Crop Production Efficiency Research Articles

Current Situation of Water Use Efficiency in Egyptian Agriculture

THE CURRENT research aims to enrich efforts exerted to increase crop production efficiency, which requires improving water use efficiency without posing negative impacts on the quantity or quality of water at the level of inlets. The most important results of the study were that the amount of losses in irrigation water reached its highest value between the field and the dam by about 7.815 billion m3, while the amount of water lost between the dam and heads of irrigation canals reached about 5.525 billion m3, but between the heads of the canals and the field it reached about 2.288 billion m3. The productivity efficiency of the irrigation water unit, the net return of the irrigation water unit, the return of the invested pound, and the ratio of irrigation costs to total costs reached its maximum value in winter crops compared to summer crops at the level of the Republic. Finally, the research recommended that the government perform periodic maintenance of irrigation water canals along various stages, especially in Upper Egypt.

Продуктивность и состав биомассы кукурузы в условиях центрального агроклиматического района Республики Коми

Abstract. In the Komi Republic agricultural production and crops are characterized by low heat availability, short growing season, poor and acidic soil. This determines the selection of cultivated plants. In order to develop and increase the efficiency of northern crop production, expanding the range of cultivated crops through new varieties and hybrids adapted to cold climates is a priority. Over the past twenty years in the central agroclimatic region of the Komi Republic the period with temperatures above 10 °C has increased from 88 to 95 days, and the sum of active temperatures has increased from 1400 to 1560 °C. This allows to expand the range of cultivated fodder crops, including new varieties of corn. Studies on the possibility of growing of maize cultivars (Zea mays L.) in the central agro-climatic region of the Komi Republic were carried out. The subject of this study was the modern maize cultivar, Dork, an early three-line hybrid characterized by rapid growth, cold and drought resistance in the initial stages of development. Zea mays plants were grown in a field on an area of 100 m2 near Syktyvkar (61.67 N, 50.76 E). Seeds of Zea mays were sown late, June 20, due to cold and raw weather in May – first decade of June. At a sum of effective temperatures of less than 1800 °C the Dorka cultivar formed 564 c/ha of green (fresh) mass and 106 c/ha of dry mass. In dry biomass the content of soluble sugars consist of 200 g/kg, carotenoids was 140 g/kg, amino acids – 52 g/kg, among them essential amino acids – 18.7 g/kg. The biomass of maize cultivar, Dorka, is rich in calcium and magnesium. Thus, in terms of crop productivity and nutritional value of biomass, the maize cultivar, Dorka, is promising for cultivation in the central and southern agro-climatic regions of the Komi Republic. It is suitable for use as green feed and silting.

An ensemble approach for assessment of energy efficiency of agriculture system in Pakistan|

An efficient assessment of energy consumption, energy flow, and energy use efficiency in crop (maize) production is inevitable to accomplish the intensive demand for energy. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models based on energy input-output analysis are commonly used for the assessment of energy efficiency. However, standard implication of traditional (CCR) and extended (SBM) models has shortcomings in reporting efficiency score; CCR neglects slacks while SBM caused problems when reporting efficiency over time. To overcome this problem, an ensemble approach that compromised the characteristics of two models (CCR-SBM) is proposed in the current study. Based on the weighted average of the relative efficiencies of two contending models, an ensemble efficiency (EE) score was reported for energy efficiency evaluation of considered DMUs. Preliminary analysis ensued average maize yield of 6874 kg ha−1 with an overall energy input of 42,241.45 MJ ha−1, and net energy gain, energy use efficiency (average), specific energy, and energy productivity, were 58,806 MJ ha−1, 2.39, 6.15 MJ kg−1, and 0.16 kg MJ−1, respectively. Using four major shareholders of input energy (i.e., fertilizer, diesel fuel, irrigation water and chemicals) and, maize yield as output, the projected ensemble approach resulted in an unproductive trend of energy use efficiency in Pakistan with an average ensemble efficiency score of 59.67%, and plausible potential of energy saving from 7181.046 to 33,370.74 MJ ha−1. Furthermore, the ensemble approach showed that EE score could help to significantly reduce the shortcomings of slacks and time fluctuation when reporting efficiency score, compared with using individual models. The proposed approach scrutinized and provided a comprehensive state of the actual situation of energy efficiency in maize production of Pakistan that is important in the context of decision-making. Results of the study suggest resource conservation measures through better agricultural management practices, and production methods and extension activities are required to improve the efficiency of energy consumption in maize production of Pakistan.

