Integrated management of irrigation water and fertilizers for wheat crop using field experiments and simulation modeling

The reported study aimed at developing an integrated management strategy for irrigation water and fertilizers in case of wheat crop in a sub-tropical sub-humid region. Field experiments were conducted on wheat crop (cultivar Sonalika) during the years 2002–2003, 2003–2004 and 2004–2005. Each experiment included four fertilizer treatments and three irrigation treatments during the wheat growth period. During the experiment, the irrigation treatments considered were I₁ = 10% maximum allowable depletion (MAD) of available soil water (ASW); I₂ = 40% MAD of ASW; I₃ = 60% MAD of ASW. The fertilizer treatments considered in the experiments were F₁ = control treatment with N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 0:0:0 kg ha⁻¹, F₂ = fertilizer application of N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 80:40:40 kg ha⁻¹; F₃ = fertilizer application of N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 120:60:60 kg ha⁻¹ and F₄ = fertilizer application of N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 160:80:80 kg ha⁻¹. In this study CERES-wheat crop growth model of the DSSAT v4.0 was used to simulate the growth, development and yield of wheat crop using soil, daily weather and management inputs, to aid farmers and decision makers in developing strategies for effective management of inputs. The results of the investigation revealed that magnitudes of grain yield, straw yield and maximum LAI of wheat crop were higher in low volume high frequency irrigation (I₁) than the high volume low frequency irrigation (I₃). The grain yield, straw yield and maximum LAI increased with increase in fertilization rate for the wheat crop. The results also revealed that increase in level of fertilization increased water use efficiency (WUE) considerably. However, WUE of the I₂ irrigation schedule was comparatively higher than the I₁ and I₃ irrigation schedules due to higher grain yield per unit use of water. Therefore, irrigation schedule with 40% maximum allowable depletion of available soil water (I₂) could safely be maintained during the non-critical stages to save water without sacrificing the crop yield. Increase in level of fertilization increases the WUE but it will cause environmental problem beyond certain limit. The calibrated CERES-wheat model could predict the grain yield, straw yield and maximum LAI of wheat crop with considerable accuracy and therefore can be recommended for decision-making in similar regions.     

长期酸化对红壤中活性固相铝库大小及亏损程度的影响

用连续分级提取和反复多次酸提取方法研究了长期土壤酸化对红壤固相铝库中铝含量及亏损程度的影响。研究结果表明:嵊县红壤的活性铝库大于永春红壤和屯溪红壤;因永春红壤和屯溪红壤的酸化程度大于嵊县红壤,前两者的有机铝库和无机铝库都比嵊县红壤的亏损,因此反复酸提取过程中铝的释放量也比嵊县红壤少;当高强度酸输入土壤后,弱键合的有机络合态铝可快速活化并亏损,剩余铝库因活性小而释放速率减小,但长期酸化过程中,动力学控制的低活性铝库的活化可能对铝的溶解量仍有重要贡献。     

耗竭土壤钾素的固定及对棉花钾素营养的作用

用室内模拟和生物耗竭的方法研究了土壤中钾素的变化，试验结果表明，淹水可以减少土壤对外源钾素的固定，淹水比20％田间含水量钾素的固定减少2－29mg/kg。当土壤经过干湿以后，土壤会发生明显的固定钾作用，土壤含钾量越高，固定钾能力越强。棉花吸收的钾素中有80％来自于土壤非交换性钾，盆栽生物耗竭与连续种植10年棉花的田间土壤，具有相同的结果，土壤交换性钾在下降到一定程度后不再下降，而1mol/L HNO3不能提取的钾（层间钾）一直在下降。     

Non-intertidal habitat use by shorebirds: a reflection of inadequate intertidal resources?

Many species of shorebird typically forage almost exclusively on intertidal habitats. When such strongly maritime species choose to forage on non-intertidal habitats, it may either be a response to deteriorating intertidal conditions or to the discovery of more profitable resources in non-intertidal areas. Methods which allow distinction between these two will clearly be important for identifying problems in intertidal habitats. Since January 1998, turnstone (Arenaria interpres) on the Wash estuary, eastern England have been foraging on the docksides of Port Sutton Bridge (mainly on spilt wheat and fishmeal), fields and river edges, resulting in concern that intertidal food supplies were no longer sufficient to support the population. We quantified the distribution and behaviour of turnstone within the Wash in relation to season, tidal state and weather and used a depletion model to predict the number of turnstone that could be supported by the port, under a range of resource densities and environmental conditions. Numbers of turnstone on non-intertidal habitats increased over the winter and use of the port was significantly greater around high tide and on colder days. The depletion model showed that under virtually all conditions, the port could support a much greater proportion of the turnstone population than current peak numbers. The use of non-intertidal habitats therefore suggests that the preferred intertidal food supplies are not currently capable of supporting the turnstone population throughout the winter. Habitat switches such as this can potentially be important advance warnings of ecological changes for species, which have not yet led to reductions in population size.     

Effect of infection by Rhizopus oryzae on biochemical composition of stored potato tubers

The carbohydrate fractions, protein and lipid contents of two cultivars of potato namely, Irish Cobbler and Red Pontiac, were altered quantitatively by Rhizopus oryzae during the 10-day incubation period. Glucose content increased during the incubation period for both healthy and inoculated tubers. Starch, maltose, sucrose, protein and lipid contents decreased more rapidly in inoculated tubers than in healthy tubers in both cultivars. The depletion in starch and protein in the infected tubers appeared to be greater for Irish Cobbler than in Red Pontiac; decreases for other constituents seemed fairly comparable.     

