Research in Agricultural Engineering - Online first
A semi-automatic prototype machine for splitting and endosperm extraction of Nypa fruticans: Design and experimental evaluationOriginal Paper
THANH THUONG HUYNH, DAO KHANH DANH DINH, VAN HUU BUI
Res. Agr. Eng., X:X | DOI: 10.17221/44/2026-RAE 
Nypa fruticans is a mangrove palm whose immature fruit endosperm is widely consumed, but harvesting and extraction are still largely performed manual, resulting in low productivity and inconsistent quality. This study presents the design and experimental evaluation of a semi-automatic prototype machine for splitting nipa palm fruits and extracting the endosperm. The machine integrates a roller–blade mechanism for fruit splitting with a suction-based endosperm extraction system. To determine suitable operating conditions, the Taguchi design of experiments was applied using two independent L9 orthogonal arrays for the splitting and...
Experimental study of the haulm-cutting moduleof root crop harvesting machines
Viktor Baranovsky, Maria Pankiv, Roman Komar, Vitalii Pankiv, Yevhen Berezhenko
Res. Agr. Eng., X:X | DOI: 10.17221/172/2025-RAE
Reducing the energy consumption during the harvesting of large root crops (such as sugar and fodder beets, and chicory), which are used to produce food and industrial products, is a priority issue for improving the efficiency of production processes in agro-industrial enterprises. One approach to addressing this issue involves reducing the energy expenditures by the working elements of the haulm removal module in root crop harvesters by implementing a single-phase harvesting method. An improved method for haulm cutting is proposed, whereby the cut haulm is deposited in the field between two adjacent dividing discs located in the inter-row space...
Vetiver grass for road slope protection through soil erosion and runoff reduction in a haor area of the Sunamganj districtOriginal Paper
Tahmina Akter, Saumik Acharya, Sayed Jaber Al-Hossain, Golam Kibria Robbani
Res. Agr. Eng., X:X | DOI: 10.17221/124/2025-RAE
Erosion control on slopes and embankments is a global concern, with vetiver planting emerging as an effective solution. This study investigated vetiver grass as a potential alternative for reducing runoff and soil erosion in protecting road embankments. In a small-scale model on a 1 V : 2 H slope, simulated rainfall was applied through a perforated sheet. The runoff was collected, and the eroded soil samples were dried using the sand bath method. The runoff and soil loss were compared with and without vetiver grass. The results showed that the vetiver grass significantly reduced the soil erosion, preventing about 87% more soil loss than the bare...
Enhancing the performance of lotus seed kernel and shell sorting after dehulling: A real-time approach based on deep learning and image processing (YOLOv8)Original Paper
DINH-TU NGUYEN, HUU-PHAT TRAN, DUC-TIN LE, HOAI-TAN NGUYEN, THANH-THUONG HUYNH
Res. Agr. Eng., X:X | DOI: 10.17221/29/2026-RAE
Lotus seeds represent a high-value agricultural commodity, widely utilised in the food and pharmaceutical industries for their nutritional and medicinal benefits. However, post-harvest processing, specifically the removal of shells, often relies on manual labour or rudimentary equipment that results in low productivity. This study proposes a computer vision system based on the YOLOv8 deep learning framework to automate and enhance the efficiency of post-decortication sorting. The model is designed to detect and classify three distinct components: unshelled seeds, kernels, and shell fragments. Based on these predictions, the system controls pneumatic...