42 results about "Tilth" patented technology

The invention discloses a composite passivant for soil polluted by heavy metal and a preparation method thereof. The composite passivant is prepared by three raw materials of power plant slags, sepiolite mineral powder and calcined lime in proportion. The preparation method comprises the following steps: A. preparing the power plant slags; B. preparing the sepiolite mineral powder preparation; and C. evenly mixing the raw materials prepared by steps A and B with the calcined lime, wherein the mixture is the composite passivant. By utilizing the composite passivant, the contents of the effective constituents, such as silicon oxide, magnesium oxide, calcium oxide, ferric oxide and the like lowering the soil heavy metal activity is 78.2-90.6% which is calculated by the sum of SiO2, MgO, CaO, MnO2 and Fe2O3; the composite passivant can be widely used in various soils polluted by the heavy metal, especially the soil with visco-weight texture; and by using the composite passivant, the contents of cadmium and lead in a soil active state in the pollutant farmland are lowered by 15.9-48.4% and 26.2-56.4% respectively; the contents of the cadmium and the lead of agricultural products are lowered by 13.6-43.9% and 22.1-53.2% respectively; and the soil pH value is also improved by 0.21-0.46%. The composite passivant has various functions of passivating soil heavy metal, repairing acidification soil and improving the soil tilth and the like.

A planter / fertilizer wherein there is provided a ripping point configured to penetrate a predetermined depth into the soil or sod, the ripping point designed to facilitate a splitting and lifting of the soil, forming a seed bed void, while cutting any organic ground cover, which might comprise, for example, sod, widening the ground cover, and lifting same to a prominent head, wherein first and second coulters, situated above and about the ripping point, are configured to independently engage and cut first and second sides of the lifted ground cover, trash and the like, respectively, then cutting the lifted ground cover, etc., as the coulters rotate, the coulters cooperatively grinding at least a portion of the lifted ground cover, forming tilth, and redepositing the tilth into the seedbed void, providing an enhanced seedbed region with nominal surface disturbance, and a clean furrow. Situated behind the first and second mole plows and fertilizer and seed chutes are opposing first and second wheels, the first wheel a larger diameter furrow trimming wheel, having outwardly emanating therefrom a depth ring or drum for controlling the depth and covering of the seed for the first side of the furrow, the second wheel being smaller in diameter than the first and situated to trim the furrow and assist further in covering the seed for the second side of the furrow, the first and second wheels having different diameters so that they cooperatively rotate at different speeds to prevent clogging, and are situated at opposing angles on horizontal and vertical planes so as to be self cleaning in a variety of soil conditions. Following the first and second wheels is a pressure wheel about the width of the furrow, which is directed over the furrow so as to apply pressure to the furrow, flattening so as to complete the furrow forming process.

A framework for diagnosing and predicting a suitability of soil conditions to various agricultural operations is performed in a combined, multi-part approach for simulating relationships between predictive data and observable outcomes. The framework includes analyzing one or more factors relevant to field trafficability, workability, and suitability for agricultural operations due to the effects of freezing and thawing cycles, and developing artificial intelligence systems to learn relationships between datasets to produce improved indications of trafficability, workability, and forecasts of suitability windows for a particular user, user community, farm, farm group, field, or equipment. The framework also includes a real-time feedback mechanism by which a user can validate or correct these indications and forecasts. The framework may further be configured to override one or more of the soil state assessments to ensure that indicators and forecasts are consistent with the recently-provided feedback.

The invention relates to the technical field of crop food safety control, and concretely relates to a soil conditioner for reducing the activity of heavy metals in soil, a preparation method thereof, and a method for reducing the content of heavy metals in rice. The soil conditioner for reducing the activity of heavy metals in soil comprises, by mass, 1-3 parts of expanded vermiculite powder, 1-3 parts of steel slag powder, 1-3 parts of lime and 3-5 parts of an organic fertilizer. The soil conditioner effectively and stably passivates the heavy metals in polluted farmland soil, improves the fertility of the soil, improves the soil tilth, promotes growth of rice, reduces the use amount of a chemical fertilizer, and facilitates yield and income increase. The method for reducing the content of heavy metals in rice, combining the soil conditioner with water and fertilizer controlled plantation of the rice, has the advantages of low cost, easiness in enforcement, greenness and environmental protection, and effective reduction of the content of the heavy metals in the rice.

