Controlling sprouting in potato tubers using ultraviolet-C irradiance

Legislation limiting the use of chlorpropham (CIPC), the major potato sprout suppressant, has led to a need for new technologies to extend storage life of tubers. Ultra violet C (UV-C) has been used postharvest to reduce disease incidence on many crops, yet its use and efficacy as a sprout suppressant has not been investigated. The aim of this project was to identify the optimum dose and treatment timing of UV-C treatment on potato tubers as an alternative method of sprout suppression to reduce the dependence on chemical sprout suppressants. Up to six potato cultivars over two seasons were treated with varying doses of UV-C ranging from 0 to 30 kJ m⁻² either at harvest or at first indication of dormancy break. The tubers were stored at 9 °C and sprout growth and incidence assessed. Treatment with moderate UV-C doses (5–20 kJ m⁻²) suppressed sprout length and sprout incidence in a range of cultivars. Periderm DNA damage and programmed cell death were not detected in response to any of the UV-C doses. The inactive ABA metabolite, ABA-GE, increased in response to 10 or 20 kJ m⁻² within 72 h of treatment. Multivariate analysis showed a negative relationship between ABA metabolites and sprout growth/incidence during storage. This study found that UV-C reduced sprout growth in potato with no deleterious effects on tuber quality. This suggests potential for further development as an alternative or supplement to conventional sprout suppressant technologies.     

Dry heat treatment of Andean lupin seed to reduce anthracnose infection

The potential of dry heat treatment of Andean lupin seed to reduce seed–borne infection of the anthracnose pathogen, Colletotrichum acutatum, was investigated. First, the effect of dry heat (65 °C) over duration times of 0–96 h on germination and disease incidence after germination was evaluated for artificially– and naturally–infected seed. Dry heat treatment from 8 to 96 h reduced disease incidence after germination to undetectable levels in four cultivars compared with 7.5% disease incidence after germination in seed maintained at room temperature. Moreover, heat treatments of 4–12 h showed seed germination rates that were equivalent to the non–treated control. Under greenhouse conditions, dry heat treatments for 8 or 12 h reduced transmission of the pathogen from seed by 75 or 85%, respectively and dry heat treatment increased emergence of seedlings in comparison the non-treated control. Dry heat treatment is an environmentally friendly alternative for reducing anthracnose infections in Andean lupin seed.     

广西鹿寨县耕地质量等别调查与评价

以鹿寨县为列,介绍了广西自治区县级耕地质量等别评价方法,详细分析了耕地质量等别评价结果,揭示了鹿寨县耕地质量等别结构和空间分布规律。     

建设用地集约利用评价指标的权重确定方法研究

基于建设用地集约利用评价指标,应用文献统计法和综合分析法,阐述了中国建设用地及建设用地集约利用评价指标权重赋权方法的现状,着重研究了各种权重确定方法在建设用地集约评价中的实践应用,并对其进行总结和讨论,探讨了建设用地集约利用评价指标权重确定方法的发展趋势.     

Monitoring desertification processes in Mongolian Plateau using MODIS tasseled cap transformation and TGSI time series

Most remote sensing studies assess the desertification using vegetation monitoring method. But it has the insufficient precision of vegetation monitoring for the limited vegetation cover of the desertification region. Therefore, it offers an alternative approach for the desertification research to assess sand dune and sandy land change using remote sensing in the desertification region. In this study, the indices derived from the well-known tasseled cap transformation(TCT), tasseled cap angle(TCA),disturbance index(DI), process indicator(PI), and topsoil grain size index(TGSI) were integrated to monitor and assess the desertification at the thirteen study sites including sand dunes and sandy lands distributed in the Mongolian Plateau(MP) from 2000 to 2015. A decision tree was used to classify the desertification on a regional scale. The average overall accuracy of 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 desertification classification was higher than 90%. Results from this study indicated that integration of the advantages of TCA, DI and TGSI could better assess the desertification. During the last 16 years, Badain Jaran Desert, Tengger Desert, and Ulan Buh Desert showed a relative stabilization. Otindag Sandy Land and the deserts of Khar Nuur, Ereen Nuur, Tsagan Nuur, Khongoryn Els, Hobq, and Mu Us showed a slow increasing of desertification, whereas Bayan Gobi, Horqin and Hulun Buir sandy lands showed a slow decreasing of desertification. Compared with the other 11 sites, the fine sand dunes occupied the majority of the Tengger Desert, and the coarse sandy land occupied the majority of the Horqin Sandy Land. Our findings on a three or four years' periodical fluctuated changes in the desertification may possibly reflect changing precipitation and soil moisture in the MP. Further work to link the TCA, DI,TGSI, and PI values with the desertification characteristics is recommended to set the thresholds and improve the assessment accuracy with field investigation.     

