Land degradation,stocking rates and conservation policies in the communal rangelands of Botswana and Zimbabwe

Communal rangeland management policies in Botswana and Zimbabwe are based on incorrect technical assumptions about the stability of semiarid rangeland, the nature of rangeland degradation, and the benefits of destocking. Consequently, inappropriate policies, stressing the need to destock and stabilise the rangelands, are pursued. Acknowledgement of the great instability but intrinsic resilience of rangeland would encourage the Governments to more favourably regard the opportunistic stocking strategies of the agro-pastoralists of the Communal Areas. However, degradation of rangelands is occurring, although at varying rates. This justifies the promotion of a ‘tracking strategy’, in which livestock densities are encouraged to follow, more closely that at present, variations in rainfall. The establishment of grazing territories controlled by specific ‘communities’ may be a prerequisite for the promotion of the tracking strategy, and for communal rangeland management and improvement. However, the establishment of such territories must take into account social equity, institutional problems and transaction costs, as well as spatial and temporal variation in rangeland resources.     

Exploiting chemical ecology to manage hyperparasitoids in biological control of arthropod pests

Insect hyperparasitoids are fourth trophic level organisms that commonly occur in terrestrial food webs, yet they are relatively understudied. These top‐carnivores can disrupt biological pest control by suppressing the populations of their parasitoid hosts, leading to pest outbreaks, especially in confined environments such as greenhouses where augmentative biological control is used. There is no effective eco‐friendly strategy that can be used to control hyperparasitoids. Recent advances in the chemical ecology of hyperparasitoid foraging behavior have opened opportunities for manipulating these top‐carnivores in such a way that biological pest control becomes more efficient. We propose various infochemical‐based strategies to manage hyperparasitoids. We suggest that a push‐pull strategy could be a promising approach to ‘push’ hyperparasitoids away from their parasitoid hosts and ‘pull’ them into traps. Additionally, we discuss how infochemicals can be used to develop innovative tools improving biological pest control (i) to restrict accessibility of resources (e.g. sugars and alternative hosts) to primary parasitoid only or (ii) to monitor hyperparasitoid presence in the crop for early detection. We also identify important missing information in order to control hyperparasitoids and outline what research is needed to reach this goal. Testing the efficacy of synthetic infochemicals in confined environments is a crucial step towards the implementation of chemical ecology‐based approaches targeting hyperparasitoids. © 2019 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

我国饲草重大病虫鼠害研究进展

为全面了解我国饲草重大病虫鼠害分布和危害,充分掌握其传播扩散规律及其造成的重大经济损失,我们系统分析了我国饲草病害、虫害、鼠害等生物灾害危害情况,总结了国内外饲草病虫鼠害防控现状与研究进展,提出了饲草重大生物灾害的防控对策,为保障饲草产业和草牧业健康发展提供理论支撑。此外,本文还总结了我国饲草病虫鼠害的防控难题,为今后饲草病虫鼠害的研究提供了方向。     

中国作物分子育种现状与展望

分子育种是现代农业发展应用推广最迅速的育种新技术,对作物遗传改良产生了深远的影响。国际农作物育种已经进入分子育种时代,以DNA重组技术和基因组编辑技术等为代表的现代生物技术已成为世界上作物遗传改良的重要手段。本综述简要介绍了国际分子育种发展趋势,并对中国作物分子育种现状和国家相关政策导向、集成创新、科研管理体制、生物种业发展和人才现状等方面进行了分析,以期为中国农业和科技管理部门、生物技术工作者、育种家和种子企业提供参考。     

Agriculture Green Development: a model for China and the world

Realizing sustainable development has become a global priority. This holds, in particular, for agriculture. Recently, the United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Nineteenth National People’s Congress has delivered a national strategy for sustainable development in China—realizing green development. The overall objective of Agriculture Green Development (AGD) is to coordinate “green” with “development” to realize the transformation of current agriculture with high resource consumption and high environmental costs into a green agriculture and countryside with high productivity, high resource use efficiency and low environmental impact. This is a formidable task, requiring joint efforts of government, farmers, industry, educators and researchers. The innovative concept for AGD will focus on reconstructing the whole crop-animal production and food production-consumption system, with the emphasis on high thresholds for environmental standards and food quality as well as enhanced human well-being. This paper addresses the significance, challenges, framework, pathways and potential solutions for realizing AGD in China, and highlights the potential changes that will lead to a more sustainable agriculture in the future. Proposals include interdisciplinary innovations, whole food chain improvement and regional solutions. The implementation of AGD in China will provide important implications for the countries in developmental transition, and contribute to global sustainable development.     

