M. Sfiligoj Smole, S. Hribernik, K. Stana Kleinschek and T. Kreže

Natalya P. Buchkina, Elena Y. Rizhiya, Sergey V. Pavlik and Eugene V.

**Erosion Hazard Prediction 175** C.A. Igwe and S.E. Obalum

**Agricultural Soils 193**

**Ray Images of Kernels 223**

B. Dobrzański and A. Stępniewski

Balashov

**VI** Contents

Velikanov

**A Review 295**

Chapter 13 **Extrusion-Cooking of Starch 319**

Chapter 14 **Determination of Food Quality by Using Spectroscopic Methods 347**

*The first edition of the book entitled "Advances in Agrophysical Research" is issued to honour the memory of the prominent researchers, founders of the institutes of agrophysics:*

*- prof. Abram Fedorovich Ioffe (AFI), the member of the Soviet Union Academy of Sciences, who in 1932 established the Scientific-Research Institute of Agrophysics in Leningrad (SU), widely known in the world as "AFI", and now officially named the Scientific-Research Institute of Agrophysics of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Science (S-RIA RAAS) in St. Petersburg (Russia), and*

*- prof. Bohdan Dobrzański, the member of the Polish Academy of Science (PAS), who in 1968 estab‐ lished the Agrophysical Departament belonged primary to the Institute of Plant Physiology PAS, next renamed as the Institute of Agrophysics PAS in Lublin (Poland).*

*In the 2012 the S-RIA RAAS in St. Petersburg (Russia) was celebrated 80th Jubilee, and the IA PAN in Lublin (Poland) is celebrated 45th Jubilee in 2013.*

*More information about Institutes can be find on pages: www.agrophys.ru and www.ipan.lublin.pl*

The book offers comprehensive analysis of the wide range of scientific knowledge in agro‐ physics i.e. application of physics in agriculture. More precisely the book contains results of investigations focused on agronomy with special emphases on interdisciplinary field of agrophysics. The book is divided into three sections: first section A is an introduction, than section B and C. Introduction contains the general information about agrophysics as a branch of science, its history and some information about researchers and institutions which were/are involved in agrophysical research. The section B is devoted to physical properties of soil and environment, and section C contains data of physical properties of plant and its products. The Reader can find same interesting aspects on the role of agrophysics in agricul‐ ture, i.e. the physics of soil and agricultural environment as well as physical properties of reproductive materials and row materials up to physical properties of food.

The book is divided into 15 chapters, the first one is in the section A, 8 - in the section B, and 6 - in the section C. The authors are specialists in wide range of discipline what results in interdisciplinary approach to the investigation and interpretation of the results.

At the beginning the Reader finds the section A (Chapter 1) which is introduction to agro‐ physics. It presents the existing definitions of agrophysics, the history of agrophysical insti‐ tutes in Russia and Poland as well as some basic activities which are in close relation to agrophysics. The fundamental mission of physics in agriculture is shortly described includ‐ ing societal activities related to agrophysics, which were undertaken mostly in Poland.

The next chapter opens section B. The 2nd chapter presents modern aquametry techniques applicable to soil, plant materials and food products. A special emphasis is placed on the promising dielectric spectroscopy methods. The presentation of the open research problems and possible further developments conclude this chapter.