乙氧酰胺苯甲酯在鸡组织中残留的检测及消除规律的研究

本研究建立了抗球虫药乙氧酰胺苯甲酯在鸡组织中残留的紫外ＨＰＬＣ检测方法。经过对鸡各种组织肌肉、肝、肾、脂肪添加高、中、低三个浓度,每个浓度５个样品,共测定２批,证明笔者建立的提取条件的回收纺在８０％以上,变异系数在１０％以内。最低标准物检测限为１ｎｇ,最低组织检测为２．５ｎｇ／ｇ。     

Selective depletion of organic matter in mottled podzol horizons

Some well-drained podzols on quartz sands in the Netherlands and neighbouring Belgium and Germany show mottling in all horizons due to selective removal of organic matter. Phospholipid analysis and morphology of the mottles suggests that this removal is due to a combination of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. Investigation by pyrolysis-GC/MS of organic matter in the depleted zones as compared to their surroundings indicates (1) selective decay of relatively palatable components, (2) residual accumulation of aliphatic biopolymers such as cutan and suberan that produce alkanes, alkenes and methylketones upon pyrolysis, and (3) accumulation of microbial polysaccharides and N-containing compounds. Although the selective organic matter decay in the depleted mottles is similar to the process that causes degradation of organic matter at the top of the B-horizon and its conversion to an E-horizon, the essential difference is that, while decay at the E-B-horizon transition in podzols is governed by the presence or absence of aluminium and iron, the micro flora that is responsible for the decay mottles acts independently from metal concentrations.     

Soil Physicochemical Changes Following Buffelgrass Establishment in Mexico

Clearing brush from rangeland and seeding it to buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) is a popular range improvement practice in Mexico, but no data are available on the effects of these practices on soil properties. Twenty-nine study sites were randomly selected across 3 major climatic regions in Mexico: 13 in the northwest, 11 in the northeast, and 5 in the southeast. Soils under buffelgrass stands more than 10 years old and on adjacent virgin rangelands were sampled at 0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm depths to quantify sand, silt, clay, organic C, total N, pH, EC, CEC, available P, and exchangeable Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+.Because soil variables were not significantly (P 0.05) different among depths, only data from the surface horizon received further analysis. Soils in the northwest had higher (P 0.05) sand content and were particularly low in total N (0.08%), Ca2+, and K+, while soils of wetter and warmer southeast Mexico were significantly (P 0.05) higher than the other two regions in measures of soil fertility such as organic C (10 times higher), total N, and CEC (both at least 3 times higher). Long-term buffelgrass establishment had the most effect on soils in the southeast and no significant effect (P0.1) on soils of northeast Mexico. Soil organic C and total N both declined (P 0.025) by about 40% under buffelgrass pastures in the southeast; excgangeable Ca2+ decreased (P=0.027) by 21% in the same region, and Mg2+ declined (P=0.03) by 36% under buffelgrass in the northwest. Soil P did not respond to buffelgrass establishment. The findings of this study suggest that high forage yields following conversion of rangeland to buffelgrass pasture will be less sustainable in subtropical regions with high rainfall (mean of 1070 mm in this study) than in the semiarid zone with inherently poorer soils.     

Termites promote soil carbon and nitrogen depletion: Results from an in situ macrofauna exclusion experiment,Peru

We present results from one of the first in situ soil termite exclusion experiments using translocated soil that was not colonised by termites prior to the experiment. Macrofauna were excluded or included using fine (0.3 mm) and coarse (5 mm) mesh, respectively. We found that termites were the most dominant macrofauna in the macrofauna-included samples throughout the sampling period. Additionally, C and N depletion rates were consistently higher in samples with macrofauna than without macrofauna despite the seasonal decline of termites at the start of the wet season. This suggests that the presence of termites in soil promotes C and N depletion that may be linked to the passage of soil through the termite gut and the affect termites have on bioturbation and nutrient distribution.     

Does the depletion of pentachlorophenol in root–soil interface follow a simple linear dependence on the distance to root surfaces?

To understand root–soil–microbe interactions in rhizo-depletion of xenobiotics, we conducted a glasshouse study using specially designed laminar rhizoboxes which allow intact layers of near- (1–5 mm) and far- (>5 mm) rhizosphere soil to be harvested separately from root surfaces without the removal of the root material itself. Plant (Lolium perenne L.) seedlings were grown for 90 days in a soil treated with PCP at 20 and 50 mg kg⁻¹. Changes in PCP depletion, soil microbial biomass and community structure (as indicated by phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) profiles) with increasing distance from the root surfaces were then assessed after harvesting. Surprisingly, depletion of PCP in the planted rhizoboxes exhibited a nonlinear dependence on the distance to root surfaces, with the most rapid loss in the 2 or 3 mm near-rhizosphere layers, contrasting to the well-known linear gradient of root exudates and mineral nutrients etc. (generally, the extent gradually decreased with increasing distance from the root surface). Soil microbial biomass carbon, however, decreased linearly as expected with increasing distance from the roots. The microbial community structures as indicated by PLFA profiles showed distance-dependent selective enrichment of competent species that may be responsible for efficient PCP depletion. The results suggest that root exudates induced modifications of microbial communities in the PCP contaminated rhizosphere and spatially modified the dominant species within these communities, resulting in the nonlinear PCP depletion pattern.