Irrigation Volume Research Articles

Effects of Different Water and Nitrogen Supply Modes on Peanut Growth and Water and Nitrogen Use Efficiency under Mulched Drip Irrigation in Xinjiang.

The optimization of irrigation and fertilization indexes for peanuts with drip irrigation is urgently needed in Xinjiang. A field experiment was conducted during the 2021 peanut growing season at Urumqi, Xinjiang, in Northwestern China, to evaluate the effects of different water and nitrogen treatments on the growth, yield, and water and nitrogen utilization of peanuts. In field experiments, we set up three irrigation levels (irrigation water quotas of 22.5, 30, and 37.5 mm, respectively, for W1, W2, and W3), two nitrogen application levels (77.5 and 110 kg·ha-1, recorded as N1 and N2), and a control treatment (W2N0) that did not include the application of nitrogen. The results showed that nitrogen application enhanced the growth, physiological indexes, yield, and water use efficiency of the W1, W2, and W3 treatments when the irrigation volume remained the same. In comparison with no nitrogen application (W2N0), the peanut growth, physiological indexes, yield, and water use efficiency improved with increasing irrigation amounts in the N1 and N2 treatments. With an increase in the irrigation volume, the water use efficiency grew; the W3N2 treatment had the highest water use efficiency, which was 1.32 kg·m-3. The total water consumption and reproductive-stage water consumption of the peanuts in all treatments increased with the irrigation volume, and a high yield was achieved at 402.57 mm, which was 5.2974 Mg·ha-1. In the W1, W2, and W3 treatments, the nitrogen partial factor productivity significantly decreased as the nitrogen application increased, with the nitrogen partial factor productivity in the W3N1 treatment being the highest, at 60.61 kg·kg-1. A comprehensive evaluation based on principal component analysis assigned W3N2 the higher score. These findings suggest that irrigation water quotas of 37.5 mm should be coupled with 110 kg·ha-1 nitrogen applications for peanuts using drip irrigation in mulch film in Xinjiang.

Pioneering Challenges: Exploring Multifaceted Obstacles in Agricultural Mechanization in Tamil Nadu, India

Aim: To comprehend the identified constraints spanning various categories, including economic challenges, environmental issues, extension-related limitations, infrastructural obstacles, informational barriers, operational challenges, technological impediments, and capacity-building constraints faced by farmers utilizing farm mechanization.
 Study Design: This study adopted a comprehensive approach.
 Place and Duration of study: This study was conducted in two distinct regions within Tamil Nadu, specifically Coimbatore and Ramanathapuram, representing high and low irrigation intensity zones, respectively.
 Methodology: The study actively involved 120 farmers, with an equal distribution of 60 participants from each district, who participated by responding to questionnaires. The study meticulously applied the Rank-Based Quotient (RBQ) methodology to assess the most prominent constraints hindering effective farm mechanization.
 Results: The study identified constraints spanning multiple categories, including economic challenges such as the absence of credit facilities and heightened investment costs, environmental issues like pesticide usage and increased fossil fuel emissions, extension-related limitations including restricted interaction between extension officials and farmers in remote areas, infrastructural obstacles like the unavailability of service centers, informational barriers involving inadequate knowledge of government subsidies, operational challenges such as frequent machinery repairs, policy-related issues like the inadequate implementation of government support programs, situational challenges including farmers' hesitance to embrace mechanization, technological impediments such as a lack of familiarity with advanced technologies, and capacity-building constraints, including insufficient training for both farmers and skilled workers.
 Conclusion: These findings emphasize the urgency of targeted policy interventions, increased awareness, enhanced access to training, and the establishment of support mechanisms to surmount these obstacles. Addressing these constraints holds the potential to empower farmers to optimize machinery utilization, augment productivity, and make substantial contributions to agricultural development, providing valuable insights for other developing nations grappling with similar challenges in advancing their agricultural sectors.

