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Rice (Oryza spp.) is mostly grown directly from seed and sown on wet or dry seed beds or usually used as transplants on nursery beds. Among all the economically important viral diseases in the world, rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) is only prevalent in rice-growing countries in Africa. RYMV has become the main rice production constraint in Africa over the last 20–25 years, causing yield losses of 10 to 100% depending on the age of the plant at the time of infection, degree of varietal susceptibility and the existing climatic conditions. Good agricultural practices and biotechnological tools in the development of improved resistant cultivars have been extensively utilized in controlling the disease. This review focuses on RYMV, its epidemiology, serological and molecular typing, disease management and the way forward for sustainable rice production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sowing depth and simple blockage can limit the traditional planters in the wheat wheat-wide seedling belt during rotary tillage. In this study, the combination design was adopted with the fertilizer pipe and slide knife-type ditching. The slide knife-type ditching and fertilizer pipe were situated at the front-mounted of the working range gap of the wide seedling belt rotary tillage knife group. The coupling operation was realized for the slide knife-type ditching fertilizer pipe and rotary tillage knife group. Among them, the slide knife-type ditching and fertilizer pipe, rotary tillage knife group, seed distributor, and compaction wheel of the same seedling belt were collinear to create a wide seedling belt fertilization and sowing mode. The fundamental parameters were calculated for the blade line of the slide knife-type ditching fertilizer pipe and the arrangement of the rotary tillage knife group. An exponential function curve was fitted for the blade line, with a working depth of 100 mm. The rotary tillage knife group was featured by a symmetrical spiral arrangement with three rotary blades (L = 3) within the same soil soil-cutting area. In addition, the theoretical analysis was also carried out on the principle of cooperation between the slide knife-type ditching fertilizer pipe and the rotary tillage knife group. The discrete element simulation model was constructed to explore the traction force resistance of different slide knife-type ditching fertilizer pipes in the seedbed over time. A systematic investigation was made to clarify the influence of the relative position of the slide knife-type ditching fertilizer pipe and the rotary tillage knife group on the indexes, such as seedbed and sowing depth. The simulation results showed that there was the smallest resistance of 40° slide knife-type ditching fertilizer pipe. The front-mounted fertilizer pipe and rotary tillage knife group were combined to effectively avoid the influence of the fertilizer ditch on the consistency of sowing depth in the wide seedling belt. The field experiment was carried out with reference to the performance experiment standard of sowing operation. The experiment demonstrated that the new planter was better performed to realize the wide seedling belt sowing, when the forward speed of the machine was 1.11 m/s. The bBetter performance was achieved in the uniform sowing and a highly qualified rate of sowing depth, compared with the traditional planter. The qualified rate of sowing depth was 94.36%, while the coefficient of variation was 3.79%, indicating the excellent sowing. The front-mounted fertilizer pipe and the rotary tillage knife group were combined to form an 'inverted triangle' spatial pattern of three-dimensional distribution in the seed bed. This was also beneficial to the early nutrient absorption of the crop. The blockage was further avoided to cause by the small spacing between the fertilizer pipe and the seed distributor. The high passing was fully met the requirements for the wide seedling belt wheat planting. The findings can provide the support to optimize the wheat sowing device in the wide seedling belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The initial development stage of forests forms the basis for the future tree generation. Various driving and interacting factors determine the regeneration process at small and large scale. Based on the latest Austrian National Forest Inventory 2016–2021 the regeneration assessments and estimation methods were collated. Analyses were conducted to estimate the forest area regarding regeneration necessity and occurrence, the causes of regeneration deficits, the origin from natural and artificial regeneration, tree species occurrence as well as browsing impact. The results show a sea level gradient of increasing shares of necessary but missing regeneration, ranging between 15% at the lowest and 60% at the highest altitudes. Accordingly, high shares can be found in protective forest without yield (50%) and in the growth regions of the mountainous areas of the Alps (up to 40%). Due to the multitude of driving and interacting factors, the assessed causes of regeneration deficits show divers patterns. Light as a limiting factor appears to be more relevant at low altitudes, and competition through ground vegetation is highest at low and high altitudes. The influence of the humus layer on the seed bed was assessed to increase with altitude, as well as the impact of forest pasture, while game browsing as cause of regeneration deficits show no clear tendency over the analysed strata. About 91% of the necessary and occurring regeneration originates from natural regeneration and the remaining from artificial or a mixture of both regeneration types. The number of tree species in the ground vegetation layer decreases with altitude. Considering browsing impact the results show percentages of affected areas between 40% and 80%. The highest browsing impacts were found at intermediate altitudes between 600 and 1,500 m above sea level. From a large-scale perspective as provided by NFIs, the results show divers patterns of regeneration necessity and occurrence and impacts on the regeneration. Representative large-scale monitoring by NFIs provides the opportunity to identify and quantify the adverse impacts and forest strata that are affected by regeneration deficits, and therefore support the development of forest management strategies that aim at the establishment of the future tree generation under changing climate conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] This paper aimed to study the interaction mechanism of straw-soil-strip vertical rotary tillage system in rice stubble field, explore the influence of key operation parameters under the interaction of the three on the clearing and leveling effect of seedbed, and play a guiding role in the integrated straw field management and the optimal design of tillage machinery in the water-drought rotation system. [Methods] A 3D vertical rotation simulation model was constructed based on discrete element method. The process of vertical strip rotation under rice straw mulching was simulated, and the parameter range was optimized and verified by laboratory soil tank test. In the process of strip vertical rotation, the forward speed, the rotational speed of tool shaft and the stubble length were taken as the influencing factors. The response surface method was used to build a mathematical model to analyze the influence of each factor on the quality of the seedbed and carry out the performance optimization test. [Results]When the tillage depth was set to 15 cm, the main and secondary factors affecting the cleaning rate of stubble and the flatness of seedbed were the forward speed, the tool shaft rotational speed and stubble length. The results of multi-objective optimization showed that the quality of seedbed was the best when the tool forward speed was 1.09 m·s-1, the tool shaft rotational speed was 281.5 r·min-1 and the stubble length was 6.89 cm. The straw cleaning rate of seedbed was 81.95% and the seedbed flatness was 8.67 mm. [Conclusions] The interaction model established in this paper was proved to be reliable and could effectively reflect the effect of vertical rotation operation parameters on the clearing of straw in seed bed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the problem of poor sowing quality due to loose soil in wheat seedbed after land preparation in the HuangHuaihai region of China, a double compression seeder for pre-sowing and seed furrow of wheat in wide-seedling belts was designed. The machine sowing operation was divided into two processes: pre-sowing compression and seed ditch compression, pre-sowing compression was carried out homogenization of the pre-sowing seed bed that the tractor wheel has crushed, and the seed ditch compression compresses the seeds and soil in the seed ditch, so that the seeds were embedded in the seed ditch soil. By analyzing the kinematics of the pre-planting compression device and the spiral blade in the process of soil levelling and compression, the structure of the equal-difference variable-diameter equal-pitch spiral conveying