Effect of farm management on topsoil organic carbon and aggregate stability in water: A case study from Southwest England,UK

There are few reliable data sets to inspire confidence in policymakers that soil organic carbon (SOC) can be measured on farms. We worked with farmers in the Tamar Valley region of southwest England to select sampling sites under similar conditions (soil type, aspect and slope) and management types. Topsoils (2–15 cm) were sampled in autumn 2015, and percentage soil organic matter (%SOM) was determined by loss on ignition and used to calculate %SOC. We also used the stability of macroaggregates in cold water (WSA) (‘soil slaking’) as a measure of ‘soil health’ and investigated its relationship with SOC in the clay‐rich soils. %SOM was significantly different between management types in the order woodland (11.1%) = permanent pasture (9.5%) > ley‐arable rotation (7.7%) = arable (7.3%). This related directly to SOC stocks that were larger in fields under permanent pasture and woodland compared with those under arable or ley‐arable rotation whether corrected for clay content (F = 8.500, p < .0001) or not (F = 8.516, p < .0001). WSA scores were strongly correlated with SOC content whether corrected for clay content (SOC_adj R² = .571, p < .0001) or not (SOC_unadj R² = 0.490, p = .002). Time since tillage controlled SOC stocks and WSA scores, accounting for 75.5% and 51.3% of the total variation, respectively. We conclude that (1) SOC can be reliably measured in farmed soils using accepted protocols and related to land management and (2) WSA scores can be rapidly measured in clay soils and related to SOC stocks and soil management.     

基于两种不同质地土壤浅沟排盐效果分析

通过田间及室内试验和数值模拟,对比研究土壤浅沟排盐对不同类型土壤的排盐效果.以土壤颗粒分析、水分运动参数及土壤盐分弥散系数为基础,通过建立的数值模型,探讨膜下滴灌棉田设置浅沟排盐时生育期内土壤水盐运动规律.通过模型对比两组土壤在设置排盐浅沟的情况下土壤水分及盐分的分布规律,分析土壤类型对膜下滴灌棉田土壤水分、盐分分布情况的影响.结果表明粉壤土对土壤的持水效果明显优于壤土;相对于壤土,排盐浅沟在粉壤土中的排盐效果更佳,且盐分主要集中于排盐浅沟坡面处.     

胡杨河市棉铃虫理化诱控集成技术研究

为践行绿色植保理念,推动胡杨河市农药减量控害,研究棉铃虫在新型种植模式(稀-早-优)下的诱控技术.以性诱、灯诱、食诱为主体,以化学防治技术为辅助,开展棉铃虫的理化诱控集成技术研究.结果显示,理化防控区棉田落卵量较对照区降低,新增蕾铃被害率降低,防治成本较常规化学防治区降低909元/hm2.然而,理化诱控技术单一使用较为容易,如何与化学防治集成需进一步探索.因此,在新型种植模式下,理化诱控集成技术可以更好地防治棉铃虫,保护天敌,调控生态平衡,经济效益及生态效益显著.     

Performance of pyrazosulfuron-ethyl in non-puddled transplanted rainy season rice and its residual effect on growth of the succeeding crop in rice-wheat cropping pattern

Abstract

A study was carried out in sandy clay loam textured soil of Mymensingh, Bangladesh to evaluate weed control efficiency of pre-emergence herbicide pyrazosulfuron-ethyl either alone or in sequential application with post-emergence herbicide in transplanted rainy season rice under non-puddled strip-tilled (NPST) field condition and also to examine the residual effect of those herbicides on germination and growth of the subsequently grown wheat crop. Five treatment combinations of pyrazosulfuron-ethyl were tested against one weedy check and one weed-free check. The study revealed that NPST rice field was mostly infested by grass and sedge weeds and herbicide treatments offered a wide range of control (above 50% to 95%) on all types of weeds. Application of pyrazosulfuron-ethyl followed by (fb) orthosulfamuron fb butachlor plus propanil provided the most effective and economic weed control over two years of the study. Moreover, micro-plot bioassay study claimed germination and growth of subsequently grown wheat were not adversely affected by herbicides that were applied in rice. Therefore, application of pyrazosulfuron-ethyl followed by post-emergence herbicide could be effective and economic to control weeds in NPST rice under rice-wheat system, but proper rate and time of application should strictly be followed.     

中国三大自然区域紫花苜蓿土壤速效钾丰缺指标和推荐施钾量

为给内蒙古高原区、黄土高原区和西北荒漠绿洲区紫花苜蓿测土施肥奠定科学基础,采用零散实验数据整合法以及养分平衡-地力差减法,开展了三大自然区域紫花苜蓿土壤速效钾丰缺指标和推荐施钾量研究。结果表明,内蒙古高原区紫花苜蓿土壤速效钾第1~4级指标依次为≥342mg/kg、89~342mg/kg、24~89mg/kg和<24mg/kg,黄土高原区第1~6级指标依次为≥171mg/kg、96~171mg/kg、54~96mg/kg、30~54mg/kg、17~30mg/kg和<17mg/kg,西北荒漠绿洲区第1~4级指标依次为≥303mg/kg、140~303mg/kg、65~140mg/kg和<65mg/kg;当目标产量9~27t/hm²、钾肥利用率50%时,第1~6级土壤的推荐施钾量分别为0、54~162kg/hm²、108~324kg/hm²、162~486kg/hm²、216~648kg/hm²和270~810kg/hm²。     

Agrocenosis Stability during Long-Term Application of Fertilizers on Soddy-Podzolic Soil

Eurasian Soil Science - In a long-term field experiment in the western part of the nonchernozemic zone of Russia (Smolensk oblast) on sandy loamy soddy-podzolic soil (Albic Glossic Retisol...     

