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Rice is a crucial staple crop cultivated extensively in command areas worldwide. In the command areas, the release of water varies due to the inadequate amount of rainfall in the source area and its proper supply. To combat such situations, direct seeding (DS) methods can be opted for; however, lacunae like excess seeds per drop, scattering of seeds, and intercultural operations like thinning, gap filling, and excess weed growth need a clear refinement to enhance the profitability of rice cultivation. Therefore, a research trial was conducted during 2022-24 at Central Farm, Agricultural College & Research Institute, Madurai, to evolve a suitable direct seeding method. The present investigation was laid out under a split-plot design comprising four main plot treatments and four subplot treatments replicated thrice. The main plot treatments comprised different seeding methods (S) and the subplot treatments comprised different seed coating techniques (P). Based on the experimental results, paper roll seeding and DS + Seed coating @ 2% KNO3 fb Bacillus sp. and Azospirillum (PR + P-KN) combination performed better on establishment with grain (6150 kg/ha) and straw yield (7824 kg/ha) respectively. Regarding the B:C ratio, OS-GP + P-KN resulted in higher with 2.64, closely followed by PR + P-KN with 2.61. The least effect was recorded in the combination of round slots in rice drum seeder and dry seeding (RS + DS). Investigating different techniques of direct seeding and seed coating is essential across various regions, particularly in regulated areas where water discharge remains unpredictable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quantitative analysis of scientific articles published in the Journal of Agrometeorology (JAM) between 2008 and 2022 was conducted using SCOPUS database and a variety of scientometric indicators. Various metrics were utilized to examine aspects including yearly research output, highly referenced sources, author rankings, contributions and profiles, cooperation trends, highly contributing nations, most cited papers, commonly searched keywords and worldwide collaboration mapping. This study employs biblioshiny for analysis and only looks at data that is available in Scopus database. With an h-index (17), a g-index (21) and 3238 total citations across the study period, the journal demonstrated considerable influence. With the greatest number of research publications (n=46) and the greatest number of citations (236), Pandey V stands out among other authors. In terms of the number of papers and citations, India emerged as the leading nation, with the Punjab Agricultural University in the lead with 744 publications. Four clusters were found by co-citation network analysis, with Allen RG being the most quoted author among them. The study also highlighted the fact that Indian authors worked together the most. This analysis is important for assessing the influence of the JAM and offers insightful information about noteworthy research trends and developments in the scientific community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Contacts with foreigners and their somewhat different ways of thinking and behavior (often incomprehensible to the Polish society), reaching back to the roots of the culture of a given country, region or community, are becoming an everyday reality nowadays. These processes also affect the change of standards in the field of intercultural competencies of managerial staff. The aim of this paper is to discuss the development of cultural competencies in managers that are necessary in the management of intercultural organizations. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses the desk research method of analysis. The analysis of available subject literature and data obtained from the websites of six Polish agricultural universities enabled establishment of facts, verification of data and presentation of results. Findings: The considerations presented in the article indicate that the key element of the changes taking place in organizations are intelligent human resources with cultural competencies. International cooperation and foreign contacts are important – whether through participation in common projects, conferences, research or student internships. Joint actions are also required rather than individual actions and the initiatives undertaken are consistent with the concept of the society 5.0. Practical implications: A common space for development, modern technology, creative thinking and joint commitment of the managerial staff and the academic community enable the building of a super-intelligent society and universities fit for the 21st century. Social implications: The advances in technology should always be used with consideration of the needs and the good of people, regardless of cultural differences. The world of people, machines and their surroundings should be interconnected and all these elements should be able to communicate with each other. Originality/value: The article is an original approach to searching for solutions that influence the change of standards in the area of key competencies of managerial staff, including intercultural competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With global climate change leading to increasing intensity and frequency of droughts, as well as the growing problem of soil salinization, these factors significantly affect crop growth, yield, and resilience to adversity. Oats