Thesis (M. A. (Agricultural Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / Field experiments were conducted at two locations; University of Limpopo (Syferkuil) and University of Venda (Thohoyandou) during 2015 and 2016 winter cropping seasons. The objectives of this study were to determine; the effect of genotype (ACC# 1, 3, 4 and 7) and planting density (33, 25 and 20 plants/m2) on four chickpea genotypes having contrasting growth patterns and also to determine the effect genotype and planting density on water use and water use efficiency of four chickpea genotypes having contrasting growth patterns. The experimental design was randomized complete block design in factorial arrangement with three replications. Plant height, number of primary and secondary branches, grain yield and yield components (number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, Harvest Index and 100 seed weight [100-SW] and above ground biomass, and were determined at different growth stages. Data obtained was subjected to analyses of variance using the general linear model of Genstat 17th edition. Significant differences between the treatments means were compared using the standard error of difference (LSD) of the means at 5% level. Correlation analyses were performed to assess the relationship between parameters. Plant height varied with genotype from 41 cm (84 DAE) to 44 cm (118 cm) at Syferkuil and 41 (56 DAE) to 44 cm (63 DAE) at Thohoyandou. Primary branches was not significantly affected by genotype and planting density at both locations and seasons. Planting density had significant effect on number of secondary branches, greater number was recorded at low (32, 6) density at Syferkuil in 2016. Above ground biomass was significantly affected by planting density at Syferkuil during in 2015 (5344 kg ha-1) and 2016 (3701 kg ha-1) growing seasons. Genotype and planting density did not affect number of pods plant-1, number of seeds plant-1, 100 SW (100 seed weight), and Harvest index were not significant at both locations and seasons. Grain yield was significantly affected by planting density at Syferkuil in 2015 and Thohoyandou in 2016. Grain yield increased with the increase in planting density at both locations. Two field experiments were conducted at University of Venda (Thohoyandou) during 2015 and 2016 winter cropping seasons. This study aimed at assessing the effect of genotype v and planting density on water use efficiency of four chickpea genotypes with contrasting growth patterns. Crop water use (WU) was determined by monitoring soil water content at 7-day intervals using a neutron probe and, water use efficiency (WUE) was determined as a ratio of crop biomass and grain yield to WU. Genotype and planting density had no significant effect on WU in 2015 and 2016. Genotype and planting density had no significant effect on biomass production (WUEb) and grain yield production (WUEg) in 2015. In contrast, WUEb and WUEg was significantly affected by planting density in 2016. WUEb was 43.2% greater at high density compared to low density. Similarly, WUEg was 39.3% greater at high density compared to low density. WUEb and WUEg increased with the increase with planting density. Therefore, manipulation of management practices such as planting density may increase chickpea production. Keywords: Planting density, genotype, grain yield and yield components, water use efficiency. / National Research Foundation (NRF) and University of Venda Capacity Development

MSCAGR (Animal Science) / Department of Animal Science / The overall objective of this study was to investigate the effects of level of dietary concentrate and live yeast (LY) on milk yield, milk composition, rumen fermentation and nitrogen metabolism in lactating dairy cows. Four primiparous Holstein dairy cows in early lactation (average weight 500 ±9 kg and 20 days in milk (DIM)) were used in a 4 x 4 Latin Square design for a period of 44 days. The animals had seven days of adaptation to the treatments and four days for measurements. The treatments were, Low concentrate to forage (C:F) diet (40:60) with no additive, High C:F diet (60:40) with no additive, High C:F diet with LY and Low C:F diet with LY.Cows weremilked at 06h00 and 16h00 daily and milk samples were analysed for fat, protein, lactose milk urea nitrogen (MUN) and somatic cell count (SCC). Proximate analysis of feed samples was done and daily feed intake was recorded. Weight and body condition score were determined at beginning and end of every experimental period. Faecal and urinary nitrogen (N)were determined. In vitro batch fermentation was conducted to determine ruminal fermentation kinetics. Data generated from the feeding trial was analysed for a 4 x 4 Latin square design (LSD) using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS (2009) and data for the invitro trialwassubjected to ANOVA using PROC GLM (SAS Institute, 2009) for a complete randomized design. Addition of LY affected only dry matter intake (DMI) (P<0.05), which effect was pronounce when cows were fed low (40:60) C:F diet resulting in better feed efficiency(FE). Cows fed high C:F diet consumed more feed, produced more milk with high fat and protein content (P<0.05). Both LY and C:F reduced (P<0.05) N intake as result of low DMI, but reduced (P<0.05) N excretion in manure. Addition of LY decreased ruminal ammonia and increased total VFA’s (P<0.05). The effects on ammonia suggest a better utilisation of diet proteins and probably more incorporation of products of CP degradation into microbial proteins, which support the observed reduced manure N excretion. The opposite was observed with high C:F diet, which increased ammonia and decreased total VFA’s. Propionate and butyrate were increased and decreased, respectively by high C:F diet.Addition of LY reduced SCC and MUN compared to control.The effects of LY were better pronounced on most parameters at low C:F diet. It is therefore recommended that the effects of LY be tested at low C:F on a larger scale of animals over longer periods to observe its effect of the rest of the parameters.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第21426号 / 農博第2304号 / 学位論文||H30||N5154(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科地域環境科学専攻 / (主査)教授 縄田 栄治, 教授 舟川 晋也, 教授 白岩 立彦 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

