The cumulative methane production from dairy cattle slurry can be explained by its volatile solid,temperature and length of storage

In order to refine the national estimate of methane emission from stored cattle slurry, it is important to comprehend the basic characteristics of methane production. Two dairy cattle slurries were obtained from livestock farms located in Hokkaido (a northern island) and Kyushu (a southern island). The slurries were diluted with water into three levels: undiluted, three times diluted, and 10 times diluted. Three hundred mL of the slurries were put into a bottle with a headspace volume of 2.0 L, which was filled with nitrogen gas and then sealed by butyl rubber. Four levels of temperature were used for incubation: 35, 25, 15 and 5 °C. The time course of the cumulative methane production per volatile solid (VS) was satisfactorily expressed by an asymptotic regression model. The effect of dilution on the methane production per VS was not distinctive, but that of temperature was of primary importance. In particular, higher temperature yields a higher potential production and a shorter time when the cumulative production reaches half of the potential production. The inclusive and simple models obtained in this study indicate that the cumulative methane production from stored cattle slurry can be explained by VS, temperature and length of storage.     

Improvement of application method of liquid fertilizer with irrigation water for uniform topdressing and change in nitrogen concentration of flooded water after application

(pp. 811–816)
The application method of liquid fertilizer with irrigation water was tested in large scale paddy fields using a newly developed fertilizer supplier which can make a supplying rate of liquid fertilizer constant. Uniformity of fertilization, change in the nitrogen concentration of flooded water and absorption of applied nitrogen by paddy rice were examined. High uniformity of fertilization was achieved with this method as compared with a conventional broadcast application of granular fertilizer, or an inflow fertilization of granule-like fertilizer with irrigation water.
When urea was applied as liquid fertilizer, the fertilizer-N disappeared quickly from ponding water under shallow conditions of ponding water depth. In the case of the same depth of ponding water, the rate of reduction was large under conditions of large permeability of water.
The nitrogen utilization rates of urea and ammonium sulfate labeled with ¹⁵N were not related to the depth of ponding water at the time of fertilization. When ammonium sulfate was supplied the nitrogen utilization rate was around 50% regardless of fertilization conditions however, the urea-N utilization rate fell to 40% or less at a permeability of ponding water of 0.8 cm day⁻¹ or less, while it increased to 50% equivalent to ammonium sulfate, at 0.8 cm day⁻¹ or more permeability.     

Spatial and seasonal variations of radiocesium concentrations in an algae-grazing annual fish,ayu Plecoglossus altivelis collected from Fukushima Prefecture in 2014

Fisheries Science - To elucidate spatial and seasonal variations of radiocesium (134Cs and 137Cs) concentrations in ayu Plecoglossus altivelis, amphidromous fish samples were collected both from...     

Effect of row type,flowering type and several other spike characters on resistance to Fusarium head blight in barley

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a destructive disease of barley. The genetics and expression of resistance to FHB in barley is complex, and various spike characters are thought to possibly influence resistance. Tests using spray-inoculation of Fusarium graminearum at anthesis in greenhouse environments showed that two-rowed and cleistogamous varieties from Japan belong to the highest resistance group, while six-rowed and chasmogamous varieties are mostly susceptible. In order to evaluate the effect of such spike characters, including row type and flowering type, on FHB resistance, near-isogenic lines (NILs) differing in these characters were tested for their resistance. Two testing methods were used: the pot-plant and cut-spike methods, in which spikes at anthesis were spray-inoculated in greenhouse environments. The chasmogamous NILs and some six-rowed NILs were significantly more diseased than cleistogamous and two-rowed parent lines, respectively, and the difference in FHB severity was greater and more stable between cleistogamous/chasmogamous NIL pairs than between two-/six-rowed pairs. Slight or no differences were observed in glaucous/non-glaucous, normal/dense spike, normal/uzu type and normal/deficiens NIL pairs. The results indicate that the contribution of cleistogamy and/or the genetic background toward FHB resistance is more than that of row type and the other tested spike characters. Further, it should be possible to develop six-rowed varieties with FHB resistance nearly as good as that of the two-rowed varieties.