Assessing Soil Dynamics and Improving Long-Standing Irrigation Management with Treated Wastewater: A Case Study on Citrus Trees in Palestine

Irrigation with Treated Wastewater (TWW) is a well-known agricultural practice in Palestine. The long-term use of irrigation with TWW, a source of water and nutrients, can affect plant development, soil, and groundwater quality. Consequently, the frequency and the intervals of irrigation events should be adequately scheduled, especially when nutrients (TWW-N) cannot be separated from the water. Achieving good water quality implies its immediate reuse in irrigated agriculture. In contrast, long-term soil and groundwater quality conservation is marked by the complex mechanisms that correlate the soil, water, plant, and atmosphere. Therefore, monitoring and modeling (MMA) are combined to retrieve the soil water and nitrate fluxes and identify a proper irrigation management plan in a case study in Beit Dajan-Palestine, where a schedule adapted to conventional water was applied to a 6-year-old citrus orchard continuously irrigated with TWW. Soil nitrogen concentration and water content data were collected from March to August 2021 to calibrate the Hydrus-1D model under the (1) farmer demand (F) scenario, where irrigation volumes are delivered according to the farmer experience, and to define an optimal irrigation management strategy with TWW according to the (2) model demand (M) scenario, based on the irrigation frequency. The latter respects the allowable thresholds of soil solution electrical conductivity, σe, assuming an average soil salinity profile and estimated leaf nitrogen concentrations tolerance as reference; 2021 was taken as a calibration year to retrieve water and nitrate fluxes for 2019 and 2020. In 2021, the measured soil electrical conductivity, σe, showed no salinity risk with an average value of 1.07 dS m−1 (low salinity < 2 dS m−1) but with a leaf nitrogen deficit. Although an acceptable level of available soil nitrogen was observed (ranging between 10 and 35 mg kg−1, whereas the standard value is 10–40 mg kg−1), critical concentrations were observed in the leaves (below 1%) in scenario (F) compared to scenario (M) (ranging between 1.7 and 1.9%). The latter also showed a decrease in nitrate leaching by 33% compared to the former. Overall, the comparison between the simulated and measured soil variables shows that the 1D-Hydrus model could follow the temporal variation in the monitored data, with some overestimation of the measured data during the simulation period. The simulations demonstrate that by modulating the salt tolerance threshold, the M scenario achieved better results in terms of root water and N uptake despite the stress inevitably experienced by citrus with long-term TWW irrigation. Moreover, the optimum threshold values used to assess the soil quality and citrus response under conventional water irrigation were inadequate for TWW practices. Therefore, MMA could be an alternative strategy to schedule proper TWW irrigation.

Geochemical evaluation of groundwater quality and its suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes in arid and semiarid regions: The case of Zeuss-Koutine and a part of Mio-Plio-Quaternary aquifers (SE Tunisia)

Water scarcity is a significant issue in the southeastern region of Tunisia, where the sole source of water is from overexploited, salinized, and contaminated aquifers. Despite considerable advancements in studying groundwater hydrochemistry in the study area, Jeffara plain, further investigation is crucial to comprehensively assess groundwater quality in greater depth. The present study investigates the hydrochemistry of the Zeuss-Koutine (ZK) and a part of Mio-Plio-Quaternary (MPQ) groundwater of the Jeffara plain to identify groundwater quality and assess its suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes, as it serves as a vital water source for various sectors. Groundwater samples were collected from 43 exploitation wells and analyzed for temperature, pH, conductivity, major cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+), major anions (Cl−, HCO3−, NO3−, SO42−), F−, trace elements and NH4+. The findings revealed that the groundwater hydrochemical type in the ZK aquifer is dominated by Na–Ca/SO4–Cl, while the MPQ samples fall under the Na–Ca–Mg/SO4–Cl category. Most of samples show too high concentrations of Na+, Ca2+, Cl−, SO42− and Fluoride. The studied groundwaters are highly affected by gypsum dissolution. The WQI indicate that 86% of samples have poor and very poor water quality and 14% are unsuitable for drinking. These findings are further supported by the TH measurements, which classify all water samples as very hard and unsuitable for drinking purposes. Irrigation water quality index indicate that samples fall in severe and high restriction, so, careful attention should be given to the high sodium and salinity content when used in intensive irrigation. The combination of water quality indices and GIS tools is performed to raise awareness among decision makers about groundwater availability and quality in the study area. Additionally, the need to develop strategies for the treatment and preservation of these valuable resources.