<p>Improved phenotyping technologies and data analytic strategies have the potential to reduce the phenotyping bottleneck in breeding programs, increase the number of genotypes that can be evaluated, and improve genetic gain of maize. Ear photometry and remote sensing were evaluated in this dissertation for their integration into breeding programs to understand the development of grain yield in diverse germplasm and to better predict yield performance. Ear photometry was used in Chapter 2 to characterize the testcross performance of temperate and tropical inbred lines. The effect of heterosis among the temperate heterotic groups was more noticeable in the ear-related characteristics rather than kernel-size characteristics. Yield components were generally more heritable than grain yield per ear, so they were explored for their use in multi-trait genomic prediction for grain yield on a plot or ear basis in Chapter 3. Multi-trait genomic prediction of grain yield was improved where ear characteristics were known in the testing set compared with single-trait genomic prediction.  Additionally, single-trait genomic prediction was more accurate in the temperate germplasm compared to the tropical germplasm. Thus, ear photometry is an efficient method to quickly assess yield components in maize and improve yield prediction in certain circumstances. In Chapter 4, the effect of row selection, plot size, and plot trimming on remote sensing trait repeatability and prediction accuracy of biomass yield in sorghum or grain yield in maize was evaluated. Decreased plot size and configuration has been suggested to increase the number of genotypes that can be evaluated per unit area. In this study, larger plot sizes were favorable for increasing repeatability and excluding outer rows improved predictive modelling. Plot trimming was never shown to be significantly different from non-trimmed plots in this study. Genomic prediction is another way to minimize experimental size and phenotypic data collection and was evaluated in Chapter 5. A reaction norm was used to model the trajectory of hybrid yield performance across a gradient of 86 environments. The heritability and prediction accuracy of grain yield were both improved in the higher-yielding environments compared to the lower-yielding environments. Single nucleotide polymorphisms with the highest magnitude of effects were selected in each environment. Twenty-one SNPs were selected indicating many SNPs were selected in multiple environments. Candidate genes in linkage disequilibrium with many of these SNPs were previously reported as stress adaptions. Genomic prediction and remote sensing were integrated for prediction of grain yield in Chapter 6. Heritability of remote sensing traits generally improved throughout the growing season. Prediction accuracy of BLUPs were improved through an integrated phenomic and genomic prediction model for all scenarios tested. In summary, ear photometry and remote sensing are technologies to evaluate large populations for unique plant trait characteristics that can be used in combination with genomic prediction to improve understanding of grain yield development and grain yield prediction.</p>

Nobel Biocare är ett av de världsledande företagen som tillverkar tandimplantat. Företaget finns på många ställen runt om i världen. Examensarbetet utfördes på N1 avdelningen i Karlskoga.  Företaget har som mål att skapa smarta verkstäder och för att göra det krävs det att svagheter i produktionen identifieras för att sedan hitta lösningar på att de inte uppkommer igen.   Syftet med arbetet är att identifiera rotorsakerna till kassation i CNC processerna och därefter föreslå tre lösningar för att minska/eliminera detta problem. Företaget vill med andra ord veta vilka möjligheter de har idag samt hur de behöver gå till väga i deras strävan att om 2–3 år skapa smarta CNC-verkstäder.   För att undersöka rotorsakerna till kassation gjordes inledningsvis en rad olika analyser med hjälp av Excel där dokumenterat företagsdata användes. Operatörerna intervjuades och egna observationer noterades under besöken på Nobel Biocare.   Det som studien resulterade i var att företaget bör implementera tidtagningsur för varje operatör, byta verktyg efter bestämd tid och ha en genomgång av hur vacuumtrycket regleras. Rotorsakerna är fokuserade på metod och människa och de är att det finns en avsaknad av kvalitétsäkrad rutin för inställning av skärvätska, verktyg byts för sent, ineffektiv metod vid vacuumreglering, känsliga verktyg saknar sensorer och för många enheter produceras innan kontroll. / Nobel Biocare is one of the world's leading companies in the manufacture of dental implants. The company is in many places around the world. The degree project was carried out at the N1 department in Karlskoga.  The company's goal is to create smart workshops and to do so, it is necessary that weaknesses in the production are identified. To find solutions, it is necessary to identity the weaknesses so that they do not arise again.  The purpose of this work is to identify the root causes of scrapping in the CNC processes and then propose three solutions to reduce/eliminate these problems. The company wants to know what opportunities they have and how they need to improve to create smart CNC workshops in 2-3 years.  To investigate the root causes of scrapping, several different analyzes were initially performed using Excel, where documented company data was used. Operators were interviewed and their own observations were noted during the visits to Nobel Biocare.   The study resulted in that the company should implement a timer for each operator, change tools after a certain time and have a review of how the vacuum pressure is regulated. The root cases are focused on method and man, and they are that there is a lack of quality assured routine for setting cutting fluid, tools are changed too late, inefficient method in vacuum control, sensitive tools lack sensors and too many devices are produced before control.