At the beginning of the section C in the chapter 10th main interest is the plant morphology as one of the oldest branch of knowledge which describes the external plant characteristics. Morphological systematic of wheat which we can find in academic books classified morpho‐ types of wheat on the base of vegetation period length and mass of 1000 grain. Authors are interested in the problem how the properties of wheat grain, correlate with its reproductive features. They tried to evaluate plant productivity from visualization of grain, especially of germ using X-ray method. A new approach to practical estimation of morphotype of grain wheat based on it's really existed properties are discussed in order to evaluate its indexes, which can be used for the identification of varieties as well as in the improvements of bread‐ ing processes. Exemplary algorithms which allows practical utilisation of morphological in‐ dexes of kernels for particular purposes are also presented. Some physical properties of seeds and grain are described in chapter 11th. . They can be useful for proper harvesting and storage as well as for processing such as drying, freezing etc. They can also be utilised for the designing of machinery. Accurate design of machines and performance of processes in the food chain production from field to table requires an understanding of physical proper‐ ties of raw agricultural material. The following features should be considered: shape, size, volume, density, specific gravity, surface area and other mechanical characteristics. The measurement techniques allow computation of these characteristics, which can inform about the effects of processing. On the other hand some of characteristics, such as colour, mechani‐ cal and rheological properties, thermal and electrical resistance, water content and other physical quantities give excellent description of product quality. Chapter 12th is devoted to evaluation of determination criteria for safe grain storage time. Nowadays grain is harvest‐ ed with a combine harvester what result in quick gather. Therefore it is possible to delay the harvesting to gather ripe and dry grain. It eliminates some bigger losses caused by sprout‐ ing of grain, yet in certain batch polluted with green parts of plant, straws and seeds of weeds etc., moisture content can exceed 30% w.b., and temperature is often above 30ºC. The basic criteria of determination the length of the storage period are: CO2 production connect‐ ed with loss of the dry matter of grain, appearance of visible moulds and others. The de‐ pendencies for determining the time of safe grain storage are discussed in this chapter. The chapter 13th contents review on the extrusion technology, well known in the plastic indus‐ try, but now become widely used in agri-food sector, where it is classified as extrusion-cook‐ ing operation. The rheological status of the starch is changed during conveying of raw material under high pressure and temperature through a die or a series of dies. During this process the product expands to its final shape. The chapter describes some physical aspects of extrusion-cooking of starch. In the 14th chapter authors give comprehensive review of spectroscopic methods used for determination of food quality. Spectroscopic methods have been historically very successful at evaluating the quality of agricultural products, especially foods. These methods are highly desirable for analysis of food components because they of‐ ten require minimum or no sample preparation, provide rapid and on-line analysis, and have the potential to run multiple tests on a single sample. The aim of this chapter is to dem‐ onstrate applicability of four spectroscopic techniques, e.g. UV-VIS spectroscopy, fluores‐ cence, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, as rapid analysis method to determine the quality of cereals, cereals products and oils. In the last 15th chapter of this section the comprehen‐ sive description of plant fibres for textile and technical application is presented. Recently great attention has been focused to the utilization of agricultural by-products, e.g. wheat straw, quinoa stems and sugarcane bagasse, hot stems, sponge, Muscaceae plants, and oth‐ ers. Authors describe the possibility of utilisation of the above mentioned products. Some

Preface IX

In the 3rd chapter temporal stability of soil water content (SWC) with factors controlling this parameter is discussed. Soil, topography, vegetation, climate have been found to influence temporal stability of SWC. The object of this chapter is to provide comprehensive review on temporal stability of SWC, mainly focused on the associated concept, methodology, applica‐ tion, and controlling factors. Associated application of temporal stability concepts are also included in this chapter. In the 4th chapter knowledge of soil spatial variability in ecological modelling, environmental prediction, precision agriculture, soil quality assessment and nat‐ ural resources management is presented. The model averaging for semivariogram models parameters is discussed. The performance of the models are analysed using Akaike Informa‐ tion Criterion (AIC). The proposed method has potential in improving experimental design, sampling, mapping and interpolation of the spatial processes such as krigging. The object of 5th chapter is devoted to examine the scale of time stability of no-stationary soil water spa‐ tial pattern at different seasons using global wavelet coherency. Soil water was measured up to 1.4 m depth using neutron probe and time domain reflectometry (TDR) along a 576 m long transect established within a hummocky landscape at central Saskatchewan. In the 6th chapter two fertile soils were managed under two alternatives: traditional mechanized sys‐ tem (TS) and direct-seeding system (DS). Both production systems during a ten-year period and their physical and chemical characteristics were compared in terms of agrophysical op‐ timisation to produce dry matter (DM). In the Mediterranean areas the seasonal distribution of precipitation is harmful to plant (crop) DM production which can be increased by ade‐ quately combining a good management of all input factors with a special care to natural resources protection, namely soil and water conservation. These results are well in the scope of the international concerns on adopting improved common polices for food safety and problems associated to water scarcity. In chapter 7th soil strength is regarded as important characteristics that affects many aspects of agriculture, such as the performance of cultiva‐ tion implements, root growth, least-limiting water range and traffic ability. The main object of the chapter is to evaluate the effects of applied pressure and moisture content on strength indices such as bulk density, penetration resistance and shear strength of the soil. The devel‐ opment of the relationships between the strength indices for prediction purposes required in soil management is also described. Chapter 8th is devoted to the review highlights of factors favouring micro aggregation as well as those causing dispersion in tropical soils. This re‐ view showed that micro aggregate stability might be a useful tool for assessing erosion haz‐ ards in tropical soils. It has exposed the rather low level of information on micro aggregation and erosion hazards in these soils. Therefore more research on this subject is encouraged in this chapter, same of which are suggested. In the last, 9th chapter of this sec‐ tion the nitrous oxide flux from agricultural soils on its physical properties is discussed. It is now widely accepted that agriculture is the main source of anthropogenic nitrous oxide. The agriculture contributes to 60% of the global emission of the nitrous oxide. In this chapter direct of the nitrous oxide emission from arable loamy sand Spodosols, which are typical for North-western Russia, under potato, cabbage and carrot are investigated both on ridges and in furrows during four growing seasons 2004-2007.

