Prediction of Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) Mass Based on Shape and Size Attributes by Using Machine Learning Algorithms

Nondestructive Estimation of Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Terminal Velocity and Drag Coefficient Based on Some Fruit Physical Properties Using Machine Learning Algorithms

Hazelnut culture originated in Turkey, which has the highest volume and area of hazelnut production in the world. For the design and sizing of equipment and structures in agricultural operations for the hazelnut industry, especially harvesting operations and post-harvest operations, it is essential that an understanding of hazelnuts' aerodynamic properties, i.e., terminal velocity and drag coefficient, is acquired. In this study, the moisture, mass, density, projected area, surface area, and geometric diameter were used as independent variables in the data set, and the dependent variables terminal velocity and drag coefficient estimation were determined. In this study, logistic regression (LR), support vector regression (SVR), and artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used based on machine learning methods. When the results were evaluated according to R2 (determination coefficient), MSE (mean squared error), and MAE (mean absolute error) metrics, it was seen that the most successful models were the ANN, SVR, and LR, respectively. According to the R2 metric, the ANN method achieved 91.5% for the terminal velocity of hazelnuts and 85.9% for the drag coefficient of hazelnuts. Using the independent variables in the study, it was seen that the terminal velocity and drag coefficient value of hazelnuts could be successfully estimated.

Machine Learning to Predict the Adsorption Capacity of Microplastics

Nowadays, there is an extensive production and use of plastic materials for different industrial activities. These plastics, either from their primary production sources or through their own degradation processes, can contaminate ecosystems with micro- and nanoplastics. Once in the aquatic environment, these microplastics can be the basis for the adsorption of chemical pollutants, favoring that these chemical pollutants disperse more quickly in the environment and can affect living beings. Due to the lack of information on adsorption, three machine learning models (random forest, support vector machine, and artificial neural network) were developed to predict different microplastic/water partition coefficients (log K_d) using two different approximations (based on the number of input variables). The best-selected machine learning models present, in general, correlation coefficients above 0.92 in the query phase, which indicates that these types of models could be used for the rapid estimation of the absorption of organic contaminants on microplastics.

Classification and Analysis of Pistachio Species with Pre-Trained Deep Learning Models

Pistachio is a shelled fruit from the anacardiaceae family. The homeland of pistachio is the Middle East. The Kirmizi pistachios and Siirt pistachios are the major types grown and exported in Turkey. Since the prices, tastes, and nutritional values of these types differs, the type of pistachio becomes important when it comes to trade. This study aims to identify these two types of pistachios, which are frequently grown in Turkey, by classifying them via convolutional neural networks. Within the scope of the study, images of Kirmizi and Siirt pistachio types were obtained through the computer vision system. The pre-trained dataset includes a total of 2148 images, 1232 of Kirmizi type and 916 of Siirt type. Three different convolutional neural network models were used to classify these images. Models were trained by using the transfer learning method, with AlexNet and the pre-trained models VGG16 and VGG19. The dataset is divided as 80% training and 20% test. As a result of the performed classifications, the success rates obtained from the AlexNet, VGG16, and VGG19 models are 94.42%, 98.84%, and 98.14%, respectively. Models’ performances were evaluated through sensitivity, specificity, precision, and F-1 score metrics. In addition, ROC curves and AUC values were used in the performance evaluation. The highest classification success was achieved with the VGG16 model. The obtained results reveal that these methods can be used successfully in the determination of pistachio types.