The Swedish real estate market is going through a period where many properties require extensive refurbishments, either to keep the property in good condition or for developing purposes. No matter which of the stated purposes, renovations of a larger scale lead to major changes in the affected property. This is, in turn, associated with substantial investments which will affect the value of the property to varying degrees. Theoretically this is something that should be reflected in the property yield to prevent incorrect valuations and possible write-downs. Parameters of interest are the ones included in the initial or exit yield such as the cost of capital and growth where the former depends on the risk premium. What is currently taking place in the real estate market regarding the property yield in conjunction with renovation is an interesting question since there are currently no predictions on how the former is affected. This paper aims to find out what happens to the yield after refurbishment and how different companies consider the ingoing parameters affecting the yield. The report has as its starting point the goal of explaining the concepts of total return, exit yield and income return and how they are assembled. The paper subsequently seeks to perform a deeper analysis of the property yield and which parameters can affect it. In particular, the concepts of risk and growth are analyzed with a focus on how they affect real estate property undergoing renovations. Thereafter we investigate how the property yield theoretically would be altered when the property is valuated after the renovation is completed. The empirical study is based on a total of nine interviews. Three of the interviews were held with companies who own residential properties, three with owners of mainly commercial properties and three real estate valuation companies. By doing this we hope to get a comprehensive coverage of how the market interprets our topic and how the property yield is considered in a renovation process. The study shows that among our respondents, there is a consensus that the property yields are generally reduced when the refurbishment process has been carried through by comparison to what they were during the original condition of the property. The main reason for this is said to be the reduced risk in form of higher technical quality resulting in a higher net operating income. The growth potential is also considered but not to the same extent, especially not by the commercial real estate companies which give it only limited attention. A final observation we made was the fact that none of the surveyed companies considered possible long-term risks in future high rents due to the increased quality of the property. This could be an indicator of an over-reliance on the Swedish real estate market although this requires further investigation. / På fastighetsmarknaden idag sker många omfattande renoveringar, antingen för att hålla fastigheten i dugligt skick eller för att vidareutveckla den. Oavsett motiv så innebär större renoveringar stora förändringar i fastigheten vilket i sin tur är förknippat med betydande investeringar som i varierande grad sedan påverkar fastighetens värde. Detta är något som bör speglas i fastighetens direktavkastningskrav för att undvika felaktiga värderingar med möjliga upp- respektive nedskrivningar som följd. Faktorer som i sammanhanget är av intresse är de ingående parametrarna i direktavkastningskravet, kalkylräntan och tillväxt där den första i stor utsträckning beror av riskpremien. Vad som idag sker på marknaden med direktavkastningskravet i samband med renoveringar är en intressant fråga och i teorin finns idag inga klara prediktioner på hur det påverkas vid en renovering. Denna uppsats syftar till att reda ut vad som händer med direktavkastningskravet efter en genomförd renovering och anledningen till de olika aktörernas agerande. Rapporten har som utgångspunkt att redogöra för begreppen totalavkastning, direktavkastning, och direktavkastningskrav samt hur dessa är uppbyggda. Därefter görs en djupare analys av direktavkastningskravets ingående parametrar samt hur dessa kan variera och vilka faktorer som kan inverka på detta. Särskilt kommer begreppen risk och tillväxt att behandlas. Vi behandlar sedan hur direktavkastningskravet idag tillämpas på fastigheter som genomgår renoveringar och hur direktavkastningskravet teoretiskt bör ändras vid en fastighetsvärdering efter att renoveringen är genomförd. Den empiriska studien kommer att bygga på totalt nio intervjuer. Tre aktörer som äger bostadsfastigheter, tre ägare av kommersiella fastigheter samt tre renodlade värderingsföretag. På detta sätt hoppas vi få en bred bild över hur marknaden ser på vår frågeställning och hur direktavkastningskravet hanteras i en renoveringsprocess idag. Studien visar att det idag hos våra respondenter finns en samsyn på att direktavkastningskravet efter en genomförd renovering generellt sänks i förhållande till det ursprungliga kravet. Anledningar som framhålls varierar bland de tillfrågade men vanliga faktorer som beaktas är den minskade risken i fastigheten i form av en bättre teknisk kvalitet och ett högre resulterande driftnetto. Tillväxtpotentialen benämns också av marknadens aktörer men ges begränsad uppmärksamhet, särskilt på den kommersiella fastighetssidan. En avslutande observation vi gjort är att ingen av de tillfrågade aktörerna påtalar eventuella långsiktiga risker i höga hyresnivåer. Det torde dock vara av viss betydelse, speciellt för kommersiella fastigheter. Detta kan vara en indikator på en övertro på marknaden. Om detta är fallet låter vi framtida undersökningar utvisa.

