Ridge Planting Research Articles

Effect of planting methods on growth, yield, quality and economics of maize (Zea mays L.)

The optimum time for sowing of Kharif maize in northern India is from last week of May to end of June. This period is characterized by a high evaporative demand due to high temperature and low relative humidity. The planting of maize during Kharif season experiences high rainfall in monsoon season which often causes temporary flooding in flat method of sowing. Planting methods in maize play a prominent role for reducing its water requirement when sown during Kharif season and also to save it from temporary flooding damage due to excessive rainfall during monsoon period. Excess water during the heavy rains especially on poorly drained soils also creates a great problem for maize cultivation as the crop is quite sensitive towards water stagnation. Best method of sowing is necessary to obtain maximum yield and higher net returns from maize cultivation. The findings of the various research scientists and eminent investigators will help in understanding effect of planting methods on growth, yield parameters, yield, quality and economics of maize. Among different planting methods, bed planting is found significant better in improving the growth, yield attributes, yield (grain and stover yield), quality and net returns in Kharif maize as compared to flat sowing method and it is followed by ridge sowing method. Bed and ridge planting methods give higher grain yield than the flat sowing method due to better crop growth and nutrient absorption. Water use efficiency and nutrient uptake was higher in bed planting as compared to flat and ridge planting methods.

Absolute Photoelectric Encoder and Its Adoption in Fertilizing Corn Machinery in Ridge Planting

Absolute photoelectric encoder has the advantages of output data only corresponding to one position, requiring absolute zero position, no need to search for zero position after power failure and restart, and no cumulative error. Firstly, the principle of the traditional absolute photoelectric encoder is analyzed, and the matrix code plate is adopted to complete the production of the 16-bit absolute photoelectric encoder code plate, which reduces the volume of the high digit encoder. Then, K9 glass is chosen for the material of code plate and slit plate, which has good light transmittance and can improve the precision of photoelectric encoder. Giving that that the performance of light source of photoelectric encoder directly determines the accuracy of photoelectric encoder, bullet SE2470 light-emitting diode is selected as the emitting light source. It has a beam angle of 18 degrees and a large operating temperature range, supporting the working wavelength of 880 nm. The receiving light source is set as the bullet photosensitive triode SD2440, which has low power consumption, with 48 degrees of receiving angle, can be directly mounted to the double-sided PCB board. Finally, the designed absolute photoelectric encoder is used in the ridge corn mechanical fertilization system, and the system controller adjusts the opening of proportional valve through the motor speed signal fed back by the photoelectric encoder. In the experiment, the absolute photoelectric encoder is tested with the help of serial debugging assistant. When the encoder does not rotate the serial port, the output data of the assistant does not change. When the encoder rotates, the result change after receiving a lot of data due to the high baud rate. The error of each fertilization tube in the mechanical fertilization system of ridge planting corn is less than 3%, the coefficient of variation is less than 0.05, and thus the economic benefit of fertilization is improved.

Performance of Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) as Influenced by Different Planting Techniques and Nutrient Management Practices in Arid Western Rajasthan

The productivity of arid region is much lower and resource degradation is much faster comparatively other ecosystem due to aberrant climatic conditions and anthropogenic activities. Lower production in arid region is due to lower nutrient and water holding capacity of soil, erratic rainfall pattern and inappropriate crop management practices. Therefore, present study was conducted with six planting techniques and four nutrient management practices in split plot design and replicated thrice, to find outsuitable planting techniques and nutrient management practices and their influence on growth, productivity of pearl millet in arid western Rajasthan.Results of the study showed that pit planting technique treatment PT6 noted taller plant over rest of the treatments during 2018 and 2019. Among various planting techniques, pit technique realized significantly higher relative growth rate(RGR) as compared ridge planting (PT2 and PT3) and direct seed sowing (PT1) also. However, pit planting technique PT4 recorded highest RGR of 1.87 & 1.77 g g-1 day-1during 20 days after sowing/transplanting (DAS/DAT) to 40 DAS/DAT and 2.26 & 2.23 g g-1 day-1during 40 DAS/DAT to at harvest during 2018 and 2019, respectively, which registered significantly edge over rest all treatments of sowing/transplanting. Though ridge planting techniques PT2 and PT3, computed significantly highest crop growth rate (CGR) as compared to rest all planting treatments yet formerly both treatment remained statistically at par with each other. Pearl millet planted by pit planting technique PT6 recorded highest grain yield during both the years. Moreover, growth parameters and grain yield also increased with increasing dose of nutrients fromnutrient management practice NMP1 to nutrient management practiceNMP3 over control (NMP0). Highest plant height, crop growth rate (g m-1 day-1) and relative growth rate (g g-1 day-1) at different intervals and grain yieldwere recorded maximum in nutrient management practice NMP3, while minimum values of all above parameters were observed in no fertilization control (NMP0) treatment during individual years of 2018 and 2019.