High technology and their technical support are the main factors of crop production efficiency

Annotation Purpose. Identify promising areas of increasing the efficiency and environmental friendliness of crop production in agricultural enterprises. Methods. Monographic, economic-mathematical, analytical, systems engineering. Results. Current trends in the development of agricultural technologies and their technical support are considered, a methodological approach to the formation of an effective technical and technological base of agricultural enterprises is proposed. It is established that the main factors that affect the efficiency and environmental friendliness of crop production are technologies and technical means for their implementation. In economically developed countries, technological innovation provides 70–90% of gross domestic product growth. A methodological approach to the formation of an effective technical and technological base of agricultural enterprises on the basis of innovative technologies and technical means with technical and operational parameters, consistent with the volume of mechanized work and rational agrotechnical terms for their implementation, is proposed. Conclusions. The main paradigm of the latest technologies for crop production is greening, which is based on the harmonization of the relationship between technology and soils, which will reduce the physical degradation of soils and preserve their fertility. Greening of agriculture in the context of global climate change should be based on targeted tillage, the introduction of the main dose of nutrients in the area of seed sowing, and preservation of crop residues of the predecessor (green manure) in rows to protect soil from overheating and moisture loss. To ensure efficient production of crop products in the agricultural enterprise should be formed technical and technological base based on science-intensive technologies and the latest technical means with technical and operational parameters consistent with the scope of work and rational agro-technical terms of their implementation. Keywords: technologies, technical and technological base, volumes of mechanized robots, technical means, technical and operational parameters.

INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF OPERATIONS

The integrated systems of control of technological processes implementation in agricultural production, which depend on the initial and final moments of their operation time, are substantiated. In order to optimize the management processes of these systems, a generalization of the results of researches of the influence of various factors on the efficiency of crop production has been carried out. The most important technological, technical and organizational criteria of the quality work of agricultural machines are determined along with their level of influence on the final result - the magnitude of the harvested yield, as well as the possible level of efficiency of the application of the corresponding technical means of mechanization with a controlled effect on the quality of the actual performance of the technological operations itself.

Роль селекции и первичного семеноводства ФНЦ БСТ РАН в повышении эффективности растениеводства Оренбургской области в условиях изменяющегося климата

Роль селекции и первичного семеноводства ФНЦ БСТ РАН в повышении эффективности растениеводства Оренбургской области в условиях изменяющегося климата

Association mapping of drought tolerance indices in wheat: QTL-rich regions on chromosome 4A

Drought is likely the main abiotic stress that affects wheat yield. The identification of drought-tolerant genotypes represents an effective way of dealing with the continuous decrease in water resources as well as the increase in world population. The aim of this study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) associated with drought tolerance indices in wheat by using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) under fully irrigated and rain-fed conditions. The drought tolerance indices (i.e., Stress Susceptibility Index, Stress Tolerance Index, Tolerance Index and Yield Stability Index) were calculated based on grain yield, 1,000-kernel weight and kernels per spike. The association panel was genotyped using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). A total of 175 SNPs exhibited statistical evidence of association with at least one drought tolerance index, explaining up to 6 % of the phenotypic variation. Forty-five SNPs were associated with more than one tolerance index (up to 4 agronomic traits). Most associations were located on chromosome 4A, supporting the hypothesis that this chromosome has a key role in drought tolerance which should be exploited for wheat improvement. In addition, statistical analysis detected SNPs associated with tolerance indices in both growing seasons, providing information about genetic regions with stable effects under different environmental conditions. This GWAS experiment serves as one of the few studies on association mapping for drought tolerance indices in wheat, which could increase the efficiency of rain-fed and irrigated crop production.