winch was designed, and the key parameters of the drum spiral blade were determined, and then the height of the spiral blades, the rutting distance and the speed of the compression roller were taken as the test factors, and the soil flatness was used as the index to carry out the discrete element simulation test. The simulation results show that when the spiral blade was 4.85 cm, the rut distance was 37.4 cm, and the rotation speed was 327.16 r/min, the optimal land flatness was 0.18. Finally, field experiments were carried out on the seeder, and the results showed that: the soil bulk density after operation was 22.7% greater than that before sowing (p < 0.01), and the soil flatness was 1.9 cm, which was consistent with the simulated results. The use of pre-sowing compression and seed furrow compression methods improved the soil environment of the seed bed, increased the uniformity of the seeding depth, and promoted the root growth of wheat. This study provides equipment support and technical reference for agricultural production in wheat-corn rotation areas in the Huang-Huaihai region of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A good planting bed is a prerequisite for improving planting quality, while complex ground excitation often leads to machine bouncing and operation vibration, which then affects the operation effect. In order to improve the quality of rotary tillage operations, it is necessary to study the effects of various vibration excitations on the unit during tractor rotary tillage operations and analyze the vibration interaction relationship among the tractor, the three-point suspension mechanism, and the rotary tiller. For this purpose, multiple three-way acceleration sensors were installed at different positions on the rotary tiller unit of a Lexing LS1004 tractor(Lexing Agricultural Equipment Co. Ltd., Qingdao, China) to collect vibration data at different operating speeds and conduct vibration characteristic analysis between different components. The test results showed that when the unit moved forward at 2.1 km/h, 3.6 km/h, and 4.5 km/h, respectively, the vibration acceleration of the tractor, the three-point suspension mechanism, and the rotary tiller increased with the increase in speed, and there was indeed interaction between them. The vertical acceleration change during the test in the three-point suspension mechanism was the most significant (5.914 m/s2) and was related to the increase in the speed of the vehicle and the vibration transfer of the rotary tiller. Meanwhile, the vertical vibration acceleration of the tractor's symmetrical structure was not similar, suggesting the existence of structural assembly problems. From the perspective of frequency domain analysis, the resonant frequency at the cab of the tractor was reduced in a vertical vibration environment, with relatively low frequencies (0~80 Hz) and small magnitudes, which might be beneficial to the driver's health. The rotary tillage group resonated around 350 Hz, and this characteristic can be used to appropriately increase the vibration of the rotary tiller to reduce resistance. The tractor cab resonated around 280 Hz, which must be avoided during field operations to ensure driver health and reduce machine wear. The research results can provide a reference for reducing vibration and resistance during tractor rotary tillage operations, as well as optimizing and improving the structure of rotary tillers and tractors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weed control is one of the major challenges in rice cultivation, and the use of agrochemicals for this crop is severely restricted under the new European agricultural policy. Therefore, new effective non‐chemical weed control techniques are the key to sustain European rice production. We investigated four non‐chemical weed management strategies in the Ebro Delta in north‐eastern Spain, two in dry‐seeded rice fields and two in water‐seeded rice fields. In addition, two controls per sowing condition were included: a positive control consisting of chemical herbicides treatment and a negative control consisting of no weeding and no seeding. Mechanical weeding using a rotary harrow placed in front of the seeder was the best weeding technique for dry seeding, while 'stale seed bed' and transplanting was the best performing technique for wet seeding. Both techniques were as effective as the chemical weeding control, reducing the density of weeds and the supplementary manual weeding time needed for those weed species more abundant in Ebro Delta rice fields (i.e., Echinochloa oryzoides, Echinochloa crus‐galli, Bolboschoenus maritimus and Heteranthera reniformis). Thus, non‐chemical weeding alternatives have been proven effective for both, transplanting and dry seeding field management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crassostrea is the most farmed oyster genus worldwide and has significant economic and social impacts with environmental benefits. Hatchery oyster seed production is a highly costly phase, and a fluidized nursery system can help reduce this cost and reduce seed production time. The present study evaluated the survival and growth of two oyster species (Crassostrea gasar and Crassostrea gigas) in a fluidized bed bottle nursery system. With C. gasar, two experiments were performed; one tested three stocking densities and the other three bialgae diets. With C. gigas, one experiment with a bialgae and monoalgae in an initial bottle occupation of 8.8% produced more seeds per bottle, but an initial bottle occupation of 2.2% produced bigger seeds. Also, the experiment with C. gasar and with C. gigas tested diets did not affect seed survival, but the diets with bialgae I. galbana and N. oculate promoted more seed growth. The fluidized bed bottle nursery system developed for this study was adequate for the seeds of the oysters C. gasar and C. gigas in the nursery phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the feasibility of fluoride removal from simulated semiconductor industry wastewater and its recovery as calcium fluoride using fluidized bed crystallization. The continuous reactor showed the best performance (>90% fluoride removal and >95% crystallization efficiency) at a calcium-to-fluoride ratio of 0.6 within the first 40 days of continuous operation. The resulting particle size increased by more than double during this time, along with a 36% increase in the seed bed height, indicating the deposition of CaF2 onto the silica seed. The SEM-EDX analysis showed the size and shape of the crystals formed, along with the presence of a high amount of Ca-F ions. The purity of the CaF2 crystals was determined to be 91.1% though ICP-OES analysis. Following the continuous experiment, different process improvement strategies were explored. The addition of an excess amount of calcium resulted in the removal of an additional 6% of the fluoride; however, compared to this single-stage process, a two-stage approach was found to be a better strategy to achieve a low effluent concentration of fluoride. The fluoride removal reached 94% with this two-stage approach under the optimum conditions of 4 + 1 h HRT combinations and a [Ca2+]/[F−] ratio of 0.55 and 0.7 for the two reactors, respectively. CFD simulation showed the impact of the inlet diameter, bottom-angle shape, and width-to-height ratio of the reactor on the mixing inside the reactor and the possibility of further improvement in the reactor performance by optimizing the FBR configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physico-mechanical quality of the seed bed is extremely important not only for the soil air-water dynamics, but also for the germination, seedling emergence, and development of the plants. The crust layer formed after precipitation and irrigation in soils with poor structural properties is among the most important indicators of the lower seedbed quality. While there are different applications to increase the physico-mechanical quality of the seedbed, there are also cement applications that provide rapid aggregate formation and stability. The effects of cement application on the soil mechanical quality and seedling emergence of clay textured soil with poor structural characteristics were investigated in the present study. For this purpose, a total of 36 small plots with a size of 2.4 m2 were created. Cement was applied at 0.25–0.5–1 and 2% doses to 18 plots in the fall period, and to the other 18 plots in the spring period. After the treatment, soil samples were taken for analysis before the planting period and the number of seedling emergence was determined by planting the bean plant during the planting period. According to the results of the study, it was found that cement applied in two periods caused an increase in soil aggregate stability, decreased penetration resistance, modulus of rupture, and dispersion rate, and increased water holding capacity to a limited extent. On the other hand, cement application also had positive impacts on the emergence of the bean plant. The 1% dose of the spring application of cement was more effective on the determined soil structural characteristics and seedling emergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To conduct an in-depth investigation of the impact of various operating parameters on mulching device wear during the operation of full-film dual-row ridging and mulching machine mulching, this paper employed EDEM software to create a 3D discrete element model of how a mulching device interacts with the soil on the seed bed and simulated the dynamic process of the interaction between the mulching device and the soil during the mulching operation. We analyzed the cladding wear process between the cladding device and the cladding sand particles, and two areas of impact wear on the overburden conveyor housing and areas of wear on the chute deflector scratches were detected. A three-factor, three-level Box–Behnken experimental design approach was used, with mathematical modeling of the relationship between the scraper conveyor lifting line speed, seed bed cover, scraper spacing, and wear of the cover device, finding the optimal combination of operating parameters for mulching devices. The results of the simulation test indicated that the mulching device experienced a minimum wear of 0.958 × 10−3 mm at a lifting line speed of 0.7 m·s−1 for the scraper conveyor, a mulching volume of 2.55 kg·s−1 for the seed bed, and a scraper spacing of 98 mm. The results of the field trial validation showed that, in a comparison between simulated wear parts and a mulching operation prototype of the same two wear parts, the established discrete element model appeared reasonable concerning the structural parameters, with a feasible abrasion mechanism process of sand particles on the soil-covering devices, demonstrating the model's reliability and validity. It can serve as a guide for optimizing the design of mechanized full-film dual-furrow seed bed mulching operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the principle of asexual reproduction, a kind of scale breeding and reproduction technique of Ficus tikoua Bur. container seedlings was explored by using the characteristics of strong adaptability to the environment and fat growth and reproduction. Using non-woven bag as a breeding container for seedlings, the scale breeding and reproduction technique of F. ttkkua container seedlings was summarized through the important links of seedling bed construction, seedling collection, soil configuration, container selection, cutting cultivation, field management, and disease and pest control. This technique can achieve differential, massive and sustainable efficient breeding and reproduction of F. tikoua seedlings in a short time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a study conducted in Bihar, India, on the effects of integrated weed management practices on direct-seeded rice grown under aerobic conditions. The study examined various weed control techniques and found that hand weeding at specific intervals was significantly superior in terms of crop development and yield. The results emphasized the importance of efficient weed control for optimal growth and development of direct-seeded rice. The study also compared different weed management practices and found that weed-free plots and plots treated with pendimethalin followed by manual weedings had the highest crop growth and yield, as well as the highest gross and net returns. [Extracted from the article]

To meet the requirement of "zero speed" for precision sowing, the instantaneous speed of seed falling into the seed bed should be equal to the opposite direction of the forward speed of the machine. Through analyzing the principle of seed guiding process, the main influencing factors affecting the contour curve of the seed tube were determined to plan the seed guiding path and realize zero speed seed delivery. With the help of EDEM simulation software, taking the inclination angle of seed tube end, operating speed of the metering disc, and machine's forward speed as the experimental factors, a single-factor simulation test was conducted with the pass rate, replay rate, and missing seeding rate as experimental indexes. The results of the simulation test showed that the range of inclination angle of the seed tube end was 23°-40°, the range of machine forward speed was 5-9 km/h, and the range of operating speed of the metering disc was 15-40 r/min. The quadratic orthogonal rotation combination test method was carried out using the bench test, and a mathematical regression model was established between experimental factors and experimental indexes to determine the priority order of factors, and the best combination of factors. The test results showed that the pass rate was 93.25%, the replay rate was 2.97% and the missing seeding rate was 3.78% under the condition with the inclination angle of seed tube end of 32.28°, the forward speed of the machine of 6.89 km/h and the operating speed of the metering disc of 28.67 r/min, which can meet the requirements of relevant national standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Operator fatigue during work with agricultural machinery is a significant factor contributing to fatal accidents in Greece. Workers operating agricultural machinery, especially those working with tractors and off-road machines, constitute one of the most hazard-prone groups due to mechanical vibrations transmitted from the ground to the operators' seats. Operators of tractors and off-road machines are exposed to intense mechanical vibrations, underscoring the importance of cumulatively calculating permitted working hours. This work presents a study that was conducted at the Laboratory of Safety and Ergonomics of Agricultural Machinery, Department of Agriculture - Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly, in order to evaluate the vibrations generated when operators work with agricultural tractors and off-road machinery. The results of the study showed that the highest levels of vibration occurred during disc harrowing operation, particularly when the disc harrow moved vertically or at an angle of 30° to the ploughing direction. For seed bed preparation, it is recommended to use tractors equipped with a suspension system for the operator's cabin and a seat with an adjustable range of perceived vibration. Additionally, to prevent fatigue or health problems for tractor operators, it is advisable to limit permitted working hours to fewer than 8 hours per day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weeds have emerged as a problem and their control is the most expensive input for sustainable organic crop production. We are constantly looking for ways to increase organic crop yields while using less energy and resources. The evaluation work was therefore undertaken from 2017-19 in an on-going trial commenced since 2016 under AICRP-WM (All India Coordinated Research Project on Weed Management) at Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. There were ten treatments viz., hoeing, stale seed bed + hoeing, raised stale seed bed + hoeing, mulch, stale seed bed + mulch, raised stale seed bed + mulch, intercropping, crop rotation, intensive cropping and chemical check, tested in maize based cropping system. The highest green cob yield of maize was produced under the chemical check treatment (10323 kg/ha). Statistically equivalent green cob yield was produced under RSSB + hoeing, that was 9208 kg/ha. While considering the system as a whole, it was found that intercropping followed by chemical control and RSSB + hoeing produced the most energy from the crops' primary products. Crop rotation treatment combined with RSSB resulted in significantly greater energy use efficiency (12.3%). Intercropping had the highest energy intensity (2.39 MJ/rupees), followed closely by crop rotation (2.37 MJ/rupees), while SSB + hoeing had the lowest energy intensity (1.74 MJ/rupees). