Crop–animal interactions in mixed farming systems in Asia

The integration of crop and animal production is well developed in the farming systems of Asia, particularly those in small-scale agriculture. There is marked complementarity in resource use in these systems, with inputs from one sector being supplied to others. Specific examples of the main crop–animal interactions are given for different countries, and reference is made to the results of a number of case studies. These have demonstrated the important contribution that animals make to increased production, income generation, and the improved sustainability of annual and perennial cropping systems.     

Responsive Change in Groundwater Table in Karst to Precipitation and Yellow River in Pingyin County北大核心CSCD

【Objective】This paper aims to unravel the relationship between groundwater table fluctuation in karst and the precipitation and water level of the Yellow River at Pingyin in Shandong province.【Method】The analysis was based on data measured from groundwater in two karsts in the proximity of the Yellow River, precipitation and change in water level in the river from 2007 to 2018. The response of groundwater table fluctuation to precipitation and water level in the Yellow River was calculated using cross- correlation analysis, continuous wavelet transform and cross- wavelet transform.【Result】Both precipitation and groundwater table fluctuation had a 12- month period. The responsive change in groundwater table lagged behind the precipitation by 1~8 months, and the water level in the Yellow River by 0~10 months. The precipitation and groundwater table oscillated with a period of 0.86~1.20 a and 0.86~1.36 a respectively, while the oscillation period of the Yellow River water was 1 a and 3 a. The average velocity at which water flowed from the Yellow River to the karst was 21.62~ 25.53 m/d.【Conclusion】The responsive change in groundwater table in the karst in Pingyin to water level in the Yellow River was slightly slower than to precipitation. © 2019 Authors. All rights reserved.     

Availability and use of feed resources in crop–animal systems in Asia

Feed resources and nutrition constitute the principal technical constraints to ruminant production in Asia. Four main categories of feed resources are potentially available for use in smallholder crop–animal systems. These are pastures (native and improved grasses, herbaceous legumes and multi-purpose trees), crop residues, agro-industrial by-products (AIBPs), and non-conventional feed resources (NCFRs). Priorities for the use of crop residues in terms of nutrient potential and animal species are indicated. Of the technologies developed to improve the nutritive value of crop residues, more attention has been given to chemical treatment of cereal straws than to supplementation. However, a failure to demonstrate cost-effectiveness has discouraged on-farm adoption. The production of fodder from food crop systems and the establishment of multi-purpose trees and shrubs are potentially important for insuring adequate feed supplies for ruminants and improving soil fertility, but there has been limited adoption on small farms to date. Equally, there is significant potential for the more effective use of locally-produced AIBPs and NCFRs, all of which are under-utilised currently.     

Estimating in situ soil–water retention and field water capacity in two contrasting soil textures

A priori knowledge of the in situ soil field water capacity (FWC) and the soil-water retention curve for soils is important for the effective irrigation management and scheduling of many crops. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the in situ FWC using the soil-water retention curve developed from volumetric water content (θ), and water potential (ψ) data collected in the field by means of soil moisture sensors in two contrasting-textured soils. The two study soils were Lihen sandy loam and Savage clay loam. Six metal frames 117 cm × 117 cm × 30 cm high were inserted into the soil to a depth of 5–10 cm at approximately 40 m intervals on a 200 m transect. Two Time Domain Reflectrometry (TDR) sensors were installed in the center of the frame and two Watermark (WM) sensors were installed in the SW corner at 15 and 30 cm depths to continuously monitor soil θ and ψ, respectively. A neutron probe (NP) access tube was installed in the NE corner of each frame to measure soil θ used for TDR calibration. The upper 50–60 cm of soil inside each frame was saturated with intermittent application of approximately 18–20 cm of water. Frames were then covered with plastic tarps. The Campbell and Gardner equations best fit the soil–water retention curves for sandy loam and clay loam soils, respectively. Based on the relationship between soil ψ and elapsed time following cessation of infiltration, we calculated that the field capacity time (t _FWC) were reached at approximately 50 and 450 h, respectively, for sandy loam and clay loam soils. Soil-water retention curves showed that θ values at FWC (θ _FWC) were approximately 0.228 and 0.344 m³ m⁻³, respectively, for sandy loam and clay loam soils. The estimated θ _FWC values were within the range of the measured θ _FWC values from the NP and gravimetric methods. The TDR and WM sensors provided accurate in situ soil–water retention data from simultaneous soil θ and ψ measurements that can be used in soil-water processes, irrigation scheduling, modeling and chemical transport.     