Maize/peanut intercropping increases photosynthetic characteristics, ~(13)C-photosynthate distribution,and grain yield of summer maize

Intercropping is used widely by smallholder farmers in developing countries to increase land productivity and profitability. We conducted a maize/peanut intercropping experiment in the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons in Shandong, China. Treatments included sole maize(SM), sole peanut(SP), and an intercrop consisting of four rows of maize and six rows of peanut(IM and IP). The results showed that the intercropping system had yield advantages based on the land equivalent ratio(LER) values of 1.15 and 1.16 in the two years, respectively. Averaged over the two years, the yield of maize in the intercropping was increased by 61.05% compared to that in SM, while the pod yield of peanut was decreased by 31.80% compared to SP. Maize was the superior competitor when intercropped with peanut, and its productivity dominated the yield of the intercropping system in our study. The increased yield was due to a higher kernel number per ear(KNE). Intercropping increased the light transmission ratio(LTR) of the ear layer in the maize canopy, the active photosynthetic duration(APD), and the harvest index(HI) compared to SM. In addition, intercropping promoted the ratio of dry matter accumulation after silking and the distribution of ~(13) C-photosynthates to grain compared to SM. In conclusion, maize/peanut intercropping demonstrated the potential to improve the light condition of maize, achieving enhanced photosynthetic characteristics that improved female spike differentiation, reduced barrenness, and increased KNE. Moreover, dry matter accumulation and ~(13) C-photosynthates distribution to grain of intercropped maize were improved, and a higher grain yield was ultimately obtained.     

Herbicide options for effective weed management in dry direct-seeded rice under scented rice-wheat rotation of western Indo-Gangetic Plains

Farmers' participatory field trials were conducted at Madhuban, and Taraori, the two participatory experimental sites/locations of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), a collaborative project of IRRI and CIMMYT in Karnal district of Haryana, India, during Kharif (wet season) 2010 and 2011. This research aimed to evaluate preemergence (PRE) and postemergence (POST) herbicides for providing feasible and economically viable weed management options to farmers for predominant scented rice varieties. Treatments with pendimethalin PRE fb bispyribac-sodium + azimsulfuron POST had lower weed biomass at 45 days after sowing (DAS). At Madhuban, highest grain yield of scented basmati rice (3.43 t ha⁻¹) was recorded with the sequential application of pendimethalin PRE fb bispyribac-sodium + azimsulfuron POST. However, at Taraori, yields were similar with pendimethalin or oxadiargyl PRE fb bispyribac-sodium and/or azimsulfuron POST. Applying oxadiargyl by mixing with sand onto flooded field was less effective than spray applications in non-flooded field. The benefit-cost ratio of rice crop was higher with herbicide treatments at both sites as compared with the non-treated weed-free check except single PRE and POST applications and sequential application of oxadiargyl PRE fb oxadiargyl PRE. In a separate experiment conducted at Nagla and Taraori sites, scented rice cultivars' ('CSR 30′ and 'Pusa 1121′) tolerance to three rates of azimsulfuron (15, 25, and 35 g ai ha⁻¹) was evaluated over two years (2010 and 2011). CSR 30 (superfine, scented) was more sensitive to higher rates (35 g ai ha⁻¹) of azimsulfuron as compared to Pusa 1121 (fine, scented). Crop injuries were 8 and 28% in case of CSR 30; 5 and 15% in Pusa 1121 when applied with azimsulfuron 25 and 35 g ai ha⁻¹, respectively. Azimsulfuron applied at 35 g ai ha⁻¹ reduced yield in both cultivars but in CSR 30 yield reduction was twofold (11.5%) as that of Pusa 1121 (5.2%).     

宁夏中部生态移民区土地利用时空变化分析

通过解译宁夏中部红寺堡区1989年、1999年、2006年、2012年TM遥感影像,获取该区域生态移民前后4期土地利用数据,对1989~2012年以来土地利用变化情况进行了分析。结果表明,各个时间段的土地利用变化差异性显著。1989~1999年,由于大规模的土地开荒和红寺堡灌区的建设,耕地面积持续增加,同时该区域开始有了水浇地,而林草面积相应减少;1999~2006年,由于退耕还林还草政策的实施,耕地中的旱地被逐渐退耕为草地或发展为水浇地,林草面积开始由减少转为增加,区域土地利用开始合理化;2006~2012年,随着生态移民工程和生态建设工程的成熟发展,林草覆盖面积进一步增加,水浇地面积继续稳步增加,而未利用地和旱地面积持续下降。研究结果为区域土地资源的合理利用及生态移民工程的进一步顺利开展提供可靠依据。     

北京市公园绿地投资标准测算

公园绿地作为"唯一有生命力"的城市基础设施,一直以来其建设和投资标准不像道路、管线等基础睡设施那般明确,而随着近年来城市发展对生态环境的日益重视,各类公园绿地项目逐渐增多。为了加强公园绿地项目在前期设计和审批阶段的科学性、合理性,文章结合北京市当前园林绿化的实际情况,按照"一亩地公园"模型的思路,根据不同的投资工程,建立了投资标准测算模型,测算了投资指标,尝试为公园绿地的投资标准确定提供一种新的思路。     

北京小西山山前洪积扇不同土地利用方式下的土壤微形态特征

通过对北京小西山山前代表性洪积扇的观察研究,探索不同土地利用方式对土壤微形态特征的影响。通过对土壤薄片的观察,分析土壤微形态特征;用ENVI及MATLAB软件处理图片,并对孔隙度进行定量分析。结果表明:1)林地(WL1)剖面表层土壤微结构为海绵状结构,而园地(WL2)和菜地(WL3)的表层土壤多呈整块状结构或孔道结构;2)各采样点土壤矿物成分相近,但骨骼颗粒形态特征有较大差异。3)WL1剖面土壤孔隙度较高,以面状孔隙为主,WL2和WL3剖面土壤孔隙度过低,以中小孔隙居多。研究认为:1)林地的土壤微结构较园地和菜地的好,由于人类的不合理利用和管理,园地和菜地使土壤微结构变差,土壤孔隙度下降。2)各采样点土壤成土母质相似,土壤骨骼颗粒形态差异受到不同土地利用方式下人类干扰程度差异的影响。