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precision seeding is an effective technical way to improve quality and reduce material costs. However, certain factors limit the development and promotion of precision seeding technology, among which the main factor is that the agronomic requirements of sowing vary significantly in different areas, and there is a lack of suitable implements; at the same time, each link among the parts interact, which brings specific difficulties to improving the operational effect. This paper summarizes the precision seeding technology from the perspective of precision seeding realization and the consistency of seed spacing and use of consistent sowing depth control technology. A detailed description is included of the precision seed-discharge technology, the smooth seed-dropping technology, and the seed falling into the seed bed with precision. The need for regulation technology for consistent sowing depth is explained from a developmental perspective. The research status of compatible sowing depth control technology is described, as used in soil covering and compacting. This paper presents the problems and future development directions of soil-covering and compacting technology under precision-seeding conditions, including developing adaptable regional soil-covering and compacting devices, improving the processing and equipment technology of enterprises, strengthening the structural optimization design of soil-covering and compacting devices, conducting research into soil-covering and compacting control methods, and promoting the intellectual development of agricultural equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Research Seedbeds are strategies that promote professional development, strengthen the institution as well as its teachers and students. This research contributed strategies to the Public Accounting program to address the existing problems in relation to the factors that prevent an effective participation of the Students in the different Research Seedbeds. The work carried out had a mixed methodology, applying surveys to Students, and interviews for Coordinators, Leaders and Managers. In the results, it was found by the managers that strategies are needed in the program, as well as the role played by the Coordinators and Teachers, which lacks some skills when transmitting an interest in investigating, finally a better available to the Students, which among other aspects, significantly found that there are many preceding thoughts, misinterpreted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seedling-raising technology has been one of the most important measures to treat regional seedling raising during machine transplanting. Among them, an efficient seedling raising has been developed for darkened germination by stacked plates and seedlings mulched with non-woven fabric for the hybrid rice in Sichuan rice areas. The better performance of machine transplanting can be realized for even seedling growth and strong packing root. This study aims to clarify the effect of synergistic seedling raising of darkened emergence by stacked plates in the open area (DE) and seedlings mulched with non-woven fabric (NM) on the seedling characteristics of indica hybrid rice. Tianyouhuazhan (the indica hybrid medium rice variety) was taken as the material in 2020-2021. The mode of swing-plate emergence (SE) and seedling mulched with film (FM) were chosen as the controls. A systematic investigation was made on the microenvironment and emergence characteristics in the emergence stage, seedling quality, and the adaptability of machine transplanting under DE and NM treatments. The results show that: 1) The DE increased the average temperature and average relative humidity of the microenvironment during the emergence stage, compared with the external environment (EE). The DE decreased the coefficient of variation (CV) of temperature and relative humidity, while shortening the time of seed emergence, and greatly improving the emergence rate and emergence uniformity, compared with SE. The NM effectively improved the microenvironment of the seedling bed for the balanced growth of seedlings, compared with FM. Finally, the DE+NM effectively improved the seedling uniformity and seedling rate. The seedling uniformity under DE+NM of two years increased by 7.22-8.91, 3.67-5.55, and 8.29-10.38 percentage points, respectively (P<0.05), and the seedling rate increased by 4.08-8.09, 11.79-14.88 and 20.10-40.02 percentage points, respectively (except for DE+FM in 2021, P<0.05), compared with DE+FM, SE+NM, and SE+FM. 2) The DE significantly increased the seedling density, the total root length, the number of white roots, root superficial area, and root biomass per unit area. The NM significantly increased the root volume per unit area. Finally, the DE+NM significantly increased the root volume, root superficial area, root biomass per unit area, and root coiling force (except for DE+FM in 2020). 3) The DE+NM significantly reduced the rate of missed and hurting seedlings, whereas, there was an increase in the ratio of 3-4 plants per hole, and increased the seedlings per hole, indicating the higher quality of mechanized transplanting. The DE+NM can be expected to strengthen the seedling, particularly for the characteristic of “neat seedlings, strong root and suitable for mechanical transplanting”. Therefore, the improved seedling raising performed better with the low cost, extensive resistance, high efficiency, and low carbon. The findings can provide theoretical and technical support for strong seedlings raising and higher yield cultivation of rice mechanized transplanting in Sichuan rice area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field experiments consisting of two sowing time (early and timely), two tillage options (conventional tillage and conservation tillage) and ten genotypes were conducted with the aim to maximize the wheat productivity and profitability. The early sowing (second fortnight of October) produced 16.0% higher grain yield compared to timely sowing (mid-November) in northern Indian Plains. However, no significant yield differences were observed between conventional tillage (CT) and conservation tillage (CST) practices. Among genotypes, the better yielders were PBW 723, BISA 927 and HD 2967. The interaction of sowing time and genotype had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on wheat yield. However, the interaction of genotype and tillage did not produce any significant response on wheat yield. The experiments conducted at farmer's fields also demonstrated similar performance of wheat under CT and CST systems but CST offered the savings of more than Rs. 3500 (US $ 47) along with 125 kg ha− 1 lesser CO2 emissions over CT due to reduction in fuel consumption associated with tillage and seed bed operations. At farmers field also, early sown wheat yielded 5.5% higher over wheat sown in November. The results of present studies show that early sowing of high yielding wheat genotypes under CST practice enhanced the productivity and profitability of wheat under rice-wheat cropping system along with lesser noxious impact on the environment. Amidst climate vagary and its menace on the agriculture, the adoption of climate-resilient management practices such as advancing the sowing time and conservation tillage can improve the productivity of long duration wheat cultivars in sub-tropical humid conditions besides lesser deleterious consequences on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The southern U.S. produces over 1 billion pine seedlings for market sales per year, with prices varying from 50 to 435 dollars per thousand seedlings. An accurate inventory of seedlings provides nursery management with insights into how many seedlings can be sold and/or if there is any loss due to washout, mechanical damage, or pest/diseases that can still be mitigated. In this study, we developed a system to count pine seedlings at production sites and map the seedling density in the field. A system with three cameras was developed to collect video from different drills in the seedling bed. The videos were preprocessed to restrict the region of interest to the center portion of the image in each camera and separated each drill into individual videos. Two different modalities, i.e., video and optical flow, were evaluated as inputs to a convolutional neural network followed by a long short-term recurrent network to model the sequence of frames and regress to the seedling count for each plot. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of our best performing model was 7.5%, which is an improvement over the baseline manual sampling-based approach with a MAPE of 11%. The results showed that the proposed approach was able to count seedlings in a crowded scene under complex field conditions with higher accuracy than the standard manual practice. Therefore, the proposed system and results demonstrated the potential to replace manual counting and even provide further information such as a seedling density map over the field for precision forest nursery management and seedling harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agronomic technology of whole plastic-film mulching on double ridges has been widely promoted in the arid region of northwest China, which has caused serious residual film pollution in the field. Mechanized residual plastic-film collecting is the main way, but this way of residual plastic-film collecting is more complicated. To prove the effect of typical film-lifting parts on residual plastic-film collecting performance by a numerical simulation method, further evaluate and select the working parts suitable for residual plastic-film collecting and improve the collecting efficiency, virtual whole plastic-film mulching on double ridges needs to be established. In this study, the film-lifting parts and the double ridge with flexible, deformable, mulching, film interaction model was developed using the discrete element method (DEM). The interaction model was used to simulate the operation process of a typical third-order shovel, hug plate and elastic teeth film-lifting parts. Furthermore, the operation resistance, seed bed disturbance and collecting residual film form under different working conditions were analyzed. The simulation results show that: the disturbance of the ridge from strong to weak is the third-order shovel, elastic teeth and hug plate film-lifting parts; the crushing of the ridge soil from strong