Productive Efficiency Research Articles

Q-learning based scheduling method for continuous pickling process of titanium strips

This article addresses the energy consumption optimization problems of the pickling process for titanium strip manufacturing. The hybrid flow shop scheduling schemes for the pickling process of titanium strips are designed, and a novel shop scheduling method based on reinforcement learning is proposed for the pickling process of titanium strips. In the scheduling scheme, the pickling chemical treatment process of titanium strips are described as an asymmetric hybrid flow shop scheduling problem (AHFSP), and a mathematical model containing a temperature structure is established with the optimization objectives of minimizing pickling time and energy consumption. Based on the proposed scheduling scheme, a novel shop scheduling method based on reinforcement learning for the titanium strip pickling process is proposed. First, a mixed integer linear programing model for the mixed flow shop scheduling problem is established. Second, the flow shop scheduling problem with sequential energy consumption decisions is approximated as an asymmetric traveling sales-man problem (ATSP). Finally, the ATSP is described as a Markov decision processes (MDP), and a Q-learning based scheduling method for titanium strip pickling shops is proposed. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by examples, and the scheduling scheme can reduce the energy consumption by 16.61% on average while maintaining the schedule, which improves the productivity and economic efficiency.

Improving dryland maize productivity and water efficiency with heterotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria via nitrification and cytokinin activity

A two-year field experiment conducted under dryland conditions in semi-humid and drought-prone regions of China aimed to assess the effect of ammonia-oxidizing bacterial on maize water use efficiency and yield. A heterotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (HAOB) strain S2_8_1 was used. Six treatments were applied: (1) no irrigation + HAOB strain (DI), (2) no irrigation + blank culture medium (DM), (3) no irrigation control (DCK), (4) irrigation + HAOB (WI), (5) irrigation + blank culture medium (WM), and (6) irrigation control (WCK). Results revealed that HAOB treatment increased maize growth, yield, and water use efficiency over controls, regardless of whether the year was wet or dry. This improvement was attributed to the accelerated nitrification in the rhizosphere soil due to HAOB inoculation, which subsequently led to increased levels of leaf cytokinins. Overall, these findings suggest that HAOB inoculation holds promise as a strategy to boost water use efficiency and maize productivity in dryland agriculture.

Unveiling beekeepers’ use and preference of precision apiculture systems

Amid growing ecological concerns surrounding honey bee colony mortality, Precision Apiculture Systems (PAS) emerge as promising monitoring tools to safeguard bee health as well as to improve the beekeeping practices and economic sustainability of apiary operations. These systems offer critical insights into colony dynamics, aiding decision-making processes in beekeeping. Despite a surge in relevant academic research, knowledge of actual PAS usage and preference among beekeepers remains limited. To fill this gap, a standardized survey was conducted among beekeepers in France, Germany, and Greece. This focused geographical scope survey aimed to determine the extent of current and potential PAS adoption, the motivations behind usage or avoidance, and ascertain future preferences. Among the 538 respondents, 45% reported utilizing some form of PAS, with beekeeping scales being the most commonly used. The study revealed that the use of PAS positively correlates with both the number of hives managed and the distance of the apiary from the beekeeper’s residence. Overall, 90% of respondents expressed a certain degree of satisfaction with their use of PAS, although the high costs of these tools were identified as a primary obstacle to broader adoption. About 48% of the beekeepers preferred systems with external sensors, highlighting a clear demand for non-invasive health-related colony information. The advantages that foster PAS usage include decision-making support and improved efficiency in monitoring colony growth and honey productivity. These findings can assist in making PAS more accessible to beekeepers, with the aim to enhance colony performance and decision-making capabilities, thus addressing honey bee colony mortality.

Combined Application of Leguminous Green Manure and Straw Determined Grain Yield and Nutrient Use Efficiency in Wheat-Maize-Sunflower Rotations System in Northwest China.

