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Skin comprises the largest organ of human body with over 20 vital physiological function one of which is a physical barrier to withstand pressure and trauma, It protects the body from pollution, radiation, sunlight, helps to regulate temperature, fluid balance, and excretion. Also involving endocrine function through the production of cholecalciferol by epidermis. People with sensitive skin are prone to get irritation, and products with chemicals, other strange often leave skin feeling dry, red, and sore. This survey was planned to gauge opinion and receive feedback from people of various age group in order to have a report of public knowledge regarding natural skin care drugs. It was planned to obtain statistics of public knowledge of skin health and create awareness amongst people to follow skin care routine and maintain it. The questionnaire designed to understand impact of plants in our day-to-day life. The survey was successfully conducted between 130-134 People. As the survey focuses on taking immediate instinct, 57.9% of participants prefer direct application of plant/herb home remedies whereas 39.1% choose organic marketed creams. Aloe vera, turmeric, tomato, dry coriander are easily available drugs and thus following the subtly made method of application.

The overall objective of this present research is assessment of rice-water requirement in Cyabayaga wetland of Nyagatare District in Rwanda. Specific objectives of this research project were to collect and analyze weather parameters, of soil physical properties, crop-water requirements and to recommend efficient water management of the study area. Research design, data collection and field observations were made during July, 2019 to January, 2020. The experiment was carried out in Cyabayaga marshland and was especially based on the assessment of rice water requirement, weather parameters and hydraulic parameters like measurement of soil infiltration rate, soil hydraulic conductivity, flow discharge in irrigation channels, water loss, conveyance efficiency and application efficiency. Evapotranspiration and irrigation needs were determined by Cropwat 8.0 software. Conveyance efficiency (Ec) was found to be 70.05% and 30% of water was lost through seepage and evapotranspiration through weeds in unlined channels. The overall deep percolation, seepage and evapotranspiration losses were found to be 25 mm/day. Considering the highest potential crop evapotranspiration (ETc) of 4.8 mm, it was indicated that huge water loss of 20.2 mm/day was caused by seepage and percolation within the soil. The application efficiency (Ea) was found to be 23.8%. Hence, the overall efficiency was 16.7%. With the current rice yield of 4.25 t/ha, a low water-use-efficiency of 0.089 kg/m3 was found. Key words: Cropwater requirements, rice, irrigation requirements, water use efficiency and Cropwat.

Fermented rice water is a classic example of fermented food known for nutritional values. The microbiome of fermented rice water is not yet completely revealed. Helicobacter pylori, the causative organism of peptic ulcer and gastric cancer is considered as a WHO priority-2 due to the nature of resisting antibiotics necessitating the research to rule out regiments to avoid H. pylori infections. Probiotics are considered as an emerging alternative to eradicate and manage this pathogen, making it more prominent to have the means to evaluate their effectiveness against this pathogen. The present work is focused on revealing the microbial communities of fermented rice water and to characterize the isolates for their probiotic efficiency along with its antagonistic activity against H. pylori. Three natural inhabitants of fermented rice water were isolated and characterized morphologically and biochemically and were identified using 16s rRNA sequencing. The isolates were further tested for their probiotic efficiency and their antagonistic activity against H. pylori isolated from the gastric endoscopic ulcer samples. The present study highlights Enterococcus hirae as a probiotic strain with potent anti-H. pylori activity.

The rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a destructive pest that causes damage to rice crops worldwide. The olfactory system is critical for host or mate location by weevils, but only limited information about the molecular mechanism of olfaction-related behaviour has been reported in this insect. In this study, we conducted SMRT-seq transcriptome analysis and obtained 54,378 transcripts, 38,706 of which were annotated. Based on these annotations, we identified 40 candidate chemosensory genes, including 31 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), six chemosensory proteins (CSPs) and three sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). Phylogenetic analysis showed that LoryOBPs, LoryCSPs and LorySNMPs were distributed in various clades. The results of tissue expression patterns indicated that LoryOBPs were highly abundant in the antennae, whereas LoryCSPs were highly abundant not only in the antennae but also in the abdomen, head and wings. Our findings substantially expand the gene database of L. oryzophilus and may serve as a basis for identifying novel targets to disrupt key olfactory genes, potentially providing an eco-friendly strategy to control this pest in the future.

This study investigates the potential impacts of climate change on water resources and evaluates adaptation strategies on rainfed rice water management under climate change scenarios in the Songkhram River Basin, Thailand. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to project the future water availability under climate change scenarios for the period of 2020–2044. Future annual water availability is expected to remain unchanged due to unchanged future rainfall but expected to reduce from June to November due to changes in seasonal rainfall. The effects of supplying irrigation water to reduce the impact of climate change and increase rainfed rice production were evaluated. To increase the rice production by 15%, it is proposed to construct a reservoir with a capacity of below 65 MCM in each of the 15 sub-basins to fulfill the irrigation water requirements during the rainfed rice season. Alternatively, adaptation at the farm scale can be implemented by constructing ponds with a capacity of 900 m3 to store water for 1 ha of rice field to meet the potential rice yield during the non-rainfed rice season. The results of this study are helpful to policymakers in understanding the potential impacts of climate change and the formulation of adaptation strategies for water and rice sectors in the basin. HIGHLIGHTS Adaptation strategies for rainfed rice water management under climate change scenarios were evaluated at the farm and basin scale.; The Soil and Water Assessment Tool model was used to forecast the future water availability for the rainfed cultivation.; A pond with a capacity of 900 m3 is recommended to store water for 1 ha of rice to produce the potential rice yield.