At the beginning of the section C in the chapter 10th main interest is the plant morphology as one of the oldest branch of knowledge which describes the external plant characteristics. Morphological systematic of wheat which we can find in academic books classified morpho‐ types of wheat on the base of vegetation period length and mass of 1000 grain. Authors are interested in the problem how the properties of wheat grain, correlate with its reproductive features. They tried to evaluate plant productivity from visualization of grain, especially of germ using X-ray method. A new approach to practical estimation of morphotype of grain wheat based on it's really existed properties are discussed in order to evaluate its indexes, which can be used for the identification of varieties as well as in the improvements of bread‐ ing processes. Exemplary algorithms which allows practical utilisation of morphological in‐ dexes of kernels for particular purposes are also presented. Some physical properties of seeds and grain are described in chapter 11th. . They can be useful for proper harvesting and storage as well as for processing such as drying, freezing etc. They can also be utilised for the designing of machinery. Accurate design of machines and performance of processes in the food chain production from field to table requires an understanding of physical proper‐ ties of raw agricultural material. The following features should be considered: shape, size, volume, density, specific gravity, surface area and other mechanical characteristics. The measurement techniques allow computation of these characteristics, which can inform about the effects of processing. On the other hand some of characteristics, such as colour, mechani‐ cal and rheological properties, thermal and electrical resistance, water content and other physical quantities give excellent description of product quality. Chapter 12th is devoted to evaluation of determination criteria for safe grain storage time. Nowadays grain is harvest‐ ed with a combine harvester what result in quick gather. Therefore it is possible to delay the harvesting to gather ripe and dry grain. It eliminates some bigger losses caused by sprout‐ ing of grain, yet in certain batch polluted with green parts of plant, straws and seeds of weeds etc., moisture content can exceed 30% w.b., and temperature is often above 30ºC. The basic criteria of determination the length of the storage period are: CO2 production connect‐ ed with loss of the dry matter of grain, appearance of visible moulds and others. The de‐ pendencies for determining the time of safe grain storage are discussed in this chapter. The chapter 13th contents review on the extrusion technology, well known in the plastic indus‐ try, but now become widely used in agri-food sector, where it is classified as extrusion-cook‐ ing operation. The rheological status of the starch is changed during conveying of raw material under high pressure and temperature through a die or a series of dies. During this process the product expands to its final shape. The chapter describes some physical aspects of extrusion-cooking of starch. In the 14th chapter authors give comprehensive review of spectroscopic methods used for determination of food quality. Spectroscopic methods have been historically very successful at evaluating the quality of agricultural products, especially foods. These methods are highly desirable for analysis of food components because they of‐ ten require minimum or no sample preparation, provide rapid and on-line analysis, and have the potential to run multiple tests on a single sample. The aim of this chapter is to dem‐ onstrate applicability of four spectroscopic techniques, e.g. UV-VIS spectroscopy, fluores‐ cence, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, as rapid analysis method to determine the quality of cereals, cereals products and oils. In the last 15th chapter of this section the comprehen‐ sive description of plant fibres for textile and technical application is presented. Recently great attention has been focused to the utilization of agricultural by-products, e.g. wheat straw, quinoa stems and sugarcane bagasse, hot stems, sponge, Muscaceae plants, and oth‐ ers. Authors describe the possibility of utilisation of the above mentioned products. Some

The next chapter opens section B. The 2nd chapter presents modern aquametry techniques applicable to soil, plant materials and food products. A special emphasis is placed on the promising dielectric spectroscopy methods. The presentation of the open research problems