Intelligent intra-row robotic weeding system combining deep learning technology with a targeted weeding mode

Mechanical weed control is the most promising weed control method for weed management in organic agriculture. Among the various available methods, inter-row weeding technology is relatively mature, and researchers have focused on intra-row weeding technology. The objective of this study was to develop a new intelligent intra-row mechanical robotic weeding system based on deep learning for crop and weed detection. The system consists of a mobile robot platform and two intelligent weeding units. The mobile robot platform provides power support as well as operating conditions for the weeding units. A targeted weeding pattern was proposed based on the deep learning detection results, and protected and targeted weeding zones were established by strict criteria to reduce crop injury rates. In addition, three weed control knives were designed according to different field environments. Field trials showed that among the three weed knives, the plough-surface weeding knife was the most effective and most suitable knife for flat cultivation, and the wedge weeding knife was most suitable for ridge planting. Based on the obtained results, the best weeding method was determined, and the experiment was repeated using a wedge weeding knife under ridge planting conditions. The final weed removal rate was 85.91%, and the crop injury rate was 1.17%. The results demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed intra-row weed control method.

Effect of Land Configuration and Moisture Regimes on Productivity of Hybrid Maize (Zea mays L.) in Summer Season

An experiment was conducted on “Effect of land configuration and moisture regimes on productivity of hybrid maize (Zea mays L.) in summer season.” during 2018-19 at Agronomy Research Farm, ANDUA and T, Kumarganj, Ayodhya (U.P.). The experiment accomplished of 12 treatment combinations and laid out in split plot design, replicated three times. The Experiment consisted of three land configuration viz. flat bed planting (P1), ridge planting (P2) and paired row planting on raised bed (P3) were kept in main plots and four moisture regimes viz.0.5 IW/CPE ratio, 0.7 IW/CPE ratios, 0.9 IW/CPE ratios and 1.1 IW/CPE ratios were allotted in sub plots. The experimental results revealed that growth parameters, such as plant height, leaf area index, dry matter accumulation, days to 50 percent ear emergence and days to50 percent maturity and yield were obtained maximum with the paired row planting methods followed by ridge planting and flat bed planting and yield attributes such as number of cobs plant-1 , number grains row-1, number of grains cob-1, cob length (cm), cob girth (cm), grains weight cob-1(g), cob weight (g), shelling percentage (%), grain yield (q ha-1), stover yield (q ha-1), and biological yield (q ha-1) were also increased similarity in same treatment. In case of moisture regimes, the same trends were observed maximum when applied irrigation at 1.1 IW/CPE ratios as compared to other moisture regimes.

Plastic film mulching with ridge planting alters soil chemical and biological properties to increase potato yields in semiarid Northwest China

BackgroundThe growth of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is severely affected by the complex and variable soil environment, and film mulching has been widely used for potato growth in semiarid areas of western China. However, there are few studies on the effects of film mulching on soil quality and tuber yield in potato fields.MethodsThe effects of four mulching patterns (flat plot without film mulching, FP; flat plot with film mulching, FPM; ridge planting with half mulch, RPHM; ridge planting with full mulch, RPFM) on soil chemical and biological properties and potato tuber yield were investigated during two growing seasons (2018 and 2019) in the field.ResultsThe results showed that compared with FP, the mulching treatments significantly increased the tuber yield of potato, with an increase of 3.7–20.77% and 7.89–26.35% in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and the yield of RPFM was higher than that of other treatments. In both growing seasons, RPFM significantly increased the contents of alkali-hydrolyzed N and available P, and the activities of soil urease, catalase, alkaline phosphatase, and sucrase. Bacterial and actinomycete counts were significantly higher in RPFM than those in the other treatments. Furthermore, RPFM significantly increased large potatoes and decreased small potatoes. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed that soil alkaline dissolved nitrogen and actinomycete populations were the main factors affecting potato yield formation.ConclusionsThese results indicate that RPFM can improve the soil environment and further increase potato tuber yield, which is a viable option for potato production in semiarid areas.Graphical

