New approach for modeling the quality of the bagging date using desirability functions

Abstract

The date palm, especially the variety Deglet Nour, produces some dates of high quality. The crop is increasingly attacked by insects while ripening on the palm and damaged by autumnal rains. Various forms of covers have been tried commercially. In this study we considered common materials used worldwide and tested under laboratory conditions. These products require the satisfaction of several properties at the same time. On this basis, the product’s requirements can be identified and converted into a physical element, that is, quality index “QI”, which measures the overall satisfaction of the bagging product. Its value ranges from 0 to l. Hence, “QI” can be used to detect the lack of effectiveness of one of the properties, and thus it should serve as an important measure in quality assurance. It includes the following eight parameters with their ranges: overall migration of toxicological specific substances; solar absorption coefficient; air permeability; resistance to water penetration; breaking load; tear strength; thickness; and weight. The results show that the highest quality index reached is 0.5. It is concluded that the “QI” can evaluate and classify the existing date bunch bags and it can effectively identify the property that should be improved.

Evaluation of the nutritional quality of cereal bars made with pulse flours using desirability functions

“…Calculated desirability functions of evaluated parameters are summarised in Table S3 (Supplementary material). The best condition for all responses was converted into a range from 0 (undesirable response) to 1 (ideal response), based on the maximisation or minimisation of the chosen parameters (Derringer and Suich, 1980) related to the quality of the food (Ferreres et al., 2017; Guedri et al., 2016). For example, mineral content would have an optimal value that is as high as possible, so the ideal response (1) would correspond to a high content.…”

Evaluating farmer's satisfaction of different agrotextile bunch covers using desirability function

“…Using the desirability technique, Guedri et al. 15 have tested only two types of fabrics and they exclude nonwoven materials. Guedri’s study used only plastic and mosquito net over a long period.…”

“…Nonwoven bags work even better than plastic and mosquito nets in protecting against dust, which degrades the quality of dates and requires additional treatment to clean the fruits. Using the desirability technique, Guedri et al 15 have tested only two types of fabrics and they exclude nonwoven materials. Guedri's study used only plastic and mosquito net over a long period.…”

“…14 However, there are a limited number of studies that evaluated the quality of the cover used for protecting bunches of dates. 15 The first study on measurements of bagging bunch properties was published by Denis. 14 He proposed the first bag in the form of a cloth cover based on flexible woven fabric allowing protection from insects, high wind and heavy rain.…”

“…Indeed, a few samples are selected to predict the cover quality. 15 This prevision helps the farmer and industrialist to estimate whether the bagging product will match the needed performance to reach the desired quality. Such prediction saves effort and time and enhances productivity.…”