Brief Introduction to the College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering,Agricultural University of Hebei

The Hebei Agricultural University( HAU) is one of the key universities in Hebei Province.TheCollege of Mechanical &Electrical Engineering of HAU grew out of the department of AgriculturalMechanization in HAU,which was set up in the autumn of 1 95 8,It is one of the earliest provincialagricultural education institutions in China thatestablishes a course in agricultural mechanization and is theonly institution in the domain of agricultural mechanization in Hebei Province which is qualif…     

Coordination in irrigation systems: An analysis of the Lansing–Kremer model of Bali

Farmers within irrigation systems, such as those in Bali, solve complex coordination problems to allocate water and control pests. Lansing and Kremer’s [Lansing, J.S., Kremer, J.N., 1993. Emergent properties of Balinese water temples. American Anthropologist 95(1), 97–114] study of Balinese water temples showed that this coordination problem can be solved by assuming simple local rules for how individual communities make their decisions. Using the original Lansing–Kremer model, the robustness of their insights was analyzed and the ability of agents to self-organize was found to be sensitive to pest dynamics and assumptions of agent decision making.     

Vibration analysis of the fluid-structure  interaction in water hammer

In consideration of the problem that the effect of conduit structure on water hammer has been ignored in the classical theory, the Poisson coupling between the fluid and the pipeline was stu died and a fourteen equation mathematical model of fluid-structure interaction (FSI) was developed in this paper. Then, the transfer matrix method (TMM) was used to calculate the modal frequency, modal shape and frequency response. The results were compared with that in experiment to verify the correctness of the TMM and the results show that the fluid-structure coupling has a greater impact on the modal frequencies than the modal shape. Finally, the influence on the response spectrum of diffe rent damping ratios was studied and the results showed that the natural frequency under different dam ping ratios has changed little but there is a big difference for the pressure spectrum. With the decrease of damping ratio, the damping of the system on frequency spectrum is more and more significant and the dispersion and dissipation is more and more apparent. So the appropriate damping ratio should be selected to minimize the effects of the vibration of the FSI.     

Increasing incomes of Malian cotton farmers: Is elimination of US subsidies the only solution?

In a WTO battle and the press the argument is often made that eliminating US cotton subsidies would have a large effect on the incomes and competitive position of farmers in developing countries. In Francophone West Africa cotton productivity has stagnated after rapid gains in the first two decades following independence (1960-1980). A farm model was constructed based on farmers’ definition of their decision-making framework which they use to respond to income and weather risks. With this model the effects on farmers of eliminating US subsidies are compared with various productivity increasing measures for cotton and sorghum in Dioila, Mali. Dioila is located in a representative cotton region producing 16% of the cotton in Mali. We include sorghum due to its importance for consumption and the observation of Malian farmers substituting cereals (sorghum and maize) for cotton as the returns to cotton have fallen in the 21st Century. In the farm model, the elasticity of transmission of a change in the world cotton price to the farm gate price is taken into account. The gains from eliminating US subsides are small. In contrast, the various technological alternatives including Bt cotton introduction, the use of higher fertilization levels for cotton, and the introduction of improved sorghum cultivars and moderate fertilization along with a marketing package all have substantially higher returns Even with substantial improvement in the mechanisms enabling farmers to benefit from the higher prices resulting from elimination of US subsidies, there are still much higher returns resulting from the various types of productivity increases.     

Introduction to the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering,Northeast Agricultural University

The predecessor of the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering is the former Department ofAgricultural Mechanization founded in 1 948.Itconsists of four departments,including DepartmentofMechanization Engineering,Department of Electronic Engineering,Department of Computer Scienceand Technology and Department of Engineering Technology.The Faculty offers Bachelor Degree in Agricultural Mechanization and Automation,MachineDesign,Production and Automation,Agricultural Electronic Engineerin…     

Asset Management for Irrigation Systems – Addressing the Issue of Serviceability

This paper advocates the need for defining criteria for level of service provision for irrigation networks and outlines a proposed Irrigation Serviceability Matrix to be used in the preparation of asset management plans and investment strategies for irrigation infrastructure. The development of the Irrigation Serviceability Matrix is based on experienced gained in the UK by the privatised water industry where the level of service provision to customers has become a key determinant for investment in infrastructure. The paper describes the evolution of this process within the UK water industry and its application to the irrigation sector.     