Chinese agricultural technology transfer to African typical dry areas: practice and experience

Africa has experienced increasing aridity and higher frequency of droughts due to climate change during the half past century with possible adverse effects on agricultural production, especially in dry areas with low rainfall. Under the auspices of the Africa Water Action Program between the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Institute of Agricultural Environment and Resources, Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS-IAER) worked closely with domestic and overseas partners on technology transfer in Morocco, Zambia, Egypt, Niger and Ethiopia from 2008 to 2013. A drought early warning system has been established and validated, and drought adaptation technologies have been trialed, modified, demonstrated and extended in African countries, and this shows great potential to increase crop production, water and fertilizer use efficiency and desert control in rainfed areas of Africa. The project has continued for six years and is a successful case of technology transfer and capacity building in Africa. The knowledge and experience gained will be useful to researchers, technicians, aid agencies and policy makers who work on agricultural technology transfer for in dry areas of Africa.

Crop production and nutrient use efficiency: A review

Soil resource are under greater pressure because of ever increasing population Indian soils are under continuous threat to various types of degradation particularly nutrient mining which is resulting in the deterioration of soil health and weakening of foundation of sustainable agriculture. The country has become self-sufficient in food production, and the main contributing factor considered is fertilizers in addition to improved/high yielding variety of seed, enhanced irrigation facilities and effective plant protection measures. Fertilizers alone contribute over 50% in increased crop/food production. Growing of high yielding varieties use of high analysis NPK fertilizers, increase in irrigated areas and increase in cropping intensity catalysed the depletion of the finite reserves of micronutrients. As a consequence, deficiencies of micronutrients have been on the rise one by one in the country over last four decades. Application of nutrients at the right rate, right time and in the right place is the best management practice for achieving optimum nutrient efficiency. Use efficiency of micronutrients is very low. Nitrogen use efficiency has also shown declining trend over a period of time while in various other countries the use efficiency is improving.

Agro-industrial complex of Ukraine in the context of entering the international market

The agro-industrial complex of Ukraine in the context of entering the international market has been analyzed. The dynamics of the acreage of Ukraine of the main crops: grain and legumes, technical sugar beet, sunflower, potatoes, vegetable crops; number of farm animals: cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, poultry; level of profitability of agricultural production for the period 1990-2018 have been estimated. The grouping of Ukrainian enterprises by the number of farm animals is systematized: the largest number of enterprises specializing in cattle, the smallest - in poultry; by size of the area of the main crops: the largest number of enterprises specializing in growing cereals and legumes, the smallest - soybeans. The conclusion is made about the higher efficiency of crop production in relation to animal husbandry in Ukraine according to a number of given indicators. The volumes of crop production have been shown: cereals and legumes, wheat, corn, barley, sunflower, soybeans, by region of Ukraine in 2018. The most important agricultural production in Ukraine is grain and legumes, the main producers of which are Poltava, Vinnitsia and Odessa regions. The main indicators of international activity of Ukraine in the field of agriculture have been analyzed: commodity structure of export and import of crop production; commodity structure of export and import of livestock products; dynamics of the geographical structure of exports and imports of agricultural products. The above figures show that the largest share of exports is in cereals, seeds and fruits of oilseeds and edible fruits and nuts, while the major share of imports is in the seeds and fruits of oilseeds, edible fruits and nuts, cereals. In the livestock sector, exports of meat and edible by-products, milk and live animals account for the bulk of imports, while fish and crustaceans, meat and edible by-products and milk account for the bulk of imports. The key product that shape Ukraine's export potential is cereal, which means that the export base consists of low-processing products that generate low added value. On the basis of the conducted research three main directions of development of agricultural enterprises of Ukraine in the context of entering the international market were identified: development of trade relations with EU countries; the need to intensify cooperation with countries in the North African region and Central Asia; specialization in crop production, primarily grain, while overcoming the crisis in the livestock sector.