Spatiotemporal Changes in Hydro-chemistry of Groundwater in Irrigation District within the Kaidu River Basin北大核心CSCD

【Objective】This paper studied the spatiotemporal changes in hydro-chemical properties of groundwater in irrigation districts within the Kaidu River basin, as well as the factors that affect these changes.【Method】Groundwater samples were taken in January, March, July and September in 2017 from the irrigation area in the Kaidu river basin. Spatiotemporal change in hydro-chemical properties of the groundwater and its impacting factors were analyzed using statistics, spatial interpolation, and Piper and Gibbs diagram.【Result】①The groundwater quality was generally good, with low TDS and being dominated by HCO-3, Na+, Ca2+ and SO2-4. The mean TDS was high in winter and low in summer, and it was related to the depth of groundwater table. ② Na+, Ca2+ and SO2-4 varied erratically both in time and space. ③The hydro-chemical type of the groundwater in the studied area was HCO-3-SO2-4-Na+-Ca2+, and remained almost unchanged in the four seasons. ④The rock weathering appears to affect the hydro- chemical propertied of the groundwater most. The impact of human activities was mainly in spring, summer and autumn in the oasis and lakeside region, and it was stronger in irrigation season than in non-irrigation season.【Conclusion】Our results suggest that pumping groundwater for irrigation should be rationally managed and the associated change in chemical properties of the groundwater should be monitored; this applies not only to the studied sites but also to regions on the southern slope of the Tianshan Mountain. © 2019 Authors. All rights reserved.     

Spatial Variability of Soil Moisture at Different Scales in Sandy Loam in Northern Henan Province北大核心CSCD

[Objective]Soil moisture plays an important role in ecosystem function and hydrological processes. This paper investigated the hieratical distribution of soil moisture at different scales over a maize field.[Method] The studied site was a 50 m×50 m plot at the Experiment Station of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Xinxiang, Henan province. We measured soil moisture in 0~100 cm soil from 36 locations at 10 m×10 m and 2 m×2 m scale, respectively.[Result]Geostatistical analysis revealed that the soil moisture was normally distributed and its confidence level at every scale was higher than that of logarithmic normal distribution. The value of the confidence level decreased as the sampling scale increased, and the difference between average soil moisture content at fine scale and moderate scale was smaller than the difference between moderate scale and large scale. In general, the confidence interval, standard deviation and coefficient of variation of the soil moisture increased with sampling scale. At large scale, the semi-variance function increased with lag distance, while at small and moderate scale, the variation function appeared to be independent of the lag distance. To achieve the same confidence level and accuracy in estimating soil moisture, the number of samples needed to be taken from the field increased with sampling scale. We also found that in estimating soil moisture, the number of samples needed to be taken depended on the required accuracy more than on the confidence level.[Conclusion]The probabilistic distribution and statistical characteristics of soil moisture in the field was scale-dependent. In estimating soil moisture, the number of sampled taken from the field needs to consider the scales to which the measured data will be applied. © The Author(s) 2019.     

Why invest in minor projects in sub-Saharan Africa? An exploration of the scale economy and diseconomy of irrigation projects

It is well-known that major irrigation projects have a strong scale economy, handicapping irrigation development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) because of the difficulty in formulating large-scale projects. Using project-level investment cost and performance data of major and minor irrigation projects, this paper examines the causes of the economy of scale phenomenon. We find that strong scale economy exists not only for major but also for minor projects, i.e., small- and micro-scale, projects. This is largely because of the existence of indivisible overhead costs such as high-opportunity-cost human resources for planning, designing and engineering management and supervision. We also find that large differences between major and minor projects in the absolute level of overhead as well as construction costs creates a strong scale diseconomy and results in better performance of minor projects. The advantage of minor projects holds even when their higher risk associated with the water source is taken into consideration. We argue that there is an urgent need to promote irrigation development in SSA through developing minor projects, and to reduce the heavy burden of overhead costs by developing the capacity of human resources at the national, local and farmer levels in the fields of irrigation engineering, irrigation agronomy, institutional development, and micro water management technologies.     

Water ‘banking’ in Fergana valley aquifers—A solution to water allocation in the Syrdarya river basin?