are a cereal widely grown in temperate regions and are rich in nutritive value; however, the scientific literature on the response of oat to drought and salt stress has not yet been analyzed in detail. This study comprehensively analyzed the response of oat to drought stress and salt stress using data from the Web of Science core database and bibliometric methods with R (version4.3.1), VOSviewer (version 1.6.19), and Citespace (version6.3.1.0) software. The number of publications shows an increasing trend in drought stress and salt stress in oat over the past 30 years. In the field of drought-stress research, China, the United States, and Canada lead in terms of literature publication, with the most academic achievements being from China Agricultural University and Canadian Agricultural Food University. The journal with the highest number of published papers is Field Crops Research. Oat research primarily focuses on growth, yield, physiological and biochemical responses, and strategies for improving drought resistance. Screening of drought-tolerant genotypes and transformation of drought-tolerant genes may be key directions for future oat drought research. In the field of salt-stress research, contributions from China, the United States, and India stand out, with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Inner Mongolia Agricultural University producing the most significant research results. The largest number of published articles has been found in the Physiologia Plantarum journal. Current oat salt-stress research primarily covers growth, physiological and biochemical responses, and salt-tolerance mechanisms. It is expected that future oat salt research will focus more on physiological and biochemical responses, as well as gene-editing techniques. Despite achievements under single-stress conditions, combined drought and salt-stress effects on oat remain understudied, necessitating future research on their interaction at various biological levels. The purpose of this study is to provide potential theoretical directions for oat research on drought and salt stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of electrical conductivity (EC) has long been a tool for understanding soil properties. Previous studies concluded that EC measurement is not an ion-selective method, but these papers did not address the measurement frequency. An experimental tool and method were developed for semi-factory conditions in a large-scale soil trough at the Institute of Technology of the Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences. A specially designed and built test apparatus mounted on the tractor's three-point hitch was used as a measuring device. The wear-resistant steel elements of the measuring device were also the sensors for measuring EC. This paper describes the conditions of the measurement series, the measurement results, and our conclusions from the experiments with the soil sensor. Different characteristics were measured in soil moistened with K and Ca solutions at different concentrations. The EC values show an increasing tendency with increasing salt concentration, and we also found that the rate of change of EC is different for different solution ratios. Based on our measurements, we found that the best method to isolate concentration differences is to use the test frequency range 20 Hz–250 kHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research explores the nature of industry members willing to participate in agricultural industry school partnerships (ISPs) by understanding who these participants are, and how and why they want to participate. This will contribute to a greater understanding of the nature of ISPs. Methodology: A mixed methods case study utilising surveys and semi-structured interviews was used to collect data from 54 agricultural industry members from 2021-2023. Findings: Participants overwhelmingly want to partake in ISPs to promote their industry and the range of career opportunities. How they prefer to participate is mostly through hands-on learning and storytelling. Identified barriers include time, confidence, experience and teacher understanding, which may affect how and why they want to participate. Practical implications: These findings will contribute to a greater understanding of the nature of agricultural ISPs, helping those creating ISPs to consider and understand all stakeholders to deliver quality future partnerships. Theoretical implications: This paper explores industry participants as an important component of agricultural ISPs when theorised as an ecological system. Originality: This research analyses industry participants' perspectives of industry school partnerships, which are rarely identified in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advancement of society and the improvement of living standards, the significance of students' physical health has become increasingly prominent. However, currently, the assessment and analysis of students' physical health heavily depend on conventional statistical methods. Even with the application of data mining-related methodologies for analysis and evaluation, the exploitation and utilization of physical health big data remain relatively restricted. In this paper, an improved Canopy-K-means algorithm based on principal component analysis (PCA) is used to construct and analyze a portrait of students' physical fitness and health. The method combines data dimensionality reduction techniques and cluster analysis techniques, and its