Food Production and Plant Nutrient Sulphur

Goal. Explore the components of digital technologies to increase the efficiency of weed control and crop productivity, reduce the cost of cultivation technologies, and ensure the environmental safety of herbicide use. Methods. The Normalised Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) of the crops was determined using the Cropwise Operation satellite monitoring service In field conditions, NDVI values were determined with the GreenSeeker device (Trimble Agriculture). Chlorophyll content in plant leaves was measured using a SPAD-502 field chlorophyll meter (Konica Minolta, Japan). The stress index Y(II) or real quantum yield of electron transport, which estimates the effective quantum yield of photochemical energy conversion to FSII, was determined using a field fluorometer Y(II) meter & Plant Stress Kit (Opti-Science, USA). The results were statistically processed. Results. Examples of the use of digital technologies in crop production to improve weed control systems are presented. Sprayers with intelligent systems for identification of weeds and targeted application of herbicides are being actively implemented in crop production. It has been shown that the combination of flumetsulam + florasulam herbicides effectively controls dicotyledonous weeds such as Lözelii’s dry rib, wild poppy, pink thistle, etc. For the determination of chlorophyll content (the value of the SPAD index) one week after treatment, the differences between the treated variant and the control were not removed. No significant differences were also found in the NDVI values. At the same time, the stress indicator Y(II), or the real quantum yield of electron transport of FSII, is quite sensitive and informative for determining differences in photosynthetic activity of weed plants and, accordingly, for a general rapid assessment of the efficacy/selectivity of the herbicide on the crop. An example of the use of satellite data to assess the weediness of a field is presented. In the early stages of maize development, a high level of NDVI index (0.4—0.5) was observed when weeds were actively developing, and correspondingly high levels of crop vegetation index were recorded. The NDVI value of the crop in the field changed significantly after the herbicide application: the index value decreased rapidly to 0.25—0.30. Multispectral (satellite) imagery can therefore be used to produce maps of weeds in fields during the early development of wide-row crops, allowing farmers to identify areas with high levels of weed infestation and apply targeted measures in good time. Conclusions. The use of digital methods to improve weed control systems is an integral part of the development of cultivation technologies in modern crop production. Digital methods make it possible to reduce the use of herbicides, lower the cost of cultivation technologies, increase yields and develop agriculture towards sustainable and environmentally friendly production. The development of multispectral approaches in the identification of plant species is promising not only for the improvement of weed control with herbicides, but also for the operational determination of the presence/emergence of resistant weed biotypes in the fields. The implementation of digital technologies (diginomics) or digitalization is a key component of the development of modern crop production on the way to increasing the profitability, productivity and quality of the crop for reducing the impact of agricultural production on ecosystems, as well as for significantly reducing the costs of growing technologies.

Food Security Under The Era Of Climate Change Threat

Economic and environmental benefits of digital agricultural technologies in crop production: A review

The modern enterprises of agrarian and industrial complex are characterized by the high level of automation of technological processes. The technological development level conformto 5th and 6th technology revolutions. The automatic and automated technologies in crop production and livestock production use data of internet technologies, Global Positioning Satellite survey and observations, mashine and tractor aggregates automated operating. The models nucleus and row of information models of agricultural objects were designed on the basis of information streams systematization. The analysis of results of simulation of biological objects, cenosises, ecosystems, agro cenosises and agroecosystems showed that the most acceptable type of model is the systemically determined dynamic model of potentially effective type. The Internet-oriented database of innovative development of institutes of an agrarian profile is designed. It contains the information about sorts, machines, mechanization means, electrification and technologies in crop production, livestock production, forage production, feed processing, crop protection, biotechnologies, mechanization, veterinary science and agricultural production processing. The database is positioned as the subject-oriented, retrieval database in web space. The list of indices to which the created architecture of the database corresponds is defined. More than 20 various databases of agricultural purpose which are used in educational process and production are created. These databases are useful to agricultural producers and also organizers of agricultural production, scientists, teachers and students. Information on key indicators of innovative products and institutes – developers of innovative solutions is provided in a basis.

