Cultivation Regions Research Articles

A new pea variety ‘Skif’

The wide distribution of peas among leguminous crops relates to its diverse use. Grain is used for food and feed; green mass is an excellent high-protein animal feed. A significant role in improving productivity and increasing the gross harvest of peas is given to breeding by developing new productive varieties that are adaptive to cultivation conditions. Breeding made it possible to change the traditional leaf-type pea varieties with a large biomass to mustachioed forms with a determinate stem. New varieties have increased the gross harvest and the manufacturability of pea cultivation in аgricultural production. The development of such pea varieties is still relevant today. In this regard, the purpose of the current paper was to develop a new pea variety that combines high productivity, resistance to extreme environmental factors with high feed and nutritional traits.As a result of the breeding work, there has been developed a promising pea line ‘G-1002’, which was sent to the State Variety Testing of the Russian Federation under the name ‘Skif’ in 2021. In the Competitive Variety Testing (2019–2021), the variety’s yield was from 2.10 to 3.81 t/ha, which is higher than that of the standard variety ‘Aksaisky Usatyi 5’ (1.90–3.42 t/ha) on 0.23 t/ha on average over the years of testing. Analysis of the yield structure of the variety ‘Skif’ has shown that the yield increase of the variety ‘Skif’ was due to a higher seed productivity of one plant (2.4 g) and a larger number of seeds per plant (15.7 pcs.) than that of the standard variety ‘Aksaisky Usatyi 5’ (2.2 g and 13.0 pcs., respectively).The variety is characterized by a high potential for seed productivity, resistance to negative environmental effects, manufacturability, having a low stem, mustachioed leaves, and non-shattering seeds. The protein percentage in seeds ranged from 25.0 to 25.8 %. The positive qualities inherent in the variety make it possible to successfully cultivate it in the recommended cultivation regions, as well as to use it in further breeding process as an initial material. The calculation of economic efficiency of a variety cultivation showed an increase of up to 4000–5000 rubles per hectare.

Moringa oleifera leaves from Brazil: Influence of seasonality, regrowth age and, region in biochemical markers and antioxidant potential

Moringa oleifera leaves are cultivated in warm regions of Brazil for commercial ends due to their nutritional and biological properties. This study evaluated, by chemometric tools, the influence of seasonality (winter, spring, autumn, and summer), growing area in Brazil (South, Southeast, and Northeast), and regrowth age (40 and 80 days) in antioxidant potential, and biochemical markers determined by HPLC-DAD. The results obtained in the present study showed that all the parameters evaluated were affected by seasonality, regrowth age, and growing region. The content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity using the ABTS method was higher in samples cultivated in the southeast (59.4 mg GAE g −1 and 346 µmol TEAC g −1 , respectively). The highest antioxidant activities evaluated by DPPH and FRAP methods were obtained from leaves of the southeast and northeast. In addition, young leaves presented higher antioxidant potential and total phenolic content. The cultivation region significantly influenced the content of chlorogenic acid, isoquercitrin, and astragalin, which ranged from 4.2 to 7.2 mg g −1 , 8.0 to 10.7 mg g −1 , and 2.2 to 3.8 mg g −1 , respectively. In addition, a positive correlation between solar radiation and temperature with caffeic acid, rutin, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant assay from the DPPH method was observed. Additionally, the RGB pattern of the images of these leaves was correlated with the levels of compounds with antioxidant activity. Models generated through machine learning showed good performances, and ABTS and rutin analyses developed the best models with a coefficient of determination above 75 %. Thus, color patterns can be used to measure the antioxidant activity by the ABTS method and to determine the rutin concentration in M. oleifera leaves.

OCCURRENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF RHYNCHOSPORIUM IN WINTER RYE CROPS IN BELARUS

Rhynchosporium is a wide spread disease in the regions of winter rye cultivation. The paper demonstrates the results of the monitoring of occurrence and development of phytopathogene in the crop in the Republic of Belarus for 2019-2020.

Regionalized Life-Cycle Water Impacts of Microalgal-Based Biofuels in the United States.

