Efficiency Of Production Systems Research Articles

Testicular hypoplasia in Nellore Cattle: Genetic analysis and functional analysis of genome-wide association study results.

Characterized by the incomplete development of the germinal epithelium of the seminiferous tubules, Testicular hypoplasia (TH) leads to decreased sperm concentration, increased morphological changes in sperm and azoospermia. Economic losses resulting from the disposal of affected bulls reduce the efficiency of meat production systems. A genome-wide association study and functional analysis were performed to identify genomic windows and the underlying positional candidate genes associated with TH in Nellore cattle. Phenotypic and pedigree data from 207,195 animals and genotypes (461,057 single nucleotide polymorphism, SNP) from 17,326 sires were used in this study. TH was evaluated as a binary trait measured at 18 months of age. A possible correlated response on TH resulting from the selection for scrotal circumference was evaluated by using a two-trait analysis. Thus, estimated breeding values were calculated by fitting a linear-threshold animal model in a Bayesian approach. The SNP effects were estimated using the weighted single-step genomic BLUP method. Twelve non-overlapping windows of 20 adjacent SNP that explained more than 1% of the additive genetic variance were selected for candidate gene annotation. Functional and gene prioritization analysis of the candidate genes identified genes (KHDRBS3, GPX5, STAR, ERLIN2), which might play an important role in the expression of TH due to their known roles in the spermatogenesis process, synthesis of steroids and lipid metabolism.

The Technical Efficiency of Beef Calf Production Systems: Evidence from a Survey in Hebei, China

Beef calf production is a source of sustainable development for the beef cattle industry. However, no comparative studies have reported on the technical efficiency of different beef calf production systems and their influencing factors. Based on data from 218 Chinese farmers and 12 governments, in the present study, we constructed data envelopment analysis (DEA) models and conducted a comparative analysis of the technical efficiency of the main three beef calf production systems: the Simmental calf intensive production system (CIPS), Simmental calf semi-intensive production system (SCIPS) and Holstein bull calf intensive production system (BCIPS). Using Tobit models, we analyzed the effects of various factors. The results show that: (1) The technical efficiency of the production system of Simmental calf is higher than that of Holstein bull calf, and the efficiency of SCIPS is higher than that of CIPS. The technical efficiency (TE), pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE) of different systems are significantly different. (2) Policy on the environment positively affected (p < 0.01) the TE, TPE and SE of CIPS, but negatively affected the PTE of SCIPS. Therefore, appropriate environmental regulations have a positive effect on production efficiency, which means that measures should be taken according to the reality and characteristics of the production system, and policies applicable to other systems or regions may not be applicable in a given case. (3) The management level and technology training had positive effects on the TE, TPE and SE of the three systems, while the number of years of production had a negative or no significant effect. Producers are not the “perfectly rational economic man”, and the more knowledge they have, the more productive they will be. However, the “knowledge” referred to here is that which is adapted to production, not that which is traditional. The knowledge possessed by the producer should be updated continuously with the changes over time and the development of the industry, while outdated information is not considered as “knowledge” here. Therefore, to achieve sustainability, the government should fully consider the characteristics of the local breeding mode and, more importantly, the expected effects of policies to be implemented.

Energy-Saving Control in Multistage Production Systems Using a State-Based Method

Manufacturers are pursuing energy-efficient production in response to the fluctuating energy price, growing global competition, rigorous international laws, and severe environmental crisis. This article proposes to boost the energy efficiency of production systems by controlling the production. It extends the existing energy-saving control research by presenting integrated modeling, analyzing, and controlling approaches. The work starts from the modeling of the production systems and establishes an analytical model to systematically quantify the production loss resulted from energy-saving control and the various disruptions. A dynamic control algorithm is proposed to reduce energy consumption and maintain desirable productivity. Simulation studies are utilized to demonstrate the application of the proposed method and verify its effectiveness. Note to Practitioners—The previous research indicates that it is possible to strategically turn off stations during production for energy saving. However, production systems are complex dynamic systems consisting of interconnected stations and supporting subsystems. Similar to station random failures, turning off stations for energy saving can severely jeopardize the production, and deviate the production from the desired target. Therefore, a quantitative method is established to calculate the production loss resulted from the energy-saving control and disruptions. The method is important to understand the real control cost. Based on the analysis, a dynamic control algorithm is formulated to balance the achieved control benefit and the production loss. It provides plant managers a useful tool to make energy-saving control decisions with a thorough understanding of production system dynamics. The presented research is established for serial batch production systems. The examples of batch stations include the refrigerator foaming equipment in refrigerator assembly lines and the vacuum oven in battery assembly lines. The model cannot be directly applied in serial-parallel production systems.

