Wheat Farmers Research Articles

Extraction, Separation and Characterization of Antibiotic Compound produced by Streptomyces rimosus (ACW9) Active against MDRs Uropathogens

Abstract: Soil is a well-studied ecological niche for the discovery of beneficial biologically active chemicals like therapeutically relevant antibiotics. Actinobacteria have been recognised as one of the largest microbial groups in soil that are capable of producing a wide range of beneficial secondary metabolites and compounds with varying characteristics. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Streptomyces rimosus ACW9 isolated from wheat farm soil. Molecular identification (16S rRNA ribotyping) was used to identify strain ACW9. Ethyl acetate crude extract displayed promising antibacterial activity against clinically isolated uropathogens, Enterobacter sp. (20 mm) and Bacillus subtilis (14 mm). In addition, the extract showed 62.3% DPPH scavenging with IC50= 1.829 mg/ml. The characterization of the purified metabolites from strain ACW9 was done by GCMS, FTIR, and HPLC techniques. The profound metabolites of ethyl acetate extract were identified by GCMS were cyclohexane, (-2-Nitro-2-Propyl), hexadecane, and pentanoic acid. It may be concluded that actinobacteria isolated from wheat farm soil is a promising source for medicinally important bioactive compounds

Aging, Crops and Pesticide Input: Empirical Evidence from Rural China.

Although scholars have elaborated on the effects of aging, there is no consensus on the relationship between the aging and farmers' pesticide input. Regional differences in agricultural crops in China, namely "Southern Rice and Northern Wheat", have not been considered in any of the existing studies. Based on the data of 443 wheat farmers and 324 rice farmers in China, this study found that aging significantly increased pesticide input. After sorting out the types of pesticides, it was found that the aging significantly increased the input of biological pesticides, but did not affect the input of chemical pesticides. After considering the planting pattern of "Southern Rice and Northern Wheat", aging did not have a significant impact on the pesticide input of wheat farmers, but had a significant positive impact on the pesticide input of rice farmers. For wheat farmers in the north, social services have a significant inhibitory effect on the relationship between aging and pesticide input. For rice farmers, path dependence has a significant role in promoting the relationship between aging and pesticide input CONCLUSION: The planting pattern of "southern rice and northern wheat" will indeed affect the relationship between aging and pesticide input, and social services and path dependence are the main reasons for this heterogeneity effect. Therefore, improving agricultural socialization services and reducing farmers' dependence on traditional production experience will be an important way to effectively reduce the impact of aging. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Public Agricultural Extension, Pest and Disease Experience, and Adoption of Improved Wheat Varieties

Improved varieties are considered critical for increasing crop yields worldwide. This study explored the effects of public agricultural extension and pest and disease experience on adoption of improved varieties using survey data on 525 wheat farmers in Anhui Province, China, to which the Heckman sample selection model was applied. The results showed that public agricultural extension had a significant positive relationship with adoption of improved varieties. Demonstration and training, as different forms of agricultural extension, both increased the probability of farmers adopting improved varieties, but only demonstration had a marked effect on degree of adoption. Pest and disease experience increased the probability of adoption of improved varieties by farmers and significantly enhanced the effect of public agricultural extension, but did not affect degree of adoption. Further analysis using an endogenous switching regression model revealed that adoption of improved varieties raised wheat yields by around 337.83 kg/ha. Public agricultural extension should thus be strengthened, especially for farmers with pest and disease experience, and a diversified, well-functioning agricultural extension system should be provided.

