Sample records for surrounding rice fields

  1. Waterbird nest density and nest survival in rice fields of southwestern Louisiana

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Pierluissi, S.; King, Sammy L.; Kaller, Michael D.

    2010-01-01

    Rice fields in southwestern Louisiana provide breeding habitat for several waterbird species; however, little is known about nest density, nest survival and the importance of landscape context of rice fields in determining breeding activity. In 2004, 42 rice fields were searched for nests, and 40 were searched in 2005. Land uses surrounding rice fields, including irrigation canals, trees, crawfish ponds, rice, fallow and soybean fields, were examined to determine influence on nest density and survival. Nest densities were 13.5-16.0 nests/km2 for Purple Gallinules (Porphyrio martinica), 3.0-13.7 nests/km2 for Fulvous Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna bicolor), 2.6-2.8 nests/km2 for Common Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus), 0.3-0.92 nests/km2 for Least Bitterns (Ixobrychus exilisi) and 0-0.6 nests/km2 for Mottled Ducks (Anas fulvigula). Nest survival was 52-79% for Purple Gallinules and 39-43% for Fulvous Whistling Ducks. Apparent nest success of Common Moorhens was 73-75%, 83% for Least Bitterns and 33% for Mottled Ducks. Purple Gallinule and Common Moorhen nest densities were highest in fields with a larger proportion of irrigation canals surrounding rice fields. Purple Gallinule nest densities were greater in fields devoid of trees and landscapes dominated by rice fields and pasture, rather than landscapes containing soybean fields and residential areas. Fulvous Whistling Duck nest densities were higher in agriculturally-dominated landscapes with few trees.

  2. The relationship between mosquito abundance and rice field density in the Republic of Korea

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), the causative agent of Japanese encephalitis (JE), is endemic to the Republic of Korea (ROK) where unvaccinated United States (U.S.) military Service members, civilians and family members are stationed. The primary vector of the JEV in the ROK is Culex tritaeniorhynchus. The ecological relationship between Culex spp. and rice fields has been studied extensively; rice fields have been shown to increase the prevalence of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus. This research was conducted to determine if the quantification of rice field land cover surrounding U.S. military installations in the ROK should be used as a parameter in a larger risk model that predicts the abundance of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus populations. Mosquito data from the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) mosquito surveillance program were used in this project. The average number of female Cx. tritaeniorhynchus collected per trap night for the months of August and September, 2002-2008, was calculated. Rice fields were manually digitized inside 1.5 km buffer zones surrounding U.S. military installations on high-resolution satellite images, and the proportion of rice fields was calculated for each buffer zone. Results Mosquito data collected from seventeen sample sites were analyzed for an association with the proportion of rice field land cover. Results demonstrated that the linear relationship between the proportion of rice fields and mosquito abundance was statistically significant (R2 = 0.62, r = .79, F = 22.72, p < 0.001). Conclusions The analysis presented shows a statistically significant linear relationship between the two parameters, proportion of rice field land cover and log10 of the average number of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus collected per trap night. The findings confirm that agricultural land cover should be included in future studies to develop JE risk prediction models for non-indigenous personnel living at military installations in the ROK. PMID:20573242

  3. Toxicity evaluation of natural samples from the vicinity of rice fields using two trophic levels.

    PubMed

    Marques, Catarina R; Pereira, Ruth; Gonçalves, Fernando

    2011-09-01

    An ecotoxicological screening of environmental samples collected in the vicinity of rice fields followed a combination of physical and chemical measurements and chronic bioassays with two freshwater trophic levels (microalgae: Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Chlorella vulgaris; daphnids: Daphnia longispina and Daphnia magna). As so, water and sediment/soil elutriate samples were obtained from three sites: (1) in a canal reach crossing a protected wetland upstream, (2) in a canal reach surrounded by rice fields and (3) in a rice paddy. The sampling was performed before and during the rice culture. During the rice cropping, the whole system quality decreased comparatively to the situation before that period (e.g. nutrient overload, the presence of pesticides in elutriates from sites L2 and L3). This was reinforced by a significant inhibition of both microalgae growth, especially under elutriates. Contrary, the life-history traits of daphnids were significantly stimulated with increasing concentrations of water and elutriates, for both sampling periods.

  4. Effects of implementing organic rice-duck integrated farming on reducing agricultural diffuse pollution around Dianshan Lake in the western suburbs of Shanghai

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Xue-Feng; Teng, Qing

    2017-04-01

    Located in the western suburbs of Shanghai, Dianshan Lake is a major source of Huangpu River, a mother river flowing through the metropolitan area. To protect the drinking water source areas, the development of any industries and livestock breeding is forbidden around the lake since the early time. However, the lake is still under a eutrophic state throughout the year. In 2013, for example, total N and total P in the lake water were 2.98 mg L-1 and 0.17 mg L-1 on average, respectively. It is believed that 72.2% of N and 73.1% of P in the lake come from agricultural diffuse pollution. The areas surrounding the lake include six towns and are all low-lying in landform. There are 5975 ha paddy fields at the six towns, making up 33.1% of total farming land in the areas. According to our questionnaires to local farmers at Jinze Town, one of the six towns, for the consecutive five years, the amounts of N and P2O5 applied within the rice growing season under the conventional rice farming are 336.6 kg ha-1 and 76.9 kg ha-1 on average, respectively, and those lost through leaching and runoff are 15.42 kg ha-1 and 3.55 kg ha-1 on average, respectively. Further study estimated that the total amounts of N and P2O5 applied around the lake within the rice growing season are 2.01×106 kg year-1 and 4.59×105 kg year-1, respectively; those lost through leaching and runoff are 0.99×105 kg year-1 and 0.23×105 kg year-1, respectively; those discharged from the fields into the lake are 0.99×104 kg year-1 and 0.23×104 kg year-1, respectively. Our study also indicated that the amount of pesticides and herbicides discharged from the paddy fields at the six towns into the lake is approximately 1.67×104 kg year-1. Appreciately, the agricultural diffuse pollution from the paddy fields surrounding the lake have posed severe threat to the lake. The field experiments indicated that raising ducks in the paddy fields within the rice growing season can not only highly reduce weed hazards and incidence of rice pests and diseases, but also significantly improve soil fertility. The rice plants co-cultured with ducks grow healthily, if not applying any herbicides and pesticides, which is conducive to establish organic rice farming. It is estimated that the total amounts of N and P2O5 discharged from the paddy fields into the lake would reduce by 75.8% and 95.2%, respectively, and the potential pollution from pesticides and herbicides can be totally prevented, if implementing the organic rice-duck integrated system at the six towns surrounding Dianshan Lake. This will contribute greatly to improve the water quality of the lake. Moreover, the organic rice produced by the rice-duck integrated system is five times higher in prize than the conventional rice, and the ducks ecologically growing in the fields are four times higher in prize than the intensively cultivated ones. This will also be beneficial to increase farmers' incomes.

  5. Behavioral response of giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) to the relative availability of aquatic habitat on the landscape

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Reyes, Gabriel A.; Halstead, Brian J.; Rose, Jonathan P.; Ersan, Julia S. M.; Jordan, Anna C.; Essert, Allison M.; Fouts, Kristen J.; Fulton, Alexandria M.; Gustafson, K. Benjamin; Wack, Raymond F.; Wylie, Glenn D.; Casazza, Michael L.

    2017-11-16

    Most extant giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) populations persist in an agro-ecosystem dominated by rice, which serves as a surrogate to the expansive marshes lost to flood control projects and development of the Great Central Valley of California. Knowledge of how giant gartersnakes use the rice agricultural landscape, including how they respond to fallowing, idling, or crop rotations, would greatly benefit conservation of giant gartersnakes by informing more snake-friendly land and water management practices. We studied adult giant gartersnakes at 11 sites in the rice-growing regions of the Sacramento Valley during an extended drought in California to evaluate their response to differences in water availability at the site and individual levels. Although our study indicated that giant gartersnakes make little use of rice fields themselves, and avoid cultivated rice relative to its availability on the landscape, rice is a crucial component of the modern landscape for giant gartersnakes. Giant gartersnakes are strongly associated with the canals that supply water to and drain water from rice fields; these canals provide much more stable habitat than rice fields because they maintain water longer and support marsh-like conditions for most of the giant gartersnake active season. Nonetheless, our results suggest that maintaining canals without neighboring rice fields would be detrimental to giant gartersnake populations, with decreases in giant gartersnake survival rates associated with less rice production in the surrounding landscape. Increased productivity of prey populations, dispersion of potential predators across a larger landscape, and a more secure water supply are just some of the mechanisms by which rice fields might benefit giant gartersnakes in adjacent canals. Results indicate that identifying how rice benefits giant gartersnakes in canals and the extent to which the rice agro-ecosystem could provide these benefits when rice is fallowed would inform the use of water for other purposes without harm to giant gartersnakes. Our study also suggests that without such understanding, maintaining rice and associated canals in the Sacramento Valley is critical for the sustainability of giant gartersnake populations.

  6. Effects of physical and biogeochemical processes on aquatic ecosystems at the groundwater-surface water interface: An evaluation of a sulfate-impacted wild rice stream in Minnesota (USA)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ng, G. H. C.; Yourd, A. R.; Myrbo, A.; Johnson, N.

    2015-12-01

    Significant uncertainty and variability in physical and biogeochemical processes at the groundwater-surface water interface complicate how surface water chemistry affects aquatic ecosystems. Questions surrounding a unique 10 mg/L sulfate standard for wild rice (Zizania sp.) waters in Minnesota are driving research to clarify conditions controlling the geochemistry of shallow sediment porewater in stream- and lake-beds. This issue raises the need and opportunity to carry out in-depth, process-based analysis into how water fluxes and coupled C, S, and Fe redox cycles interact to impact aquatic plants. Our study builds on a recent state-wide field campaign that showed that accumulation of porewater sulfide from sulfate reduction impairs wild rice, an annual grass that grows in shallow lakes and streams in the Great Lakes region of North America. Negative porewater sulfide correlations with organic C and Fe quantities also indicated that lower redox rates and greater mineral precipitation attenuate sulfide. Here, we focus on a stream in northern Minnesota that receives high sulfate loading from iron mining activity yet maintains wild rice stands. In addition to organic C and Fe effects, we evaluate the degree to which streambed hydrology, and in particular groundwater contributions, accounts for the active biogeochemistry. We collect field measurements, spanning the surrounding groundwater system to the stream, to constrain a reactive-transport model. Observations from seepage meters, temperature probes, and monitoring wells delineate upward flow that may lessen surface water impacts below the stream. Geochemical analyses of groundwater, porewater, and surface water samples and of sediment extractions reveal distinctions among the different domains and stream banks, which appear to jointly control conditions in the streambed. A model based on field conditions can be used to evaluate the relative the importance and the spatiotemporal scales of diverse flux and geochemical factors affecting aquatic root zones.

  7. Utilizing NASA Earth Observations to Monitor Land Management Practices and the Development of Marshlands to Rice Fields in Rwanda

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dusabimana, M. R.; Blach, D.; Mwiza, F.; Muzungu, E.; Swaminathan, R.; Tate, Z.

    2014-12-01

    Rwanda, a small country with the highest population density in Sub-Saharan Africa, is one of the world's poorest countries. Although agriculture is the backbone of Rwandan economy, agricultural productivity is extremely low. Over 90 % of the population is engaged in subsistence farming and only 52 % of the total land surface area is arable. Of this land, approximately 165,000 hectares are marshlands, of which only 57 % has been cultivated. Rwandan government has invested in the advancement of agriculture with activities such as irrigation, marshland reclamation, and crop regionalization. In 2001, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) released the Rural Sector Support Program (RSSP), which aimed at converting marshlands into rice fields at various development sites across the country. The focus of this project was to monitor rice fields in Rwanda utilizing NASA Earth observations such as Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager. Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) was used to depict the progress of marshland to rice field conversion as it highlights the presence of irrigated rice fields from the surrounding area. Additionally, Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) was used to estimate rice yield at RSSP sites. Various simulations were run to find perfect conditions for cultivating the highest yield for a given farm. Furthermore, soil erosion susceptibility masks were created by combining factors derived from ASTER, MERRA, and ground truth data using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). The end results, maps, and tutorials were delivered to the partners and policy makers in Rwanda to help make informed decisions. It can be clearly seen that Earth observations can be successfully used to monitor agricultural and land management practices as a cost effective method that will enable farmers to improve crop yield production and food security.

  8. Preliminary Study on the Radar Vegetation Index (RVI) Application to Actual Paddy Fields by ALOS/PALSAR Full-polarimetry SAR Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamada, Y.

    2015-04-01

    Kim and van Zyl (2001) proposed a kind of radar vegetation index (RVI). RVI = 4*min(λ1, λ2, λ3) / (λ1 + λ2 + λ3) They modified the equation as follows. (2009) RVI = 8 * σ0hv / (σ0hh + σ0vv +σ0hv ) by L-band full-polarimetric SAR data. They applied it into rice crop and soybean. (Y.Kim, T.Jackson et al., 2012) They compared RVI for L-, C- and X-bands to crop growth data, LAI and NDVI. They found L-band RVI was well correlated with Vegetation Water Content, LAI and NDVI. But the field data were collected by the multifrequency polarimetric scatterometer. The platform height was 4.16 meters from the ground. The author tried to apply the method to actual paddy fields near Tsukuba science city in Japan using ALOS/PALSAR, full-polarimetry L-band SAR data. The staple crop in Eastern Asia is rice and paddy fields are dominant land use. A rice-planting machine comes into wide use in this areas. The young rice plants were bedded regularly ridged line in the paddy fields by the machine. The space between two ridges of rice plants is about 30 cm and the wave length of PALSAR sensor is about 23 cm. Hence the Bragg scattering will appear depending upon the direction of the ridges of paddy fields. Once the Bragg scattering occurs, the backscattering values from the pixels should be very high comparing the surrounding region. Therefore the radar vegetation index (RVI) would be saturated. The RVI did not follow the increasing of vegetation anymore. Japan has launched ALOS-2 satellite and it has PALSAR-2, L-band SAR. Therefore RVI application product by PALSAR-2 will be watched with deep interest.

  9. Temporal changes of radiocesium in irrigated paddy fields and its accumulation in rice plants in Fukushima.

    PubMed

    Yang, Baolu; Onda, Yuichi; Wakiyama, Yoshifumi; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Sekimoto, Hitoshi; Ha, Yiming

    2016-01-01

    About half of the total paddy field area, which is the dominant agricultural land in Fukushima Prefecture, was contaminated by radiocesium released by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. In this study, we investigated the temporal changes of radiocesium in soil, irrigation water, and rice plant in two adjacent rice paddies, with and without surface-soil-removal, in Fukushima Prefecture for over three years (2012-2014) after the nuclear accident. Our results showed that radiocesium migrated into 24-28 cm soil layers and that the activity concentration of radiocesium in paddy soils showed a significant reduction in 2014. The newly added radiocesium to paddies through irrigation water contributed only a maximum value of 0.15% and 0.75% of the total amount present in control and decontaminated paddies, respectively, throughout the study period. The radiocesium activity concentration in suspended sediment in irrigation water exponentially decreased, and the effective half-lives (Teff) for (137)Cs and (134)Cs were 1.3 and 0.9 years, respectively. Additionally, the average suspended sediment concentration in irrigation water increased between 2012 and 2014, suggesting that enhanced soil erosion had occurred in the surrounding environment. Radiocesium accumulation in rice plant also decreased with time in both paddies. However, the concentration ratio of radiocesium for rice plant in the decontaminated paddy increased compared with control paddy, despite approximately 96% of fallout radiocesium removed in paddy soil. Further analysis is required to clarify the reasons of high concentration ratio of radiocesium for rice plant in the decontaminated paddy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Pathological Study of Blood Parasites in Rice Field Frogs, Hoplobatrachus rugulosus (Wiegmann, 1834)

    PubMed Central

    Sailasuta, Achariya; Satetasit, Jetjun; Chutmongkonkul, Malinee

    2011-01-01

    One hundred and forty adult rice field frogs, Hoplobatrachus rugulosus (Wiegmann, 1834), were collected in Srakaew province, Thailand. For blood parasite examination, thin blood smears were made and routinely stained with Giemsa. The results showed that 70% of the frogs (98/140) were infected with 5 species of blood parasites, including a Trypanosoma rotatorium-like organism, Trypanosoma chattoni, Hepatozoon sp. a, Hepatozoon sp. b, and Lankesterella minima. Pathological examination of the liver, lung, spleen, and kidney of the frogs that were apparently infected with one of these blood parasites were collected and processed by routine histology and subsequently stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Histopathological findings associated with the Trypanosoma rotatorium-like organism and Trypanosoma chattoni-infected frogs showed no pathological lesions. Hepatozoon sp. a and Hepatozoon sp. b-infected frogs developed inflammatory lesions predominantly in the liver, demonstrating granuloma-like lesions with Hepatozoon sp. meronts at the centre. Tissue sections of Lankesterella minima-infected frogs also showed lesions. Liver and spleen showed inflammatory lesions with an accumulation of melanomacrophage centres (MMCs) surrounding the meronts and merozoites. It is suggested that Hepatozoon sp. a, Hepatozoon sp. b, and Lankesterella minima-infections are capable of producing inflammatory lesions in the visceral organs of rice field frogs, and the severity of lesions is tentatively related to levels of parasitemia. PMID:21918731

  11. The role of rice fields, fish ponds and water canals for transmission of fish-borne zoonotic trematodes in aquaculture ponds in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam.