In the 3rd chapter temporal stability of soil water content (SWC) with factors controlling this parameter is discussed. Soil, topography, vegetation, climate have been found to influence temporal stability of SWC. The object of this chapter is to provide comprehensive review on temporal stability of SWC, mainly focused on the associated concept, methodology, applica‐ tion, and controlling factors. Associated application of temporal stability concepts are also included in this chapter. In the 4th chapter knowledge of soil spatial variability in ecological modelling, environmental prediction, precision agriculture, soil quality assessment and nat‐ ural resources management is presented. The model averaging for semivariogram models parameters is discussed. The performance of the models are analysed using Akaike Informa‐ tion Criterion (AIC). The proposed method has potential in improving experimental design, sampling, mapping and interpolation of the spatial processes such as krigging. The object of 5th chapter is devoted to examine the scale of time stability of no-stationary soil water spa‐ tial pattern at different seasons using global wavelet coherency. Soil water was measured up to 1.4 m depth using neutron probe and time domain reflectometry (TDR) along a 576 m long transect established within a hummocky landscape at central Saskatchewan. In the 6th chapter two fertile soils were managed under two alternatives: traditional mechanized sys‐ tem (TS) and direct-seeding system (DS). Both production systems during a ten-year period and their physical and chemical characteristics were compared in terms of agrophysical op‐ timisation to produce dry matter (DM). In the Mediterranean areas the seasonal distribution of precipitation is harmful to plant (crop) DM production which can be increased by ade‐ quately combining a good management of all input factors with a special care to natural resources protection, namely soil and water conservation. These results are well in the scope of the international concerns on adopting improved common polices for food safety and problems associated to water scarcity. In chapter 7th soil strength is regarded as important characteristics that affects many aspects of agriculture, such as the performance of cultiva‐ tion implements, root growth, least-limiting water range and traffic ability. The main object of the chapter is to evaluate the effects of applied pressure and moisture content on strength indices such as bulk density, penetration resistance and shear strength of the soil. The devel‐ opment of the relationships between the strength indices for prediction purposes required in soil management is also described. Chapter 8th is devoted to the review highlights of factors favouring micro aggregation as well as those causing dispersion in tropical soils. This re‐ view showed that micro aggregate stability might be a useful tool for assessing erosion haz‐ ards in tropical soils. It has exposed the rather low level of information on micro aggregation and erosion hazards in these soils. Therefore more research on this subject is encouraged in this chapter, same of which are suggested. In the last, 9th chapter of this sec‐ tion the nitrous oxide flux from agricultural soils on its physical properties is discussed. It is now widely accepted that agriculture is the main source of anthropogenic nitrous oxide. The agriculture contributes to 60% of the global emission of the nitrous oxide. In this chapter direct of the nitrous oxide emission from arable loamy sand Spodosols, which are typical for North-western Russia, under potato, cabbage and carrot are investigated both on ridges and

and possible further developments conclude this chapter.

VIII Preface

in furrows during four growing seasons 2004-2007.

examples of fibres from different terrestrial and sea grass and legume species are presented. In general a potential utilization of fibres from different non-conventional origins is dis‐ cussed.

> **Prof. Dr. Stanisław Grundas** Bohdan Dobrzanski Institute of Agrophysics Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

**Section 1**

**General Information on Agrophysics**

**Dr. Andrzej Stępniewski** Bohdan Dobrzanski Institute of Agrophysics Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland **General Information on Agrophysics**

examples of fibres from different terrestrial and sea grass and legume species are presented. In general a potential utilization of fibres from different non-conventional origins is dis‐

**Prof. Dr. Stanisław Grundas**

Polish Academy of Sciences,

**Dr. Andrzej Stępniewski**

Polish Academy of Sciences,

Poland

Poland

Bohdan Dobrzanski Institute of Agrophysics

Bohdan Dobrzanski Institute of Agrophysics

cussed.

X Preface

**Chapter 1**

**Introduction to Scientific Discipline Agrophysics —**

From the very beginning of its existence the definition of Agrophysics as a science was described a number of times. In general, Agrophysics is a branch of natural and agricultural sciences which applies physics into agriculture. Therefore sometimes it is also called agricul‐ tural physics. It explores agricultural materials and processes to describe their physical properties in order to assure best quality of agricultural products or raw material for industry, taking into account the role of environment and other factors. As a field of science, Agrophysics is of interdisciplinary scope and it is closely related to Biophysics. It is however limited strictly to the agricultural environment, i.e., soil, plants and animals and also takes into account the

Agrophysics deals with physical processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere system, taking into account various external factors (climate, impact of the machinery, pollution) and issues related to the growth, harvest, transport, storage and processing of agricultural materials.

Some examples of the wide scope of agrophysical investigation are: developing systems for monitoring and controlling the condition of soil (moisture, salinity etc.) and plant growth (maturity), evaluation of the soil's susceptibility to water and wind erosion, moni‐ toring and diagnosis of soil biological activity, determination of pollution in agricultural products (fruits, vegetables etc.), the assessment of the technological value of grain, evalu‐ ation of quality of fruits and vegetables during their storage and changes of their nutri‐

> © 2013 Dobrzański et al.; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

> © 2013 Dobrzański et al.; licensee InTech. This is a paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**History and Research Objects**

B. Dobrzański, S. Grundas and A. Stępniewski

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

knowledge of Agronomy and Agriculture Engineering.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/56982

**1.1. Agrophysics's definition and scope**

**1. Introduction**

tion value during storage.