Leguminous green manure (LGM) has a reputation for improving crop productivity. However, little is known about the beneficial interactions with straw on crop yield and nutrient (N, P, K) use efficiency. Herein, a 9-year field experiment (from 2015 to 2023) containing three treatments-(1) chemical fertilizer as the control (CK), (2) NPK + straw return (Straw) and (3) NPK + straw return with LGM (Straw + LGM)-was conducted to investigate whether the combined application of LGM and straw can increase productivity and nutrient use efficiency in the wheat-maize-sunflower diversified cropping rotation. The results showed that in the third rotation (2021-2023), Straw + LGM significantly increased wheat yield by 10.2% and maize yield by 19.9% compared to CK. The total equivalent yield under Straw + LGM was the highest (26.09 Mg ha-1), exceeding Straw and CK treatments by 2.7% and 12.3%, respectively. For each 2 Mg ha-1 increase in straw returned to the field, sunflower yield increased by 0.2 Mg ha-1, whereas for each 1 Mg ha-1 increase in LGM yield from the previous crop, sunflower yield increased by 0.45 Mg ha-1. Compared to CK, the co-application of LGM and straw increased the N use efficiency of maize in the first and third rotation cycle by 70.6% and 55.8%, respectively, and the P use efficiency by 147.8% in the third rotation cycle. Moreover, Straw treatment led to an increase of net income from wheat and sunflower by 14.5% and 44.6%, while Straw + LGM increased the net income from maize by 15.8% in the third rotation cycle. Combining leguminous green manure with a diversified cropping rotation has greater potential to improve nutrient use efficiency, crop productivity and net income, which can be recommended as a sustainable agronomic practice in the Hetao District, Northwest China.

How can open public data promote efficient and equitable green production? Evidence from eco-efficiency in China.

Nowadays, concurrent attention to economic development and ecological issues is becoming an important trend. In this paper, we measure the eco-efficiency of 285 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2019 using a non-radial directional distance function and the data envelopment analysis method, based on which we analyze the club convergence of cities' eco-efficiency using the logt test; we estimate the impact of open public data platforms on eco-efficiency and its convergence using a multi-period difference in difference model and panel-ordered logit model, respectively. We find that, first, open public data platforms improve cities' eco-efficiency by about 6.5%, and the impact mechanisms include scale efficiency, technical efficiency, and total factor productivity, or, at the micro level, increasing the economic agglomeration degree, boosting the amount of foreign investment used, and increasing green innovation level. Second, there are three convergence clubs of eco-efficiency in China's cities, whose average eco-efficiency trends are above, close to, and below average, respectively. Third, public data platforms significantly increase the probability of cities belonging to the convergence clubs of high and medium eco-efficiency (Clubs 1 and 2) and decrease the probability of belonging to the low one (Club 3). However, the mechanisms only include technical efficiency and total factor productivity, or the amount of foreign investment used and the green innovation level at the micro level.

Experimental optimization of conical solar distillers using graphite pin fins as sensible heat storage materials: Energy, exergy, and exergo-economic approach

Fresh water and energy are essential for the development and prosperity of societies. Solar stills are easy to build, operate, and maintain, but their disadvantage is low daily productivity. This work aims to optimize and enhance the performance of conical solar stills by integrating innovative graphite pin fins that function as extended surfaces and sensible energy storage in the distillation basin. Graphite is inexpensive, available locally, natural properties, and has good thermal characteristics and heat capacity. Four different alternates spacing between the graphite pin fins ranging from 10 to 70 mm have been investigated and optimized to achieve maximum daily water production. Three identical conical solar distillers were designed, manufactured, and tested, under the same weather conditions in El Oued city, Algeria (33.3676◦ N and 6.8516◦ E). Energy, economy, exergy, and exergo-economics approach were performed to evaluate the economic feasibility of modified conical distillers. The results showed that reducing the distance between the pin fins leads to a decrease in the productivity of the distiller due to the increase in the shadow area. Among the pin fin distances evaluated, the 50 mm distance achieved the highest daily water production with reasonable economic feasibility. Adding graphite pin fins to conical distiller basin increases daily productivity and thermal efficiency by 52.16–90.78% and 33.44–63%, respectively. The production cost and payback time of the modified conical distillers with pin fins are reduced by 35.49–79.72% and 35.48–79.72%, respectively compared to the traditional conical stiller.

