Agricultural extension approach: evidence from an Integrated Soil Fertility Management Project in Ethiopia

Agricultural extension is an approach to rural development and agricultural transformation in which training, demonstration and technology transfer are key to reducing rural poverty, ensuring food security, and sustainably managing natural resources. During recent decades, different extension approaches have been tested and validated by the Ethiopian government and non-governmental organizations to stimulate participation in the agricultural extension system (AES). The most recent was a German-funded project entitled “Integrated Soil Fertility Management Project” (ISFM⁺), which employed a novel approach to piloting and upscaling proven technology and best practice. The purpose of this study was to analyze and document the modalities of ISFM⁺ and illustrate its effects on technology uptake and dissemination. The study used a mixed methods approach to collect data. ATLAS.ti and SPSS were used for data management and analysis. Farmer Research and Extension Groups and Farmer Field Schools were found to be central to the participation process. Also, the ISFM⁺ was found to aid technology transfer and helped to increase grain and residue yields as well as farmer livelihoods. Based on these empirical findings, it is argued that the ISFM⁺ approach and technology should be integrated and institutionalized in the mainstream AES in order to promote their extensive application.     

Banishing barberry: The history of Berberis vulgaris prevalence and wheat stem rust incidence across Britain

Wheat stem rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), is a notoriously damaging disease of wheat and barley. Pgt requires two hosts to complete its lifecycle; undergoing asexual reproduction on cereal crops and completing sexual reproduction on Berberis spp. The latter stage of its lifecycle is of particular importance in temperate regions such as western Europe, where asexual urediniospores are unable to survive cold winter weather. In the past, the crucial role of Berberis in the lifecycle of stem rust led to intensive eradication campaigns, initially carried out by farmers in the face of hostile scientific opinion. In the United Kingdom, common barberry (Berberis vulgaris) is today a relatively rare plant. Stem rust is, however, currently experiencing a resurgence; at the same time, there has been a general increase in the prevalence of barberry and an upsurge in its planting which, in the United Kingdom, is associated with attempts to encourage the endangered barberry carpet moth (Pareulype berberata). This article situates current developments within a broader chronological framework, examining changing attitudes towards barberry and rust in England in the past and the history of the plant's use and cultivation. It assesses how widespread B. vulgaris really was in the environment historically, and thus the scale of its eradication. We suggest that Berberis was never widely established as an archaeophyte in the United Kingdom. Current attempts to re-establish it are based on a misunderstanding of the plant's historical status and could potentially pose a serious threat to food security.     

农业科研院所科技援疆的调查与思考——以山西省农业科学院为例

本文以山西省农业科学院为例,分析了农业科研院所科技援疆的历程与特征,总结了科技援疆典型做法,并深入剖析了科技援疆存在的问题,提出了强化援疆目标、精准援疆项目、筑牢援疆保障、拓展援疆领域、完善运作机制、增加援疆资金、加强项目管理等进一步强化科技援疆工作的建议。     

Over 40% of 450 registered wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum) worldwide are composed of multiple biotypes

Many of 450 common wheat cultivars bred and registered during the twentieth century in 12 countries were proved, due to seed-by-seed analysis, to be composed of two or more biotypes differing in their alleles at the gliadin (Gli) loci. These multiple biotypes may be regarded as authentic progeny of the respective parent lines, as evidenced by the gliadin composition of the respective parents. Therefore, the official claim for each cultivar to be uniform is commonly not maintained in practice. The most frequent was a non-uniform cultivar composed of two biotypes differing at one Gli locus, but there were cultivars represented by a large set of related genotypes differing at several Gli loci. The proportion of the multi-biotype cultivars was never less than 15% for a country collection, exceeding 50% in other countries. This proportion differed significantly between neighbouring countries. In Australia, all multi-biotype cultivars were found in eastern states; in the state of Victoria, their frequency was statistically higher than in the rest of the country. The proportion of multi-biotype cultivars among newly-released cultivars decreased with time in Australia and the UK. Thus, the non-uniformity of registered cultivars represents a general and important phenomenon of common wheat as a crop.     

基于“3S”技术的辽宁省某尾矿库扩容工程生态影响预测与评价

以辽宁省某尾矿库为例,基于GIS技术,利用2010年的TM遥感影像及地形图,预测该尾矿库扩容后的生态影响。分析结果显示:尾矿库扩容工程对生态的影响主要体现在土地利用、植被、生态景观和地形地貌的变化4个方面。     

“一带一路”背景下云南民族竹文化的传承与传播

云南民族竹文化在维系民族的生存和发展、保护生态环境、引领精神价值方面具有重要作用。在“一带一路”倡议下，民族竹文化的传播不但能加强文明间的对话、谋求更多共识，更能维护文化多样性、提升中国话语权。文章分析了云南民族竹文化的内容体系、新时代下传播与传承中存在的问题，从加大政策支持、加快人才培养、培育文化产业等方面提出了云南民族竹文化的建设路径。     

茶和天下语境下历史典故的重温与传播——以“以茶代酒”为例

中华茶文化历史源远流长,文化内容博大精深,是中国文化乃至世界文化重要的组成部分。然而,历史茶文化尤其是历史典故,大多需要重新解读,只有将历史与现实结合起来,有针对性且有说服力地赋予新的时代内涵,才能扩大其在世界范围的价值认同。基于此,本文以“以茶代酒”为例,将其置于茶和天下的语境下,在重温这一历史典故的基础上,从增加中华茶文化魅力,促进历史茶文化的传播的角度出发,分析探讨了以茶代酒的当代价值或中华茶文化核心价值的当代体现,并根据全球化与茶文化传播的需要,从增强自信性、构建“同型性”、抢占先机性、设计备选性等方面,提出了如何通过以茶代酒,推动中华茶文化核心价值实现的相关策略。     

“一分钟游程”构园法则的适用性研究

“一分钟游程”构园法则将人的视觉感受与园林组景共同考虑,以25~30 m作为组景转换的理想距离,对游路结构进行反复烘托与不断强化,从而形成柔和、丰富的“构景曲线”。选择南北方各具代表性的苏州沧浪亭和北京恭王府花园,分析其园林的景观布局,对比园林空间序列的“起”“承”“转”“合”间距。结果表明,“一分钟游程”构园法则在南方私家园林及北方皇家园林中同样适用,为今后的游线组织与组景布设提供了设计参考。     

‘珍珠蜜’网纹甜瓜优质栽培技术探讨

‘珍珠蜜’网纹甜瓜是当前我国的高档优质果品,以其果大肉厚、耐贮运及独特的风味,深受人们喜爱。近年来,在北京、上海等大中城市十分畅销,产值极高。开展合理栽培对提高‘珍珠蜜’网纹甜瓜的产量、改善品质、降低成本、提高市场竞争力、促进主产区的经济发展、增加农民收入等具有十分重要的意义。     

“0.618黄金杯”和不同基质对油茶组培苗生根的影响

为了解决油茶组培苗根系发生困难的问题,将油茶无菌短枝组培苗分别扦插在运用"0.618黄金水位"原理制作的"黄金杯"和扦插常用的传统营养杯中,两种营养杯中分别填入以1︰1的珍珠岩与草炭的混配基质、细河沙及红心土,就不同营养杯和不同基质处理对油茶组培苗生根的影响情况进行了对比试验。结果表明:采用1︰1的珍珠岩与草炭的混配基质,将油茶无菌短枝组培苗扦插在运用"0.618黄金水位"原理制作的"黄金杯"中,可使油茶组培苗在30天内发生出10.68条/株、平均根长为7.52㎝的根系,其发根率为100%。