Maize harvest index and water use efficiency can be improved by inhibition of gibberellin biosynthesis

Possibilities to improve maize harvest index and nutrient utilization efficiency by application of plant growth regulators were investigated. In container experiments, the effects of different growth regulators on the development of the maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars Pioneer 3906 and Fabregas were tested. Paclobutrazol (PAC) and chlorocholine chloride (CCC), two inhibitors of gibberellin biosynthesis, as well as gibberellic acid (GA₃) were applied at growth stage V5. Three weeks after application of PAC, shoot growth of both maize cultivars was strongly affected with a significant decrease in plant height in the PAC treatment by 44% and 36% for Pioneer 3906 and Fabregas, respectively. The growth‐retarded plants had higher leaf areas and reduced transpiration rates. The higher shoot growth after GA₃ application was accompanied by a reduction in leaf area and an increase in transpiration rate during 1 week before anthesis. CCC treatment showed no significant effects on plant height, leaf area and transpiration rate. The PAC‐treated cultivar Pioneer 3906 produced several cobs per plant, which were mainly barren at maturity. However, PAC application to Fabregas resulted in just one cob per plant with good kernel development and a grain yield, which was not significantly reduced in comparison with the control. With this similar grain yield in combination with a straw yield decrease of 32%, the harvest index was significantly improved by 12%. In addition, with PAC‐treated Fabregas plants, a 19% increased water use efficiency of the grain (WUE_grain) during the critical period of kernel setting was achieved. In this maize cultivar, CCC application also improved harvest index by 5%, but no effect on WUE_grain occurred. GA₃ treatment decreased harvest index of both maize cultivars, and it either reduced WUE_grain (Pioneer 3906) or showed no effect (Fabregas). Utilization efficiencies of N, P and K were not increased with growth regulator application, even in the PAC‐treated Fabregas plants with a significantly improved allocation of assimilates to the grain, mirrored by the higher harvest index. The results indicate that fertilizer applications must be adjusted to the reduced demand of growth‐retarded plants, most likely leading to higher nutrient utilization efficiencies.     

Modelling optimal timing and frequency of insecticide sprays for knockdown in preparation for other control measures

A modelling investigation was conducted into optimizing the number of sprays and inter-spray interval to reduce an insect population to a low level, for example, prior to pheromone trapping or the release of sterile males. The model population was age-structured and density-dependent. If spray mortality is 100% for each spray, then the ideal spraying schedule is easily determined from the durations of the various life stages. For spray mortality of less than 100%, a simulation was used to determine optimal spraying schedules. Relative length of the larval period, fertility rate and age to first oviposition were found to be the most important biotic parameters for this determination. Their importance is magnified as spray mortality decreases. The stage targeted by sprays and the percent mortality caused by each spray are also important in determining the required number of sprays. Using medfly (Ceratitis capitata Wiedmann) biotic parameters as an example when the spray targets adults, it appeared that neither the stage at which density-dependent mortality takes effect, nor the form of the adult survivorship curve are important in determining the optimal spray schedule.     

Evidence of cormorant‐induced mortality,disparate migration strategies and repeatable circadian rhythm in the endangered North Sea houting (Coregonus oxyrinchus): A telemetry study mapping the postspawning migration

Life history theory predicts a trade‐off between migration and residency where migration is favoured when it infers elevated fitness. Although migration to more favourable environments may offer higher growth rates, migrants often experience increased mortality due to predation. Here, we investigated mortality and migration behaviour of the North Sea houting (Coregonus oxyrinchus), an anadromous salmonid endemic to the Wadden Sea. We used acoustic telemetry to map the migration of the only remaining indigenous population by applying stationary hydrophones combined with manual tracking. Data suggested a total mortality of 26%, with 30% of the total mortality attributed to predation by great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis), highlighting that North Sea houting conservation could be jeopardised by increased cormorant predation. Risk of cormorant predation was size‐dependent, with smaller fish suffering higher risk of predation. The study found North Sea houting to exhibit disparate migration strategies and identified a lentic area in the estuary as an important habitat. Two newly established artificial lakes within the river system significantly reduced the migration speeds, possibly indicating constrained navigation through the lakes. The migration into the Wadden Sea correlated with temperature perhaps indicating osmoregulatory constraints of sea entry. Unlike many salmonid species, migration occurred both day and night. Moreover, fish exhibited repeatable individual differences in diel activity patterns, suggesting that individuals differ consistently in their migratory activity throughout the 24‐hr period. Our study provides novel information on salmonid migration, which is crucial for the development of science‐based conservation strategies.