Analyzing the role of soil and vegetation spatial variability in modelling hydrological processes for irrigation optimization at large scale

The main purpose of this paper was to study the effect of spatial variability of soil hydraulic properties (HP) and vegetation parameters (VP) (e.g., leaf-area index, LAI, and crop coefficient, Kc) on modelling agro-hydrological processes and optimising irrigation volumes at large scale. Based on this analysis, the effect of partly overlooking the spatial variability of soil HP and/or VP inputs was verified on a 140 ha irrigation sector in “Sinistra Ofanto” irrigation system in Apulia Region, Southern Italy. Five soil profiles were excavated and the HP were measured in all the soil horizons. Additionally, measurements of soil HP were taken in the surface soil layer in ninety sites distributed over the whole irrigation sector. All the HP measurements were carried out using tension infiltrometer. Remote sensing applications were used to obtain LAI and Kc using European Space Agency’s (ESA) Sentinel-2 images with 10 m resolutions. First, distributed (on ninety polygons with an average area of about 1.5 ha) optimal irrigation volumes and related deep percolation volumes at a depth of 80 cm, were computed using an agro-hydrological model and accounting for the actual observed variability of soil HP and VP inputs. The sector scale irrigation and deep percolation volumes were obtained by aggregating the distributed irrigation volumes. This was considered as the reference scenario (hereafter DVS—Detailed Variability Scenario). Then, reduced variability scenarios (hereafter RVS—Reduced Variability Scenario) were considered, where the information on the actual spatial variability of the soil HP and VP was gradually overlooked to find the minimum data set needed to still have sector scale irrigation volumes and related deep percolation volumes comparable to those obtained under the DVS. Results showed that overlooking VP (RVS-VP) variability did not significantly change the optimal irrigation volumes and the deep percolation fluxes. By contrast, neglecting the HP variability (RVS-HP) showed significant effects on both the irrigation and percolation volumes compared to the DVS. The main practical finding was that, at least for the area investigated in this study, hydraulic characterization of one soil profile in an area of approximately 30 ha provides sector scale irrigation volumes and percolation fluxes comparable to those obtained under the DVS, thus by accounting for all the observed local variability.

Characterizing Soil Profile Salinization in Cotton Fields Using Landsat 8 Time-Series Data in Southern Xinjiang, China.

Soil salinization is a major obstacle to land productivity, crop yield and crop quality in arid areas and directly affects food security. Soil profile salt data are key for accurately determining irrigation volumes. To explore the potential for using Landsat 8 time-series data to monitor soil salinization, 172 Landsat 8 images from 2013 to 2019 were obtained from the Alar Reclamation Area of Xinjiang, northwest China. The multiyear extreme dataset was synthesized from the annual maximum or minimum values of 16 vegetation indices, which were combined with the soil conductivity of 540 samples from soil profiles at 0~0.375 m, 0~0.75 m and 0~1.00 m depths in 30 cotton fields with varying degrees of salinization as investigated by EM38-MK2. Three remote sensing monitoring models for soil conductivity at different depths were constructed using the Cubist method, and digital mapping was carried out. The results showed that the Cubist model of soil profile electrical conductivity from 0 to 0.375 m, 0 to 0.75 m and 0 to 1.00 m showed high prediction accuracy, and the determination coefficients of the prediction set were 0.80, 0.74 and 0.72, respectively. Therefore, it is feasible to use a multiyear extreme value for the vegetation index combined with a Cubist modeling method to monitor soil profile salinization at a regional scale.

Evaluation of Green Agricultural Development and Its Influencing Factors under the Framework of Sustainable Development Goals: Case Study of Lincang City, an Underdeveloped Mountainous Region of China

This study aims to assess the current status of green agricultural development and its influencing factors in Lincang City, a national innovation demonstration zone for sustainable development; it also seeks to enhance the potential and competitiveness of green agricultural development in underdeveloped border areas. To achieve this, an evaluation index system is constructed encompassing six dimensions. Using a coupled coordination and obstacle degree approach, this study explores the spatiotemporal differences in the level of green agricultural and sustainable development, as well as the power, coupled coordination degree, and factors that negatively impact green agricultural development in Lincang City from 2010 to 2019. The Liang-Kleeman information flow method is applied to uncover the key information flow factors that influence the coupled coordination degree in each county and district of Lincang City. The results reveal several insights: First, the comprehensive score of sustainable green agricultural development increased from 0.4405 to 0.5975 during the study period. Second, the coupling coordination degree of green agricultural development was relatively low, fluctuating between 0.1821 and 0.2816. Overall, the development has shifted from severe imbalance to mild imbalance. Third, the obstacle degree increased by 3.75%. From a systemic perspective, the “resource conservation” layer had the highest barrier level, with the maximum value being observed in Yun County at 25.5%. Further analysis of the indicators reveals that the use of outdated water-saving irrigation techniques has resulted in low irrigation efficiency and excessive water resource waste. This is the main cause of the high barrier levels in terms of water-saving irrigation intensity and effective irrigation area. Moreover, the excessive use of chemical pesticides to enhance vegetable production has contributed to high barrier levels for achieving yields of pollution-free vegetable production per unit area. Finally, the information flow values of the factors influencing the coordinated and harmonious development of green agriculture exhibit significant regional heterogeneity among counties and districts. The highest information flow value for the area of drought- and flood-resistant crop cultivation is in Zhengkang County at 1.86. Based on these results, local government departments and decision-makers should focus on promoting comprehensive improvements in the level of green agricultural development. It is crucial to tailor measures to the specific needs of each county to address the shortcomings in green agricultural development. Additionally, efforts should be made to strengthen the innovation-driven chain of green agricultural development, including production, processing and sales. Enhancing the green agricultural development system is essential for long-term progress.