MEASURING RETURNSS TO SCALE, DISTRIBUTION EFFICIENCY AND ESTIMATING WHEAT PRODUCTION FUNCTION IN DHI QAR PROVINCE

The aim of this research was to estimate the production function to measure returns to scale and distribution efficiency of resources used in the production of wheat. Cross sectional data used of a random sample of 130 farmers in Dhi Qar Province. The results of the quantitative analysis of estimating production function showed that the double logarithmic form was the best estimated model based on economic and statistical indicators. However, that form suffered from heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation, so the robust regression technique was chosen. Value of returns to scale was 0.89 and this indicates decreasing returns to scale. This means that production function is in the second stage of the function. The results of the distributional efficiency study showed that the resources used in the production of the crop were not optimized as they amounted to 1.28 for the human labor resource and 20.6 for the capital. There was a shortage in the use of labor resource and capital for the optimal use that achieves economic efficiency and this caused low efficiency of crop production. Therefore, the research recommends the need to increase the amount of human labor in the wheat crop farms in Dhi Qar province, which would move the production function curve to a higher level in order to achieve the economic efficiency of the crop cultivation in the province on the one hand and return the farmers to production in the rational stage. Also, it is important to have the proper allocation of resources available by farmers, which has the effect of increasing the economic efficiency of those resources, which will in turn reflects on the efficiency of crop production.

TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY IN ARABLE CROP PRODUCTION UNDER GORONYO IRRIGATION PROJECT OF SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the technical efficiency in arable crop production under Goronyo irrigation project of Sokoto State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample 246 farmers and the limited cost-route approach was used with the aid of questionnaire. Stochastic frontier production function (SFPF) model was used in estimating farm level technical efficiency. The study also revealed the average technical efficiency index of rice, maize, cowpea and tomato farms to be 0.87, 0.79, 0.45 and 0.76, respectively and that technical inefficiency effect existed among the farmers. Estimates of technical efficiency of farmers revealed that average sampled farms operate 13%, 21%, 55% and 24% below the frontier output levels for rice, maize, cowpea and tomato farms under consideration. Farmers are fairly efficient technically in deriving maximum output from rice, maize and tomato farm and less technically efficient in the production of cowpea. Extension contact was one of the major factor that influences technical efficiency in the area, therefore, sustained farmers extension contact should be encourage by increasing frequency of contact where new techniques will be disseminated to the farmers to improve the use of available resource.

Spatial trends in the nitrogen budget of the African agro-food system over the past five decades

Low nitrogen (N) fertilization is a dominant cause of malnutrition in Africa, but the spatial and temporal variability of N cycling patterns in Africa remain unclear. This study is the first to perform a detailed analysis of the N cycling patterns of 52 African countries from 1961 to 2016. We calculated the N use efficiency (NUE) in crop production, country-specific N fertilization trends, and the impacts of N fertilization on human protein demand and the environment. Over the past five decades, total N input to African croplands increased from 20 to 35 kg N ha−1 yr−1, while the application of synthetic N fertilizers (SNF) increased from 4.0 to 15 kg N ha−1 yr−1. N contributions from animal manure and biological N fixation remained lower than 10 kg N ha−1 yr−1 and 20 kg N ha−1 yr−1, respectively. The total N crop production increased from 15 to 22 kg N ha−1 yr−1 from 1961 to 2016. Total N surplus in Africa increased from 5 to 13 kg N ha−1 yr−1, while estimated gaseous losses increased from 4.0 to 11 kg N ha−1 yr−1. However, NUE declined from 74% to 63% during the past five decades, and protein consumption increased from 2.99 to 3.78 kg N capita−1 yr−1. These results suggest that Africa suffers from extremely low N input and that N loss is increasing in agricultural land. We recommend the implementation of an effective N management strategy incorporating the use of locally available organic material along with the balanced application of SNF. Such measures will require effective policy development and cooperation between all stakeholders.

Development of crop production in the Kemerovo region

A conceptual approach to improving the efficiency of crop production is presented. The factors of increase are: the volume of production; legislation; innovation; investment; human resources; sales markets and pricing policy. The influence of these factors on the development of crop production in the Kemerovo region is considered. The efficiency of this method is proved.