While algal biofuels have the potential to reduce the national reliance on fossil fuels, high water consumption associated with algal biomass cultivation represents a major concern potentially compromising the sustainable commercialization of this technology. This study focuses on quantifying the water footprint (WF) and water scarcity footprint (WSF) of renewable diesel derived from algal biomass and provides insights into where algal cultivation is less water-intensive than traditional ethanol and biodiesel feedstocks. Results are generated with an engineering process model developed to predict the life-cycle water consumption, considering green, blue, and gray water, of algae facilities across the United States at a high spatiotemporal resolution. The total WFs for Florida and Arizona are determined to be 13.1 and 17.6 m3 GJ-1, respectively. The blue WF in Arizona is shown to be 8.5 times larger than in Florida, while the green WF is 4.5 times smaller, but when combined into a total WF, there is just a 26% difference between the two locations. The analysis reveals that the total life-cycle WFs of algal renewable diesel are smaller than the optimal WFs of corn ethanol and soybean biodiesel. Algal systems benefit from higher growth rates and offer the opportunity to manage wastewater streams, therefore generating smaller green and gray WFs than those of conventional biofuels. The WSF analysis identifies the Gulf Coast as the most suitable region for algal cultivation, with cultivation in the western US shown to exacerbate local water stress levels.

Critical Review on Nutritional, Bioactive, and Medicinal Potential of Spices and Herbs and Their Application in Food Fortification and Nanotechnology.

Medicinal or herbal spices are grown in tropical moist evergreen forestland, surrounding most of the tropical and subtropical regions of Eastern Himalayas in India (Sikkim, Darjeeling regions), Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, a few Central Asian countries, Middle East, USA, Europe, South East Asia, Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. According to the cultivation region surrounded, economic value, and vogue, these spices can be classified into major, minor, and colored tropical spices. In total, 24 tropical spices and herbs (cardamom, black jeera, fennel, poppy, coriander, fenugreek, bay leaves, clove, chili, cassia bark, black pepper, nutmeg, black mustard, turmeric, saffron, star anise, onion, dill, asafoetida, celery, allspice, kokum, greater galangal, and sweet flag) are described in this review. These spices show many pharmacological activities like anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, central nervous system, and antioxidant activities. Numerous bioactive compounds are present in these selected spices, such as 1,8-cineole, monoterpene hydrocarbons, γ-terpinene, cuminaldehyde, trans-anethole, fenchone, estragole, benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, piperine, linalool, malabaricone C, safrole, myristicin, elemicin, sinigrin, curcumin, bidemethoxycurcumin, dimethoxycurcumin, crocin, picrocrocin, quercetin, quercetin 4’-O-β-glucoside, apiol, carvone, limonene, α-phellandrene, galactomannan, rosmarinic acid, limonene, capsaicinoids, eugenol, garcinol, and α-asarone. Other than that, various spices are used to synthesize different types of metal-based and polymer-based nanoparticles like zinc oxide, gold, silver, selenium, silica, and chitosan nanoparticles which provide beneficial health effects such as antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic, enzyme retardation effect, and antimicrobial activity. The nanoparticles can also be used in environmental pollution management like dye decolorization and in chemical industries to enhance the rate of reaction by the use of catalytic activity of the nanoparticles. The nutritional value, phytochemical properties, health advantages, and both traditional and modern applications of these spices, along with their functions in food fortification, have been thoroughly discussed in this review

Recent update on gasification and pyrolysis processes of lignocellulosic and algal biomass for hydrogen production

Gasification and pyrolysis are encouraging routes for biomass transformation into energy outcomes. In specific, the syngas developed via biomass gasification significantly affect hydrogen production. Today's leading challenges are energy constraints connected to growing demand and economic and environmental problems. The investigation is underway in various aspects of the globe to deliver an alternative energy origin with lower emission features and higher efficiency. Among a wide variety of biomass resources, algal biomass was assessed as a valuable material for the third generation of biofuel feedstock because of its benefits, for example, its quick development rate and lower demand of cultivation regions. In addition, the present review article is a general overview and different types of biomass (such as cellulose, algal & waste-activated sludge) utilized in hydrogen production. Further, the thermochemical conversion methods have been highlighted and discussed in detail for hydrogen production. Finally, we have concluded with the prospects of these techniques to enhance hydrogen production.