to weak is the elastic teeth, the hug plate and the third-order shovel film-lifting parts; the collecting film from strong to weak is the hug plate, elastic teeth and the third-order shovel film-lifting parts; the median value of the horizontal force fluctuation range of the ridge soil on the film-lifting parts is increased, and the increase trend is from large to small in the third-order shovel, elastic teeth and hug plate film-lifting parts (the third-order shovel is 5250 N, 6250 N and 7750 N; the hug plate is 3250 N, 3500 N and 4000 N; and the elastic teeth are 4150 N, 4550 N and 5450 N). The comparative analysis results show that the hug plate film-lifting parts are more suitable for the residual-film collecting of whole plastic-film mulching on double ridges. Field trials were carried out to verify the operational effectiveness of the hug plate film-lifting parts. The results show that the morphological changes of the recovered residual film and the simulated mulching film during the operation of the hug plate-type residual film machine, and the distribution of the surface properties of the ridge after the residual-film collecting are basically consistent with the simulation results, and the film pick-up rate of hug plate film-lifting parts reaches 95.20%, and the established discrete element interaction model is reliable. The research results can provide reference for the research and development of full film duopoly furrow-mechanized residual film-collecting agricultural equipment in the arid region of northwest China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No-tillage and straw mulching precision planters can be widely used in the original stubble field. The kind of active anti-blocking precision no-tillage planter is adopted the lateral straw cleaning with the anti-blocking and air suction seeding. The straw cleaning and anti-blocking seed bed preparation device can be used to clean the straw from the surface side before sowing to build a clean seed bed, Then, the air suction seeding devices can be used for the seed metering, suitable for the high-speed no-tillage seeding operation. However, the dust can be generated by the operation of straw cleaning entering into the air suction seeding device. The performance of seed metering can lead to the reduction of seed quality. The same situation can also be found in the other no-till planter air-suction seeders during operation. Therefore, it can be seriously restricted in the application and the high-speed operation of no-till planters. In this study, the physical characteristics parameters of dust in operation were determined to identify the key factors on the dust distribution in the stubble fields. 2BMFJ-5 no-till and straw mulching seeder was taken as a research object. The EDEM and FLUENT software were utilized to develop the coupling interface under the DPM platform. Specifically, the turbulence model was Reliable k-ε and the number of meshes was 21.8 million using numerical simulation, according to the N-S equation. A combined test with the quadratic regression orthogonal center of rotation, and a virtual simulation test were carried out with the operating speed, wind direction, and wind speed as the test factors, while the dust concentration as the evaluation index, in order to explore the dust characteristics in 5 m space around the machine. The results show that the wind direction and wind speed presented an extremely significant effect on the dust concentration, whereas there was a significant effect of on operation speed. The primary influence was ranked in the descending order of the wind speed, wind direction, and operation speed. The interaction of various factors also posed an effect on the dust concentration. Particularly, the interaction of operating speed and wind angle shared a highly significant effect on the mean dust concentration, whereas, the interaction of operating speed and wind speed was a significant effect on the mean dust concentration. The dust was mainly distributed in on the left and right sides of the no-tillage and straw mulching planter in the original stubble field and around the seeding monomer. The secondary distribution was in the front of the machine, above the seeding monomer and above the straw cleaning, and anti-blocking seed bed preparation device. The distribution space of the minimum dust concentration was the cube space, corresponding to the middle seeding row above the straw cleaning and anti-blocking seed bed preparation device. The dust density was (41.99±10.87) mg/m3 , in which 86.24%±4.14% of soil particles, 4.15%±1.55% of straw stem, and 9.61%±2.59% of straw leaf. A series of field validation tests were also carried out to verify the simulation. Under the typical natural wind direction and wind speed, the soil hardness of 23.6 kg/c-1, the water content of 20.17%, the straw coverage of 1.97 kg/-1, and the water content of 28.13%, no-tillage and straw mulching planter operation speed of 9 km/h in the original stubble field during the time of sowing in Heilongjiang Province. The results showed that the relative error of dust distribution between the virtual simulation and field test was not greater than 8.6%, indicating the a reliable simulation. This finding can also provide a theoretical reference to design the active straw cleaning and anti-blocking no-tillage planter, especially for the dust proof air suction seeding system of the no-tillage and straw mulching planter in the original stubble field. The air-absorbing seed dischargers can be expected to serve as the high-speed no-tillers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to evaluate the effect of a chitosan polymers mixture in tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.), the present work was carried out in which different doses and moments biostimulant application were used. To do this, Amalia variety seeds sown in seed beds and later transplanted in the field at a distance of 0.25 m between plants and 1.20 m between rows were used. Polymers mixture of chitosan applications were made at two moments of the crop cycle, seven-eight days after transplantation and at the beginning off lowering, using the doses of 200, 400 and 600 mg ha-1 in each of the moments mentioned above, there were also three treatments in which the previous doses were applied in equal parts in the two moments studied, and a control without bioestimulant made room for ten treatments. The length and diameter stem, dry mass of the aerial part, leaf surface, average number of fruits and fruit mass, and the yield per plant were evaluated. From the results obtained, it was possible to conclude that the polymers mixture of chitosan application in the start period of the flowering, increased the accumulation of dry matter, the leaf surface, the formation of a bigger fruits number and yield of tomato plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Journal of Irrigation & Drainage Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The given analysis is committed towards the improvement of the design of the precision seeding drill coulter, especially regarding the main working element - the point. The quality of the furrow and seed bed formation directly depends on the coulter point. In the vertical plane, the coulter point has a combined wedge working surface with an acute and obtuse soil entry angle, and in the horizontal plane, it is arrow-headed at an angle less than the angle of friction of the soil on the steel. There are theoretically determined, values of the main design and technological characteristics of the improved point. As the result of laboratory research of a coulter improved design, it was defined that at the values of an angle of an entry into the soil of the upper part of the coulter within, the lower part of the coulter within, the camber of the point in the horizontal plane, a decrease in the draught of the coulter is achieved on average by 16%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weed management is a major obstacle in conversion from conventional to organic agriculture system, and objective of this study was to manage weeds in organically grown durum wheat. The treatment combinations of conventional tillage (CT) or deep tillage (DT) with 50% higher plant densities, zero tillage (ZT) with and without residues, straw mulching 6 t ha−1 and bed planting plus 25% higher plant density followed by hand pulling were evaluated for weed control in durum wheat in a two-year study. Tillage has differential effect on weed seed distribution and more than 60% of weed seeds were concentrated in 0–7.5 cm soil layer in CT and ZT, whereas 50.9% of weed seeds were displaced to 15–30 cm soil layer in DT. Bed planting plus 25% higher plant density followed by hand pulling resulted in lowering of weed density and biomass by 61.2% and 58.9%, respectively, at harvest. The maximum growth parameters, yield attributes and wheat grain yield, were obtained under bed planting with 25% higher plant density and one hand pulling. Sowing of durum wheat on raised beds or ZT with residue retention may be used as an effective and economical weed management tool under organic agriculture systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aimed to evaluate the efficacy of fungicides for controlling anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) on peach palm (Bactris gasipaes var. gasipaes) seedlings in nursery beds and in newly planted peach palms in the field. The nursery experiment included two fungicide combinations: [thiophanate-methyl + chlorothalonil (TM + C) and pyraclostrobin + epoxiconazole (P + E)], three application intervals (7, 14, and 21 days), and an additional nontreated control. The two field experiments with newly planted peach palms tested the fungicide combinations TM + C at 15-day intervals for 12 months after transplanting, comparing to the control without fungicide application. The severity of anthracnose was assessed, and it was used for calculating the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC). The fungicides TM + C and E + P applied at 7-days intervals were effective in the control of anthracnose in peach palm seedlings, resulting in the lowest severities and AUDPC. The fungicide TM + C reduced the maximum disease severity and AUDPC under field conditions. However, differences in the final severity of anthracnose and stem diameter were not significant compared to the control. Therefore, the use of fungicides for control of anthracnose in the field is not necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To prevent reliance on a single finite source of the medium in raising tobacco nurseries, there arose a need to evaluate alternative media based on materials already available on farms. An experiment was set to evaluate the effects of different soilless growing media on the growth and biomass of flue-cured leaf tobacco seedlings. The design used was a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments were 100% pine bark (control), 50% cattle manure + 50% sand, 100% coal rubble, 100% compost manure, 50% pine bark + 50% sand, 100% cattle manure, 75% coal rubble + 25% sand, 75% cattle manure + 25% sand, 50% compost manure + 50% sand, and 75% compost manure + 25% sand. The results showed that increased seed emergence and survival percent were observed in the following media; 50% pine bark + 50% sand, 75% coal rubble + 25% sand, 75% compost manure + 25% sand, 100% coal rubble, 100% compost manure, and 50% compost manure + 50% sand, these treatments were not statistically different from 100% pine bark (control). The stem length and diameter of tobacco seedlings were superior in the medium with 100% compost manure when compared to all other treatments including pine bark. Increased transplantable percent of tobacco seedlings were in 50% pine bark + 50% sand and 100% compost manure, significantly higher than 100% pine bark (control). Most treatments that used cattle manure had significantly lower seed emergence percent, survival percentage, and transplantable percent of tobacco seedlings. Therefore, tobacco growers are recommended to use the growing medium with compost manure and should avoid using cattle manure when raising tobacco seedlings in seed beds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep tillage, is performing tillage operations below 20 cm depth, has countless benefits in rainfed areas but the recent problem in the deep tillage is the loss of nutrients. Various techniques have been studied for declining the loss of nutrients. Therefore, this research was carried out in the University Research Farm, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan to find the effect of raised seed bed dimensions and integrated nutrient management on the yield of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivar (Pirsabak 2015) under deep tillage in silt clay loam (Pedocals) soil during 2019. The levels of planting technique factor were; 0 m high raised seed bed (P1), 10 cm high raised seed bed (P2) and 20 cm high raised seed bed (P3). Compost from domestic residues (C2), a combination of urea with compost (C3), and urea (C4) were compared with control, no N-fertilizer (C1) in integrated nutrient management factor. The result showed that the treatments had a significant effect on the plant height, spike m-2, grains spike-1, grain yield, biological yield, and harvest index. The highest plant height (0.44 m) and spike m-2 (88) were found in the combination of P3 with C2. The highest grain yield (3298 kg ha-1) was recorded in the combination of P2 and C3. The highest biological yield (9144 kg ha-1) was found in P1 with C3. Though the highest grains spike-1 (89), thousand-grain weight (45 g) and harvest index (39.91%) were calculated in the combination of P1 and C4. Almost all the parameters gave the lowest recorded value in the combination of P1 with C1. The research concluded that the combination of compost with urea and raised seed bed are the better option for enhancing the wheat yield under deep tillage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until now, the traditional method for planting pea seeds is manual because of the scarcity of planting machines. Therefore, this study aims to provide and evaluate a new seed drill for planting pea seeds on a raised bed in silt-clay loam soil. This seed drill consists of the frame, seeds hopper, seed metering device, transmission system, and covering unit. Laboratory tests on pea seeds were conducted to determine the seeds' physical and mechanical properties. Field trials were carried out under the following parameters; four forward speeds (0.79, 0.98, 1.28, and 1.64 m s-1), three disc cell capacities (1, 2, and 3 seeds per cell), two different cells shapes (circular, and a rectangle with semicircle end), and three distances between rows (7.5, 10, and 15 cm) to assess the performance of the seed drill on fuel consumption, specific energy, slip ratio, seeds damaged, germination ratio, plants number per hill, longitudinal scattering, and pea pods yield. The results revealed that the optimum performance of the seed drill was achieved at a forward speed ranging from 0.79 to 0.98 m s-1, using a disc cell capacity of 2 seeds, a circular cell shape, and a distance between rows of 10 cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat pumps with water as heat exchange medium applied in greenhouse heating have not been used for vegetable seedling cultivation. In this work, a multi-connected direct expansion capillary radiation heat pump (MDCRHP) was designed for vegetable seedling cultivation, and a closed local temperature control (CLTC) method was proposed to accurately control air and substrate temperatures in seedling beds, enhance the heating effect and reduce the equipment cost. The results show that the CLTC method can achieve good heating effect and quickly raise air/substrate temperature at a speed of 1 °C/min from 8 °C to about 20 °C within 12 min. The air and substrate temperature fields in the seedling beds were evenly distributed. The temperature differences at different horizontal positions and different heights were less than 1 °C, and the relative humidity was 100%, which is conducive to vegetable grafting seedling. It can be concluded from test results that the MDCRHP had strong adaptability for greenhouse heating and was obviously superior to the electric heating wire (EWH). The output capacity of the compressor can be controlled by adjusting the operation frequency to meet the temperature requirements at different stages of seedling cultivation. Under the conditions of similar external ambient temperature and heating effect in the seedling beds, the energy saving rate of the MDCRHP was 47–50.7% compared with the EWH. The cost of the MDCRHP is about 7.2% lower than that of the conventional heat pump. It takes 3–3.5 years to recover the equipment investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drying of agricultural products inherently is an energy intensive process. In the majority of drying processes, the energy for the air heating process is delivered by the steam, gas‐turbine, and combined‐cycle type power plants that run on the fossil fuels which in turn are responsible for global warming due to the greenhouse phenomena. The industry therefore is interested in the development of any energy saving measure in the drying process. This in turn reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Optimization of the drying process for energy reduction by the mathematical modeling may provide means to accomplish this goal. In the present study, the drying of canola seeds in a fluidized bed dryer containing heat carrier particles was investigated. Drying kinetics was modeled using dimensionless groups and the GHG emissions in each process were determined and analyzed. Three temperature levels and four ratios of Heat Carrier Particle (HCP) to seeds were applied. The lowest specific energy consumption (least GHG emissions) was achieved when the air temperature was set at 60°C and the drying chamber was filled with a mass ratio of 0.5 of HCP to seeds. Values of R2, RMSE, and k2 obtained for the predicted and experimental data were 0.90, 0.017, and 0.00092 respectively. Practical applications: In the current investigation, specific energy consumption and GHG emissions in different drying