    PubMed

    Madsen, Henry; Dung, Bui Thi; The, Dang Tat; Viet, Nguyen Khue; Dalsgaard, Anders; Van, Phan Thi

    2015-12-08

    Fish-borne zoonotic trematodes (FZT), such as Clonorchis sinensis, Opistorchis viverini (Opisthorchiidae) and intestinal trematodes of the family Heterophyidae, constitute a public health hazard in Vietnam and infections with these trematodes has been linked to consumption of raw or undercooked fish from aquaculture. The FZT transmission pathways, however, are more complicated than just the presence of intermediate snail hosts in aquaculture ponds as ponds may exchange water with surrounding habitats such as rice fields and irrigation canals and thereby these surrounding habitats may be a source of snails and cercariae and contribute to FZT infection in cultured fish. This is a longitudinal descriptive study on selected farms (n = 30) in Nam Dinh Province which is endemic for FZT. At each farm, we sampled one pond, a small irrigation canal used to supply the pond with water, and a nearby rice field. At each of these three sites, we estimated the density of the FZT intermediate snail hosts and determined their trematode infection status. Comparative analysis was performed for the prevalence and density of FZT infections in fish and snails. Species of the Thiaridae, and most notably Melanoides tuberculata, the most important host species for FZT belonging to the Heterophyidae, were particularly abundant in ponds and small canals, i.e. M. tuberculata was found in 27 ponds and 13 small canals. Bithynia fuchsiana, a potential host for both Heterophyidae and Opisthorchiidae, was rarely found in fish ponds but common in rice fields. A total of 12 types of cercariae were found in the snails and pleurolophocercous cercariae, primarily FZT, constituted about 40 % of all cercarial infections. The fish species cultured were mainly carp species and Haplorchis pumilio was the dominating trematode species infecting fish. Clonorchis spp. were not recorded in any of the ponds. FZT transmission to fish was intense during the summer period (May-June to November) but less intense during the winter months (December-January) partly because cercarial emergence ceases due to the low temperature. Our findings highlight the complexity of FZT transmission within aquaculture farm settings and suggest that efforts to control these infections must take a holistic approach using interventions against all stages of the transmission cycle.

  12. Temporal variations in arsenic uptake by rice plants in Bangladesh: the role of iron plaque in paddy fields irrigated with groundwater

    PubMed Central

    Garnier, J.-M.; Travassac, F.; Lenoble, V.; Rose, J.; Zheng, Y.; Hossain, M.S.; Chowdhury, S. H.; Biswas, A. K.; Ahmed, K.M.; Cheng, Z.; van Geen, A.

    2010-01-01

    The transfer of arsenic to rice grains is a human health issue of growing relevance in regions of southern Asia where shallow groundwater used for irrigation of paddy fields is elevated in As. In the present study, As and Fe concentrations in soil water and in the roots of rice plants, primarily the Fe plaque surrounding the roots, were monitored during the 4-month growing season at two sites irrigated with groundwater containing ~130 μg/L As and two control sites irrigated with water containing <15 μg/L As. At both sites irrigated with contaminated water, As concentrations in soil water increased from <10 μg/L to >1000 μg/L during the first five weeks of the growth season and then gradually declined to <10 μg/L during the last five weeks. At the two control sites, concentrations of As in soil water never exceeded 40 μg/L. At both contaminated sites, the As content of roots and Fe plaque rose to 1000-1500 mg/kg towards the middle of the growth season. It then declined to ~300 mg/kg towards the end, a level still well above As concentration of ~100 mg/kg in roots and plaque measured throughout the growing season at the two control sites. These time series, combined with simple mass balance considerations, demonstrate that the formation of Fe plaque on the roots of rice plants by micro-aeration significant limits uptake of As by rice plants grown in paddy fields. Large variations in the As and Fe content of plant stems at two of the sites irrigated with contaminated water and one of the control sites were also recorded. The origin of these variations, particularly during the last month of the growth season, need to be better understood because they are likely to influence uptake of As in rice grains. PMID:20576285

  13. Effects of water management practices on residue decomposition and degradation of Cry1Ac protein from crop-wild Bt rice hybrids and parental lines during winter fallow season.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Manqiu; Dong, Shanshan; Li, Zhaolei; Tang, Xu; Chen, Yi; Yang, Shengmao; Wu, Chunyan; Ouyang, Dongxin; Fang, Changming; Song, Zhiping

    2015-12-01

    Rice is the staple diet of over half of the world's population and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice expressing insecticidal Cry proteins is ready for deployment. An assessment of the potential impact of Bt rice on the soil ecosystem under varied field management practices is urgently required. We used litter bags to assess the residue (leaves, stems and roots) decomposition dynamics of two transgenic rice lines (Kefeng6 and Kefeng8) containing stacked genes from Bt and sck (a modified CpTI gene encoding a cowpea trypsin inhibitor) (Bt/CpTI), a non-transgenic rice near-isoline (Minghui86), wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) and crop-wild Bt rice hybrid under contrasting conditions (drainage or continuous flooding) in the field. No significant difference was detected in the remaining mass, total C and total N among cultivars under aerobic conditions, whereas significant differences in the remaining mass and total C were detected between Kefeng6 and Kefeng8 and Minghui86 under the flooded condition. A higher decomposition rate constant (km) was measured under the flooded condition compared with the aerobic condition for leaf residues, whereas the reverse was observed for root residues. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which was used to monitor the changes in the Cry1Ac protein in Bt rice residues, indicated that (1) the degradation of the Cry1Ac protein under both conditions best fit first-order kinetics, and the predicted DT50 (50% degradation time) of the Cry1Ac protein ranged from 3.6 to 32.5 days; (2) the Cry1Ac protein in the residue degraded relatively faster under aerobic conditions; and (3) by the end of the study (~154 days), the protein was present at a low concentration in the remaining residues under both conditions. The degradation rate constant was negatively correlated with the initial carbon content and positively correlated with the initial Cry1Ac protein concentration, but it was only correlated with the mass decomposition rate constants under the flooded condition. No Cry1Ac protein was detected in the soils surrounding the buried residue. Our results did not reveal any evidence that the stacked genes (Bt/CpTI) or the presence of the Cry1Ac protein influenced the decomposition dynamics of the rice residues. Furthermore, our results suggested that field drainage after residue incorporation would promote Cry1Ac protein degradation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Pesticides in soil and sediment of a dyke-protected area of the Red River Delta, Vietnam

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Braun, Gianna; Bläsing, Melanie; Kruse, Jens; Amelung, Wulf; Renaud, Fabrice; Sebesvari, Zita

    2017-04-01

    Coastal regions are densely populated but at the same time represent important agricultural areas for food production of the growing world population. To sustain high agricultural yields, in monocultures such as permanent rice systems, pesticides are used in high quantity and frequency. While earlier studies monitored the fate of pesticides in paddy rice systems, the overall fate of these compounds is altered nowadays due to the construction of dykes, which are needed in many delta regions to protect them from high tides, storm surges and salt water intrusion such as in the Red River Delta. The dyke system regulates the discharge and water exchange inside the diked area including irrigation channels for the paddy rice production. Local authorities observed increasing pollution towards the sea (highest pollution close to the dykes) and hypothesized that the dyke system would prevent water exchange and thus lead to an accumulation of pollutants within the diked area. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of dykes on pesticide pollution patterns in coastal delta regions of the Red River Delta. The study was conducted in the district Giao Thuy of the Red River Delta, Vietnam. This area is surrounded by a sea and river dyke; both have several inlet and outlet gates to control the water level in the irrigation channels. We determined the pesticide pollution pattern in a diked agricultural area, as well as along salinity gradients in and outside the diked areas. Samples were taken from rice fields and sediments from irrigation channels inside the diked area as well from saline aquaculture fields located outside the dyke. Pesticide analysis was conducted by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), followed up by the clean-up process described by Laabs et al. (2007) and analyses using gas chromatography coupled with a mass selective detector (MSD). Preliminary results suggest that out of the 26 analysed compounds chlorpyrifos, propiconazole and isoprothiolane occurred frequently in samples taken from rice fields. Pesticide concentrations were not higher in rice field closer to the dykes. Pesticide concentrations within paddy fields are likely driven by pesticide inputs on site. However, pattern in canal sediment samples is more likely de-coupled from on-site applications. Results will be discussed in relation to adaptation to increasing salinity intrusion in coastal areas.

  15. Vigilance and Activity Time-Budget Adjustments of Wintering Hooded Cranes, Grus monacha, in Human-Dominated Foraging Habitats

    PubMed Central

    Li, Chunlin; Zhou, Lizhi; Xu, Li; Zhao, Niannian; Beauchamp, Guy

    2015-01-01

    Due to loss and degradation of natural wetlands, waterbirds increasingly rely on surrounding human-dominated habitats to obtain food. Quantifying vigilance patterns, investigating the trade-off among various activities, and examining the underlying mechanisms will help us understand how waterbirds adapt to human-caused disturbances. During two successive winters (November-February of 2012–13 and 2013–14), we studied the hooded crane, Grus monacha, in the Shengjin Lake National Nature Reserve (NNR), China, to investigate how the species responds to human disturbances through vigilance and activity time-budget adjustments. Our results showed striking differences in the behavior of the cranes when foraging in the highly disturbed rice paddy fields found in the buffer zone compared with the degraded natural wetlands in the core area of the NNR. Time spent vigilant decreased with flock size and cranes spent more time vigilant in the human-dominated buffer zone. In the rice paddy fields, the birds were more vigilant but also fed more at the expense of locomotion and maintenance activities. Adult cranes spent more time vigilant and foraged less than juveniles. We recommend habitat recovery in natural wetlands and community co-management in the surrounding human-dominated landscape for conservation of the hooded crane and, generally, for the vast numbers of migratory waterbirds wintering in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River floodplain. PMID:25768111

  16. Vigilance and activity time-budget adjustments of wintering hooded cranes, Grus monacha, in human-dominated foraging habitats.

    PubMed

    Li, Chunlin; Zhou, Lizhi; Xu, Li; Zhao, Niannian; Beauchamp, Guy

    2015-01-01

    Due to loss and degradation of natural wetlands, waterbirds increasingly rely on surrounding human-dominated habitats to obtain food. Quantifying vigilance patterns, investigating the trade-off among various activities, and examining the underlying mechanisms will help us understand how waterbirds adapt to human-caused disturbances. During two successive winters (November-February of 2012-13 and 2013-14), we studied the hooded crane, Grus monacha, in the Shengjin Lake National Nature Reserve (NNR), China, to investigate how the species responds to human disturbances through vigilance and activity time-budget adjustments. Our results showed striking differences in the behavior of the cranes when foraging in the highly disturbed rice paddy fields found in the buffer zone compared with the degraded natural wetlands in the core area of the NNR. Time spent vigilant decreased with flock size and cranes spent more time vigilant in the human-dominated buffer zone. In the rice paddy fields, the birds were more vigilant but also fed more at the expense of locomotion and maintenance activities. Adult cranes spent more time vigilant and foraged less than juveniles. We recommend habitat recovery in natural wetlands and community co-management in the surrounding human-dominated landscape for conservation of the hooded crane and, generally, for the vast numbers of migratory waterbirds wintering in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River floodplain.

  17. Agricultural biotechnology. Monsanto donates its share of golden rice.

    PubMed

    Normile, D

    2000-08-11

    Monsanto Co. has agreed to provide royalty-free licenses to speed up work on a genetically modified rice that could alleviate vitamin A deficiency around the world. Researchers welcomed last week's announcement, but warn that a thicket of intellectual property claims surrounds the technology and that significant legal hurdles remain before the rice can become widely available to farmers in developing countries.

  18. Diversity and population dynamics of pests and predators in irrigated rice fields with treated and untreated pesticide.

    PubMed

    Rattanapun, W

    2012-01-01

    The monitoring of rice pests and their predators in pesticide untreated and treated rice fields was conducted at the southern of Thailand. Twenty-two species in 15 families and 6 orders of rice pests were sampled from untreated rice field. For treated rice field, 22 species in 14 families and 5 orders of rice pest were collected. Regardless of treatment type, dominant species and individual number of rice pest varied to physiological stage of rice. Lepidopteran pests had highest infestation during the vegetative stage of rice growth, while hemipteran pests composed of hopper species (Hemipetra: Auchenorrhyncha) and heteropteran species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) were dominant groups during the reproductive stage and grain formation and ripening stage of rice growth. In contrast, dominant species of predator did not change throughout rice growing season. There were 35 species in 25 families and seven orders and 40 species in 29 families and seven orders of predators collected from untreated and treated rice field, respectively. Major predators of both rice fields were Micraspis discolor (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Tetragnatha sp. (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) and Agriocnemis pygmaea Rambur (Odonata: Agrionidae). The population dynamic of predators were not related with rice pest population in both treatments. However, the fluctuation of population pattern of rice pests in the untreated treatment were more distinctly synchronized with their predators than that of the treated treatment. There were no significant differences in the total number of rice pest and predator between two treatments at vegetative and reproductive stages of rice growth. Untreated rice field had a higher population number of predator and a lower population number of rice pest than that of treated rice field during grain formation and ripening stages. These results indicated the ago-ecosystem balance in rice fields could be produced through minimal pesticide application, in order to allow the natural balance between pests and their predators to be restored and maintained.

  19. Transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice is safer to aquatic ecosystems than its non-transgenic counterpart.

    PubMed

    Li, Guangsheng; Wang, Yongmo; Liu, Biao; Zhang, Guoan

    2014-01-01

    Rice lines genetically modified with the crystal toxin genes from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have experienced rapid development, with biosafety certificates for two Bt rice lines issued in 2009. There has still been no commercial release of these lines yet due to public concerns about human health and environmental risks. Some studies confirmed that Bt rice was as safe as conventional rice to non-target organisms when pesticides were not applied, however, pesticides are still required in Bt rice to control non-lepidopteran pests. In this study, we assessed the environmental effects of two Bt rice lines expressing either the cry1Ab/1Ac or cry2A genes, respectively, by using zooplanktons as indicator species under normal field management practices using pesticides when required. In the whole rice growing season, non-Bt rice was sprayed 5 times while Bt rice was sprayed 2 times, which ensured both rice achieved a normal yield. Field investigations showed that rice type (Bt and non-Bt) significantly influenced zooplankton abundance and diversity, which were up to 95% and 80% lower in non-Bt rice fields than Bt rice fields. Laboratory rearing showed that water from non-Bt rice fields was significantly less suitable for the survival and reproduction of Daphnia magna and Paramecium caudatum in comparison with water from Bt rice fields. Higher pesticide residues were detected in the water from non-Bt than Bt rice fields, accounting for the bad performance of zooplankton in non-Bt field water. Our results demonstrate that Bt rice is safer to aquatic ecosystems than non-Bt rice, and its commercialization will be beneficial for biodiversity restoration in rice-based ecosystems.

  20. Transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Rice Is Safer to Aquatic Ecosystems than Its Non-Transgenic Counterpart

    PubMed Central

    Li, Guangsheng; Wang, Yongmo; Liu, Biao; Zhang, Guoan

    2014-01-01

    Rice lines genetically modified with the crystal toxin genes from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have experienced rapid development, with biosafety certificates for two Bt rice lines issued in 2009. There has still been no commercial release of these lines yet due to public concerns about human health and environmental risks. Some studies confirmed that Bt rice was as safe as conventional rice to non-target organisms when pesticides were not applied, however, pesticides are still required in Bt rice to control non-lepidopteran pests. In this study, we assessed the environmental effects of two Bt rice lines expressing either the cry1Ab/1Ac or cry2A genes, respectively, by using zooplanktons as indicator species under normal field management practices using pesticides when required. In the whole rice growing season, non-Bt rice was sprayed 5 times while Bt rice was sprayed 2 times, which ensured both rice achieved a normal yield. Field investigations showed that rice type (Bt and non-Bt) significantly influenced zooplankton abundance and diversity, which were up to 95% and 80% lower in non-Bt rice fields than Bt rice fields. Laboratory rearing showed that water from non-Bt rice fields was significantly less suitable for the survival and reproduction of Daphnia magna and Paramecium caudatum in comparison with water from Bt rice fields. Higher pesticide residues were detected in the water from non-Bt than Bt rice fields, accounting for the bad performance of zooplankton in non-Bt field water. Our results demonstrate that Bt rice is safer to aquatic ecosystems than non-Bt rice, and its commercialization will be beneficial for biodiversity restoration in rice-based ecosystems. PMID:25105299

  1. International tourist preference of Lodok Rice Field natural elements, the cultural rice field from Manggarai - Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    March Syahadat, Ray; Trie Putra, Priambudi; Nuraini; Nailufar, Balqis; Fatmala Makhmud, Desy

    2017-10-01

    Lodok Rice Field or usually known as spiderweb rice field is a system of land division. It cultural rice field only found on Manggarai, Province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The landscape of Lodok Rice Field was aesthetic and it has big potential for tourism development. The aim of this study was to know the perception of natural elements of Lodok Rice Field landscape that could influence international tourist to visited Lodok Rice Field. If we know the elements that could influenced the international tourist, we could used the landscape image for tourism media promotion. The methods of this study used scenic beauty estimation (SBE) by 85 respondents from 34 countries and Kruskal Wallis H test. The countries grouped by five continents (Asia, America, Europe, Africa, and Oceania). The result showed that the Asian respondents liked the elements of sky, mountain, and the rice field. Then, the other respondent from another continent liked the elements of sunshine, mountain, and the rice field. Although the Asian had different perception about landscape elements of rice field’s good view, it’s not differ significantly by Kruskal Wallis H test.

  2. [Effects of fish on field resource utilization and rice growth in rice-fish coculture].

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jian; Hu, Liang Liang; Ren, Wei Zheng; Guo, Liang; Wu, Min Fang; Tang, Jian Jun; Chen, Xin

    2017-01-01

    Rice field can provide habitat for fish and other aquatic animals. Rice-fish coculture can increase rice yield and simultaneously reduce the use of chemicals through reducing rice pest occurrence and nutrient complementary use. However, how fish uses food sources (e.g. phytoplankton, weeds, duckweed, macro-algal and snail) from rice field, and whether the nutrients releasing from those food sources due to fish transforming can improve rice growth are still unknown. Here, we conducted two field experiments to address these questions. One was to investigate the pattern of fish activity in the field using the method of video recording. The other was to examine the utilization of field resources by fish using stable isotope technology. Rice growth and rice yield were also exa-mined. Results showed that fish tended to be more active and significantly expanded the activity range in the rice-fish coculture compared to fish monoculture (fish not living together with rice plants). The contributions of 3 potential aquatic organisms (duckweed, phytoplankton and snail) to fish dietary were 22.7%, 34.8% and 30.0% respectively under rice-fish coculture without feed. Under the treatment with feed, however, the contributions of these 3 aquatic organisms to the fish die-tary were 8.9%, 5.9% and 1.6% respectively. The feed contribution was 71.0%. Rice-fish coculture significantly increased the nitrogen concentration in rice leaves, prolonged tillering stage by 10-12 days and increased rice spike rate and yield. The results suggested that raising fish in paddy field may transform the nutrients contained in field resources to bioavailable for rice plants through fish feeding activity, which can improve rice growth and rice yield.