Оценка урожайности сортов суданской травы разных групп спелости

Abstract. Each region of cultivation requires a set of varieties that are able to make the most out of natural resources. For North Caucasus of Russia, only 6 varieties are approved for cultivation, which are less than 20 years old. Therefore, the development of new Sudan grass varieties has always been an urgent issue for breeders. The variety is the main factor in improving productivity and grain or green mass production. One and the same variety under different cultivation conditions has different plant height, tilling capacity and leaf formation. The purpose of the current study was to determine productivity and adaptability of Sudan grass varieties of different groups of maturity and to identify highly productive ones for the south of Russia. Methods. The objects of the current study were the varieties of different groups of maturity. The study was carried out on the fields of the FSBSI “Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” in 2019–2021. The soil was an ordinary carbonate chernozem, with 3.6 % of humus in the arable layer. Soil preparation and cultivation activities were carried out in accordance with the agrotechnical recommendations for sorghum cultivation in the Rostov region. The variety adaptability was estimated by the method of L. A. Zhivotkov. Meteorological conditions during the years of study (2019–2021) were contrasting, which made it possible to estimate adaptability of the varieties. Results. There has been established that green mass productivity has a close positive correlation (r = 0.79) with the amount of precipitation and a mean negative correlation (r = –0.59) with the average air temperature. For 3 years of study the most early maturing varieties were at the similar level of 21–23 t/ha in total for two cuts. The variety Yaktik was identified as the most productive in the early maturing group with 31 t/ha. In the middle-early maturing group the variety Gratsiya produced 43 t/ha. In the middle maturing group, the varieties ST-90, Chernoplenchataya 10 and Alisa were the best ones with 43 t/ha, 42 t/ha 41 t/ha, respectively. The mean adaptability coefficient varied within 0.59-1.47. The varieties Gratsiya, ST-90 and Chernoplenchataya 10 have shown the best adaptability to cultivation conditions, being stable in their productivity through the years of study.

BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF OIL SEED OF WINTER CAMELINA DEPENDING ON THE REGION OF CULTIVATION

The object of the study was oilseeds of winter camelina grown in regions with contrasting climatic conditions: the forest-steppe of the Middle Volga region (Penza Research Institute of Agriculture) and the steppe zone of Crimea (Research Institute of Agriculture of Crimea).
 The aim of the study is to determine the biochemical parameters of winter camelina, to study its fatty acid and amino acid composition, depending on the region of cultivation.
 The climate of the Middle Volga region is temperate continental. The amount of annual precipitation varies from 350 to 750 mm, the average annual temperature is 5.3 °С. The climate of the steppe Crimea is continental, the average annual temperature reaches 10.2 °С, the amount of precipitation per year is 350–450 mm.
 The largest share in camelina seed oil is linolenic acid, the percentage of which was 33.79 (Crimea) and 34.87 (Penza). The concentration of linoleic and oleic acids is 16.12–17.98 and 14.82–15.70%, depending on the growing region. The content of palmitic acid is 4.93 and 5.17%, eicosene – 15.46 and 15.84%, erucic 3.15 and 3.16%. The ratio of linolenic (ω-3) and linoleic (ω-6) acids is on average 2 : 1.
 In the seeds of camelina, 18 amino acids were identified, including 9 irreplaceable ones, the content of which was 7.28 and 8.53%. Camelina proteins contain a high amount of leucine (2.14–3.02%), valine (1.01–1.25%), lysine (1.07–1.28%), proline (1.02–1.45%), glycine (1.13–1.46%), alanine (0.93–1.22%), serine (1.02–1.26%) and methionine (0.34–0.37%).
 It was found that camelina oilseeds contain tocopherols 0.085-0.098%, carotenoids 0.002%, steroids 0.144–0.145% and squalene 0.09–0.10%, depending on the region.

