Evaluation of Wheat (Triticum aestivum) and Legume Intercropping Under 1:1 and 2:1 Row-replacement Series System

A field experiment was conducted during the winter season of 1992–93 and 1993–94 at Agricultural Experimental Farm, Giridih, Bihar to evaluate the intercropping systems of legumes, gram ( Cicer arietinum L.), pea ( Pisum sativum ) and lentil ( Lens culinaris ) with wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) in 1:1 and 2:1 'row replacement series'. Intercropping systems were assessed on the basis of new indices termed as actual yield loss (AYL) and intercropping advantage (IA). This paper highlights the comparative effectiveness of evaluating the intercropping systems through the existing intercropping indices like LER, RCC, aggressivity. The indices AYL and IA seem to be more appropriate particularly when per plant yield is considered. Intercropping reduced the yield of component crops compared with respective pure stands. Wheat + pea in 1:1 row replacement series gave the highest wheat yield equivalent value (3.02 t ha⁻¹) followed by wheat + lentil (2.91 tha⁻¹). When the actual sown proportion was considered wheat + lentil (1:1) resulted in maximum AYL (+0.610) and IA (+0.279) values. This treatment also gave the maximum monetary advantage (Rs 5985.45 ha⁻¹).     

Long-term application of animal slurries to grassland alters soil cation balance

Abstract. Soil samples from a 32-year grassland field experiment were taken from 0–5, 5–10, and 10–15 cm soil depths in February 2002. Plots received annual treatments of unamended control, mineral fertilizer, three rates of pig slurry and three rates of cow slurry, each with six replicates. Samples were analysed for cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable cations (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺), pH and Olsen P. Exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) was calculated as a sodicity indicator. Mean ESP was generally greater for slurry treatments than the control, with a trend of increasing ESP with application rate. This was particularly marked for cow slurry. At 0–5 cm depth ESP increased from 1.18 in the control to 1.75 at the highest rate of pig slurry and 5.60 at the highest rate of cow slurry. Similar trends were shown for CEC, exchangeable Na⁺, K⁺ and Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ and Olsen P. The build-up of soil P due to slurry applications, together with this combination of physical and chemical factors, may increase the risk of P loss to surface waters, particularly from soils receiving high rates of cow slurry.     

Evaluation of Five Most Commonly Grown Cotton Cultivars (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Under Mediterranean Conditions: Productivity and Fibre Quality

Studies were conducted in four regions of central Greece (Larisa, Karditsa, Livadia, Thiva), to evaluate the productivity and fibre properties (fibre strength and fibre length) of the five most commonly grown cotton cultivars in these regions. The experiments lasted for 6 years (1995–2000). All the characteristics tested were strongly influenced by the factors ‘year’, ‘cultivar’ and ‘region’. Significant cultivar × region, year × cultivar, region × year and cultivar × region × year interactions occurred for all the characteristics studied. The cultivar Alegria had the highest seed‐cotton and lint yield, while Aria had the lowest ones. Both cultivars gave the highest mean lint percentage but the lowest mean boll weight (MBW). Alegria had the lowest fibre strength, while Aria had the highest. The Acala‐type cultivars, Acala SJ2 and Zeta 2, had intermediate seed‐cotton and lint yield, while Vered 171 had high seed‐cotton and satisfactory lint yield. The three cultivars mentioned above had the highest MBW and very good fibre strength. Positive correlation was observed between fibre strength and length. In spite of the fact that mean fibre length was statistically the same in all cultivars, it was influenced by the factor ‘year’, as a result of different weather conditions. The year 1996 was the most unfavourable one for seed‐cotton yield and MBW, because it was characterized by lower than average air temperatures and rather dry conditions for all study sites. The factor ‘region’, a combination of different climatic conditions and cultural practices, influenced significantly all the parameters studied.     

磷指数模型在美国的应用和发展

磷是植物生长必需的营养元素之一,在农业生产中起着关键作用。然而,长期过量的磷肥投入导致土壤磷素水平增加,进而加大了土壤磷素流失风险,造成农业非点源磷污染,同时这也成为导致水体富营养化的主要因素之一。因此,识别和管理农业非点源磷的流失风险关键区,成为面源污染亟待解决的关键问题。磷指数模型起源于20世纪90年代,是评估农田磷流失潜力和指导磷管理决策的重要工具之一。根据研究区特点,美国众多学者在各州设立了不同的磷指数指标体系,优化了磷指数的组成因子、计算方法和分级标准。本文对美国各州磷指数模型评价体系进行了综述和评价,指出了磷指数模型的局限性,提出了改进方向,以期为我国磷素管理方法提供借鉴。     