Modeling process of salt fringe formation during fertigation

The introduction of mineral substances into the soil through fertigation ensures the localization of the nutrients necessary for the plant in the area of the root system. However, under certain conditions, this method leads to soil salinization. When the soil dries out, salts are predominantly concentrated at the boundary between dry and wet soil, forming a salt fringe. The article describes the results of experiments and a software tool designed to simulate the process of redistribution of salts during soil drying. The results of calculations for soils of central Russia are presented, taking into account the main hydrophysical characteristics of the soil and the function of hydraulic conductivity under various initial conditions in the form of moisture gradients depending on the depth of the soil, the intensity and duration of irrigation, and the concentration of nutrients. It is shown that by selecting the appropriate initial conditions and irrigation regimes, it is possible to significantly reduce the intensity of the formation of salt fringes.

Influence of Interlayer Soil on the Water Infiltration Characteristics of Heavy Saline–Alkali Soil in Southern Xinjiang

Interlayer soil is common in southern Xinjiang, because interlayer can reduce the infiltration rate of soil water. To simulate the interlayer soil in heavy saline–alkali cotton fields, this paper adopted a vertical one-dimensional infiltration test. T1 (315 mm), T2 (270 mm), and T3 (225 mm) and different interlayer positions (T5, 315 mm) and thicknesses of the interlayer (T6, 315 mm) with the same irrigation volume, as well as one perforation and sand filling treatment (T4, 315 mm), were set. The influence of different irrigation amounts, locations, and thicknesses of the interlayer and sand injection on water infiltration was analyzed. The analysis results showed that with the increase in irrigation amount, the water infiltration rate and the migration distance of the wet front increased, but did not penetrate to the bottom soil (90 cm). Under the same irrigation volume, the increase in interlayer thickness (T6) compared with the increase in interlayer position (T5), the change in soil moisture content in the upper and lower layers of the interlayer was greater, and the advance time of wetting front migration and cumulative infiltration were slightly higher. After tunneling and sand filling (T4), the infiltration rate of water was increased, the migration time of the wet front was reduced, and the profile water content of each soil layer was improved. The Kostiakov model could better simulate the water infiltration characteristics of interlayer soil with different profile configurations in heavily saline–alkali land. The results showed that in all of the treatments, only the wet front of the soil moisture reached 100 cm in the T4 treatment, and the maximum was only 87.8 cm in the other treatments, indicating that too little irrigation water or the upward movement and thickening of the interlayer were not conducive to water infiltration. For the interlayer soil area in the heavy saline–alkali land in southern Xinjiang, the appropriate irrigation water should be more than 315 mm. The treatment of drilling first and then filling sand can be used as a simple but effective measure to increase the water infiltration rate of the interlayer soil, and can thus be applied to the layered soil structure in the interlayer position of 60–80 cm.

Assessment of the sustainability of groundwater utilization and crop production under optimized irrigation strategies in the North China Plain under future climate change