Herbivores use plant chemicals for host plant selection to maximize their own and/or offspring performance. Since host plants that are optimal for mother and offspring are often different and spatially/temporally separated, it remains unclear how plant chemicals are associated with trade-offs between adult preference and larval performance. We found that adults of the rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus), one of the most important pests on rice in the world, preferred volatiles from barnyard grass over rice and tended to feed and oviposit on barnyard grass compared with rice. In contrast, larvae performed better on rice roots than on barnyard grass roots. Chemical analyses further showed that rice roots had higher nitrogen and soluble protein but lower lignin and cellulose contents than barnyard grass. Together, these results suggest that volatile emissions, specific non-volatile nutritive and defensive chemicals may have close correlations with trade-offs of the adult preference and larval performance between these two hosts. As developing chemical-based technology is one of the main approaches for the control of pest insects, our findings may also contribute to the future efforts for management of the rice water weevil.

Now-a-days, the most occurring problem is hair fall, so the main aim of the study is to reduce hair fall and promote hair growth. The main ingredient in this study is fermented rice water (Oryza sativa) which contains many antioxidants when compared to the plain rice water. Inositol is the major constituent which helps in decreasing hair fall. The herbal shampoo was formulated using some of the traditional herbs like Hibiscus-rosa-sinensis, Phyllanthus emblica, Aloe vera, Trigonella foenum graceum along with fermented rice water in different concentrations and evaluated for various parameters. The prepared herbal shampoo was evaluated with physico-chemical parameters like pH, foam formation, dirt dispersion, surface tension, viscosity and wetting test. The results states that the herbal shampoo possess the following characteristics such as good foam ability, good cleansing, low surface tension, viscosity and soothing property. The evaluation results of the herbal shampoo had shown better results, which is ideal to use, safe and effective in the treatment of hair fall. Keywords: Herbal shampoo, Oryza sativa, Hair fall.

PEGADA HÍDRICA DO ARROZ CULTIVADO SOB DIFERENTES MANEJOS DE IRRIGAÇÃO EMANUELE BAIFUS MANKE1; ARYANE FARIAS DOS SANTOS2; MARÍLIA ALVES BRITO PINTO²; JOSÉ MARIA BARBART PARFITT3; ADILSON LUÍS BAMBERG3 E LESSANDRO COLL FARIA2 1Doutora em Ciências, Faculdade de Agronomia Eliseu Maciel, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, UFPel. Capão do Leão, RS, Brasil, manumanke@gmail.com ²Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, UFPel. Pelotas, RS, Brasil, aryanefarias@hotmail.com; ma.agro@gmail.com; lessandro.faria@ufpel.edu.br 3Embrapa Clima Temperado, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Embrapa, Pelotas, RS, jose.parfitt@embrapa.br; adilson.bamberg@embrapa.br 1 RESUMO O arroz é um dos cereais mais produzidos e consumidos no mundo. O manejo da água na orizicultura é complexo, sendo os estudos acerca da pegada hídrica do arroz menos frequentes em relação a outras culturas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar de forma simplificada a pegada hídrica do arroz irrigado por aspersão e inundação sob diferentes manejos de irrigação, adotando como base a metodologia tradicional de estimativa da pegada hídrica. Os dados utilizados são provenientes de dois experimentos conduzidos na Estação Experimental Terras Baixas, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa) Clima Temperado, Capão do Leão, RS, Brasil. No Experimento 1 foram analisados três manejos de irrigação na safra do arroz de 2011/2012 e quatro na safra de 2012/2013. No Experimento 2 foram analisados quatro manejos de irrigação nas safras 2015/2016 e 2016/2017. Os manejos nas tensões de 20 e 10 kPa (aspersão) e por irrigação contínua (inundação) apresentaram menor pegada hídrica simplificada. Comparando-se a irrigação por aspersão e inundação, concluiu-se que na inundação, o manejo de irrigação contínua resultou em uma pegada hídrica simplificada menor. Palavras-chave: Oryza sativa, métodos de irrigação, inundação, aspersão MANKE, E. B.; SANTOS, A. F. dos; PINTO, M. A. B.; PARFITT, J. M. B.; BAMBERG, A. L.; FARIA, L. C. WATER FOOTPRINT OF RICE CULTIVATED UNDER DIFFERENT IRRIGATION MANAGEMENTS 2 ABSTRACT Rice is one of the most produced and consumed cereals in the world. The water management in rice farming is complex, and studies on the rice water footprint are less frequent than other cultures. The objective was to estimate the simplified water footprint of a sprinkler and flood-irrigated rice under different irrigation management, taking as model the traditional methodology of water footprint estimation. The raw data used are from two experiments performed using rice in the “Terras Baixas”, Experimental Station, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) Temperate Climate, located in Capão do Leão, RS, Brazil. In Experiment 1, three irrigation management applied in the rice cropping season of 2011/2012 and four in the cropping season of 2012/2013 were analyzed. In Experiment 2, four irrigation managements in the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 cropping seasons were evaluated. The irrigation managements in the tensions of 20 and 10 kPa (sprinkler) and continuous irrigation (flood) presented smallest simplified water footprint. Comparing sprinkler and flood irrigation, it can be concluded that the flood method, under continuous irrigation, resulted in a smallest simplified water footprint. Keywords: Oryza sativa, irrigation methods, flooded, sprinkler