A minimum tillage planting / renovation system configured to facilitate an enhanced seedbed in a variety of soil conditions, while maintaining nominal surface disturbance. The present invention may further be configured to provide intercrop planting, renovating, and / or fertilizing. The system of the present invention contemplates a planter / fertilizer wherein there is provided a ripping point configured to penetrate a predetermined depth into the soil or sod, the ripping point designed to facilitate a splitting and lifting of the soil, forming a seed bed void, while cutting any organic ground cover, which might comprise, for example, sod, widening the ground cover, and lifting same to a prominent head, wherein first and second coulters, situated above and about the ripping point, are configured to independently engage and cut first and second sides of the lifted ground cover, trash and the like, respectively, then cutting the lifted ground cover, etc., as the coulters rotate, the coulters cooperatively grinding at least a portion of the lifted ground cover, forming tilth, and redepositing the tilth into the seedbed void, providing an enhanced seedbed region with nominal surface disturbance, and a clean furrow.

The invention provides a structural conditioner for the artificial soil on a slope, which is prepared by the following raw materials of components according to weight percentage by compounding and mixing: 15 to 35 percent of livestock manure, 5 to 10 percent of sawdust, 1 to 10 percent of chitosan, 1 to 20 percent of carboxymethyl cellulose, 0 to 10 percent of PVA, 0 to 10 percent of citric acid, 20 to 45 percent of humic acid, 10 to 25 percent of bentonite and 1 to 15 percent of plant ash. The conditioner has obvious effects on the aspects of coordinating the contradiction between soil moisture content and the air, coordinating the contradiction between the consumption and accumulation of soil nutrients, stabilizing the soil temperature, adjusting the soil thermal regime, improving the soil tilth and promoting the growth of plants.

The invention relates to a product for preventing plants from freezing damage and pests and weeds and use of the product. The product disclosed by the invention is double-layer composite woven geotextile made from a woven layer and a fiber layer. After the composite woven geotextile is laid on a plant planting field, the germination time for the plants can be effectively retarded, so that the plants can evade a freezing damage period, and meanwhile, the damage causing period of the pests can be non-synchronous to the growing period of the plants. The composite woven geotextile disclosed by the invention can also be used for effectively preventing the damage caused by the pests, preventing the damage caused by the weeds and maintaining soil tilth.

The invention discloses a controllable wireless transmission instrument for measuring the soil tilth of field crops, which comprises a solar power supply module, a soil tilth sensor group, a transmitter group, a data processing and analysis module, an encoder circuit, an audible and visual alarm module, a SD (Secure Digital) storage card, a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) display module and a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) wireless communication module, wherein the transmitter group is connected with the soil tilth sensor group; the data processing and analysis module is connected with the transmitter group and is used for processing and analyzing a signal output by the transmitter group; and the encoder circuit, the audible and visual alarm module, the SD storage card, the LCD display module and the GSM wireless communication module are respectively connected with the data processing and analysis module; the GSM wireless communication module is connected and communicated with a mobile phone of a field owner through a GSM network; and the solar power supply module is formed by a solar cell panel, a charge-discharge controller and a storage battery. The controllable wireless transmission instrument has reasonable design, is simple and convenient to use and operate, can be used for acquiring multi-aspect data of the soil tilth, can also be used for implementing automatic acquisition and wireless controllable transmission of the soil tilth data under the condition that a fixed station is unattended, has high intelligence degree and good using effect and is convenient to popularize and use.

The invention discloses a harmless comprehensive utilization treatment device for field wastes. The device comprises a step platen, a crushing box, a chopping device, a crushing device, a sterilization and conveying device, a stirring mechanism and a temperature control mechanism, wherein a mounting rack is arranged on the left side of the upper end of the step platen, two symmetrically distributed supports are arranged in the middle of the upper end of the step platen, and a conveying barrel is arranged at the upper ends of the supports in a matched manner. According to the harmless comprehensive utilization treatment device for field wastes, thorough crushing of the field wastes is guaranteed through two stages of crushing, minimization of materials is realized, later sterilization and fertilization are facilitated, high-temperature sterilization and turning conveying are performed simultaneously in the conveying process, a cross infection source of diseases is cut off, proper temperature for fermentation is guaranteed, biological implantation and breeding of microorganisms are accelerated, the well fermented and matched materials are returned to the field soil, organic matter and nutrients of the soil are greatly increased, the adverse factors such as soil hardening, poor tilth, excessive heavy metals and the like are solved, and virtuous cycle and sustainable development ofagriculture production are realized.

