Determining nitrogen topdressing rates in accordance with actual seedling density and crop nitrogen status in direct-seeded rice.

BACKGROUND: Adjusting nitrogen (N) input based on actual seedling density (ASD) and plant N status is a practical approach for improving the yield stability of direct-seeded rice. However, the adjustment of topdressing N rates has been empirical in the past. This study aimed to establish a quantitative approach for determining N topdressing rates during tillering (Ntil ) and panicle development (NPI ) based on ASD and crop N status in direct-seeded rice. Field experiments were conducted involving 12 treatments, consisting of four Ntil and three seeding rates in 2017, and eight treatments combining seeding rate, Ntil , and NPI in 2020. RESULTS: Linear regression analysis revealed that the tiller number at panicle initiation (TILPI ) was predominantly influenced by ASD and Ntil . The determination coefficients (R2 ) of the regression models ranged from 0.887 to 0.936 across the four-season experiments. The results indicated that Ntil could be determined accurately using ASD and the target maximum tiller number. Similarly, grain yield was influenced significantly by the N uptake at panicle initiation (NUPPI ) and NPI , with R2 of 0.814 and 0.783 in the early and late seasons of 2020, respectively. This suggested that NPI could be calculated based on NUPPI and the target grain yield. CONCLUSION: The findings offer a quantitative method for establishing N topdressing rates for tillering and panicle development, relying on the monitoring of actual seedling density and plant N status in direct-seeded rice production. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Improving grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency of direct-seeded rice with simplified and nitrogen-reduced practices under a double-cropping system in South China.

BACKGROUND: Enhancing grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of rice is of great importance for sustainable agricultural development. Little effort has been made to increase grain yield and NUE of direct-seeded rice under the double-cropping system in South China. Field trials were conducted during 2018-2020 with four treatments, including nitrogen-free, farmers' fertilization practice (FP), 'three controls' nutrient management (TC), and simplified and nitrogen-reduced practice (SNRP). RESULTS: Grain yield under SNRP averaged 6.46 t ha-1 during the three years and was 23.0% higher than that of FP but comparable to that of TC. Recovery efficiency (REN ), agronomic efficiency (AEN ), and partial factor productivity (PFPN ) of nitrogen under SNRP increased by 12.0-22.7%, 159.3-295.0% and 94.6-112.5% respectively compared with FP. Harvest index and sink capacity increased by 7.3-10.8% and 14.9-21.3% respectively. Percentage of productive tillers (PPT) and biomass after heading increased by 24.0% and 104.5% respectively. Leaf nitrogen concentration at heading and nitrogen accumulation after heading increased by 16.3% and 842.0% respectively. Grain yield was positively correlated with PPT, sink capacity, harvest index, biomass and nitrogen accumulation after heading, REN , AEN , and PFPN . CONCLUSION: Grain yield and NUE under SNRP were superior to those under FP and comparable to those under TC. Increase in sink capacity, higher PPT, more biomass and nitrogen accumulation after heading, and greater harvest index were responsible for high grain yield and NUE in SNRP with reduced nitrogen fertilizer and labor input. SNRP is a feasible approach for direct-seeded rice under a double-cropping system in South China. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Residual Stress Distribution Monitoring and Rehabilitation in Ferromagnetic Steel Rods.

Different means of residual stress distribution monitoring in magnetic rods are illustrated in this paper, through measurements of permeability, magnetoelastic uniformity using two different setups, sound velocity, and eddy currents. The effectiveness of these techniques was assessed through the stress monitoring of the same magnetic rod, suffering residual stresses in two known volumes caused by controlled hammering. Furthermore, rehabilitation has been achieved by means of stress annihilation, achieved by localized induction heating. As a result, the magnetoelastic and sound velocity uniformity measurements are more appropriate for the monitoring of localized residual stresses, while eddy current measurements are useful for the monitoring of the geometrical deformation.

Mix-cropping of rice and water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea Lour.) increases rice photosynthetic efficiency, yield, grain quality and soil available nutrients.