Adoption of appropriate agronomic practices, such as optimum seeding and nitrogen (N) rates, in synchronization with proper water management practice could help improve yield, water productivity and N use efficiency (NUE) of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Field experiments were conducted at the research farm of the Asian Institute of Technology during the dry seasons (November–March) of 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 to evaluate the effects of seeding (S) (95 [S95], 125 [S125] and 155 [S155] kg ha−1) and N (0 [N0], 60 [N60] and 120 [N120] kg ha−1) rates under different water regimes (continuous flooding [CF] and safe alternate wetting and drying [AWD15]) on yield, water productivity and NUE of wet direct-seeded rice. Application of 120 kg N ha−1 (N120) resulted in the highest grain yield and water productivity (by 76% and 78%, respectively, compared with N0), which were statistically similar with N60. Less plant population in lower seeding rates (S95 and S125) provided better results in terms of vegetative and reproductive growth, grain yield and water productivity. Rice grown under AWD15 resulted in statistically similar grain yield with rice maintained under CF, but there was 40–44% more water savings depending on seeding rates and 68% higher water productivity in AWD15-treated plots. Improving sink capacity and dry matter accumulation is key to ensuring better grain yields even with reduced N and seeding rates under AWD15. A stronger relationship between grain yield and spikelet number panicle−1 as well as between shoot dry matter and spikelet number panicle−1 was observed under CF (r = 0.61 and r = 0.57, respectively) compared with AWD15 (r = 0.45 and r = 0.41, respectively). N60 had significantly higher partial factor productivity (64.6) of applied N than N120 (36.4). S95 and S125 resulted in a significant improvement in NUE compared with S155. This result suggests that desirable grain yield and water productivity as well as better NUE could be achieved by decreasing N rate from 120 to 60 kg ha−1, and thus significant reduction in fertilizer input cost could be possible along with environmental benefits. In addition, decreasing seeding rate coupled with AWD15 is recommended to reduce the input cost and total water input to make the wet direct-seeded rice cultivation system more sustainable and profitable.

This study aims to make a morphological identification of the rumen contents of moles given a different source of glucose as an energy supply for microorganisms contained in Mol solution. In the process of making moles, it is also compared to aerobically and anaerobically. There are six types of moles which are made from the contents of the rumen with different compositions, namely: 1. Rumen contents + molasses + tofu water anaerobically, 2. Rumen liquid + molasses + soaked soybean aerobically, 3.1 rumen content + rice water + molasses an aerobically, 4. Fill the rumen + sugar + soybean water. The four mixtures of local microorganisms were incubated for 7 days. The results of the microbial identification observations were discussed descriptively. Based on the results of microbial identification, there are types of bacteria bacillus sp, and the fungus Candida sp.

Plant structural traits can act as barriers for herbivore attachment, feeding, and oviposition. In particular, epicuticular waxes (EWs) on the aerial surfaces of many land plants offer protection from biotic and abiotic stresses. In rice (Oryza sativa L.), mutations that reduce EWs have been previously reported. However, whether such mutations affect rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel) and fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda Smith) performance has not been investigated yet. These pests cause significant economic problems in important rice-producing areas of the United States. The aim of our study was to characterize the EWs of EW mutants and wild-type rice plants by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and compare the resistance of mutant and wild-type plants against rice water weevil and fall armyworm. We hypothesized that mutants with reduced EWs would have weaker resistance to pests than wild-type plants. Three mutant lines (6-1A, 7-17A, and 11-39A) and their wild-type parent (cv. ‘Sabine’) were used to test this hypothesis. Levels of EWs were significantly lower in mutant lines than in the wild-type, and qualitative differences in EW composition were also observed. Reduction in EWs significantly affected performance of insects in experiments conducted under greenhouse conditions. Experiments with rice water weevils were conducted in arenas in which females were given a choice of the mutants and the wild-type for oviposition. Number of first instars emerging from the three EW mutants (an indication of oviposition preference) was higher on the three EW mutants than on wild-type plants with normal wax levels. Similarly, in no-choice experiments using whole plants or detached leaves, weight gains of armyworms on leaves were higher on the mutant lines than on the wild-type. These results indicate that EW traits are involved in rice resistance to weevils and armyworms. Understanding the plant traits that contribute to resistance to rice pests will be helpful for the development of resistant varieties for reducing pest insect damage.

Washing rice water (WRW) refers to the sewage produced by rice washing in China and other parts of Asia people's daily life. As in the WRW is rich a variety of nutrients, microorganisms are prone to multiply and pollute the environment. In this article, high-throughput sequencing is used to describe the microbial diversity in different fermentation time WRW. The results showed that the sequencing depth effectively covered the microbial species in the samples, and the bacterial community structure in the samples of WRW at different fermentation periods was rich in diversity. Preominant taxa included Proteobacteria (62%), Firmicutes (28%), approximately Cyanobacteria (10%) and Bacteroidetes (0.5%). The core WRW microbiome comprises Trabulsiella, Pseudomonas, Serratia, Lactobacillus, Erwinia, Enterobacter, Clostridium and Acinetobacter, some of which are potential beneficial microbes. The change of microbial community composition with the change of habitat was assessed. It was found that environmental factors had significant influence on the assembly structure of microbial community.