The invention discloses a fertilizer for corns in the saline-alkali soil and an application thereof, belonging to the technique of soil improvement and efficient fertilization, solving the problems of easiness in soil hardening, bad soil structure, bad tilth, and low bioavailability of nutrients required by corn growth caused by high pH and high salinity. The fertilizer for corns in the saline-alkali soil comprises 7.3 weight parts of sulfurous fertilizer, 10 weight parts of humic acid, 24 weight parts of N, 12 weight parts of P2O5, and 6 weight parts of K2O. When the fertilizer is applied, the application amount is 50kg / mu. The fertilizer disclosed herein is suitable for corn production in the saline-alkali soil, can improve the physical and chemical property of the soil and reduce the accumulation of salts on the soil surface, and can raise the corn yield by 20-30%.

A minimum tillage planting / renovation system configured to facilitate an enhanced seedbed in a variety of soil conditions, while maintaining nominal surface disturbance. The present invention may further be configured to provide intercrop planting, renovating, and / or fertilizing. The system of the present invention contemplates a planter / fertilizer wherein there is provided a ripping point configured to penetrate a predetermined depth into the soil or sod, the ripping point designed to facilitate a splitting and lifting of the soil, forming a seed bed void, while cutting any organic ground cover, which might comprise, for example, sod, widening the ground cover, and lifting same to a prominent head, wherein first and second coulters, situated above and about the ripping point, are configured to independently engage and cut first and second sides of the lifted ground cover, trash and the like, respectively, then cutting the lifted ground cover, etc., as the coulters rotate, the coulters cooperatively grinding at least a portion of the lifted ground cover, forming tilth, and redepositing the tilth into the seedbed void, providing an enhanced seedbed region with nominal surface disturbance, and a clean furrow.

The invention relates to a farmland soil improvement method, particularly to a method for improving lime concretion black soil by using crop straw biochar, and solves the problems of heavy viscosity, poor tilth and the like in the lime concretion black soil. In farmland soil with low productivity of the lime concretion black soil, crop straw biochar is applied into field ditches, and covered and buried with soil. The farmland is firstly ditched, and the biochar is applied into the field ditches, thereby improving the physical behaviors of the soil, enhancing the water retaining capacity of the soil, and increasing the absorbing capacity of crops for water and fertilizers in the soil. The biochar is additionally applied on the basis of the traditional farmland soil tillage mode, thereby fundamentally achieving the goal of improving the lime concretion black soil; and the method has the advantages of wide raw material sources, low cost and simple application process, is capable of reducing the air pollution caused by straw incineration and increasing the fixed carbon content in soil, and has huge popularization and application values.

The invention discloses a rotary tiller with a tilting cutter. The rotary tiller comprises a power device, a traction wheel, a rotary tilling knife and a transmission case which is used for receiving power output from the power device and separately transmitting the power to the traction wheel and the rotary tilling knife. The axis of the rotary tilling knife is arranged along the direction of advance of the rotary tiller, the outer end of the rotary tilling knife tilts down so as to enable the axis of the rotary tilling knife to form an included angle with the horizontal plane, and thus the tilth of the rotary tiller is effectively increased; and meanwhile, during the soil cutting of the rotary tilling knife, a counteracting force along the axial direction of the cutter will be generated and has a pushing force enabling the rotary tiller to advance and a lifting force enabling the rotary tiller to rise, so that the rotary tiller can be effectively prevented from being deeply trapped during the tilling of marshy lands or deepwater fields.

