Linking Land-use, Water Body Type and Water Quality in Southern New Zealand

Land-use and vegetation cover have been linked to the nutrient levels (nitrogen, phosphorus) of surface waters in several countries. However, the links generally relate to streams and rivers, or to specific types of standing water, for example shallow lakes in a geologically defined region. We measured physical variables and nutrient chemistry of 45 water bodies representative of the wide range of lentic wetland environments (swamps, riverine wetlands, estuaries, reservoirs, shallow lakes, deep lakes) in Otago, New Zealand, and related these to catchment variables and land-use in order to assess the potential influence of catchment modification on water quality of these diverse wetlands. Catchment boundaries and land cover were derived from maps using ArcView GIS software. Our predictions that concentrations of nutrients and other components of water quality would correlate positively with the nature and intensity of catchment modification were confirmed in multivariate analyses. Physical and chemical measures were positively related to the extent of modification in the catchment (percentage of the catchment in pasture, planted forest, scrub and urban areas), and negatively related to lack of catchment modification (more of the catchment in bare ground, tussock grassland and indigenous forest). The strong negative correlations between nutrient concentrations, suspended sediment, water colour and the percentage of tussock cover in the catchment imply that increased conversion of the␣native tussock grassland to pastoral farming in␣Otago will increase nutrient concentrations and␣reduce water quality of the diverse lentic ecosystems.     

Adipocyte-derived relaxing factor,a new vasodilative factor

Although our knowledge of ADRF (adipocyte-derived relaxing factor) is extremely limited,the little that is known has already revealed a promising future in this newly found factor.Firstly,it is secreted by adipose tissue,which is a abundantly and extensively distributed in human body and has become a hot spot for research work in recent years.Secondly,ADRF has shown a significant vasodilative action in a considerable number of experiments conducted on arteries of various sizes,from different body parts of different species of animals,including human.In this article,we introduce the development of ADRF research,sum up its known properties,including its Ca2+,protein tyrosine kinase,and protein kinase A dependent releasing,K+ channel mediated functioning,and interfered effect in different pathological models,and propose problems surrounding this factor and directions for future research work.     

Potato brown rot incidence and severity under different management and amendment regimes in different soil types

Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2, the causative agent of potato brown rot (bacterial wilt), is an economically important disease in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of the world. In view of previous reports on suppression of the disease by organic amendments, and the expansion of organic agriculture, it was timely to compare the effects of organic and conventional management and various amendments on brown rot development in different soils (type: sand or clay; origin: Egypt or the Netherlands). Brown rot infection was only slightly reduced in organically compared to conventionally managed sandy soils from Egypt, but organic management significantly increased disease incidence and pathogen survival in Dutch sandy and clay soils, which correlated with high DOC contents in the organic Dutch soils. There was no correlation between disease incidence or severity and bacterial diversity in the potato rhizosphere in differently managed soils (as determined by 16S DGGE). NPK fertilization reduced bacterial wilt in conventional Egyptian soils but not in Dutch soils. Cow manure amendment significantly reduced disease incidence in organic Dutch sandy soils, but did not affect the bacterial population. However, cow manure did reduce densities of R. solanacearum in Egyptian sandy soils, most probably by microbial competition as a clear shift in populations was detected with DGGE in these and Dutch sandy soils after manure amendment. Amendment with compost did not have a suppressive effect in any soil type. The absence of a disease suppressive effect of mineral and organic fertilization in Dutch clay soils may be related to the already high availability of inorganic and organic nutrients in these soils. This study shows that the mechanism of disease suppression of soil-borne plant pathogens may vary strongly according to the soil type, especially if quite different types of soil are used.     