Calculation of Irrigation Infiltration Recharge Coefficient and Analysis of Influencing Factors in the Lower Reaches of Aksu River北大核心CSCD

【Objective】In order to obtain the irrigation infiltration recharge coefficient in the lower reaches of Aksu river and improve the numerical simulation accuracy of groundwater in the study area,the influencing factors of the irrigation infiltration recharge coefficient in this area were analyzed. 【Method】In this paper,field sampling and indoor irrigation experiments were carried out by selecting representative points under different irrigation schemes,vadose zone thickness and soil structure in the lower Aksu area,and numerical simulation of vadose zone flow was carried out in combination with Hydrus-1d. Hydrus-1d model was used to calculate irrigation inflow under this soil structure by changing irrigation schemes and vadose zone thickness. Change of seepage recharge coefficient. On the basis of the calculation results of the model,the relationship between irrigation schedule,aeration zone thickness and irrigation infiltration recharge coefficient is analyzed firstly,and then the main factors affecting irrigation infiltration recharge coefficient in soil structure are analyzed with the method of model calculation and mathematical statistics. 【Result】The results showed that the irrigation infiltration recharge coefficient ranged from 0.320 to 0.474 under drip irrigation and from 0.408 to 0.561 under border irrigation. The irrigation infiltration recharge coefficient varied under different irrigation schemes,while the irrigation infiltration recharge coefficient decreased with the increase of aeration zone thickness. The main factors affecting irrigation infiltration recharge are soil permeability coefficient,soil bulk density and initial soil water content. 【Conclusion】According to indoor experiment combined with numerical model to calculate the irrigation infiltration coefficient under different irrigation system range, it is concluded that the influence factors of irrigation infiltration coefficient of irrigation system, the thickness of the vadose zone and reflects soil permeability coefficient of soil structure, soil quality and soil initial moisture content, volume for the downstream area irrigation infiltration coefficient selection in arid areas and provides the theory basis for further research. © 2019 Journal of Irrigation and Drainage. All rights reserved.     

How does research address the design of innovative agricultural production systems at the farm level? A review

In trying to respond to societal demands for sustainable development, farming systems worldwide face a range of environmental, technical and economic challenges. These challenges call for renewed methodologies that can be used to support farmers in designing innovative agricultural production systems at the farm level. This paper aims to analyze the various methods described in scientific literature. The review is based on the analysis of 80 reference papers published in international scientific journals between 1999 and 2010. We focused in particular on the purpose of the research, which fell into two broad categories: “design” and “design support”. We also examined the use of models to represent production systems and to evaluate ex-ante the impact of innovations on these systems’ functioning and performance. In so doing, we developed a classification system to organize the studies into five sub-categories according to the type of methodology followed, namely: prototyping and design modelling for design orientated studies; participation, support modelling and advisory for design-support orientated studies. We found that very few studies attempt to address the three main components of an innovation process in agricultural production systems (biotechnical processes, farm management, and advisory services) within a single research framework. We therefore developed such a framework by connecting the design and design support orientations together with biotechnical research and conducting integrated research both at farm and advisory service levels.     

Factors influencing the stability of salt affected soils in the UK—criteria for identifying appropriate management options

Changes in agricultural practices that brought about deflocculation problems on salt affected alluvial soils in eastern England are outlined. The spatial variation in the occurrence of problems is discussed. Exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) was found to be the factor having greatest influence on soil stability as measured by the dispersion ratio. Changes in ESP had similar effects on the stability of soils from Essex and Kent. Threshold ESP of 5% for topsoils and 10% for subsoils are suggested, above which deflocculation problems can be expected. The use of these thresholds as part of the process for identifying future management options is discussed.     