conditions of canola seeds in a fluidized bed dryer containing heat carrier particles were calculated and compared. A dimensionless approach was used to establish a new model for drying of canola seeds in the fluidized bed dryer. Subsequently, a dimensionless equation describing the drying behavior of seeds was derived. This method while being a simple model, gives high precision data for all effective parameters in the drying process. Therefore, the establishment of a dimensionless model for the drying kinetics and investigation of GHG emissions in the present study can be useful for the development of Eco‐friendly drying methods for future usages in food process engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agrochemical science and progressive practice have developed requirements for sowing crops and, in particular, grain. They will place the seeds in a moisture-proof layer to a predetermined depth on the prepared bed. This study aims to investigate designing a combined colter for exemplary sowing of cereals. To that end, to avoid these shortcomings in the technology of grain crops sowing, a technical solution in the form of sowing sections is proposed. Based on the results, the principal amount of fertilizers should be applied locally, in the soil near the seeds, below the sowing level by 3...7 cm. The soil above the seeds should be compacted with a density of 1.15...1.25 g/cm3. Analysis of the designs of grain seeders and the proposed technical solutions for the combined sowing showed that there are no devices that meet all the requirements. It provides loosening of the soil in the area of fertilizer and seed placement, sows fertilizer to the bottom of the furrow, covers it with soil, forms a compacted bed under the seeds, sows the seeds on the compacted bed, covers them with soil and compacts it over the seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contextualization: It is widely known that agricultural production systems have been in processes of improvement to become more efficient every day. The objective is to achieve the basic food demand in a small space. The aquaponics systems allow to increase the production of crops of commercial and nutritional interest in a minor area, with a rational use of natural resources. Knowledge gap: There are few studies about essential oils in aromatic plants, focused on nutritionally and medicinally topics, which have been cultivated in aquaponic systems. Mint is one of the crops with greatest potential in alternative medicine, due to its multiple bioactive characteristics. Purpose: This research evaluated the secondary metabolites present in essential oils of mint plants (M. spicata) from an aquaponic system with red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) and its productive parameters, compared with a harvest in a bed of seeding. Methodology: Three aquaponics systems (3 m²) were employed for planting plants, and the same area in a bed of seeding (9 m²). Plant and fish growth measurements were conducted monthly. The water quality parameters were measured weekly: NAT, nitrite, nitrate, phosphates, and pH. The extraction of essential oils was carried out by the steam drag method. The matrices obtained were characterized under a GC-MS model, comparing the area and retention time of the compounds found in both culture systems. Results and conclusions: Samples extracted from aquaponic systems exhibited a higher diversity of compounds compared to the bed of seeding. The most abundant compound in both systems was mint-Furanone, which was higher in the aquaponic systems. The mint grew considerably better in aquaponic systems, showing higher biomass, number of stems and productive parameters. This work has demonstrated that aquaponic systems have a greater diversity of compounds and better performance than traditional culture in bed of seeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agricultura Sociedad y Desarrollo is the property of Colegio de Postgraduados and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this report, we describe a local outbreak of small bark beetles on 4-year-old seedlings of Picea abies in a forest nursery in Central Europe in 2021. In March 2022, 10–50% of the seedlings were "dry" (i.e., with dry and easily broken twigs and with easily peeled bark) in each 4-row bed in the nursery. Half of the dry plants were completely covered by galleries of bark beetles and another 35% of the seedlings were with one or two bark beetle galleries. Almost 90% of the beetles found on the affected seedlings were Pityogenes chalcographus, and only 10% were Pityophthorus pityographus (we studied 100 seedlings in the second bed). The chipping of Picea pungens in previous years had left many felled trunks, branches, and other logging residues in the area. These residues are covered by galleries of both bark beetles. We suggest that, after multiplying on the logging residues, the beetles could not find suitable material for reproduction and were lured to the nursery seedlings, which had been weakened by location (a location that provided inadequate shade and no wind protection) and by repeated replanting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Journal of Irrigation & Drainage Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1924, discusses the success of efforts to combat yellow fever through mosquito control. It highlights the achievements of individuals such as Gorgas in Havana and the Panama Canal Zone, as well as the late Oswaldo Cruz in Rio de Janeiro. The article also mentions the progress made in other countries, including Ecuador, Peru, and Central America. The Mexican government has actively participated in these efforts, and the Brazilian government has undertaken a campaign to eliminate the disease from certain areas. The article emphasizes the importance of experimentation in medical science and calls for the cooperation and support of society in the fight against disease. [Extracted from the article]

• Proposed a corn seed spacing detection method based on image stitching and YOLOX. • The image stitching method based on "speed-rate" linkage could stitch multiple seed bed images into seed bed panoramic images. • YOLOX has been applied to the recognition and localization of seed targets in seed bed panoramic images. • This method can accurately detect the spacing of corn seeds in the seedbed panorama. Corn seed spacing is fundamental for detecting doubles and misses and calculating the seed spacing conformity and variation. These factors are essential for optimizing the corn seeding operation system and improving the quality of corn seeding. This paper proposed a corn seed spacing detection method based on image stitching and YOLOX in the seedbed. The image stitching algorithm based on the "speed-rate" linkage could generate a seedbed panorama by stitching the images obtained from an industrial camera. As a result, the seedbed panorama could present the overall distribution of seeds in the detection region. The YOLOX-based seed spacing detection algorithm was utilized to detect the seeds in the seedbed panorama, determine the position coordinates of each seed, as well as compute the seed spacing. This paper established a corn seed spacing detection system based on the above method and constructed the soil trough and field experiments. The soil trough experimental results indicated that: (1) The seedbed panorama generated by the image stitching algorithm based on the "speed-rate" linkage could accurately reflect the seedbed information; compared to other image stitching algorithms based on feature extraction, the image stitching algorithm based on the "speed-rate" linkage had obvious advantages in stitching speed and completeness of seed spacing information. (2) With a score threshold of 0.5, YOLOX had an accuracy of 96.67 %, a recall of 97.89 %, and an F1 of 97 %, which could be adapted for seed detection in seedbed images. (3) The missed detection rate of the YOLOX-based seed spacing detection algorithm in the seedbed panorama was 3.8 %. Compared to the seed spacing of the seedbed panorama was measured employing ImageJ (IM), the average error of the YOLOX-based seed spacing detection algorithm was 1.99 %. Comparing the seed spacing of the seedbed panorama obtained by the YOLOX-SSDA (YD) with IM, the average distinction between the two detection results was 1.53 mm, and the average detection error for seed spacing was 2.79 %. The field experimental results indicated that at different forward speeds (6 km/h, 8 km/h, and 10 km/h), corn seed spacing detection accuracy was 95.5 %, 93.2 %, and 90.6 %, respectively. Furthermore, the feasibility and accuracy of the corn seed spacing detection method in the seedbed were demonstrated. This research positively impacted the advancement of seeding detection technology and the enhancement of corn seeding quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmentally cued germination may play an important role in promoting coexistence in Mediterranean annual plant systems if it causes niche differentiation across heterogeneous microsite conditions. In this study, we tested how microsite conditions