Over-exploitation of groundwater due to intensive irrigation and anticipated climate change pose severe threats to the water and food security worldwide, particularly in the North China Plain (NCP). Limited irrigation has been recognized as an effective way to improve crop water productivity and slow the rapid decline of groundwater levels. Whether optimized limited irrigation strategies could achieve a balance between groundwater pumping and grain production in the NCP under future climate change deserves further study. In this study, an improved Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to simulate climate change impacts on shallow groundwater levels and crop production under limited irrigation strategies to suggest optimal irrigation management practices under future climate conditions in the NCP. The simulations of eleven limited irrigation strategies for winter wheat with targeted irrigations at different growth stages and with irrigated or rainfed summer maize were compared with future business-as-usual management. Climate change impacts showed that mean wheat (maize) yield under adequate irrigation was expected to increase by 13.2% (4.9%) during the middle time period (2041–2070) and by 11.2% (4.6%) during the late time period (2071–2100) under three SSPs compared to the historical period (1971–2000). Mean decline rate of shallow groundwater level slowed by approximately 1 m a−1 during the entire future period (2041–2100) under three SSPs with a greater reduction for SSP5–8.5. The average contribution rate of future climate toward the balance of shallow groundwater pumping and replenishment was 62.9%. Based on the simulated crop yields and decline rate of shallow groundwater level under the future climate, the most appropriate limited irrigation was achieved by applying irrigation during the jointing stage of wheat with rainfed maize, which could achieve the groundwater recovery and sustainable food production.

Reducing surgical site infections after spine surgery: the optimal amount of normal saline for intra-wound irrigation

BACKGROUND CONTEXTSurgical site infection (SSI) following lumbar surgery can increase healthcare costs and lead to poor clinical outcome. Irrigation of wounds with saline solution is widely accepted globally and safe for nearly all kinds of surgery. However, the efficacy of different volumes of wound irrigation has not been addressed in elective spine surgery. The role and the optimal amount of intraoperative wound saline irrigation in preventing SSI in clean spinal surgery remain unclear. PURPOSEWe aimed to investigate if insufficient intraoperative irrigation may be a risk factor for postoperative SSI. Additionally, we investigated the optimal amount of normal saline (NS) for irrigation to prevent postoperative SSI. STUDY DESIGNThis is a retrospective study of patients with degenerative spinal stenosis who were treated surgically. Patients were grouped according to the amount of intra-wound irrigation during surgery. PATIENT SAMPLEWe included 444 patients with degenerative lumbar spinal conditions who had undergone one to five level open spinal fusion surgeries from January 2015 through April 2020. OUTCOME MEASURESThe definition of superficial or deep SSI in this study was based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for SSI. The fusion status accessed was based on the Bridwell grading system at the final follow-up. Self-reported and clinical outcome measures include visual analog scale and Oswestry Disability Index. METHODSA total of 193 patients underwent irrigation with a bulb syringe with manual method (B group) with 2,000 mL NS; 251 patients underwent interpulse battery-powered device irrigation (P group) with >6,000 mL NS. Based on our protocolized departmental guidelines, all patients received the same preoperative preparation and standard surgical steps and postoperative care plan. Patients’ demographic and surgical parameters were recorded. The main outcome measures included superficial wound infection, deep infection and overall infection. RESULTSThe incidence of overall SSI was 4.66% in the B group and 1.59% in the P group. The univariate analysis revealed a significant correlation with DM and irrigation amount per hour during surgery but not age, BMI, smoking, operative duration, fusion level, or blood loss. We determined the optimal irrigation amount during surgery as 1,400 mL per hour based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (sensitivity, 92.3%; specificity, 44.1%). This was statistically significant (p=.033) with an odds ratio of 9.284 (95% confidence interval 1.2–72.0). In the analysis of surgical factors, the infection group had a significantly lower irrigation amount during surgery. To summarize, patients with diabetes and those receiving less than 1,400 mL of NS/hour had a higher likelihood of developing SSI. CONCLUSIONSWe observed that diabetes and lower volume of intraoperative irrigation were both risk factors for postoperative SSI following degenerative lumbar spine surgery. To reduce SSI in lumbar spine surgery, intra-wound irrigation with more than 1,400 mL/h of NS was recommended.

Performance analysis of two typical greenhouse lettuce production systems: commercial hydroponic production and traditional soil cultivation.

Due to the shortage of land and water resource, optimization of systems for production in commercial greenhouses is essential for sustainable vegetable supply. The performance of lettuce productivity and the economic benefit in greenhouses using a soil-based system (SBS) and a hydroponic production system (HPS) were compared in this study. Experiments were conducted in two identical greenhouses over two growth cycles (G1 and G2). Three treatments of irrigation volumes (S1, S2, and S3) were evaluated for SBS while three treatments of nutrient solution concentration (H1, H2, and H3) were evaluated for HPS; the optimal levels from each system were then compared. HPS was more sensitive to the effects of environmental temperature than SBS because of higher soil buffer capacity. Compared with SBS, higher yield (more than 134%) and higher water productivity (more than 50%) were observed in HPS. We detected significant increases in ascorbic acid by 28.31% and 16.67% and in soluble sugar by 57.84% and 32.23% during G1 and G2, respectively, compared with SBS. However, nitrate accumulated in HPS-grown lettuce. When the nutrient solution was replaced with fresh water 3 days before harvest, the excess nitrate content of harvested lettuce in HPS was removed. The initial investment and total operating cost in HPS were 21.76 times and 47.09% higher than those in SBS, respectively. Consideration of agronomic, quality, and economic indicators showed an overall optimal performance of the H2 treatment. These findings indicated that, in spite of its higher initial investment and requirement of advanced technology and management, HPS was more profitable than SBS for commercial lettuce production.