Management strategies for forage rape (Brassica napus L. cv Goliath): Impact on dry-matter yield,plant reserves,morphology and nutritive value

Limited information is available on the grazing management principles of forage rape (Brassica napus L.), particularly in relation to grazing height and intensity and the impact of these on dry-matter (DM) yield and nutritive value. A glasshouse study was undertaken to investigate the effect of three defoliation heights (plant height at harvest; DH: 40, 70 and 90 cm; L, M and H DH respectively) and three defoliation intensities (height at which plants were cut; DI: 5, 20 and 35 cm of residual height; H, M and L DI respectively) on forage rape (cv Goliath) yield and nutritive value at two harvests (harvest 1, H1 and harvest 2, H2), and the impact of nitrogen (N) and water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) reserves on regrowth. Increasing DH from L to H increased estimated total DM yield (H1 plus H2) from 0.5 to 4.6 t DM/ha but DI did not affect yield. Dry-matter yield was optimized at 90 cm DH, but greater nutritive value was achieved by harvesting at lower levels of DH. Despite high in vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD; 852–889 g/kg), harvesting at 90 cm DH could not meet the protein requirement of lactating dairy cows and harvesting at lower levels risks nitrate poisoning. Our results indicate the optimum DH may be between 70 and 90 cm DH, and 20 and 35 cm DI, which requires further studies.     

春季低温对小麦颖果发育的影响

为了探明春季低温（倒春寒）导致小麦减产的细胞学机理,以扬麦15为材料,在小麦幼穗处于雌雄蕊分化期至药隔期之间时,设置-3 ℃低温处理,通过树脂半薄切片对颖果不同发育时期的形态结构进行观察。结果表明：（1）在颖果发育早期,低温促进了颖果的长度生长,抑制了宽度生长;与对照相比,低温处理组小麦颖果发育进程缩短;（2）低温处理组颖果果皮发育早,中果皮降解速度快;（3）低温处理增加了胚乳淀粉体的积累量,降低了蛋白体的积累量,发育后期胚乳充实度显著低于对照组;（4）与对照相比,低温处理后颖果韧皮部面积和珠心突起传递细胞面积增大。以上结果表明,春季低温处理更有利于养分运输组织的发育,使得灌浆时间缩短,最终导致淀粉积累量增加及颖果早熟。     

广东省林木种苗工程建设现状与发展对策

文章概述了广东省林木种苗工程项目建设的现状,总结分析了其存在的主要问题,并提出了解决问题的对策。     

陇东黄土高原旱地冬小麦生产影响要素及育种目标与策略

通过对自然因素分析指出,在陇东黄土高原旱地干旱少雨,低温寡照,病虫危害是该区冬小麦生产的主要影响因子。结合小麦育种实践,提出小麦产量结构模式,旱地品种特征特性和抗旱、抗寒、抗病、优质育种目标。提出了旱作种质引进创新,选择当地品种作亲本,采用聚和杂交,利用逆境定向选择,多生态水、旱交替选育,实行穿梭育种,多元化抗锈育种,加强优质专用品种选育的育种策略。     

镇巴县药用大黄林药间作技术研究

为研究药用大黄林药间作的关键技术,于陕西省镇巴县盐场镇响洞村退耕香椿林地下移栽一年生药用大黄种苗,并测定其生长发育情况。结果表明,药用大黄生物量的积累随种植年度的增加而增加,第1年增长较为缓慢,第2年、第3年增速较快;不同郁闭度对药用大黄生物量的积累有显著性影响,当郁闭度为40%时,生物量积累最为显著,药用大黄平均单根鲜重高达5.3 kg。镇巴县药用大黄与香椿树林药间作,可以有效地缓解土地资源匮乏,保护野生资源不被破坏,同时也是生态种植的一种应用,为镇巴县林药间作模式提供有效的技术支撑。