  3. Post-harvest field manipulations to conserve waste rice for waterfowl

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stafford, J.D.; Kaminski, R.M.; Reinecke, K.J.; Kurtz, M.E.; Manley, S.W.

    2005-01-01

    Rice seeds escaping collection by combines during harvest (hereafter, waste rice) provide quality forage for migrating and wintering waterfowl in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) and other rice growing regions in the United States. Recent sample surveys across the MAV have revealed abundance of waste rice in fields declined an average of 71% between harvest and late autumn. Thus, we evaluated the ability of common post-harvest, field-management practices to conserve waste rice for waterfowl until early winter via controlled experiments in Mississippi rice test plots in 2001 and 2003 and analyses of data from MAV-wide surveys of waste rice in rice production fields in 2000-2002. Our experiments indicated test plots with burned rice stubble that were not flooded during autumn contained more waste rice than other treatments in 2001 (P?0.10). Waste-rice abundance in test plots did not differ among postharvest treatments in 2003 (P = 0.97). Our analyses of data from the MAV sample surveys did not detect differences in abundance of waste rice among fields burned, rolled, disked, or left in standing stubble post-harvest (P?0.04; Bonferroni corrected critical ( a= 0.017). Because results from test-plot experiments were inconclusive, we based our primary inference regarding best post-harvest treatments on patterns of rice abundance identified from the MAV surveys and previously documented environmental and agronomic benefits of managing harvested rice fields for wintering waterfowl. Therefore, we recommend leaving standing stubble in rice fields after harvest as a preliminary beneficial management practice. We suggest future research evaluate potential of postharvest practices to conserve waste rice for waterfowl and reduce straw in production rice fields managed for wintering waterfowl throughout the MAV.

  4. Identification of rice field using Multi-Temporal NDVI and PCA method on Landsat 8 (Case Study: Demak, Central Java)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sukmono, Abdi; Ardiansyah

    2017-01-01

    Paddy is one of the most important agricultural crop in Indonesia. Indonesia’s consumption of rice per capita in 2013 amounted to 78,82 kg/capita/year. In 2017, the Indonesian government has the mission of realizing Indonesia became self-sufficient in food. Therefore, the Indonesian government should be able to seek the stability of the fulfillment of basic needs for food, such as rice field mapping. The accurate mapping for rice field can use a quick and easy method such as Remote Sensing. In this study, multi-temporal Landsat 8 are used for identification of rice field based on Rice Planting Time. It was combined with other method for extract information from the imagery. The methods which was used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and band combination. Image classification is processed by using nine classes, those are water, settlements, mangrove, gardens, fields, rice fields 1st, rice fields 2nd, rice fields 3rd and rice fields 4th. The results showed the rice fields area obtained from the PCA method was 50,009 ha, combination bands was 51,016 ha and NDVI method was 45,893 ha. The accuracy level was obtained PCA method (84.848%), band combination (81.818%), and NDVI method (75.758%).

  5. Effects of water management, connectivity, and surrounding land use on habitat use by frogs in rice paddies in Japan.

    PubMed

    Naito, Risa; Yamasaki, Michimasa; Lmanishi, Ayumi; Natuhara, Yosihiro; Morimoto, Yukihiro

    2012-09-01

    In Japan, rice paddies play an important role as a substitute habitat for wetland species, and support rich indigenous ecosystems. However, since the 1950s, agricultural modernization has altered the rice paddy environment, and many previously common species are now endangered. It is urgently necessary to evaluate rice paddies as habitats for conservation. Among the species living in rice paddies, frogs are representative and are good indicator species, so we focused on frog species and analyzed the influence of environmental factors on their habitat use. We found four frog species and one subspecies (Hyla japonica, Pelophylax nigromaculatus, Glandirana rugosa, Lithobates catesbeianus, and Pelophylax porosa brevipoda) at our study sites in Shiga prefecture. For all but L. catesbeianus, we analyzed the influence of environmental factors related to rice paddy structure, water management and availability, agrochemical use, connectivity, and land use on breeding and non-breeding habitat use. We constructed generalized additive mixed models with survey date as the smooth term and applied Akaike's information criterion to choose the bestranked model. Because life histories and biological characteristics vary among species, the factors affecting habitat use by frogs are also expected to differ by species. We found that both breeding and non-breeding habitat uses of each studied species were influenced by different combinations of environmental factors and that in most cases, habitat use showed seasonality. For frog conservation in rice paddies, we need to choose favorable rice paddy in relation to surrounding land use and apply suitable management for target species.

  6. Research in rice fields

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,

    2000-01-01

    Between 1987 and 1999, 2.4-3 million acres of rice were planted annually nationwide. Rice fields are a major component of the contemporary landscapes in the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, and Central Valley of California. In 1998, approximately 600,000 acres of rice were planted in Louisiana. In the Louisiana plant commodities report for 1998, total value for rice was over $350 million; sugarcane was the only plant commodity that exceeded this value. Louisiana has over 2,000 rice farmers supporting over 12,000 jobs in the state. Rice fields in the United States receive high use by wildlife, especially shorebirds, wading birds, and waterfowl. Waterbirds use rice fields for food, shelter, and breeding habitat.

  7. The land use potential of flood-prone rice fields using floating rice system in Bojonegoro regency in East Java

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Irianto, H.; Mujiyo; Riptanti, E. W.; Qonita, A.

    2018-03-01

    Bojonegoro regency occupies the largest flood-prone rice fields of about 14,198 hectares, in East Java province. Floods commonly occur due to Bengawan Solo river over-burst, particularly in rainy season. The fields are potential for cultivating rice, but floods lasting for months causing these areas to be unproductive. The objective of this article is to examine the potential land use of flood prone rice fields in Bojonegoro regency using floating rice system as an effort to maintain productivity in rainy season. The method of this study is referential study about the rice production using floating cultivation system in other regions, which are later compared with the physical condition of the fields in Bojonegoro. The results of analysis show that rice cultivation using floating system can maintain rice production in flood prone areas during rainy season. The potential production of rice is 5-6 tons/ha. However, technical problems for cultivating rice cannot be ignored since farmers are not familiar with cultivating flooded fields. This article also explains alternatives of floating rice cultivation technique, which can be implemented effectively and efficiently. Pioneer work of developing floating rice in Bojonegoro that has been done by the Team of Faculty of Agriculture of UNS, Surakarta, is expected to serve as a medium for accelerating the adoption of cultivation technology innovation to farmers.

  8. Rice growth monitoring using simulated compact polarimetric C band SAR

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Zhi; Li, Kun; Liu, Long; Shao, Yun; Brisco, Brian; Li, Weiguo

    2014-12-01

    In this study, a set of nine compact polarimetric (CP) images were simulated from polarimetric RADARSAT-2 data acquired over a test site containing two types of rice field in Jiangsu province, China. The types of rice field in the test site were (1) transplanted hybrid rice fields, and (2) direct-sown japonica rice fields. Both types have different yields and phenological stages. As a first step, the two types of rice field were distinguished with 94% and 86% accuracy respectively through analyzing CP synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations and their behavior in terms of scattering mechanisms during the rice growth season. The focus was then on phenology retrieval for each type of rice field. A decision tree (DT) algorithm was built to fulfill the precise retrieval of rice phenological stages, in which seven phenological stages were discriminated. The key criterion for each phenological stage was composed of 1-4 CP parameters, some of which were first used for rice phenology retrieval and found to be very sensitive to rice phenological changes. The retrieval results were verified at parcel level for a set of 12 stands of rice and up to nine observation dates per stand. This gave an accuracy of 88-95%. Throughout the phenology retrieval process, only simulated CP data were used, without any auxiliary data. These results demonstrate the potential of CP SAR for rice growth monitoring applications.

  9. Seasonal variation of carbon dioxide and methane exchange between rice paddy fields and atmosphere in Japan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kokubo, R.

    2017-12-01

    Rice paddy fields spread throughout Asia and play an important role in terms of regulating greenhouse gases on the ground. Rice paddies have the potential to either increase or decrease the net balance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In the rice growth period, rice paddy fields are sources of CH4, whereas they generally act as a sink of CO2. However, the behavior of greenhouse gases during fallow periods has not been well understood. A field experiment was conducted at a rice paddy field in Fuchu, central Japan in 2014. We evaluated CO2 and CH4 fluxes in the rice paddy field using the eddy covariance method. Except for 20 days after transplanting (DAT), temporal CO2 fluxes showed negative values during a rice growth period whereas they showed positive values throughout a fallow period. The positive CO2 fluxes at 2 emissions by respiration of rice plants and soil microorganisms than CO2 uptake by photosynthesis of rice plants. In the middle of the growing season at around DAT=50, CO2 emission became dominant again because flooded water was temporarily drained in the rice paddy field. Seasonal CH4 fluxes during a growth period were regulated by water management and plant growth stages. During a fallow period, however, the field was kept a non-flooded condition that resulted in an aerobic soil condition and thus very low CH4 emission.

  10. Early seedling vigour, an imperative trait for direct-seeded rice: an overview on physio-morphological parameters and molecular markers.

    PubMed

    Mahender, A; Anandan, A; Pradhan, S K

    2015-05-01

    Rapid uniform germination and accumulation of biomass during initial phase of seedling establishment is an essential phenotypic trait considered as early seedling vigour for direct seeded situation in rice irrespective of environment. Enhanced role of carbohydrate, amylase, growth hormones, antioxidant enzymes and ascorbic acid brings changes in vigour and phenotype of seedling. Early establishment and demanding life form dominate the surroundings. Crop plant that has better growth overdrives the weed plant and suppresses its growth. Seedling early vigour is the characteristic of seed quality and describes the rapid, uniform germination and the establishment of strong seedlings in any environmental condition. The phenotype of modern rice varieties has been changed into adaptable for transplanted rice with thirst toward water and selection pressure for semi-dwarf architecture resulting in reduced early vigour. Decreasing freshwater availability and rising labour cost drives the search for a suitable alternative management system to enhance grain yield productivity for the burgeoning world population. In view of these issues, much attention has been focused on dry direct-seeded rice, because it demands low input. A rice cultivar with a strong seedling vigour trait is desirable in case of direct seeding. However, seedling vigour has not been selected in crop improvement programmes in conventional breeding due to its complex nature and quantitative inheritance. Molecular markers have been proven effective in increasing selection efficiency, particularly for quantitative traits that are simply inherited. Marker-assisted selection approach has facilitated efficient and precise transfer of genes/QTL(s) into many crop species and suggests a speedy and efficient technique over conventional breeding and selection methods. In this review, we present the findings and investigations in the field of seedling vigour in rice that includes the nature of inheritance of physio-morphological and biochemical traits and QTLs to assist plant breeders who work for direct-seeded rice.

  11. Avian foods, foraging and habitat conservation in world rice fields

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stafford, J.D.; Kaminski, R.M.; Reinecke, K.J.

    2010-01-01

    Worldwide, rice (Oryza sativa) agriculture typically involves seasonal flooding and soil tillage, which provides a variety of microhabitats and potential food for birds. Water management in rice fields creates conditions ranging from saturated mud flats to shallow (<30 cm) water, thereby attracting different guilds of birds. Grain not collected during harvest (i.e. waste rice) is typically the most abundant potential food of birds in rice fields, with estimates of seed mass from North America ranging from 66672 kg/ha. Although initially abundant after harvest, waste rice availability can be temporally limited. Few abundance estimates for other foods, such as vertebrate prey or forage vegetation, exist for rice fields. Outside North America, Europe and Japan, little is known about abundance and importance of any avian food in rice fields. Currently, flooding rice fields after harvest is the best known management practice to attract and benefit birds. Studies from North America indicate specific agricultural practices (e.g. burning stubble) may increase use and improve access to food resources. Evaluating and implementing management practices that are ecologically sustainable, increase food for birds and are agronomically beneficial should be global priorities to integrate rice production and avian conservation. Finally, land area devoted to rice agriculture appears to be stable in the USA, declining in China, and largely unquantified in many regions. Monitoring trends in riceland area may provide information to guide avian conservation planning in rice-agriculture ecosystems.

  12. Use of banker plant system for sustainable management of the most important insect pest in rice fields in China

    PubMed Central

    Zheng, Xusong; Lu, Yanhui; Zhu, Pingyang; Zhang, Facheng; Tian, Junce; Xu, Hongxing; Chen, Guihua; Nansen, Christian; Lu, Zhongxian

    2017-01-01

    To meet the World’s food demand, there is a growing need for sustainable pest management practices. This study describes the results from complementary laboratory and field studies of a “banker plant system” for sustainable management of the rice brown planthopper (BPH) (Nilaparvata lugens Stål) – the economically most important rice pest in Asian rice growing areas. The banker plant system consisted of planting a grass species, Leersia sayanuka, adjacent to rice fields. L. sayanuka is the host plant of a planthopper, Nilaparvata muiri. An egg parasitoid, Anagrus nilaparvatae, parasitizes eggs of both BPH and N. muiri, and its establishment and persistence are improved through plantings of L. sayanuka and thereby attraction of N. muiri. Laboratory results showed that BPH was unable to complete its life cycle on L. sayanuka, and N. muiri could not complete its life cycle on rice. Thus, planting L. sayanuka did not increase the risk of planthopper damage to rice fields. Field studies showed that BPH densities were significantly lower in rice fields with banker plant system compared to control rice fields without banker plant system. PMID:28367978

  13. Use of banker plant system for sustainable management of the most important insect pest in rice fields in China.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Xusong; Lu, Yanhui; Zhu, Pingyang; Zhang, Facheng; Tian, Junce; Xu, Hongxing; Chen, Guihua; Nansen, Christian; Lu, Zhongxian

    2017-04-03

    To meet the World's food demand, there is a growing need for sustainable pest management practices. This study describes the results from complementary laboratory and field studies of a "banker plant system" for sustainable management of the rice brown planthopper (BPH) (Nilaparvata lugens Stål) - the economically most important rice pest in Asian rice growing areas. The banker plant system consisted of planting a grass species, Leersia sayanuka, adjacent to rice fields. L. sayanuka is the host plant of a planthopper, Nilaparvata muiri. An egg parasitoid, Anagrus nilaparvatae, parasitizes eggs of both BPH and N. muiri, and its establishment and persistence are improved through plantings of L. sayanuka and thereby attraction of N. muiri. Laboratory results showed that BPH was unable to complete its life cycle on L. sayanuka, and N. muiri could not complete its life cycle on rice. Thus, planting L. sayanuka did not increase the risk of planthopper damage to rice fields. Field studies showed that BPH densities were significantly lower in rice fields with banker plant system compared to control rice fields without banker plant system.

  14. Waterbird communities in rice fields subjected to different post-harvest treatments

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Day, J.H.; Colwell, M.A.

    1998-01-01

    In California's Sacramento Valley, the potential value of rice fields as habitat for waterbirds may vary with harvest method, post-harvest treatment of rice straw (chopped, burned, plowed), and extent of flooding. Recent changes in rice harvesting methods (i.e., use of stripper-headers) and a legislative mandate to decrease burning of rice straw after harvest may alter habitat availability and use. Thus, we investigated species richness and community composition of nonbreeding waterbirds during October-March 1993-94 and 1994-95 in rice fields of the northern Sacramento Valley. Most (85-91% of land area) rice was conventionally harvested (i.e., cutter bar), and the remainder was stripped. Rice straw was left untreated in more than half of fields (52% in 1994 and 54% in 1995), especially in stripped fields (56-70%). In fields where farmers treated straw, the most common management methods were plowing (15-21%), burning (19-24%), and chopping (3-5%). Fields became increasingly wet from October through March as seasonal precipitation accumulated and farmers flooded fields to facilitate straw decomposition and provide habitat for ducks. Species richness of waterbirds was greater (P 0.23). Species richness in stripped fields probably was low because foraging opportunities were limited by tall dense straw, decreased grain density, and infrequent flooding. We recommend that land managers wishing to provide habitat for a diverse waterbird community harvest rice using conventional methods and flood fields shallowly.

  15. Rice Field Geochemistry and Hydrology: An Explanation for Why Groundwater Irrigated Fields in Bangladesh are Net Sinks of Arsenic from Groundwater

    PubMed Central

    Neumann, Rebecca B.; St. Vincent, Allison P.; Roberts, Linda C.; Badruzzaman, A. Borhan M.; Ali, M. Ashraf; Harvey, Charles F.

    2011-01-01

    Irrigation of rice fields in Bangladesh with arsenic-contaminated groundwater transfers tens of cubic kilometers of water and thousands of tons of arsenic from aquifers to rice fields each year. Here we combine observations of infiltration patterns with measurements of porewater chemical composition from our field site in Munshiganj Bangladesh to characterize the mobility of arsenic in soils beneath rice fields. We find that very little arsenic delivered by irrigation returns to the aquifer, and that recharging water mobilizes little, if any, arsenic from rice field subsoils. Arsenic from irrigation water is deposited on surface soils and sequestered along flow paths that pass through bunds, the raised soil boundaries around fields. Additionally, timing of flow into bunds limits the transport of biologically available organic carbon from rice fields into the subsurface where it could stimulate reduction processes that mobilize arsenic from soils and sediments. Together, these results explain why groundwater irrigated rice fields act as net sinks of arsenic from groundwater. PMID:21332196

  16. Unravelling trophic subsidies of agroecosystems for biodiversity conservation: food consumption and nutrient recycling by waterbirds in Mediterranean rice fields.