Comparison of nitrogen losses by runoff from two different cultivating patterns in sloping farmland with yellow soil during maize growth in Southwest China

The loss of N in farmland is an important cause of agricultural non-point source pollution, which seriously impacts the aquatic environment. A two-year (2017–2018) experiment was conducted to investigate the characteristics of runoff and N losses under different tillage practices. Taking downslope ridge planting and cross ridge planting as the experimental treatments, the characteristics of surface runoff, interflow, and N losses in sloping farmlands with yellow soil were studied throughout the maize growth period. As the rainfall increased, the surface runoff and interflow also increased. The surface runoff and N losses in the surface runoff of downslope ridge planting were significantly higher than those of cross ridge planting. The interflow volumes and N losses in the 0–20 and 20–40 cm soil layers of the cross ridge planting were significantly higher than those of the downslope ridge planting. The total N (TN) losses from surface runoff accounted for 54.95–81.25% of the N losses from all pathways. Therefore, we inferred that surface runoff is the main pathway of N losses. Dissolved total N (DTN) was the main form of N loss under different tillage measures, as it accounted for 55.82–94.41% of the TN losses, and dissolved organic N accounted for 52.81–87.06% of the DTN losses. Thus, we inferred that dissolved N is the main form of N loss. Future research must focus on the prevention and control of the N losses during the maize seedling stage to reduce the environmental pollution caused by ammonium N through runoff.

Growth and Yield Component of Ethiopian White Fleshed Sweet Potato Varieties under Ridge and Flat Planting in Arba Minch Condition, Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, sweet potato is grown by smallholder farmers and considered as one of the major food crop among root crops. It is mainly grown around a densely populated area in the South, Southwestern and Eastern parts of the country. Recently, there are many varieties released with varying potential from different centers of the country. The adoption of these varieties is in need to different areas of the country with adaptation and productivity trials being prior activities. Arba Minch is among the potential locations of the country for the production of root and tuber crops. Even if the crop have high potential for yield; the area coverage, yield and diversity of varieties in Arba Minch is much less than that of other locations known in sweet potato production. The present study is conducted to evaluate some of the Ethiopian white fleshed sweet potato varieties under Arba Minch condition. Five white fleshed sweet potato varieties ( Berkume, Beletech, Tola, Awassa-83 and Hawassa-09 ) are tested with ridge and flat planting methods using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in a factorial arrangement. Among the tested parameters, the interaction effect of varieties and planting method is statistically very highly significant (P<0.001) on number of nodes per vine and internode length. The effect of planting methods is statistically significant (P<0.05) on internode length and root weight per plant only. While considering varieties, all the parameters tested are significantly influenced by variety type. The highest emergency rate ( 91.33 %) is recorded for variety A-83, while the lowest emergency rate ( 77.33 %) is recorded for variety Berkume. The highest number of nodes per vine (55.67) and the tallest internodes length (9 cm) was recorded for Beletech and Berkume under ridge planting respectively. Similarly, variety Beletech showed tallest vine length ( 314.33 cm ) than the other. The highest number of roots per plant (12.67) and highest mean root weight per plant (2.87 kg/plant) was recorded for variety Hawassa-09. Considering the economic parts, variety Hawassa-09 and variety Tola are recommended for Arba Minch area with ridge planting.

Cultivation models and mulching strategies to improve root-bleeding sap, nutrients uptake and wheat production in semi-arid regions