Small millets are a group of six crops comprising of finger millet, kodo millet, little millet, foxtail millet, barnyard millet and proso millet. They are considered nutri-cereals and are a source of food, feed and fodder. After years of neglect, small millets, which can suitably designated as climatic-resilient crops, are now receiving more attention in India’s agricultural R&D agenda. The rich diversity of small millet crops has made them well suited to contingency crop planning and is viewed as important for the health and wellness of people. Research by ICAR’s All-India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on small millets focused on state and regional needs with the aim of developing appropriate technology for maximising crop production and productivity. Genetic potentials in specific crops were exploited using diverse germplasm available in gene banks. Crop improvement led to the development of 293 high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of small millets. Production and protection technologies for small millet crops have been standardised. Of late, major efforts have been made to strengthen research in value addition and grain processing. Future research priorities in small millets include the utilisation of trait-specific germplasm, varietal diversification, basic and strategic research for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, development of suitable crop production and protection technologies.

I study the IT sector's transition to its long-run share in the US economy and its future growth implications. My central estimates indicate that the IT revolution ends in mid-2020 and that future average annual labor productivity growth will fall to 2.09 percent from the 2.66 recorded over 1974-2015. I estimate these numbers by calibrating a model that links economy-wide growth with IT's sectoral market valuation to match historical data on factor shares, price-dividend ratios, growth rates, and discount rates. I show empirically the IT sector's price-dividend ratio univariately explains over half of the variation in future productivity growth.

These proceedings of the Third International Crop Science Congress contain 20 chapters which are divided into 5 parts. Part 1 provides an overview of the basic necessities of man and the constraints imposed by scarce natural resources and the actual genetic potential of the crop. Part 2 discusses the abiotic stresses in crops and cropping systems. Part 3 explains why regional variations in gene populations and biological diversity in agricultural systems are crucial traits for sustainable production systems. While the fourth part presents promising technologies in crop production, the last part contains the declaration of Hamburg which expresses the concern of crop scientists about the role of science in meeting the demands of future human needs.

The paper presents a comprehensive study of various methods and techniques used in the cultivation of planting material for reforestation purposes. This study is aimed at in-depth analysis and comparative evaluation of various approaches to the production of healthy and high-quality planting material for forest crops to increase the productivity and sustainability of reforestation practices. In the course of the study, a review of scientific literature in the field of crop production and reforestation technologies was conducted in the thematic journals indexed by Scopus, Web of Science, Elibrary, and Google Academy. The search depth was 40 years, and the search languages were English and Russian. According to the results of the study, today the method of growing seedlings with a closed root system is the most effective and dynamically developing way that can be used to solve a wide range of problems. The proposed methods of improvement are aimed at creating more economical and efficient systems for growing seedlings with a closed root system and represent the use of worked-out mines as greenhouses for growing seedlings. In addition, the use of the Internet of Things, machine learning, and neural networks will automate the process of growing seedlings, reducing human participation in this process and the risk of loss of planting material. Keywords: Reforestation, biological cultivation, crop production technologies, modern crop production.

The author explains the general principles of influence of the material and technical resources (MTR) on performance and efficiency of the main technological operations in crop production. Various technologies from the point of view of MTR expenses were estimated. The general tendencies in development of crop production technologies were revealed. The distribution of costs of materials and equipment to perform a variety of agricultural activities was determined. Cost indicators should be a guide in the search of innovative technological processes and working elements of agricultural machins. The greatest values of expenses of work, fuel, metal, and also, money where found. The concepts allowing to provide costs production reduction were formulated. To achieve the maximum productivity with the minimum expenses, the perspective calculations shoul be based on «progressive» agrotechnologies. When determining progressive agrotechnology it is necessary on reasonable grounds to approach indicators of crop productivity in various agrozones and regions of the country. For an assessment of efficiency of MTR by crop production and ensuring decrease in resource intensity of agricultural products by search and use of essentially new technologies for energy saving when performing agricultural operations, an integrated percentage indicator of comparison of progressive technologies with the applied ones was developed. MTR at application of new progressive crop production technologies by integrated percentage index were estimated. This indicator can be used for definition of efficiency of MTR. Application of the offered technique will promote an effective assessment of MTR, decrease in resource intensity by search and developments of essentially new technologies of performance of operations in crop production.

