Effects of planting density on the productivity and water use of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) clones: I. Measurement of water use in young tea using sap flow meters with a stem heat balance method

Sap flow meters based on the stem heat balance method were used to measure the mass flow rates or water use in young potted tea (Camellia sinensis L.) plants of clones AHP S15/10 and BBK35. The meters were constructed on site and installed onto the stem or branch sections of field growing plants in an experiment originally designed to study the effects of plant population density and drought on the productivity and water use of young tea clones. The objective of the study was to use the SHB method as a first attempt to use sap flow meters for determining the water use of young tea growing in the field under well watered conditions in Tanzania. The results are reported and recommendation made for further work on using the technique.     

Subsurface drip irrigation of onions: Effects of drip tape emitter spacing on yield and quality

Improved irrigation water use efficiency is an important component of sustainable agricultural production. Efficient water delivery systems such as subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) can contribute immensely towards improving crop water use efficiency and conserving water. However, critical management considerations such as choice of SDI tube, emitter spacing and installation depth are necessary to attain improved irrigation efficiencies and production benefits. In this study, we evaluated the effects of subsurface drip tape emitter spacing (15, 20 and 30 cm) on yield and quality of sweet onions grown at two locations in South Texas—Weslaco and Los Ebanos. Season-long cumulative crop evapotranspiration (ETc) was 513 mm in Weslaco and 407 mm at Los Ebanos. Total crop water input (rain + irrigation) at Weslaco was roughly equal to ETc (92% ETc) whereas at Los Ebanos, water inputs exceeded ETc by about 35%. Onion yields ranged from 58.5 to 70.3 t ha⁻¹ but were not affected by drip tube emitter spacing. Onion pungency (pyruvic acid development) and soluble solids concentration were also not significantly influenced by treatments. Crop water use efficiency was slightly higher at Weslaco (13.7 kg/m³) than at Los Ebanos (11.7 kg/m³) partly because of differences in total water inputs resulting from differences in irrigation management. The absence of any significant effects of drip tape emitter spacing on onion yield may be due to the fact that irrigation was managed to provide roughly similar irrigation amounts and optimum soil moisture conditions in all treatments.     

Is partial root-zone drying an effective irrigation technique to improve water use efficiency and fruit quality in field-grown wine grapes under semiarid conditions?

We investigated the effects of partial root-zone drying (PRD) applied at different periods on leaf water relations, vegetative development, fruit yield, must and wine quality in wine grapes (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Monastrell) during a 3-year field experiment in order to determine the importance of the timing of PRD application on physiological and agronomical vine response under semiarid conditions. Two irrigation treatments were applied: conventional drip irrigation (CI) and PRD. Both treatments received the same annual water quantity. Each year the PRD treatment was applied at different periods of the growth cycle. In 1999 PRD was applied from veraison to harvest (end July–early September); in 2000 from fruit set to harvest (mid June–early September); and in 2001 PRD from budburst to harvest (mid April–early September). Leaf water relations and gas exchange during the experimental period were not significantly affected by PRD treatment. In 1999 and 2000 there was no significant treatment effect on vegetative development, yield or fruit quality. However, in 2001 (when PRD was applied from budburst to harvest), reproductive and vegetative development was clearly altered in PRD vines. Fruit set percentage and vegetative development (shoot length, pruning weight and primary and lateral leaf area) were significantly increased in PRD vines compared to CI. This resulted in both higher yield (kg per vine) (43%) and water use efficiency (40%) compared to CI vines. Berry number per cluster and cluster weight were also significantly increased in PRD vines. Notwithstanding higher yield in PRD vines and a similar berry size, the must and wine quality was not significantly altered, indicating a higher synthesis and accumulation of photoassimilates and metabolites in the berries of PRD vines. We conclude that there was an positive effect on vegetative and reproductive growth when long-term PRD was applied from the beginning of growing season (budburst), suggesting that early onset of PRD is desirable to intensify PRD response under these semiarid conditions. Nevertheless from these results we need to further investigate the long- and short-term effects of PRD, with moderate water amounts, on vegetative and reproductive development such as flowering and fruit set processes in wine grapes.     

Effect of timing of first and last irrigation on the yield and water use efficiency in cotton

With increasing concern about declining water resources, there is increasing thrust in improving water management in farming systems to improve water use efficiency. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the optimum timing for the first and last irrigation of cotton on the basis of meteorological approach for scheduling irrigations. The experiment was conducted in a split plot design with three timings of first irrigation as main-plots and three timing of last irrigation as sub-plots. Delay of first irrigation from 28 days after sowing (DAS) to 42 DAS, irrespective of last irrigation, resulted in an increase of 8, 14 and 17% in seed cotton yield during first, second and third year, respectively. The corresponding increases due to delay in the last irrigation from 130 to 170 DAS were 14, 32 and 8%, respectively. On the basis of 3 years average, application of first and last irrigation at optimum time (after 42 and 170 days after sowing) resulted in an increase of 36% in seed cotton yield without involving any additional cost. Water expense efficiency (WEE) increased by 54%.     