The application of mulching materials has significantly improved the production of wheat in semi-arid regions. However, various mulching applications under different tillage practices, whether it can improve the root growth, spatial distribution of root, nutrients uptake and grain yield of wheat is not clear. Therefore, a two years field study was carried out during 2016–17 and 2017–18 to evaluate root growth, nutrients uptake, and wheat production under six treatments: CT: conventional planting; SM: wheat stalk mulching; FM: plastic mulching; RT: without plastic mulching with furrow and ridge planting; RP: plastic mulching with furrow and ridge planting; RPS: plastic mulching on ridges and stalk mulching on furrows. Under the RPS treatment, root biomass, soil moisture, soil enzymatic activity, and microbial abundance can be significantly improved, thus promoting root growth, nutrient absorption, and wheat production. The RPS treatment significantly improved the rooting system in the upper soil profile of 50 cm, which helped increase the yield of wheat. At various wheat growth stages, the RPS and RT treatment at the depth of 10–50 cm significantly increased root bleeding saps, and RLD, and reached up to the highest value at 125 DAP. However, there were no differences in RLD between the six different treatment methods in deeper soil profiles below 60 cm. In addition, during 2016–17 and 2017–18, the NH4+ and NO3- delivery rates under the RPS were significantly higher than that of FM and RT, while the delivery rates of NH4+ and NO3- under the RP treatment were maximum compared with FM practice. Under the RPS and RT treatments, the Fe, Ca, P, Zn, K, and Mg delivery rates were significantly maximum. In summary, RPS farming practices have been great potential to improve the rhizosphere environment, root biomass, and wheat yield in semi-arid regions.

저속 무한궤도 차량의 클러치/브레이크 방식 조향 제어에 관한 연구

Various steering systems are used for agricultural automation especially ridge planting machines. The flexible continuous tracks with skid steering are suitable solutions. Considering the size of the machines, the tracks must be controlled using the clutch/brake steering system, which causes discontinuity. In order to use autonomous steering, the fast on-off control on the clutch should be applied. Knowing the turning radius during steering by the on-off operation is essential, which can be obtained with the detailed system simulations by Amesim. It has been found that the on-off frequencies and the turning radius has linear relationship in most usable high frequency spectrum. Thus, the fast on-off control of clutch, as an autonomous steering assistance system, makes it easier to steer tracked vehicles with suitable sensors.

Amelioration of takyric solonetz using drip irrigation with soil‐water‐redistribution medium*

AbstractTakyric solonetz is a highly saline‐sodic soil with poor soil structure and a saturated hydraulic conductivity close to zero. Drip irrigation, soil‐water‐redistribution medium (RM), ridge planting and film mulching have been successfully used to ameliorate such soils. Here, we compared soil moisture and cation distribution during the amelioration with planting years of 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6. A suitable root zone with low electrical conductivity, pH and sodium absorption ratio was quickly and continuously formed in the arid area. An irrigation regime with a decreasing soil matric potential threshold of −5 to −20 kPa in improving years 1–4 and stabilized at −20 kPa was feasible. The wetting front kept moving downward with time, and the dry soil layer in the middle of the profile gradually disappeared after 4 years. In the initial 4 years, the Na+ in the root zone leached mainly to the top layer of ridge slope and furrow. And then the Na+ leached downward. The spatial distribution of soil water and Na+ indicated that soil permeability improved with time, and significant changes occurred after the fifth year.

Responses of nitrogen efficiency and antioxidant system of summer maize to waterlogging stress under different tillage.

Waterlogging was one of the main abiotic stresses affecting maize yield and growth in the North China Plain, while ridge tillage effectually improved soil environment, enhanced crop stress resistance to waterlogging, and increased grain yield of waterlogged maize. In order to explore the responses of nitrogen (N) efficiency and antioxidant system of summer maize to waterlogging stress under different tillage, a field experiment was conducted to explore N use efficiency, leaf activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of waterlogged maize Denghai 605 (DH605) and Zhengdan 958 (ZD958) under different tillage system (ridge planting and flat planting). Our results showed that ridge tillage was beneficial to ameliorate waterlogging damages on antioxidant system by increasing SOD, POD, and CAT activities, and decreasing MDA content. Moreover, ridge tillage significantly increased N efficiency of waterlogged maize. N translocation amount (NTA), N translocation efficiency (NTE), N contribution proportion (NCP), N harvest index (NHI), and N use efficiency (NUE) of waterlogging treatment under ridge planting system (W-V3+R) for DH605 was increased by 108%, 69%, 60%, 8% and 16%, while ZD958 increased by 248%, 132%, 146%, 13% and 16%, respectively, compared to those of waterlogging treatment under flat planting system (W-V3). Ultimately, ridge tillage led to a significant yield improvement by 39% and 50% for DH605 and ZD958, respectively, compared to that of W-V3. In conclusion, ridge tillage was conducive to retard leaf aging, and enhance nitrogen efficiency, thereby resulting in a yield improvement of waterlogged summer maize.