基于YOLOv5s改进模型的小白菜虫害识别方法

小白菜是中国种植面积较广、深受大众喜爱的蔬菜,但真实菜地环境中虫害往往出现在叶片的特定区域,且受环境因素如光照和背景干扰较大,影响对其的智能检测。为提高小白菜虫害的检测效率和准确率,该研究提出一种基于YOLOv5s网络框架改进的YOLOPC小白菜虫害识别模型。首先,引入CBAM（Convolutional Block Attention Module）注意力机制,将其放在CBS（卷积层Convolution+归一化层Batch normalization+激活函数层SILU）的输入端构成CBAM-CBS的结构,动态调整特征图中各个通道和空间位置的权重;使用上采样和1×1卷积操作来调整特征图的尺寸和通道数,实现不同层次特征的融合,增强模型的特征表示能力。同时,改进损失函数,使其更适合边界框回归的准确性需求;利用空洞卷积的优势提高网络的感受野范围,使模型能够更好地理解图像的上下文信息。试验结果表明,与改进前的YOLOv5s模型相比,YOLOPC模型对小白菜小菜蛾和潜叶蝇虫害检测的平均精度（mean Average Precision, mAP）达到91.40%,提高了12.9个百分点;每秒传输帧数（Frame Per Second, FPS）为58.82帧/s,增加了11.2帧/s,增加幅度达23.53个百分点;参数量仅为14.4 MB,降低了25.78个百分点。与经典的目标检测算法SSD、Faster R-CNN、YOLOv3、YOLOv7和YOLOv8相比,YOLOPC模型的平均精度分别高出20.1、24.6、14、13.4和13.3个百分点,此外,其准确率、召回率、帧速率和参数量均展现出显著优势。该模型可为复杂背景下小白菜虫害的快速准确检测提供技术支持。     

Utilization of Sake lees as Broiler Feedstuff and its Effects on Growth Performance and Intestinal Immunity

Increasing food loss and waste (FLW) is a global problem, and efforts are being made to use waste food as potential livestock feed material. The amount of self-supplied feed is lower in Japan than in other countries, and the government recommends FLW use for animal feed. Sake (Japanese rice wine) is a traditional alcoholic beverage. During the sake manufacturing process, large amounts of squeezed solids or “lees” (sake lees) are generated. Sake lees are nutritious and functional, but are prone to spoilage. In this study, we investigated whether sake lees should be mixed with animal feed immediately or after drying. To assess the usefulness of sake lees as a poultry feed ingredient and determine the effect of sake lees on intestinal immunity, we performed a feeding trial with three treatments: a raw sake lees (RSL) diet, dried sake lees (DSL) diet, and control diet. Three-week-old broilers were fed these diets (n=8 per group) for two weeks. We then calculated feed efficiency and performed RT-qPCR to assess the effects of diet on intestinal immunity. The growth performance in the RSL diet group was equivalent to that in the control diet group. The DSL diet became difficult for broilers to eat, resulting in decreased growth performance. In the ileum of RSL-diet broilers, the mRNA expression levels of TGF-β1 and avian β-defensin (AvBD)12 were significantly increased compared to those of control diet broilers (p<0.05), and a significant correlation was observed between the two genes (p<0.05). Our results indicated that sake lees should not be dried and should be mixed immediately with feed, and this sake lees when fed to chicken activates the intestinal immunity. However, sake lees have a lower fat content than corn, and it is thus important to combine sake lees with high-energy feed.     

生物结皮生长发育对黄绵土抗侵蚀性能的影响

[目的] 黄土高原退耕还林(草)工程驱动的生物结皮发育可显著抑制土壤侵蚀,为探明土壤抗侵蚀性能随生物结皮生长发育的变化特征及其响应机制。[方法] 设置藻结皮、藓结皮和自然演替结皮3个处理,培育176天,系统研究生物结皮不同发育阶段及其类型差异对黄绵土抗侵蚀性能的影响。[结果] (1)生物结皮盖度、厚度、生物量、叶绿素和粗糙度随生长时间均显著增加,培育初期藓结皮较高,培育末期自然演替结皮反而最高。(2)随生物结皮发育,土壤黏结力呈幂函数增强,较初期增加39.8%~60.3%;质量损失率呈指数函数减小,较初期降低45.6%~57.3%;饱和导水率变化趋势较为复杂,但培育末期均最低(0.08~0.12 mm/min)。(3)土壤黏结力随生物结皮盖度、厚度、叶绿素、生物量和表面粗糙度的增加呈幂函数增长,质量损失率随生物结皮盖度、厚度、叶绿素、生物量和表面粗糙度的增加呈指数函数下降。(4)土壤抗侵蚀综合指数(C_ser)可表示为盖度(Cov)、厚度(T)和生物量(B)的幂函数(C_ser=0.279 Cov^0.194 T^0.188 B^0.119, R²=0.73, p＜0.05)。[结论] 黄土高原生物结皮发育可显著提高黄绵土抗侵蚀性能,藓结皮效果最强。     