    PubMed

    Navedo, Juan G; Hahn, Steffen; Parejo, Manuel; Abad-Gómez, José M; Gutiérrez, Jorge S; Villegas, Auxiliadora; Sánchez-Guzmán, Juan M; Masero, José A

    2015-04-01

    Waterbirds can reallocate a considerable amount of nutrients within agricultural fields and between agriculture sites and wetlands. However their effects on biogeochemical cycles have rarely been quantified. We estimated bird numbers, diet (from stable isotope analysis), food supply, and the food consumption on rice fields by overwintering waterbirds in one of the most important areas for rice production in southwestern Europe and a key area for various migrating and resident waterbird species. Herein, we modelled the nutrient (N and P) recycling in rice fields, and their transport to reservoirs. The energy consumption by waterbirds (96,605±18,311 individuals) on rice fields during winter averaged at 89.9±39.0 kJ·m(-2), with its majority (89.9%) belonging to foraging on rice seeds. Thus, the birds removed about 26% of rice seeds leftover after harvest (estimated in 932.5±504.7 seeds·m(-2) in early winter) wherein common cranes and dabbling ducks (four species) were the most important consumers. Waterbirds foraging and roosting in the rice fields recycled more than 24.1 (1.0 kg·ha(-1)) of N and an additional 5.0 tons (0.2 kg·ha(-1)) of P in the Extremadura's rice fields during winter. Additionally, we estimated that 2.3 tons of N and 550 kg of P were removed from rice fields and transported to reservoirs. The seasonal foraging of wildlife should result in a direct benefit for rice farmers by improving nutrient recycling through defecation by waterbirds with respect to artificial fertilisation. Additionally, rice fields located in the cranes' core wintering areas can provide sufficient food supply to induce habitat shift from their traditional wintering habitat in 'dehesas' to rice fields, which causes indirect socioeconomic benefit through reduced acorn consumption by cranes. Our modelling approach may thus be especially helpful for management decisions regarding rice agroecosystems in areas which are also important for the conservation of migratory waterbirds. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Impact of volunteer rice infestation on yield and grain quality of rice.

    PubMed

    Singh, Vijay; Burgos, Nilda R; Singh, Shilpa; Gealy, David R; Gbur, Edward E; Caicedo, Ana L

    2017-03-01

    Volunteer rice (Oryza sativa L.) grains may differ in physicochemical traits from cultivated rice, which may reduce the quality of harvested rice grain. To evaluate the effect of volunteer rice on cultivated rice, fields were surveyed in Arkansas in 2012. Cropping history that included hybrid cultivars in the previous two years (2010 and 2011) had higher volunteer rice infestation (20%) compared with fields planted previously with inbred rice (5.5%). The total grain yield of rice was reduced by 0.4% for every 1% increase in volunteer rice density. The grain quality did not change in fields planted with the same cultivar for three years. Volunteer rice density of at least 7.6% negatively impacted the head rice and when infestation reached 17.7%, it also reduced the rice grain yield. The protein and amylose contents of rice were not affected until volunteer rice infestation exceeded 30%. Crop rotation systems that include hybrid rice are expected to have higher volunteer rice infestation than systems without hybrid rice. It is predicted that, at 8% infestation, volunteer rice will start to impact head rice yield and will reduce total yield at 18% infestation. It could alter the chemical quality of rice grain at >30% infestation. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  18. Paddy-field contamination with 134Cs and 137Cs due to Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident and soil-to-rice transfer coefficients.

    PubMed

    Endo, Satoru; Kajimoto, Tsuyoshi; Shizuma, Kiyoshi

    2013-02-01

    The transfer coefficient (TF) from soil to rice plants of (134)Cs and (137)Cs in the form of radioactive deposition from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in March 2011 was investigated in three rice paddy fields in Minami-Soma City. Rice crops were planted in the following May and harvested at the end of September. Soil cores of 30-cm depth were sampled from rice-planted paddy fields to measure (134)Cs and (137)Cs radioactivity at 5-cm intervals. (134)Cs and (137)Cs radioactivity was also measured in rice ears (rice with chaff), straws and roots. The rice ears were subdivided into chaff, brown rice, polished rice and rice bran, and the (134)Cs and (137)Cs radioactivity concentration of each plant part was measured to calculate the respective TF from the soil. The TF of roots was highest at 0.48 ± 0.10 in the field where the (40)K concentration in the soil core was relatively low, in comparison with TF values of 0.31 and 0.38 in other fields. Similar trends could be found for the TF of whole rice plants, excluding roots. The TF of rice ears was relatively low at 0.019-0.026. The TF of chaff, rice bran, brown rice and polished rice was estimated to be 0.049, 0.10-0.16, 0.013-0.017 and 0.005-0.013, respectively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Effects of landscape features on waterbird use of rice fields

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    King, S.; Elphick, C.S.; Guadagnin, D.; Taft, O.; Amano, T.

    2010-01-01

    Literature is reviewed to determine the effects of landscape features on waterbird use of fields in regions where rice (Oryza sativa) is grown. Rice-growing landscapes often consist of diverse land uses and land cover, including rice fields, irrigation ditches, other agricultural fields, grasslands, forests and natural wetlands. Numerous studies indicate that local management practices, such as water depth and timing of flooding and drawdown, can strongly influence waterbird use of a given rice field. However, the effects of size and distribution of rice fields and associated habitats at a landscape scale have received less attention. Even fewer studies have focused on local and landscape effects simultaneously. Habitat connectivity, area of rice, distance to natural wetlands, and presence and distance to unsuitable habitat can be important parameters influencing bird use of rice fields. However, responses to a given landscape vary with landscape structure, scale of analysis, among taxa and within taxa among seasons. A lack of multi-scale studies, particularly those extending beyond simple presence and abundance of a given species, and a lack of direct tests comparing the relative importance of landscape features with in-field management activities limits understanding of the importance of landscape in these systems and hampers waterbird conservation and management.

  20. Waste rice seed in conventional and stripper-head harvested fields in California: Implications for wintering waterfowl

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Fleskes, Joseph P.; Halstead, Brian J.; Casazza, Michael L.; Coates, Peter S.; Kohl, Jeffrey D.; Skalos, Daniel A.

    2012-01-01

    Waste rice seed is an important food for wintering waterfowl and current estimates of its availability are needed to determine the carrying capacity of rice fields and guide habitat conservation. We used a line-intercept method to estimate mass-density of rice seed remaining after harvest during 2010 in the Sacramento Valley (SACV) of California and compared results with estimates from previous studies in the SACV and Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). Posterior mean (95% credible interval) estimates of total waste rice seed mass-density for the SACV in 2010 were 388 (336–449) kg/ha in conventionally harvested fields and 245 (198–307) kg/ha in stripper-head harvested fields; the 2010 mass-density is nearly identical to the mid-1980s estimate for conventionally harvested fields but 36% lower than the mid-1990s estimate for stripped fields. About 18% of SACV fields were stripper-head harvested in 2010 vs. 9–15% in the mid-1990s and 0% in the mid-1980s; but due to a 50% increase in planted rice area, total mass of waste rice seed in SACV remaining after harvest in 2010 was 43% greater than in the mid-1980s. However, total mass of seed-eating waterfowl also increased 82%, and the ratio of waste rice seed to seed-eating waterfowl mass was 21% smaller in 2010 than in the mid-1980s. Mass-densities of waste rice remaining after harvest in SACV fields are within the range reported for MAV fields. However, because there is a lag between harvest and waterfowl use in the MAV but not in the SACV, seed loss is greater in the MAV and estimated waste seed mass-density available to wintering waterfowl in SACV fields is about 5–30 times recent MAV estimates. Waste rice seed remains an abundant food source for waterfowl wintering in the SACV, but increased use of stripper-head harvesters would reduce this food. To provide accurate data on carrying capacities of rice fields necessary for conservation planning, trends in planted rice area, harvest method, and postharvest field treatment should be tracked and impacts of postharvest field treatment and other farming practices on waste rice seed availability should be investigated.

  1. AmeriFlux US-Twt Twitchell Island

    DOE Data Explorer

    Baldocchi, Dennis [University of California, Berkeley

    2016-01-01

    This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Twt Twitchell Island. Site Description - The Twitchell Island site is a rice paddy that is owned by the state and managed by the California Department of Water Resources. While Bare Peat field was leveled for rice planting, the tower was installed on April 3, 2009. The rice paddy was converted from corn in 2007. In Summer 2009, Bispyribac-sodium and Pendimethalin herbicides were applied to the fields prior to rice planting and flooding, then pesticide and fertilizer application took place. Each year after rice is planted in the spring by drilling, the field is flooded. Then, the field is drained in early fall, rice is harvested, and the field site is moved.

  2. Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in rice straw smoke and their origins in Japan.

    PubMed

    Minomo, Kotaro; Ohtsuka, Nobutoshi; Nojiri, Kiyoshi; Hosono, Shigeo; Kawamura, Kiyoshi

    2011-08-01

    Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) contained in the smoke generated from rice straw burning in post-harvest paddy fields in Japan were analyzed to determine their congener profiles. Both the apportionment of toxic equivalent (TEQ) by using indicative congeners and the comparison of the homolog profiles showed that the PCDDs/PCDFs/DL-PCBs present in the rice-straw smoke were greatly influenced by those present as impurities in pentachlorophenol (PCP) and chlornitrofen (CNP, 4-nitrophenyl-2,4,6-trichlorophenyl ether) formulations that had been widely used as herbicides in paddy fields in Japan. Further, in order to investigate the effects of paddy-field soil on the PCDDs/PCDFs/DL-PCBs present in rice-straw smoke, PCDD/PCDF/DL-PCB homolog profiles of rice straw, rice-straw smoke and paddy-field soil were compared. Rice-straw smoke was generated by burning rice straw on a stainless-steel tray in a laboratory. The results suggested that the herbicides-originated PCDDs/PCDFs/DL-PCBs and the atmospheric PCDDs/PCDFs/DL-PCBs contributed predominantly to the presence of PCDDs/PCDFs/DL-PCBs in the rice-straw smoke while the contribution of PCDDs/PCDFs/DL-PCBs formed during rice straw burning was relatively minimal. The major sources of the PCDDs/PCDFs/DL-PCBs found in the rice-straw smoke were attributed primarily to the paddy-field soil adhered to the rice straw surface and secondarily to the air taken by the rice straw. The principal component analysis supported these conclusions. It is concluded that rice straw burning at paddy fields acts as a driving force in the transfer of PCDDs/PCDFs/DL-PCBs from paddy-field soil to the atmosphere. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Transfer function control strategy of Subak rice field land and agricultural development in Denpasar city

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lanya, Indayati; Netera Subadiyasa, N.; Sardiana, Ketut; Putu Ratna Adi, Gst.

    2017-01-01

    The success of tourism development in Bali gave a negative impact on Subak rice fields, especially on land convertion over 2579 ha year-1 (2002-2013) to the area awakened. Denpasar city has lost rice fields 185 ha year-1 and six Subak, as well as potentially losing 10 Subak, as a result of the allocation of space in the region in the Spatial Planing. UNESCO, in 2012 the establishment of Subak as a cultural heritage. Most Subak rice fields designated as an Urban Green Open Space ( UGOS). Satellite image Iconos 2002, World 2015 View Coverage of Denpasar, and ArcGIS 10.3 software used for mapping the balance of rice field and violation of land use in the area of UGOS. The control strategy over the convertion of spatial land-based environment is done through zoning map. Land conversion of rice fields for 13 years (2002-2015) in Denpasar (572.76 ha), comes standard acreage of rice fields in 2015. Denpasar city has experienced of food deficits, even in the UGOS has awakened 96.04 ha (24.04 ha year-1). A period of 50 years into the future, rice fields which needs to be protected 872.83 ha, buffer area 984.77 ha, and can be converted 499.81 ha.

  4. Waste rice for waterfowl in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stafford, J.D.; Kaminski, R.M.; Reinecke, K.J.; Manley, S.W.

    2006-01-01

    Flooded rice fields are important foraging habitats for waterfowl in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). Waste rice previously was abundant in late autumn (140?492 kg/ha), but early planting and harvest dates in recent years may have increased losses of waste rice during autumn before waterfowl arrive. Research in Mississippi rice fields revealed waste-rice abundance decreased 79?99% during autumns 1995?1996. To determine if this trend existed throughout the MAV, we used multistage sampling (MSS) to estimate waste-rice abundance during September?December 2000?2002. Averaged over years, mean abundance of waste rice decreased 71% between harvest ((x) over bar = 271.0 kg/ha, CV = 13% n = 3 years) and late autumn ( (x) over bar = 78.4 kg/ha, CV = 15% n = 3). Among 15 models formulated to explain variation in rice abundance among fields and across years, the best model indicated abundance of waste rice in late autumn differed between harvester types (i.e., conventional > stripper header) and was positively related to initial waste-rice abundance after harvest. Because abundance of waste rice in late autumn was less than previous estimates in all 3 years, we concluded that waterfowl conservationists have overestimated carrying capacity of rice fields for wintering waterfowl by 52?83% and recommend 325 duck-use days/ha (DUDs) as a revised estimate. We suggest monitoring advances in rice harvest dates to determine when new surveys are warranted and recommend increased management of moist-soil wetlands to compensate for decreased rice abundance.

  5. [Ecological characteristics of phytoplankton in waters of biological-controlling and ordinary rice fields].

    PubMed

    Liu, W; Wang, Y; Xu, R

    2001-02-01

    Through investigations from March to June 1998 on the phytoplankton in waters of biological-controlled and ordinary rice fields, 112 species of phytoplankton were found, of which, Bacillariophyta, Euglenophyta and Chlorophyta were dominant. The comparison of the species in two rice fields showed that in biological-controlled rice field, there were more species of Euglenophyta, with 5 most dominant species, i.e., 2 of Euglenophyta, 2 of Bacillariophyta and 1 of Chlorophyta. In ordinary rice field, there were more Bacillariophyta species, in which, 5 most dominant species belonged to Bacillariophyta, except Scenedesmus bijuga to Chlorophyta. The biodiversities of phytoplankton and their evennesses were also analyzed with the period from the seedlings being planted to the rice fields being dried, showing that a little increase in their biodiversity mainly caused by the increase of species number and an evident decrease in their evennesses.

  6. Estimating shorebird populations during spring stopover in rice fields of the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coastal Plain

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Norling, Wayne; Jeske, Clinton W.; Thigpen, Tyler F.; Chadwick, Paul C.

    2012-01-01

    Migrating shorebird populations using approximately 2% of Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coastal rice fields were surveyed during spring migration (March–May of 1997 and 1998) using biweekly stratified random surveys conducted at 50 roadside survey points and approximately 30,000 shorebirds were observed. Shorebird counts were extrapolated and almost 1.4 million birds in 1997 and over 1.6 million birds of 31 species in 1998 were estimated to use rice field habitat for stopover sites in Louisiana and Texas. Greater than 50% of the estimated North American populations were estimated to use rice field habitats for five species, including a species of concern, Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis) at 187%. Because of predictability of suitable rice field habitat acreage, timing of field preparation and water availability, coastal rice prairies are identified as critical spring migration stopover sites.

  7. Lead in rice: analysis of baseline lead levels in market and field collected rice grains.

    PubMed

    Norton, Gareth J; Williams, Paul N; Adomako, Eureka E; Price, Adam H; Zhu, Yongguan; Zhao, Fang-Jie; McGrath, Steve; Deacon, Claire M; Villada, Antia; Sommella, Alessia; Lu, Ying; Ming, Lei; De Silva, P Mangala C S; Brammer, Hugh; Dasgupta, Tapash; Islam, M Rafiqul; Meharg, Andrew A

    2014-07-01

    In a large scale survey of rice grains from markets (13 countries) and fields (6 countries), a total of 1578 rice grain samples were analysed for lead. From the market collected samples, only 0.6% of the samples exceeded the Chinese and EU limit of 0.2 μg g(-1) lead in rice (when excluding samples collected from known contaminated/mine impacted regions). When evaluating the rice grain samples against the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) provisional total tolerable intake (PTTI) values for children and pregnant women, it was found that only people consuming large quantities of rice were at risk of exceeding the PTTI from rice alone. Furthermore, 6 field experiments were conducted to evaluate the proportion of the variation in lead concentration in rice grains due to genetics. A total of 4 of the 6 field experiments had significant differences between genotypes, but when the genotypes common across all six field sites were assessed, only 4% of the variation was explained by genotype, with 9.5% and 11% of the variation explained by the environment and genotype by environment interaction respectively. Further work is needed to identify the sources of lead contamination in rice, with detailed information obtained on the locations and environments where the rice is sampled, so that specific risk assessments can be performed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Estimating high mosquito-producing rice fields using spectral and spatial data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wood, B. L.; Beck, L. R.; Washino, R. K.; Hibbard, K. A.; Salute, J. S.

    1992-01-01

    The cultivation of irrigated rice provides ideal larval habitat for a number of anopheline vectors of malaria throughout the world. Anopheles freeborni, a potential vector of human malaria, is associated with the nearly 240,000 hectares of irrigated rice grown annually in Northern and Central California; therefore, this species can serve as a model for the study of rice field anopheline population dynamics. Analysis of field data revealed that rice fields with early season canopy development, that are located near bloodmeal sources (i.e., pastures with livestock) were more likely to produce anopheline larvae than fields with less developed canopies located further from pastures. Remote sensing reflectance measurements of early-season canopy development and geographic information system (GIS) measurements of distanes between rice fields and pastures with livestock were combined to distinguish between high and low mosquito-producing rice fields. Using spectral and distance measures in either a discriminant or Bayesian analysis, the identification of high mosquito-producing fields was made with 85 percent accuracy nearly two months before anopheline larval populations peaked. Since omission errors were also minimized by these approaches, they could provide a new basis for directing abatement techniques for the control of malaria vectors.