Irrigation volume and placement determine physiological responses and yield of tomato in Ghana

Irrigation volume and placement determine physiological responses and yield of tomato in Ghana

FORMATION OF RIVER DELTAS OF INTRA-CONTINENTAL RESERVOIR OF THE ARAL-CASPIAN ARID ZONE (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE TEREK, AMUDARYA AND ILI RIVERS)<a href="#FN1"><sup>1</sup></a>

The study of the geomorphological and sedimentary systems forming at mouth of large rivers flowing into the inland seas and lakes of the arid zone shows that they have passed a long evolutionary path of development, repeatedly accumulating and reworking alluvial deposits depending on the position of the receiving reservoir level. Following the level fluctuations, the rivers moved their deltas, Pleistocene relics of which are found in the range of absolute marks from +50 to –20 m on the shores of the Caspian Sea, from +50 to 110 m of the Aral Sea and from +370 to 400 m of Lake Balkhash. The Aral-Caspian arid zone is distinguished by following natural factors affecting the processes of delta formation: aridity of the climate, formation of river flow in the upper reaches and lack of inflow in the lower reaches, increased water turbidity and a huge runoff of suspended sediments, as well as significant influence of human economic activity associated with intensive irrigation. The most common morphogenetic type of river deltas on the coasts of intracontinental reservoirs of the arid zone are huge alluvial outflow cones in the form of extension deltas and “dry internal deltas” in the form of alluvial outflow cones. The delta arms and the lower reaches of the rivers of the arid zone are characterized by a high intensity of channel deformations due to weak resistance to erosion of fine-grained valley alluvial-proluvial deposits, high flow velocities and high saturation of the flow with suspended sediments. The oversaturation of the river flow with sediments usually leads to shallowing of the riverbed in high water and its gradual increase over the surrounding terrain. An increase in the bottom elevation and fast delta progradation provoke frequent breakthroughs of the riverbed shafts, a change in the direction of the flow of delta arms, the creation of new branching nodes and the formation of regional jointed deltas of the breakthrough type (delta blades) on the periphery of the old delta (subdelta according to American terminology). Partially superimposed or superimposed deltas can also form inside delta systems after the breakthroughs of channel shafts (or enclosing dams). The poor preservation of ancient deltas is noted due to intensive economic development and high dynamics of the coast and the hydrographic network of river deltas in conditions of huge runoff of suspended sediments and significant variability of the level of the receiving reservoir.

Shallot growth and yield supported by irrigation and nitrogen application in utilizing dry land area in Mesuji, Lampung Province, Indonesia

Lampung Province, Indonesia local government intended to extend shallot cultivation in Mesuji Regency, Lampung (-3.86, 105.43). Mesuji has 21,863.5 ha dry land area, with unproductive land of 10,325.6 ha which could be potential for growing <em>shallot</em>. However, horticulture crops such as shallot often face obstacles in dry land since dry land characterized with poor soil nutrient and limited water. The objective of this research are to analyze the effects of nitrogen fertilizer and different irrigation volumes on shallot growth and production, investigate shallot suitability to Mesuji agro-climate, and estimate shallot yield potential in Mesuji. The treatments on factorial split block were: without N, 80 kg N ha<sup>-1</sup> , 160 kg N ha<sup>-1</sup>, and 240 kg N ha<sup>-1</sup> and the irrigation levels: 25, 50, 75 and 100% of ETc; ETc is crops evapotranspiration. The Mesuji agro-climate was evaluated using standardized precipitation index (SPI) and the yield was simulated by Aquacrop model. The results showed that the effort of shallots production with a high fresh weight of bulbs and biomass in the Mesuji area requested water at least 75% ETc and N fertilizer doses of 160 kg N ha<sup>-1</sup>. The SPI indicated near normal condition was more than 65%, and drought existed in a small percentage in both places (a total of 16.9% for Brebes the centre of shallot production and 19.43% for Mesuji). The AquaCrop simulation gave a good yield estimation (simulated 19.451 ton ha<sup>-1</sup> and observed 17.351 ton ha<sup>-1</sup>). There is a possibility that shallot will grow well in the Mesuji area even though the quality of the shallot should be further tested.