combined performance is the best compared to other algorithms in the ablation experiments for both male and female student data groups. In this paper, the algorithm was used to process the grouping of physical fitness test data of male and female students, realize the construction and analysis of students' physical fitness and health portrait, and give the exercise prescription for different categories of students. In this paper, the physical health test data of students of Yunnan Agricultural University in 2020–2022 were collected to carry out experiments, and the results found that there are differences in physical health status among students of different genders, grades, and majors in this university, and the physical health status of the students of Classes 2018 and 2019 is generally deficient; on different majors, the students of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences are slightly superior to the Faculty of Science and Technology, and the students of the Faculty of Science and Technology are slightly superior to the students of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Our study offers novel methods and ideas for the assessment and analysis of students' physical health, holding significant implications for schools and related departments in formulating scientific and effective physical education policies and health promotion strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the hotspots and research progress of tea beverage at home and abroad, this research paper analyzed the annual publication volume, author co-occurrences, co-citations, research institutions, the number of country publications, journals, and research hotspots of 1247 English literature collected by WOS from 2002 to 2022 using the Web of Science core collection database as the data source and the visual data analysis software CiteSpace v 6.1.6R. The results of the analysis showed that the heat for research on tea beverage at home and abroad continued to rise, and the annual number of publications showed a rising trend year by year. The number of core authors with more than four articles was 584, accounting for 82.4% of the total number of authors. The majority of institutional publications came from Chinese universities, of which the first institution with the highest number of publications was Anhui Agricultural University. The People's Republic of China was the most actively published country, followed by USA and JAPAN. The journals with high publication volume were mainly concentrated in the field of agricultural and food chemistry, and Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry was the journal with the highest co-citation frequency, with a total of 988 citations. The "caffeine" "acid" and "catechin" were high-frequency keywords in tea beverage research, with research hotspots focusing on the detection and extraction of active substances in tea beverage, fermented teas, antioxidant and antibacterial activities. In summary, research on tea beverage was still on the rise, but existing studies suffered from a lack of cooperation among authors, limited research areas and convergent research methods, etc. Scholars should strengthen multifaceted cooperation and communication to broaden the breadth and depth of the research, and to jointly promote the development of research in this field. This study provided a reference for a more in-depth understanding of the current status of global tea beverage research in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultimate aim of education in developing countries is to earn a livelihood. Agricultural Sciences is taught in India in more than 74 agricultural universities. This paper examines entrepreneurial readiness and aims to understand the various factors underlying the entrepreneurial readiness of agricultural students. Data from 422 students from 9 State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) in India formed the study sample. A self-reporting questionnaire was used to measure entrepreneurial readiness based on entrepreneurial intention, perceived ability, perceived attractiveness, entrepreneurial learning orientation, and passion for work. The correlation test revealed a positive correlation among all the variables, with correlation values ranging from 0.40 to 0.68. Most students (74.40%) had a medium level of entrepreneurial readiness. They were ambitious, willing to learn, and had the creativity, leadership, courage, and risk-bearing abilities required to be entrepreneurs. Regression analysis revealed that variables like gender, exposure to entrepreneurial training/workshops/seminars, and having an entrepreneur in the family are significant factors in entrepreneurial readiness. The findings help the agricultural universities' faculty and capacity building and training institutes design the contents of the entrepreneurship education programmes for agrigraduates to make them job providers rather than job seekers, thus contributing to an enhanced entrepreneurial ecosystem in agricultural universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: The rapid change in artificial intelligence has evaluated ideological and political education ability in colleges and universities as a significant challenge. OBJECTIVES: To assess the level of competence of universities in ideological and political education to determine the effectiveness and efficacy of educational programs and to provide a basis for improving and upgrading academic competence. METHODS: Based on