Crop water requirements for rainfed and irrigated grain corn in China

A basic parametric crop water use model (WATER) that employes climatic and environmental data to calculate temporal and spatial water consumption for a variety of major corps was applied specifically for grain corn to the region of China and Korea to investigate the evapotranspiration (ET) demand on grain corn and the associated irrigation water applications necessary for optimal crop production. A network of 241 stations provided the seasonal climatic input. The climatic input consisted of data averaged over approximately a 20 year period. Among the results, highest ET under full irrigation (first harvest) occurred in the northwestern inland sections of China, whereas least ET was found for the southeast. Under rainfed conditions, the relationship became nearly inverse. In order to achieve optimum crop yields, about 1000 mm of irrigation water was needed in the northwest, contrasted with none required in the south and east of China. A sensitivity analysis was applied to determine the degree of error introduced by faulty or uncertain environmental input data.     

Determination of total dietary fiber in foods and food products: collaborative study

A collaborative study was conducted to determine the total dietary fiber (TDF) content of food and food products, using a combination of enzymatic and gravimetric procedures. The method was basically the same as published earlier (J. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem. (1984) 67, 1044-1052), with changes in the concentration of alcohol and buffers, time of incubation, sample preparation, and some explanatory notes, all with the intent of decreasing the coefficient of variation (CV) of the method. Duplicate blind samples of soy isolate, white wheat flour, rye bread, potatoes, rice, wheat bran, oats, corn bran, and whole wheat flour were analyzed by 9 collaborators. TDF was calculated as the weight of the residue minus the weight of protein and ash. CV values of the data from all laboratories for 7 of the samples ranged from 1.56 to 9.80%. The rice and soy isolate samples had CV values of 53.71% and 66.25%, respectively; however, each sample contained only about 1% TDF. The enzymatic-gravimetric method for determining TDF has been adopted official first action.     

Extraction of light filth from whole peppermint leaves: collaborative study

Results are reported for a collaborative study of a method for the extraction of light filth from whole peppermint leaves. A 5 g sample is defatted with isopropanol in a simple reflux appartus. Rat hairs, insect fragments, and whole insects are isolated by wet sieving on a No. 230 sieve, a deaerating boil in 40% isopropanol solution, flotation with Tween 80-Na4EDTA (1 + 1) and mineral oil-heptane (85 + 15), and trappings in a Wildman trap flask. Average recoveries obtained by 6 collaborators for 3 spike levels of rat hairs (5, 10, 15) were 83.3, 87.5, and 82.2%, respectively. For whole insects (5, 10, 15) recoveries averaged 85.0, 80.0 and 77.2% respectively; for insect fragments (20, 30, 50) recoveries averaged 79.6, 88.3, and 84.8%, respectively. The average recoveries for the 3 levels of each analyte were not significantly different. The method has been adopted official first action.     

Radiocarbon 14C differentiation of sparkling and carbonated wines

Specific 14C-activities, percent of modern 14C-activity, and calculated percent of fermentation CO2 are presented for CO2 contained in commercial sparkling wines, labeled as champagne or produced by the bulk (charmat) process. These data are given for the production years 1976-1982. The survey encompassed effervescent wines produced in Spain, Italy, West Germany, California, and New York. Addition of synthetic CO2 to approximately 40 samples represented as sparkling wines was indicated by low 14C-activities of CO2 in these wines. Data for 14C-activity were also presented for the ethanol distilled from sparkling wines for the years 1977-1980. In all cases, the 14C-activity of ethanol was appropriate to the year of vintage.     

Simultaneous gas chromatographic determination of carboxylic acids in soft drinks and jams

A method was developed for simultaneous gas chromatographic determination of sorbic acid, dehydroacetic acid, and benzoic acid used as preservatives, and succinic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, and tartaric acid used as acidulants in soft drinks and jams. A sample was dissolved in NH4OH-NH4Cl pH 9 buffer solution, and an aliquot of the solution was passed through a QAE-Sephadex A 25 column. The column was washed with water, and the carboxylic acids were eluted with 0.1N HCl. Sorbic acid, dehydroacetic acid, and benzoic acid were extracted with ethyl ether-petroleum ether (1 + 1), and determined on a 5% DEGS + 1% H3PO4 column. Succinic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, and tartaric acid in the lower layer were derivatized with N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)acetamide and trimethylchlorosilane, and determined on a 3% SE-30 column. Recoveries from soft drink and jam samples fortified with 0.1% each of 7 carboxylic acids ranged from 92.4 to 102.6% for preservatives, and from 88.1 to 103.2% for acidulants.     

Pesticides, selected elements, and other chemicals in adult total diet samples, October 1978-September 1979

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducts Total Diet Studies to determine the dietary intake of selected pesticides, industrial chemicals, and elements (including radionuclides). These studies involve the retail purchase and analysis of foods representative of the diets of infants, toddlers, and adults. The individual food items are separated into a number of food groups, each of which is analyzed as a composite. This report summarizes the results for adult Total Diet samples collected in 20 cities between October 1978 and September 1979. The average concentration, range of concentrations, and calculated average daily intake of each chemical found are presented by food group. The average daily intakes of the chemicals are similar to those found in the several preceding years and are within acceptable limits. The results for samples collected during the same period that represent the diets of infants and toddlers are reported separately.     

