Screening of diverse cassava genotypes based on nitrogen uptake efficiency and yield

As one of the top three tuber crops of the world, cassava is a staple food and feed crop for tropical and subtropical regions. Because of its high drought resistance and tolerance to nutrient deficiency, cassava is usually cultivated on hilly areas that are nutrient-poor. Nitrogen(N) is one of the significant factors affecting cassava yield. A double factorial(N level×genotypes) split-plot field experiment was conducted to analyze differences in yield and N accumulation of 25 cassava genotypes under low-N conditions to screen for cassava genotypes with high-N efficiency. The two-year field experiment showed that cassava yield and N accumulation are determined by specific genotypes, soil N levels, and year. Among these factors, soil N levels are the main factors that are responsible for differences in cassava yield. When yield and relative N accumulation under low-N conditions were used as screening markers, we identified an efficient and responsive genotype(SC10), and two inefficient and non-responsive genotypes(SC205 and GR5). The efficient and responsive genotype and the inefficient and non-responsive genotype can be used as study materials to further reveal the mechanisms for high-N efficiency in cassava.     

生物质能在密集烤房上应用现状和发展方向

为探究烟叶密集烘烤中经济性和实用性较强的生物质能源,笔者归纳了当前密集型烤房上使用较多的气体、液体、固体生物质能源的应用现状,在总结了3种生物质能源对烟叶烘烤质量影响和能源转化设备技术成熟度的基础上,依据经济性和实用性分析了3种生物质能在密集烤房上应用所具有的优势和局限。最后得出固体生物质颗粒燃料是当前和今后密集烤房应用前景中最好的一种生物质能,指出未来应从加强原料配方研究、持续提升颗粒燃料燃烧机技术改进、并融入大农业物联网技术以实现精准烘烤。     

华北地区夏玉米生产中磷素利用特征研究

为评估当前中国华北地区夏玉米生产中的磷素利用效率和影响因素,促进磷肥资源高效利用和降低损失和污染,本研究通过收集1980年以来公开发表的夏玉米田间试验的文献,对华北地区夏玉米磷肥试验数据进行收集、整理和分析,获得了夏玉米的籽粒与秸秆产量及其比例,以及施磷量与籽粒和秸秆磷含量的关系模型。研究发现,随着施磷量的增加,土壤-夏玉米作物系统的磷素表观盈亏量呈线性增加,在施磷达到75 kg/hm ²时,磷素表观盈亏量为0。华北地区的夏玉米磷肥平均利用效率约为15%;增加氮肥施用量以及与磷合理配施有利于提高磷肥利用效率。整体上,夏玉米对磷酸二铵的利用效率高于过磷酸钙;有机肥和化肥配施可以有效提高磷肥利用效率。夏玉米‘天泰60’品种的磷肥利用效率最高。在华北地区夏玉米生产中,选用磷酸二铵以及适合的氮肥水平、有机肥与化肥配施,可以提高磷肥利用效率,降低磷肥损失和环境污染风险。     

拔节后补灌对不同穗型冬小麦耗水和籽粒产量的影响

为探究拔节期和开花期不同补灌方案对不同穗型冬小麦耗水特性、籽粒产量和水分利用效率的影响，于2017-2019年在山东省泰安市以大穗型品种山农23和中多穗型品种山农29为试验材料，以拔节后无灌水(T1)为对照，设置拔节期补灌目标为0~20 cm土层相对含水率达100%田间持水率(T2)、拔节期和开花期补灌目标为0~20 cm土层相对含水率达100%田间持水率(T3)和拔节期补灌目标为0~40 cm土层相对含水率达100%田间持水率(T4) 3种补灌方案。结果表明，拔节后不同补灌方案对大穗型和多穗型小麦品种影响基本一致。与T1处理相比，T4处理显著提高了0~100 cm土层土壤相对含水率，使60~100 cm土层土壤相对含水率在开花期仍保持较高水平；T3处理显著提高了拔节期0～60 cm和开花期0~40 cm土层土壤相对含水率。与T3处理相比，T4处理的拔节至开花阶段耗水量增加了28.9%，其中对上层土壤总供水的表观消耗量增加了66.4%；T4处理在开花至成熟阶段对深层土壤总供水的表观消耗量增加了68.0%，对上层土壤总供水的表观消耗量降低了37.4%。在开花至成熟期降水较多(121.2 mm)的年份，T4处理的开花至成熟阶段耗水量、开花后旗叶净光合速率和籽粒产量相对于T3处理均无显著变化，但总耗水量较高，水分利用效率显著降低；在开花至成熟期降水较少(45.2 mm)的年份，T4处理的开花至成熟期的阶段耗水量、开花后旗叶净光合速率、籽粒产量和水分利用效率较T3处理均显著降低。因此，在小麦全生育期降水量为111.6~220.2 mm、开花后降水量为45.2~121.2 mm的条件下，大穗型和中多穗型小麦品种均以在拔节期和开花期将0~20 cm土层补灌至100%田间持水率的补灌方案最优，可同时实现高产和高水分利用效率。     