BACKGROUND: Cereal cultivation with legumes plays an important role in improving biodiversity and productivity. However, there are limited references concerning rice/legume mix-cropping in paddy fields. An aquatic leguminous plant, water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea Lour.), was introduced and a related field experiment of two seasons (early and late seasons in 2019) was carried out to explore the effects of rice/water mimosa mix-cropping on rice growth, yield, grain quality and soil nutrients in the present study. Three treatments - rice monocropping, rice/water mimosa intercropping and mix-cropping - were employed in this study. RESULTS: Results showed that rice grew better with greater height, tiller number, chlorophyll content, actual photosynthetic efficiency [Y(II)], maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv /Fm ) and photochemical quenching coefficient (qP) in the intercropping and mix-cropping treatments. In addition, the intercropping and mix-cropping treatments increased nutrient uptake of nitrogen (N) by11.89-24.42%, phosphorous (P) by 17.75-36.61% and potassium (K) by 19.22-47.44%, and rice yield by 19.9% and 21.8%. Conversely, the non-photochemical quenching coefficient (NPQ), chalkiness degree and chalky rate of rice were lower in the intercropping and mix-cropping treatments relative to those in the monocropping treatments. Notably, soil alkali-hydrolysable N (AN), available P (AP) and K (AK) contents were the highest in the mix-cropping treatments among the three cropping systems. CONCLUSION: We suggest that rice/water mimosa mix-cropping is an environmentally friendly agroecological system with a higher output and can be extended for green rice production and largely applied in the paddy field. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea Lour.) can fix and transfer nitrogen to rice in their intercropping system.

BACKGROUND: Cereal-legume intercropping systems are an environmentally friendly practice in sustainable agriculture. However, research on the interspecific interaction of nitrogen (N) between rice and aquatic legumes has rarely been undertaken. To address this issue, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate N utilization and the N interaction between rice and water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea Lour.) in an intercropping system. The root barrier patterns consisted of solid barrier (SB), mesh barrier (MB), and no barrier (NB) treatments. The N fertilizer application rates were low, medium, and high N rates. RESULTS: The results showed that the NB treatment better facilitated rice growth compared with the MB and SB treatments. And the nitrate N content and urease activity of rice rhizospheric soil in the NB treatment were the highest of the three separated patterns. The ammonium N content in water mimosa rhizospheric soil and N2 fixation of water mimosa ranked as NB > MB > SB. CONCLUSIONS: The amount of N fixation by water mimosa was 4.38-13.64 mg/pot, and the N transfer from water mimosa to rice was 3.97-9.54 mg/pot. This can promote the growth of rice and reduce the application of N fertilizer. We suggest that the rice-water mimosa intercropping system is a sustainable ecological farming approach and can be applied in the field to facilitate rice production. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Sensor to Monitor Localized Stresses on Steel Surfaces Using the Magnetostrictive Delay Line Technique.

In this paper, a new type of force sensor is presented, able to monitor localized residual stresses on steel surfaces. The principle of operation of the proposed sensor is based on the monitoring of the force exerted between a permanent magnet and the under-test steel which is dependent on the surface permeability of the steel providing a non-hysteretic response. The sensor's response, calibration, and performance are described followed by a discussion concerning the applications for steel health monitoring.

Optimized nitrogen management improves grain yield of rice by regulating panicle architecture in South China.

Optimized nitrogen (N) management (OPT), with reduced total N input and more N applied during panicle development, has been proved to increase grain yield of rice through panicle enlargement. However, the changes in panicle architecture and source of variation are not well understood. A hybrid rice variety named Tianyou 3618 was subjected to OPT and farmer's fertilizer practice (FFP) in early cropping seasons of 2016 and 2017. With 16.7 % less N input, OPT increased panicle size by 8.6 % and 27.4 %, and grain yield by 13.8 % and 12.3 % for 2016 and 2017, respectively. OPT had greater dry matter accumulation and N uptake from panicle initiation to heading, which bolstered panicle enlargement. The number of surviving florets per branch was quite constant under different N treatments for all primary, secondary, and tertiary branches, implying that panicle size was mainly determined by the number of branches rather than the number of florets per branch. Little change was observed between OPT and FFP in differentiation, degeneration and survival of primary branches and their florets. Surviving secondary and tertiary branches and their florets were significantly more under OPT than those under FFP. The increase in surviving secondary branches under OPT resulted from both enhanced differentiation and reduced degeneration. While the increase in surviving tertiary branches under OPT was merely from enhanced differentiation though their degeneration was also dramatically increased. Among the increased differentiated florets under OPT, 32.4%-36.3 % and 61.6%-67.7 % came from secondary and tertiary branches, respectively. Among the increased surviving florets under OPT, 62.2%-65.2 % and 32.5%-37.8 % came from secondary and tertiary branches, respectively. Both secondary branches and tertiary branches were principal contributors to the increase in panicle size of OPT. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the detailed changes in panicle architecture and their involvement in panicle enlargement and yield gain under OPT.