Precipitation or water capacity indices? An analysis of the benefits of alternative underlyings for index insurance

Eastern Germany is often hit by drought causing income risk for crop farmers. Index-based risk management instruments could help crop farmers to reduce their farm income risk. Such instruments have some important advantages over damage-based insurance, like e.g. less moral hazard and adverse selection. At the same time they typically have a high level of basis risk. Up to now, mainly precipitation-based weather derivatives have been discussed as an appropriate risk management instrument for farmers in Germany. As a potentially more effective alternative, we propose water capacity-based index insurance. In order to show the benefits of a precipitation-based and water capacity-based index insurance, several contract designs are compared. Using a whole farm risk program planning approach, we show that for an average agricultural producer in Eastern Germany water capacity-based index insurance offers greater benefits than precipitation-based index insurance.     

Study on the Variation Characteristics of Rising Capillary Water of Layered Soil under Variation of Sand Layer and Thickness北大核心CSCD

【Objective】The purpose of this paper is to solve secondary salinization of soil in Northwest China. 【Method】the capillary water rising movement characteristics of layered soil has been analyzed through indoor test. And the variation characteristics of capillary water movement under the influence of common change of layer and thickness of sand layer has been considered in this paper, and functional relationship between groundwater recharge and height of capillary water rising with time changing has been built. Furthermore, contour distribution of groundwater recharge and capillary water rising height has been also comparative analyzed.【Result】There was a very significant positive correlation between the horizon and the volume constant and the height constant （P<0.01）. And there was a significant negative correlation between the horizon and the stable recharge rate of groundwater and the rate of steady increase of capillary water （P<0.05）. There was a significant negative correlation between the thickness of sand layer and stable recharge rate and steady rising rate（P<0.05）. When the duration of the capillary water height was rising was 0~4 days, the sandy layer was 30~50 cm, the thickness of sand layer was 0~15 cm, which has a significant effect on the change of groundwater recharge and height of capillary water. When the duration of the capillary water height was rising was 4~12 days, the sand layer is distributed in 15~30 cm, the thickness of sand layer was 15~30 cm, which has a significant effect on the change of groundwater recharge and height of capillary water. To summarize, the results of this study were of great significance for the study of water salt movement and soil salinization in layered soils.【Conclusion】The fitting parameters of the function including volume constant (v), stable recharge rate (q*), groundwater recharge time constant (τQ), capillary water rising height (υ), steady rising rate (μ*) and rising height time constant (τh) were determined by the variation of capillary groundwater recharge and capillary water height with time changing respectively. © 2019 Journal of Irrigation and Drainage. All rights reserved.     

Social capital and farming at the rural–urban interface: the importance of nonfarmer and farmer relations

Because of growth and development in agricultural areas at the rural–urban interface, a variety of farmer adaptations have been identified. While exiting from farming or entrepreneurial adaptations that tap urban markets are frequently identified responses, farmers might also attempt to develop social capital, or neighborly relations, with nonfarm neighbors to mitigate social constraints created by nonfarmer concerns at the rural–urban interface. In a case study of an agricultural region within a large metropolitan area, this research reports data from a survey of farm and nonfarm residents (N=620). The analysis operationalizes the concept of social capital, nonfarmer trust of farmers and frequency of nonfarmer interaction with farmers, to determine whether these social relations have a discernable impact on nonfarmer support or tolerance of agriculture. Results reveal a relationship, indicating that support and tolerance of agriculture is stronger when nonfarmers report the existence of social capital with farmers. These findings have implications for farm operator adaptations as well as community capacity to preserve or develop local agriculture.     

Introduction to the College of Engineering and Technology,Huazhong Agricultural University

The College of Engineering and Technology at Huazhong Agricultural University was set up on thebasis of the former Departmentof Agricultural Engineering in1 997under the ratification ofthe Ministry ofAgriculture.The college now has 71 staff members including 6professors,2 3associate professors,and 2senior engineers.Two of them won the award of the young and middle aged experts with outstandingachievements and1 2 were awarded the special allowance.Among all the academic staff,5 1 % ( 2 3) h…     

Does the adoption of zero tillage reduce greenhouse gas emissions? An assessment for the grains industry in Australia