Economic Impact of Wheat Sowing Through Zero Tillage Technique against Broadcasting under Hot Sub-humid (Moist) Eco-Region Uttar Pradesh, India

Aims: The production of cost of wheat is higher in farmers practice than the zero tillage sown of wheat due to non-adoption of recommended resource conservation technology, high-yielding varieties and advanced technologies by the farming community in the eastern plains of Uttar Pradesh. To replace this anomalous, we conducted 204 front-line demonstrations (FLDs) at farmers' fields in various adopted villages by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Deoria.
 Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Malhana, Deoria, under the Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, UP. A total of 90, 12 and 50 FLDs were conducted under raised bed sowing with three varieties of pigeon pea ( Narendra Arhar 1, Pusa Bahar and Narendra Arhar 2) from 2014-15 to 2018-19 respectively.
 Methodology: Prior findings were examined to identify any gaps and to enlist everyone's assistance in disseminating such a technology of global relevance. In the eight years from 2011–12 to 2018–19, a total of 204 FLDs were carried out at the 230 farmer’s fields in the 32 villages where wheat was sown by zero tillage
 Result: Rice-wheat cropping systems are the most often used agricultural method in Uttar Pradesh, India's hot, sub-humid (wet) eco-region. It provides farmers and agricultural labourers with a source of subsistence and revenue and is a crucial aspect of the region's infrastructure for food safety. In order to attain sustainable yield, it is always thought necessary to employ other alternatives of conserving essential inputs by adopting resources conservative techniques (RCT), such as zero tillage and broad bed furrow (BBF). According to the economic analysis of the data presented in the current study, zero tillage wheat farming is the most cost-effective and appealing alternative for the agricultural community of eastern Uttar Pradesh. When compared to the broadcasting method, the zero tillage technique yielded a higher return and a lower cost of cultivation per acre. Finally, the use of this strategy raises farmers' net returns, improves their social standing, living conditions, livelihood, and ultimately reduces poverty in the farming community.
 Conclusions: The new approach lowers production costs while producing equivalent wheat yields to other methods, which leads to higher net returns. Farmers in the area have begun to appreciate the technology's reduced tillage costs. Rice-wheat is the prevalent farming system practiced by the majority of farmers in the region. In the future, the prospect of extending the method to sow wheat after other crops should be investigated.

Fog water harvesting potential and its use in supplementary irrigation of rainfed crops (winter wheat) in Abi-beyglu, Ardabil (Iran)

Abstract In arid and semi-arid areas where available water resources are very limited, the application of unconventional sources of water like the fog is of paramount importance. In this paper, the feasibility of using a standard fog collector (SFC) to collect fog water for complementary irrigation of rainfed wheat in the Abi-beyglu area was investigated. For this purpose, collected water volume was measured on a daily basis during fog time in 2021. The water demand of the winter wheat was estimated by the FAO Penman–Monteith equation under dry and normal conditions. Then the contribution of the collected water to supply the water demand of the wheat and the resultant increase in the yield under two different scenarios, namely complementary irrigation with 30 and 60 mm of collected water, was estimated using the AquaCrop model. Results showed that it is feasible to obtain an average water production of 3.6 L/m2/day over the studied period. Upon irrigation with 30 and 60 mm of collected water under dry and normal conditions, 26 and 34% of the water deficiency for wheat farming was supplied, leading to increased crop yields by 0.6 and 1.7 ton/ha, respectively.

Rural Farmers’ Perceptions for the Impacts of Climate Change and Adaptation Policies on Wheat Productivity: Insights from a Recent Study in Balochistan, Pakistan

Climate change (CC) is a worldwide environmental issue affecting all economic sectors, especially agriculture. Pakistan is one of the countries most affected by CC due to the country’s vulnerability to catastrophic events and limited ability to adapt. Assessing existing activities for adaptation to CC at the farm level is critical to understanding their success and recommending additional government measures. This study analyzes possible farming practice modifications that Pakistani farmers may adopt to reduce the loss of agricultural output due to the rising prevalence of dangerous weather events by CC. Data for the current research were gathered from 432 wheat farmers in rural Pakistan. This article investigates many factors that impact farmers’ decisions to CC adaptation in crop production utilizing binary logit (BL) and multivariate probit (MVP) models. Gender, education level, farming experience, farm size, level of damage, access to finance, and training participation are characteristics that substantially affect farmers’ likelihood of adapting to CC. Farm size and participation in CC training were the most critical factors influencing farmers’ CC adaptation decisions. Policy recommendations were presented to increase the farmers’ resilience in the study areas to CC. These comprise expanding CC training courses, developing regulations to encourage agricultural integration, and integrating CC and adaptation to CC principles into the operations of regional organizations. Finally, based on the findings, policymakers will be better equipped to address the challenges posed by CC and create a more resilient agricultural sector. This, in turn, will contribute to improving food security, ensuring sustainable agricultural growth.