Genetic algorithms-based size optimization of directly and indirectly coupled photovoltaic-electrolyzer systems

Since relatively high costs and low efficiencies are usually associated with photovoltaic-electrolyzer (PV-EL) systems, the coupling of a PV system to an EL one is a critical aspect when sizing PV-EL systems. Accordingly, using a genetic algorithms-based optimization approach and considering a hydrogen production target of 100 g per day, the size of different directly and indirectly coupled PV-EL systems is optimized in this work. The referred optimization processes are carried out for five PV-EL system configurations, one related to directly coupled systems and four (one per each DC/DC converter topology accounted for) to indirectly coupled ones. In addition, seeking to maximize hydrogen production, minimize losses, and increase system efficiency, four objective functions are assessed. Some of the results highlight that, when using system cost and overall efficiency as objective functions, properly sized indirectly coupled PV-EL systems feature lower implementation costs than directly coupled ones. In addition, the differences in the overall efficiencies characterizing the optimum directly and indirectly coupled PV-EL systems so determined are relatively small (>1%). One of the original contributions of this work relates to the fact that this is one of the first works dealing with optimization processes of both directly and indirectly coupled PV-EL systems, where optimum system configurations are compared with each other.

The Impact of Green HR Practices on Corporate Sustainable Development with the Mediation of Green Innovation

This informative study aims to clarify the discrepancy amongst Green Human Resource practices and Corporate Sustainable Development and provide as a road map towards green innovation, Managers were taken into account to identify the Gap and potential ways to close it. In this Article, numerous challenges faced by Managers in implementation of Green HR Practices will be discussed, as well as how effectively the difference between green innovation and corporate sustainable development have been addressed. The target demographics were HR Manager, Production Manager as well as Board of Directors working in textile sector of Punjab, Pakistan. The sample of 440 questionnaires were conducted from small, medium and large industries to gather primary data. Participants were asked questions using a semi-structured questionnaire. Green Human Resource practices have enabled the industries to use greener resources that would help to minimize the cost and improving the efficiency of production system. The research was intended to support the hypothesis that there is a positive & significance influence of Green Human Resource practices on corporate sustainable development with mediation of green innovation. Results showed that Different Managers face significant challenges in implementing the Green HR Practices which is more great exercise than it should be.

A Literature Review of the Challenges and Opportunities of the Transition from Industry 4.0 to Society 5.0

In the era of Industry 4.0, manufacturing and production systems were revolutionized by increasing operational efficiency and developing and implementing new business models, services, and products. Concretely, the milestone set for Industry 4.0 was to improve the sustainability and efficiency of production systems. By extension, the emphasis was focused on both the digitization and the digitalization of systems, providing room for further improvement. However, the current technological evolution is more system/machine-oriented, rather than human-oriented. Thus, several countries have begun orchestrating initiatives towards the design and development of the human-centric aspect of technologies, systems, and services, which has been coined as Industry 5.0. The impact of Industry 5.0 will extend to societal transformation, which eventually leads to the generation of a new society, the Society 5.0. The developments will be focused on the social and human-centric aspect of the tools and technologies introduced under the framework of Industry 4.0. Therefore, sustainability and human well-being will be at the heart of what comes next, the Industry 5.0, as a subset of Society 5.0. Industry 5.0 will build on the foundations laid during Industry 4.0 by emphasizing human-centered, resilient, and sustainable design. Consequently, the authors in this research work, through a critical literature review, aim to provide adequate reasoning for considering Industry 5.0 as a framework for enabling the coexistence of industry and emerging societal trends and needs. The contribution of this research work extends to the provision of a framework to facilitate the transition from Industry 4.0 to Society 5.0.

