The use of chemical herbicides in agriculture has raised concerns due to its adverse effects on farmers' health, environmental sustainability, and consumer safety. Paraquat, a widely used herbicide, has been banned in Thailand. In response to this issue, this research focused on the development of natural herbicide products as an alternative to conventional chemical herbicides. The study involved the extraction of bioactive compounds from selected plants with potential herbicidal properties and evaluating their effectiveness in controlling target weeds. The results indicated that the developed natural herbicide demonstrates significant weed control efficiency. Additionally, this product can be applied to organic farming systems, reducing reliance on hazardous chemicals and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. The development of this natural herbicide served as an essential step toward environmentally friendly and safe agricultural solutions.
ที่มาของโครงการนี้เกิดจากปัญหาการใช้สารเคมีกำจัดวัชพืชในภาคเกษตรกรรม ซึ่งแม้ว่าสารเหล่านี้จะมีประสิทธิภาพในการควบคุมวัชพืช แต่กลับก่อให้เกิดผลกระทบต่อสุขภาพของเกษตรกร ผู้บริโภค และสิ่งแวดล้อมในระยะยาว โดยเฉพาะสารพาราควอต ซึ่งเป็นสารเคมีกำจัดวัชพืชที่ได้รับความนิยมแต่ถูกห้ามใช้ในหลายประเทศ รวมถึงประเทศไทย เนื่องจากมีความเป็นพิษสูงและไม่มีวิธีการรักษาหากได้รับสารเข้าสู่ร่างกาย นอกจากนี้ การตกค้างของสารเคมีในดินและแหล่งน้ำยังส่งผลต่อความสมดุลของระบบนิเวศและคุณภาพของผลผลิตทางการเกษตร ด้วยเหตุนี้ โครงการวิจัยนี้จึงถูกพัฒนาขึ้นโดยมีเป้าหมายในการค้นหาและพัฒนาสารจากธรรมชาติที่สามารถทดแทนสารเคมีดังกล่าวได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ เพื่อลดความเสี่ยงต่อสุขภาพของเกษตรกร ลดปัญหามลพิษทางสิ่งแวดล้อม และส่งเสริมการทำเกษตรกรรมที่ยั่งยืน นอกจากนี้ การวิจัยยังตอบสนองต่อนโยบายของภาครัฐในการสนับสนุนการใช้สารชีวภาพและนวัตกรรมที่เป็นมิตรกับสิ่งแวดล้อม เพื่อสร้างสมดุลระหว่างผลผลิตทางการเกษตรและการดูแลสิ่งแวดล้อมให้ยั่งยืนในระยะยาว
คณะเทคโนโลยีการเกษตร
This experiment aimed to study the suitable types of polymers for coating with chlorophyll extract and the quality of cucumber seeds after coating. The experiment was planned using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four replications, consisting of five methods involving seeds coated with different types of polymers: Polyvinylpyrrolidone, Sodium Alginate, Carboxy Methyl Cellulose, and Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, each polymer being coated alongside chlorophyll, with uncoated seeds serving as the control method. The coating substance was prepared by extracting chlorophyll from mango leaves, then mixed with each type of polymer at a concentration of 1%, using an 8% concentration of chlorophyll extract. The properties of each coating method, such as pH and viscosity of the coating substance, were examined before coating the cucumber seeds with a rotary disk coater model RRC150 at a coating rate of 1,100 milliliters per 1 kilogram of seeds. Subsequently, the seeds were dried to reach the initial moisture level using a hot air blower, and seed quality was assessed in various aspects, including seed moisture, germination rate under laboratory conditions, germination index, and seed fluorescence under a portable ultraviolet light illuminator, as well as light emission spectrum analysis using a Spectrophotometer. The experiment found that each type of polymer could be used to form a film together with chlorophyll, which had appropriate pH and viscosity for the coating without affecting seed quality and showed fluorescence on the seed surface both under portable ultraviolet light and spectral emission analysis with a Spectrophotometer. Using HPMC as the film-forming agent with chlorophyll was the most suitable method, enhancing seed fluorescence efficiency.
คณะสถาปัตยกรรม ศิลปะและการออกแบบ
The concept of building a friendly city for older people by adjusting the physical environment is considered one of the crucial components of promoting older people’s better health and quality of life. Based on this tenet, designing a suitable footpath and considering older people’s needs are vital to the reduction of risks and the increase of safety in travelling, especially for older people living in Wat-Thad and Wat-Klang communities where the proportion of the elderly has continuously, increased. The research aimed to 1) survey the physical environment of footpath, approaching public assistance, 2) observe the elderly’s behavior and satisfaction on footpath in communities, and 3) create the proposal concept in developing the suitable footpath with the elderly’s need in city area. This research used various tools, including the questionnaire on the footpath’s physical environment to analyse problems, limitations, and footpath potentials, the interview of staff in the Engineering Division, Khon Kaen municipality and the questionnaires collecting travelling behaviour, satisfaction and attitude of elderly on the footpath in community. The data analysis the physical environment following six components in the monitoring list showed three used descriptive statistics. Interestingly, from 370 samples, the results of investigating qualified evaluations, namely 1) land utilisation in the communities, 2) linking the transportation network, and 3) beautifully attractive places for walking. However, three unqualified evaluations were 1) safety footpath availability, 2) design for all people, and 3) walking on the footpath to access public assistance and facilities. Moreover, the results from the questionnaire to study older people’s travelling behaviour, indicated that the most travelling objectives were grocery shopping and accessing the recreation sites with frequent visits three to five times per week. Furthermore, older people’s satisfaction with the community footpath was overall at a high level, This research proposed suggestions for developing a safe footpath to ensure safe walking access to facilities and public assistance.
คณะวิศวกรรมศาสตร์
Nowadays, rail transportation has a significant impact on people's lives and economic growth. Consequently, the number of rail systems being built around our country has dramatically increased. This process causes various types of pollution, such as noise and rail-way vibration, which can badly affect the life of citizens who live nearby. The most popular way to solve this problem recently is to decrease the noise from the sound source or to adjust the vibration by attaching a Track Damper to the railway. This technique is being used in many countries especially in Europe and Australia because it is cheap and has high efficiency. The key piece called Track Dampers are made by AUT company’s Thailand for a period of time. The company produces Track Dampers for the owner of the technology so as to sell more than 300,000 pieces of it overseas. Furthermore, the demand of Track Dampers grows as the railway systems expand. Unfortunately, the imported synthetic materials, which are used to create Track Dampers, are made from environmentally unfriendly sources. As a result, this research aims to develop the product to be environmentally-safe by replacing some imported materials with Thai’s local content; which are natural rubber and rubber crumbs. Furthermore, the product will be added value by mounting with embedded sensors for real-time monitoring of track vibration, noise, and rail temperature. All embedded devices developed will sense, collect, and automatically send to cloud by wireless technology platform. The AI and IOT platform will also be developed for safety, security, and maintenance proposed of railway track system. However, in conducting research, there will be close collaboration with AUT company through design, production, and testing. The outcome of this research is to upgrade AUT company from tier 2 manufacturer (TRL 8-9) to tier 1 manufacturer (TRL 7-8) which will be served the Thailand competitiveness enhancing strategic goal.