Post-heading dry-matter transport and nutrient uptake differentiate hybrid and inbred indica rice in the double-cropping system in South China.

Introduction: Hybrid rice demonstrated superior performance in enhancing yield and efficiency in rice production compared to inbred rice. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism responsible for the increased yield and efficiency of hybrid rice in South China's double-cropping rice region remains understudied. Methods: Field experiments over two consecutive years were conducted. Firstly, yield variations among 20 inbred and 15 hybrid rice cultivars prevalent in South China's double-cropping rice system were examined. Secondly, selecting representative hybrid and inbred rice cultivars with significant yield disparities were carried out on further analyzing dry-matter production, source-sink relationships, and nutrient absorption and utilization in both rice types. Results: Hybrid rice displayed an average grain yield of 8.07 and 7.22 t hm-2 in the early and late seasons, respectively, which corresponds to a 12.29% and 13.75% increase over inbred rice with statistically significant differences. In comparison to inbred rice, hybrid rice exhibited enhanced nitrogen concentration in leaves at the heading stage (15.48-16.20%), post-heading dry matter accumulation (52.62-73.21%), post-heading dry matter conversion rate (29.23-34.12%), and harvest index (17.31-18.37%). Additionally, grain nitrogen and phosphorus uptake in hybrid rice increased by 11.88-22.50% and 16.38-19.90%. Hybrid rice mainly improved post-heading nitrogen and phosphorus uptake and transport, while not total nitrogen and phosphorus uptake. Internal nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency enhanced by 9.83%-14.31% and 10.15%-13.66%, respectively. Post-heading dry matter accumulation, harvest index, grain nitrogen and phosphorus uptake, and internal nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency exhibited significant positive linear correlations with grain yield. Discussion: The period from heading to maturity is critical for enhancing hybrid rice yield and efficiency. Improving photosynthetic capacity during this period and promoting nutrient transport to grains serve as crucial pathways for increasing grain yield and efficiency. This study is of great significance for further improvement grain yield and breeding rice cultivars with high-yield and high nutrients use efficiency for South China's double-cropped rice system.

Growth, nutrient uptake and transcriptome profiling of rice seedlings in response to mixed provision of ammonium- and nitrate-nitrogen.

Nitrogen (N) is a principal macronutrient and plays a paramount role in mineral nutrition of rice plants. Mixed provision of ammonium- and nitrate-nitrogen (MPAN) at a moderate level could enhance N uptake and translocation and promote growth of rice, but current understanding of their molecular mechanisms is still insufficient. Two rice lines of W6827 and GH751, with contrasting ability of N uptake, were subjected to four levels of MPAN (NH4+/NO3- = 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75) in hydroponic experiments. In terms of plant height, growth rate and shoot biomass, growth of GH751 tended to increase firstly and then decrease with enhancement in NO3--N ratio. It attained maximal level under 75:25 MPAN, with an 8.3% increase in shoot biomass. In general, W6827 was comparatively less responsive to MPAN. For GH751, the uptake rate of N, phosphor (P) and potassium (K) under 75:25 MPAN was enhanced by 21.1%, 20.8% and 16.1% in comparison with that of control (100:0 MPAN). Meanwhile, the translocation coefficient and content in shoots of N, P and K were all increased significantly. In contrast to transcriptomic profile under control, 288 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected to be up-regulated and 179 DEGs down-regulated in transcription under 75:25 MPAN. Gene Ontology analysis revealed that some DEGs were up-regulated under 75:25 MPAN and they code for proteins mainly located in membrane and integral component of membrane and involved in metal ion binding, oxidoreductase activity and other biological processes. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis indicated that DEGs related to nitrogen metabolism, carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms, photosynthesis, starch and sucrose metabolism, and zeatin biosynthesis were up- or down-regulated in transcription under 75:25 MPAN, and they are responsible for improved nutrient uptake and translocation and enhanced growth of seedlings.