Is the IT revolution over? An asset pricing view

A Comparative study on Yield performance of Finger Millet Varieties under rainfed conditions in South Eastern Ghat Zone of Odisha

Effectiveness assessment of modern technologies and machines introduction is one of the most important economic objectives in agricultural production. The purpose of this paper is to develop a formalized effectiveness evaluation system of introduction of modern technologies and machines in crop production. This system is based on the use of modern software for creation of crop production process flow diagrams, business planning, and optimization of machines and technologies parameters. It is proposed to formulate the process of economic effectiveness evaluation of new technologies in crop production as a permanent operating three-stage indiscrete cyclic model for a particular industry, facility, district or region. In the first stage of calculations income and expenses staggered over a period of time and obtained through the new technologies or more modern tools are defined, using detailed process flow diagrams, fodder balance and other estimation forms. During the second stage project success criteria are determined by calculation of stability analysis and evaluation of feasibility and effectiveness of new technologies. Finally, in the third stage it is necessary to solve a task of introduced technologies parameters adaptation and optimization. The effectiveness evaluation system of introduction of modern technologies and machines in crop production, proposed in this paper, allows for quicker decision making regarding reasonability of replacing machines and technologies with new ones.

Labor quality and production technology in provincial China

The land is a limited resource. Due to the increase in population; it is necessary to increase crop yield from the viewpoint of food security. The sole use of inorganic fertilizers may create an imbalance in soil health by the reduction in crop yield. For sustainable crop production, it is necessary to balance the soil health using organics and bio-fertilizers along with the optimum use of chemical fertilizers. Bio-fertilizers are important in the nutrient management of crops because of their role in nutrient supply leading to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers. The use of Bio-fertilizers is a cost-effective and eco-friendly technology in crop production which is gaining importance in crop production the commonly used biofertilizers are azotobactor, azosprillium, PSB, VAM fungi.

Today great attention is paid to development of advanced technologies for production of ecologically safe, nonpolluting and biodegradable products, including without limitation cosmetic-hygiene detergents and household products. One of the main ingredients in formulation of such products is surfactants. For the purpose of widening of the assortment of such products it is essential to create new types of biodegradable surfactants derived from renewable, as a rule, plant raw materials. The object of this paper is development of technology for production of non-ionic surfactant, alkyl polyglycoside (APG), with improved characteristics on the basis of the alternative plant raw material, sunflower husks, being the waste by-product of sunflower processing, which is the most commonly available raw material in our country. The output of sunflower processing aiming at sunflower oil production is growing year by year and takes the leading place in the oil-and-fat industry, therefore processing of the waste product in the form of husks is of particular interest now. In the course of work the existing technologies of APG production were studied and their shortcomings were identified. According to such technologies alkyl polyglycoside is produced by combining glucose or aqueous syrupy solution of glucose with C10- C16 alcohol. As the sources of starch, from which glucose is produced further, there are used rice, corn, potatoes or wheat. Such products represent no wastes and have rather high production cost. Fatty alcohols are produced from imported palm or coconut oil. The new technology suggested by us is based on usage of the available and cheap raw materials. Glucose syrup is made with the help of the method of hydrolysis of sunflower husks cellulose, and fatty acids are derived from the sunflower processing cycle at the stage of alkali refining of sunflower oil, comprising C16-C18 atoms. Analysis of organoleptic, physical-and-chemical characteristics and evaluation of consumer properties of the resulting alkyl polyglycoside were performed. It was established that according to the suggested method it is possible to produce a non-ionic surfactant with improved detergent (CCM) and foaming power (foam height, foam stability), and also having soft dermatological action. The alkyl polyglycoside, created and produced with the help of our technology, can be used as an alternate substitute of expensive foreign non-ionic surfactants, can be helpful for extension of the assortment of biodegradable foam detergents, nonpolluting and safe for the environment.