Phenolic Antioxidants and Antioxidant Activity in Pearling Fractions of Oat Groats

To test the feasibility of dry milling oats (Avena sativa L.) to concentrate antioxidant activity and phenolic antioxidants, groats were pearled for 5 to 180 s. These treatments removed <1 to 15% of the weight. The material obtained from short pearling times was mostly bran. Longer pearling times increased the amount of starchy endosperm in the pearlings. Antioxidant activity of 80% ethanol extracts, measured by β-carotene bleaching and by reduction of the free radical, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, was highest in the short-pearling-time fractions and decreased as more endosperm tissue was included. Likewise, there was a decreasing concentration of total phenolics, determined colorimetrically, and of several simple phenolic acids, determined by high performance liquid chromatography, as more material was pearled from the groats. In contrast, concentrations of avenanthramides were not correlated with pearling time, indicating that they were more uniformly distributed in the groats.     

Management of runoff stored in small tanks for transplanted rice production in the mid-hills of Northwest Himalaya

Scarcity of water in upland areas limits the growing of transplanted rice and the yield of rice grown under rainfed conditions is very low. As the first priority for the use of runoff recycling based water resources is in the dry season followed by the monsoon season, a strategy has been developed to use the surplus water (occurring during the early monsoon season) to grow transplanted rice without compromising the dry season irrigation. Field experiments revealed that under the mid-hill conditions, transplanted rice can be grown as transplanted in 5 cm standing water and thereafter tainted, requiring only 3.0–3.5 cm of water with a yield reduction of about 25% as compared to generally recommended intermittent submergence (2 days after the disappearance of water) requiring 100–130 cm of water. However, the reduction in yield was not significant if 1 week of initial ponding just after transplanting was created. Based on rainfall-runoff analysis, graphs were developed for runoff and volume of water available in water tanks in different durations of early monsoon periods, command-catchment area ratio and the volume of water available after irrigation which is to be used in dry season, as a function of runoff curve numbers. These graphs can be consulted directly to plan irrigation systems for transplanted rice in upland areas.     

陕西凤县无公害苹果产地环境质量评价

依据我国农业行业标准(NY 5013—2001)所规定的污染物控制指标及控制值,采用国家农业行业标准《农田环境质量监测技术规范》推荐的单项污染指数和综合污染指数法,对凤县主要苹果产区大气的4项污染指标,土壤的6项污染指标,灌溉水的8项污染指标进行了环境质量评价。结果表明,该县平木镇、唐藏镇和双石铺镇的大气、土壤和灌溉水环境污染物的单项污染指数值均小于1,综合污染指数值均小于0.7,质量总体状况良好,处于“清洁”水平,达到“安全”等级,符合目前国家所规定的无公害产品基地环境质量的要求。