The invention discloses a plastic cup direct sowing cotton seed sowing and seedling growing method, which is characterized in that: seeds are sown during a period from April 15th to May 10th every year; the temperature of the soil which is 5 centimeters below the soil surface is kept above 14 DEG C constantly; when soil tilth is proper, ridges and holes are made in a leveled cotton field; 1 to 2 high-quality cotton seeds are sown in each hole; the cotton seeds are planted in soil at a 2 to 3 centimeter distance from the surface of the soil; each hole in which the cotton seeds are sown is covered by a plastic cup; the mouth of each plastic cup is put in soil and 2 to 3 centimeters away from the surface of the soil; the cotton seeds is in the mouth of each plastic cup; the height of the plastic cups is 10 to 16 centimeters and the volume of the plastic cups is 240 to 320 milliliters; 3 to 5 days after the germination of cotton seedlings, a hole is formed in the side wall of each plastic cup; and when 25 to 40 percent of cotton seedlings in the cotton field grows to the height of the top of the plastic cups, all plastic cups can be removed at one time, and the final singling of the seedlings can be performed. The method, when used for sowing and seedling growing, has the advantages of high production efficiency, small risks, low labor intensity, simple management working procedures and high survival rate of cotton seedlings and the like.

The invention discloses an ecological engineering regulation method for fast reducing salinity of a sand coated district which belongs to the marine solonchak improving method technical field. The invention comprises: firstly, making out a whole plane; secondly, implementing dredgepump filling to form a soil layer with the upper part rough and the lower part fine; thirdly, a gutter is arranged with a depth of over two meters and a space between of less than two hundred meters to control the flow direction of groundwater flow of strip check and to realize an entire desalinisation to prevent the uprise of salt. The invention forms a new soil layer structure with the upper part rough and the lower part fine, increases a coarse sand content of upper soil and obviously improves soil tilth; thereby facilitating the leaching of the salt. Only half a year is needed and then the salt content of a plow layer is reduced from six point five four gram per kilogram to one point two three gram per kilogram; thereby speeding up the improvement and utilization speed of the marine solonchak and restraining the uprise of salt. The invention reduces the governance process for the marine solonchak, speeds up a startup time, has obvious economic benefits and is applicable to the marine solonchak district and can be popularized and applied in the sand coated district.

The invention discloses soil modification fertilizer for garden trees and flowers and a preparation method thereof. The soil modification fertilizer is prepared by the following materials in parts by weight: 11-22 parts of wheat and corn straw, 6-11 parts of methane residue, 8-15 parts of cow dung, 13-20 parts of methyl jasmonate, 4-8 parts of rare earth chelate, 2.5-6 parts of rotted vegetable leaves, 15-21 parts of potato flour, 7-12 parts of sesame paste cake, 1.5-3.2 parts of turnip slag, 1.2-3.4 parts of rare earth chelate and 1.3-2.4 parts of cottonseed hull. The green fertilizer provided by the invention is simple in formula, natural and abundant in material, environment-friendly and prone to acquire; recycle of resources is achieved by composting the cow dung, production cost is reduced, stable performance is acquired, quality of the green fertilizer is higher, fertilizer efficiency is good; furthermore, the soil modification repair agent increases soil fertility, and provides material guarantee for improvement of soil and soil tilth and fertile soil engineering; and the property of soil can be effectively improved, and soil fertility can be improved. Meanwhile, the method provided by the invention is cheap in material, easy to acquire the material, simple in technology, and prone to popularize.

The invention discloses an efficient, compound and organic fertilizer for garden plants and flowers and a preparation method thereof. The efficient, compound and organic fertilizer is prepared from, by weight, 11-22 parts of industrial vinasse materials, 6-11 parts of wormcast, 8-15 parts of magnetized water straw, 13-20 parts of unsaturated polyester resin powder, 4-8 parts of sodium humate and anabaena, 2.5-6 parts of aspergillus oryzae powder, 15-21 parts of compound amino acid liquid and 7-12 parts of organic fertilizer. The green fertilizer is simple in formula, the raw materials are natural and rich, are environmentally friendly and are easy to obtain, resource recycling is achieved by utilizing the magnetized water straw, the production cost is reduced, the green fertilizer stable in performance and higher in quality is obtained, the fertilizer efficiency is good, the fertility of soil is improved by a soil activating agent, the soil is improved, the soil tilth is improved, and a material guarantee is provided for fertile soil projects. The properties of soil can be effectively improved, and the fertility of soil is improved. In addition, the raw materials for the method are cheap and easy to obtain, the process is simple, and the method is easy to popularize.