“上膜下秸”措施对温室土壤水热盐调控试验研究

为了明确温室生产中不同耕作措施的水热盐调控效果,采用温室小区试验方法,以翻耕(CK)、翻耕结合地表覆盖地膜(M)、翻耕结合秸秆深埋(J)为对照,研究了翻耕结合地表覆盖地膜结合秸秆深埋(J+M)措施对温室土壤水热盐动态变化的影响。结果表明,与M、J及CK处理相比,J+M处理全生育期平均土壤含水率可分别提高8.96%、5.45%、14.32%,土壤温度分别提高3.35%、5.21%及8.32%,土壤全盐量分别降低24.44%、19.65%、26.64%,这一结果可为宁夏温室种植实施地膜覆盖与秸秆深埋改良措施提供参考。     

Managing secondary dryland salinity: Options and challenges

Salt occurs naturally at high levels in the subsoils of most Australian agricultural land. As a result of clearing native vegetation, groundwater tables have risen, mobilising the stored salt and causing adverse impacts on farmland, infrastructure, water resources, and biodiversity. The main action required to prevent groundwater tables from rising is establishment of perennial plants, either herbaceous (pastures or crops) or woody (trees and shrubs). Recent technical and economic research has emphasised how difficult it will be to establish sufficient perennials to get control of groundwater tables. Where watertables are already shallow, the options for farmers are salt-tolerant plants (e.g. saltbush for grazing) or engineering (e.g. deep open drains). The existing options for farm-level salinity management are reviewed, with mixed but somewhat disappointing findings regarding their suitability for addressing salinity. However, there are also a number of good prospects for development of new and better options for plant-based management of salinity, and these are described.     

Evaluation of the RZWQM-CERES-Maize hybrid model for maize production

The root zone water quality model (RZWQM) was developed primarily for water quality research with a generic plant growth module primarily serving as a sink for plant nitrogen and water uptake. In this study, we coupled the CERES-Maize Version 3.5 crop growth model with RZWQM to provide RZWQM users with the option for selecting a more comprehensive plant growth model. In the hybrid model, RZWQM supplied CERES with daily soil water and nitrogen contents, soil temperature, and potential evapotranspiration, in addition to daily weather data. CERES-Maize supplied RZWQM with daily water and nitrogen uptake, and other plant growth variables (e.g., root distribution and leaf area index). The RZWQM-CERES hybrid model was evaluated with two well-documented experimental datasets distributed with DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) Version 3.5, which had various nitrogen and irrigation treatments. Simulation results were compared to the original DSSAT-CERES-Maize model. Both models used the same plant cultivar coefficients and the same soil parameters as distributed with DSSAT Version 3.5. The hybrid model provided similar maize prediction in terms of yield, biomass and leaf area index, as the DSSAT-CERES model when the same soil and crop parameters were used. No overall differences were found between the two models based on the paired t test, suggesting successful coupling of the two models. The hybrid model offers RZWQM users access to a rigorous new plant growth model and provides CERES-Maize users with a tool to address soil and water quality issues under different cropping systems.     

支持向量机在水质评价中的应用

介绍了支持向量机算法的原理，建立了基于支持向量机的水质评价多层次分类检测模型，通过提取水质评价标准中的物质成分为特征参数，利用几个SVM分类器的串联组合，实现对水质的分类和识别，同时，引入类权重因子，解决训练样本类别数量不平衡而导致的错分问题，实验结果显示该方法提高了水质评价的准确性和效率。     

Effect of water deficit in different growth stages on stem sap flux of greenhouse grown pear-jujube tree

The effects of water deficit in different fruit growth stages on the variation of stem sap flux of 6-year old greenhouse-grown pear-jujube trees were investigated. Treatments included sufficient water supply during the whole fruit-growing period (T₁), mild water deficit during the flowering–fruit setting stage (T₂), moderate water deficit during the fruit rapid growth stage (T₃) and severe water deficit during the fruit maturing stage (T₄). Results showed that significant compensation effect on stem sap flux after re-watering was observed in T₂, but not in T₃ and T₄ stages. At the end of rapid growth stage, the diurnal variation of stomatal conductance generally had a similar trend as that of stem sap flux, but with a distinct midday depression from 12:00 to 14:00 p.m. In addition, a linear relationship between the relative available soil water content (RAWC) and the ratio of daily stem sap flux to that of sufficient water treatment was observed (R² = 0.4489).     

Effect of drying on soil strength and corn emergence

Summary Laboratory studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of drying on soil strength and corn emergence (Zea mays L.). Corn was germinated in Billings silty clay under a bank of heat lamps which operated 9, 14, 19, or 24 h per day. Soil strength (modules of rupture), soil moisture content and emergence were measured daily.The relationship of soil strength to corn seedling emergence as influenced by the four light and heat durations and bare and mulched soil surfaces was determined. As soil strength increased emergence decreased until it ceased at soil strengths of about 80 kPa. Strength of this soil had a high negative correlation with soil water content and increased with time. Mulching decreased initial rate of drying, decreased crust strength, and improved corn emergence. The 14-hour light and heat treatment resulted in the highest corn emergence.Contribution from Colorado State Experiment Station, USDA-ARS Snake River Conservation Research Center, and USDA-ARS Fort Collins, respectively