Drying half of the root-zone from mid fruit growth to maturity in ‘Hass’ avocado (Persea americana Mill.) trees for one season reduced fruit production in two years

We tested the effect of extended drying of half the root system on fruit yield and fruit Ca concentration, an indirect measure of fruit quality, in avocado (Persea americana Mill. cv Hass). In a field experiment on a sandy soil, withholding irrigation and plastic sheeting was used to dry the root-zone beneath the whole canopy (DD) or half the canopy (WD), compared with well-watered trees (WW). The irrigation water contained added nutrients and was slightly saline. Yield, shoot growth, leaf conductance, leaf and fruit water status and mineral concentrations of leaves and fruit were studied. The responses of treated trees were assessed in the following season during which normal irrigation practices were restored. With respect to yield, the WD treatment behaved the same as the DD treatment. It reduced yield by more than half and proportionately more than the reduction in water supply thus reducing irrigation efficiency. Re-watering did not restore yield of WD or DD-trees in the next season. The WD and DD treatments had no effect on the concentration of Ca in the fruit mesocarp and so are unlikely to affect fruit quality. The main impact of reduced water supply on the trees was fruit abscission and this was linked to dry soil around the roots rather than the water status of the leaves or fruits. We conclude that extended drying of half of the root-zone in one season reduced irrigation efficiency for two seasons by promoting the abscission of developing fruit to the same extent as occurred when the whole root system was exposed to extended drying.     

Effectiveness of l‐ascorbyl‐2‐monophosphate Na/Ca as a vitamin C source for yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata juveniles

A feeding experiment was conducted to examine the efficacy of a vitamin C (L‐ascorbic acid, AsA) derivative, l ‐ascorbyl‐2‐monophosphate Na/Ca (AMP‐Na/Ca) by comparing to l ‐ascorbyl‐2‐monophosphate‐Mg (AMP‐Mg) in terms of growth, AsA content in tissues, and hematology in yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata juvenile (1.10 ± 0.01 g). Furthermore, a stress resistance test for the species fed AMP‐Na/Ca was also conducted. In experiment 1, 11 test pellet diets with different levels of AMP‐Na/Ca (0, 12, 43, 88, 440 and 881 mg AsA kg^?1diet) and AMP‐Mg (0, 16, 52, 106, 595 and 1164 mg AsA kg^?1 diet) were formulated and fed to the yellowtail three times per day for 50 days. In both the vitamin C sources, the survival rates of the fish fed diets without supplemental AsA were lower than 50% at day 20, and more than 50% mortality occurred in fish that fed the diets containing 12 or 16 mg AsA kg^?1 after day 30. However, no significant differences were detected in survival and growth among fish that fed the diets containing more than 43 mg AsA kg^?1. Liver and brain AsA concentrations generally increased with increasing dietary AsA level in both sources. In experiment 2, test diets were formulated to contain 43, 88, 440 and 881 mg AsA kg^?1 using AMP‐Na/Ca, and after 60 days of feeding, yellowtail juveniles were subjected to low salinity and air exposure stress. The fish that received diets with 440 mg AsA kg^?1 showed significantly higher tolerance to low salinity stress and higher survival rate in air exposure stress than those of other groups. The present study demonstrated that yellowtail juveniles could utilize AMP‐Na/Ca as an AsA source like AMP‐Mg, and that supplementation of 43–52 mg AsA kg^?1 diet was optimum for normal growth. However, this study showed that dietary inclusion of 440 mg AsA kg^?1 would be necessary to improve stress resistance of this species.     

Comparative intestinal absorption of amino acids in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) and Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis)

The kinetics of amino acid absorption in the proximal section of three fish species were studied using an everted intestine technique and a pancreatic digest of casein (Tryptone), as the model amino acid mixture. Fresh intestine of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was used to set up the experimental system, and results were compared with those obtained using intestines from totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) and bluefin tuna fish (Thunnus orientalis). The kinetics of amino acid absorption was sigmoidal for all amino acids and for each species of fish tested. In general, specific absorptions of essential amino acids were higher than those of non‐essential ones. No correlation between the concentration of amino acids in the Tryptone solution and the corresponding absorptions was found. The maximum specific absorption rates of all amino acids for trout were 10 times higher than those determined for totoaba and bluefin tuna. The relative amounts of the different amino acids preferentially absorbed in all three species were different. Results obtained from the everted technique may be applicable to the design of formulated diets for large fish species with commercial value.     