The severity of smouldering peat fires and damage to the forest soil

Smouldering wildfires propagate slowly through surface and subsurface organic layers of the forest ground and severely affect the soil, producing physical, chemical and biological changes. These effects are caused by the prolonged heating and the large loss of soil mass but are poorly documented in the literature. A series of smouldering experiments with boreal peat have been conducted under laboratory conditions to quantify these effects using small-scale samples. Peat samples of 100 mm by 100 mm in cross section and 50 mm in depth of different moisture were exposed to an external ignition source. Thermocouples placed throughout the sample bed measured the temperature evolution and tracked the peat ignition, intensity and spread of the smouldering front. The results show that moisture content controls peat ignition and that moisture below 125 ± 10% (in dry base) are required. The severity of the smouldering peat on the soil has been quantified in terms of temperature vs. residence time curves and mass loss. The measurements show temperatures in excess of 300 °C for residence times of 1 h leading to sterilization of the soil and mass loss in burnt layers above 90%.     

水稻淀粉合成代谢相关基因与千粒重QTLs的连锁分析

稻米淀粉的合成和积累是水稻千粒重形成的重要基础之一。在水稻千粒重QTLs定位分析基础上，对本研究克隆的14个水稻胚乳淀粉合成与积累相关基因及已报道的和预测的42个相关基因进行了电子定位分析，比较水稻淀粉合成代谢相关基因与千粒重QTLs的连锁关系。发现有38个基因位点与千粒重QTLs连锁，说明千粒重形成与胚乳淀粉积累与淀粉结构形成代谢密切相关。本研究结果将为进一步研究水稻产量形成的分子机理提供参考。     

Feeding Acacia etbaica and Dichrostachys cinerea fruits to smallholder goats in northern Ethiopia improves their performance during the dry season

Acacia etbaica Schweinf. and Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wight et Arn. are among the common woody browse plants that naturally grow in many arid and semi-arid rangelands in sub Saharan Africa. An experiment was conducted to compare the voluntary dry matter intake, body weight gain, nitrogen balance, carcass composition and sensory attributes of goats supplemented with different levels of A. etbaica and D. cinerea fruits. Average initial body weight of the goats was 20.4 kg (± 0.8SE) and received one of the following fruit supplementation regimes for 120 days (on body weight basis, n = 4 goats per group): (1) Control, no supplement; (2) 0.5% of A. etbaica; (3) 0.5% of D. cinerea; (4) 1.0% of A. etbaica; (5) 1.0% of D. cinerea; (6) 1.5% of A. etbaica; (7) 1.5% of D. cinerea. All groups were allowed to graze/browse during the day. Compared to A. etbaica, D. cinerea fruits contained higher amounts of crude protein (182 vs 135 g/kg DM), metabolizable energy (11 vs 8.4 MJ/kg DM), and in vitro dry matter digestibility coefficient (0.7 vs 0.6). The concentrations of acid detergent fiber (ADF), sulphuric acid solubulized lignin, and tannin (soluble and condensed) were lower (P < 0.05) in D. cinerea than in A. etbaica fruits. A. etbaica fruits, however, contained higher amounts of Na, K, Fe, and Zn concentrations than D. cinerea fruits. Dry matter intake was markedly higher in supplemented groups than in the control group without supplement. Similarly, body weight gain in the control group was negative and lower (P < 0.05) than any of the supplemented groups. During the course of the experimental period (120 days) the group placed in the 1.5% D. cinerea fruit diet gained 2.6 kg whereas the control group lost 2.0 kg. Thus, the difference between these two groups was 4.6 kg, which suggests about 22.5% increment of the goats' initial body weight. N retention was negative for the control group and varied little among the remaining treatment groups. Dressing percent increased with increased level of either type of fruit supplement, the highest (51.8%) being achieved at the 1.5% D. cinerea level. There was no difference in bone tissue across treatment groups. D. cinerea fruit intake also resulted in juicy/watery flavor and tender carcass. D. cinerea fruits appeared to have no adverse effects when included at the highest level (1.5%) and could be collected and stored as dry season supplement to smallholder goats. This study shows that poor farmers can increase goat performance substantially through supplement feeding with wild fruits. Areas in Ethiopia originally set aside for provision of ecological services and biodiversity protection can also be used for wild fruit production and feeding of small stock. The effect of increasing D. cinerea fruits above the 1.5% body weight level should be a focus of future investigation. Further work on deactivation mechanism of tannins is required for A. etbaica fruits included at levels higher than 1.0%.