Genetic and environmental influences on chickpea water‐use efficiency

Chickpea is a major crop grown for its nutritional value, and it is used for both food and feed. However, terminal drought greatly reduces grain yield in many chickpea producing areas. The impacts of drought could be mitigated by adapting chickpea genotypes with higher water‐use efficiency (WUE). To assess genetic variation for WUE, contrasting genotypes were sown in two moisture regimes (well‐watered and water‐limited) and two tillage regimes (tillage and no‐tillage) in north‐western NSW across two consecutive seasons. The well‐watered and no till treatments were higher yielding than their respective rainfed and tillage treatments. Genotypes did not differ (p < 0.05) in their water use but differed significantly in their WUE, and a significant genotype‐by‐moisture treatment effect was observed. The heritability of WUE was higher under tillage (71.3% for tillage under rainfed conditions and 73.0% for tillage and irrigated conditions) than no‐till (43.3% for no till under rainfed conditions and 36.4% for no‐till and irrigated conditions), and no significant genotype‐by‐tillage interaction was observed.     

Nutritional and mineral content of prickly pear cactus: A highly water‐use efficient forage,fodder and food species

Increased demand for food requires us to investigate livestock forage and fodder crops that can be grown over a wide range of locations where their cultivation will not compete with that of the food supply. A large portion of the southwestern United States consists of underutilized semi‐arid land. Crops typically used for livestock fodder or forage have high‐water demands that make them uneconomical or unsustainable for semi‐arid and arid regions. The growth rate and low‐input requirements of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus‐indica) make it an excellent candidate for forage or fodder supplementation or replacement in these regions. Previous reports about forage quality data on Opuntia have been scattered across multiple locations, growing conditions and cultivars. Here, we report on the forage quality and mineral content of Opuntia ficus‐indica grown under both field and greenhouse conditions. Crude protein was 71 and 264 g/kg of dry mass for field and greenhouse conditions, respectively. Field‐grown plants showed higher acid and neutral detergent fibre content than greenhouse‐grown plants reflecting higher cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin accumulation. Nutritional values were also compared to requirements of cattle to determine what deficiencies might need to be addressed through supplementation. These data suggest that Opuntia can be used in combination with other feed sources to reduce the demand of resource‐intensive forage crops for raising livestock in dryland areas.     

The effect of random and density‐dependent variation in sampling efficiency on variance of abundance estimates from fishery surveys

Abundance indices (AIs) provide information on population abundance and trends over time, while AI variance (AIV) provides information on reliability or quality of the AI. AIV is an important output from surveys and is commonly used in formal assessments of survey quality, in survey comparison studies, and in stock assessments. However, uncertainty in AIV estimates is poorly understood and studies on the precision and bias in survey AIV estimates are lacking. Typically, AIV estimates are “design based” and are derived from sampling theory under some aspect of randomized samples. Inference on population density in these cases can be confounded by unaccounted process errors such as those due to variable sampling efficiency (q). Here, we simulated fish distribution and surveys to assess the effect of q and variance in q on design‐based estimates of AIV. Simulation results show that the bias and precision of AIV depend on the mean q and variance in q. We conclude that to fully evaluate the reliability of AI, both observation error and variability in q must be accounted for when estimating AIV. A decrease in mean q and an increase in the variance in q results in increased bias and decreased precision in survey AIV estimates. These effects are likely small in surveys with mean q ≥ 1. However, for surveys where q ≤ 0.5, these effects can be large. Regardless of the survey type, AIV estimates can be improved with knowledge of q and variance in q.     

