http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/6078 ISAE - 2022 2026-05-12T15:18:40Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/9208 Paper production from filamentous algae (Mougeotia sp.)- Experimental study Sumanasekara, G.B.H.; Gunasekara, R.D.A.; Kumari, W.G.S. Manel; Massakorala, K. The paper making is one of the largest industries in the world, with 390 million tons of annual production. The main source of cellulosic fibre which is used in the pulp for paper production comes from wood and non-wood fibres are used to a lesser extent. However, a renewed interest exists in the use of non-woody raw materials for paper pulp due to their abundance, low-cost and eco-friendly. Therefore, developing an alternative method for paper production using non woody fibre-based pulp is vital. Mougeutia sp. is filamentous green algae with the rapid growth forming a dense mat under eutrophic condition in freshwater habitats worldwide. It is growing as a weed and eradicating is difficult. Thus, use it as a raw material helps to control their growth in the aquatic environment. The study aimed to find a method for making paper pulp using green algae of Mougeutia sp as a non-woody fibre source. Mougeotia sp. sample (5g) was boiled at 100 ºC with 250 mL of water for 45 minutes. Then the boiled sample was sun-dried for five hours after the addition of 25 mL of Sordium Hypochloride (NaOCL), the mixture was left for 20 minutes for bleaching. Finally, excess of NaOCl was washed out using tap water. The paper pulp was prepared by mixing 100 mL water and 50 mL of slime which was obtained from cactus species of Opuntia sp. with the bleached sample of Mougeotia sp. Opuntia is a highly abandoned invasive plant and obtaining slime is a low-cost process. The resulted mixture was filtered using muslin clothes and the product was spread on the plastic strainer to form a thin layer. After three hours of drying under sunlight, the thin layer was removed as a sheet of paper. GSM value (63.904) and thickness (1.067 x 10-1 cm) of the product were tested and they were equally to normal paper. Thus, the results highlight the potential of making an eco-friendly and cost-effective paper pulp by using filamentous green algae of Mougeotia sp. as a non woody fibre source and invasive plant species of Opuntia sp. as a source for obtaining slime. 2022-06-16T00:00:00Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/9207 Exploring the user satisfaction of agricultural mobile application with special reference to “Govi-Nena” mobile app Lakmali, M.G.T.; Harshana, P.V.S.; Samaraweera, G.C.; Indika, W.A.; Piyaratne, M.K.D.K. Despite the availability of a significant number of mobile applications, stakeholders in the agriculture domain have not been able to achieve their goals as expected due to the shortcomings of such information platforms available in Sri Lanka. Even though user satisfaction reflects the success of such apps, insufficient exploration regarding it triggers this problem. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the user satisfaction of an agricultural mobile-based application with special reference to the “Govi-Nena” agricultural mobile application, which provides information for Sri Lankan commercial farmers that will be useful to make quality decisions for successful farming. A group of “Govi-Nena” mobile app users was considered as the target population (n=276) and data were collected using a Google form-based structured questionnaire with a response rate of 30% (n=83). Based on previous research, the major elements of the study were identified as general user impression, screen content, terminology and communication with the system, system capabilities, and ease of learning. Relationships between constructs considered in this study were tested applying Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method. According to the results, the majority (87%) of the users were using the “Govi-Nena” mobile app for agricultural purposes while others were using it for academic and learning purposes. Findings further revealed that there was a statistically significant relationship between users’ general impression of the system and user satisfaction of the “Govi-Nena” agricultural mobile app (t= 2.080; p=0.038). Further, a statistically significant relationship was observed between screen content and user satisfaction of the app (t= 8.273; p=0.000). However, the impact of ease of learning (t=0.218; p=0.828), system capabilities (t=1.270; p=0.205), terminology, and communication of the system (t=0.671; p=0.503) on the user satisfaction of the “Govi-Nena” agricultural mobile app were statistically not significant. Hence, the present study suggests that administers’ apparent effort is required to develop the application in a more user friendly way through sufficient and accurate information, user-preferred screen design, suitable general and overall reaction of the system, and proper screen sequence. The results of this research would be of a great significance for administers of common agricultural apps to introduce user-demanded improvements for the system while ensuring higher satisfaction for the users of agricultural apps. 2022-06-16T00:00:00Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/9205 GIS-based classification of the land use of man-made reservoirs and ponds for agricultural use Gunathilake, S.D.N.U.; Kasun, K.M.D.; Marasinghe, M.P.S.P.; Premawansha, D.M.A.B.; Mahakalanda, I.; Gamage, H.G.C.P. Irrigated agriculture in Sri Lanka is mainly sourced from reservoirs and ponds spread across the country. These reservoirs and ponds, however, cannot be efficiently used due to the issues such as imprecise mapping, in accurate classification and lack of scheduled maintenance. The objective of the study was to develop a classification model to monitor the land-use of reservoirs and ponds that can be used for agricultural purposes in North Central Province using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in conjunction with supervised classification. The study applies supervised classification and index-based approaches to identify reservoirs and ponds and major forms of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) in the study area. This study analyses the Landsat 8 bands from 2016 to 2021. The Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) and Interactive Supervised Classification (ISC) have shown promising results. In addition, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI), and Automated Water Extraction Indices (AWEI-1 and AWEI-2) can be used to verify our findings. Our approach uses resultant raster layers to establish the ground. Maximum Likelihood Classification records the highest overall prediction accuracy with 70%. AWEI-I and MNDWI indices were able to identify water at accuracies of 93% and 87%, respectively. This makes the AEWI-I index to be the most promising index to identify water bodies. Extracted tank layer classifies irrigation tanks into large, medium, and small categories. This includes 13 large-scale reservoirs, 41 medium-scale reservoirs and 3519 small scale. In summary, the model classifies 3572 tanks in the study area. It can map 1036 tanks with the existing physical labels. However, model predicts 2536 tanks without labels. 2022-06-16T00:00:00Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/9202 A study on comparison of water usage of automated drip irrigation system in two different growing media Perera, J.J.U.N.; Wickramasinghe, W.M.R.H.; Tharupath, K.M.C.; Rupasinghe, C.P. Home gardening in Sri Lanka has faced many difficulties due to the busy lives of the people and the scarcity of water resources. Water would be the main requirement of backyard farming. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the water consumption of an automated drip irrigation system for different types of grow bags for the growing of Capsicum annuum. This experiment was done in the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna. The experiment was carried out with two different growing media according to Randomized Complete Block Design with eight replicates. Two different growing media were included; commercial coco peat grow bag and a multilayer gunny bag. Sensor-based automated drip irrigation system was established to compare the water consumption of two growing media. The automated drip irrigation system was prepared using Arduino mega microcontroller resistive soil moisture sensors, submersible water pumps, water tubes, tanks, and microchip. The yield parameters of two growing media were compared. According to the results multilayer gunny bag showed lower daily water consumption and it was significantly different compared to the commercial coco peat grow bag. Multilayer gunny bag can also be used as successful growing media with higher yield of Chilli in domestic level compared to Commercial coco peat grow bag. 2022-06-16T00:00:00Z