The Syrdarya river is an example of a transboundary basin with contradictory water use requirements between its upstream and downstream parts. Since the winter of 1992-93, the operational regime of the upstream Toktogul reservoir on the Naryn river - the main tributary of the Syrdarya - has shifted from irrigation to hydropower generation mode. This significantly increased winter flow and reduced summer flow downstream of the reservoir. Consequently, excessive winter flow is diverted to the saline depression called Arnasai, while water for summer irrigation is lacking. This study suggests to store the excessive winter flows temporarily in the upstream aquifers of the Fergana valley and to use it subsequently for irrigation in summer. It is estimated that groundwater development for irrigation could be practiced on one-third of the irrigated land of the valley, and conjunctive use of groundwater and canal water on another third; the rest will remain under canal irrigation. This strategy will lower the groundwater table and create aquifer capacity for temporal storage of excessive water—“water banking”. This use of the term is only one of many concepts to which “water banking” or “groundwater banking” is applied. In this paper, the term is applied for temporary storing of river flow in subsurface aquifers. Pilot modeling studies for the Sokh aquifer - one of the 18 aquifers of the Fergana valley - supported that this strategy is a feasible solution for the upstream-downstream issues in the Syrdarya river basin. Field studies of water banking are required to determine the scale of adoption of the proposed strategy for each aquifer of the Fergana valley.     

Comparative study of Hargreaves’s and artificial neural network’s methodologies in estimating reference evapotranspiration in a semiarid environment

The Penman–Monteith equation (PM) is widely recommended because of its detailed theoretical base. This method is recommended by FAO as the sole method to calculate reference evapotranspiration (ET_o) and for evaluating other methods. However, the detailed climatological data required by the Penman–Monteith equation are not often available especially in developing nations. Hargreaves equation (HG) has been successfully used in some locations for estimating ET_o where sufficient data were not available to use PM method. The HG equation requires only maximum and minimum air temperature data that are usually available at most weather stations worldwide. Another method used to estimate ET_o is the artificial neural network (ANN). Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are effective tools to model nonlinear systems and require fewer inputs. The objective of this study was to compare HG and ANN methods for estimating ET_o only on the basis of the temperature data. The 12 weather stations selected for this study are located in Khuzestan plain (southwest of Iran). The HG method mostly underestimated or overestimated ET_o obtained by the PM method. The ANN method predicted ET_o better than HG method at all sites.     

Agricultural intensification in the Sahel – The ladder approach

Agricultural intensification in the Sahel can be described as climbing a ladder. The capital, labour, management and institutional requirements increase when farmers climb the ladder, but the potential gains are also higher. The first step on this ladder are agricultural practices without any financial outlay but with increasing labour demand, such as organic fertilizer use, seed priming, water harvesting and harvesting grains at physiological maturity to improve fodder quality. The next step on the ladder is the use of micro-fertilising, popularly known as microdose, at the rate of 0.3 g NPK fertilizer per pocket in sorghum and millet. The following step is the development of improved crop/livestock systems characterized by use of higher rates of mineral fertilisers and manure, increasing cowpea density and improved animal fattening. The last step presented on the ladder is the development of more commercially orientated agriculture characterized by development of cash crops, milk production and/or agroforestry systems. Evidences from the field support the observation that farmers intensify their production in a sequential manner similar to the way described in this paper. The technologies presented can facilitate agricultural intensification by reducing the risks and minimising the cost in agricultural production.     

Crop–animal systems in Asia: implications for research

The importance of crop–animal systems in Asia, the multiple roles played by animals and the opportunities for increasing their contribution to these systems justifies continued research effort. An assessment of the role of livestock in mixed farming systems in 14 countries has identified priority systems, technical constraints and weaknesses in the national organisations. Future research needs to focus on the rain-fed production systems, where most of the livestock are found. There is an overriding need for a farming systems perspective to the research agendas that involves inter-disciplinarity and community-based participation. Such an approach will be more complex, require concentrated effort and more efficient resource use, but will be associated with considerable benefits due to a greater integration of effort.     

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.     