The invention discloses a garden controlled-release fertilizer which is prepared from compound fertilizer particles, an inhibitor layer, a microelement layer, an organic fertilizer layer and a controlled-release coating material layer, wherein the compound fertilizer particles are a compound fertilizer prepared from a plurality of fertilizers; the inhibitor layer is prepared from a urease inhibitor and a nitrification inhibitor; the microelement layer is prepared from industrial waste residues, tailing slag and attapulgite; the controlled-release coating material is prepared from ammonium magnesium phosphate and calcium carboxymethylcellulose. The controlled-release fertilizer is prepared from the following ingredients in parts by weight: 20 to 25 parts of urea, 10 to 15 parts of ammoniumphosphate, 10 to 15 parts of monopotassium phosphate, 15 to 20 parts of monoammonium phosphate, 5 to 10 parts of biochar, 5 to 10 parts of plant ash, 0.06 to 3 parts of inhibitor, 15 to 25 parts of microelements, 15 to 25 parts of organic fertilizer, 3 to 9 parts of controlled-release coating material and 2 to 6 parts of adhesive. The controlled-release fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus andpotassium which are necessary to the plants, further contains microelements, can ensure that the quality and yield of plants are improved, can effectively inhibit nitrogen element loss, can improve soil tilth, has strong controlled-release capacity and water retention capacity and can prevent a soil structure from being damaged.

The invention discloses an environmental-friendly fertilizer for plants and flowers and a preparation method thereof. The environmental-friendly fertilizer is prepared from the following raw materials in parts by weight: 11-22 parts of mung bean corroded straws, 6-11 parts of mildewy bean seeds, 8-15 parts of chicken manure, 13-20 parts of potassium sulphate, 4-8 parts of a rare earth chelating liquid, 2.5-6 parts of vegetable corroded leaves, 15-21 parts of collected bones, 7-12 parts of bean cakes, 1.5-3.2 parts of decomposed coal, 1.2-3.4 parts of edible mushroom residues and 1.3-2.4 parts of bean pulp. The green fertilizer disclosed by the invention is simple in formula, is prepared from natural and rich raw materials and is environmentally friendly and easily available. Resources are recycled by means of the composted chicken manure, so that the production cost is lowered, the green fertilizer which is stable in performance and higher in quality is obtained, and the fertilizer efficiency is good; and the fertility of soil is enhanced by means of a soil nutrient, and the fertilizer provides a material guarantee for improving soil and soil tilth as well as the fertile earth project.

This present invention relates to improvements in seed and seed-related products, processes for making such products and processes for establishing and improving seed beds and seed bed germination. As additional benefits, this invention is directed at improving soil productivity through enhancements in soil fertility, soil condition / tilth, and control of soil moisture. Further, the invention relates to productive use of certain types of abundantly available manufacturing waste, which waste is currently being disposed of in landfills.

Encapsulated seeds, processes for making encapsulated seeds and processes for establishing and improving seed beds and seed bed germination. The encapsulated seeds improve soil productivity through enhancements in soil fertility, soil condition / tilth, and control of soil moisture.

The invention discloses a method for acquiring missing data of the initial pH value of soil. The method provided by the invention comprises the following steps: (1) measuring the current pH value and buffer capacity of to-be-detected soil, soil bulk density and the volume of a plough layer; (2) acquiring the pH<0> value of the to-be-detected soil; and (3) carrying out calculation according to the equation that a soil acidification rate in N years is equal to a product of the buffer capacity, the soil bulk density, the volume of the plough layer and the different between the pH<0> value and the current pH value, wherein the pH<0> value is the pH value of reference soil, and the reference soil is soil without human disturbance, i.e., soil meeting the following three conditions at the same time: (a1) the soil is within the coverage of a circle with the to-be-detected soil as a center and with a radius of 500 m; (a2) the parent materials, soil types and soil species of the soil and the to-be-detected soil are identical; and (3) the soil is free of human disturbance and fertilization, and no plant grows on the surface of the soil. The method provided by the invention has important application value in quantitative analysis of soil acidification rate and prediction and early warning of acidification.

An agricultural tillage implement is provided with a soil finishing system that includes a multi-bar harrow and a down pressure-controlled finishing tool that are arranged with respect to each other to enhance soil tilth and leveling, including reducing residual shank grooves in tilled soil, to improve seed bed preparation.