A reduced model for pilot-scale vacuum-enhanced air gap membrane distillation (V-AGMD) modules: Experimental validation and paths for process improvement

A fast and robust computational model of a spiral-wound vacuum-enhanced air gap membrane distillation (V-AGMD) module at the pilot-scale is proposed and implemented. In contrast with data-driven models available in the literature, a physics-based approach is adopted for more reliable generalization beyond the validation dataset. A total of 86 experimental results, of which 41 are described in this work and 45 come from independent sources available in the literature, are used in the validation effort with quite favorable results. With the confidence on the robustness of the methodology due to the wide range of operational parameters and the use of spiral-wound modules of four different sizes included in the validation comparisons, a physical analysis is conducted varying the air gap pressure, the number of feedwater channels, the feedwater flow rate, and the membrane area. Improvements of up to 60% in both water productivity and energy efficiency can be achieved by intensifying the vacuum in the air gap or decreasing the number of feedwater channels. These parameters achieve performance gains due to less resistance in the air gap for vapor to migrate through it, in the former case, and a reduced temperature polarization effect, in the latter case. Smaller flow rates favor energy efficiency at the expense of water productivity by simultaneously decreasing transport-phenomena-related irreversibility and the partial pressure difference across the membrane and the air gap. In addition, this tradeoff between energy efficiency and driving force is shown to lead to an optimum value for the membrane area beyond which the permeate flow rate through the membrane starts to fall due to the small driving force. An illustrative case is predicted to achieve energy efficiency metrics, such as a gain-output ratio of 12.7, competitive with multi-effect distillation.

Modelling the contribution of green technologies, renewable energy, economic complexity, and human capital in environmental sustainability: Evidence from BRICS countries

Green technological developments and investments are often observed as effective tools for the sustainability of carbon counteraction since they progress energy efficiency and unsoiled productivity. To do this, the main objective of this study is to inspect the effect of green technologies, economic complexity, renewable energy consumption, and human capital on the ecological footprint in the case of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) countries over the span of 1990–2020. Accordingly, this study applied novel and unconventional panel methods that provide reliable and robust estimated findings under slope heterogeneity and cross-dependency issues. The estimated results from cross-sectional autoregressive distributive lag (CS-ARDL) presents that the influence of green technologies, human capital, and renewable energy significantly protects the environment. On the other hand, economic complexity damages the environment in the long run. Furthermore, the evidence confirms that the interactive role of renewable energy consumption is also beneficial to protect the environment. Besides, the interactive role of green technologies and renewable energy consumption significantly protect the environment in the BRICS region. From a policy perspective, this study advocates that it is crucial to accelerate green technological innovations in BRICS economies, including the regulatory policies encouraging an incessant upsurge in the share of green technologies, renewable energy consumption, and human capital into environmental technological progress.

تقييم أثر البرامج التدريبية على رفع الكفاءة الإنتاجية بجامعة نجران من وجهة نظر أعضاء هيئة التدريس والهيئة المعاونة

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of training programs on raising the employee’s productive efficiency at Najran University from the Staff viewpoint. The sample included all active staff at Najran University. The study relied on a comprehensive survey method. An electronic questionnaire was distributed collecting data from the respondents. The study findings showed that the training sessions provided by the Skills Development Unit in the Deanship of Development and Quality are appropriate in terms of time and content, and that the training sessions are effective in terms of contribution. Raising the productive efficiency of faculty members and supporting staff, and that the results of training programs have a clear impact on raising the productive efficiency of the staff. The study recommended the need to strengthen the role of staff members and supporting staff at Najran University and their participation in identifying training needs and building future training strategies.

The Impact of Changes in Rural Family Structure on Agricultural Productivity and Efficiency: Evidence from Rice Farmers in China

Over the past three decades, China has shifted from a relatively immobile society to one where rural migrant workers are dispersed throughout urban areas, resulting in significant changes in rural family structure. Previous studies have tended to approach migrant workers as homogeneous groups within families. In contrast, our attention turns to the diversity among individuals and the complex interactions within families. Based on a survey of rice farmers in five provinces of China, this study aims to explore the heterogeneous impact of changes in rural family structure on the single-factor (i.e., land, labor, and capital) productivity and technical efficiency (TE) of rice production. Methodologically, we calculated the productivity indicator through the Cobb–Douglas production function. Following this, a one-step stochastic frontier approach (SFA) was employed to assess the production frontier and estimate inefficiency. To address self-selection bias in family migration behavior, we applied the propensity score matching method (PSM). The results reveal that significant outcomes are observed only with certain types of changes in rural family structure. The production decisions of rural families are influenced by the migration regions of their family members. Compared to non-migrating families (NM), families with couples’ joint migration outside the province show higher single-factor productivity and TE. We used multiple approaches to examine the results and came to similar conclusions. Therefore, enhancing social security measures and employment opportunities for migrant workers, with specific attention to supporting migrant couples, can have a positive impact on sustainable urban and rural development, as well as food security.