  9. Nutrients levels in paddy soils and flood waters from Tagus-Sado basin: the impact of farming system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santos, Erika S.; Abreu, Maria Manuela; Magalhães, Maria Clara; Viegas, Wanda; Amâncio, Sara; Cordovil, Cláudia

    2017-04-01

    Application of fertilizers for crops can contribute to nutrients surplus, namely nitrogen, in both groundwater and surface waters resulting in serious environmental problems. The impacts on water quality due to fertilizers are related to land management. In paddy fields using high amounts of water, the nutrient dynamic knowledge is essential to evaluate the impact of farming system. The aims of this study were to evaluate: i)nutrients levels in soils and floodwaters from rice cultivation in Tagus-Sado basin (Portugal); ii)the effect, under controlled conditions, of different irrigation techniques on nutrient enrichment of floodwaters from rice cultivation. Composite samples (n=24) of paddy soils (0-15 cm) and floodwaters were collected, during rice flooding period. In the field, pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were determined in waters. Soil pH, concentrations of Corganic, NPK and nutrients (Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Zn) in soils and floodwaters (nitrites, nitrates, phosphates) were determined. A mesocosm assay was performed in lysimeters with a paddy soil (pH: 5.6; g/kg- Ntotal: 2.0, Pextractable: 0.04, Kextractable: 0.6, Corganic: 35.5) and different irrigation techniques (n=3): a)flood; b)four floods per day (great water renewal); c)flood until rice flowering and then a normal superficial irrigation. Rice cultivation was done by transplant as in the field. Irrigation water come from a well. Same chemical characterization than in field assay were determined in floodwater and irrigation water. In field conditions, paddy soils had values of pH between 5.1 and 8.1 and a great fertility range (g/kg; Ntotal: 0.4‒2.2; Pextractable: 0.01‒0.2; Kextractable: 0.04‒0.7; Corganic: 6.5‒37.9). Total soil concentrations of Cu, Fe, and Zn in soils were in same range and below maximum admissible values for agriculture. Total soil concentrations of Ca, Mg and Mn, showed higher heterogeneity (g/kg; 1.2‒19.3, 7.6‒34.2 and 0.2‒1.5 respectively). Floodwaters presented pH ≈7 and, usually, EC>1 mS/cm (MRV‒maximum recommended value for irrigation water). Nitrites concentrations were <0.1 mg/L in floodwaters, while concentrations of nitrates (<2.4 mg/L), Cu (<2‒12.3 µg/L), Fe (<0.1‒0.9 mg/L) and Zn (0.04‒1.9 mg/L) were below MRV. The fertilizers used in rice cultivation did not seem to affect the water quality. Nitrates concentration in irrigation water of lysimeters (24 mg/L) was close to MVR for irrigation water. Intensive agriculture of corn surrounding the well can explain the greater nutrients concentrations, especially nitrates, nitrites and phosphates, in this water compared to water from river used for paddy fields irrigation. Independently of irrigation technique, nutrient concentrations in lysimeters floodwaters (except phosphates in some samples) were in same range of those in irrigation water from well. The nutrients excess in water seems not to be uptake by rice contributing to nutrient enrichment of nearby waters and soils. Studied paddy fields from Tejo-Sado basin are not a potential pollution source of nutrients. However, according mesocosm assay, the potential irrigation of paddy soils with water rich in nitrates can contribute to serious environmental risks. The authors are thankful to: Atlantic Meals for financial and sampling support, and NitroPortugal, H2020-TWINN-2015, EU coordination and support action n. 692331 funding.

  10. Impact of spatial plan on the conversion of Subak rice fields and food security, in Badung and Gianyar Regencies, Bali Province

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lanya, Indayati; Netera Subadiyasa, N.; Ratna Adi, Gst. P.

    2018-05-01

    Regional Spatial Plan of Bali Province 2009-2029, allocating rice fields can be converted 10% (± 10.800 ha). Over the next 20 years, the conversion of rice field is permitted 540 ha year-1, the real condition in Bali is 800 ha year-1.Research location in Badung and Gianyar Regencies. Visual satellite image interpretation methods, digitization of on-screen, delineation of subak rice field, field survey, superimpose analysis of Spatial Plan (SP) map with rice field map, trough toolbox-analysis tools–overlay-intersect using QGIS, Harvest Index (HI) of cropping pattern in one year. SP has a negative impact on agricultural land resources and food security. Local Regulation (SP), subak rice fields outside the agricultural area licensed to be converted, and food deficits. Regency of Badung, potential land conversion of 3,324.97 ha (34.44%) from 119 subak with paddy field area of 24,184.85 ha. There are 10 subak 100% and 8 subak > 95% can be converted; projected food deficit -115.343 tons of rice by 2020 for HI 2. In Gianyar Regency, potential land conversion 13,021.41 ha (53.51%) of 66 subak with an area of 24184.85 ha; 8 subak 100% and 8 subak with area < 5 ha can be converted; projected food deficit is about -194438 tons of rice in 2040 for HI 2.

  11. Effects of Bt-transgenic rice cultivation on planktonic communities in paddy fields and adjacent ditches.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yongbo; Liu, Fang; Wang, Chao; Quan, Zhanjun; Li, Junsheng

    2016-09-15

    The non-target effects of transgenic plants are issues of concern; however, their impacts in cultivated agricultural fields and adjacent natural aquatic ecosystems are poorly understood. We conducted field experiments during two growing seasons to determine the effects of cultivating Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-transgenic rice on the phytoplankton and zooplankton communities in a paddy field and an adjacent ditch. Bt toxin was detected in soil but not in water. Water quality was not significantly different between non-Bt and Bt rice fields, but varied among up-, mid- and downstream locations in the ditch. Cultivation of Bt-transgenic rice had no effects on zooplankton communities. Phytoplankton abundance and biodiversity were not significantly different between transgenic and non-transgenic rice fields in 2013; however, phytoplankton were more abundant in the transgenic rice field than in the non-transgenic rice field in 2014. Water quality and rice type explained 65.9% and 12.8% of this difference in 2014, respectively. Phytoplankton and zooplankton were more abundant in mid- and downstream, than upstream, locations in the ditch, an effect that we attribute to water quality differences. Thus, the release of Bt toxins into field water during the cultivation of transgenic crops had no direct negative effects on plankton community composition, but indirect effects that alter environmental conditions should be taken into account during the processes of management planning and policymaking. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Root microbiota shift in rice correlates with resident time in the field and developmental stage.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jingying; Zhang, Na; Liu, Yong-Xin; Zhang, Xiaoning; Hu, Bin; Qin, Yuan; Xu, Haoran; Wang, Hui; Guo, Xiaoxuan; Qian, Jingmei; Wang, Wei; Zhang, Pengfan; Jin, Tao; Chu, Chengcai; Bai, Yang

    2018-06-01

    Land plants in natural soil form intimate relationships with the diverse root bacterial microbiota. A growing body of evidence shows that these microbes are important for plant growth and health. Root microbiota composition has been widely studied in several model plants and crops; however, little is known about how root microbiota vary throughout the plant's life cycle under field conditions. We performed longitudinal dense sampling in field trials to track the time-series shift of the root microbiota from two representative rice cultivars in two separate locations in China. We found that the rice root microbiota varied dramatically during the vegetative stages and stabilized from the beginning of the reproductive stage, after which the root microbiota underwent relatively minor changes until rice ripening. Notably, both rice genotype and geographical location influenced the patterns of root microbiota shift that occurred during plant growth. The relative abundance of Deltaproteobacteria in roots significantly increased overtime throughout the entire life cycle of rice, while that of Betaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Gammaproteobacteria decreased. By a machine learning approach, we identified biomarker taxa and established a model to correlate root microbiota with rice resident time in the field (e.g., Nitrospira accumulated from 5 weeks/tillering in field-grown rice). Our work provides insights into the process of rice root microbiota establishment.

  13. Observations on the fulvous tree duck in Louisiana

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Meanley, B.; Meanley, A.G.

    1959-01-01

    The Fulvous Tree Duck is a locally common breeding bird of the rice fields of southwestern Louisiana. Observations made in 1955, 1956 and 1957, showed that this species was probably most abundant in the vicinity of Mamou, Evangeline Parish, and Roanoke, Jefferson Davis Parish. Tree ducks arrive in the rice country as the rice is planted in the spring and usually depart following fall harvest. A few winter in the coastal marshes. The nesting period extends from late May well into August. Thirteen and 20 pairs were found nesting in two separate five-square-mile areas. All nests observed were in rice fields. Clutch size in several nests found by John J. Lynch averaged about 13 eggs. A clutch of 23 eggs was probably a dump nest. Several investigators have reported incubation periods varying from 24 to 26 days. Nests were constructed of rice or other plants that occurred in the rice fields; they usually had a canopy and ramp; none was lined with down. Renesting compensated for some first attempt losses. Depredations on rice plantings sometimes occurred in spring in water-planted rice fields. Favorite foods were seeds of grasses and sedges found in rice fields. Flocks totalling 3000 were occasionally seen in the fall on the Lacassine Wildlife Refuge.

  14. Mosquitoes and other aquatic insects in fallow field biotopes and rice paddy fields.

    PubMed

    Ohba, S Y; Matsuo, T; Takagi, M

    2013-03-01

    Fallow field biotopes that develop from abandoned rice fields are man-made wetlands that provide new habitats for various aquatic animals. Although consideration of such biotopes generally focuses on their positive aspects, this study evaluated the negative aspects of establishing fallow field biotopes with regard to mosquito breeding sites. To determine whether fallow field biotopes become breeding habitats for vector mosquitoes, we evaluated mosquito fauna in fallow field biotopes and adjacent rice fields. We found larvae of Anopheles lesteri, Anopheles sinensis and Culex tritaeniorhynchus (all: Diptera: Culicidae) in the biotopes. Although abundances of mosquito larvae in the biotopes and rice fields were statistically similar, mosquito abundances in rice fields increased dramatically in August when the water level reduced after the rainy season. The abundance and variety of the mosquitoes' natural predators were greater in biotopes than in rice fields because the former are a permanent and stable aquatic environment. A generalized linear mixed model showed a negative effect of predator diversity on mosquito larvae abundance in both habitats. Although fallow field biotopes become breeding habitats for vector mosquitoes, establishing biotopes from fallow fields in order to protect various aquatic animals, including mosquito insect predators, may help to control mosquito breeding. © 2012 The Royal Entomological Society.

  15. Rice available to waterfowl in harvested fields in the Sacramento Valley, California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Miller, M.R.; Sharp, D.E.; Gilmer, D.S.; Mulvaney, W.R.

    1989-01-01

    Rice fields in the Sacramento Valley, California were sampled in 1985 and 1986 to determine the weight of rice seed remaining in the fields immediately after harvest and again after the fields were burned. No significant differences were found between years (P>0.05). The pooled mean was 388 kg/ha in harvested fields and 276 kg/ha in burned fields. These values are less than estimates previously available. The values for harvested fields both years were no different (P>0.05) than values obtained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Surveys of rice fields in December both years showed that most fields were left either harvested (26-32%) or burned (37-40%) through the winter. Fields flooded for duck hunting made up 15% of the total. The proportion of fields plowed by December increased from 14% in 1985 to 22% in 1986. Sixty-three percent of all fields that had been flooded for hunting were drained within two weeks after the end of the hunting season. Harvest yield field size levee type (contour, lasered), straw status (spread, windrowed), harvest date, and rice variety did not affect the quantity of seeds remaining after harvest (P>0.05). One harvester model, the Hardy Harvester, left more rice in fields than did others we tested (P<0.001). Specific management programs are recommended to mitigate annual variation in rice seed availability to waterfowl caused by differences in total hectares grown (15% less in 1986) and in the proportion of fields burned and plowed.

  16. Depletion of rice as food of waterfowl wintering in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Greer, Danielle M.; Dugger, Bruce D.; Reinecke, Kenneth J.; Petrie, Mark J.

    2009-01-01

    Waterfowl habitat conservation strategies in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) and several other wintering areas assume carrying capacity is limited by available food, and increasing food resources is an effective conservation goal. Because existing research on winter food abundance and depletion is insufficient to test this hypothesis, we used harvested rice fields as model foraging habitats to determine if waste rice seed is depleted before spring migration. We sampled rice fields (n = 39 [winter 2000-2001], n = 69 [2001-2002]) to estimate seed mass when waterfowl arrived in late autumn and departed in late winter. We also placed exclosures in subsets of fields in autumn (n = 8 [2000-2001], n = 20 [2001-2002]) and compared seed mass inside and outside exclosures in late winter to estimate rice depletion attributable to waterfowl and other processes. Finally, we used an experiment to determine if the extent of rice depletion differed among fields of varying initial abundance and if the seed mass at which waterfowl ceased foraging or abandoned fields differed from a hypothesized giving-up value of 50 kg/ha. Mean seed mass was greater in late autumn 2000 than 2001 (127.0 vs. 83.9 kg/ha; P = 0.018) but decreased more during winter 2000-2001 than 2001-2002 (91.3 vs. 55.7 kg/ha) and did not differ at the end of winter (35.8 vs. 28.3 kg/ha; P = 0.651). Assuming equal loss to deterioration inside and outside exclosures, we estimated waterfowl consumed 61.3 kg/ha (48.3%) of rice present in late autumn 2000 and 21.1 kg/ha (25.1%) in 2001. When we manipulated late-autumn rice abundance, mean giving-up mass of rice seed was similar among treatments (48.7 kg/ha; P = 0.205) and did not differ from 50 kg/ha (P = 0.726). We integrated results by constructing scenarios in which waterfowl consumed rice at different times in winter, consumption and deterioration were competing risks, and consumption occurred only above 50 kg/ha. Results indicated waterfowl likely consumed available rice soon after fields were flooded and the amount consumed exceeded our empirical estimates but was -48% (winters pooled) of rice initially present. We suggest 1) using 50 kg/ha as a threshold below which profitability limits waterfowl feeding in MAV rice fields; 2) reducing the current estimate (130 kg/ha) of rice consumed in harvested fields to 47.1 kg/ha; and 3) increasing available rice by increasing total area of fields managed, altering management practices (e.g., staggered flooding), and exploring the potential for producing second or ratoon rice crops for waterfowl.

  17. A comparison of weed communities of coastal rice fields in Peninsular Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Hakim, M A; Juraimi, Abdul Shukor; Hanafi, M M; Selamat, A

    2013-09-01

    A survey was conducted at 100 different rice fields in coastal areas of West Malaysia to identify most common and prevalent weeds associated with rice. Fields surveyed were done according to the quantitative survey method by using 0.5m x 0.5m size quadrate with 20 samples from each field. A total of 53 different weed species belong to 18 families were identified of which 32 annual and 21 perennial; 12 grassy, 13 sedges and 28 broadleaved weeds. Based on relative abundance the most prevalent and abundant weed species were selected in the coastal rice field. Among the 10 most abundant weed species, there were four grasses viz. Echinochloa crusgalli, Leptochloo chinensis, Echinochloo colona, Oryza sotivo L. (weedy rice).; four sedges viz. Fimbristylis miliacea, Cyperus iria, Cyperus difformis, Scirpus grossus and two broadleaved weeds viz. Sphenocleo zeylonica, Jussiaea linifolio. Leptochloa chinensis, E. crusgalli, F. miliocea, E. colona were more prevalent and abundant species out of the 10 most dominant weed species in the coastal rice field of Peninsular Malaysia.

  18. Mapping paddy rice planting area in cold temperate climate region through analysis of time series Landsat 8 (OLI), Landsat 7 (ETM+) and MODIS imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qin, Yuanwei; Xiao, Xiangming; Dong, Jinwei; Zhou, Yuting; Zhu, Zhe; Zhang, Geli; Du, Guoming; Jin, Cui; Kou, Weili; Wang, Jie; Li, Xiangping

    2015-07-01

    Accurate and timely rice paddy field maps with a fine spatial resolution would greatly improve our understanding of the effects of paddy rice agriculture on greenhouse gases emissions, food and water security, and human health. Rice paddy field maps were developed using optical images with high temporal resolution and coarse spatial resolution (e.g., Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)) or low temporal resolution and high spatial resolution (e.g., Landsat TM/ETM+). In the past, the accuracy and efficiency for rice paddy field mapping at fine spatial resolutions were limited by the poor data availability and image-based algorithms. In this paper, time series MODIS and Landsat ETM+/OLI images, and the pixel- and phenology-based algorithm are used to map paddy rice planting area. The unique physical features of rice paddy fields during the flooding/open-canopy period are captured with the dynamics of vegetation indices, which are then used to identify rice paddy fields. The algorithm is tested in the Sanjiang Plain (path/row 114/27) in China in 2013. The overall accuracy of the resulted map of paddy rice planting area generated by both Landsat ETM+ and OLI is 97.3%, when evaluated with areas of interest (AOIs) derived from geo-referenced field photos. The paddy rice planting area map also agrees reasonably well with the official statistics at the level of state farms (R2 = 0.94). These results demonstrate that the combination of fine spatial resolution images and the phenology-based algorithm can provide a simple, robust, and automated approach to map the distribution of paddy rice agriculture in a year.

  19. Mapping paddy rice planting area in cold temperate climate region through analysis of time series Landsat 8 (OLI), Landsat 7 (ETM+) and MODIS imagery.

    PubMed

    Qin, Yuanwei; Xiao, Xiangming; Dong, Jinwei; Zhou, Yuting; Zhu, Zhe; Zhang, Geli; Du, Guoming; Jin, Cui; Kou, Weili; Wang, Jie; Li, Xiangping

    2015-07-01

    Accurate and timely rice paddy field maps with a fine spatial resolution would greatly improve our understanding of the effects of paddy rice agriculture on greenhouse gases emissions, food and water security, and human health. Rice paddy field maps were developed using optical images with high temporal resolution and coarse spatial resolution (e.g., Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)) or low temporal resolution and high spatial resolution (e.g., Landsat TM/ETM+). In the past, the accuracy and efficiency for rice paddy field mapping at fine spatial resolutions were limited by the poor data availability and image-based algorithms. In this paper, time series MODIS and Landsat ETM+/OLI images, and the pixel- and phenology-based algorithm are used to map paddy rice planting area. The unique physical features of rice paddy fields during the flooding/open-canopy period are captured with the dynamics of vegetation indices, which are then used to identify rice paddy fields. The algorithm is tested in the Sanjiang Plain (path/row 114/27) in China in 2013. The overall accuracy of the resulted map of paddy rice planting area generated by both Landsat ETM+ and OLI is 97.3%, when evaluated with areas of interest (AOIs) derived from geo-referenced field photos. The paddy rice planting area map also agrees reasonably well with the official statistics at the level of state farms ( R 2 = 0.94). These results demonstrate that the combination of fine spatial resolution images and the phenology-based algorithm can provide a simple, robust, and automated approach to map the distribution of paddy rice agriculture in a year.

  20. Characterization of field isolates of Magnaporthe oryzae with mating type, DNA fingerprinting, and pathogenicity assays

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Due to the harmful nature of the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, it is beneficial to characterize field isolates to help aid in the deployment of resistance (R) genes in rice. In the present study, 190 field isolates of M. oryzae, collected from rice fields of Yunnan province in China, were a...

  1. Changing cultural landscape in post-productivism of rice field in Nyuh Kuning Village Bali

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maulidi, C.; Wulandari, L. D.