Optimizing irrigation for winter wheat to maximize yield and maintain high-efficient water use in a semi-arid environment

Optimizing irrigation scheduling is vital in maintaining high crop yield and sustainable water use in water-limited regions worldwide. In this study, a 4-year field experiment (2016–2020) was conducted to evaluate the effect of six irrigation schedules on the grain yield performance, soil water content, plant evapotranspiration, and irrigation water use efficiency of typical winter wheat production system in the North China Plain. The six irrigation schedules involved irrigation at different growth stages, including one critical growth stage (60 mm per stage, I60), two stages (I120), three stages (I180), four stages (I240), and five stages (I300). No irrigation was performed in the control field (I0). The results showed that the plant height and yield components of winter wheat (spike number per hectare, kernels per spike, thousand-kernel weight) increased with the increase in annual irrigation amount. The grain yield in each study year increased quadratically (P < 0.05) with the annual irrigation amount. The soil water content in the 0–90 cm soil layer (where the wheat roots are mainly distributed) increased significantly during the growing season with the increase in annual irrigation amount. In I240, the mean soil water content (0–90 cm) during the growing seasons (17.3–22.6 %) was 61.7–80.8 % of the field water holding capacity, sufficiently favoring wheat growth. The average soil water storage (0–90 cm) during the wheat growing season ranged from 241.1 to 283.2 mm in the irrigation applied treatments, which were 21.7–63.8 mm (9.9–29.1 %) higher than in no irrigation treatment (I0, 219.4 mm). The 4-year averages of wheat grain yield did not differ significantly between I240 (7909.1 kg ha-1) and I300 (7868.6 kg ha-1); however, the average irrigation water use efficiency decreased from 33.0 kg ha-1 mm-1 in I240 to 26.2 kg ha-1 mm-1 in I300. Therefore, we recommend an irrigation scheduling at the regreening, jointing, flowering, and filling stages (I240, 60 mm per stage, 240 mm in total) to maintain high grain yield and sustainable soil water use for winter wheat production in the North China Plain and similar semi-arid regions.

Green production and trade in the global-local system: Taking China as an example

After facing climate change and other environmental problems, many countries have prioritized research on environmental protection. However, there is still a lack of relevant research in the field of regional green production and trade systems. From the perspective of the production side, this study examined the regions' abilities of constructing a green production and trade system on the local, inter-provincial, and international levels. The Epsilon-based model-data envelopment analysis method was used to measure the local, inter-provincial, and international green production and trade system efficiency of 30 Chinese provinces during 2012–2017. The measurement considered the embodied emissions of eight greenhouse and polluting gases, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen, flue dust, and carbon dioxide. The results showed that for most regions, the local green production efficiency was higher than the average efficiency value of the inter-provincial green production system, whereas the inter-provincial efficiency was higher than the average efficiency of the global green trade system. Factors, such as economic level, industrial structure, government's administrative capacity, technological investment, energy structure, urbanization level, and external dependence level affect the construction of the local, inter-provincial, and international green production and trade systems at different levels in the global-local system. The research results are helpful for understanding, in theory and from multiple spatial scales, the capacity, and major problems of the regions in constructing green production and trade systems and promote the construction of a more scientific and reasonable regional green production and trade system in practice.

Nitrogen Fertilizers Technologies for Corn in Two Yield Environments in South Brazil.

Improvements in nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in corn production systems are necessary, to decrease the economic and environmental losses caused by loss of ammonia volatilization (NH3-N). The objective was to study different nitrogen (N) fertilizer technologies through characterization of N sources, NH3-N volatilization losses, and their effects on the nutrient concentration and yield of corn grown in clayey and sandy soils in south Brazil. The treatments consisted of a control without N application as a topdressing, three conventional N sources (urea, ammonium sulfate, and ammonium nitrate + calcium sulfate), and three enhanced-efficiency fertilizers [urea treated with NBPT + Duromide, urea formaldehyde, and polymer-coated urea (PCU) + urea treated with NBPT and nitrification inhibitor (NI)]. The losses by NH3-N volatilization were up to 46% of the N applied with urea. However, NI addition to urea increased the N losses by NH3-N volatilization by 8.8 and 23.3%, in relation to urea alone for clayey and sandy soils, respectively. Clayey soil was 38.4% more responsive than sandy soil to N fertilization. Ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate + calcium sulfate showed the best results, because it increased the corn yield in clayey soil and contributed to reductions in NH3-N emissions of 84 and 80% in relation to urea, respectively.

