Browsing by Author "Perera, T.A.N.T."

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    Assessment of the Plant Growth Performances of Vertical Green Walls Developed with Different Plant Types in a Tropical Climate
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2018) Perera, T.A.N.T.; Halwatura, R.U.; Jayasinghe, G.Y.; Rupasinghe, H.T.
    Planting on roofs and walls seems to be a modern and swiftly developing strategy towards sustainable environmental constructions. Covering building with vegetation enhance the city environment in terms of contributing to urban biodiversity, growing thermal comfort by buffering building temperature and mitigation of the Urban Heat Island (UHI). The study observed the significance of urban vegetation cover with the objectives of selecting suitable plant types for selected medium on vertical green wall panel by investigating the different plant physiological parameters. Fabrications of green wall panels were done in the premises of Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa by using timber frames (60 x 30cm) filled with coir dust growing medium for 2.5 cm thickness and fixed with wire mesh. Few holes at the bottom of the panel was prepared to facilitate water drainage. Each panel was irrigated three times per week with 0.5 liter of water per each panel. Nutrient solution prepared by dissolving 0.5 g of Albert's mixture in 500 ml of water for each panel and applied two times per week. Experimental design was Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 3 replicates from each plant species. The nine plant species (treatments) were placed in green wall panel. Each panel (replicates) held eight plants of each species. Desmodium triflorum, Roheo spathacea, Centella asiatica, Axonopus fissifoliu, Axonopus compressus, Elusine indica, Dieffenbachiae spp, Tectaria spp, Bigonia spp were the selected plant species for the study. Plant health was rated for all plants using a 3 point scale. 1 = thriving, 2 = alive, but with signs of pest, disease or other stresses, 3 = dead. Plant height and leaf area were measured along with visual assessments of plant development stages and pest/disease incidence. Roheo spathacea, Elusine indica, Axonopus fissifolius displayed the greatest survival (100%) and coverage on an extensive green wall. Increment of Leaf Area Index of nine species over the eight weeks was significantly different (P < 0.05) among each species. Highest LAI obtained from Roheo spathacea (3.99) followed by Axonopus compressus (0.99), Elusine indica (0.76), Axonopus fissifolius (0.44),) over the trial period. In terms of actual performance, Roheo spathacea, Elusine indica, Axonopus fissifolius displayed the greatest survival and coverage on an extensive green wall.
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    Implementation of low cost, automated, mobile monitoring module by means of AI for container gardening in urban areas
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Madhusanka, P.B.H.; Perera, T.A.N.T.; Piyasena, P.; Jayasinghe, G.Y.
    The limited amount of space and climate variability have led to the emergence of urban agriculture mainly in agricultural countries. This has turned urban gardens to be smart, autonomous, and efficient with the trend towards interconnected devices. The main objective of this study is to build an IoT based low cost, automated, mobile monitoring module for container gardening in urban areas. This system built with NodeMCU ESP-32 has been designed and successfully examined during the study. In constructing of the device, several sensors sych as environmental humidity and temperature, light, Passive Infrared Sensor (PIR), soil temperature, soil moisture sensors and a base station connecting the cloud to the whole network were used. The system will track plants on a mobile device which has the capability of providing real-time updates on crop conditions through the internet (Thinkspeak). The device is capable of measuring five parameters (soil moisture, temperature of soil & air, air humidity and light intensity) at once and show all the parameters on the ThingSpeak site for user to get the idea and also this controls the light level and soil moisture levels of the pot automatically. The acquired results have been shown the performance of the device is precise. Such as collecting, logging and analyzing the irregular data from the sensors. Consequently the system is beneficial and cost effective for the commercial scale farmers as well. Farmers can be monitor their field without wasting time and resources with the help of several sensors and the alert system. With the automatic irrigation system help to reduce water wastage and it allows to use water efficiently. Therefore, the device is efficient both the farmer’s as well as environment in concentration. Keywords: Artificial intelligence, NodeMCU ESP-32, Smart gardening, Sustainability, Urban agriculture
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    Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAV) in Smart Agriculture: Trends, Benefits and Future Perspectives
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2019) Perera, T.A.N.T.; Priyankara, A.C.P.; Jayasinghe, G.Y.
    There is an improved concern in precision farming and the development of smart systems for agricultural resources management aims to increase the agricultural productivity, optimize the profitability, and protect the environment. Data collection, field variability mapping, decision making, and management practices are the foremost stages of smart agriculture. Self-directed aircrafts are sophisticated cost effective instruments for data acquisition, real time thermal images to the Ground Control Station (GCS), and the best medium for quick time and critical analysis of the crop growth. Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs), especially drones, can fly autonomously with dedicated software which allows making a flight plan and deploying the system with Global Positioning System (GPS) and feed in different parameters such as speed, altitude, Region of Interest (ROI). These features are required in smart agriculture where large areas are monitored and analyses are carried out in minimum time with miniaturization of compact cameras and other sensors like infrared and sonar. UAVs are presently being functional by farmers in extensive field analysis of crop behavior such as rice, maize and wheat where they scan through the field, take images and report abnormality. The collection and delivery of images in a timely manner, the lack of high spatial resolution data, image interpretation and data extraction issues are the major limitations identified in the applications of remote sensing systems in agriculture. Nevertheless the future of agriculture is clear with drones as a precious tool that will amplify profitability and healthy crop production. Further, it has been predicted that the agriculture sector will be the second largest user of drones in the world in the next five years. Research priorities and future challenges that will support in the development of effective use of UAV in agriculture with multi-prong strategies were discussed.