    2017-06-01

    Natural landscape in developing countries is facing a challenge due to economic growth, a cultural shift, and population dynamics. Farm land where is close to urban areas tending to be converted into more economically valuable spaces. Watershed Pakerisan listed as World Heritage of UNESCO, rich of cultural value on its landscape, especially the Subak, a traditional irrigation system, has a close relationship to the philosophy of Hindu-Bali culture. Nyuh Kuning, a village (local terms is Banjar) located adjacent to the Pakerisan Watershed, and has a spatial pattern in synergic ally connected with tradition, culture, and their religion. Rice field not only for economical but also its place to worship the Goddess (Dewi Sri). Rice Field in Nyuh Kuning declined significantly along past 10 years. The changing landscape of Nyuh Kuning traced through serial of aerial photographs from 2005 until 2015. Along with the broad decline of rice field, villager’s attachment on their cultural space is also changing. An economic motive pronounces a winner in the bargaining between the motives of economic value and cultural value in the Nyuh Kuning. Villagers revealed arguments that necessities nowadays prosecute high consumption, both for household and for education. Therefore conversion of rice fields to become more economical is understandable among communities. Villagers rent the rice fields to foreigners (migrants), and then foreigners take rice-fields as personal assets, not for the villagers (ritual activities and the cultural traditions) any longer. In theoritical term, villager’s emotional bond to the cultural landscape in post—productivism of rice field, is weakened. Wawedangan Desa and its complex cultural values are not part of their identity anymore. However, place dependence become the reason why the shifting place attachment is happening. Functional economic bond is mentioned as place dependence dominats in villager’s attachment. Certainly it’s not a sustainable way in conserving cultural landscape. Learning from Nyuh Kuning case, new ideas need to conserve cultural landscape and at the same time increased the economic villagers. Through considering rice fields renters preferences and attachment land in Nyuh Kuning, rice field is an important element for their preferences to stay at Nyuh Kuning. Villas in Nyuh Kuning retaining rice field map as part of the villa’s character. Here we can see rice field not only culturally valuable but also as a tourist attraction, which can be sustained if the communities themselves manage it.

  2. Acetylcholinesterase inhibition and gill lesions in Rasbora caverii, an indigenous fish inhabiting rice field associated waterbodies in Sri Lanka.

    PubMed

    Wijeyaratne, W M D N; Pathiratne, Asoka

    2006-10-01

    The present study was aimed at applying condition factor (CF), brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and gill histology as biomarkers for detecting possible exposure/effect induced by pesticides in fish residing rice field associated waterbodies in Sri Lanka. Biomarkers of an indigenous fish, Rasbora caverii collected from five sampling sites including canals near rice fields, a river and a reservoir (the reference site) were evaluated at four sampling stages covering pesticide application periods during rice cultivation season in 2004. Results indicated that CF of the fish did not show significant alterations regardless of the sampling sites or sampling stages. Site specific differences in AChE activities of the fish were not evident either prior to application of pesticides or at 7 days after Paraquat application to the rice fields. Two days after the application of a mixture of Fenthion and Phenthoate to the rice fields, AChE activity of the fish collected from canals near rice fields was significantly depressed (65-75%) compared to the fish in the reference site. The activities remain depressed to 50-56% even at 65 days after the insecticides application. Laboratory studies showed that prior exposure of R. caverii to Paraquat (2 microg l(-1), 7 days) enhanced the extent of inhibition of brain AChE activity induced by Fenthion (3 microg l(-1)) or a mixture of Fenthion (3 microg l(-1)) and Phenthoate (5 microg l(-1)). Gills of fish collected from canals near rice fields exhibited abnormal multiple divisions at the tips of some secondary lamellae in addition to hyperplasia, hypertrophy and club shaped deformities. Results indicate that application of pesticides in rice culture could manifest a threat to native fish populations residing rice field associated waterbodies. The response of brain AChE and histological changes in the gills of R. caverii allowed differentiating sampling sites after insecticide applications to the rice fields. Hence, R. caverii may be considered as a surrogate species in ecotoxicological risk evaluation of agrochemicals in the region.

  3. Automatic rice crop height measurement using a field server and digital image processing.

    PubMed

    Sritarapipat, Tanakorn; Rakwatin, Preesan; Kasetkasem, Teerasit

    2014-01-07

    Rice crop height is an important agronomic trait linked to plant type and yield potential. This research developed an automatic image processing technique to detect rice crop height based on images taken by a digital camera attached to a field server. The camera acquires rice paddy images daily at a consistent time of day. The images include the rice plants and a marker bar used to provide a height reference. The rice crop height can be indirectly measured from the images by measuring the height of the marker bar compared to the height of the initial marker bar. Four digital image processing steps are employed to automatically measure the rice crop height: band selection, filtering, thresholding, and height measurement. Band selection is used to remove redundant features. Filtering extracts significant features of the marker bar. The thresholding method is applied to separate objects and boundaries of the marker bar versus other areas. The marker bar is detected and compared with the initial marker bar to measure the rice crop height. Our experiment used a field server with a digital camera to continuously monitor a rice field located in Suphanburi Province, Thailand. The experimental results show that the proposed method measures rice crop height effectively, with no human intervention required.

  4. Air pollutant emissions from rice straw open field burning in India, Thailand and the Philippines.

    PubMed

    Gadde, Butchaiah; Bonnet, Sébastien; Menke, Christoph; Garivait, Savitri

    2009-05-01

    Rice is a widely grown crop in Asia. China (30%) and India (21%) contribute to about half of the world's total rice production. In this study, three major rice-producing countries in Asia are considered, India, Thailand and the Philippines (the later two contributing 4% and 2% of the world's rice production). Rice straw is one of the main field based residues produced along with this commodity and its applications vary widely in the region. Although rice production practises vary from one country to another, open burning of straw is a common practice in these countries. In this study, an approach was followed aiming at (a) determining the quantity of rice straw being subject to open field burning in those countries, (b) congregating pollutant specific emissions factors for rice straw burning, and (c) quantifying the resulting air pollutant emissions. Uncertainties in the results obtained as compared to a global approach are also discussed.

  5. Role of Remote Sensing and Geographyc Information System Mapping for Protected Areas Land Rice Field Subak, Buffer Zones, and Area Conversion (Case Studies In Gianyar Regency, Bali Province)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lanya, Indayati; Netera Subadiyasa, N.

    2016-11-01

    Conversion of rice fields in Bali 2579 ha/year, Law Number 41 of 2009 [1] and five of Government Regulation (GR), mandates the Local Government (LG) has a Regional Regulation (RR) or Rule Regent/Mayor, on the protection of agricultural land sustainable food (PALSF). Yet none provincial government of Bali has PALSF; although Subak as world cultural heritage. Similarly, Gianyar regency development strategy directed to integrate agriculture with tourism. Landsat 8 images, Word View Coverage 2015 Gianyar district and ArcGIS 10.3 software used for of rice field mapping and zoning of land protection Subak. Ten thematic maps (watersheds, land use, irrigation, relief/slope, rainfall, spatial planning, land suitability, productivity, the distance from downtown) as a variable parameter, weighted and balanced numerically. Numerical classification agricultura land using for the overlay menu and reselek. The total value of >125 as rice need to be protected, 100-125 value for buffer zone, and the value of <100 rice fields can be converted to 40 next year. For the 20 next year, the total value of> 100, 50-100 and <50 respectively to rice fields that need to be protected, wetland buffer, and rice fields can be converted. Region Subak sustainable of rice field protection, buffer and can be converted in a row for the next 20 years is 10973 ha, 3855 ha and 311 ha. For the next 40 years Subak conserved of rice field (8019 ha), buffer (5855 ha), and can be converted (3124 ha). Subak land pattern of spread can be converted to an supply of land for non-agricultural development of the region downstream to the access road Ida Bagus Matera (Jln. Province / national) in the coastal areas of Gianyar.

  6. Spectral and spatial characterization of rice field mosquito habitat

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wood, Byron L.; Beck, Louisa R.; Washino, Robert K.; Palchick, Susan M.; Sebesta, Paul D.

    1991-01-01

    Irrigated rice provides an ideal breeding habitat for Anopheles free-borni, the western malaria mosquito, throughout California. In a 1985 study, it was determined that early-season rice canopy development, as monitored using remotely sensed data, could be used to distinguish between high and low mosquito producing rice fields. This distinction could be made over two months prior to peak mosquito production. It was found that high-producing fields were located in an area characterized by a diversity of land use, including livestock pastures, whereas the low-producing fields were in an area devoted almost exclusively to the cultivation of rice. The ability to distinguish between high and low mosquito producing fields prior to peak mosquito production is important in terms of mosquito habitat surveillance and control.

  7. Rapid assessment of rice seed availability for wildlife in harvested fields

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Halstead, B.J.; Miller, M.R.; Casazza, Michael L.; Coates, P.S.; Farinha, M.A.; Benjamin, Gustafson K.; Yee, J.L.; Fleskes, J.P.

    2011-01-01

    Rice seed remaining in commercial fields after harvest (waste rice) is a critical food resource for wintering waterfowl in rice-growing regions of North America. Accurate and precise estimates of the seed mass density of waste rice are essential for planning waterfowl wintering habitat extents and management. In the Sacramento Valley of California, USA, the existing method for obtaining estimates of availability of waste rice in harvested fields produces relatively precise estimates, but the labor-, time-, and machineryintensive process is not practical for routine assessments needed to examine long-term trends in waste rice availability. We tested several experimental methods designed to rapidly derive estimates that would not be burdened with disadvantages of the existing method. We first conducted a simulation study of the efficiency of each method and then conducted field tests. For each approach, methods did not vary in root mean squared error, although some methods did exhibit bias for both simulations and field tests. Methods also varied substantially in the time to conduct each sample and in the number of samples required to detect a standard trend. Overall, modified line-intercept methods performed well for estimating the density of rice seeds. Waste rice in the straw, although not measured directly, can be accounted for by a positive relationship with density of rice on the ground. Rapid assessment of food availability is a useful tool to help waterfowl managers establish and implement wetland restoration and agricultural habitat-enhancement goals for wintering waterfowl. ?? 2011 The Wildlife Society.

  8. Factors Affecting the Distribution of Wild Rice (Zizania palustris) and the Surrounding Macrophyte Community.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pillsbury, R. W.; McGuire, M.

    2005-05-01

    A recent decline in wild rice wetlands is cause for concern due to its importance as a food source, refuge for wildlife, and cultural significance. Sixty wetlands in Wisconsin and Minnesota (USA) were sampled, with approximately equal numbers displaying dense, moderate and sparse wild rice production. Chemical, physical, and watershed parameters were measured as well as macrophyte densities. Data were analyzed using multivariate statistics (CCA). Moderate levels of phosphorus appear beneficial to the overall success of wild rice, while free-floating macrophytes show an overwhelming positive response to higher levels of P. The distribution of macrophytes bordering wild rice beds is correlated to pH,with Potamogeton robbinsii and filamentous green algae responding most strongly to its increase. Healthy stands of wild rice exhibit a narrow circum-neutral range of pH (6.1-8.0)which is significantly different from the greater range exhibited by sparse wild rice wetlands (6.5-8.5). This pattern was paralleled when considering depth which suggests that deeper wetlands may be more susceptible to wild rice loss. Management of existing wild rice wetlands should focus monitoring on pH, depth, phosphorus concentrations and shore development. We are currently using this data base to locate the best reintroduction sites for wild rice.

  9. Gene flow from transgenic rice to red rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the field.

    PubMed

    Busconi, M; Baldi, G; Lorenzoni, C; Fogher, C

    2014-01-01

    In this study, we simulate a transgenic rice crop highly infested with red rice to examine transgene transfer from a transgenic line (A2504) resistant to glufosinate ammonium to cohabitant red rice. The red rice was sown along with the transgenic line at the highest density found in naturally infested crops in the region. Agricultural practices similar to those used to control red rice infestation in northern Italy rice fields were used to reproduce the local rice production system. During the first 2 years, the field was treated with herbicide at the appropriate time; in the first year the dosage of herbicide was three times the recommended amount. In this first year, detectable red rice plants that escaped herbicide treatment were manually removed. Nevertheless, two herbicide-resistant hybrid plants (named 101 and 104) were identified in the experimental field during the second year of cultivation. Phenotypic and molecular characterisation suggests the hybrid nature of these two plants, deriving from crossing events involving A2504, respectively, with red rice (plant 101) and the buffer cultivar Gladio (plant 104). The progeny of two subsequent generations of the two plants were examined and the presence of the transgene detected, indicating stable transfer of the transgene across generations. In conclusion, despite control methods, red rice progeny tolerant to the herbicide can be expected following use of transgenic rice and, consequently, difficulties in controlling this weed with chemicals will emerge in a relatively short time. © 2013 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  10. A model-data fusion analysis for examining the response of carbon exchange to environmental variation in crop field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yokozawa, M.; Sakurai, G.; Ono, K.; Mano, M.; Miyata, A.

    2011-12-01

    Agricultural activities, cultivating crops, managing soil, harvesting and post-harvest treatments, are not only affected from the surrounding environment but also change the environment reversely. The changes in environment, temperature, radiation and precipitation, brings changes in crop productivity. On the other hand, the status of crops, i.e. the growth and phenological stage, change the exchange of energy, H2O and CO2 between crop vegetation surface and atmosphere. Conducting the stable agricultural harvests, reducing the Greenhouse Effect Gas (GHG) emission and enhancing carbon sequestration in soil are preferable as a win-win activity. We conducted model-data fusion analysis for examining the response of cropland-atmosphere carbon exchange to environmental variation. The used model consists of two sub models, paddy rice growth sub-model and soil decomposition sub-model. The crop growth sub-model mimics the rice plant growth processes including formation of reproductive organs as well as leaf expansion. The soil decomposition sub-model simulates the decomposition process of soil organic carbon. Assimilating the data on the time changes in CO2 flux measured by eddy covariance method, rice plant biomass, LAI and the final yield with the model, the parameters were calibrated using a stochastic optimization algorithm with a particle filter. The particle filter, which is one of Monte Carlo filters, enable us to evaluating time changes in parameters based on the observed data until the time and to make prediction of the system. Iterative filtering and prediction with changing parameters and/or boundary condition enable us to obtain time changes in parameters governing the crop production as well as carbon exchange. In this paper, we applied the model-data fusion analysis to the two datasets on paddy rice field sites in Japan: only a single rice cultivation, and a single rice and wheat cultivation. We focused on the parameters related to crop production as well as soil carbon storage. As a result, the calibrated model with estimated parameters could accurately predict the NEE flux in the subsequent years (Fig.1). The temperature sensitivity, Q10s in the decomposition rate of soil organic carbon (SOC) were obtained as 1.4 for no cultivation period and 2.9 for cultivation period (submerged soil condition).

  11. Photodegradation of clothianidin under simulated California rice field conditions.

    PubMed

    Mulligan, Rebecca A; Redman, Zachary C; Keener, Megan R; Ball, David B; Tjeerdema, Ronald S

    2016-07-01

    Photodegradation can be a major route of dissipation for pesticides applied to shallow rice field water, leading to diminished persistence and reducing the risk of offsite transport. The objective of this study was to characterize the aqueous-phase photodegradation of clothianidin under simulated California rice field conditions. Photodegradation of clothianidin was characterized in deionized, Sacramento River and rice field water samples. Pseudo-first-order rate constants and DT50 values in rice field water (mean k = 0.0158 min(-1) ; mean DT50 = 18.0 equivalent days) were significantly slower than in deionized water (k = 0.0167 min(-1) ; DT50 = 14.7 equivalent days) and river water (k = 0.0146 min(-1) ; DT50 = 16.6 equivalent days) samples. Quantum yield ϕc values demonstrate that approximately 1 and 0.5% of the light energy absorbed results in photochemical transformation in pure and field water respectively. Concentrations of the photodegradation product thiazolymethylurea in aqueous photolysis samples were determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and accounted for ≤17% in deionized water and ≤8% in natural water. Photodegradation rates of clothianidin in flooded rice fields will be controlled by turbidity and light attenuation. Aqueous-phase photodegradation may reduce the risk of offsite transport of clothianidin from flooded rice fields (via drainage) and mitigate exposure to non-target organisms. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

  12. Sequential Classifier Training for Rice Mapping with Multitemporal Remote Sensing Imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Y.; Jia, X.; Paull, D.

    2017-10-01

    Most traditional methods for rice mapping with remote sensing data are effective when they are applied to the initial growing stage of rice, as the practice of flooding during this period makes the spectral characteristics of rice fields more distinguishable. In this study, we propose a sequential classifier training approach for rice mapping that can be used over the whole growing period of rice for monitoring various growth stages. Rice fields are firstly identified during the initial flooding period. The identified rice fields are used as training data to train a classifier that separates rice and non-rice pixels. The classifier is then used as a priori knowledge to assist the training of classifiers for later rice growing stages. This approach can be applied progressively to sequential image data, with only a small amount of training samples being required from each image. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, experiments were conducted at one of the major rice-growing areas in Australia. The proposed approach was applied to a set of multitemporal remote sensing images acquired by the Sentinel-2A satellite. Experimental results show that, compared with traditional spectral-indexbased algorithms, the proposed method is able to achieve more stable and consistent rice mapping accuracies and it reaches higher than 80% during the whole rice growing period.

  13. Use of vegetation health data for estimation of aus rice yield in bangladesh.

    PubMed

    Rahman, Atiqur; Roytman, Leonid; Krakauer, Nir Y; Nizamuddin, Mohammad; Goldberg, Mitch

    2009-01-01

    Rice is a vital staple crop for Bangladesh and surrounding countries, with interannual variation in yields depending on climatic conditions. We compared Bangladesh yield of aus rice, one of the main varieties grown, from official agricultural statistics with Vegetation Health (VH) Indices [Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), Temperature Condition Index (TCI) and Vegetation Health Index (VHI)] computed from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data covering a period of 15 years (1991-2005). A strong correlation was found between aus rice yield and VCI and VHI during the critical period of aus rice development that occurs during March-April (weeks 8-13 of the year), several months in advance of the rice harvest. Stepwise principal component regression (PCR) was used to construct a model to predict yield as a function of critical-period VHI. The model reduced the yield prediction error variance by 62% compared with a prediction of average yield for each year. Remote sensing is a valuable tool for estimating rice yields well in advance of harvest and at a low cost.