Integrated assessment of crop production and resource use efficiency indicators for the U.S. Corn Belt

To address the global challenge of increasing the efficiency of food production in an era of climate change, integrated research frameworks based on multiple performance criteria are required to promote synergies while minimizing tradeoffs. In this study, we investigated spatial and temporal trends in yield gaps, resource use efficiencies for nitrogen and water, and yield stability at the county-level in the U.S. Corn Belt, the world's largest maize production region. Our results provide an integrated assessment of regions with higher vs. lower relative performance across indicators, while also revealing high spatial variability in relationships between yield gaps and nitrogen and water use efficiencies. Despite overall positive trends in maize production, there was evidence of increasing disparity over time, with more improvements occurring in highly productive areas. This study provides a holistic framework for balancing efforts to increase crop production, resource use efficiencies, and yield stability at the regional scale.

Validation of micrografting to evaluate drought tolerance in micrografts of kiwifruits (Actinidia spp.)

Drought-tolerant rootstocks have been used to improve production efficiency of graft-propagated crops. Kiwifruit is a high-valued fruit crop of the world. Drought stress widely occurs in many of kiwifruit-growing regions including China. The present study used micrografting for evaluation of drought tolerance in four kiwifruit cultivars micrografted on the drought-tolerant rootstock MX1. When stressed by PEG-induced drought, the micrografted kiwifruit cultivars showed significant differences in accumulation of ROS (O2·− and H2O2), physiological metabolism (total soluble sugar, total soluble protein and free proline), activities of antioxidants (SOD and CAT), endogenous ABA levels and expression levels of ABA biosynthetic genes (DREB1 and DREB2). Drought tolerance of the micrografts varied with the four kiwifruit cultivars, with the highest and lowest drought tolerance found in ‘Yuxiang’ and ‘Hayward’, respectively. Micrografting provides an alternative strategy for fast and efficient evaluation of drought tolerance of plant cultivars, thus assisting sustainable development of production of the graft-propagated plant species. In vitro micrografting provided a fast and efficient approach to evaluate drought tolerance of kiwifruit, and has potential applications to other graft-propagated plant species.

Environmental engineering and sustainability for smart agriculture: The application of UAV-based remote sensing to detect biodiversity in oil palm plantations

The United Nations strongly support the progress towards sustainable agriculture, food security, sustainable management of life on land in a simultaneous approach. Oil production, though on increasing demand, is causing severe loss of biodiversity in tropical areas, Indonesia being the country with the most environmental damage due to this crop. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for base-remote sensing are promising tools to help with environmental conservation in oil palm plantations and to improve production efficiency and quality of crops. While different UAVs exist in the market, multi-rotor UAVs have already been used for oil palm plantation monitoring. There are more than 100 different Vegetation Indices (VIs); the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is often used in smart agriculture. Still, there is a huge need for algorithms that assess floristic diversity. To maintain some elements of the Indonesian biodiversity within oil palm plantations, experimentation with algorithms were carried out. The imagery shows great potential for future research.

Reducing nitrogen surplus and environmental losses by optimized nitrogen and water management in double rice cropping system of South China

Optimized agronomic management improves nitrogen (N) use efficiency in crop production. However, limited information exists about the effect of improved agronomic practices on the N surplus in double rice cropping system. In this study, we conducted field experiments to evaluate the N surplus for the prevailing farmers’ practices (FP), optimized N management (OPTN) and optimized N and water management (OPTNW) during 2016–2017 in Guangdong province, South China. Grain yield, recovery efficiency (REN), partial factor productivity (PFPN) and agronomic efficiency (AE) of applied N in OPTN and OPTNW were substantially higher than FP. The yearly N surplus and environmental N loss in OPTN were 29.4% and 26.2% lower than FP, respectively. The N surplus in OPTNW was 32.1% lower than FP. Annual N losses resulting from runoff and leaching in OPTNW were reduced by 45.0% and 17.4%, respectively, compared with OPTN. Pooled data of 22 on-farm field trials from six sites in 2014–2017 showed that N input in OPTN and OPTNW was 16.2%–33.8% lower than FP. The tradable N output in OPTN and OPTNW was 9.9% and 9.0% greater than FP, respectively. The N efficiency of cropping systems (NUEc) in OPTN and OPTNW was increased by 39.8% and 42.0%, respectively, compared with FP. N surplus notably increased with the increasing fertilizer N input, and decreased with the increasing tradable N output and NUEc. These results suggest that through optimized N and irrigation management, N surplus and environmental risk can be practically reduced in a double rice cropping system without yield penalty.