Describing the effect of time on sorption of phosphate by iron and aluminium hydroxides

Iron and aluminium hydroxides were precipitated both in the presence and absence of kaolinite. The reaction between phosphate and these hydroxides was measured for periods which ranged from 5 min to 72 h. The effect of time on phosphate sorption was examined by plotting the sorption data according to different, simple, kinetic equations such as the first order, second order, the parabolic diffusion equation, the Elovich equation and the modified Freundlich equation. The effect of time on sorption was also examined by the mechanistic model recently developed by Barrow (1983b) for the sorption and desorption of phosphate by soils. The sorption of phosphate by iron and aluminium hydroxides increased with time and the reaction continued through the period of observation without reaching a true equilibrium. Curvilinear relationships were obtained when the data were plotted according to the simple kinetic equations. These simple kinetic equations fail to describe the effect of time on sorption partly because the mechanism is different from that postulated and partly because they do not consider electrostatic effects when phosphate ions react with a charged surface. The mechanistic model of Barrow (1983b), which takes this effect into account, described effect of both concentration and time on phosphate sorption. According to this model, the increase in phosphate sorption with time was caused by a redistribution of adsorbed phosphate into the interior of the particles of iron and aluminium hydroxides by solid-state diffusion.     

Soil formation in the coast aeolianites and sands of Natal

The morphological, physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of eight prominent classes of soil developed in the coast aeolianites and sands of Natal are presented. These data and information on soil geography lead to the conclusion that: (i) losses of silica and bases and relative accumulation of iron (the ferrallitic process) have given rise to red and yellow kaolinitic materials; (ii) clay eluviation has given rise to coarse textured topsoils and to B2t horizons; and (iii) the hydromorphic process has caused grey colours in many sandy topsoils, plinthite development at some E/B horizon interfaces and gleying of some B2 horizons. In the soils on the older aeolianites, there is no evidence of either podzolization or the coarser textured topsoil being a younger geological deposit. The development of yellow soils in younger aeolianites may indicate a cooler climate than existed when red materials developed from the older aeolianites.     

Growth and nitrogen fixation by Medicago littoralis in pot experiments: Effect of plant density and competition from Lolium multiflorum

The legume Medicago littoralis cv. Harbinger, was grown either alone (1–4 plants per pot) or with Lolium multiflorum (ryegrass) at a total of 4 plants per pot, using two soils of contrasting N status. An ¹⁵N dilution technique was used to distinguish the amounts of plant N due to N₂ fixation and to N uptake from soil. Medic outyielded (dry weight and total plant N) ryegrass in a soil which released low amounts of inorganic N (Roseworthy) but ryegrass outyielded medic in a soil of higher N availability (Avon).For both soils, all combinations of medic and ryegrass plants utilized 70–73% of the inorganic N released on incubation. Competition from ryegrass invariably reduced yields of dry matter, total N, and fixed N of the medic plants, especially in the Avon soil. For both soils, the percentage reduction in the amounts of fixed N resulting from competition from ryegrass was directly proportional to the percentage increase of plant dry matter due to ryegrass. Medic plants grown in Roseworthy soil contained much higher proportions of N due to N₂-fixation than did medic plants grown in Avon soil. The amounts of plant N, fixed N and plant dry weight increased with increasing numbers of medic plants, when grown alone in Roseworthy soil, but not in the Avon soil containing more than two plants per pot. Nevertheless, irrespective of the soil used, medic numbers per pot, or competition from ryegrass, the amounts of fixed N correlated well with total N and with dry matter yields of medic plants. The proportions of fixed N to total N varied consistently in each of the medic plant parts (roots < = leaves < stems < pods).     

Energy efficiency of the mycoparasite Sporidesmium sclerotivorum in vitro and in soil

The energy content of the mycoparasite Sporidesmium sclerotivorum mycelium was 18,389 J g^?1 and 16,334 J g^?1 for macroconidia on a dry weight basis. The energy content of Sclerotinia minor sclerotia, the host of the mycoparasite, was 16,485 J g^?1. In liquid culture, the economic coefficient for the conversion of glucose to mycelium (mycelial dry wt ÷ glucose consumed × 100) was 51–60 whereas the mycelial energy coefficient, [mycelial energy (J) ÷ substrate energy (J) × 100] was 65–75. In soil, the conidial energy coefficient [conidial energy (J) ÷ substrate energy (J) × 100] for the conversion of host sclerotial energy to the macroconidia of the mycoparasite was 19.8, which was 2–9 times that for the conversion of glucose in liquid culture. The conidial energy coefficient when grown on a liquid medium on vermiculite was 23.0. S. sclerotivorum, as an obligate parasite of sclerotia in soil, was most efficient in the conversion of energy in a system where there was a high surface: energy ratio. In liquid culture S. sclerotivorum is more efficient than most other fungi.