Response of Sorghum Varieties to Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer Strategies in Sudan Savanna of Nigeria: Productivity, Nitrogen, and Water Use Efficiencies

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the response of different sorghum varieties to micro-dosing fertilization strategies on yield and yield traits, as well as the impact on nitrogen fertilizer and water use efficiency (NUE and WUE). In addition, the benefit-cost ratio of sorghum cultivation under different fertilization strategies in the Sudan savanna zone of Nigeria was analyzed. The experiment included eight fertilizer micro-application strategies as well as two control and three sorghum varieties. Our results showed that most agronomic indicators differed significantly between years, varieties, and fertilization strategies. However, the application of 100g hill-1 poultry manure plus 3g NPK hill-1 resulted in the highest average grain yield > 2000 kg ha-1 at both study sites (BUK and Minjibir). This means that the grain yield is 86% and 132% higher than the average grain yield with zero fertilization. There were extremely significant differences between NUE and WUE fertilization strategies and varieties at the two sites. At BUK and Minjibir, NPK applied with 3 g of hill-1 had the highest NUE with an average of 37.6 and 40 kg grain/kg N. Application of 100 g of poultry manure plus 3g of NPK hill-1 resulted in the highest average WUE of 6.1 and 5.6 kg grain/mm for BUK and Minjibir, respectively. BUK (3.2) and Minjibir (3.6) had the highest net income and benefit-to-cost ratios when applying 3 grams of NPK per hill. The adoption of micro-dosing fertilization strategies by smallholder farmers provides a good opportunity to prevent long-term soil fertility limitations and thereby increase sorghum productivity and farmer incomes by recommending multiple-choice fertilization strategies for improved sorghum varieties.

Studies on Nutrient uptake, Nutrient use Efficiency and Water Productivity of Drip Irrigated Ratoon Sugarcane as Influenced by Water Soluble Fertilizers

A field experiment was conducted at Zonal Agricultural Research Station, V.C. Farm, Mandya during 2020-21 to study the Nutrient content and Uptake of Drip irrigated Ratoon Sugarcane as influenced by water soluble fertilizers. The experimental site was red sandy loam soil with neutral pH, normal electrical conductivity, medium organic carbon, low available nitrogen, medium phosphorus and potassium content. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications comprising seven treatments with VCF-0517 sugarcane variety. The results revealed that application of 150 per cent RDF through WSF (325.9 kg ha-1 N, 46.5 kg ha-1 P2O5, 338.4 K2O kg ha-1) recorded significantly higher nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake compared to 100 per cent RDF through WSF (287.3 kg ha-1 N, 37.5 kg ha-1 P2O5, 282.6 kg ha-1 K2O) and 75 per cent RDF through WSF (269.9 kg ha-1 N, 33.4 kg ha-1 P2O5, 253.6 kg ha-1 K2O). Application of WSF at 75 per cent RDF resulted in greater NUE in case of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (348.3 kg kg-1, 870.7 kg kg-1 and 696.5 kg kg-1 respectively) when compared with other fertigation levels and conventional fertilizer application.

IoT and machine learning approach for the determination of optimal freshwater replenishment rate in aquaponics system

IoT and machine learning approach for the determination of optimal freshwater replenishment rate in aquaponics system

PSII-10 Development of an interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate course in precision livestock farming systems