the CIPP model, the author constructed an index system and selected a suitable evaluation model to conduct a study on the evaluation of ideological and political competence of colleges and universities in the context of Artificial Intelligence, which helps to understand the background conditions, resource allocation, teaching activities and quality of teaching of educational programs, as well as the level of ideological and political literacy of the students and their achievements. RESULTS: The evaluation results show that this kind of evaluation research helps to improve and enhance the capacity of ideological and political education in colleges and universities, and at the same time, it can dig into the implementation effect of the educational program, find problems and shortcomings, and promote the continuous improvement of the educational program. CONCLUSION: Through evaluation, the quality and level of ideological and political education in colleges and universities can improve students' ideological and political literacy and sense of social responsibility. In addition, based on this, it makes the development of ideological and political ability in colleges and universities can be better adapted to the era of artificial intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian Government has prioritized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in recent years to ensure that the country has an adequate future workforce. The agriculture industry is a major employer with a diverse range of occupations heavily focused on STEM. Many students do not realize the career opportunities in the sector, which is currently facing severe workforce shortages. Industry school partnerships (ISPs) have been identified as one creative model to improve students' knowledge of an industry and aspirations for associated careers. Whilst ISPs have been implemented in the STEM context, limited research understands how industry organizations are involved in, influence, and interconnect with ISPs. Australia's Rural Research and Development Corporations (RRDCs) are legislated agricultural industry bodies and were selected to investigate due to the value ISPs could provide to this STEM-focused industry with workforce shortages. This qualitative case study analyzed data from the most current RRDC strategic and annual operating plans as of 27 July 2023 and semi-structured interviews with an employee(s) in a position relevant to student education of all 15 RRDCs in 2022. The key findings were that ISPs were considered part of the solution to address industry sustainability, though RRDCs were commonly only informally involved. Collaboration between industry partners, facilitators, and teachers at strategic and management levels and across commodities was essential. RRDCs were found to be strongly connected to ISP ecosystems through their role in research and development. We argue that RRDCs are positioned as essential stakeholders with the scope to improve agricultural ISP ecosystems as part of their role in driving agricultural innovation. These findings support the application of ecological systems theory to agricultural ISPs and help us to understand these structures. This paper aims to help those creating ISPs to consider and understand all stakeholders, including industry bodies, to deliver quality future partnerships that benefit both STEM sectors and primary and secondary student education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural extension, as an important part of modern agriculture, can promote the scientific transformation of the traditional agricultural production model. This paper analysed the impact of university agricultural technology extension on efficient and sustainable agriculture using difference-in-differences model (DID). The results showed that university agricultural technology extension plays a facilitating role by influencing the coordinated development and green development dimensions in efficient and sustainable agriculture; there is a moderating effect of modern agricultural industrial parked in university agricultural technology extension and efficient and sustainable agriculture; there are significant differences in the impact of university agricultural technology extension on efficient and sustainable agriculture across regions and different levels of development. The findings have important implications for evaluating the effectiveness of current university agricultural extension policies and how to further promote university agricultural extension. The study also established an evaluation index system for efficient and sustainable agriculture, explored the mechanism of university agricultural extension in promoting efficient and sustainable agriculture, and enriched relevant theoretical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss the reasons why agricultural and applied economics and similar departments are often stand‐alone academic units. The factors that affect and shape the relationship of agricultural and applied economics faculty and departments with those from general economics departments are discussed. We present case studies of three universities having different relationships with general economics faculty at their respective universities: a merged unit, an unmerged unit, and a never‐merged unit. We conclude with rationale for the existence and future trajectory of agricultural economics and related academic units at Land Grant Universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are