Continuous Monitoring of Visible and Near-Infrared Band Reflectance from a Rice Paddy for Determining Nitrogen Uptake Using Digital Cameras

Abstract

A two-band digital imaging system —one band for the visible red band (RED, 630?670 nm) and the other for the near infrared band (NIR, 820?900 nm)— was devised and positioned at a height of 12 m above a rice field of 300 m² in area during the 2007 growing season. The imaging system automatically logged bird’seye view images at 10-min intervals from 0800?1600 every day. Radiometric corrections for the pairs of two-band images were done using solar irradiance sensors and preceding calibrations to calculate daily band-reflectance and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values for 9 plots of rice plants, with 3 levels of planting density and basal fertilization. The daily- averaged reflectance values in the RED and the NIR bands showed different but smooth seasonal changing patterns according to the growth of plants. At the maximum tiller number and the panicle formation stages, the RED and NIR reflectance values had correlation coefficients (r) of 0.79 and 0.81 with above-ground nitrogen absorption per unit land area (NA, g m-²), respectively, whereas the NDVI using the two band reflectance values showed r-value of -0.13. An empirically derived equation for the NA using two band reflectance values showed r-value of 0.96 and a root mean square of error (RMSE) 0.5 g m^–2 (10% of the mean observed NA) in the estimation for the original (not validated) data set acquired at the maximum tiller number and the panicle formation stages. The results indicated that reflectance observation in the RED and NIR bands using the digital imaging system was potentially effective for assessing rice growth.     

氮磷钾肥料不同用量对济麦20号产量效应的试验

通过采用三元二次通用旋转回归设计,对济麦20号优质专用小麦氮磷钾肥料不同用量产量效应的试验研究,产量≥7500kg/hm2的最佳施用尿素量为424.5～522.0kg/hm2、过磷酸钙为328.5～396.0kg/hm2、氯化钾为259.5～342.0kg/hm2。氮磷、氮钾、磷钾间交互作用显著,肥效相互促进。     

施氮量对大棚黄瓜品质的影响

[目的]研究氮肥施用量对大棚黄瓜品质的影响。[方法]以河北省衡水市邓庄乡大棚黄瓜为试验材料,研究不同施氮条件下,黄瓜体内Vc、多糖、硝酸盐含量的变化。[结果]当施氮肥小于225kg/hm2,黄瓜体内的Vc、多糖含量随着施氮量的增加而升高,当施氮量为225kg/hm2时,Vc、多糖含量最高;过量施用氮肥会引起Vc、多糖含量的下降;硝酸盐含量和施氮量呈明显的线性关系,Y=1.502X+24.407(R2=0.9792),所测样品均未超过国家限定标准。[结论]该试验条件下最佳施氮量为225kg/hm2,过少或过量的施肥均不利于黄瓜产量和品质的形成。     

寒地水稻不同氮肥施用量试验结果汇总

对2007～2010年水稻不同氮肥施用量试验结果进行汇总,结果表明:在一定的氮肥施用量范围内随着施氮量的增加水稻产量、单株分蘖率、穗粒数、稻米垩白率、蛋白质含量均呈增加趋势;千粒重、食味值随着氮肥施用量的增加呈下降趋势.不同年际氮肥的最佳施用量受气象条件影响明显.     

堆肥过程中氮素损失的控制

概述了影响堆肥过程中氮素损失的因素,并总结了目前国内外关于堆肥氮素损失控制的方法,其中包括添加化学物质、调节堆料的C/N、加入微生物固氮、利用吸附性物质,以期为堆肥过程中有效地控制氮素损失提供理论基础和实践参考。     

Dual and Triple Intercropping: Potential Benefits for Annual Green Manure Production

Abstract

Greater species diversity in natural ecosystems increases plant biomass production and stability. Intercropping is an agricultural practice that aims to accrue the benefits of species diversity by growing two or more species simultaneously in the same space. Functional group diversity is considered important for enhancing the beneficial effects of species diversity, but most previous intercropping studies used combinations of only two functional groups. Thus, we used three green manure species from different functional groups: sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.), a C4 grass; crotalaria (Crotalaria juncea L.), a legume; and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), a forb. We examined the effects of intercropping on biomass, nutrient uptake, and their stability using a proportional replacement series in a field experiment for three years with four trials. The aboveground biomass was higher with dual and triple-component intercrops compared with sole crops; however, there were no superior effects of triple-component intercropping over dual-component intercropping. There were also no clear advantages of intercropping in terms of the nutrient uptake amount and stability.