Exploring management strategies to improve maize yield and nitrogen use efficiency in northeast China using the DNDC and DSSAT models

Process-based models are valuable tools for simulating crop production, estimating agronomic efficiency and developing optimum management practices to achieve sustainable agriculture. However, a comparison of the DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) and Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) models has not been previously used to optimize management practices for spring maize in northeast China. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the performance of the DSSAT and DNDC models in simulating maize growth and soil C & N dynamics and analyse their weaknesses and strengths based on a 7-year spring maize study in northeast China; and to explore the optimal management practices for improving maize production and nitrogen use efficiency under 20-year climate variability. Both DNDC and DSSAT exhibited “good” to “excellent” performance in simulating maize yield, above-ground biomass and plant N uptake for ecological intensification with N fertilizer (EI-N) and farmers’ practice with N fertilizer (FP-N) treatments based on percent bias (PBIAS) of −10.5–4.2%, a normalized root mean squared error (nRMSE) of 7.5–17.2%, a Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.17–0.77 and a d index of agreement (d) of 0.81–0.94. Both models showed “fair” to “good” performance in the same simulation for EI without N fertilizer (EI-N0) and FP without N fertilizer (FP-N0) treatments, but the maize yield simulation was better for the DSSAT model. In addition, the two models provided “fair” performance for N-fertilized treatments to “poor” performance for N-unfertilized treatments in simulations of soil organic carbon (0–0.20 m) and mineral N (0–0.30 m), but the simulations were better for the DNDC model. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the optimum yield and agronomic efficiency were achieved at a planting date of late April to early May, a fertilizer N application rate of 180–210 kg N ha−1 with two timing splits in the DNDC and DSSAT model and a planting density of 7 seeds m−2 in the DSSAT model. This study suggests that comparing the management scenarios of multiple dynamic models is more beneficial to develop best management practices for improving crop production and fertilizer use efficiency.

Defining the ecological efficiency of nitrogen use in the context of nitrogen cycling

Abstract The concepts of nitrogen use efficiency were mainly conceived within the disciplinary boundaries, which were mostly bound to the nitrogen uptake instead of nitrogen loss. It frequently caused policy distortion. Aiming at evaluating the ecological efficiency analysis of nitrogen use from the perspective of nitrogen loss and in the context of nitrogen cycling, this paper proposed a new framework for nitrogen use efficiency analysis, which divided the total applied nitrogen into three parts, including the uptake nitrogen, the inevitably lost nitrogen and the overused nitrogen. A new indicator of the ecological efficiency of nitrogen use (EENU) was defined and calculated with coupling methods of agronomy and economics with the surveyed data of the rice production in Jianghan Plain. Results showed that the uptake nitrogen, the inevitably lost nitrogen and the overused nitrogen were 31%, 27% and 42% of the total applied nitrogen, i.e. 74.1 kg/ha, 59.0 kg/ha and 101.7 kg/ha, respectively. The EENU ranged from 18.8% to 88.1% with an average of 48.2%, implying that the environmental damage resulting from nitrogen loss could be decreased up to 51.8% in rice production in Jianghan Plain, which was about 88.3 kg/ha nitrogen. The soil’s capacity of nitrogen supply and the technical efficiency of crop production would greatly influence the ecological efficiency of nitrogen use. The inevitably lost nitrogen was highly positively related to the soil’s capacity of nitrogen supply. The nitrogen loss could be decreased when the nitrogen fertilizer was utilized to sustain the soil’s nitrogen supply capacity. Many economic factors would also influence the ecological efficiency of nitrogen use by impacting the technical efficiency of the farmers’ production. The technical efficiency of rice production was 0.82 in Jianghan Plain. The overused nitrogen and its loss could be greatly decreased while the technical efficiency was improved.