Optimized nitrogen management enhances lodging resistance of rice and its morpho-anatomical, mechanical, and molecular mechanisms.

Increasing evidence shows that improved nitrogen management can enhance lodging resistance and lower internodes play a key role in the lodging resistance of rice. However, little is known about the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the enhanced lodging resistance under improved nitrogen management. In the present study, two rice varieties, with contrasting lodging resistance, were grown under optimized N management (OPT) and farmers' fertilizer practices. Under OPT, the lower internodes of both cultivars were shorter but the upper internodes were longer, while both culm diameter and wall thickness of lower internodes were dramatically increased. Microscopic examination showed that the culm wall of lower internodes under OPT contained more sclerenchyma cells beneath epidermis and vascular bundle sheath. The genome-wide gene expression profiling revealed that transcription of genes encoding cell wall loosening factors was down-regulated while transcription of genes participating in lignin and starch synthesis was up-regulated under OPT, resulting in inhibition of longitudinal growth, promotion in transverse growth of lower internodes and enhancement of lodging resistance. This is the first comprehensive report on the morpho-anatomical, mechanical, and molecular mechanisms of lodging resistance of rice under optimized N management.

QTLs identification for nitrogen and phosphorus uptake-related traits using ultra-high density SNP linkage.

To understand the genetic basis of nitrogen and phosphorus uptake in the cultivated rice, quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis for 7 nitrogen and phosphorus uptake-related traits including above-ground biomass (AGB), leaf colour value (SPAD) in heading stage, grain nitrogen concentration (GNC), grain nitrogen content of the plant, total nitrogen content (TNC), grain phosphorus concentration, total phosphorus content (TPC) were conducted using SNP markers in a F2 population derived from a cross between GH128 and W6827. A total of 21 QTLs for nitrogen and phosphorus uptake-related traits distributed in 16 regions along 6 chromosomes were detected using a high density genetic map consisting of 1582 bin markers, with QTLs maximum explaining 8.19% of the phenotypic variation. Nine QTLs (42.9% of total QTLs) were detected on chromosome 2. Among them, two QTL clusters including AGB, TNC, TPC and GNC were also detected in the region bin 140 and bin 146 on the chromosome 2. The distance between the two clusters was only 4.1 cM. The presence of QTL clusters has important significance and could be useful in molecular marker assisted breeding. These genomic regions might be deployed for the simultaneous improving the use efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus in rice breeding.

High infrared radiance glass-ceramics obtained from fly ash and titanium slag.

A new glass-ceramic was synthesized by crystal growth from a homogenous glass obtained by melting a mixture of fly ash collected from a power plant in Hebei province of China, titanium slag collected from a titanium factory in Sichuan province of China, and MgCO(3) as an additive. According to the measurement results of differential thermal analysis, a thermal treatment of nucleating at 850 degrees C for 2h and crystallizing at 985 degrees C for 1.5h was used to obtain the crystallized glass. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy measurements showed that the main crystalline phase of this material was iron-ion substituted cordierite, (Mg,Fe)(2)Al(4)Si(5)O(18), which is homogeneously dispersed within the parent glass matrix. The infrared radiance and thermal expansion coefficient of this material have been examined, and the results demonstrate that this glass-ceramic material has potential for application in a wide range of infrared heating and drying materials.

Soil microbial carbon utilization, enzyme activities and nutrient availability responses to Bidens pilosa and a non-invasive congener under different irradiances.