Effects of different dietary protein and lipid levels on growth, feed utilization and body composition of red porgy (Pagrus pagrus) fingerlings

Two feeding trials were conducted to determine the minimum dietary protein level producing maximum growth, and the optimum protein to energy ratio in diets for red porgy (Pagrus pagrus) fingerlings, respectively. In the first trial, six isoenergetic diets were formulated with protein levels ranging from 400 to 650 g kg^?1 in increments of 50 g kg^?1, and fed for 11 weeks to 2.8 g average initial weight fish. Weight gain, specific growth rate and feed efficiency were significantly higher with diets containing higher protein levels, when compared with dietary levels below 500 g kg^?1. The highest protein efficiency ratios were obtained in fish fed 500 g kg^?1 dietary protein. The minimum dietary protein level producing maximum fish growth was found to be 500 g kg^?1. In the second trial, 15 g average initial weight fish were fed for 12 weeks, six diets containing three different lipid levels (100, 150 and 200 g kg^?1) combined with two protein levels (450 and 500 g kg^?1). Weight gain values increased when dietary lipids increased from 100 to 150 g kg^?1, with a further decrease for 200 g kg^?1 lipids in diets; the lowest fish growth being supported by 200 g kg^?1 dietary lipids. Fish growth was significantly higher when dietary protein increased from 450 to 500 g kg^?1. There was no evidence of a protein‐sparing effect of dietary lipids. Liver protein and lipid contents were low when compared with other fish species. All diet assayed produced high liver glycogen accumulation. The recommended protein and lipid levels in diets for red porgy fingerlings were 500 and 150 g kg^?1, respectively.     

Towards an integrated understanding of green space in the European built environment

In recent years social, economic and environmental considerations have led to a reevaluation of the factors that contribute to sustainable urban environments. Increasingly, urban green space is seen as an integral part of cities providing a range of services to both the people and the wildlife living in urban areas. With this recognition and resulting from the simultaneous provision of different services, there is a real need to identify a research framework in which to develop multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research on urban green space. In order to address these needs, an iterative process based on the delphi technique was developed, which comprised email-mediated discussions and a two-day symposium involving experts from various disciplines. The two outputs of this iterative process were (i) an integrated framework for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and (ii) a catalogue of key research questions in urban green space research. The integrated framework presented here includes relevant research areas (i.e. ecosystem services, drivers of change, pressures on urban green space, human processes and goals of provision of urban green space) and emergent research themes in urban green space studies (i.e. physicality, experience, valuation, management and governance). Collectively these two outputs have the potential to establish an international research agenda for urban green space, which can contribute to the better understanding of people's relationship with cities.     

Temporal variability in water quality of agricultural tailwaters: Implications for water quality monitoring

Accurate assessments of non-point source pollution and the associated evaluation of mitigation strategies depend on effective water quality monitoring programs. Intensive irrigation season water quality monitoring was conducted on three agricultural drains (6 h to daily sampling) along with analysis of decade long records from two larger agricultural drains (biweekly to monthly sampling) in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Analyses revealed significant temporal variability in concentrations of nutrients, salts, and turbidity over short time-scales (<1 day), as well as significant differences in monthly and annual mean concentrations. Statistical techniques were used to evaluate the sampling intensity required to meet rigorous confidence and accuracy criteria, as well as to evaluate the efficacy of different sampling strategies (e.g. grab samples versus composite samples). The number of samples required to determine mean constituent concentrations within 20% of the mean at a 95% confidence level ranged from 2 to 39 samples per month (SPM) for total phosphorus, 1-16 SPM for total nitrogen, 5-25 SPM for turbidity, and 1-3 SPM for electrical conductivity. Using a daily composite sample (4 subsamples per composite) instead of discrete samples was shown to maintain the same accuracy and confidence standards, while reducing the required sample number by up to 50%. This study emphasizes the value of a statistical approach for evaluating water quality monitoring strategies, and provides a framework through which cost-benefit analysis can be implemented in the development of monitoring plans.     