Tillsammans med e-handelns explosiva ökning under de senaste åren har lager och logistikfastigheter blivit alltmer populära bland investerare. Med den ökade uppmärksamheten för logistikfastigheter har deras avkastningskrav sjunkit, de så kallade yielderna har blivit påverkade. Yielden är den avkastningen som en tillgång producerar, prime yielden är lika med avkastningen för en tillgång av högsta kvalitet i ett bra läge. En ökad efterfrågan har inneburit att logistikfastigheters prime yielder har påverkats markant. De senaste åren har prime yielderna sjunkit i flera marknader och står för närvarande på rekordlåga nivåer. Syftet med uppsatsen är att se hur prime yielderna för logistikfastigheter skiljer sig mellan olika länder. Uppsatsen kommer undersöka vilka faktorer som ligger till grunden av varför olika länder har varierande prime yielder, samt se till hur mycket dessa faktorer påverkar marknaden. Uppsatsen kommer genom litteraturstudier och intervjuer utreda hur prime yielden skiljer sig mellan olika länder i Europa. Uppsatsen reder ut frågan för vilka faktorer som påverkar prime yielden på logistikfastigheter och vilken marknad som har bäst förutsättningar framgent. Resultatet visar att det finns stora skillnader mellan prime yielderna för olika länders logistikfastigheter. Undersökningen gjordes av nio länder som alla har en betydande del av den europeiska logistikmarknaden. Av dessa länder visade resultatet att det skiljer 1,4 procentenheter mellan marknaden med lägst och högst prime yield. Den främsta orsaken till vad som påverkar prime yield nivån är den ekonomiska teorin om utbud och efterfrågan. En högre efterfrågan innebär mer kapital som söker sig till en viss marknad, en effekt av detta är att yielderna på fastigheterna går ned och priserna går upp. De olika ländernas räntenivå visade ha en stor betydelse för efterfrågan då högre räntor dämpar köpkraften från investerare. Efterfrågan styrs även från vardera marknads underliggande förutsättningar vilket inkluderar logistikfastigheters hyres- och vakansnivå, utvecklingen av e-handel, infrastruktur,geografisk placering, samt politiska stabilitet. Resultatet visar att dagens efterfrågan från företag att hyra lager och logistiklokaler är väldigt hög, vilket indikerar på att ett framtida ökat utbud av logistikfastigheter i prime segmentet är av mindre betydelse för prime yielden. / Along with the explosive growth of e-commerce in recent years, warehouses and logistics properties have become increasingly more popular with investors. With the increased attention for logistics properties, their yields have fallen. The yield is the return that an asset produces, the prime yield is equal to the return for an asset of the highest quality in a good location. Increased demand on the segment has meant that the prime yields of logistics properties have been significantly affected. In recent years, prime yields have fallen in several markets and are currently at record low levels. The purpose of the thesis is to see how the prime yields for logistics properties differ between different countries. The thesis will investigate the factors that underlie why different countries have varying prime yields and see how much these factors affect the market. The thesis will, through literature studies and interviews, investigate how the prime yield differs between different countries in Europe. The thesis clarifies the question of which factors affect the prime yield on logistics properties and which market has the best conditions for the future.The results show that there are large differences between the prime yields for different countries' logistics properties. The survey was conducted of nine countries, all of which have a significant part of the European logistics market. Of these countries, the results showed that there is a difference of 1.4 percentage points between the market with the lowest and highest prime yield. The main reason for what affects the prime yield level is the economic theory of supply and demand. A higher demand means more capital seeking into a certain market, an effect of this is that the yields on the properties go down and the prices go up. The interest rates of the different countries proved to be of great importance for demand as higher interest rates dampen the purchasing power of investors. Demand is also governed by the underlying conditions of each market, which includes the rental and vacancy level of logistics properties, the development of e-commerce, infrastructure, geographical location, and political stability. The results show that the current demand from companies to rent warehouses and logistics premises is very high, which indicates that a future increase in supply of logistics properties in the prime segment is of less importance for the prime yield.

