Domenico Pessina

Environmental assessment of different harvesting solutions for Short Rotation Coppice plantations

Although several studies have been carried out on Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) plantations and on their environmental performances, there is a lack of information about the environmental impact of the harvesting operations. In this study, using LCA approach, the environmental performance of two different harvesting solutions for Short Rotation Coppice plantations was evaluated. In more details, for 2-years cutting time poplar plantations, harvesting with a self-propelled forager equipped with a specific header was compared in terms of environmental impact with a tractor-based solution. The LCI was built with experimental data collected during field tests carried out over about 70 ha of SRC plantation in Northern Italy. The following nine impact potentials were evaluated according to the selected method: climate change (CC), ozone depletion (OD), particulate matter (PM), photochemical ozone formation (POF), acidification (TA), freshwater eutrophication (FE), terrestrial eutrophication (TE), marine eutrophication (ME) and mineral, fossil and renewable resource depletion (MFRD). Although harvesting with self-propelled foragers requires higher power and higher diesel consumption, it achieves better environmental performances respect to the harvest with the tractor-based solution. The tractor-based option is characterized by lower operative field capacity (about - 70% for all the evaluated impact categories except for MFRD, which is - 94% compared to the first option). The environmental differences are mainly related to the different machine productivity. From an environmental point of view, respect to the harvesting with self-propelled foragers, the tractor-based solution can achieve a lower environmental impact only in small SRC plantations (<1-2 ha).

Exposure to vibrations in wine growing

Apart the winter period, the activity in specialized agricultural cultivations (i.e. wine- and fruit-growing) is distributed for a long period of the year. Some tasks, such as pesticide distribution, are repeated several times during the growing season. On the other hand, mechanization is one of the pillars on which is based the modern agriculture management. As a consequence, in wine growing the tractor driver has to be considered a worker potentially subjected to high level of vibrations, due to the poor machinery conditions often encountered, and sometimes to the rough soil surface of the vineyard combined with the high travelling speed adopted in carrying out many operations. About vibrations, the Italian Decree 81/08 basically refers to the European Directive 2002/44/CE, that provides some very strict limits of exposure, both for whole body and hand-arm districts. In Oltrepo pavese, a large hilly area located the south part of the Pavia province (Lombardy - Italy) wine growing is the main agricultural activity; for this reason, a detailed survey on the vibration levels recorded at the tractor driver’s seat was carried out, in order to ascertain the real risk to which the operators are exposed. The activity in wine growing has been classified into 6 groups of similar tasks, as follows: 1. canopy management: pruning, trimming, binding, stripping, etc.; 2. soil management: harrowing, hoeing, subsoiling etc.; 3. inter-row management: chopping of pruning , pinching, grass mowing, etc.; 4. crop protection: pesticides and fungicides distribution, sulfidation, foliar fertilization, etc.; 5. grape harvesting: manual or mechanical; 6. transport: from the vineyard to the cellar. For each group of tasks, the vibration levels on 3 the traditional axes (x, y and z) were recorded, and then an exposure time was calculated for each of them, in order to ascertain the risk level in comparison to what provided by the dedicated standard. Finally, a detailed study was conducted on the most dangerous working conditions, with the goal to offer solutions able to reduce the overall exposure, as improving the comfort level, as to shorten the working time when possible and/or to provide suitable periods of rest.

The rolling resistance of narrow steel wheels in Italian paddy fields

Research was carried out on very narrow, large diameter, lugged or smooth steel wheels fitted on Italian tractors and trailed implements to improve their mobility in wet paddy fields. These wheels differ considerably from those used in South East Asia. Measurements of soil texture and cone penetrometer resistance were carried out in 16 Italian paddy fields to compare their conditions with those found in Thailand during a previous survey. Two fields were located in Italy, representing the softest and hardest conditions. In these two fields, rolling resistance tests were carried out on two narrow lugged steel wheels of different diameter. The wheels were tested both singly and paired as dual wheels; the travelling speed and the vertical load were varied. The results show that the coefficient of rolling resistance is slightly affected by the travelling speed and increases with the vertical load only with the smaller diameter wheel. The values seem to be relatively low, ranging between 0·12 and 0·35 depending on the combination tested. These wheels permit locomotion on almost all flooded fields, forming very small ruts and allowing operation in the fields even during the mid-growing season with no apparent yield reduction.