Increasing Biodiversity and Land-Use Efficiency Through Pea (Pisum aestivum)-Canola (Brassica napus) Intercropping (Peaola)

Intercropping is an ancient agricultural management practice quickly re-gaining interest in mechanized agricultural systems. Mechanized management practices have led to a decreased biodiversity at the macro- and micro-fauna levels. These agricultural practices have also resulted in the degradation of soil and long-term inefficiencies in land, water, and nutrients. The inland Pacific Northwest (iPNW) of the United States of America is a wheat-dominated cropping system. The integration of winter and spring legumes and oilseeds has improved the biodiversity and nutrient-use efficiency of the cropping systems. This article examines the feasibility of pea-canola (peaola) intercropping in dryland production systems of the iPNW. In two site years, small plot peaola trials were established near Davenport, WA. Overall, the land equivalence ratio (LER) of peaola was found to be 1.46, showing an increase in efficiency of the system. Increasing the N fertilizer application rates did not affect peaola yield, indicating that peaola has low demand for N inputs. The effects of peaola on insects and bacterial diversity were examined on replicated large scale strip trials. Peaola was found to have significantly greater numbers of beneficial insects than the monoculture controls. There were no significant differences between the diversity of the soil bacterial communities found in peaola vs. pea and canola monocultures. However, we found that the strict core soil bacterial microbiome of peaola was larger than the monocultures and included core members from both the canola and pea soil microbiomes. In conclusion, the widespread adoption of peaola would likely increase the biodiversity and increase the land use efficiency of dryland production systems in the iPNW.

The role of food and land use systems in achieving India’s sustainability targets

The food and land use sector is a major contributor to India’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On one hand, India is committed to sustainability targets in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sectors, on the other, there is little clarity whether these objectives can align with national developmental priorities of food security and environmental protection. This study fills the gap by reviewing multiple corridors to sustain the AFOLU systems through an integrated assessment framework using partial equilibrium modeling. We create three pathways that combine the shared socio-economic pathways with alternative assumptions on diets and mitigation strategies. We analyze our results of the pathways on key indicators of land-use change, GHG emissions, food security, water withdrawals in agriculture, agricultural trade and production diversity. Our findings indicate that dietary shift, improved efficiency in livestock production systems, lower fertilizer use, and higher yield through sustainable intensification can reduce GHG emissions from the AFOLU sectors up to 80% by 2050. Dietary shifts could help meet EAT-Lancet recommended minimum calorie requirements alongside meeting mitigation ambitions. Further, water withdrawals in agriculture would reduce by half by 2050 in the presence of environmental flow protection and mitigation strategies. We conclude by pointing towards specific strategic policy design changes that would be essential to embark on such a sustainable pathway.

Chaos Game Optimization Algorithm for Parameters Identification of Different Models of Photovoltaic Solar Cell and Module

In order to achieve the optimum feasible efficiency, the electrical parameters of the photovoltaic solar cell and module should always be thoroughly researched. In reality, the quality of PV designs can have a significant impact on PV system dynamic modeling and optimization. PV models and calculated parameters, on the other hand, have a major effect on MPPT and production system efficiency. Because a solar cell is represented as the most significant component of a PV system, it should be precisely modeled. For determining the parameters of solar PV modules and cells, the Chaos Game Optimization (CGO) method has been presented for the Single Diode Model (SDM). A set of the measured I-V data has been considered for the studied PV design and applied to model the RTC France cell, and Photowatt-PWP201 module. The objective function in this paper is the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) between the measured and identified datasets of the proposed algorithm. The optimal results that have been obtained by the CGO algorithm for five electrical parameters of PV cell and model have been compared with published results of various optimization algorithms mentioned in the literature on the same PV systems. The comparison proved that the CGO algorithm was superior.