experienced by seeds in the field and light conditions in the laboratory influenced germination in 12 common annual plant species occurring in the understorey of the York gum-jam woodlands in southwest Western Australia. Specifically, we hypothesized that if germination promotes spatial niche differentiation, then we should observe species-specific germination responses to light. In addition, we hypothesized that species' laboratory germination response may depend on the microsite conditions experienced by seeds while buried. We tested the laboratory germination response of seeds under diurnally fluctuating light and complete darkness, which were collected from microsites spanning local-scale environmental gradients known to influence community structure in this system. We found that seeds of 6 out of the 12 focal species exhibited significant positive germination responses to light, but that the magnitude of these responses varied greatly with the relative light requirement for germination ranging from 0.51 to 0.86 for these species. In addition, germination increased significantly across a gradient of canopy cover for two species, but we found little evidence to suggest that species' relative light requirement for germination varied depending on seed bank microsite conditions. Our results suggest that variability in light availability may promote coexistence in this system and that the microsite conditions seeds experience in the intra-growing season period can further nuance species germination behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanized transplantation of rice is being imposed worldwide and it requires certain conditions to develop the process efficiently like the production of seedlings in trays. In Cuba, transplanting machines with the system to the filling of the trays are being acquired, so it is necessary to establish a technology that allows the transplanting machines to be put into operation. The objective of this research was to evaluate the quality of rice seedlings to be used in mechanized transplantation under sowing conditions, in Pinar del Río Province, Cuba, with the use of the ERP-60 transplanter. Among the main results obtained in the tray seedbed technology at the time of transplantation, an interaction was found between the factors under study. When the component elements of the substrate were mixed and left at rest, the plants found the appropriate conditions for growth, in the fourelement substrate (ST + MOT + FCSM + CAC), with 30 or more days of rest. This made possible to achieve seedlings of 15.37 cm high and 2.19 mm thick, 19 days after the seed germinated, complying with the requirements for transplantation with the ERP-60 machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Julius-Kühn-Archiv is the property of Julius Kuehn Institut and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Strip-tillage is an effective option for proper seedbed preparation because it ensures the suitable conditions for seed germination and has been widely implemented. This study developed a strip-tillage of corn planter row cleaner using bionic vertical rotary blades to remove seedbed straw and ideal soil for no tillage sowing can be created. Through the qualitative analysis of the serrated arrangement contour of the praying mantis foreleg tip, the characteristic curve of the praying mantis foreleg tip was extracted and fitted, and the bionic geometric structure surface of the vertical rotary blade was constructed. The model and interaction system were established in EDEM 2.6 simulation environment, and their physical properties were calibrated with the real properties of lime concretion black soil and wheat straw. According to theoretical design to set simulation parameters, the radius of the cutter head was set to 120 mm, the driving speed of the cutter shaft was set to 500 r/min, and the depth of the cutting edge was set to 10 mm, the operating velocity of the active anti-blocking device was set to 5 km/h. The experiment results show that when the moving speed ratio is increased from 2.8 to 4.5, compared with the traditional vertical rotary blades, the straw removal rate and soil uniformity of seed bed are increased by 6.4% and 9.3%, and the average torque of the rotary tiller has been reduced by 12.3% respectively, the process effect and sowing quality being effectively improved. The study can provide theoretical reference for realization of no-tillage sowing vertical rotary tillage blade to reduce resistance and consumption and improve the quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted from December 2020 to March 2021 at the Department of Agronomy, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, to develop an integrated weed management strategy for green gram. Hand weeding at 20 DAS and 40 DAS recorded the lowest weed dry matter production and the highest weed control efficiency. All the treatments where pre-emergence herbicide application was integrated with hand weeding were highly effective in reducing the weed dry matter production. Weed control efficiency was the highest (97 per cent) in imazethapyr + imazamox followed by (fb) hand weeding, and diclosulam fb hand weeding. Plant height, number of branches/plant, number of pods/plant and number of seeds/pod in green gram were significantly improved with weed management practices as compared with unweeded control. Weed control efficiency, biometric parameters and grain and haulm yields of green gram were significantly lower with the stale seed bed technique. Grain and haulm yields were the highest in hand weeding, which was statistically at par with all the weed management practices where herbicides were integrated with hand weeding. The highest B: C ratio was observed in imazethapyr + imazamox fb hand weeding (1.28), followed by diclosulam fb hand weeding (1.27). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted at Coconut Research Station, Balaramapuram, Kerala during Kharif 2019 (June to September) to arrive at a cost-effective weed management practice for bush type cowpea. The experiment was conducted in RBD with seedbed preparation as first factor and weed management practices as second factor. Seedbed preparation comprised of stale seedbed and normal seed bed and weed management practices comprised of dried banana leaf mulch alone @ 10 t ha-1, dried banana leaf mulch @ 10 t ha-1 followed by (fb) post emergence application of imazethapyr orquizalofop-p-ethyl @ 50 g ha-1 at 25 DAS, pre-emergence application of diclosulam @ 12.5 g ha-1 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl @ 50 g ha-1 or hand weeding at 25 DAS, hand weeding at 20 and 40 DAS and weed check. The results revealed that pod yield of bush type cowpea reduced by70 per cent due to weed infestation. Stale seedbed significantlyreduced the total weed density and dry weight and recorded higher pod yield compared to normal seedbed. Among the weed management practices, mulching with dried banana leaf @ 10 t ha-1 followed by quizalofop-p-ethyl application (50 g ha-1) at 25 DAS recorded the lowest weed dry weight (3.77 g m-2), the highest weed control efficiency (93%), pod yield (7589 kg ha-1) and B:C ratio (1.71). Pre-emergence application of diclosulam fb application of quizal of op-p-ethyl at 25 DAS recoded higher WCE than hand weeding twice but recorded lesser yield. Among the treatment combinations, stale seedbed or normal seedbed + dried banana leaf mulching @ 10 t ha-1 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl@ 50 g ha-1 at 25 DAS recorded higher pod yield and B:C ratio (7731.7 kg ha-1 and 1.72 and 7446.3 kg ha-1 and 1.70, respectively) with a WCE of 95 and 91 per cent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Protection layers are often used to prevent scour and erosion, e.g., prevention of scour around wind turbine foundations. However, several cases exist where installed scour protection has settled, where loss of sediment through the armor layer can explain the failure. This paper presents the use of a detailed large eddy simulation–discrete-element method (LES-DEM) model to study sediment particles in porous media. First, a simple idealized case of the removal of sediment from an idealized cavity beneath a smooth turbulent boundary layer was set up. The model showed the penetration of turbulence, mainly in the form of sweep events, into the cavity. This high momentum would at times reach the bottom and entrain the fine sediments. The sediment would subsequently roll over and form a pile and at times be suspended from the return flow of the penetrating turbulence. Finally, a more realistic armor layer was set up with a series of closely packed spheres. Fine sediments were seeded at the bed. A hydraulically rough boundary layer was developed over the armor layer, where turbulent statistics from the model compared well against experiments. Turbulent structures characteristic of the bursting process were identified in the rough wall case. The penetration of sweep events' entrainment and suspending the finer sediments is detailed. The flushing of cavities from passing ejection events is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]