Abstract The modern livestock industry is increasingly adopting data, technologies, and automation into daily husbandry and management routines and decisions. These advances in precision livestock farming (PLF) enable improved financial margins, sustainability, efficiency, and animal productivity and welfare. However, there is currently a gap between the engineers and data scientists designing the technologies and the animal scientists and caretakers using them. At North Carolina State University a novel course on PLF Systems for undergraduate and graduate students was developed in the Department of Animal Science. Through lecture delivery, livestock production scenarios, scientific literature, and data-based homework assignments students explored data collection, management, analysis, and data-based decision making. Students gained hands-on experience with a variety of sensor types and signal processing through lab-based activities. Basic hardware and software development concepts were explored during an Arduino-based microcontroller activity. The course was developed and refined using student feedback to include additional sensor and lab-based days and additional in-class supported activities utilizing Excel for data manipulation, processing, and presentation. Self-reported student learning results were collected across two semesters (19 students; 18 Animal Science, 1 Biological Engineering) with84% of students indicated the course was effective in increasing their ability to evaluate and implement technology in livestock production systems and 74% of students reported increased knowledge of coding and software, as well as their ability to clean, analyze, and make sense of raw data. The topics and delivery methods implemented in this course could inform the basis for development of similar interdisciplinary PLF courses at other academic institutions.

Resource Use Efficiency and Economics of Summer Greengram as Influenced by Land Configuration and Irrigation Regimes in North-western Part of India

Background: Pulses form a crucial protein component of the human diet and among the pulses, greengram is third most important pulse crop in India. Water is a critical input for sustained crop production and is becoming limited day by day. Hence, the need of the hour is to evaluate effective resource conservation practices, such as land configurations and scientific scheduling of irrigation to achieve higher productivity, profitability and resource use efficiency. The aim of the study was to identify most resource efficient and economical land configuration, irrigation regimes for summer greengram under sandy loam soils of northwestern India. Methods: The experiment was conducted during the summer of 2022 on Student’s farm, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab to investigate the performance of summer greengram as influenced by land configuration and irrigation regimes. The experiment was carried out in a strip plot design consisting of 12 treatment combinations and three replications. The treatment included three land configurations viz, (L1: Flatbed, L2: Ridge and furrow and L3: Broad bed furrow) and four different irrigation regimes [Irrigating at critical growth stages (I1), 0.60 IW/CPE (I2), 0.75 IW/CPE (I3) and 0.90 IW/CPE (I4)]. Result: Among three land configurations tried, L3 recorded significantly higher water productivity, NUE and net return. Similarly, I1 recorded significantly higher water productivity whereas I4 recorded significantly higher NUE and net return. Among the treatment combinations, I1L3 recorded significantly higher water productivity (0.262 kg m-3) whereas I3L3 recorded significantly higher NUE (25.16 kg seed kg nutrient-1) and net income (₹ 72,848 ha-1) as compared to other treatment combinations. Hence, I1L3 and I4L3 can be recommended to farmers for growing summer greengram under sandy loam soil conditions in water scare regions and assured irrigation situation, respectively.

The Structure-Conduct-Performance of Indonesian Coffee Processing Industry

Coffee industry in Indonesia in the short- and long terms has the potential to boost the country’s economy which can be seen in the form of structure, behavior, and performance. Market forces affect the market structure in an industry. The formation of the market structure affects a company’s behavior which further affects the performance of the company. The data used in this study is sourced from the Central Statistics Agency. The study measures the relationship of structure and other factors that affect the performance of the Indonesian coffee industry using a multiple regression model. Our findings show that the coffee processing industry in Indonesia has an oligopoly structure with a fairly high market barrier. The market behavior of the coffee processing industry is seen in terms of price strategy, products, and promotion. The performance of the coffee processing industry in Indonesia has an increasing trend every year. A positive trend results in good performance for the company so that it will increase the level of profit. Based on the regression results, the Minimum Cost Price which represents the performance of the Indonesian coffee processing industry is significantly influenced by the Efficiency Value. CR4 value and Labor Productivity have no real effect on the Minimum Price Cost. The pattern of the relationship between Efficiency and Labor Productivity to the Minimum Price Cost has a positive effect while CR4 has a negative effect. Keywords: structure, conduct, performance, coffee processing industry

The impact of trademark intensity on firm performance: Unraveling the role of product market competition, total factor productivity, and SG&A efficiency

AbstractUsing the market‐based‐view of the firm, this study investigates the relationship between trademark intensity and firm performance under the conditions of product market competition, total factor productivity, and SG&A efficiency. Higher trademark intensity is more positively associated with performance, and this positive association is amplified under higher product market competition or weakened under higher SG&A efficiency or total factor productivity. To address potential endogeneity, we employ partialing out lasso regression and cross‐fit partialing out lasso regression techniques, which yield consistent results. The findings provide valuable insights into the interplay between trademark intensity and firm performance.