  14. Use of Vegetation Health Data for Estimation of Aus Rice Yield in Bangladesh

    PubMed Central

    Rahman, Atiqur; Roytman, Leonid; Krakauer, Nir Y.; Nizamuddin, Mohammad; Goldberg, Mitch

    2009-01-01

    Rice is a vital staple crop for Bangladesh and surrounding countries, with interannual variation in yields depending on climatic conditions. We compared Bangladesh yield of aus rice, one of the main varieties grown, from official agricultural statistics with Vegetation Health (VH) Indices [Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), Temperature Condition Index (TCI) and Vegetation Health Index (VHI)] computed from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data covering a period of 15 years (1991–2005). A strong correlation was found between aus rice yield and VCI and VHI during the critical period of aus rice development that occurs during March–April (weeks 8–13 of the year), several months in advance of the rice harvest. Stepwise principal component regression (PCR) was used to construct a model to predict yield as a function of critical-period VHI. The model reduced the yield prediction error variance by 62% compared with a prediction of average yield for each year. Remote sensing is a valuable tool for estimating rice yields well in advance of harvest and at a low cost. PMID:22574057

  15. Mapping cropping patterns in irrigated rice fields in West Java: Towards mapping vulnerability to flooding using time-series MODIS imageries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sianturi, Riswan; Jetten, V. G.; Sartohadi, Junun

    2018-04-01

    Information on the vulnerability to flooding is vital to understand the potential damages from flood events. A method to determine the vulnerability to flooding in irrigated rice fields using the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) was proposed in this study. In doing so, the time-series EVI derived from time-series 8 day 500 m spatial resolution MODIS imageries (MOD09A1) was used to generate cropping patterns in irrigated rice fields in West Java. Cropping patterns were derived from the spatial distribution and phenology metrics so that it is possible to show the variation of vulnerability in space and time. Vulnerability curves and cropping patterns were used to determine the vulnerability to flooding in irrigated rice fields. Cropping patterns capture the shift in the vulnerability, which may lead to either an increase or decrease of the degree of damage in rice fields of origin and other rice fields. The comparison of rice field areas between MOD09A1 and ALOS PALSAR and MOD09A1 and Agricultural Statistics showed consistent results with R2 = 0.81 and R2 = 0.93, respectively. The estimated and observed DOYs showed RMSEs = 9.21, 9.29, and 9.69 days for the Start of Season (SOS), heading stage, and End of Season (EOS), respectively. Using the method, one can estimate the relative damage provided available information on the flood depth and velocity. The results of the study may support the efforts to reduce the potential damages from flooding in irrigated rice fields.

  16. Riceland mosquito management practices for Anopheles quadrimaculatus larvae.

    PubMed

    Allen, R A; Wilkes, W W; Lewis, C N; Meisch, M V

    2008-12-01

    Two separate but related studies were conducted regarding management of Anopheles quadrimaculatus larval populations in commercial rice fields near Cleveland, MS, in 2004. Study 1 was to evaluate the effectiveness of 2 treatments of aerially applied ultra-low volume applications of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) against An. quadrimaculatus larvae in dense, high-canopy mid- to late-season rice crop. Study 2 was to investigate the effect of preflood treatments of lambda-cyhalothrin (Karate), which is commonly used against rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus), on An. quadrimaculatus larvae. Excellent initial, but short residual control (>99% control 1 day after treatment) was observed in the Bti-treated fields in both mid- and late-season rice. Little or no effect on mosquito larvae was observed in the lambda-cyhalothrin-treated fields. Results indicate that Bti can be effectively used by mosquito management personnel to control larval populations of An. quadrimaculatus in late-season rice fields; however, lambda-cyhalothrin did not effectively control larval An. quadrimaculatus when applied preflood to rice fields.

  17. A digital photography and analysis system for estimation of root and shoot development in rice weed suppression studies in the field

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rice germplasm with an inherent ability to suppress weeds can potentially improve the economics and sustainability of weed control in rice. We devised a simple, rapid, and inexpensive digital imaging system to quantify several shoot and root growth characteristics in field-grown rice plants that ha...

  18. Direct and reverse pollen-mediated gene flow between GM rice and red rice weed

    PubMed Central

    Serrat, X.; Esteban, R.; Peñas, G.; Català, M. M.; Melé, E.; Messeguer, J.

    2013-01-01

    Potential risks of genetically modified (GM) crops must be identified before their commercialization, as happens with all new technologies. One of the major concerns is the proper risk assessment of adventitious presence of transgenic material in rice fields due to cross-pollination. Several studies have been conducted in order to quantify pollen-mediated gene flow from transgenic rice (Oryza sativa) to both conventional rice and red rice weed (O. sativa f. spontanea) under field conditions. Some of these studies reported GM pollen-donor rice transferring GM traits to red rice. However, gene flow also occurs in the opposite direction, in a phenomenon that we have called reverse gene flow, resulting in transgenic seeds that have incorporated the traits of wild red rice. We quantified reverse gene flow using material from two field trials. A molecular analysis based on amplified fragment length polymorphisms was carried out, being complemented with a phenotypic identification of red rice traits. In both field trials, the reverse gene flow detected was greater than the direct gene flow. The rate of direct gene flow varied according to the relative proportions of the donor (GM rice) and receptor (red rice) plants and was influenced by wind direction. The ecological impact of reverse gene flow is limited in comparison with that of direct gene flow because non-shattered and non-dormant seeds would be obtained in the first generation. Hybrid seed would remain in the spike and therefore most of it would be removed during harvesting. Nevertheless, this phenomenon must be considered in fields used for elite seed production and in developing countries where farmers often keep some seed for planting the following year. In these cases, there is a higher risk of GM red rice weed infestation increasing from year to year and therefore a proper monitoring plan needs to be established.

  19. Rice crop growth monitoring using ENVISAT-1/ASAR AP mode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Konishi, Tomohisa; Suga, Yuzo; Omatu, Shigeru; Takeuchi, Shoji; Asonuma, Kazuyoshi

    2007-10-01

    Hiroshima Institute of Technology (HIT) is operating the direct down-links of microwave and optical earth observation satellite data in Japan. This study focuses on the validation for rice crop monitoring using microwave remotely sensed image data acquired by ENIVISAT-1 referring to ground truth data such as height of rice crop, vegetation cover rate and leaf area index in the test sites of Hiroshima district, the western part of Japan. ENVISAT-1/ASAR data has the capabilities for the monitoring of the rice crop growing cycle by using alternating cross polarization mode images. However, ASAR data is influenced by several parameters such as land cover structure, direction and alignment of rice crop fields in the test sites. In this study, the validation was carried out to be combined with microwave image data and ground truth data regarding rice crop fields to investigate the above parameters. Multi-temporal, multi-direction (descending and ascending) and multi-angle ASAR alternating cross polarization mode images were used to investigate during the rice crop growing cycle. On the other hand, LANDSAT-7/ETM+ data were used to detect land cover structure, direction and alignment of rice crop fields corresponding to the backscatter of ASAR. Finally, the extraction of rice planted area was attempted by using multi-temporal ASAR AP mode data such as VV/VH and HH/HV. As the result of this study, it is clear that the estimated rice planted area coincides with the existing statistical data for area of the rice crop field. In addition, HH/HV is more effective than VV/VH in the rice planted area extraction.

  20. Monoclonal antibody-based serological assays and immunocapture-RT-PCR for detecting Rice dwarf virus in field rice plants and leafhopper vectors.

    PubMed

    Wu, Jianxiang; Ni, Yuequn; Liu, Huan; Ding, Ming; Zhou, Xueping

    2014-01-01

    Rice dwarf virus (RDV) causes Rice dwarf disease, which leads to considerable losses in rice production in Asia. Purified RDV virions were used as the immunogen to prepare monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Three murine mAbs against RDV were prepared. Plate-trapped antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PTA-ELISA), dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dot-ELISA) and immunocapture-RT-PCR (IC-RT-PCR) were then developed for sensitive, specific, and rapid detection of RDV in rice and leafhopper samples obtained in the field using the mAbs. The PTA-ELISA, dot-ELISA and IC-RT-PCR detected the virus in infected tissue crude extracts diluted at 1:81,920, 1:10,240 and 1:655,360 (w/v, g mL(-1)), in individual viruliferous rice green leafhopper crude extracts diluted at 1:25,600, 1:6400 and 1:3,276,800 (individual leafhopper/μL), respectively. 878 rice field samples and 531 leafhopper field samples from ten provinces of China were screened for the presence of RDV using the two serological assays and the IC-RT-PCR and the results indicated that 37 of the 878 rice samples and 22 of the 531 leafhopper samples were infected by RDV. All positive samples were from Yunnan Province, indicating that RDV is prevalent in this province, but not in the other nine provinces. The dot-ELISA is suitable for routine detection of large-scale rice and leafhopper samples in field surveys. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Assessing farmers' community readiness towards the enhancement of natural enemy population in rice fields in Malacca

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fairuz, K.; Idris, A. G.; Syahrizan, S.; Hatijah, K.

    2018-04-01

    Malacca has committed to be a green technology state by the year 2020. Agriculture is one of the main industries that have been highlighted to achieve this goal especially rice farming activities. Some limitations for this issue have restricted the accomplishment of the plan including pesticide usage among rice farmers. The use of chemicals in rice field need to be reduced significantly in order to support the goal. One of the indicators to the successfulness of pesticide reduction is the increasing numbers of natural enemies' species abundance and population in the rice field. Natural enemies were important to regulate pest populations in rice field naturally. Farmers' readiness to participate in this issue is very important to ensure the successfulness. The level of readiness of farmers' community will determine whether they are ready or not to execute the plan. Unfortunately, such information in rice farmers' community was not properly measured. Thus this study was aimed to assess the readiness level of rice farmers' community to change in order to enhance natural enemies in their rice field. This study was adapting the CR model as its theoretical framework. Three rice farming area in Malacca were involved in this study namely, Jasin, Melaka Tengah and Alor Gajah. Questionnaires were used as major instrument and were randomly distributed to 224 farmers. Data collected were tested for their reliability, significance and level of readiness. Knowledge of issue, knowledge of effort and resources dimensions were found influencing the readiness dimension significantly, whilst the attitude and leadership dimensions were not. Generally, the level of readiness for farmers' community in Malacca was found in the sixth or initial stage, where some of them initially have started to practice a few related activities to enhance the natural enemies' population in their rice field. Continuous support and assistant from the leaders and local authorities are crucially needed in order to sustain and improve the farmers' community level of readiness.

  2. Reconciling the conservation of the purple swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) and its damage in Mediterranean rice fields through sustainable non-lethal techniques

    PubMed Central

    Piqué, Josep

    2018-01-01

    Resolving human–wildlife conflicts requires the assessment and implementation of appropriate technical measures that minimize negative impacts on socio-economic uses, including agriculture, and ensure the adequate protection of biological diversity. Rice paddies are widely distributed in the western Mediterranean region. Because of their high productivity, they can be a good habitat for waterbirds, including the purple swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio, particularly in areas where natural wetlands have been removed or reduced. As a result of its population growth, there have been increasing levels of damage caused by this species in rice fields due to stem-cutting and opening of bald patches in rice fields. With the aim of reducing damage, we evaluated the effectiveness of passive and active measures that would limit access to rice fields and deter/scare away purple swamphens in affected areas of the Ebro Delta (NE Spain). We selected the techniques according to the growth phase of rice and the activity of birds in the rice fields (perimeter fences and clearing vegetation around the rice plots during sprouting and growing phases, and falconry at maturation). There were positive results during the sprouting and growing phases thanks to fences and clearing vegetation, reducing the affected area by 37.8% between treatment and control plots. This would mean an economic savings of 18,550 €/year in compensation payments by regional administrations including the investment in implementing and maintaining passive protection measures. Active deterrence through falconry did not reduce the level of damage. The analysis of purple swamphen home range, activity centers (centroids), and the proportion of locations in and outside of rice fields showed no differences before and after dissuasive practices. These results were influenced by multiple concurrent factors including weather, the structural configuration of the rice plots and their location. In summary, we recommend the establishment of protection measures (perimeter fences + clearing vegetation around the rice plots) to reduce the level of damage. PMID:29707429

  3. Wetland management and rice farming strategies to decrease methylmercury bioaccumulation and loads from the Cosumnes River Preserve, California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Eagles-Smith, Collin A.; Ackerman, Joshua T.; Fleck, Jacob; Windham-Myers, Lisamarie; McQuillen, Harry; Heim, Wes

    2014-01-01

    We evaluated mercury (Hg) concentrations in caged fish (deployed for 30 days) and water from agricultural wetland (rice fields), managed wetland, slough, and river habitats in the Cosumnes River Preserve, California. We also implemented experimental hydrological regimes on managed wetlands and post-harvest rice straw management techniques on rice fields in order to evaluate potential Best Management Practices to decrease methylmercury bioaccumulation within wetlands and loads to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Total Hg concentrations in caged fish were twice as high in rice fields as in managed wetland, slough, or riverine habitats, including seasonal managed wetlands subjected to identical hydrological regimes. Caged fish Hg concentrations also differed among managed wetland treatments and post-harvest rice straw treatments. Specifically, Hg concentrations in caged fish decreased from inlets to outlets in seasonal managed wetlands with either a single (fall-only) or dual (fall and spring) drawdown and flood-up events, whereas Hg concentrations increased slightly from inlets to outlets in permanent managed wetlands. In rice fields, experimental post-harvest straw management did not decrease Hg concentrations in caged fish. In fact, in fields in which rice straw was chopped and either disked into the soil or baled and removed from the fields, fish Hg concentrations increased from inlets to outlets and were higher than Hg concentrations in fish from rice fields subjected to the more standard post-harvest practice of simply chopping rice straw prior to fall flood-up. Finally, aqueous methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations and export were highly variable, and seasonal trends in particular were often opposite to those of caged fish. Aqueous MeHg concentrations and loads were substantially higher in winter than in summer, whereas caged fish Hg concentrations were relatively low in winter and substantially higher in summer. Together, our results highlight the importance of habitat, seasonal processes, and wetland management practices on Hg cycling and ecological risk in aquatic ecosystems.

  4. Genetic diversity of weedy red rice (Oryza sativa) in Arkansas, USA

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Weedy red rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a problematic weed in rice. About 50% of US rice is produced in Arkansas and 60% of these fields have some red rice infestation. Red rice populations are morphologically and phenologically diverse. We hypothesize that red rice in Arkansas has high genetic diversit...

  5. Seasonal assessment of greenhouse gas emission from irrigated lowland rice field under infrared warming

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rice fields are considered as one of the major sources of methane (CH4), and they also emit nitrous oxide (N2O). A field experiment was conducted at the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines, in 2010 – 2011 using a temperature free-air controlled enhancement (T-FACE) system. Our object...

  6. Performance of hybrids between weedy rice and insect-resistant transgenic rice under field experiments: implication for environmental biosafety assessment.

    PubMed

    Cao, Qian-Jin; Xia, Hui; Yang, Xiao; Lu, Bao-Rong

    2009-12-01

    Transgene escape from genetically modified (GM) rice into weedy rice via gene flow may cause undesired environmental consequences. Estimating the field performance of crop-weed hybrids will facilitate our understanding of potential introgression of crop genes (including transgenes) into weedy rice populations, allowing for effective biosafety assessment. Comparative studies of three weedy rice strains and their hybrids with two GM rice lines containing different insect-resistance transgenes (CpTI or Bt/CpTI) indicated an enhanced relative performance of the crop-weed hybrids, with taller plants, more tillers, panicles, and spikelets per plant, as well as higher 1 000-seed weight, compared with the weedy rice parents, although the hybrids produced less filled seeds per plant than their weedy parents. Seeds from the F(1) hybrids had higher germination rates and produced more seedlings than the weedy parents, which correlated positively with 1 000-seed weight. The crop-weed hybrids demonstrated a generally enhanced relative performance than their weedy rice parents in our field experiments. These findings indicate that transgenes from GM rice can persist to and introgress into weedy rice populations through recurrent crop-to-weed gene flow with the aid of slightly increased relative fitness in F(1) hybrids.

  7. Changes in the status of harvested rice fields in the Sacramento Valley, California: Implications for wintering waterfowl.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Miller, Michael R.; Garr, Jay D.; Coates, Peter S.

    2010-01-01

    Harvested rice fields provide critical foraging habitat for wintering waterfowl in North America, but their value depends upon post-harvest treatments. We visited harvested ricefields in the Sacramento Valley, California, during the winters of 2007 and 2008 (recent period) and recorded their observed status as harvested (standing or mechanically modified stubble), burned, plowed, or flooded. We compared these data with those from identical studies conducted during the 1980s (early period). We documented substantial changes in field status between periods. First, the area of flooded rice increased 4-5-fold, from about 15% to >40% of fields, because of a 3-4-fold increase in the percentage of fields flooded coupled with a 37-41% increase in the area of rice produced. Concurrently, the area of plowed fields increased from 35% of fields, burned fields declined from about 40% to 1%, and fields categorized as harvested declined from 22-54% to <15%. The increased flooding has likely increased access to food resources for wintering waterfowl, but this benefit may not be available to some goose species, and may be at least partially countered by the increase of plowed fields, especially those left dry, and the decrease of fields left as harvested.We encourage waterfowl managers to implement a rice field status survey in the Sacramento Valley and other North American rice growing regions as appropriate to support long-term monitoring programs and wetland habitat conservation planning for wintering waterfowl.

  8. Capturing sediment and nutrients in irrigated terraced landscapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Slaets, Johanna; Schmitter, Petra; Hilger, Thomas; Piepho, Hans-Peter; Dercon, Gerd; Cadisch, Georg

    2016-04-01

    Terraces are often promoted as green filters in landscapes, buffering discharge and constituent peaks. For irrigated rice terraces, however, this mitigating potential has not been assessed at the landscape level. Additionally, sediment and nutrient inputs potentially affect soil fertility in agricultural terraces and therefore yield - the extent of the impact depending on the quality and quantity of the captured material. Quantifying such upland-lowland linkages is particularly important in intensely cultivated landscapes, as declining upland soil fertility could alter beneficial hydrological connectivity between terraces and surrounding landscapes. In this study, we therefore quantified the sediment, sediment-associated organic carbon and nitrogen inputs and losses for a 13 ha paddy rice area, surrounded by upland maize cultivation in Northwest Vietnam in 2010 and 2011. Turbidity sensors were used in combination with a linear mixed model in order to obtain continuous predictions of the constituent concentrations. Sediment texture was determined using mid-infrared spectroscopy. Uncertainty on annual load estimates was quantified by calculating 95% confidence intervals with a bootstrap approach. Sediment inputs from irrigation water to the rice area amounted to 48 Mg ha-1 a-1 and runoff during rainfall events contributed an additional 16 Mg ha-1 a-1. Export from the rice terraces equalled 63 Mg ha-1 a-1 of sediments, resulting in a net balance of 28 Mg ha-1 a-1 or a trapping of almost half of the annual sediment inputs. Runoff contributed one third of the sand inputs, while irrigated sediments were predominantly silty. As paddy outflow contained almost exclusively silt- and clay-sized material, 24 Mg ha-1 a-1 of captured sediments consisted of sand. The sediment-associated organic carbon resulted in a deposit of 1.09 Mg ha-1 a-1. For sediment-associated nitrogen, 0.68 Mg ha-1 a-1 was trapped in the terraces. Combining both sediment-associated and dissolved nitrogen, irrigation water provided a total input of 1.11 Mg ha-1 a-1, of which 54% was in the plant-available forms of ammonium and nitrate - an input larger than the recommended application of chemical fertilizer. Rice terraces were net traps for sediment and protected downstream areas by filtering coarse sediments. Combined with the importance of irrigation water as a source of organic carbon and nitrogen for the rice, this connectivity underscores the vulnerability of agricultural terraces to changes in surrounding land use.