sufficient illumination resources and strong solar radiation in Shiyang River Basin. It is of great significance to estimate the total solar radiation accurately for agricultural production in Shiyang River Basin. In order to evaluate the simulation accuracy of common total solar radiation models in the Shiyang River Basin and determine the model suitable for the estimation of total solar radiation in the Shiyang River Basin, this paper selects 5 types of total solar radiation models based on the meteorological data of Shiyang River Experimental Station of China Agricultural University from 2014 to 2018. Five indexes, namely determination coefficient R2, mean absolute error MAE, root mean square error RMSE, consistency index d and overall evaluation index GPI are used to evaluate the suitability of the solar total radiation model based on different weather types. The results show that the comprehensive model based on percentage of sunshine, average daily temperature and relative humidity has the best simulation effect. In sunny weather, the cubic function A-P model has the best simulation effect. In cloudy weather, the comprehensive model has the best simulation effect, and the estimation model of total solar radiation in Shiyang River Basin based on weather combination is proposed, which provides a further model support for the estimation of total solar radiation in Shiyang River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is an editor's note from the journal Nonprofit Management & Leadership. The note announces the second cohort of the NML-ESS Nonprofit Early Scholars Fellowship, which includes several scholars from different universities and organizations. The note also expresses gratitude to those involved in the fellowship program and highlights a virtual series of talks with NML authors and Chinese scholars. The editor encourages readers to continue reading the articles and research notes in the journal and announces the Editors' Prize for the Best Scholarly Paper in Nonprofit Management & Leadership. The winner of the prize will be announced at the 2024 ARNOVA meeting. [Extracted from the article]

The editorial board of Crop Science has announced the recipients of the 2023 Editor's Citation for Excellence. These awards recognize the dedication and professional commitment of volunteer reviewers and editors who have contributed to the high standard and quality of papers published in the journal. The recipients were chosen based on their thorough, competent, and timely reviews or editing of manuscripts. Each recipient will receive a certificate of appreciation, an ASA‐CSSA‐SSSA gift certificate, and recognition in CSA News. The recipients include Dr. Gabriela Abeledo, Dr. Brenda Laura Gambin, Dr. Lori Hinze, Dr. Vince Pantalone, Dr. Cristiane Pilon, and Dr. Wei Wu as associate editors, and Dr. Georgia Eizenga, Dr. Jales Mendes Oliveira Fonseca, Dr. Laura Lindsey, Dr. Ntombokulunga Mbuma, Dr. Desalegn Serba, and Prof. Dr. Meiliang Zhou as reviewers. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: The deviation between the stated intentions and actual actions of rural residents regarding waste classification constitutes a significant impediment to the effective implementation of environmental management strategies in rural areas. It is therefore recommended that steps be taken to reduce the deviation between the stated intentions and actual behaviors of rural residents. Doing so will help to reinforce environmental governance in rural communities and provide the necessary support for rural revitalization. Methods: This study establishes an analytical framework for examining the deviation between the internal perceived efficacy and external environmental policies among rural residents. The relationship between intention and behavior can be classified into three distinct scenarios: "intention with behavior," "intention without behavior," and "no intention with behavior." Furthermore, an empirical analysis is conducted using survey data collected by Nanjing Agricultural University in the China Land Economic Survey in June and July 2021. Result: The results show that 1) the perceived efficacy has a significant positive influence on the deviation between the intention and behavior of rural residents in domestic waste classification, while the environmental policy has a significant negative effect on it; 2) the guiding policy has a significant negative moderating effect on the influence of perceived efficacy on the deviation between the intention and behavior of rural residents and the situation of "with intention and without behavior," while the reward-punishment policy has a significant positive moderating effect on the influence of perceived efficacy on "without intention and behavior;" 3) the perceived efficacy has a masking effect on the impact of environmental policies on the deviation between the intention and behavior or "with intention and without behavior" of rural residents and a partial mediating effect on the impact of the environmental policy on "with intention and behavior" or "without intention and behavior." Discussion: In consideration of these findings, the study proposes policy recommendations that emphasize the interconnectivity of the government, village collective organizations, and rural residents. The recommendations include the implementation of environmental policies and initiatives designed to enhance rural residents' awareness of waste classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Interaction