PHYSIOLOGICAL AND SANITARY QUALITY OF WHEAT CULTIVARS SEEDS SUBJECTED TO CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SEED TREATMENTS

Brazilian wheat farming is characterized by a high occurrence of seed-transmitted diseases that can cause significant damage to grain production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of seed treatments on the physiological and sanitary quality of wheat cultivar seeds. Seeds from three commercial wheat cultivars (TBIO Sossego, TBIO Sinuelo, and TBIO Toruk) were used, along with four seed treatments (Control, Chemical, Biological, and Chemical + Biological). The physiological quality of the seeds was determined based on first germination count, germination percentage, quantification of abnormal seedlings, shoot and radicle length, whole seedling dry weight, and emergence velocity index (EVI). The sanitary quality was assessed using the Blotter test. Overall, the chemical treatment combined with the seeds of the TBIO Toruk cultivar provided better indices of physiological and sanitary quality.

Household and plot-level survey data on adoption, outcomes, and perceptions of early sown wheat and zero tillage in Northwest India

This study collected evidence on the use of early sown wheat varieties and complementary zero tillage technologies in Northwest India. Detailed information on farmers’ knowledge, adoption decisions, personal experience, and perceptions of early sown wheat and zero tillage technologies were collected at the household level using different survey tools. Additional information on agricultural practices during the Rabi Season 2021/22 were collected at the plot level and geocoded. Overall, the dataset comprises responses from 1206 wheat farmers in 70 villages across 7 districts in Punjab and Haryana that were collected between September and October 2022. The villages were selected using stratified random sampling based on a sampling frame of 1722 communities that had been identified as predominantly wheat growing areas based on remote-sensing data from satellite images. The dataset provides rich information that may be used for assessing the diffusion and impact of recently developed wheat varieties designed for early sowing, identifying barriers to the wider adoption of these technologies, and informing policy making aimed at improving adoption and usage decisions of agricultural innovations.

Wheat Farmers’ Perception of Constraints and Their Adaptive Capacity to Changing Demands in Egypt

Most of the approximately 105 million Egyptians depend on wheat in the form of baladi bread for their daily diet. Millions of smallholders along the River Nile have produced wheat for millennia; however, in more recent history, the wheat demand and supply ratio has dramatically changed. The first wheat imports in Egyptian history were in 1966. Today, domestic production meets only half of the wheat consumption, and Egypt has become the largest wheat importer in the world. Before the Russia–Ukraine war, 85% of the wheat imports to Egypt came from Russia and Ukraine. The war and the associated disruption of the wheat supply chains has put Egypt on the top list of so-called “developing countries highly threatened by food crises”. Against this backdrop, we analyzed decision-making factors and perceptions of wheat-producing smallholders in the Nile River Delta, the wheat basket of Egypt. The study draws on nine months of empirical fieldwork in the Nile River Delta. We employed a mixed approach to data collection, combining interviews and focus group discussions with smallholders, experts, and agriculture extension agents with transect walks and field observations. In total, 246 randomly selected wheat-growing smallholders were interviewed in four divisions in the Nile River Delta. Our findings show that the production of wheat by smallholders is highly influenced by system-immanent factors, such as subsistence need for home consumption and the presence and intensity of animal husbandry, as well as by external factors, such as the domestic prices for wheat determined by the government in each season and the time of the declaration of these prices. These factors affect smallholders’ decisions to increase or decrease their wheat cultivation area. However, the study also showed that the factors influencing farmers’ decisions to grow wheat or implement innovative practices vary across different areas within the same region. Smallholders struggle with poor access to fundamental production factors and are discontented with the low provision of extension and support services as well as poor market structures. These constraints act as disincentives for smallholders to produce (more) wheat. They need to be addressed and eliminated to increase domestic production and to reduce Egypt’s dependency on expensive and unreliable wheat imports.

ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF SMALL-HOLDER WHEAT FARMERS AROUND HADEJIA VALLEY IRRIGATION SCHEME IN JIGAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The study analyzed economic efficiency of small-holder wheat farmers around Hadejia Valley Irrigation scheme in Jigawa, State Nigeria. Multi-stages sampling procedure was used to select 346 wheat farmers from the study area. Data were collected with the aid of questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyzed the data. The stochastic frontier analysis results indicated that a unit increase in the use of land, fertilizer, labour and herbicide contributed to wheat output by 0.577, 0.341, 0.078 and 0.174 respectively. The predicted technical, allocative and economic efficiencies were 0.76, 0.32 and 0.24 respectively. This implies that wheat farmers were not fully efficient and output could have been increased by 24% and about 68% of cost would have been saved. Furthermore, tobit regression results revealed that age of the farmers positively affected technical (0.0012, p<0.10), allocative (0.0025, p<0.05) and economic (0.0023, p<0.01) efficiencies of wheat farmers’ production in the study area. The sex of the wheat farmers was significant (0.0472, p<0.05) and positively affecting wheat farmers technical efficiency. Education of the wheat farmers significantly (p<0.10) and negatively affected their technical (-0.0021) inefficiencies, access to extension service was influencing both technical (- 0.0223, p<0.10) and economic (- 0.0789, p<0.10) inefficiencies negatively. The study concluded that wheat farmers were not fully efficient and more output (24%) could be achieved with the same level of inputs as indicated by the increasing return to scale of 1.197. The study therefore, recommended that concerted efforts should be made towards training farmers on appropriate inputs combination by extension agents to improve and boost wheat production in the study area.

Improving Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Small Farm Wheat Production Scenarios Using Data Envelopment Analysis

Assessing the energy cycle and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of wheat production in small Egyptian farms is essential to improve wheat productivity to meet population growth and achieve sustainable development. This study aims to compare wheat production in terms of energy use and GHG emissions for different scenarios in the Delta of Egypt and to use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to optimize the wheat production system. Three common scenarios of the wheat production system (S-I, S-II, and S-III) from old lands with one scenario (S-IV) from newly reclaimed land were included in the study. Data were collected from small farmers through a face-to-face questionnaire and interviews in 2022–2023. The results showed that the third scenario (S-III) in the old lands had the lowest input energy consumption (42,555 MJ ha−1) and the highest output energy (160,418 MJ ha−1), with an energy use efficiency of 3.770. In comparison, the input and output energy for the newly reclaimed scenario (S-IV) were 37,575 and 130,581 MJ ha−1, respectively, with an energy use efficiency of 3.475. S-III was an optimum scenario due to its high energy indicators, such as energy productivity of 0.173 kg MJ−1. The total GHG emissions of S-III were the lowest in old lands with a value of 1432.9 kg CO2-eq ha−1, while S-IV had 1290.2 kg CO2-eq ha−1. The highest GHG emissions input was diesel fuel for machinery and irrigation, followed by manure, chemical fertilizers, and agricultural machinery use. Using mechanization in most farming operations for S-III and S-IV led to decreased losses of agricultural inputs with increasing outputs (yield and straw). Therefore, using them in wheat farming practices is recommended to increase the wheat farming system’s energy efficiency and GHG emissions.

A dynamic multi-stage network data envelopment analysis approach for evaluating performance of wheat farms

PurposeBecause of the importance of the wheat industry in the economy, a real-featured performance measurement approach is essential for the wheat production process. The purpose of this paper is to develop a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model that is fully compatible with the wheat production process so that managers and farmers can use it to evaluate the efficiency of wheat farms for strategic decisions.Design/methodology/approachA dynamic multi-stage network DEA model is developed to evaluate the efficiency of wheat production farms in short-term (two-year) and long-term (eight-year) periods.FindingsThe results of this study show that because of the lack of long-term planning and excessive reliance on rain, most of the investigated regions have no stability in efficiency, and the efficiency of the regions changes in a zigzag manner over time. Among studied regions, only the Hashtrood region has high and stable efficiency, and other regions can follow the example of this region's cultivation method.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first one that uses the dynamic multi-stage network DEA considering every other year cultivation method and direct–indirect inputs in the agricultural section.