Reconstruction of cropland change in European countries using integrated multisource data since AD 1800

Credible historical land use/cover data are very important for past global change research. This study generates a set of integrated reconstruction methods based on multisource data and produces a new set of improved historical cropland data sets in Europe over the past 200 years. For AD 2000, FAO data, existing research results and statistical data are integrated. For AD 1900, a method of integrating two sets of independent historical agricultural land data by correction and validation and supplemented by other historical cropland data are developed. For AD 1850 and 1800, a methodological scheme of diversified proxy integrative technology and methods based on multisource data is constructed. In this new data set, quantitative reconstructions for AD 1900, 1850 and 1800 are improved to account for 100, 78 and 57% of all European countries, respectively. The reconstruction results show that each region in Europe has been in different stage of historical agricultural development. More than 86% of the countries’ cropland area and its proportion peaked in AD 1900 or did not exceed the data for AD 2000. Specifically, a high reclamation zone gradually formed from France to Ukraine, in which every country’s cropland fraction was ≥40% during AD 1800–1900. From AD 1900–2000, the highly cultivated region contracted, and the centre of higher cropland proportions shifted to eastern Europe and Poland, Czechia and Hungary. The cropland area was systematically underestimated by HYDE3.2, with a relative difference ratio of −20 to −30% between HYDE3.2 and this study. Historical empirical data were used for only 32% of countries in HYDE3.2. This method of multiproxy integrated reconstruction is applicable to other regions of the world and it would be worth attempting to apply it to earlier historical European cropland data sets in the future.

Current status and prospects of raspberry breeding

Raspberries are among the most popular berries on the market; therefore, interest in this crop is constantly growing. Raspberries are cultivated in more than 50 countries around the world, and this number is increasing. The steady expansion of raspberry cultivation and yields is due to the scientific support of the industry with new cultivation technologies and varieties. The present study was aimed at revealing difficulties and problems in raspberry breeding and identifying current tendencies and development trends. The paper provides a brief overview of raspberry production in the world, as well as an analysis of active breeding programs in Russia and abroad. The features of the breeding tasks are considered depending on the regions of cultivation. The main problems, methods used, source materials and breeding achievements are presented. It is revealed that the overall purpose of breeding programs is to obtain productive varieties with high adaptation to abiotic and biotic stressors, suitable for various cultivation technologies and having excellent fruit quality. It was found that despite the successes achieved in raspberry breeding, at present there is still lack of varieties with high adaptation to the environment and very early or late-ripening varieties, allowing to extend the period of consumption of fresh berries, as well as lack of high-tech industrial varieties suitable for contemporary cultivation technologies, and varieties with required commodity and consumer properties. The prospects of raspberry breeding for the coming years are considered. It is shown that in order to achieve the strategic objectives in breeding, it is necessary to enrich the cultivated gene pool of raspberry with new inclusions of wild species of Rubus. This requires the cooperation and coordination of all breeding programs for the expansion and exchange of genetic resources. In order to accelerate the breeding process, it is necessary to actively use a large set of biotechnological methods tested and well-proven on berry crops. Wider use of molecular-genetic methods is essential to significantly increase the speed and accuracy of breeding.

Theoretical Air Requirement and Combustion Flue Gases Analysis for Indigenous Biomass Combustion

Rice-husk is one of the most abundant and commonly utilized biomass. It can be used directly to generate primary heating agent in combustion plants. However, emission characteristic of biomass usually vary depending on factors such as the variety of the parent plant, region of cultivation and climatic condition. Moreover, gases emission from biomass combustion could be detrimental to health; hence there is a need for information on the theoretical volume of air and flue gases required for optimal operation of combustion equipment. Thus, this work analyzed the theoretical combustion air requirement and the resulting flue gas volume of the abundant Nerica-rice-husk variety. Rice-husk samples were collected from southwestern part of Nigeria. The samples were characterised for their ultimate and proximate content. Afterward, the combustion analysis was carried out using the elemental composition obtained from the ultimate analysis to determine the theoretical combustion air requirement and the resulting flue gas volume. The proximate analysis result showed the moisture content level, fixed carbon content and ash content value of 10.93%,12.59% and 18.26% respectively for sample A and 9.80%, 20.76% and 14.81% for sample B. This reveals that Nerica-rice-husk is advisable for use as an alternative energy source in a combustion process. The calculated theoretical volume of air for sample A was 3.69596 (N m3/kg fuel), while 3.53947 (N m3/kg fuel) was obtained for sample B. This signifies a slight different between the combustion properties of rice-husk of same variety. It also showed that more quantity of theoretical air will be required to burn sample A compared to sample B, and that sample A will generate little more emissions compared to sample B. Hence, this study reveals the volume of air required for low emission combustion of Nerica-rice-husk in combustion plants.