Effects of water-nitrogen interactions on NH3 and N2O emissions and yield in winter wheat cropland

To investigate the effects of different irrigation and nitrogen application modes on nitrogen gaseous loss in winter wheat farmland, we conducted a field experiment at Changqing Irrigation Experiment Station in Shandong Province, with two irrigation levels (80%-90% θf(I1) and 70%-80% θf(I2)) and three nitrogen application levels (conventional nitrogen application of 240 kg·hm-2(N1), nitrogen reduction of 12.5% (N2), and nitrogen reduction of 25% (N3)). The results showed that ammonia volatilization and nitrous oxide emission rate peak appeared within 2-4 days after fertilization or irrigation. The ammonia volatilization rate during the chasing fertilizer period was significantly higher than that during the basal fertilizer period. Compared with other treatments, the ave-rage ammonia volatilization rate of I2N2 treatment during the chasing fertilizer period was reduced by 10.1%-51.6%, and the average nitrous oxide emission rate over the whole growth period was reduced by 15.4%-52.2%. The ammonia volatilization rate was significantly positively associated with surface soil pH value and ammonium nitrogen content, while the nitrous oxide emission rate was significantly positively associated with nitrate content in topsoil. The accumulation amount of soil ammonia volatilization and nitrous oxide emission ranged from 0.83-1.42 and 0.11-0.33 kg·hm-2, respectively. Moderate reduction of irrigation water and nitrogen input could effectively reduce cumulative amounts of ammonia volatilization and nitrous oxide emission from winter wheat farmland. The cumulative amounts of ammonia volatilization and nitrous oxide emission under I1N3 and I2N2 treatments were signi-ficantly lower than those under other treatments. The highest winter wheat yield (5615.6 kg·hm-2) appeared in I2N2 treatment. The irrigation water utilization efficiency of I2 was significantly higher than that of I1, with the maximum increase rate of 45.2%. Compared with N1 and N3 treatments, the maximum increase rate of nitrogen fertilizer productivity and agricultural utilization efficiency in N2 reached 15.2% and 31.8%, respectively. In conclusion, the treatment with 70%-80% θf irrigation level and 210 kg·hm-2 nitrogen input could effectively improve the utilization efficiency of irrigation water and nitrogen fertilization and reduce gaseous loss from winter wheat farmland.

Towards a Framework for Performance Management and Machine Learning in a Higher Education Institution

Towards a Framework for Performance Management and Machine Learning in a Higher Education Institution

Water saving rice cultivation using sheet-pipe subsurface irrigation

Water saving in rice cultivation has assumed paramount importance, especially in the context of climate change. The introduction of sheet-pipe technology in Indonesia heralded as an innovative subsurface irrigation and drainage system, is poised to revolutionize how to manage this vital resource. Our study was designed with two primary objectives: first, to investigate how rice plants respond when water levels are deliberately reduced using the sheet-pipe technology; and second, to comprehensively analyze water productivity and water use efficiency in comparison to conventional flooded rice cultivation systems. We conducted two distinct experiments: one employing sheet-pipe subsurface irrigation (SSI) and the other utilizing conventional flooded irrigation (CFI). In the SSI setup, the water level was maintained at a depth of 5–10 cm below the soil surface 20 days after transplanting to harvesting. With this setting, the soil moisture was maintained at around 85–95 degrees of saturation. On the other hand, the CFI approach involved water flowing directly over the soil surface, with the water level consistently maintained at a mere 2–3 cm above it. Interestingly, while the SSI method did lead to a reduction in yield, it has significant benefits. Our results showed that a reduction in yield was observed for the SSI 15.5–18.6 % lower compared to the conventional method (CFI). However, the SSI is environmentally benefit compared to the conventional method by reducing 37.5–50.5 % in water irrigation, increasing water use efficiency (WUE) up to 70.8 %, and improving 3.2–10.4 % in water productivity. Our findings reveal that optimizing water conservation may have a disadvantageous effect on rice yield, indicating the importance of optimal water level. Future research to find the optimal water level that balances yield production and environment is required, especially to adapt to dry and warming climate change in the future.