The Australian Government has recommended that farmers move from cultivation-based dryland farming to reduced or zero tillage systems. The private benefits could include improvements in yields and a decrease in costs while the public benefits could include a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to a diminution in the use of heavy machinery. The aim of this study is to estimate and compare total on-farm GHG emissions from conventional and zero tillage systems based on selected grain crop rotations in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The value chain was identified, including all inputs, and emissions. In addition, studies of soil carbon sequestration and nitrous oxide emissions under the different cropping systems were reviewed.The value chain analysis revealed that the net effect on GHG emissions by switching to zero tillage is positive but relatively small. In addition though, the review of the sequestration studies suggests that there might be soil-based emissions that result from zero tillage that are being under-estimated. Therefore, zero tillage may not necessarily reduce overall GHG emissions. This could have major implication on current carbon credits offered from volunteer carbon markets for converting conventional tillage to reduced tillage system.     

Introduction to the College of Vehicle & Motive Power Engineering,HUST

Henan University of Science & Technology(HUST) is located in the fam ous ancientcity of L uoyang,an ancient Chinesecapital of nine dynasties with a lot of historic and cultural m onum ents.L uoyang is also a m odern industrial city.HU STpossesses a variety of disciplines and covers 8fields including engineering,economics,law,liberal arts,m anagem ent,naturalscience,medicine and agronomy. Its scale and overall capabilities rank at the forefront am ong the universities in Henanprovince. HU…     

Assessment of the parameters of a mechanistic soil–crop–nitrogen simulation model using historic data of experimental field sites in Belgium

Intensification of the agricultural sector and the increase in quantity and decrease in quality of municipal and industrial wastewater, in particular during the past decades, resulted in many industrial countries, such as Belgium, in a sharp degradation of surface water and groundwater. To control the current degree of contamination and reduce the environmental impact of the agricultural sector, the Flemish government recently introduced a number of regulations aiming at controlling the use of nitrogen fertilisers. To facilitate the implementation and the control of the new regulations, threshold values of allowable doses of organic and inorganic nitrogen fertilisers, and their spreading in time were made soil independent. As the soil physical, chemical and biological response depends on the geohydrology of the site and the past fertilisation practice, fertiliser standards applied on different soil–crop systems result in different leaching patterns.To assess the effect of the soil on the nitrogen leaching, a number of past experimental field trials were analysed using the WAVE model as modelling tool for the reconstruction of the nitrogen dynamics. As a first step in the study, the historic data of the field experiments were used to calibrate and validate the WAVE model. The deterministic calibration and validation of the WAVE model yielded a set of model parameters for the examined soil–crop–fertiliser practice conditions. The bottlenecks in the calibration were the nitrogen mineralisation parameters and the initialisation and subdivision of the soil organic matter over the different organic pools. The model validation, being the second step in the study, revealed the power of the WAVE model to predict the evolution and transformations of nitrogen in the soil profile and the leaching of nitrate at the bottom of the root zone. In a third step, the WAVE model was used in a scenario-analysis exercise to examine the factors effecting the amount of nitrate leached at the bottom of the root zone. This analysis revealed that the nitrate leached out of the soil profile is controlled by the fertiliser practice, the rainfall depth and its distribution, the soil texture, the soil mineralisation capacity and the past fertilisation practice.     

Fate and risks of potentially toxic elements in wastewater-fed food production systems—the examples of Cambodia and Vietnam