How agricultural management practices affect nitrogen transportation and redistribution under the drying-rewetting process of loessial sloping lands?

Nitrogen (N) is one of the most common macronutrients applied to soil to promote crop productivity, but no more information can be found in the effect of different management practices on the surface pathways of N loss in the process of drying-rewetting alternation. In this study, the laboratory intermittent rainstorms were adopted to quantify the mechanism and implication of agricultural interventions on slope runoff N fractions. Results indicate that: (i) The threshold ranges of sediment yield rate under 0% and 3% biochar vegetated slopes are generally smaller than that of bare slope while 6% biochar is just the opposite, but all of them increased with increased rainfall intensity. Horizontal ridge and vegetation strips show good performance on reducing sediment and fixing N under 0–3% biochar application, but the sediment and N loss increased dramatically when the biochar application increased from 3% to 6%. (ii) N loss can be aggravated from P3 (conventional flat planting + 3% biochar) to H6 (horizontal ridge planting + 6% biochar) on 10° bare slope and 120 mm·h-1 heavy rainstorm due to the drying-wetting cycle and the redistribution of eroded soil particles, but N loss on 10° vegetated slopes experienced overall significant decreases because vegetation combined with horizontal ridge or appropriate biochar curtail erosion and retain sediment. (iii) The hydrological pathways transporting various N fractions vary with different management practices. e.g., the particulate fractions in H6 of vegetated slope is 90.29% while 44.88% in bare slope under 120 mm·h-1, indicating biochar in excessive application would increase the loss of particulate nutrients under heavy rainstorms even with vegetation and horizontal ridge. The results will be helpful to parameterize from a lower scale or disaggregate from a higher scale in the runoff nutrient management of agroecological systems of the Loess Plateau.

The effect of planting mode on the growth of pepper in a sunlight greenhouse

To adapt to the development of mechanization, a new mechanized planting mode is needed. Taking capsicum as the research object, a comparative test of mechanical east-west ridge planting mode and artificial north-south ridge planting mode was carried out in Hotan sunlight greenhouse with 2ZYZ-2 transplanter. The results showed that transplanting depth of 6 cm, row spacing of 30 cm and row spacing of 40 cm were the best working parameters of the transplanter. The plant height of artificial model pepper was 4.1% and 3.95% higher at 35 and 70 d, while the stem diameter of mechanized model pepper was 5.72% and 3.63% higher at 35 and 70 d. The difference was significant between them. However, the difference between the underground part of the two modes is small, while the accumulation of the mechanized part of the above ground is high and the characters are reasonable. The effective yield of mechanized mode is 2.38 t, which is 11.21% higher than that of manual mode. The two modes of pepper have the same nutritional composition. Therefore, the mechanized planting mode has certain advantages over the artificial planting mode and it can be used in Hotan sunlight greenhouse for pepper production.

Influence of peasant household differentiation and risk perception on soil and water conservation tillage technology adoption- an analysis of moderating effects based on government subsidies

In this paper, we comprehensively assess the differences in soil and water conservation tillage technology among different districts: Fenyang and Ji county of Shanxi province, Ansai and Jingbian county of Shaanxi province, and Zhenyuan and Jingchuan county in Gansu province. We use survey data of 1237 rural households of the Loess Plateau on their adoption of the core technology of soil and water conservation tillage (e.g., contour tillage, groove ridge planting, moderate or non-tillage, subsoiling, straw plowing, stubble mulching, plastic film covering). We use the bootstrap test to analyze peasant household horizontal and vertical differentiation directly impacting on soil and water conservation tillage technology adoption. Next, we test risk perception as the mediation role for technology adoption. Finally, we analyze the moderating effect of government subsidies, and government subsidy can compensate for possible risk losses and encourage farmers to adopt soil and water conservation tillage technology. The results are showed the following: (1) The horizontal and vertical differentiation of farmers have a significant positive impact on the adoption of soil and water conservation tillage technology. (2) In the context of horizontal differentiation, risk perception has a positive mediating effect on the adoption of contour tillage, groove ridge planting, moderate or non-tillage, straw plowing, and plastic film covering technology; in the adoption of subsoiling technology, the mediating effect of risk perception differs because of the size of the government subsidies; in the adoption of stubble mulching technology, the mediating effect of risk perception is not significant. In the context of vertical differentiation, risk perception has a positive mediating effect in the adoption of contour tillage, groove ridge planting and straw plowing; and in the adoption of moderate or non-tillage, subsoiling, and stubble mulching, the mediating effect of risk perception is not significant. (3) In the context of horizontal differentiation, the moderating effect of government subsidies is not significant in the adoption of contour tillage, moderate or non-tillage, straw plowing, and plastic film covering; the moderating effect of government subsidies is significant in the adoption of groove ridge planting and subsoiling. In the context of vertical differentiation, the moderating effect of a government subsidies is not significant in the adoption of contour tillage, groove ridge planting, and straw plowing technology; the moderating effect of a government subsidies is significant in the application of plastic film covering technology.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Cultivation by Zero Tillage and Paddy Straw Mulching in the Saline Soils of the Ganges Delta