Factors Determining labour Absorption in Agriculture in Different Agro-Climatic Regions of Rajasthan

"This present study was carried out to examine and analyse the factors determining the labour absorption in agriculture in different agro-climatic regions of Rajasthan with state as a whole. Both primary and secondary data were used for this study. 200 respondents from 10 villages were collected for primary data during year of 2018-2019 and secondary data were used of published data from different reports and publications. The findings were showed that farm size has a significant negative relationship with total labour absorption in all agro-climatic regions at the state level except the transitional plain region. The cropping intensity showed a positive association with the total labour utilization in arid western and northern region, transitional plain regions, semi-arid and flood-prone eastern plain and humid south and eastern plain region. The per hectare absorption of tractor hours was displayed a significant negative relationship with the total labour utilization in all the agro-climatic regions with the state level. Expenditure on animal feeds showed a significant positive association with the total human labour utilization in all the agro-climatic regions with the state level except semi-arid and flood-prone eastern plain region. It was observed that the total labour utilization showed a significantly positive relationship with irrigation intensity in arid western and northern region and humid south and eastern plain region. Unemployment of agricultural labourers has negative impact on their income, consumption expenditure and savings. So, there is need to create additional income opportunities for agricultural labourers."

Development and validation of a nomogram to predict hypothermia in adult burn patients during escharectomy under general anesthesia

BackgroundIt is very common for burn patients to have hypothermia during escharectomy under general anesthesia, which increases the blood transfusion demand of burn patients, and may lead to blood coagulation disorder or even increase the mortality of patients. It is important to predict the occurrence of hypothermia in advance, but we lack a prognostic prediction model. Our study aimed to develop a nomogram to predict the incidence of hypothermia in adult burn patients undergoing escharectomy under general anesthesia to intervention the hazards associated with hypothermia early. MethodsThis retrospective study included 978 adult burn patients who underwent simple escharectomy under general anesthesia during hospitalization between January 2017 and December 2022, they were further divided into a training cohort and a validation cohort. The clinical data were recorded in electronic medical record system and a self-made collection table of intraoperative hypothermia. The preliminary predictive factors for hypothermia which undergoing simple escharectomy under general anesthesia in burn patients were determined using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) at first, then the final predictive factors determined using binary logistic regression analyses and a nomogram to predict the occurrence of hypothermia was established. The index of concordance(C-index), calibration curves, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to evaluate the performance of the model. ResultsA total of 211 patients with hypothermia and 767 patients without hypothermia were selected. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis and binary logistic regression results concluded that burn index, urinary volume, blood transfusion volume and irrigation volume were significantly associated with hypothermia in burn patients undergoing escharectomy under general anesthesia. The nomogram based on these four variables had good predictive efficiency for hypothermia in adult burn patients during escharectomy under general anesthesia, the C-index in the training cohort was 0.903, areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) of for the training cohort (95 % CI 0.877–0.920) and 0.875 for the validation cohort (95 % CI 0.852–0.897) indicated satisfactory discriminative ability of the nomogram, and the calibration curves for the training cohort and the validation cohort also fit as well, indicating that the nomogram had good clinical application value. ConclusionsHypothermia in burn patients during escharectomy under general anesthesia is associated with burn index, urinary volume, blood transfusion volume and irrigation volume. We successfully developed a practical nomogram to accurately predict hypothermia, which is a practical method helping clinicians rapidly and conveniently diagnose and guide the treatment of hypothermia in burn patients during escharectomy under general anesthesia.