Genomic analysis of the slope of the reaction norm for body weight in Australian sheep

BackgroundSelection of livestock based on their robustness or sensitivity to environmental variation could help improve the efficiency of production systems, particularly in the light of climate change. Genetic variation in robustness arises from genotype-by-environment (G × E) interactions, with genotypes performing differently when animals are raised in contrasted environments. Understanding the nature of this genetic variation is essential to implement strategies to improve robustness. In this study, our aim was to explore the genetics of robustness in Australian sheep to different growth environments using linear reaction norm models (RNM), with post-weaning weight records of 22,513 lambs and 60 k single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The use of scale-corrected genomic estimated breeding values (GEBV) for the slope to account for scale-type G × E interactions was also investigated.ResultsAdditive genetic variance was observed for the slope of the RNM, with genetic correlations between low- and high-growth environments indicating substantial re-ranking of genotypes (0.44–0.49). The genetic variance increased from low- to high-growth environments. The heritability of post-weaning body weight ranged from 0.28 to 0.39. The genetic correlation between intercept and slope of the reaction norm for post-weaning body weight was low to moderate when based on the estimated (co)variance components but was much higher when based on back-solved SNP effects. An initial analysis suggested that a region on chromosome 11 affected both the intercept and the slope, but when the GEBV for the slope were conditioned on the GEBV for the intercept to remove the effect of scale-type G × E interactions on SNP effects for robustness, a single genomic region on chromosome 7 was found to be associated with robustness. This region included genes previously associated with growth traits and disease susceptibility in livestock.ConclusionsThis study shows a significant genetic variation in the slope of RNM that could be used for selecting for increased robustness of sheep. Both scale-type and rank-type G × E interactions contributed to variation in the slope. The correction for scale effects of GEBV for the slope should be considered when analysing robustness using RNM. Overall, robustness appears to be a highly polygenic trait.

Assessing integrated coal production and land reconstruction systems under extreme temperatures

With the influence of climate changes resulting in more extremely days, we might expect to face a rise in associated coal productivity losses and land destruction. Numerous studies have focused on measuring the efficiency of coal production system. Yet scant studies have considered their internal structure, reconstructed lands, and especially the impact of extreme temperatures. Then, this paper divided such a system into stages of coal production (CP) and land reconstruction (LR), named the CPLR system. This study proposes a modified two-stage dynamic slacks-based measure model with non-discretionary variables for measuring the CPLR efficiency under four scenarios of extreme temperatures. The results are as follows. (1) The CPLR system for 24 provinces under four scenarios spanning 2012 to 2017 had relatively low efficiency except for Fujian, Inner Mongolia and Sichuan, which is mainly caused by the bad performance of the LR system. (2) Extreme temperatures must be considered in measuring CPLR efficiency and its stage efficiency, or otherwise the underestimation of CPLR efficiency and CP efficiency will become in 18 provinces. The negative impacts of extreme temperatures on the efficiency of reconstructed lands and raw coal production should be noticed, especially for Anhui.

A super-efficient method for hydrogen production from seawater

A hybrid system to produce hydrogen from the seawater is proposed and the best condition of that to have the highest efficiency is found here. The hybrid system consists of parabolic trough collectors, reverse osmosis (RO) desalination system, and a thermochemical water decomposition unit with heat dissipation system by cooling towers. The main process is based on the cuprous chloride (five-step) cycle that is optimized compared to previous research works. The RO and Cu–Cl processes are simulated by ROZA and Aspen HYSYS software programs, respectively, which are linked to the developed MATLAB codes for other components. The optimum area of the parabolic trough collectors is found 2964.6 m2. Furthermore, the foremost dimensions for two cooling towers are 40 and 20 m height, and 50 and 35 m base diameter, respectively. Additionally, according to the results, the proposed hybrid system enjoys a high level of both energy and exergy efficiency values at the same time. The total energy efficiency of the hybrid H2 production system is 18%, while it has the exergy efficiency of 30%.

Non-film mulching comprehensively improved plant growth and yield of cotton in a deep-drip irrigation system under arid regions