Combined use of optical and radar satellite data for the detection of tillage and irrigation operations: Case study in Central Morocco

The objective of this study is to present a new application of optical and radar remote sensing with high spatial (∼10 m) and temporal (a few days) resolutions for the detection of tillage and irrigation operations. The analysis was performed for irrigated wheat crops in the semi-arid Tensift/Marrakech plain (Central Morocco) using three FORMOSAT-2 images and two ASAR images acquired within one week at the beginning of the 2005/2006 agricultural season.The approach we developed uses simple mapping algorithms (band thresholding and decision tree) for the characterisation of soil surface states. The first images acquired by FORMOSAT and ASAR were processed to classify fields into three main categories: ploughed (in depth), prepared to be sown (harrowed), and not ploughed-not harrowed. This information was combined with a change detection analysis based on multitemporal images to identify harrowing and irrigation operations which occurred between two satellite observations.The performance of the algorithm was evaluated using data related to land use and agricultural practices collected on 124 fields. The analysis shows that drastic changes of surface states caused by ploughing or irrigation are detected without ambiguity (consistency index of 96%). This study provided evidence that optical and radar data contain complementary information for the detection of agricultural operations at the beginning of agricultural season. This information could be useful in regional decision support systems to refine crop calendars and to improve prediction of crop water needs over large areas.     

Information technology and innovative drainage management practices for selenium load reduction from irrigated agriculture to provide stakeholder assurances and meet contaminant mass loading policy objectives

Many perceive the implementation of environmental regulatory policy, especially concerning non-point source pollution from irrigated agriculture, as being less efficient in the United States than in many other countries. This is partly a result of the stakeholder involvement process but is also a reflection of the inability to make effective use of Environmental Decision Support Systems (EDSS) to facilitate technical information exchange with stakeholders and to provide a forum for innovative ideas for controlling non-point source pollutant loading. This paper describes one of the success stories where a standardized Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methodology was modified to better suit regulation of a trace element in agricultural subsurface drainage and information technology was developed to help guide stakeholders, provide assurances to the public and encourage innovation while improving compliance with State water quality objectives. The geographic focus of the paper is the western San Joaquin Valley where, in 1985, evapo-concentration of selenium in agricultural subsurface drainage water, diverted into large ponds within a federal wildlife refuge, caused teratogenecity in waterfowl embryos and in other sensitive wildlife species. The fallout from this environmental disaster was a concerted attempt by State and Federal water agencies to regulate non-point source loads of the trace element selenium. The complexity of selenium hydrogeochemistry, the difficulty and expense of selenium concentration monitoring and political discord between agricultural and environmental interests created challenges to the regulation process. Innovative policy and institutional constructs, supported by environmental monitoring and the web-based data management and dissemination systems, provided essential decision support, created opportunities for adaptive management and ultimately contributed to project success. The paper provides a retrospective on the contentious planning process and offers suggestions as to how the technical and institutional issues could have been resolved faster through early adoption of some of the core principles of sound EDSS design.     

Irrigation management practices of cabbage farmers in Botswana using saline groundwater

All horticultural production in Botswana is irrigated, as average rainfall is less than average reference evapotranspiration in all parts of the country for all of the year, and most of the irrigation in the country is used for horticultural crops. In the main, the water used for irrigation comes from groundwater, and much of this can be classified as moderately saline. A survey was carried out of 60 cabbage farmers in five regions of the country to identify the level of salinity of irrigation water and the irrigation practices used. It was concluded that there was no relationship between the irrigation rate (average irrigation depth divided by average irrigation interval) and the salinity of the water used or the salinity of the soil, such that some farmers were over-irrigating and others under-irrigating. This means that water is being wasted and yields are likely to be reduced. In addition, there is a risk of long-term build-up of salinity and soil degradation.