Effects of elevated CO2 concentration, supplemental irrigation and nitrogenous fertilizer application on rain-fed spring wheat yield

It is expected that the CO₂ concentration of the Earth’s atmosphere will reach 600–1000 ppm by the end of the 21st century. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the effects of elevated CO₂ concentrations on the development of rain-fed spring wheat in an attempt to identify a practical pathway to increase crop production. To accomplish this, a field experiment was conducted at Guyuan Experimental Station in a semiarid region of China during 2005–2007. During this experiment, the CO₂ concentration was increased to 40.0 ppm and supplemental irrigation and nitrogenous fertilizer (N fertilizer) were applied. The experimental results showed that the elevated CO₂ concentration significantly improved the thousand-grain weight and the grain number per spike. Furthermore, supplemental irrigation and N fertilizer application during the elongation and booting stage of rain-fed spring wheat in conjunction with an elevated CO₂ concentration improved the water use efficiency (WUE), nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), thousand-grain weight, and the yield by 14.6%, 39.6%, 9.3%, and 14.7%, respectively, when compared to groups subjected to the same treatment but not grown under elevated CO₂ concentrations. Furthermore, the spring wheat yield was improved by 81.8% in response to an elevated CO₂ concentration, 60 mm of supplemental irrigation and applied N fertilizer (37.5 g m^?2 NH₄NO₃). However, the presence of an elevated CO₂ concentration without supplemental irrigation and N fertilizer only resulted in an increase in the wheat yield of 7.8%. Consequently, the combination of elevated CO₂ concentration, supplemental irrigation and N fertilizer application played an important role in the improvement of WUE, NUE, thousand-grain weight, and grain yield of rain-fed spring wheat in this region.     

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.     

造纸废水灌溉对黄河三角洲盐碱地土壤酶活性的影响

造纸废水含有大量有机营养物质,经生物塘处理后灌溉退化滨海盐碱地可以有效改善土壤化学性质。分析了不同灌溉方式对土壤脲酶、磷酸酶、脱氢酶活性的影响。结果表明：在废水灌溉、清污轮灌和清水灌溉3种处理下,棉田土壤的脲酶、磷酸酶和脱氢酶活性均有显著提高;同样,清污轮灌模式下,轻度、中度及重度盐碱化土壤的脲酶、磷酸酶和脱氢酶活性也均有较显著的提高。较之棉田土壤和轻度盐碱化土壤,中度和重度盐碱化土壤酶活性的提高更为显著,具体表现为,与对照相比,中度盐碱化土壤的脲酶、磷酸酶以及脱氢酶活性分别提高了44.7%、15.6%、12.4%, 重度盐碱化土壤分别提高了823%、551%、320%。研究证明造纸废水灌溉不但可以提升退化盐碱地的土壤肥力,还可以显著提高退化盐碱地的土壤酶活性。     

水稻幼苗活力性状的低温反应数量性状基因座检测

以籼粳交“密阳23/吉冷1号”的F2：3代200个家系作为作图群体,在12℃冷水胁迫下,进行苗高、苗鲜重和苗干重等水稻幼苗活力性状的低温反应鉴定,并利用由SSR标记构建的分子连锁图谱为基础,对冷水胁迫下苗高、苗鲜重和苗干重以及它们的低温反应指数进行了数量性状基因座（QTLs）检测。研究结果表明,低温胁迫下上述幼苗活力性状在F3家系群中均表现为接近正态的连续分布,表现为由多基因控制的数量性状;在第1、2、7、8和12染色体上,检测到与幼苗活力性状的低温反应相关的QTL共12个,对表型变异的贡献率范围为5．2％-17．9％,其中位于第2染色体RM262-RM263区间和第12染色体RM270-RM17区间的与低温下苗高相关的qCSH2和qCSH12,以及位于第12染色体RM19-RM270区间和第1染色体RM129-RM9区间的分别控制低温下苗干重及其低温反应指数的qSDW12和qCSDW1对表型变异的贡献率较大,分别为16．6％、17．9％、15．9％和16．2％。其增效等位基因均来自吉冷1号,前两者均表现为加性效应,后两者分别表现为显性和超显性。     

不同灌水量对干旱区枸杞叶片结构、光合生理参数和产量的影响

宁夏枸杞是我国重要的药用植物资源.为确定宁夏枸杞的适宜灌溉量,在人工控水条件下,研究了不同月灌溉定额对宁夏枸杞叶片结构、光合生理以及果实产量的影响.结果表明：月灌水定额＜900 m³·hm^-2时,随着灌水量的增加,枸杞的叶面积、叶片厚度、栅栏组织厚度和叶片结构紧密度、叶片光合速率、瞬时水分利用效率、气孔限制值和枸杞果实产量显著增加,而气孔密度和胞间CO₂浓度则呈下降趋势;月灌水定额＞900 m³·hm^-2以后,叶片胞间CO₂浓度随月灌溉定额的增加呈上升趋势, 而叶面积、气孔密度和枸杞果实产量变化不显著,其他指标均呈相反的变化趋势.枸杞叶片蒸腾速率和气孔导度值以450 m³·hm^-2处理最高,分别达8.02和324 mmol·m^-2·s^-1;其他处理均低于对照.在节水条件下,900 m³·hm^-2的月灌溉定额较适合枸杞的灌溉.     

世界上可以用海水灌溉的盐生植物资源

报道了世界上可以利用海水灌溉的盐生植物种类及其生活型 、植物类型、分布、光合途径、耐盐水平和用途。此类植物有１６８种,分属３２科,一些用途不明的布盐能力达到适应海水的植物没有列入,例如粉藻科、眼有科、水龟科等,约有６０余种。     

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.     

Breeding of Anopheles mosquitoes in irrigated areas of South Punjab, Pakistan

As part of investigations on potential linkages between irrigation and malaria transmission, all surface water bodies in and around three villages along an irrigation distributary in South Punjab, Pakistan, were surveyed for anopheline mosquito larvae (Diptera: Culicidae) from April 1999 to March 2000. Samples were characterized according to exposure to sunlight, substratum, presence of vegetation, fauna, inorganic matter and physical water condition (clear/turbid/foul). Also water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), electroconductivity (EC) and pH of sites were recorded. A total of 37982 Anopheles larvae of six morphological types were collected from 2992 samples taken from irrigation/agricultural and village/domestic aquatic habitats. Anopheles subpictus Grassi sensu lato was by far the most abundant (74.3%), followed by An. culicifacies Giles s.l. (4.1%), An. stephensi Liston s.l. (2.6%), An. pulcherrimus Theobald (1.8%), An. peditaeniatus Leicester (0.3%) and An. nigerrimus Giles (0.1%). The four most abundant species were significantly associated with waterlogged fields and communal village drinking-water tanks. Habitat characteristics most correlated with occurrence of anophelines were the physical water condition and the absence/presence of fauna, particularly predators. Occurrence and abundance of Anopheles immatures were not significantly correlated with water temperature, DO, EC or pH. Malaria vectors of the Anopheles culicifacies complex occurred at relatively low densities, mainly in irrigated and waterlogged fields. In South Punjab, where rainfall is very low, it should be possible to reduce anopheline breeding through water management, as larvae develop mainly in water bodies that are directly or indirectly related to the extensive canal-irrigation system.