In the coastal region of the Ganges Delta, rice is the predominant crop during the wet/kharif season and most of the land remains fallow during dry/rabi season due to soil salinity and irrigation water scarcity. Sustainable intensification of coastal saline land needs an improved package of practices which conserves soil moisture, facilitates early crop establishment, ensures profitability and has a positive effect on soil health. To achieve these objectives, we evaluated seven treatments for the potato crop in a randomized complete block design with five replications (farms) during the rabi season of 2017–2018 and again in 2018–2019, viz. T1, ridge planting (control); T2, zero tillage planting with 15 cm (9 t ha−1) paddy straw mulching; T3, T2 + foliar spray of nutrients; T4, zero tillage planting with 20 cm (12 t ha−1) paddy straw mulching; T5, T4 + foliar spray of nutrients; T6, zero tillage planting with 25 cm (15 t ha−1) paddy straw mulching; and T7, T6 + foliar spray of nutrients. Tuber yield was higher in T5, T6 and T7 (37.9–41.5 t ha−1) during the second year over other treatments (21.5–32.3 t ha−1). About 200 mm of irrigation water can be saved by zero tillage planting with paddy straw mulching compared with ridge planting. The tuber quality in terms of crude protein, fat, crude fibre and carbohydrate was better under zero tillage planting with paddy straw mulching. The cost of cultivation of potato was reduced by about 27% due to zero tillage planting (US$ 1211.6 ha−1) compared with conventional tillage, intensive ridge planting practice (US$ 1660.4 ha−1). Zero tillage planting with paddy straw mulching resulted in a net return of US$ 1779.2 ha−1, whereas under conventional cultivation, it was US$ 589.6 ha−1. Zero tillage planting of potato with paddy straw mulching reduced soil salinity (ECe) from 5 to 3 dS m−1, conserved soil moisture (4–8%), improved soil bulk density from 1.49 to 1.44 Mg m−3 and increased soil organic carbon from 0.39 to 0.44%. The results of this study suggest that zero tillage potato cultivation in the dry/rabi season can increase cropping intensity in the salt-affected Ganges Delta and increase income of the farmers.

Effect of planting period and ridge pattern on yield and quality of Artemisia argyi var.argyi 'Qiai'

To solve the problems of the unclear planting period and the traditional flat planting of Artemisia argyi var.argyi 'Qiai', such as the serious dead leaves in the middle and lower parts of the plant and the low yield and low quality in the field, the effects of different planting period and ridge pattern on yield and quality of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' were studied. The results showed that the growth and development of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' was better when planted in autumn and winter, and the ridge directions had little effect on the growth and yield of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai', while the ridge width had a significant effect. Compared the traditional wide ridge planting mode(the width of the ridge is 160 cm) with the ridge width of 80 cm, 60 cm and 40 cm, the results showed that the density per unit area, the number of effective plants, and the rate of dead leaves were decreased, while the number of productive leaves per plant, the number of lateral branches, and the total yield per plant were increased, the total yield was decreased. The output rates of moxa in the leaves of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' decreased with the planting time postponed and the width of planting ridge increased. The contents of volatile oil, 1,8-oxido-p-menthane, camphor and borneol in A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' reach to the highest when planted in autumn and winter and the ridge width was 80 cm. In addition, the contents of total flavonoids, kaempferol, jeceosidin and eupatilin flavonoids in the leaves of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' gradually decreased as the planting period postponed and the ridge width increased. The results show that the A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' should be planted in autumn and winter, and the double row ridge planting mode with width of 60-80 cm is more suitable for the cultivation and production of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' in Qichun County of Hubei Province. This study will provide a theoretical basis and guidance for higher yield and quality in cultivation of A. argyi var.argyi 'Qiai' in Qichun county.