Plastic film mulching under drip irrigation is a key cotton cultivation technology that can save water and increase yield in arid regions. However, the long-term promotion of film mulching has resulted in increasingly serious problems related to residual film pollution. We hypothesized that deep drip irrigation and optimized irrigation can ensure the sustainability of yield of non-film cotton; thus, film is not necessary under this planting system. To address the above issues, we investigated the effects of different irrigation volumes (in m3 ha−1: W1, 2649; W2, 2925; W3, 3201; W4, 3477; W5, 3753) on the soil water and salt distribution, agronomic attributes, biomass accumulation, yield composition and water use efficiency (WUE) of non-film cotton grown under deep drip irrigation in a two-year field trial. We also explored possible ways to exploit the full potential of decreasing water consumption and enhancing cotton production. The results showed that the seed cotton yield of W3 was 7.5%, 7.1% and 3.2% higher than those of W1, W2 and W5, respectively, while it was 5.2% lower than that of W4 across the two-year study. Moreover, there was no significant difference in seed yield or WUE between the W3 and W4 treatments. Compared with the W2 treatment, the W3 treatment delayed the total growth period by only 0–2 d, the conductivity in the 0–10 cm soil layer was increased by 9.3–22.9%, and the soil water content in the 0–20 cm soil layer was increased by 1.7–4.0%. The cotton plant biomass and reproductive organ biomass increased with the amount of irrigation and followed this order W5 > W4, W3, W2 > W1. Seed cotton yield was significantly correlated with effective bolls, while WUE was negatively correlated with vegetative organ biomass at the flowering and boll setting stages. Overall, the results suggested that under the non-film conditions, an irrigation amount of 3201 m3 ha−1 would improve the eco-friendliness and efficiency of cotton production systems in arid regions.

Diversified crop rotations increase the yield and economic efficiency of grain production systems

Crop rotations with high plant diversity and biomass input have been recognized worldwide as a crucial practice for increasing the sustainability of grain production systems, particularly in regions under no-tillage (NT) management. Nonetheless, low-diversity grain production systems based on double cropping (two crops in the same agricultural year) repeated over time, including soybean followed by maize (known in Brazil as “second crop maize”) or wheat, remain prevalent in Brazil. The continuous use of these systems can impair soil yield capacity, farmers’ profits, and environmental sustainability. Therefore, this study aimed to verify the grain yield and profitability of different production systems with different levels of plant diversity. This study was based on results obtained during the 2009–2017 cropping seasons through a long-term field trial conducted under NT since 1985 in southern Brazil. The trial covered two 4-year agricultural cycles with two crops per year, resulting in eight crops per cycle and 16 crops over the entire period. The experiment followed a randomized complete block design, with five treatments and four replicates. The treatments involved three diversified crop rotations, comprising different cover crops and two double-crop systems (wheat-soybean and maize-soybean). For a given agricultural year, wheat and cover crops (white oats, black oats, and forage radish) were grown from May to September, and the second crop maize was grown from March to August. Soybean and first crop maize were grown during the summer from October to February. The grain yield, gross revenue, production cost, and cumulative profit were analyzed for each production system. Gross revenue and profit were primarily estimated based on the actual annual average commodity prices received by farmers, and two additional price scenarios (pessimistic and optimistic) were proposed considering the average prices from 2010 to 2017. Regardless of the cropping season, first crop maize and wheat grain yields were higher in diversified crop rotations. The production system only affected the second crop maize yield in 2010/2011, with a higher value obtained in a diversified crop rotation system. The soybean yield in diversified crop rotations was higher than that in double-crop systems. Considering each cash crop separately, soybean produced the highest average profit (US$ 472.50 ha−1), followed by the first crop maize (US$ 245.31 ha−1) and wheat (US$ 77.71 ha−1), whereas the second crop maize led to economic losses (−US$ 121.73 ha−1). All diversified crop rotations produced a higher 8-year cumulative profit and gross margin than the maize–soybean in double-crop system. The relative economic performance of production systems remained unchanged under alternative price scenarios (pessimistic and optimistic) compared with that under the observed (actual) price scenario. However, the cumulative profit of maize and soybean in double-crop system was the most negatively impacted in the pessimistic scenario (−45.9%), indicating greater economic risk. Overall, lack of direct revenues from cover crops were compensated by increased grain yield in the spring-summer season and profitability of diversified crop rotation systems. Therefore, diversified crop rotation systems are economically competitive with double crop systems, rendering them feasible management options for conserving natural resources and increasing crop resilience to adverse climatic conditions.