The invention discloses a fertilizer for corns in the saline-alkali soil and an application thereof, belonging to the technique of soil improvement and efficient fertilization, solving the problems of easiness in soil hardening, bad soil structure, bad tilth, and low bioavailability of nutrients required by corn growth caused by high pH and high salinity. The fertilizer for corns in the saline-alkali soil comprises 7.3 weight parts of sulfurous fertilizer, 10 weight parts of humic acid, 24 weight parts of N, 12 weight parts of P2O5, and 6 weight parts of K2O. When the fertilizer is applied, the application amount is 50kg / mu. The fertilizer disclosed herein is suitable for corn production in the saline-alkali soil, can improve the physical and chemical property of the soil and reduce the accumulation of salts on the soil surface, and can raise the corn yield by 20-30%.

The invention discloses a greenhouse direct seeding planting method of trollius ledebouri reichb in cold regions, and belongs to the technical field of plant cultivation. The method aims to solve theproblems that trollius ledebouri reichb is long in planting period and low in yield. The direct seeding planting method comprises the steps that 1, farmyard manure is spread on the earth surface before plowing in a greenhouse, then shallow turning is carried out on soil, and seeding cells are built; 2, direct seeding is carried out after seed germination accelerating and disinfection, and seeds are evenly covered with overlying soil after seeding, wherein the overlying soil is prepared from black soil, peat soil and fine sand; 3, after pentagonal basal leaves grow, a seedling strengthening agent is sprayed, when the average plant height reaches 5-7 cm, a nitrogen fertilizer is applied for the first time, and in the seedling period, the nitrogen fertilizer is applied every 15-20 days untilblooming; 4, harvesting is carried out. A seed direct seeding method is used, so that transplanting is not needed, and time and labor are saved; the reasonable proportion of the overlying soil fully considers texture and tilth features of the soil, water and fertilizer supply is guaranteed, and the seed germination rate is improved; due to greenhouse planting, the planting period is greatly shortened, and the operability is high.

Encapsulated seeds, processes for making encapsulated seeds and processes for establishing and improving seed beds and seed bed germination. The encapsulated seeds improve soil productivity through enhancements in soil fertility, soil condition / tilth, and control of soil moisture.

The invention provides fertilizer for landscaping flowers. The fertilizer has the advantages that flowers and plants are made robust, and stress resistance and disease resistance of the flowers are improved; a method by taking organic nutrients as fundamental and performing blending with inorganic nutrients is adopted, reasonable matching is achieved, nutrient utilization is high, durable function is achieved, flowering phase can be prolonged, growing characteristics of the flowers and needs of the flowering phase can be met, and watching value and economic value of the flowers are increased; the raw materials obtained are natural, rich, environment friendly and easy to obtain; production cost is lowered through cyclic utilization, the green fertilizer with stable performance and high quality is obtained, the fertilizer is good in function, fertility of soil is enhanced through a soil conditioner, and material insurance is provided for improving soil, improving soil tilth and fertile soil engineering.

The no-tillage single-plant rice cultivation process includes preparing nutritious soil, regulating pH value of the nutritious soil, raising rice seedling, transplanting to field and other steps. The present invention has the advantages of saving water resource, reducing pollution, no tillage, saving in land and lowered cultivation cost.

The invention discloses plant growth and slow-release modified compound fertilizer and a preparation method thereof. The plant growth and slow-release modified compound fertilizer is prepared from, by weight, 11-22 parts of fermented cow dung, 6-11 parts of garden plant waste, 8-15 parts of potato peels, 13-20 parts of sodium silicate, 4-8 parts of wet straws, 2.5-6 parts of chitosan, 15-21 parts of tea branches, 7-12 parts of polyethylene glycol, 1.5-3.2 parts of typ-modified bentonite, 1.3-2.4 parts of modified alkaline mineral, 0.6-1.2 parts of propanoic acid and 10-15 parts of diniconazole. The green fertilizer is simple in formula, natural and rich in raw material, environment friendly and easy to obtain, recycling of resources is realized by the aid of rotten potatoes, production cost is lowered, the green fertilizer stable in performance and high in quality is obtained, good fertilizer efficiency is achieved, fertility of soil is enhanced through a soil modification restorer, and material guarantee is provided for improvement of soil and soil tilth and fertile soil engineering; soil property can be effectively improved, and fertility of the soil is improved; meanwhile, the method is easy in obtaining of the raw materials and simple in process.