Two Bidens species (Bidens pilosa and B. bipinnata) that originate from America have been introduced widely in pan-tropics, with the former regarded as a noxious invasive weed whereas the latter naturalized as a plant resource. Whether the two species exhibit different effects on the belowground system remains rarely studied. This study was conducted to investigate soil microbial carbon (C) utilization, enzyme activities and available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents under the two species in a subtropical garden soil of southern China under different levels of light intensity. Results showed that the microbial C utilization and enzyme activities were not significantly different under the two species, implying that the strong invasiveness of B. pilosa could not be due to the plant-soil microbe interactions, at least plant-induced alterations of microbial community function to utilize C substrates. Alternatively, available soil nitrogen and potassium contents were significantly higher under B. pilosa than under B. bipinnata in full sun, indicating that the strong invasiveness of B. pilosa could result from rapid nutrient mobilizations by B. pilosa. However, the differences turned non-significant as light intensity decreased, suggesting that light availability could substantially alter the plant effects on soil nutrient mobilizations.

Nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emissions under different N and water management in a subtropical double-season rice cropping system.

Nitrogen non-point pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission are major challenges in rice production. This study examined options for both economic and environmental sustainability through optimizing water and N management. Field experiments were conducted to examine the crop yields, N use efficiency (NUE), greenhouse gas emissions, N losses under different N and water management. There were four treatments: zero N input with farmer's water management (N0), farmer's N and water management (FP), optimized N management with farmer's water management (OPTN) and optimized N management with alternate wetting and drying irrigation (OPTN+AWD). Grain yields in OPTN and OPTN+AWD treatments increased by 13.0-17.3% compared with FP. Ammonia volatilization (AV) was the primary pathway for N loss for all treatments and accounted for over 50% of the total losses. N losses mainly occurred before mid-tillering. N losses through AV, leaching and surface runoff in OPTN were reduced by 18.9-51.6% compared with FP. OPTN+AWD further reduced N losses from surface runoff and leaching by 39.1% and 6.2% in early rice season, and by 46.7% and 23.5% in late rice season, respectively, compared with OPTN. The CH4 emissions in OPTN+AWD were 20.4-45.4% lower than in OPTN and FP. Total global warming potential of CH4 and N2O was the lowest in OPTN+AWD. On-farm comparison confirmed that N loss through runoff in OPTN+AWD was reduced by over 40% as compared with FP. OPTN and OPTN+AWD significantly increased grain yield by 6.7-13.9%. These results indicated that optimizing water and N management can be a simple and effective approach for enhancing yield with reduced environmental footprints.

Nano-crystal glass-ceramics obtained by crystallization of vitrified red mud.

Glass has been obtained by melting red mud from Shandong Province in China with different additives. Suitable thermal treatments were employed to convert the obtained glass into nano-crystal glass-ceramics. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed that the main crystalline phase in both the glass-ceramics is wollastonite (CaSiO3). These crystals are homogeneously dispersed within the parent glass, with an average crystal size of less than 100 nm. The size of nano-crystals varies when different thermal processes were used. Physical and mechanical properties, such as density, thermal expansion coefficient, hardness, and bending strength, of the two glasses have been examined and the corresponding microstructures are discussed. These results demonstrate that both glass-ceramics have potential for a wide range of construction application.

Pore structure and fractal characteristics of activated carbon fibers characterized by using HRTEM.

The pore microstructures in two viscouse rayon-based ACF samples were characterized by nitrogen adsorption and HRTEM. For TEM, a two-dimensional fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the original TEM images was performed, and pores in different size ranges were extracted by the inverse FFT (IFFT) operation. The surface fractal dimensions of the samples were evaluated by using both N(2) adsorption and TEM image analysis. The results show that TEM can portray the shapes of the pore, and it can give a quantitative evaluation of surface irregularity that is consistent with nitrogen adsorption results.

Breakthrough of methyethylketone and benzene vapors in activated carbon fiber beds.

The breakthrough of low concentration methyethylketone (MEK) and benzene vapors in beds packed with rayon-based activated carbon fiber (ACF) with different surface areas was investigated. The breakthrough characteristics depend on the properties of the ACF and the vapors, as well as on the adsorption conditions. The results of dynamic adsorption in an ACF bed were consistent with those of equilibrium adsorption by gravimetric methods. The breakthrough adsorption indicates that ACF, with an appropriate surface area, could be utilized in controlling volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air.