Relay-intercropping soybean with maize maintains soil fertility and increases nitrogen recovery efficiency by reducing nitrogen input

Optimized nitrogen(N)management can increase N-use efficiency in intercropping systems.Legume-nonlegume intercropping systems can reduce N input by exploiting biological N fixation by legumes.Measurement of N utilization can help in dissecting the mechanisms underlying N uptake and utilization in legume-nonlegume intercropping systems.An experiment was performed with three planting patterns:monoculture maize(MM),monoculture soybean(SS),and maize-soybean relay intercropping(IMS),and three N application levels:zero N(NN),reduced N(RN),and conventional N(CN)to investigate crop N uptake and utilization characteristics.N recovery efficiency and 15N recovery rate of crops were higher under RN than under CN,and those under RN were higher under intercropping than under the corresponding monocultures.Compared with MM,IMS showed a lower soil N-dependent rate(SNDR)in 2012.However,the SNDR of MM rapidly declined from 86.8%in 2012 to 49.4%in 2014,whereas that of IMS declined slowly from 75.4%in 2012 to 69.4%in 2014.The interspecific N competition rate(NCRms)was higher under RN than under CN,and increased yearly.Soybean nodule dry weight and nitrogenase activities were respectively 34.2%and 12.5%higher under intercropping than in monoculture at the beginning seed stage.The amount(Ndfa)and ratio(%Ndfa)of soybean N2 fixation were significantly greater under IS than under SS.In conclusion,N fertilizer was more efficiently used under RN than under CN;in particular,the relay intercropping system promoted N fertilizer utilization in comparison with the corresponding monocultures.An intercropping system helps to maintain soil fertility because interspecific N competition promotes biological N fixation by soybean by reducing N input.Thus,a maize-soybean relay intercropping system with reduced N application is sustainable and environmentally friendly.     

麦/油-稻轮作下秸秆还田与氮肥管理对直播杂交稻氮素利用特征的影响

【目的】探明秸秆还田和氮肥管理对麦/油后直播杂交稻氮素积累、转运、氮肥利用效率及籽粒产量的影响。【方法】选用优质三系杂交稻宜香优2115,采用二因素裂区设计,麦、油茬田同步开展试验,处理完全一致。主区为麦/油秸秆全量翻埋还田(M₁)和秸秆不还田(对照,M₀),副区设4个氮肥管理,即不施氮对照(N₀)、m_基肥∶m_分蘖肥∶m_促花肥∶m_保花肥比例分别为1∶0∶0∶0(N₁)、3∶3∶2∶2(N₂)、2∶2∶3∶3(N₃),测定了直播杂交稻主要生育时期各器官的氮素积累量及籽粒产量。【结果】结果表明,两种轮作方式下,氮肥管理对直播杂交稻主要生育时期的氮素积累、齐穗后茎鞘、叶片的氮素转运及稻株氮素利用效率均存在显著或极显著的调控效应。秸秆还田显著提高麦/油茬杂交稻中后期的氮素积累量、茎鞘和叶片的氮素转运量以及氮肥利用效率,其中,氮肥农学利用率、氮肥偏生产力和氮肥表观利用率较秸秆不还田分别提高了34.96%/28.76%、2.52%/2.61%和31.91%/22.30%。同时,油菜秸秆还田下直播杂交稻各生育时期氮素积累和产量较麦秆还田表现更好,籽粒产量提高481 kg/hm²(5.22%)。M₁N₂处理、M₀N₃处理下,直播杂交稻各阶段的氮素积累速率明显加大,促进结实期茎鞘和叶片的氮素向穗部转运,成熟期稻株氮素积累量优势明显且有较高的氮素利用效率(麦/油茬稻氮肥农学利用率、偏生产力和表观利用率分别达17.87 kg∙kg^-1/17.85 kg∙kg^-1、67.27 kg∙kg^-1/71.28 kg∙kg^-1、74.93%/75.05%),最终实现高产。【结论】在麦/油-稻轮作下秸秆全量还田,配合N₂氮肥管理,可有效提高直播杂交稻氮素吸收、利用效率,增加籽粒产量,尤以油菜秸杆还田的效果更好。