Suitability habitat model of Mangifera rufocostata under different climatic and environmental conditions

Abstract. Fitriani A, Arifin YF, Hatta GM, Wahdah R, Payung D. 2022. Suitability habitat model of Mangifera rufocostata under different climatic and environmental conditions. Biodiversitas 23: 4570-4577. Mangifera rufocostata Kosterm is known as a medicinal plant for antidiabetic. Therefore, intensive use of the bark of this plant results in a significant decline in the plant population which can eventually cause the plant to become extinct. This study aimed to determine the potentially suitable cultivation region of M. rufocostata using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modelling. Twenty-three environmental variables including bioclimatic, soil type, slope, altitude, and solar radiation have been used for the development of distribution modeling. The results showed that precipitation seasonality, precipitation, mean temperature, and solar radiation are important variables in the development of the habitat suitability model. Suitable habitat locations for M. rufocostata include the Hulu Sungai Tengah, Hulu Sungai Selatan and Hulu Sungai Utara Regency, South Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The MaxEnt model provided an area under curve (AUC) value of 0.959, indicating that MaxEnt is accurate and informative for the prediction of habitat suitability of M. rufocostata. The results indicate that this suitability prediction model may be applied used for future management, monitoring, cultivation and conservation of M. rufocostata.

Characterization of lipid compositions, minor components and antioxidant capacities in macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia) oil from four major areas in China

Macadamia is rich in lipids and considered as a source of high-quality oil. In this study, fatty acids, triacylglycerols, minor components and antioxidant activities of macadamia oils (MOs) from four cultivated regions (YN: Yunnan Province; GZ: Guizhou Province; GX: Guangxi Province; GD: Guangdong Province) in China were systematically analyzed by modern chromatography (Gas chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and ultraviolet spectroscopy). The analysis indicated macadamia oil enriched in unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), including 62.4%–65.6% oleic acid and 11.4%–17.3% palmitoleic acid. Among the four cultivated regions, the MO from YN exhibited the highest contents of UFA (85.0%) and palmitoleic acid. In addition, the minor components and antioxidant activities of MO from four cultivation areas showed a significant difference, which GX-MO had the highest contents of α-tocotrienols (58.9 mg/kg) and phytosterols (2310.4 mg/kg), while GZ-MO was rich in squalene (626.7 mg/kg) and YN-MO had the highest levels of polyphenols (71.0 mg GAE/kg) and antioxidant capacity. Based on the correlation analysis, the polyphenols and α-tocotrienols had a remarkable contribution on the antioxidant activities of MO. Furthermore, the cultivation areas of MO can be distinguished according to the analysis of hierachical cluster analysis and principal components. Our studies offer a potential guidance for the identification of MO and its application in food industry.

Evaluation and uncertainty assessment of wheat yield prediction by multilayer perceptron model with bayesian and copula bayesian approaches

An accurate crop yield forecast is vital for sustaining food security and preventing famine. Artificial intelligence provides a robust tool for integrating environmental, physiological, and management data and predicting crop yield. In this study, we used a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) model in its default and hybrid learning modes to predict wheat yield. In its default mode, MLP was trained with the backpropagation algorithm, and in the hybrid mode, MLP was trained with the Water Striders Algorithm (WSA), Sine-Cosine Algorithm (SCA), and Genetic Algorithm (GA). We further considered two ensemble modeling approaches, including the Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) and Copula-based Bayesian Model Averaging (CBMA). The study area was classified into four homogenous wheat cultivation regions using the Fuzzy clustering approach, and for each region, the models were trained based on 30 years of fertilizer information, harvested yield, and climatic data. Our results showed that hybridizing MLP with an optimization algorithm provides more accurate yield predictions than its default mode. WSA required the lowest computational time, and its combination with MLP resulted in a more accurate yield prediction compared to other optimization algorithms. The accuracy of yield predictions was further improved when ensemble modeling was implemented. Accordingly, the CBMA approach generated the most accurate result with the lowest uncertainty range. The mean absolute error (MAE) of the CBMA was 0.026, 0.058, 0.088, 0.133, and 0.0201 lower than that of the BMA, MLP-WSA, MLP-SCA, MLP-GA, and MLP models. GLUE uncertainty analysis verified the superiority of the hybrid models and ensemble approaches. The predicted yield by CBMA, BMA, and MLP-WSA covered 94 %, 92 %, and 89 % of the observations, respectively.