One important parameter of interest in remote sensing to date is yield variability. Proper understanding of yield variability provides insight on the geo-positional dependences of field yields and insight on zone management strategies. Estimating cotton yield and observing cotton yield variability has proven to be a challenging problem due to the complex fruiting behavior of cotton from reactions to environmental conditions. Current methods require expensive sensory equipment on large manned aircrafts and satellites. Other systems, such as cotton yield monitors, are often subject to error due to the collection of dust/trash on photo sensors. This study was aimed towards the development of a miniature unmanned aerial system that utilized a first-person view (FPV) color camera for measuring cotton yield variability. Outcomes of the study led to the development of a method for estimating cotton yield variability from images of experimental cotton plot field taken at harvest time in 2014. These plots were treated with nitrogen fertilizer at five different rates to insure variations in cotton yield across the field. The cotton yield estimates were based on the cotton unit coverage (CUC) observed as the cotton boll image signal density. The cotton boll signals were extracted via their diffusion potential in the image intensity space. This was robust to gradients in illumination caused by cloud coverage as well as fruiting positions in the field. These estimates were provided at a much higher spatial resolution (9.0 cm2) at comparable correlations (R2=0.74) with current expensive systems. This method could prove useful for the development of low cost automated systems for cotton yield estimation as well as yield estimation systems for other crops. / Master of Science

Lentil (Lens culinaris Med.) is an important component of the human diet in the world, but in the meantime, Europe produces only 26% of the lentils it consumes. This is partly due to strong agronomic weaknesses that reduce yield such as lodging, bruchid beetles and weeds, especially in organic farming. Intercropping, the simultaneous growing of two or more species in the same field is tested here as an option to reduce these drawbacks and develop organic lentil production. The aims of this thesis were to (1) assess the potential of lentil-spring wheat intercrops to produce organic lentil, (2) understand the mechanisms that explain their performances, and (3) evaluate the profitability of such intercrops. A two-year field experiment was carried out in southwestern France in 2015 and 2016 under organic farming rules. Four lentil and two wheat cultivars were grown as sole crops and intercrops in multiple additive and substitutive designs. Our results showed that the total intercrop attainable grain yield was higher than the mean of sole crops. Yet, lentil yield in intercrop was lower than in sole crop as the result of a strong competition for resources from wheat in early lentil growth stages reducing the number of branches per plant of lentil. This led to lower gross margins of intercrops. However, lentil lodging was strongly reduced in intercrops thus its mechanical harvest efficiency increased. This led to similar mechanically harvested yields of lentil in intercrop and sole crop. Consequently, after mechanical harvest and grain cleaning, the marketable gross margin of intercrops was higher than that of sole crops. Our results suggest that (1) intercrop had no effect on bruchids, (2) the most effective intercrop is when lentil is at sole crop density and wheat at 15-20%, (3) intercrop performance is due to complementary use of N pools through legume N2 fixation and (4) the intensity of interspecific interactions depends on year, wheat density and genotypes. Our work indicates that lentil-spring wheat intercrop can develop organic lentil production but a better understanding of Genotype x Environment x Cropping system interactions may be useful to design optimized managements.

Master`s thesis topic is characteristic of office market and it`s distinction among other segments of reality market. Inseparable part of the thesis is also analysis of development between years 1995 and 2013 with orientation toward prague office market and it`s comparison with other european cities. Furthermore thesis discusses options of applicability of initial, reversionary and equivalent yields as comparable figures across investment and geographical markets and application of exit yield for property valuation in discounted cash-flow model. Established facts are applied on office building Rivergarden II-III in dynamically developing district Karlín in Prague 8.