DOI: 10.3390/agriengineering8110473 ISSN: 2624-7402

Temporal-Leakage-Controlled Multi-Sensor Forecasting and Advisory Screening for Peanut Warehouse Microclimates

Ali Pirhadi Tavandashti, Hasan Mirzakhaninafchi, Eliza Banu, Christopher L. Butts, Cristiane Pilon, Peter C. Ngimbwa, Denis O. Kiobia, Deus F. Kandamali, Wesley M. Porter, Glen C. Rains

Localized temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) in bulk peanut warehouses can differ from warehouse-average conditions, limiting single-point monitoring. This study retrospectively evaluated a temporal-leakage-controlled sensor-network workflow for forecasting warehouse microclimate and reproducing rule-defined advisory states. Environmental records from 18 locations in a commercial-scale in-shell peanut warehouse were harmonized to 15 min intervals from 22 October 2025 to 16 March 2026. Persistence, a leakage-controlled 24 h seasonal-naive baseline, a development-selected persistence-seasonal blend, and an attention-based long short-term memory (LSTM) benchmark were compared using blocked train-core, internal-development, and final-test partitions separated by 48 h embargoes. Final-test metrics used strict raw-observed targets and aggregated errors across all 192 forecast leads over the full 48 h horizon. Seasonal naive had the lowest RH mean absolute error (MAE; 4.15 percentage points), the blend had the lowest T MAE (1.92 °C), and persistence had the lowest dew-point MAE (1.58 °C); attention-LSTM had higher MAE than all temporal baselines. Across 13 non-overlapping 48 h backtests, the blend achieved 80.2% advisory-state agreement, 83.4% Danger recall, and an 8.65% false-safe rate. Final-test raw support covered 11 of 18 locations. The workflow is a forecasting and advisory-screening benchmark, not validated automated control or direct prediction of kernel moisture, fungal activity, aflatoxin, or peanut quality. The findings provide a basis for testing forecast-assisted inspection prioritization, with particular attention to the less predictable upper air void.

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