between nutrition and reproduction has been established to play an important role in reproductive performance of animals. Zinc is considered to be an essential element required for reproduction. The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of nano zinc (NZn) as feed supplementation on reproductive performance of Assam Hill goats. Methods: A total of twenty-four numbers of 7 days post kidding doe maintained at Goat Research Station, Assam Agricultural University, Burnihat were randomly selected and divided into 4 groups comprising 6 animals in each group. The control group animals were fed with basal diet without zinc supplementation however, all the animals of the treatment groups received 25 mg NZn, 35 mg NZn and 50 mg NZn/kg concentrate mixture with basal diet for a period of three months. Does were bred naturally at 24 hours from the onset of oestrus and confirmed for pregnancy after two months. Parturition behaviour was observed closely from two days before the expected date of kidding upto the period of placental expulsion. Result: Supplementation of 50 mg NZn to the basal diet of postpartum Assam Hill Goat significantly improved the reproductive performance by decreasing postpartum oestrus interval and increasing conception rate (83.33%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A seeding machine for planting potatoes in double rows on large ridges in the cold and arid regions of northwest China was designed and built at Gansu Agricultural University. The machine is capable to achieve the integrated operations of ridge formation, mulching, hole punching, and the precise covering of holes on the film. The key components were analyzed and designed, and the link lengths of the crank film-piercing and hole-punching mechanism were refined using MATLAB R2022a software. The structures and working parameters of the film-piercing and hole-punching mechanism, the dual-opening punching and seeding mechanism, the ridge-forming and soil-covering mechanism, and the seed-casting device were designed. The dynamics of the ridge-forming and soil-covering were simulated using the discrete element method to capture the effects of different machine parameters on the soil covering operation. Field tests showed that the full soil-covering rate of film holes, the qualified rate of hole spacing, the hole misalignment rate, the degree of damage to the light-receiving surface of the film, and the qualified rate of sowing depth under the film were 94.8%, 87.6%, 4.3%, 33.4%, and 95.6%, respectively. These indicators met the requirements of industry standards, and the test results met the design and actual operation requirements, enabling the integrated operations of ridge formation, mulching, hole punching, sowing on the film, and the accurate soil covering of the holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The earliest record of pineapple plants being grown around Sydney in the British colony of New South Wales was that of Governor King in 1803. However, the climate of a new northern settlement at Moreton Bay (later Brisbane) soon proved to be far more conducive to growing the fruit. Pineapples prospered for over 50 years around Brisbane until a mysterious disease appeared in the late 1890s. In April 1891, Professor Edward Shelton, an American who had been appointed as the Queensland government's first Instructor in Agriculture, was the first scientist to inspect the affected crops and concluded that the disease was caused by a fungus. In the following year, Shelton, Henry Tryon (then assistant curator at the Queensland Museum) and others again inspected the diseased pineapple crops. Tryon described the symptoms in detail as well as spores which were composed of two rounded elements, each having a double contour (chlamydospores). There is no doubt that the disease was caused by the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi that was described decades later. In 1897, Shelton was passionate about agricultural education and was appointed as the first principal of the Gatton Agricultural College, but his disciplining of some students of the college led to his forced resignation just 18 months later. In the early 1890s a serious mystery disease appeared in pineapple plantations around Brisbane, Queensland. The American-born Professor Edward Shelton, Queensland's first instructor in agriculture, Henry Tryon, assistant curator at the Queensland Museum, and others inspected diseased plants and concluded that the disease was caused by a fungus, later identified as the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi. Shelton went on to become the first principal of the Gatton Agricultural College, but was forced to resign after severely disciplining some of the students. Photograph by an unknown person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Journal of Dairy Technology has announced the appointment of Dr. Nivedita Datta as Deputy Editor. The current issue of the journal focuses on Chinese dairy science and technology, with six papers highlighting the work being done in this field. Additionally, the journal has released a new Virtual Issue on the variability in the compositional quality of milk. The Editor's Choice Article for this issue examines the properties of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in Brown Swiss milk and the miRNAs present in these EVs. The study found that these EVs contain a variety of miRNAs that may have implications for growth and development. [Extracted from the article]