Climate change has resulted in increased vulnerability of smallholder farmers in marginal areas of Zimbabwe where there is limited capacity to adapt to changing climate. One approach that has been used to adapt to changing climate is in-field water harvesting for improved crop yields in the semi- arid regions of Zimbabwe. This review analyses the history of soil and water conservation in Zimbab...

In this paper, we present a Solar Energy harvesting and storing system. The solar energy is converted to electric charge by photosensitizing film and the charge generated is stored between the upper membrane and lower membrane of a capacitor. A PZT material based capacitor is used to retain the charge. The proposed system not only harvest energy from solar sources but also stores the charge bot...

Interest in the development of stripper headers is growing owing to the excessive losses of combine harvesters and costs of manually harvesting for chickpeas. The design of a new concept can enhance the mechanized process for chickpea harvesting. A modified stripper platform was designed, in which passive fingers with V-shape slots remove the pods from the anchored plant. The floating platform ...

A hetero-nanostructured photoanode with enhanced near-infrared light harvesting is developed for photo-electrochemical cells. By spatially coating upconversion nanoparticles and quantum dot photosensitizers onto TiO2 inverse opal, this architecture allows direct irradiation of upconversion nanoparticles to emit visible light that excites quantum dots for charge separation. Electrons are injecte...

There can be a significant discrepancy between predicted and measured power conversion efficiency when using piezoelectric polymers for thermal energy harvesting. The influence of temperature and strain on electrical parameters can impact overall performances. We report the temperature and strain dependence of PVDF dielectric constant and losses and their impact on power conversion efficiency o...

It is predicted that energy consumption will increase by 56% between year 2010 and 2040. To cope with this upcoming energy demand, innovative technologies have been developed in recent decades to harvest energy from the environment such as wind, solar, tide and vibration. Harvesting energy from structural vibration presents two major challenges: efficiency and vibration control. In particular, ...

The aim of the present experience was to evaluate the harvesting systems on the basis of trash content of raw material and the losses of millable cane, as a consequence of the harvesting operation. The analysed harvesting alternatives include differences in mechanical, semi-mechanical and manual systems and they have been evaluated in plots of 960 m2 of a same uniform sugar cane field, the test...

As the use of forest harvesting residues for energy production gains popularity, debate continues regarding the long-term sustainability of whole tree harvesting (WTH). This practice removes nutrient-rich twigs that only account for a small fraction of harvest residues, emphasising the need to develop nutrient-efficient alternatives to WTH. This study assessed N, P, K, Ca, and Mg distributions ...