Water conservation is an important factor for production of rice in the United States because of declining aquifer levels, but little research has been done to evaluate insect management in rice systems integrating water conservation practices. Rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, is an important insect pest of rice in the U.S. Rice water weevil is a semiaquatic species that relies on flooded conditions to complete larval development, so water conservation practices are likely to impact their pest status. The study was conducted across the Mississippi River alluvial floodplain to compare rice water weevil population densities in different zones of a furrow irrigated rice field to a conventionally flooded rice field. All locations were sampled at 3, 4, and 5 wk after the initial irrigation. Larval densities were greatest in the lower end of furrow irrigated fields and in the adjacent flooded rice field compared with the upper and middle sections that did not hold standing water when averaged across three sample dates. Also, rice water weevil densities were greater during week five than week three. In terms of rice yields, the top third of furrow irrigated rice fields, the section that remained mostly dry, produced lower rough rice yields than all other sections and the flooded field. These results suggest that rice water weevil populations can be lower in a furrow irrigated rice system. As a result, more research is needed to determine whether a spatial management plan can be developed based on soil moisture zones in furrow irrigated rice.

s Objective: The research was designed to study the different epidemiological and PCR-based identification of Vibrio cholera. Method: The cross sectional study was performed in Center for Advanced Studies in Vaccinology and Biotechnology, University of Balochistan, Quetta from January 5, 2019 till December 6, 2019. Fecal / rectal swab samples were taken with a history of untreated severe (rice water) diarrhea of less than 12 hours duration. Total 444 stool samples were collected from suspected cholera patients at different hospitals of Balochistan. Isolates were examined and identified on the basis of colony characters on TCBS agar. susppected colonies were subjected to gram staining, various biochemical tests and PCR base identification. Results: The result shows that 7.43 % were V.cholerae positive while 92.56% were found negative. The rates of incidence was highest in individuals in 1-20 years old patients as compared to other age group patients. The gender wise distribution of cholera infection was found high in male (4.05%) as compared to female patients (3.37%). The percentage of cholera infection was high in Baluch (4.05%) race as compared to other races of Baluchistan. The status wise distribution showed that lower class (4.05%) was more affected as compared to other classes of Balochistan. Literacy and illiteracy wise distribution showed that the illiterate patients (5.85%) were more affected. The incidence of cholera infection was more in summer (4.27%) and spring (1.80%) seasons as compared to other seasons of Balochistan. Continuous...

In this research work, Cerium Oxide/Zinc Oxide (CeO2/ZnO) composite nanorods are fabricated on aluminium foil substrate using microwave assisted hydrothermal technique. Their crystalline and morphological properties were confirmed using X-Ray diffraction technique (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The aim is to estimate the potential purpose for implementing to possible lead sensor and to analyse their anti-cancer properties against HeLa cells for cervical cancer applications. The developed structural CeO2/ZnO composite and ZnO nanoparticle systems have been evaluated for anti-cancer efficacy against HeLa (cervical cancerous cell line) and normal (VERO-non cancerous) cell lines. Their results reveal that, CeO2/ZnO composite nanorods have higher cytotoxic behavior than ZnO NPs against HeLa cancer cells. Under optimized conditions, cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used to study the surface area and employed as working electrode to exploit on sensor characteristics towards the Pb ions. The substantial working electrode characteristics were investigated in phosphate buffer solution (PBS pH 7.4) diluted rice water medium using CV towards typical Pb ions detection. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) reveals the sensitivity (19.32 µM/mA) with detection limit (LOD) 14.7 nM and compared with previously reported electrodes exhibiting significant electrochemical sensing activity towards Pb ions. Thus the outcomes on structural CeO2/ZnO composite system can be used as electrochemical lead sensor and cervical cancer diagnosis applications.

Lettuce is one of the most popular vegetables from various groups, because it does not need special preparation to enjoy it immediately. Its cultivation is relatively easy and does not require special techniques, making lettuce can be grown in polybags or hydroponically. Rice washing water, which is usually not utilized, actually has the potential as liquid organic fertilizer. Besides being practical and environmentally friendly, liquid organic fertilizer can be applied easily. This study aims to determine the effect of the appropriate application time interval for giving rice washing water on the growth and yield of lettuce. This research was conducted in August-October 2020 using polybags containing soil: manure: husk (1: 1: 1). The design used was a single factor completely randomized block design (RAKL). The factor is the application time interval for giving rice washing water with 4 levels, namely: W0 = without giving rice washing water (control), W1 = once every 2 days, W2 = once every 4 days and W3 = once every 6 days with a dose of 50 ml polybag-1. The results showed that the time interval treatment with washing rice water had no significant effect on plant height, number of leaves, diameter, fresh root weight, and total fresh weight of lettuce plants. However, the treatment of giving rice washing water at an interval of 6 days (W3) once showed a better value than without treatment, the time interval for giving rice washing water once every 2 days or 4 days.

Water footprints (WFs) of rice are quite higher viz. 992 billion cubic metres per year (Gm3 yr−1) than from the other cereals which further responsible for the lower water productivity. Out of global WFs for crop production viz. 7404 Gm3 yr−1 corresponds to 78 % green, 12 % blue, and 10 % grey water, respectively. Around 3000-4000 litres of water required for one kg of rice grains and conventional puddle transplanted flood irrigations responsible for this. Therefore, there is an urgent need to cut down rice WFs share. Over irrigated pounded water under conventional puddle transplanted rice responsible for the emissions of the green house gases in atmosphere, which further has its own complications. With time, due to excessive withdrawals of the underground water, the water table is declining at a faster rate and seems to be beyond the reach of the middle class rice farmers. Rice water productivity declining day by day due to huge water demand of rice crop followed by reduced yields. A major share of the applied irrigation water lost/evaporate in the atmosphere. Soil water tension controls the soil moisture dynamics and directly linked to the plant need based approach. Being a kharif crop, rice season faces harsh summers and where evaporative demands of atmosphere intensified to many folds and thus, irrigation water has to be applied frequently. Annually additional water of worth US $ 39 million is withdrawn in NW Indian Punjab state for feeding crops, particularly rice. Tensiometer is the only instrument provided to the rice farmers for applying irrigation water judiciously based on the plant need which further cut down WFs from 18 to 22%. This practise where on one side saves irrigation water, improves declining land as well as water productivity of rice, also controlled the emissions of GHGs from the soil.

Associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can increase or decrease plant resistance to herbivory in different crop systems, but the effects of AM fungi on plant tolerance to pests remain largely unknown. We investigated whether inoculation of rice (Oryza sativa) with AM fungi stimulates plant growth, yield, and/or tolerance to rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus) injury. Rice plants were exposed to natural infestations of herbivores during early and mid-to-late season over four field experiments. The experiments followed a 2 × 2 factorial design consisting of two AM fungi seed treatments (inoculated or non-inoculated with AM fungi) and two insecticide seed treatments (treated or untreated). Inoculation with AM fungi increased root colonization in all four field experiments in rice. Inoculation with AM fungi increased densities of weevil larvae and whiteheads resulting from stemborer infestations, while insecticidal seed treatments significantly reduced densities of weevils and marginally reduced whiteheads. Inoculation with AM fungi increased rice biomass before and after flooding, and a clear but not always significant increase in yield was observed in plants inoculated with AM fungi. However, inoculation with AM fungi did not reduce percent yield losses after herbivory injury. Analyses of nutrient contents in roots and shoots revealed inconsistent effects of inoculation with AM fungi. This study highlights for the first time the potential for AM fungi seed treatments to increase rice tolerance to insect pests by influencing plant biomass and yields.

Background Water productivity improvement is fundamental to agricultural water use control, and the water footprint provides a new and comprehensive method for identifying the crop-water relationship. This study is intended to explore the spatiotemporal pattern and driving forces underlying the rice water footprint productivity (WFP) in China during the years 1996-2015 based on calculations of the provincial blue, green, gray, and white water footprints. Results The national water footprint in paddy rice cultivation was 240.97 Gm3 , and green water accounted for 43.9% of the total. The WFP was 0.795 kg m-3 and increased over time in all 30 provinces for which it was calculated. The growth rate in the northern provinces was greater than that in the southern part of the country. The WFP clustered geographically in all years observed. High-value provinces were concentrated to the south of the Yangtze River, whereas most of the provinces that showed a low WFP were distributed in the north China and northwest subregions. Precipitation and sunshine hours were the most obvious driving factors of rice WFP. The effects of agricultural input, e.g., agricultural machinery power, pesticides, and irrigation efficiency, on WFP also could not be ignored. Conclusion The WFP is a comprehensive and useful index of the crop-water relationship and water-use efficiency. Improving agricultural input and irrigation technology are reliable approaches for WFP promotion. Areas in northeast China showed the most urgent need for improving the rice WFP, and the inclusion of the main grain producing areas in the Yangtze River Basin will further reduce ineffective water occupancy to improve water-use efficiency. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Krueng Baro Irrigation Area is one of the irrigation areas which is focused on increasing food crop productivity in Pidie District. To support the existence of the irrigation, of course, it must be supported by a well-organized irrigation system, so an effective irrigation network management system is needed through the O and M program. O and M activities require a truly real value or cost figure which is the result of the search for irrigation networks known as the real operation and maintenance demand value. The physical condition of the Krueng Baro Irrigation Network if viewed from the results of the irrigation network inventory still has many obstacles that hamper the fulfillment of rice water needs, including physical damage to buildings and irrigation channels. The evaluation of irrigation network performance is the first step in the preparation of the real operation and maintenance demand value, the rate of performance of the Krueng Baro Irrigation Area network is 68.06% (BWSSI, 2017) which falls into the less category and needs attention. This study aims to identify Irrigation Network O and M activities and the real operation and maintenance demand value Krueng Baro irrigation. The research method is in the form of observations / field observations and documentation to obtain the existing conditions of irrigation networks which subsequently identify O and M plans and preparation of the real operation and maintenance demand value. After the preparation of the real operation and maintenance demand value was obtained the output of the value of the real cost requirement in carrying out routine operations was only 0.53% (IDR 529,180,000.00), Routine Maintenance 6.52% (IDR 6,510,464,300.00), while for Periodic Maintenance is very large, namely 92.95% (IDR. 92,764,196,192.00) compared to the overall total cost (IDR. 99,803,840,492.00). In order to achieve the full O and M Plan and the real operation and maintenance demand value Krueng Baro Irrigation Network due to the limited budgetary budget so is divided into a 5-year priority program plan reference to Minister of Public Works and Housing Regulation No. 12 / PRT / M / 2015 with the first year priority carried out on the main building which greatly influences performance and function of the irrigation system such as turnover of intake doors, olak ponds and upstream weir sediment excavation and some buildings and channels that have been destroyed and not functioning on the carrier channel.

The wastewater from washed rice water (WRW) is often recommended as a source of plant nutrients in most Asian countries, even though most current research on WRW lack scientific rigor, particularly on the effects of rice washing intensity, volumetric water-to-rice ratio (W:R), and condition of the WRW before plant application. This research was thus carried out: (1) to determine how various rice washing intensities, fermentation periods (FP), and W:R would affect the nutrient content in WRW, and (2) to isolate, identify, and characterize the bacterial community from fermented WRW. The WRW was prepared at several rice washing intensities (50, 80, and 100 rpm), FP (0, 3, 6, and 9 days), and W:R (1:1, 3:1, and 6:1). The concentrations of all elements (except P, Mg, and Zn) and available N forms increased with increasing FP and W:R. Beneficial N-fixing and P- and K-solubilizing bacteria were additionally detected in WRW, which helped to increase the concentrations of these elements. Monovalent nutrients NH4+-N, NO3−-N, and K are soluble in water. Thus, they were easily leached out of the rice grains and why their concentrations increased with W:R. The bacteria population in WRW increased until 3 days of fermentation, then declined, possibly because there was an insufficient C content in WRW to be a source of energy for bacteria to support their prolonged growth. While C levels in WRW declined over time, total N levels increased then decreased after 3 days, where the latter was most possibly due to the denitrification and ammonification process, which had led to the increase in NH4+-N and NO3−-N. The optimum FP and W:R for high nutrient concentrations and bacterial population were found to be 3 to 9 days and 3:1 to 6:1, respectively. WRW contained nutrients and beneficial bacterial species to support plant growth.

The rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, is the most important early-season pest of rice in the U.S. Additionally, lepidopteran stem-boring pests particularly the invasive Mexican rice borer, Eoreuma loftini (Dyar), are increasingly becoming problematic in Louisiana rice. Although insecticidal seed treatments have been widely adopted and have proven highly effective against weevils and stemborers, alternative management tactics are needed. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of flood timing and rice cultivar on rice water weevil and stemborer infestations. Field experiments were conducted in Crowley, Louisiana, from 2019–2020. In each year, early- and late-planted trials were established according to a split-split-plot randomized block design. Four commonly grown rice cultivars were selected and were either treated or not treated with a chlorantraniliprole seed treatment. Permanent flood was established at normal timing (approximately the five-leaf stage) or delayed by 2 weeks. Seed treatment reduced weevil densities and stemborer injury by 70–84% and 87–94%, respectively, across planting dates, years, cultivars, and flood timings. The rice cultivar ‘Jupiter' consistently supported the highest numbers of immature weevils, whereas low levels of stemborer injury were observed in ‘Jazzman-2'. Weevil densities were 72 and 20% lower in plots subjected to delayed flood compared to normal flood timing in the 2019 and 2020 late-planted trials, respectively. Reductions of 79 and 93% in stemborer injury in the 2019 early- and late-planted trials, respectively, were observed in delayed flooded plots. Weevil and stemborer infestations negatively affected rice yields, with losses among cultivars ranging from 14 to 49%. Yield losses were generally lower in plots subjected to delayed flood compared to normal flood timing but the difference was only significant in the 2020 late-planted trial. Our data suggest that the combination of cultivar resistance and delayed flooding can serve as a valuable component of an integrated pest management program for both rice water weevil and stemborers.

Metabolomics profiling using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has become an important tool in biomedical research. However, resolving enantiomers still represents a significant challenge in the metabolomics study of complex samples. Here, we introduced N,N-dimethyl-l-cysteine (dimethylcysteine, DiCys), a chiral thiol, for the o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) derivatization of enantiomeric amine metabolites. We took interest in DiCys because of its potential for multiplex isotope-tagged quantification. Here, we characterized the usefulness of DiCys in reversed-phase LC-MS analyses of chiral metabolites, compared against five commonly used chiral thiols: N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC); N-acetyl-d-penicillamine (NAP); isobutyryl-l-cysteine (IBLC); N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-l-cysteine methyl ester (NBC); and N-(tert-butylthiocarbamoyl)-l-cysteine ethyl ester (BTCC). DiCys and IBLC showed the best overall performance in terms of chiral separation, fluorescence intensity, and ionization efficiency. For chiral separation of amino acids, DiCys/OPA also outperformed Marfey’s reagents: 1-fluoro-2-4-dinitrophenyl-5-l-valine amide (FDVA) and 1-fluoro-2-4-dinitrophenyl-5-l-alanine amide (FDAA). As proof of principle, we compared DiCys and IBLC for detecting chiral metabolites in aqueous extracts of rice. By LC–MS analyses, both methods detected twenty proteinogenic l-amino acids and seven d-amino acids (Ala, Arg, Lys, Phe, Ser, Tyr, and Val), but DiCys showed better analyte separation. We conclude that DiCys/OPA is an excellent amine-derivatization method for enantiomeric metabolite detection in LC-MS analyses.

When applied exogenously to plants, jasmonates [i.e., jasmonic acid (JA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA)] increase plant resistance against herbivores, and their use in pest management has been suggested. For integration into pest management programs, the benefits of the resistance induced by jasmonates must outweigh the costs of jasmonates on plant growth and yield. A previous field study in rice found that seed treatment with MeJA reduced densities of the rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus, but also reduced plant growth. Yields from MeJA plots were similar to yields from control plots. Because this study was conducted under field conditions with natural levels of pest populations, it was unclear whether effects on growth and yield were due to direct effects of MeJA treatment on the plant or due to lower reductions in rice water weevil densities. Therefore, the present study was designed to characterize the effects of JA and MeJA seed treatment on rice plant growth and yield in a pest-free environment under greenhouse conditions. Seed treatment with 2.5 mM JA and 2.5 mM MeJA enhanced resistance in rice plants to rice water weevils when plants were exposed to weevils 30 days after planting. Seed treatment with MeJA reduced seedling emergence and plant height at 4 and 14 days after planting, respectively, compared to JA and control treatments. However, numbers of tillers per plant at 45 days after planting and days to heading were unaffected by jasmonate seed treatment. Of four yield components (panicles per plant, filled grains per panicle, percent unfilled grains, and filled grain mass) that were measured, only filled grain mass was reduced by seed treatment. Plants grown from MeJA-treated seeds showed 31% lower grain masses compared to plants grown from control-treated seeds. Thus, the effects of seed treatment with MeJA on plant growth were stronger immediately post-treatment and subsided over time, such that plant growth mostly recovered 6 weeks after treatment. At maturity, MeJA may reduce one but not all components of yield. Despite similar effects on rice water weevil resistance, the negative effects of JA seed treatment on plant growth and yield were smaller compared to MeJA seed treatment.

High soil pH limits the availability of pH sensitive nutrients even though abundant levels are present in the soils. Elemental sulfur (S) application to lower soil pH and increase the nutrient availability to the crop is a possible and economically feasible solution. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sulfur application on soil pH, rice water quality, nutrient uptake, and rice yield.

The rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, is the most widely distributed and destructive pest of rice, Oryza sativa L., in the United States (Way 1990). The following report provides a description of the rice water weevil, its distribution in the state of Florida, methodology for scouting, and options for managing this pest in commercial rice fields. The rice water weevil belongs to the family Curculionidae and feeds on a wide variety of plants belonging to the families Poaceae and Cyperaceae (Tindall and Stout 2003, Lupi et al. 2009). The rice water weevil is native to the southeastern United States and has been reported from all rice producing states in the United States (Whitehouse et al. 2019). Registered seed and foliar treatments can be applied as preventative control for anticipated economic damage by future weevil populations. Application of this permanent flood is the most important external influence on the interaction between the rice water weevil and rice (Stout et al. 2002).

A significant wastewater source in every household is washed rice water (WRW) because it contains leached nutrients (from washing the rice prior to cooking) that could be used as fertilizer. The paper reviewed the current understanding of the potential use of WRW as a plant nutrient source. WRW was shown to increase vegetables growth, such as water spinach, pak choy, lettuce, mustard, tomato, and eggplant. Different researchers have used various amounts of WRW, and their results followed a similar trend: the higher the amount of WRW, the higher the plant growth. WRW has also been used for other purposes, such as a source of carbon for microbial growth. WRW from brown rice and white rice had nutrients ranging from 40-150, 43-16306, 51-200, 8-3574, 36-1425, 27-212, and 32-560 mg L-1 of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, and vitamin B1 (thiamine), respectively. Proper utilization of WRW could reduce chemical fertilizer use and prevent both surface and groundwater contamination and environmental pollution. However, only a few of the studies have compared the use of WRW with the use of conventional NPK fertilizer. The major drawback of WRW studies is that they lack depth and scope, such as determining the initial and (or) final soil physico-chemical properties or plant nutrient contents. Considering the rich nutrient content in WRW, it will impact plant growth and soil fertility when used as both irrigation water and plant nutrient source. Therefore, it is recommended that studies on WRW effect on soil microbial population, plant, and soil nutrient contents to be carried out to ascertain the sustainability of WRW use as a plant nutrient source.

Aims Although biodiversity utilization in paddy fields has increased in recent years, silicon (Si) nutrition of rice in intercropping systems is poorly understood. On the basis of our previous study, the present research focused on deciphering the underlying mechanisms involved in rice and water spinach intercropping, which enhance Si uptake by rice.Methods We carried out a series of experiments including field, greenhouse, and incubation experiments to explore the underlying mechanisms.Results The field trials showed that rice-water spinach intercropping with different row ratios can increase Si concentration by 9.8%-52.6% and Si absorption by 34.7%-127.8% in rice leaves at ripening stage compared to rice monoculture. The pot trials further indicated that intercropping can promote rice to increase Si concentration in Si-deficient soil, with an increase of 35.9% in stems and 29.7% in leaves, and intercropping significantly increased soil water-soluble Si content by 168.1% compared to rice monoculture. Further research indicated that there was an interaction between rice roots and water spinach roots under intercropping conditions, which not only induced the up-regulated expression of Si transporter genes in rice roots (OsLsi1, OsLsi2) and stems (OsLsi6), but also stimulated rice roots to secrete more organic acids to increase Si availability in the soil. Moreover, water spinach root exudates helped the mobilization of Si in soil through proton efflux of roots. Conclusions Rice-water spinach intercropping can greatly enhance Si absorption of rice through several beneficial ways, which will have important practical significance for sustainable rice production, especially in Si-deficient soils.

When assessing drought risk, most studies focus on hazard and vulnerability, paying less attention to exposure. Here, we propose a comprehensive drought risk assessment scheme combining hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. At the Mun River Basin, 90% of rice cultivation is rain-fed and regularly encounters droughts resulting in the lowest yields in the country. The water deficit calculated with respect to rice water requirement is used to assess drought hazard and is estimated at monthly time steps. We use drought severity and frequency for hazard estimation and population and rice field characteristics for exposure. Vulnerability is represented by physical and socioeconomic factors and coping and adaptive capacity. Between 1984 and 2016, monthly precipitation during the rice-growing season was insufficient to meet rice water needs at all growth stages (July–November). The hazard is more severe in October and November, which can lead to significantly reduced yields. People and rice fields in the center part of the basin are more exposed to drought than in other parts. Extensive areas are under high and moderate vulnerability due to low coping capacity. The higher drought risks appear in the last 2 months of the growing season and decrease from north to south, while the risk map of total precipitation demonstrates that most of the areas have low and very low risk. This emphasizes the importance of monthly time series analysis to calculate agricultural drought hazard and risk. Consequently, we recommend using the hazard and risk maps for October and November instead of the total precipitation to develop solutions to improve rice yield.

The rice water weevil Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a worldwide agricultural pest that causes serious damage to rice. The olfactory and gustatory behaviors of L. oryzophilus in locating host plants and oviposition sites mostly rely on the detection of chemical stimuli in the environment. To reveal such olfactory and gustatory systems, we performed a systematic analysis of major chemosensory receptor genes. The antennal transcriptome of adult female L. oryzophilus was sequenced and assembled using the Illumina sequencing platform. A total of 60 candidate chemosensory receptor genes were ultimately identified, including 41 putative odorant receptors (ORs), 10 ionotropic receptors (IRs) and 9 gustatory receptors (GRs). Relatedness with other species was predicted based on phylogenetic results, and specific chemosensory receptor genes were analyzed, including Orco, carbon dioxide receptors and sugar receptors. Furthermore, qRT-PCR analyses of chemosensory receptor genes showed 59 genes to be antenna-biased genes, whereas only 1 gene was predominantly expressed in non-olfactory tissues. Our research provides insight for understanding olfactory and gustatory systems in the antennae of L. oryzophilus and facilitating the discovery of novel strategies for controlling this pest.