Microbial Degradation of Plant Residues Rapidly Causes Long-Lasting Hypoxia in Soil upon Irrigation and Affects Leaching of Nitrogen and Metals

With this study, we aim to relate the substrate quality of different organic materials derived from plant residues to the respiratory activity of soil microorganisms after amendment, the formation of oxygen gradients upon irrigation, and the leaching of macronutrients and metals in soil. Elemental analyses were performed to determine the chemical composition of wheat straw, green compost, and a biochar product, showing that carbon availability, C/N ratio, and metal contents varied markedly. Consequently, after application to well-aerated sandy loam soil at 1% w/w, only straw increased microbial activity substantially, and nitrate was depleted within one week. Upon intense irrigation of soil columns packed with differently amended soils, strong hypoxia formed only in straw–soil, where microbial oxygen demand for straw degradation was high. This was enhanced after the application of mineral fertilizers, and nitrate leaching was mitigated. With the decreasing redox potential in straw–soil, the leaching of Fe, Mn, Al, Ni, Co, and As was increased. However, nitrate from mineral fertilizer mitigated the reduction of redox potential and, thus, the leaching of these metals. Measuring oxygen at different depths revealed near anoxic conditions at −15 cm of straw–soil with NP-fertilizer applied within 12 h after the start of irrigation and remained for at least 60 h, while oxygen showed extensive fluctuations in the upper few centimeters. This study showed that organic soil amendments with high carbon availability induce microbial respiration to the extent that causes strong and long-lasting hypoxia upon irrigation, even in sandy soil, which leads to substantial effects on the mobility of nutrients and toxic metals. In contrast, organic soil amendments with low carbon availability did not cause such effects.

Agricultural use of compost under different irrigation strategies in a hedgerow olive grove under Mediterranean conditions – a comparison with traditional systems

Abstract. Soil and water-efficient management are key factors in ensuring the olive sector's sustainable production practices. The use of compost based on olive waste (alperujo) as fertilizer could enhance ecosystem services while the need to transition to a zero-waste approach based on a circular economy is achieved. The present work includes a comparative study of the effect of alperujo compost (AC) vs. inorganic fertilization under different management systems: a traditional adult olive grove under rainfed conditions and a young hedgerow olive system, in which a factorial test of tree irrigation regimes (full, deficit and no irrigation) is implemented as well. At the hedgerow plots, the addition of AC and soil sampling time greatly impacted soil chemical parameters and, to a lesser extent, enzymatic activities, whereas irrigation regimes did not exert a marked influence. In the traditional rainfed system, the addition of AC proved to be an efficient tool for carbon sequestration. The first soil sampling revealed a clear stoichiometric relationship between soil organic matter (SOM) and the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) contents in both systems, whereas the correlations were weak and scarce in the second sampling at the hedgerow plots. This fact was related to the decay of the compost effect. Compost in combination with irrigation tended to trigger a certain priming effect on the native SOM with time since the carbon stocks were reduced between 6 % and 38 % from one sampling to the other in the hedgerow system, depending on the irrigation intensity. However, the deficit irrigation caused a less intense reduction of the SOM and essential nutrients representing the best alternative to maximizing the agronomic effects of the compost under a water-saving strategy. Recurrent application of compost would be necessary to maintain soil quality, especially with high tree densities. The combined management of AC and the deficit irrigation proved to be an efficient tool toward a zero-waste circular economy and a water conservation strategy.

Measuring the agricultural sustainability of India: An application of Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model

Analyzing agricultural sustainability is essential for designing and assessing rural development initiatives. However, accurately measuring agricultural sustainability is complicated since it involves so many different factors. This study provides a new suite of quantitative indicators for assessing agricultural sustainability at regional and district levels, involving environmental sustainability, social security, and economic security. Combining the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model and indicator approach, this study creates a composite agricultural sustainability index for the 14 mainstream agro-climatic regions of India. The results of this study show that the Trans-Gengatic Plain Region (TGPR) ranks first in agricultural sustainability among India’s 14 mainstream agro-climatic regions, while the Eastern Himalayan Region (EHR) ranks last. Higher livestock ownership, cropping intensity, per capita income, irrigation intensity, share of institutional credit, food grain productivity, crop diversification, awareness of minimum support price, knowledge sharing with fellow farmers, and young and working population, as well as better transportation facilities and membership of agricultural credit societies are influencing indicators responsible for higher agricultural sustainability in TGPR compared with EHR. Although, the scores of environmental sustainability indicators of EHR are quite good, its scores of social and economic security indicators are fairly low, putting it at the bottom of the rank of agricultural sustainability index among the 14 mainstream agro-climatic regions in India. This demonstrates the need of understanding agricultural sustainability in relation to social and economic dimensions. In a nation as diverse and complicated as India, it is the social structure that determines the health of the economy and environment. Last but not least, the sustainability assessment methodology may be used in a variety of India’s agro-climatic regions.