Modeling climate change impact on dryland wheat production for increased crop yield in the Free State, South Africa, using GCM projections and the DSSAT model

Introduction: The impact of climate change on food production in South Africa is likely to increase due to low rainfall and frequent droughts, resulting in food insecurity in the future. The use of well-calibrated and validated crop models with climate change data is important for assessing climate change impacts and developing adaptation strategies. In this study, the decision support system for agrotechnology transfer (DSSAT) crop model was used to predict yield using observed and projected climate data.Materials and Methods: Climate, soil, and crop management data were collected from wheat-growing study sites in Bethlehem, South Africa. The DSSAT wheat model (CROPSIM-CERES) used was already calibrated, and validated by Serage et al. (Evaluating Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for Disaster Risk Management: Case Study for Bethlehem Wheat Farmers, South Africa, 2017) using three wheat cultivar coefficients obtained from the cultivar adaptation experiment by the ARC-Small Grain Institute. The model was run with historical climate data for the eastern Free State (Bethlehem) from 1999 to 2018 as the baseline period. To determine the effects of climate change, the crop model simulation for wheat was run with future projections from four Global Climate Models (GCM): BCC-CSM1_1, GFDL-ESM2G, ENSEMBLE, and MIROC from 2020 to 2077.Results: The average wheat yield for the historic climate data was 1145.2 kg/ha and was slightly lower than the highest average yield of 1215.9 kg/ha from GCM ENSEMBLE during Representative concentration pathways (RCP) 2.6, while the lowest yield of 29.8 kg/ha was produced during RCP 8.5 (GCM GFDL-ESM2G). Model GFDL-ESM2G produced low yields (29.8–47.74 kg/ha) during RCP 8.5 and RCP 6.0, respectively. The yield range for GCM BCC-CSM1_1 was 770.2 kg/ha during RCP 2.6 to 921.68 kg/ha during RCP 4.5 and 547.84 kg/ha during RCP 8.5 to 700.22 kg/ha during RCP 2.6 for GCM MIROC.Conclusion: This study showed a declining trend in yield for future climate projections from RCP2.6 to RCP8.5, indicating that the possible impacts of higher temperatures and reduced rainfall in the projected future climate will slightly decrease wheat production in the eastern Free State. Adaptation measures to mitigate the potential impact of climate change could include possible changes in planting dates and cultivars. Using a crop model to simulate the response of crops to variations in weather conditions can be useful to generate advisories for farmers to prevent low yield.

Industrial garbage-derived biocompost enhances soil organic carbon fractions, CO2 biosequestration, potential carbon credits and sustainability index in a rice-wheat ecosystem

The objectives of this experiment were i) to study on the garbage composting to improve the soil organic carbon (SOC) pools (active and passive), ii) work out the carbon (C) budgeting, and iii) cut off C footprints (CFs) in the rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) farming to achieve the long-term sustainability. The main plots show four fertilizer levels (F0 = control, F1 = 112.5:45:45 kg nitrogen; phosphorus; potassium (NPK) ha−1, F2 = 150:60:60 kg NPK ha−1 and F3 = 150:60:60 kg NPK ha−1+ 5 kg iron (Fe) + 5 kg zinc (Zn) were applied, while in sub plots with the combination of three industrial garbage (I1 = carpet garbage; I2 = pressmud; I3 = bagasse) and three microbial culture (M1 = Pleurotus sajor-caju, M2 = Azotobacter chroococcum; M3 = Trichoderma viride) made into nine treatment combinations were applied. Based on the interaction, treatment F3 × I1+M3 resulted in a maximum of 25.1 and 22.4 Mg ha−1 total CO2 biosequestration by rice and wheat, respectively. However, it was cut off CFs by 29.9 and 22.2% more than F1 × I3+M1. Based on the soil C fractionation study, in the main plot treatment, F3 was active very labile C (VLC) and moderately labile C (MLC) and passive less labile C (LLC) and recalcitrant C (RC) SOC fractions contributed by 68.3 and 30.0%, respectively, of total SOC. However, in the sub plot, treatment I1+M3 found 68.2% and 29.8% active and passive SOC fractions, respectively, of total SOC. Regarding the soil microbial biomass C (SMBC) study, F3 had 37.7% higher than F0. However, in the sub plot, I1+M3 was seen to be 21.5% greater than I2+M1. Furthermore, wheat and rice had higher 1002 and 897 US$ ha−1 potential C credit in F3 × I1+M3, respectively. SOC fractions were perfectly positively correlated with SMBC. A positive (+) correlation was observed among grain yield (wheat and rice) and SOC pools in soil. However, a negative correlation was found between the C sustainability index (CSI) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI). The variability in wheat and rice grain yield was 46 and 74%, respectively, contributed by the SOC pools. Therefore, this study hypothesised that applying inorganic nutrients and industrial garbage converted into biocompost cut off C emissions and reduced the demand for chemical fertilizers, opening garbage disposal, and simultaneously enhancing the SOC pools.