Effect of planting methods and varieties on performance of modified TNAU cassava harvester

Cassava is one of the most important tropical tuber crops that ensure food and nutritional security in the developing countries. In India, cassava is cultivated mainly in the southern states viz., Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Harvesting is one of the major difficult and labour intensive operations in cassava cultivation. In India, cassava is mostly harvested manually by hand. This study was attempted to evaluate the performance of tractor operated Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) cassava harvester with two industrial varieties (H-165 and Mulluvadi) and two commercial planting system (Mound and Ridge) using six treatments in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Based on the field performance trial, the shank length and width of digging blade were modified and then their dimensions were optimized for better performance. Among the selected treatments, it was found that a minimum damage of 4.12% was observed for H-165 variety under manual harvesting and a maximum damage of 9.05% for Mulluvadi variety in mound planting system under mechanized harvesting was noticed. The tuber spread length was highly correlated with the per centage damage (%) of cassava tubers. Thus, the tuber spread length is an important agronomical parameter to be considered while selecting the variety for mechanization of cassava harvesting. This study also confirmed that the ridge planting system is highly suitable for operating mechanized harvester as compared to mound planting system.

Plastic-Covered Ridge-Furrow Planting Combined with Supplemental Irrigation Based on Measuring Soil Moisture Promotes Wheat Grain Yield and Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in Irrigated Fields on the Loess Plateau, China

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether combining plastic-covered ridge and furrow planting (RF) and supplemental irrigation based on measuring soil moisture (SIMSM) can increase the grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in irrigated fields of Loess Plateau, China. In 2016–2018, the experiment was conducted at Doukou experimental farm (34°36′ N, 108°52′ E) with two plant systems (RF and traditional planting (TF)) and three irrigation treatments (S1 and S2: SIMSM with a target relative soil water content of 85% and 100%, respectively). The results suggest that under the TF system, SIMSM decreased the grain yield and nitrogen utilization. The reason for this may be the local low precipitation. However, the combination of RF and S2 significantly increased the WUE, protein and wet gluten concentration in the grain. In addition, the grain yield of the RF plus S2 treatment was not significantly different than that of the traditional irrigation method. These results suggest that combining RF and SIMSM with a target relative soil water content of 100% is beneficial to the synergistic improvement of the wheat yield, the wheat quality, and the water and fertilizer use efficiency in irrigated fields on the Loess Plateau.

Correlation analysis of the SPAD readings and yield of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) under different agrotechnical conditions

We studied the effect of planting method (flat and ridge planting) and row spacing (0.75-1.0 m) on the yield and SPAD readings of sweet potato (Ásotthalmi 12 variety) in a small-plot field experiment in 2017 and 2018. The experiment was set up in lattice design with 4 replications. The SPAD readings of sweet potato were measured four (2017) and three (2018) times during vegetation period (by Konica Minolta 502). A high yield level was reached both in 2017 (23.23-50.69 t ha-1 marketable yield) and 2018 (33.26-47.34 t ha-1) due to the effects of the favourable soil (chernozem), the near-optimal agrotechnical background, irrigation and the warmer-than-average vegetation period. In both years, higher yields were obtained with flat planting and 0.75 m row spacing. The proportion of non-marketable tubers was between 9.97-15.57% in 2017 and 8.65-11.01% in 2018. The SPADmax values were measured in July (39.61-50.31 in 2017) and in August (49.90-55.33 in 2018). Strong correlation observed among SPAD readings, the whole yield and the marketable yield in both years (r = 0.632*, r = -0.664* and r = 0.709**, respectively). Also, a strong correlation was observed between the planting method and the obtained SPAD readings (r = -0.847**, -0.682* in 2017 and r = -0.634*, -0.488 in 2018, respectively), while there was no correlation between row spacing and SPAD readings (r = -0.006NS-0.190NS). Crop year had a strong effect on SPAD readings (r = 0.639**-0.871**).