Efficacy of Fertilization in Improving Soil Aggregation,Carbon and Nitrogen in Soil Reclaimed from Subsided Areas Caused by Coal Mining北大核心CSCD

【Objective】The objective of this paper is to present experimental results on efficacy of fertilization in improving aggregation and carbon and nitrogen accumulation in soil reclaimed from subsided areas caused by coal mining.【Method】The experiment was conducted under conventional irrigation with non-fertilization as the CK. We compared three treatments: applying organic fertilizer, inorganic fertilizer, and mixture of organic and inorganic fertilizer. For each treatment, we measured the size of soil aggregates, and carbon and nitrogen content in 0~20 cm and 20~40 cm soil in a coal mining-induced subsided area at Jincheng City in Shanxi Province.【Result】Compared to CK, organic fertilizer significantly increased the content of macro-aggregates sized >1 mm, and reduced the content of micro-aggregates sized < 0.25 mm. Inorganic fertilization enhanced formation of micro-aggregates, compared to organic fertilization. Applying organic fertilizer significantly increased the average weight diameter (MWD) and geometric mean diameter (GMD) of the aggregates, and reduced the fractal dimension D of the aggregates. The content of organic carbon and total nitrogen in soil under organic fertilization was the highest, followed by organic-inorganic fertilization. The content of carbon and total nitrogen in soil with a single application of inorganic fertilizer was much lower than that under organic fertilization. Majority of organic carbon and total nitrogen were found in aggregates > 0.2 mm, 1～2 mm and 0.25～1 mm, especially under organic and organic-inorganic fertilization. The C∶N ratio in all aggregates (except those in 0.053～0.25 mm) was much lower under organic and organic-inorganic fertilization than under CK, and C∶N ratio in CK and inorganic fertilization was comparable.【Conclusion】Fertilizations, especially organic fertilizer, can enhance macro-aggregation in reclaimed soil from subsided areas induced by coal mining. It also increased the content of organic carbon and total nitrogen in the aggregates. © 2019 Authors. All rights reserved.     

Pressurised irrigation technologies for smallholders in developing countries – a review

The findings of a study of factors influencing the uptake of pressurised irrigation technologies by smallholders in developing countries are presented. The paper reviews the physical and technical characteristics that determine their suitability for use by smallholders. It also identifies a range of pre-conditions relating to water availability, institutional support and economic opportunity that must be satisfied before smallholders will adopt even low-technology pressurised irrigation systems.The review demonstrates that where physical, economic and institutional conditions are right some forms of pressurised modern irrigation technology permit smallholder irrigation of high value crops where surface irrigation would be inappropriate. However, the paper warns against the danger of wide-scale promotion of such technologies without considering the issues of institutional and technical support. Where pressurised systems are promoted to increase water use efficiency it is essential that they be well designed, installed and operated for savings to be realised.     

Importance of calcium in irrigation with saline-sodic water — A viewpoint

Saline irrigation waters dominant in sodium salts limit the potential yield of agricultural crops directly by affecting physiological functions of plants and/or indirectly by degrading the soil environment. The vital role of calcium in the regulation of ionic relations in plants and in improving the soil physical condition offers the possibility of combating salinity by both physical manipulation of the soil environment and genetic manipulation of the plant.This paper discusses the physiological role of calcium as related to salt tolerance of crops and also its influence on the structural improvement of salt affected soils. Other aspects covered include the availability of soil calcium to plants and a formula to calculate calcium requirements. Future research needs on the use of calcium in irrigating with saline-sodic water are also indicated.     

The Discipline of Agricultural Mechanization Engineering in Shandong University of Technology

The discipline of Agricultural Mechanization Engineering in Shandong University of Technology is thefirst one in the history of the University with its own superiority and characteristics in the development ofdiscipline and professional training.About 40 0 0 undergraduate students have graduated from the disci-pline,34graduate students have enrolled M.Sc.program and1 1 students have enrolled joint- training Ph Dprogram with other universities in the area of agricultural mechanization engin…     

Pressure pulsation in stages ofelectric submersible pump at shut-off under various speeds

Electric submersible pumps were widely used in agricultural fields, petroleum and various other industries. The pressure pulsation caused fatigue failure due to vibration in electric submersible pump and affects the life and performance of its system. The objective of this study was to experimentally investigate the characteristics of pressure pulsation which were generated at various stages of a multistage electric submersible pump during closed valve operation at different speeds. An electric submersible pump with five stages was selected for conducting experiments. A variable frequency drive(VFD)was used to operate the electric submersible pump at five different speed settings from 40 to 60 Hz. Piezoresistive pressure transducers were mounted at each stage of the electric submersible pump to capture the unsteady pressure signals. At each speed setting, the electric submersible pump was operated at the shut-off condition and the signals of unsteady pressure from all the five stages were captured. A fast fourier transformation(FFT)was carried out on the pressure signals to convert into frequency domain. From the spectra of pressure pulsation signals, the characteristics of pressure pulsation are obtained for each stage and for various speed settings which are then used to understand its variation with speed and stages.