Performance of a bio-integrated aquaculture production system in floating net cages with angelfish, aquatic plant and leafy vegetable

Aim: To evaluate the efficiency of an integrated aquaculture system in a reservoir utilizing three components like ornamental fish, ornamental aquatic plant and leafy vegetable in floating net cages. Methodology: Components used in the study comprised Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare), aquatic plant (Ceratophyllum demersum), and leafy vegetable (Spinacia oleracea). Angelfish and ornamental aquatic plants were stocked inside the net cages (3x3x3m), while leafy vegetables were grown on rafts floating on the surface of cages. Completely Randomized Design was followed in triplicates for 90 days. Three treatments T1, T2 and T3 were stocked with angelfish (0.24±0.06g) of varying stocking densities 20, 25, 30 m-3 respectively, along with uniform stocking densities of C. demersum (20 bundles per cage weighing 414.17±5.12 g per cage) and spinach (144 numbers per cage; average height 8.69±0.52 cm), whereas C1 (Angelfish 20/m3) and C2 (C. demersum and spinach) were used to compare the efficiency of the system. Results: The growth performances of angelfish after 90 days, in terms of average weight, survival rate, feed efficiency ratio and specific growth rate were significantly higher (p&lt;0.05) in T3 with 1.60±0.09g, 87.04±0.98%, 0.32±0.001 and 2.11±0.01%/day respectively, whereas Feed Conversion Ratio was significantly lower (p&lt;0.05) in T3 (3.15±0.01). There were no significant differences (p&gt;0.05) in the biomass production of C. demersum and growth of spinach. Digestive and stress enzymes showed no significant difference (p&gt;0.05) between the treatments and control. Interpretation: This study demonstrated the efficiency of the bio-integrated food production system paving a way to enhance the utilization of open water resources benefiting farmers with food and income.

Environmental impact mitigation potential of increased resource use efficiency in industrial egg production systems

Much of the global egg industry is currently transitioning from conventional cage to alternative (i.e. enriched cage, single- and multi-tier free run, free range, and organic) housing systems. While this transition is primarily motivated by animal welfare concerns, it also has significant potential to alter the environmental footprint of egg production, which is the fastest growing livestock sector worldwide. Understanding the benefits, impacts and improvement opportunities characteristic of alternative systems is hence imperative to ensuring net-positive sustainability outcomes. This requires attention to current resource efficiency levels, key variables that influence efficiency, as well as the environmental impact mitigation potential of efficiency gains for specific interventions and housing systems.The current analysis reports a joint application of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) to industrial egg production systems based on a large data set collected from egg production facilities in Canada. It was found that egg farms are generally operating at high levels of efficiency relative to one another with respect to feed and pullet inputs per tonne of eggs produced both within and between housing system types. DEA results suggest that feed and pullet inputs could decrease across all housing systems between 3.55% and 13.22%, which translated to environmental impacts reductions of up to 17.27%. Least shrinkage and selection operator models were unable to identify key drivers of efficiency for any system except enriched colony housing where an increase in lay cycle length of 1 day was associated with minor increases in efficiency, and the use of brown birds was associated with a 0.95% decrease in efficiency. Further research is necessary to determine key drivers of efficiency that may represent priority strategies for farmers to increase efficiency and decrease environmental impacts.Scenario analyses were used to calculate the cumulative environmental impacts of egg production assuming different distributions of production across housing systems and that DEA-efficient conditions are realized for all farms in each scenario. In all scenarios, 0% of production was attributed to conventional cages, reflecting a complete transition away from conventional production systems over time. The most likely of these scenarios, which included large increases in proportions of enriched and multi-tier free run housing, and moderate increases in free-range and organic housing, exhibited between 90.3% and 100.1% of current (i.e. non DEA-efficient) levels of environmental impacts.

Genomics applied to livestock and aquaculture breeding.

The increasing global demand for food, due to the continuous growth of human population, requires improvements in the efficiency and sustainability of animal production systems. In addition, several challenges facing farming of aquatic and terrestrial organisms need to be overcome to ensure food security in the upcoming decades, e.g. adaptation to climate change, reduced availability of conventional animal feed ingredients, emerging infectious and parasitic diseases, among others. Genomic technologies such as massive parallel sequencing, high‐throughput genotyping, genome selection and gene editing, combined with highly efficient computational methods can accelerate the rate of genetic progress in animal breeding. Thus, such technologies can help us meet the needs for protein sources for human consumption in the upcoming years. This Special Issue aims at presenting current advancements in the field of genomic tools applied to aquatic and terrestrial farmed animal populations.