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Water management is critical for wheat production under extreme drought conditions, and the mechanisms by which root dynamics and soil water utilization affect wheat yield are uncertain. This study was conducted in 2023–2024 under a mesophilic semi-arid climate with a two-factor partitioned experimental design, aiming to assess the response of different irrigation amounts in winter wheat crops on root growth and development, soil water utilization, and yields in different soil horizons. The results showed that variety and irrigation volume had significant effects on the spatial and temporal distribution of root and yield components, with irrigation volume having the greatest effect on yield. Compared with CK, deficit-regulated irrigation significantly promoted root penetration to deeper layers and delayed root senescence. DRWD, RLD, RSA, and RV decreased gradually with increasing soil depth, and the peaks of RLD, RSA, and RV appeared at the tassel to flowering stage, respectively; and under deficit-regulated irrigation, the contribution of the A2W4 treatment to stable yield was greater. Therefore, A2W4 is an effective water-saving irrigation method to improve grain yield and water-use efficiency under deficit-regulated irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the effect of lining materials on the outlet flue gas temperature of waste incineration grate furnaces, the heat conduction of two kinds of water-cooled wall linings (SiC tiles + SiC self-flow mix and SiC castables) was numerically simulated by fluid module FLUENT of finite element analysis software ANSYS. The effects of lining materials and structures on the flue gas temperature in the grate furnace first channel outlet were analyzed. The simulation results were practically applied. The results show that: (1) the flue gas temperature in the first channel outlet is higher when the furnace lining is thicker; the flue gas temperature in the first channel outlet of the SiC castable lining is significantly higher than that of the SiC tiles + SiC self-flow mix lining when the lining thickness is the same; (2) with the fixed thickness of the SiC tills, the flue gas temperature in the first channel outlet increases with the increasing thickness of the SiC self-flow mix; with the fixed lining thickness, the flue gas temperature in the first channel outlet gets lower as the SiC tiles get thicker; with the fixed working layer thickness, the flue gas temperature in the first channel outlet decreases with the increasing thermal conductivity of the SiC self-flow mix. The onsite application shows that the SiC tiles + SiC self-flow mix lining has lower flue gas temperatures in the first channel outlet, higher boiler thermal efficiency and stronger anti-coking properties than the SiC castable lining under the same operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ethylene-Response Factor (ERF) subfamily transcription factors (TFs) belong to the APETALA2/Ethylene-Responsive Factor (AP2/ERF) superfamily and play a vital role in plant growth and development. However, identification and analysis of the ERF subfamily genes in maize have not yet been performed at genome-wide level. In this study, a total of 76 ERF subfamily TFs were identified and were found to be unevenly distributed on the maize chromosomes. These maize ERF (ZmERF) TFs were classified into six groups, namely groups B1 to B6, based on phylogenetic analysis. Synteny analysis showed that 50, 54, and 58 of the ZmERF genes were orthologous to those in rice, Brachypodium, and Sorghum, respectively. Cis -element analysis showed that elements related to plant growth and development, hormones, and abiotic stress were identified in the promoter region of ZmERF genes. Expression profiles suggested that ZmERF genes might participate in plant development and in response to salinity and drought stresses. Our findings lay a foundation and provide clues for understanding the biological functions of ERF TFs in maize., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2020 Hao et al.)

Objective: We studied the diversity of endophytic fungi associated with Ferula sinkiangensis K. M. Shen., Method: Endophytic fungi from different years (1-2 years, 3-4 years and > 5 years) and different parts (root, stemand leaf) of Ferula sinkiangensis K. M. Shen were isolated by tissue expand method. Strains were classified by morphology and similarity of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence by Clustal X method. Composition, diversity and preference of endophytic fungal community were analyzed by the isolation rate (IR), isolation frequency (IF), Shannon-Wiener biodiversity index (H'), Margalef Richness index (R)., Results: In total 140 endophytic fungi were isolated from F. sinkiangensis K. M. Shen and classified into 18 genera. Among the 140 isolates, Aureobasidium (25.7%), Alternaria (16.4%) and Phyllosticta (15.7%) were the dominant genera. The isolation results show that there were some notable differences between distribution and composition of the endophytic fungi isolated from different years and different parts of Ferula sinkiangensis K. M. Shen. Meanwhile, a certain degree of years and tissue preference were also obvious., Conclusion: The results obtained in this study will be helpful to exploit the endophytic fungal resources of Ferula sinkiangensis K. M. Shen, which can also provide a new way for the realization of the artificial breeding of Ferula sinkiangensis K. M. Shen.