Non-treated wastewater is used for irrigation of aquatic food production systems in the peri-urban areas of the major cities in Southeast Asia. This paper complement the knowledge on agricultural soil-based crops irrigated with low quality water, by reviewing the research findings on the wastewater-fed aquatic productions with special focus on heavy metals and other potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the production systems of Hanoi in Vietnam and Phnom Penh in Cambodia. In Hanoi, sediments in the wastewater exposed rivers of Hanoi were reported to be polluted with PTEs, in particular with Cadmium (Cd). The river sediment had a high retention capacity for PTEs which seems to prevent the transport of PTEs to the wastewater-fed production systems. In Phnom Penh, domestic and industrial wastewater is pumped into the Cheung Ek Lake located south of the city. A major part of the water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica Forssk.) consumed in the city is produced in the lake. The concentrations of some PTEs were elevated at the wastewater inlets to the lake compared to concentrations at the lake outlet and at the control site. Water spinach is by far the major vegetable produced in the wastewater-fed systems in Hanoi and Phnom Penh, but did only contain PTEs in concentrations within or slightly above the concentration range observed for water spinach grown in agricultural soil not exposed to wastewater. PTE concentration in fish grown in wastewater-fed systems in Hanoi and Phnom were low. However, mean PTE concentrations in liver and skin of some fish were high. Consumption of muscle tissue from fish produced in wastewater-fed systems in Hanoi and Phnom Penh resulted in an estimated intake of PTEs amounting to less than 9% of the tolerable intake. It was concluded, that the PTE concentrations in fish and water spinach from Hanoi and Cheung Ek Lake in Phnom Penh constituted low food safety risks for consumers.     

Sensitivity Analysis of the Reference Evapotranspiration in Ebinur Lake Oasis北大核心CSCD

【Objective】The evapotranspiration of crop depends on many factors and this paper analyzed its sensitivity to various meteorological factors in Ebinur lake oasis.【Method】Monthly ET0 in Ebinur lake oasis was calculated using the Penman-Monteith formula based on meteorological data measured from 1962 to 2016 at four meteorological stations in the region. The sensitivity of ET0 to the highest and lowest temperature, relative humidity, sunshine duration and wind speed was calculated using sensitivity analysis; and the possible existence of any trends in the ET0 was analyzed using the MK trend test. We also calculated the variation of the sensitivity coefficient for each site.【Result】The MK trend test revealed that the evapotranspiration, sunshine duration and wind speed in the region have been in decline, while the highest and lowest temperature and the relative humidity have been in rise. Analysis found that the ET0 was sensitive to meteorological factor in an order of relative humidity > the highest temperature > wind speed > the lowest temperature > sunshine duration. The sensitivity coefficient of ET0 to different meteorological factors varies spatially, with the coefficients for the highest and lowest temperature, wind speed and relative humidity being high at Alashan pass-way in northern Ebinur lake, and low at Wenquan station. Wenquan station had longer sunshine duration than Alashan pass-way.【Conclusion】ET0 is most sensitive to relative humidity in Ebinur lake oasis, and least sensitive to sunshine duration. © 2019 Authors. All rights reserved.     

Effect of Irrigation Frequency on Water Use Efficiency and Yield of Cotton after Loosening the Deep Soil北大核心CSCD

[Objective]The objective of this paper is to experimentally investigate the responsive change in yield and water use efficiency of cotton to irrigation frequency after soil loosening.[Method]The experiment was conducted from 2016 to 2017 after deeply loosening soil. By keeping the irrigation amount the same, we compared three irrigation frequencies: Irrigating once in each 4 day (D4), 7 days (D7) and 10 days (D10) respectively. The associated irrigation times were 17, 10 and 7 respectively. In each treatment, we measured soil moisture, dry matter accumulation, water consumption, water use efficiency and the yield of the crop.[Result]After deep loosening, keeping irrigation frequency at a moderate level (D7) significantly enhanced water-holding capacity of the 0~ 20 cm soil, thereby facilitating distribution of dry matter to different organs in the bud and boll and consequently improving the water use efficiency (WUE). Compared to D4 and D10, D7 increased WUE by 15.5% and 10.5% in 2016 and 16.5% and 9.2% in 2017, respectively. Increasing irrigation frequency promoted vegetative growth and reduced distribution of the dry matter to organs in the bud and boll. In contrast, reducing irrigation frequency reduced the accumulation of total dry matter, storage of water in the top soil and water consumption. Compared to D4 and D10, D7 increased the yield by 13.8% and 7.0% in 2016, and 17.3% and 6.1% in 2017. The main mechanism underlying in yield increase in D7 was the increase in boll number and average weight of the bolls in each plant. [Conclusion]Irrigating once after each 7 days, together with deep soil loosening, can effectively promote vegetative growth and organ production from dry matter, thereby facilitating the conversion of dry matter to organs and improving cotton yield and its water use efficiency. © 2019 TEST-ZL Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.