Representation of seasonal land use dynamics in SWAT+ for improved assessment of blue and green water consumption

Abstract. In most (sub)-tropical African cultivated regions, more than one cropping season exists following the (one or two) rainy seasons. An additional cropping season is possible when irrigation is applied during the dry season, which could result in three cropping seasons. However, most studies using agro-hydrological models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to map blue and green evapotranspiration (ET) do not account for these cropping seasons. Blue ET is a portion of crop evapotranspiration after irrigation application, while green ET is the evapotranspiration resulting from rainfall. In this paper, we derived dynamic and static trajectories from seasonal land use maps to represent the land use dynamics following the major growing seasons to improve simulated blue and green water consumption from simulated evapotranspiration in SWAT+. A comparison between the default SWAT+ set-up (with static land use representation) and a dynamic SWAT+ model set-up (with seasonal land use representation) is made by a spatial mapping of the ET results. Additionally, the SWAT+ blue and green ET were compared with the results from the four remote sensing data-based methods, namely SN (Senay), EK (van Eekelen), the Budyko method, and soil water balance method (SWB). The results show that ET with seasonal representation is closer to remote sensing estimates, giving higher performance than ET with static land use representation. The root mean squared error decreased from 181 to 69 mm yr−1, the percent bias decreased from 20 % to 13 %, and the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency increased from −0.46 to 0.4. Furthermore, the blue and green ET results from the dynamic SWAT+ model were compared to the four remote sensing methods. The results show that the SWAT+ blue and green ET are similar to the van Eekelen method and performed better than the other three remote sensing methods. It is concluded that representation of seasonal land use dynamics produces better ET results, which provide better estimations of blue and green agricultural water consumption.

Assessing the potential risks of extreme weather events causing flood hazardsfor rice cultivation regions in Quang Nam Province

Globally, changes in rainfall frequency can cause adverse impacts on many aspects of life, especially in the agriculture sector. The increased tendencies of extreme weather events (EWEs) have considerably affected the rice cultivation regions (RCRs) in Quang Nam Province due to the collapse and inundation, resulting in large damage to the crop yield. Understanding the impacts of the adverse weather phenomena on the RCRs can actively support mitigating the potential risks as well as loss in income due to a decrease in crop productivity. The study investigates trends in rainfall across Thang Binh District, a rice cultivation region of Quang Nam Province in the period 2000 - 2019. The Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimate with a 95% confidence level was used to detect maximum rainfall trends over time. The results indicated that terms of annual rainfall and maximum rainfall in the typhoon season months were mostly recorded as the changing trend. Contrary, the analysis also pointed out that a significant downtrend in the number of maximum rainy days and maximum rainfall in October and annual rainfall pattern can be considered a positive signal contributing to reducing the potential risks of crop loss caused by EWEs across the study area in the background of climate variability.

Assessing the potential risks of extreme weather events causing flood hazardsfor rice cultivation regions in Quang Nam Province

Globally, changes in rainfall frequency can cause adverse impacts on many aspects of life, especially in the agriculture sector. The increased tendencies of extreme weather events (EWEs) have considerably affected the rice cultivation regions (RCRs) in Quang Nam Province due to the collapse and inundation, resulting in large damage to the crop yield. Understanding the impacts of the adverse weather phenomena on the RCRs can actively support mitigating the potential risks as well as loss in income due to a decrease in crop productivity. The study investigates trends in rainfall across Thang Binh District, a rice cultivation region of Quang Nam Province in the period 2000 - 2019. The Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimate with a 95% confidence level was used to detect maximum rainfall trends over time. The results indicated that terms of annual rainfall and maximum rainfall in the typhoon season months were mostly recorded as the changing trend. Contrary, the analysis also pointed out that a significant downtrend in the number of maximum rainy days and maximum rainfall in October and annual rainfall pattern can be considered a positive signal contributing to reducing the potential risks of crop loss caused by EWEs across the study area in the background of climate variability.