Participation and equity shareholding benefits among wheat farmers’ multipurpose cooperatives in Southern Ethiopia

The study assessed cooperative members’ participation and its effect on their equity shareholding benefit. This cross-sectional designed study covered 371 stallholders’ wheat producing members from 27 primary cooperatives in three wheat producing districts. Survey questionnaire and key informant interviews were used for data collection. Multiple linear regression analyses were done on six participation variables to identify their relationship with members’ individual equity shareholding benefit. The result showed that, three participation variables, namely years in membership, number of shares, and quantity of wheat produce supplied were identified as significant predictors of benefit (p<0.05) and are therefore, deemed to have influence on the individual equity shareholding of members in their cooperatives. Based on the study findings the study recommended that the regional cooperative agency and affiliated zonal and district public service providing structures should work on how to strengthen those participation aspects having influence on member’s equity shareholding benefit. This can be used as springboard to further encourage members’ participation. Increased equity shareholding in turn, will contribute and eventually address the recurrently reported financial problem of cooperative societies both investment and working capital and their dependence on fragile external sources; on sustainable manner. Cooperative societies should encourage members to supply more quality produce to their cooperatives by giving them tangible benefits in price reward and patronage dividend. The Regional and Federal governments need to create a supportive policy environment to enable farmers’ cooperative societies to own the fertilizer business, including importing and distribution to the village level, which is the main function that these societies are assumed to perform. More importantly, focus should be given to improve members’ participation on the management and decision-making process. This is because, as members based entity, the fundamental organizational characteristics of cooperative, which is members’ ownership, use and control is assumed to be manifested in due process of making decisions that are affecting the affairs of their society. Key words: Cooperatives, Equity, Ethiopia, Farmers, Members, Wheat, Participation, Shareholding

Implications of wheat farming in Cd(II) and Pb(II) contaminated red eutrophic Oxisol: an experimental pilot investigation

SummaryThis study aimed (i) to assess the environmental problems of wheat farming in Oxisol with Cd and Pb below the acceptable levels established by national and international regulations, questioning their possible permissiveness; (ii) to investigate the metal distribution in wheat plant organs, and to predict possible implications of cultivation in hazardous conditions; (iii) to assess the grain and flour content of metals and to predict possible implications. The growth of plants, gas exchange parameters, nutritional composition, the yield of grains and metal distribution were evaluated. Cd and Pb are accumulated in different plant organs even when the legislation's limits are respected. 74% of Cd and 96% of Pb are accumulated in roots, while 3% of Cd and <1% of Pb are accumulated in grains. Cd and Pb caused nutritional disorders such as decreased foliar K, Ca, Cu, Zn, Fe and Mn, decreased canopy height, number of tillers, number of spikes, the volume of roots, aerial dry mass and yield of grains. Even if the established limits of Cd are respected, the flour will overtake the provisional tolerable monthly intake established by World Health Organisation. In the evaluated conditions, wheat cultivation in Oxisol within the national standard for Cd could result in hazardous levels in flour.