Rice water waste, a starch-bearing effluent waste stream, was utilized as an abundant and low-cost substrate for ethanol production. Prior to the fermentation process, rice water waste was hydrolyzed using dilute H2SO4 solution. To attain the highest concentration of sugars with a minimum amount of inhibitory by-products during the acid hydrolysis, different acid concentrations (2–6 v/v %), hydrolysis temperatures (60–100 °C) and reaction times (0–200 min) were examined. The maximum catalytic efficiency (ηE = 27.36) was obtained using 4% H2SO4 at 80 °C for 100 min; wherein, the concentration of reducing sugars, furfural and 5- hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in the hydrolyzate was 43.32, 0.29 and 0.17 g L−1, respectively. This hydrolyzate was utilized as a substrate for ethanol fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae; the maximum ethanol concentration, yield, and cell density were 18.65 g L−1, 0.41 g ethanol g−1 sugar and 3.68 g L−1, respectively. The kinetics of the acid hydrolysis process was studied using “two-fraction” model. The kinetic constants indicated that the rate of release of reducing sugars from starch was high; while, the degradation rate of reducing sugar to furfural and HMF was negligible. Moreover, multi-response nonlinear regression analysis was performed on the experimental data to determine the kinetic parameters regarding cell growth, substrate utilization, and ethanol production.

Background For the past decade, insecticidal seed treatment has been the most widely used control tactic against insect pests of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the USA. Seed treatments are used primarily to control the most economically important early-season pest of rice, the rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel). This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of reduced rates of chlorantraniliprole seed treatment against the rice water weevil, fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith), and sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis F.) under field and laboratory conditions. Concentrations of chlorantraniliprole in plant tissues were determined at vegetative and reproductive developmental stages of rice plants. Results Chlorantraniliprole seed treatment reduced the densities of rice water weevil larvae relative to non-treated controls even at rates 75% lower than the label rate. Increased mortality of fall armyworm larvae was observed at reduced seed treatment rates relative to a non-treated control. Chlorantraniliprole seed treatment increased the mortality of sugarcane borer larvae at all rates relative to controls and the mortality was consistently higher in larvae that were fed stems from treated plants at the vegetative developmental stage than larvae that were fed stems from plants at the reproductive stage. Concentrations of chlorantraniliprole in plant tissues increased with seed treatment rate and decreased with plant age. Conclusion This study has shown that reduced chlorantraniliprole seed treatment rates can provide adequate control against the rice water weevil, fall armyworm, and sugarcane borer, particularly at early developmental stages of rice plants. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Water-saving irrigation (WSI) is a promising management practice for sustainable rice production. Shallow-wet irrigation (SWI), controlled irrigation (CI), intermittent irrigation (II), and rain-gathering irrigation (RGI) are four common WSI regimes used in China. Their water saving, pollutant reducing, and yield increasing effects were analysed based on literature survey from multi-site field studies across China. An index system considering the applicability and effect of different WSI regimes was developed to identify their potential distributions across China. The potential overall effect of WSI practices at the country level was then estimated. Results showed that CI had the highest average water saving rate (WSR) of 35.12% and the highest average pollutant reducing rate (PRR) of 54.97%, followed by RGI, SWI, and II; while CI had the lowest average yield increasing rate (YIR) (0.79%), followed by II (5.40%), SWI (8.12%), and RGI (11.80%). Overall, the larger the WSR, the larger higher PRR; but the yield increasing effect will be diminished when the WSR is increased to a certain extent due to the resulting rice water stress. About 94.19% of the total paddy area in China are suitable for WSI practices and the unsuitable ones are mainly due to soil structure deterioration and low soil fertility. SWI is the most applicable WSI regime, suitable for 90.03% of paddy fields, followed by CI and II (23.33%), and RGI (4.16%). By full implementation of appropriate WSI regimes at the country level, the total WSR, PRR, and YIR are likely to reach 22.06–26.41%, 32.11–39.11%, and 5.39–6.87%, respectively. The application of WSI practices in China has noticeable potential to alleviate water shortage and non-point source pollution while ensuring high yield.

Thiobencarb is a commonly used herbicide in Northern California rice fields. Released paddy water containing thiobencarb may pose ecological risks to non-targeted organisms. In this research, the Rice Water Quality Model (RICEWQ) is equilibrium tested and then calibrated using monitoring data at field level. Then it is employed to assess the environmental fate and impacts of thiobencarb in the Colusa Basin, and the effects of different management practices on water use and thiobencarb exposures. The model predicted thiobencarb concentrations from rice fields for multiple years throughout the Basin, using input from California Pesticide Use Reporting (PUR) database, and assessed both the temporal/spatial distribution of thiobencarb exposure and potential acute toxicity on non-target organisms. Our study indicated that RICEWQ can accurately reflect the initial partitioning of thiobencarb in both paddy water and soil phases and capture the dynamics of thiobencarb at field level after calibration. Mandatory water holding is critical for reducing thiobencarb exposure in released paddy water. A thirty-day holding time reduces thiobencarb concentrations by 64% relative to a 6-day holding practice. The geo-spatial pattern of exposure in the study domain indicates the differing extents of pollutant levels and their distribution over space. "Risk zones" for different species were identified based on the geospatial patterns of thiobencarb exposure and the species-specific susceptibilities of various non-target species to thiobencarb.