Passive irrigation and functional morphology of crustacean burrows in a tropical mangrove swamp

Flushing measurements and a resin cast of a burrow inhabited by Sesarma messa and Alpheus cf macklay were taken from a Rhizophoraspp. forest. The burrow had 9 openings and occupied a swamp surface area of 0.64 m². Passive irrigation of the burrow was investigated by recording change in conductivity of burrow water in a chamber 45 cm below the swamp surface during tidal inundation of the swamp. The chamber was completely flushed within approximately one hour, i.e. by a single tidal event. Burrow morphology was determined by means of resin casting. The investigated burrow was of discrete structure, with an overall depth of 1.2 m and a total volume of 68 l, i.e. ca. 9% of the volume of swamp soil. The below ground surface area of chambers and tunnels was 3.8 m². The mean and maximum chamber/tunnel diameter was 7 cm and 11 cm respectively. The soil in the close vicinity of the burrow was extensively penetrated by roots, and any two parts of the burrow were located no further than 20 cm away from each other. By reducing diffusion distances within the soil and by being well flushed, the burrows provide an efficient mechanism for removal of excess salt accumulated in the soil around mangrove roots due to exclusion.     

Fishes, their biology and fisheries management in Lake Peipsi

The management of aquatic weeds in an irrigation scheme is constrained by the agro-economic system in relation to scheme layout, the nature and ecology of the aquatic weeds, agricultural practice, irrigation and drainage requirements, and the available resources for maintenance. The way in which the ecology, engineering and economics of irrigation and drainage channels interact to produce a pattern of management is investigated for the Mwea Irrigation Settlement Scheme, Central Province, Kenya. This is used to develop a simple model which enables the economic implications of varying the aquatic weed management practice to be identified. The model brings the selection of a weed control programme within the principles of engineering economy.     

Effect of salinity on quality of various agricultural crops

Summary The effect of salinity on the quality of various agricultural crops has not yet been explored much. This information is very important to Israel due to the increasing use of saline water for irrigation. This paper reports the effect of saline irrigation water on the quality, especially the taste, of several crops. Fruits from a processing tomato cultivar exposed to various degrees of salinity had higher values for total soluble solids (TSS) and acidity than their controls. The yield of fruit after saline water irrigation is lower, but this is offset by the nigher fruit quality and its consequent higher value. Melon fruits from plants subjected to saline water scored higher in taste than their controls when the fruits were analyzed fresh. After 3–4 weeks of storage at room temperature, there was no longer any difference in taste. Even though salinity slightly increased the TSS content, this did not correlate with the taste scores. Iceberg lettuce grown with saline water did not significantly differ in taste from its control, even when the sensitive triangle taste test was used. The same was true for peanuts. Thus, for these two crops no advantage of better quality would compensate for possible lower yields. Salinity had little effect on the yield of two varieties of Chinese cabbage, but increased the frequency of tipburn.     

Nitrogen fertigation of greenhouse-grown cucumber

Summary This greenhouse study investigated the response of trickle-irrigated cucumber (Cucumis sativa cv. ‘Petita’) to three N levels applied with every irrigation via the irrigation stream. The plants were grown in pots filled with 12 kg of soil. Water containing 5.8, 11.8, or 17.8 mmol N/l, and uniformly supplied with 2.0 and 3.9 mmol/l of P and K, respectively, was applied two to three times daily. In all treatments of 0.3 leaching fraction was allowed. The resulting total N applications were 15.7, 31., and 47.2 g N/plant. The total amount of water applied was 1851/plant. Total N and NO₃-N, in lajinae and petioles, increased with increasing N level whereas P and K in generated decreased. Although different NO₃/NH₄ ratios in the treatments may have influeced the response to N, it could be concluded that the highest yield was obtained with 11.8 mmol N/1 due to increased number of fruit. In the root volume of this treatment the NO₃-N concentration in the soil solution was aroun 7 mmol/1 for most of the growing season. The dry matter concentration of fruits was not affected by the N levels. It was concluded that 11.8 mmol N/1 applied with every irrigation via the irrigation stream is adequate to cover the needs of greenhous-grown cucumber for higher yield (9.42 kg/plant over a harvesting period of 93 days).     