Bread Wheat Landraces Adaptability to Low-Input Agriculture.

Bread wheat landraces were an important source of biodiversity used in agriculture before the widespread adoption of high-yielding commercial cultivars adapted to high inputs. Could future agriculture exploit these landraces in different cropping systems in organic or lower-input environments? A two-year field trial was conducted to evaluate grain yield, agronomic performance, and grain quality of bread wheat landraces under different cropping systems, including low-input/organic/conventional environments. Significant variability was found for almost all characteristics among landraces, which makes landraces valuable sources of genetic variation for breeding programs aimed at achieving high and consistent production as well as high-quality products in low-input/organic environments. Additionally, landraces play a crucial role in expanding the genetic diversity of cultivated bread wheat and mitigating biodiversity erosion, thereby enabling crops to better withstand the challenges of low-input/organic agriculture. The landrace "Xilokastro Lamias" had the highest yield among the landraces evaluated in the first growing season (2.65 t·ha-1) and one of the highest yields (2.52 t·ha-1) of all genotypes in the second growing season, which shows promising potential as a starting material in breeding programs targeting high and stable yields. GGE biplot analysis identified the landrace "Xilokastro Lamias", along with commercial cultivars "Yecora E" and "Panifor", as suitable candidates for direct use in low-input/organic wheat farming systems to achieve enhanced productivity. In the conventional environment (C2-IPGRB), commercial cultivars showed the highest values (3.09 to 3.41 ton·ha-1). Of the landraces, only the X4 showed a high GY (3.10 ton·ha-1) while the other landraces had ~33-85% lower yield. In the organic environment (O2-IPGRB), the highest productivity was found in the commercial cultivar X5 and the landrace X4. Commercial cultivars X8 and X7 showed ~68% reduction in GY in the organic environment compared to the conventional, while this reduction was half for the landraces. Finally, the reduction in grain yield between conventional and organic environments was observed to be 45% for commercial cultivars, while it was only half for landraces. This finding confirms the adaptability of landraces to organic agriculture.

Estimation of Wheat Yield on a Farm in Najaf/Iraq, using Principal Component Analysis of Multi Temporal Satellite Images Pairs

The present work aims to estimate the yield of wheat crop for a particular wheat farm in Najaf Governorate, southwestern Iraq. Seven multispectral bands of the Landsat satellite (8 and 9) were used for two different time periods. The satellite image for the 1st time (Landsat 8) represents the high vegetative growth of the wheat crop, and the satellite image for the second time (Landsat 9) represents the farm after harvest. Changes in land use were detected based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technology wherein PCA images were used to calculate wheat production for a specific area in Najaf scene in Iraq. RGB color model was adopted as an unsupervised method of scene classification as this model was used to determine the number of classes in a scene. Maximum-likelihood method was applied as supervised classification with the images generated by applying the principal component analysis technique for the 1st time and for the 2nd time separately considering the number of classes derived from the RGB color model. The data was read within the borders of the region of interest (a wheat farm) for which the yield will be calculated by creating a mask in which the outer borders of the study area are defined. The results showed that the rate of wheat production for the study area amounted to 97.85 tons, with an error rate that did not exceed (1.55%) when using PC images.

From cultivation to culture: Wheat farming and sex selection in China

AbstractSex selection has been linked to son preference and discrimination against girls in many Asian countries. In this study, we shed light on the shaping role of rice–wheat cropping system to the subsequent gender inequality in China. Using an individual‐level dataset compiled from a national scale survey and an archaeology publication, we show regional differences in gender inequality across China: parents show strong gender discrimination against girls in wheat regions. And 15.2 percentage points more parents from wheat regions engage in successful sex selection than those from non‐wheat regions. The mechanism analysis reveals that women empowerment matters.

Dryland farming wheat yield prediction using the Lasso regression model and meteorological variables in dry and semi-dry region

Dryland farming wheat yield prediction using the Lasso regression model and meteorological variables in dry and semi-dry region