Sampah merupakan salah satu permasalahan lingkungan yang krusial, terutama sampah kantong plastik dari hasil kegiatan berbelanja. Peningkatan produksi kantong plastik berbanding lurus dengan peningkatan jumlah penduduk. Tujuan dari kegiatan pengabdian ini adalah untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan dan keterampilan mitra dalam pengelolaan limbah pertanian di Dusun Mappasaile, Desa Limampoccoe, Kecamatan Cenrana, Kabupaten Maros. Dusun ini memiliki potensi limbah pelepah pisang dan sabut kelapa yang cukup tinggi dan belum termanfaatkan. Kegiatan ini dilakukan dengan menjadikan pemuda yang kurang produktif sebagai mitra dalam pelaksanaan kegiatan. Tingkat pengetahuan dan keterampilan mitra diukur dari pre-test dan post-test dengan menggunakan beberapa indikator/penilaian. Pelaksanaan kegiatan tediri dari beberapa tahapan, yaitu penyampaian materi, wawancara, praktik langsung pembuatan kertas dan paper bag hingga monitoring kegiatan. Hasil kegiatan menunjukkan bahwa pengetahuan mitra meningkat dari 10% menjadi 76% dan keterampilan mitra meningkat dari 21% menjadi 81%.

Quality of inferior woods can be improved with wood modification technology. There are some wood modification technologies available, one of them is oil-heat treatment. Candlenut wood (Aleurites moluccanus (L.) Willd.) is one of low-quality wood species with limited utilization. Efforts to improve the properties of wood are needed for more optimal utilization. This research was conducted to improve physical properties of candlenut wood namely density, specific gravity, and dimensional stability by applying oil-heating treatment at various temperatures (160, 180 and 200°C) for one hour. Physical properties of wood were tested according to ASTM D143-94. The result showed candlenut wood in oil-heat treatment as better than control. Density and specific gravity of wood increased by 25.13% and 26.97%, respectively, and the dimensional stability also increased as well, shown by the reduction of hygroscopic properties of wood at tangential and radial directions by 22%. The best treatment selected for candlenut wood with temperature of 160°C.

The auger-type metering device for variable rate fertilizer applicator (VRFA) was designed and considered to have a better performance compared to other types of metering device. Static performance testing has been done with very good performance results. The system can follow each dose instruction given both step response and stair-step response testing. The objectives of this study were to do dynamic performance tests and analysis of the auger-type metering device which was controlled using a proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller. In this test, the variable rate fertilizer was mounted to a transplanter machine. A DC motor rotated the auger, and the motor speed was controlled using a PID controller. The step response test was conducted to get a dynamic calibration equation by measuring the fertilizer discharge at a particular set-point of DC motor speed. The results obtained showed that fertilizer discharge has a linear relationship with the motor speed (R2 = 0.984). Fertilizer distribution testing was conducted using a stair-step response. These test results showed that the fertilizer was uniformly distributed to the track. Similarly, the increase in the DC motor speed is correlated with the amount of fertilizer was distributed to the track.

In the construction of the transportation network, road infrastructure is being developed intensively. Quality assurance is needed to prevent failure and ensure long performance. To measure the quality of road works, especially asphalt, can now use the laboratory version of the Lightweight deflectometer (LWD) tool developed by DGH. Lightweight deflectometer (LWD); which has been developed for evaluation of surface stiffness can be used to estimate the degree of compaction and produce modulus of elasticity. This a laboratory-based study aims to analyze the effect of asphalt mixture density (AC-WC) on deflection values and modulus of elasticity using laboratory version of the LWD and find the correlation between the modulus of elasticity of asphalt against variations in the height of the mashing load.