Citrus orchard evapotranspiration: Comparison between eddy covariance measurements and the FAO-56 approach estimates

Abstract

The aim of this study was to use the FAO-56 single and dual crop coefficient approaches to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ET_a) over an irrigated citrus orchard under drip and flood irrigations in Marrakech, Morocco. The results showed that, by using crop coefficients suggested in the FAO-56 paper, the performance of both approaches was poor for two irrigation treatments. The Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) between measured and simulated ET_a values over the citrus orchard under drip irrigation was about 1.43 and 1.27 mm/day for the single and dual approaches, respectively, while the corresponding statistics for the orchard irrigated by the flooding technique was 1.87 and 2.48 mm/day. After determination of the appropriate values of the crop coefficient (K_c) based on eddy covariance measurements of ET_a, the performance of both approaches greatly improved. The obtained K_c values were lower than the FAO-56 values by about 20%. The low K_c values obtained reflect the practice of drip irrigation for one field and the low value of cover fraction for the other field. Additionally, the efficiency of the irrigation practices was investigated by comparing the measured K_c for two fields. The results showed that a considerable amount of water was lost by direct soil evaporation from the citrus orchard irrigated by flooding technique.     

Roles of Aquaporins in Root Responses to Irrigation

Due to current environmental issues concerning the use of water for irrigation, the improvement of crop water-use efficiency and a reduction in water consumption has become a priority. New irrigation methods that reduce water use, while still maintaining production have been developed. To optimise these techniques knowledge of above- and below-ground plant physiological responses is necessary. During growth, plant roots are exposed to cycles of wetting and drying in normal rain-fed and irrigation situations. This review concentrates on the below-ground aspects, in particular the water permeability of roots. Significant research has been conducted on the root anatomy and hydraulic conductivity of desert plants subjected to wetting and drying. Major intrinsic proteins (MIPs), most of which show aquaporin (water-channel) activity are likely to be involved in balancing the water relations of the plants during water deficit. However, many MIPs seem to allow permeation of other small neutral solutes and some may allow permeation of ions under certain conditions. The ability of the plant to rapidly respond to rewetting may be important in maintaining productivity. It has been suggested that aquaporins may be involved in this rapid response. The down-regulation of the aquaporins during dry conditions can also limit water loss to the soil, and intrinsic sensitivity of aquaporins to water potential is shown here to be very strong in some cases (NOD26). However, the response of aquaporins in various plant species to water deficits has been quite varied. Another component of aquaporin regulation in response to various stresses (hypoxia/anoxia, salinity and chilling) may be related to redistribution of flow to more favourable regions of the soil. Some irrigation techniques may be triggering these responses. Diurnal fluctuations of root hydraulic conductance that is related to aquaporin expression seem to match the expected transpirational demands of the shoot, and it remains to be seen if shoot-to-root signalling may be important in regulation of root aquaporins. If so, canopy management typical of horticultural crops may impact on root hydraulic conductance. An understanding of the regulation of aquaporins may assist in the development of improved resistance to water stress and greater efficiency of water use by taking into account where and when roots best absorb water.     

棉花节水灌溉气象等级指标

干旱是我国棉区主要的气象灾害,构建棉花不同发育期节水灌溉气象等级指标对于优化农田灌溉、指导农业生产具有十分重要的现实意义。论文基于农田水分平衡原理,利用全国347个地面气象观测站1961~2008年逐日气象资料、89个农业气象观测站1993~2008年（其中26个站为1980~2008年）逐旬土壤湿度、灌溉量、逐年作物产量等资料,结合FAO-1979作物产量-水分关系函数,针对全国棉区播种-现蕾、现蕾-开花、开花-吐絮和全生育期的水分亏缺率、水分亏缺量与减产率之间的关系,构建棉花不同发育期和全生育期节水灌溉气象等级指标。除发育时段不同外,其他在研究站点的选择、选取的因素等方面完全一致。结果表明：棉花全生育期节水灌溉气象Ⅰ~Ⅲ级水分亏缺率(D)和水分亏缺量（辅助指标）指标分别为：15%≤D＜30%、30%≤D＜45%、≥45%和1~2水、2~4水、≥4水;播种-现蕾为20%≤D＜40%、40%≤D＜50%、≥50%和0.5水、1水、＞1水;现蕾-开花为20%≤D＜35%、35%≤D＜45%、≥45%和0.5水、1水、＞1水;开花-吐絮为20%≤D＜35%、35%≤D＜50%、≥50%和1水、1~2水、＞2水。     

Microbial analysis of cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) produced with tap or treated waste water

There is increasing evidence for a significant role of fruits and vegetables in infectious diseases in humans. Their consumption is increasing and environmental factors such as water availability are impacting their production. In this study, adding fertiliser to tap water (TW) increased the microbial load above that found in treated waste water (TWW); coliforms were also introduced. Low numbers of Bacillus spp. were recovered from inside some healthy cucumber fruits. No visible differences were observed between cucumber plants irrigated with TWW or TW or cucumbers with and without endophytic Bacillus spp. This is noteworthy when considering the use of TWW for crop irrigation.