Nutritive Value of Ajuga iva as a Pastoral Plant for Ruminants: Plant Phytochemicals and In Vitro Gas Production and Digestibility

This study aims to evaluate the nutritive value of Ajuga iva (A. iva) harvested from three distinct altitude regions in Tunisia (Dougga, Mograne, and Nabeul). The chemical composition, phenolic concentration, gas production, and in vitro dry matter (DM) digestibility were determined. The highest concentrations of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were for A. iva cultivated in Nabeul. In contrast, the highest crude protein (CP) concentration was observed in that cultivated in Mograne, and the lowest (p < 0.01) CP concentration was noted in that cultivated in Dougga. Additionally, the cultivation regions affected the concentrations of free-radical scavenging activity, total flavonoids, and total polyphenols (p < 0.01). The highest free-radical scavenging activity was observed with A. iva cultivated in Dougga and Mograne. The highest (p < 0.05) gas production rate and lag time were observed in A. iva cultivated in Mograne and Nabeul regions. DM digestibility differed between regions and methods of determination. The highest (p < 0.01) DM degradability, determined by the method of Tilley and Terry and the method of Van Soest et al., was for A. iva cultivated in Mograne and Dougga, while the lowest (p < 0.01) value was recorded for that cultivated in the Nabeul region. Likewise, metabolizable energy (ME) and protein digestibility values were higher for A. iva collected from Mograne region than that collected from the other sampling areas. In conclusion, the nutritive value of A. iva differed between regions. Therefore, care should be taken when developing recommendations for using A. iva in an entire region. Season- and region-specific feeding strategies for feeding A. iva are recommended.

Rice Production in Farmer Fields in Soil Salinity Classified Areas in Khon Kaen, Northeast Thailand

Northeast Thailand is the largest rice cultivation region in Thailand, but the rice yield there is quite low. Soil salinity is one of the major yield restricted factors, is derived from underground rock salt, and is predicted to expand in the future. This study focused on evaluating rice productivity related to salinity conditions in Khon Kaen Province, Northeast Thailand. The field investigations were conducted from 2017 to 2019 in farmer fields in severe, moderate, and slight soil salinity classes determined by the Land Development Department of Thailand. The soil salinity on the basis of the electric conductivity of saturated soil extract (ECe) varied year to year, which seemed to be associated with precipitation. The difference in soil salinity between classes was obvious only in the drought year 2018, and reflected in the rice yield, although severe drought devastated rice yield in some fields. Plenty of rainfall may have alleviated soil salinity and rice yield reduction in other years, causing differences in rice yield that were not significant among soil salinity classes. However, salinity level evaluation by the USDA based on ECe showed that rice yield was damaged depending on the level. This study indicates that ECe-based evaluation is recommended for soil salinity in relation to rice productivity. The spatial and temporal evaluation for rice production may benefit farmers. The results in this study also showed rice production largely varied even in similar salinity levels, implying that salinity damage can be alleviated by farmer management.

Reclamation in southern China: The early Chu's agriculture revealed by macro-plant remains from the Wanfunao site (ca. 1000-770 BCE).

The Wanfunao site was a large Chu settlement in Zhou Dynasty. It was located on an alluvial plain along the Yangtze River in the Yichang section. The region around the site comprised mountains, hills, and plains, which was a compatible environment for the cultivation of various crops. Previous studies have suggested that the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are one of the most productive regions for rice cultivation. Besides rice, however, seven dryland crops have been found at the Wanfunao site: foxtail millet, broomcorn millet, wheat, barley, oat, buckwheat, and adzuki bean. Among them, foxtail millet and rice are most ubiquitous. The crop assemblage has revealed that the northern dryland crops, including those were newly adapted cereals such as foxtail millet, wheat, and barley, gradually dispersed southward and became a part of the diet along with rice. This can be attributed to southern Chinese inhabitants’ reclamation of the hilly environment for agriculture. Although communities in southern China had cultivated rice on the plains for thousands of years, newly introduced dryland crops from north China adapted to mountainous environments better. The development of multi-cropping systems in southern China likely involved changes in agricultural ontology associated with the adaptation of northern crops in southern environments newly encountered. Additionally, the assemblage of foxtail millet grain/rice spikelet base in the site may have been used for livestock feeding. A wide range of landforms, compatible farming, and surplus agricultural products for husbandry may have been a part of the economic foundation that facilitated the rise of Chu.