  9. Confirming and identifying new loci for rice blast disease resistance using magnaporthe oryzae field isolates in the US

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Quantitative trait loci (QTL) in rice play important roles in controlling rice blast disease. In the present study, 10 field isolates of the races IA1, IB1, IB17, and IC1 of U.S. rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae collected in 1996 and 2009 were used to identify blast resistance QTL with a recombi...

  10. Decline of traditional rice farming constrains the recovery of the endangered Asian crested ibis (Nipponia nippon).

    PubMed

    Sun, Yiwen; Wang, Tiejun; Skidmore, Andrew K; Wang, Qi; Ding, Changqing

    2015-12-01

    Traditional agriculture benefits a rich diversity of plants and animals. The winter-flooded rice fields in the Qinling Mountains, China, are the last refuge for the endangered Asian crested ibis (Nipponia nippon), and intensive efforts have been made to protect this anthropogenic habitat. Analyses of multi-temporal satellite data indicate that winter-flooded rice fields have been continuously reduced across the current range of crested ibis during the past two decades. The rate of loss of these fields in the core-protected areas has unexpectedly increased to a higher level than that in non-protected areas in the past decade. The best fit (R (2) = 0.87) numerical response model of the crested ibis population shows that a reduction of winter-flooded rice fields decreases population growth and predicts that the population growth will be constrained by the decline of traditional winter-flooded rice fields in the coming decades. Our findings suggest that the decline of traditional rice farming is likely to continue to pose a threat to the long-term survival and recovery of the crested ibis population in China.

  11. Seasonal variation of methane flux from coastal saline rice field with the application of different organic manures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Datta, A.; Yeluripati, Jagadeesh B.; Nayak, D. R.; Mahata, K. R.; Santra, S. C.; Adhya, T. K.

    2013-02-01

    A field experiment was conducted in an irrigated saline rice field of Gadakujang (a fishing hamlet of coastal Odisha, India, ravaged by the super cyclone of 1999 and cyclone BOB02 of 2006), to study the effects of locally available organic and fresh green manure amendment to the saline soil on methane (CH4) emission during wet and dry seasons using the conventional closed chamber flux measurement method. In a first report of this kind, CH4 emission vis-à-vis yield improvement of rice with different locally available organic manure application from coastal saline rice field soil of Odisha, is reported. The study confirms that CH4 flux from the saline soil planted to rice is significantly lower than that of irrigated inland non-saline rice field during both wet and dry seasons. Cumulative seasonal CH4 flux from different treatments of the coastal saline rice field ranged between 119.51 and 263.60 kg ha-1 during the wet season and 15.35-100.88 kg ha-1 during the dry season. Lower CH4 emission during the dry season may be attributed to the increased soil salinity (EC1:2) that went up from 0.76 dS m-1 during the wet season to 3.96 dS m-1 during the dry season. Annual CH4 emission per Mg grain yield was significantly low from plots treated with locally available green manure Morning glory (Ipomoea lacunosa) (17.27) with significantly high rice grain yield. Study indicates that Morning glory may be used as a potential green manure to increase grain yield and reduced CH4 emission from the coastal saline rice ecosystems of the tropics.

  12. Measuring the Influence of Dielectric Environment on 2D Excitons in Monolayer Semiconductors: Insight from High Magnetic Fields1

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stier, Andreas

    The relatively heavy electrons and holes in monolayer semiconductors such as MoS2 form tightly-bound excitons with large binding energies, thus motivating magneto-optical studies in high magnetic fields. Because 2D excitons in these materials necessarily lie close to a surface, their properties are expected to be strongly influenced by the surrounding dielectric environment. However, systematic studies exploring this role are challenging, in part because the most readily accessible exciton parameter - the exciton's optical transition energy - is largely unaffected by the surrounding medium. Here we show that the role of the dielectric environment can be revealed through its systematic influence on the size of the exciton, which can be directly measured via the diamagnetic shift of the exciton transition in high magnetic fields. Using exfoliated WSe2 monolayers affixed to single-mode optical fibers, we tune the surrounding dielectric environment by encapsulating the monolayers with different materials, and perform polarization resolved low-temperature magneto-absorption studies to 65 tesla. The systematic increase of the exciton's size with dielectric screening, and concurrent two-fold reduction in binding energy (also inferred from these measurements), is quantitatively compared with leading theoretical models based on the Keldysh potential. These results demonstrate how exciton properties can be tuned in future 2D devices and van der Waals heterostructures. 1In collaboration with S.A. Crooker (NHMFL); J. Kono (Rice University); K.M. McCreary, B.T. Jonker (Naval Research Lab); N.P. Wilson, G. Clark, X. Xu (University of Washington).

  13. A comparison of spider communities in Bt and non-Bt rice fields.

    PubMed

    Lee, Sue Yeon; Kim, Seung Tae; Jung, Jong Kook; Lee, Joon-Ho

    2014-06-01

    To assess the potential adverse effects of a Bt rice line (Japonica rice cultivar, Nakdong) expressing a synthetic cry1Ac1 gene, C7-1-9-1-B, which was highly active against all larval stages of Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), we investigated the community structure of spiders in Bt and non-Bt rice fields during the rice-growing season in 2007 and 2008 in Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. Spiders were surveyed with a sweep net and suction device. Suction sampling captured more spiders, measured in terms of species level and abundance, than sweeping. Araneidae and Thomisidae were captured more by sweeping, and certain species were captured only by sweeping. These findings show that both suction and sweep sampling methods should be used because these methods are most likely complementary. In total, 29 species in 23 genera and nine families were identified from the 4,937 spiders collected, and both Bt and non-Bt rice fields showed a typical Korean spider assemblage. The temporal patterns of spider species richness and spider abundance were very similar between Bt and non-Bt rice, although significant differences in species richness were observed on a few occasions. Overall, spider community structure, including diversity, the dominant species, and abundance did not differ between Bt and non-Bt rice. The results of the study indicated that the transgenic Cry1Ac rice lines tested in this study had no adverse effects on the spider community structure of the rice fields.

  14. Hydrology of a groundwater-irrigated rice field in Bangladesh: Seasonal and daily mechanisms of infiltration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Neumann, Rebecca B.; Polizzotto, Matthew L.; Badruzzaman, A. Borhan M.; Ali, M. Ashraf; Zhang, Zhongyuan; Harvey, Charles F.

    2009-09-01

    Flow through a groundwater-irrigated rice field in Bangladesh was characterized with data collected from a transect of tensiometers and time domain reflectometry sensors, novel tracer tests, infiltration tests, soil core analyses, and calculated water budgets. The combined data captured the dynamic hydrologic behavior of the rice field over an entire growing season, which included many irrigation events. Recharge to the aquifer flowed from the surface of the rice field through preferential flow paths located in the subsoil beneath the plowed surface of the field and in the bunds, the raised boundaries around the perimeter of the field. Water that remained within the soil matrix did not recharge the aquifer. Bund flow was the dominant loss for the field because the bulk hydraulic conductivity of the soil beneath the bunds was greater than that in the plowed and planted region of the rice field. Each year, farmers plow the rice fields, destroying cracks and decreasing the conductivity of the shallow soil, but leave the bunds unplowed because they follow property boundaries. We determined bund flow with a daily water balance and confirmed its importance by comparing irrigation losses among fields of different sizes and geometries and hence different ratios of perimeter to area. The perimeter-to-area ratio predicted the fraction of water lost down the bunds for these and other fields located throughout Southeast Asia. Finally, we determined the economic and environmental benefits of reducing bund flow.

  15. Molecular Evolution of the Rice Blast Resistance Gene Pi-ta in Invasive Weedy Rice in the USA

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Seonghee; Jia, Yulin; Jia, Melissa; Gealy, David R.; Olsen, Kenneth M.; Caicedo, Ana L.

    2011-01-01

    The Pi-ta gene in rice has been effectively used to control rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae worldwide. Despite a number of studies that reported the Pi-ta gene in domesticated rice and wild species, little is known about how the Pi-ta gene has evolved in US weedy rice, a major weed of rice. To investigate the genome organization of the Pi-ta gene in weedy rice and its relationship to gene flow between cultivated and weedy rice in the US, we analyzed nucleotide sequence variation at the Pi-ta gene and its surrounding 2 Mb region in 156 weedy, domesticated and wild rice relatives. We found that the region at and around the Pi-ta gene shows very low genetic diversity in US weedy rice. The patterns of molecular diversity in weeds are more similar to cultivated rice (indica and aus), which have never been cultivated in the US, rather than the wild rice species, Oryza rufipogon. In addition, the resistant Pi-ta allele (Pi-ta) found in the majority of US weedy rice belongs to the weedy group strawhull awnless (SH), suggesting a single source of origin for Pi-ta. Weeds with Pi-ta were resistant to two M. oryzae races, IC17 and IB49, except for three accessions, suggesting that component(s) required for the Pi-ta mediated resistance may be missing in these accessions. Signatures of flanking sequences of the Pi-ta gene and SSR markers on chromosome 12 suggest that the susceptible pi-ta allele (pi-ta), not Pi-ta, has been introgressed from cultivated to weedy rice by out-crossing. PMID:22043312

  16. [Ammonia volatilization loss of nitrogen fertilizer from rice field and wet deposition of atmospheric nitrogen in rice growing season].

    PubMed

    Su, Chengguo; Yin, Bin; Zhu, Zhaoliang; Shen, Qirong

    2003-11-01

    Plot and field experiments showed that the NH3 volatilization loss from rice field reached its maximum in 1-3 days after N-fertilization, which was affected by the local climate conditions (e.g., sun illumination, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and rainfall), fertilization time, and ammonium concentration in surface water of the rice field. The wet deposition of atmospheric nitrogen was correlated with the application rate of N fertilizer and the rainfall. The amount of nitrogen brought into soil or surface water by the wet deposition in rice growing season reached 7.5 kg.hm-2. The percent of NH4(+)-N in the wet deposition was about 39.8%-73.2%, with an average of 55.5%. There was a significant correlation of total ammonia volatilization loss with the average concentration of NH4(+)-N in wet deposition and total amount of wet deposition in rice growing season.

  17. Effects of raising frogs and putting pest-killing lamps in paddy fields on the prevention of rice pests and diseases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Teng, Qing; Hu, Xue-Feng; Luo, Fan; Cao, Ming-Yang

    2014-05-01

    Frogs in paddy fields become less and less due to applying large amounts of pesticides and human hunting for a long time, which causes the aggravation of rice pests and diseases. A field experiment was carried out in the suburb of Shanghai to study the effects of artificially raising frogs and putting frequency oscillation pest-killing lamps in paddy fields on the prevention of rice pests and diseases. The field experiment includes three treatments. Treatment I: 150 frogs, each 20 g in weight, per 100 m2 were put in the fields; Treatment II: a frequency oscillation pest-killing lamp was put in the fields; Treatment III: no frogs and pest-killing lamps were put in the fields. All the experimental fields were operated based on the organic faming system. The amount of organic manure, 7500 kg/hm2, was applied to the fields as base fertilizer before sowing in early June, 2013. No any chemical fertilizers and pesticides were used during the entire period of rice growth. Each treatment is in triplicate and each plot is 67 m2 in area. The results are as follows: (1) During the entire growth period, the incidences of rice pests and diseases with Treatment I and II are significantly lower than those with CK (Treatment III). The incidence of chilo suppressalis with Treatment I, II and III is 0, 0.46% and 1.69%, respectively; that of cnaphalocrocis medinalis is 7.67%, 6.62% and 10.10%, respectively; that of rice sheath blight is 0, 11.11% and 5.43%, respectively; that of rice planthopper is 4.25 per hill, 5.75 per hill and 11 per hill, respectively. (2) The grain yield of the three treatments is significantly different. That of Treatment I, II and III is 5157.73 kg/hm2, 4761.60 kg/hm2 and 3645.14kg/hm2 on average, respectively. (3) Affected by frog activities, the contents of NH4-N, available P and available K in the soil with Treatment I are significantly raised. All the above suggest that artificially raising frogs in paddy fields could effectively prevent rice pests and diseases, especially reduce the incidences of rice sheath blight and chilo suppressalis, and setting pest-killing lamps could also effectively control rice pests, but not rice sheath blight, which contribute to the increase of grain yield largely. Moreover, the activity of frogs in paddy fields could improve soil fertility and increase bio-diversity. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41130526).

  18. Diazinon reduction and partitioning between water, sediment and vegetation in stormwater runoff mitigation through rice fields.

    PubMed

    Moore, Matthew T; Kröger, Robert; Cooper, Charles M; Cullum, Robert F; Smith, Sammie; Locke, Martin A

    2009-11-01

    Contamination of surface waters by pesticides is a concern in the United States and around the world. Innovative mitigation strategies are needed to remediate this potential environmental contaminant. One potential solution is to divert pesticide-laden drainage or surface water through agricultural rice fields. With a hydroperiod, hydrosoil and hydrophyte (rice), these systems serve essentially as a type of constructed wetland. In both summer and fall experiments, diazinon-amended water was diverted through two rice ponds at the University of Mississippi Field Station. Likewise, a non-vegetated control pond was amended with diazinon-laden water. Water, sediment and plant samples were taken spatially and temporally to determine the distribution of diazinon within systems. Outflow diazinon concentrations decreased significantly (P < 0.05) from inflow in both vegetated ponds for both preharvest and post-harvest experiments. Although sorption to rice plants was minimal in the overall mass distribution of diazinon (1-3%), temporal data indicated that diazinon concentrations reached the outflow sediment of the non-vegetated control twice as fast as in either vegetated (rice) system. In both vegetated systems, sediment diazinon concentrations decreased (77 and 100%) from inflow to outflow, while a decrease of <2% was noted in the non-vegetated control. Diversion of pesticide-contaminated water through rice fields demonstrated potential as a low-cost, environmentally efficient mitigation practice. Studies on these systems are continuing to evaluate the optimal chemical retention time for rice field mitigation, as well as diazinon transfer to rice grain seeds that may be used as a food source.

  19. Effect of rice-cooking water to the daily arsenic intake in Bangladesh: results of field surveys and rice-cooking experiments.

    PubMed

    Ohno, K; Matsuo, Y; Kimura, T; Yanase, T; Rahman, M H; Magara, Y; Matsushita, T; Matsui, Y

    2009-01-01

    The effect of rice-cooking water to the daily arsenic intake of Bangladeshi people was investigated. At the first field survey, uncooked rice and cooked rice of 29 families were collected. Their arsenic concentrations were 0.22+/-0.11 and 0.26+/-0.15 mg/kg dry wt, respectively. In 15 families, arsenic concentration in rice increased after cooking. Good correlation (R(2)=0.89) was observed between arsenic in rice-cooking water and the difference of arsenic concentration in rice by cooking. In the second survey, we collected one-day duplicated food of 18 families. As a result, we estimated that six of 18 families likely used the arsenic contaminated water for cooking rice even they drank less arsenic-contaminated water for drinking purpose. We also conducted rice-cooking experiments in the laboratory, changing arsenic concentration in rice-cooking water. Clear linear relationships were obtained between the arsenic in rice-cooking water and the difference of arsenic concentration in rice by cooking. Factors that affect arsenic concentration in cooked rice are suggested as follows: (1) arsenic concentration in uncooked rice, (2) that in rice-cooking water, (3) difference in water content of rice before and after cooking, and (4) types of rice, especially, the difference between parboiled and non-parboiled rice.

  20. Global estimations of the inventory and mitigation potential of methane emissions from rice cultivation conducted using the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Guidelines

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Xiaoyuan; Akiyama, Hiroko; Yagi, Kazuyuki; Akimoto, Hajime

    2009-06-01

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) regularly publishes guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories and methane emission (CH4) from rice paddies has been an important component of these guidelines. While there have been many estimates of global CH4 emissions from rice fields, none of them have been obtained using the IPCC guidelines. Therefore, we used the Tier 1 method described in the 2006 IPCC guidelines to estimate the global CH4 emissions from rice fields. To accomplish this, we used country-specific statistical data regarding rice harvest areas and expert estimates of relevant agricultural activities. The estimated global emission for 2000 was 25.6 Tg a-1, which is at the lower end of earlier estimates and close to the total emission summarized by individual national communications. Monte Carlo simulation revealed a 95% uncertainty range of 14.8-41.7 Tg a-1; however, the estimation uncertainty was found to depend on the reliability of the information available regarding the amount of organic amendments and the area of rice fields that were under continuous flooding. We estimated that if all of the continuously flooded rice fields were drained at least once during the growing season, the CH4 emissions would be reduced by 4.1 Tg a-1. Furthermore, we estimated that applying rice straw off season wherever and whenever possible would result in a further reduction in emissions of 4.1 Tg a-1 globally. Finally, if both of these mitigation options were adopted, the global CH4 emission from rice paddies could be reduced by 7.6 Tg a-1. Although draining continuously flooded rice fields may lead to an increase in nitrous oxide (N2O) emission, the global warming potential resulting from this increase is negligible when compared to the reduction in global warming potential that would result from the CH4 reduction associated with draining the fields.

  1. Single-wavelength based rice leaf color analyzer for nitrogen status estimation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sumriddetchkajorn, Sarun; Intaravanne, Yuttana

    2014-02-01

    With the need of a tool for efficient nitrogen (N) fertilizer management in the rice field, this paper proposes a low-cost compact single-wavelength based colorimeter that can be used to indicate the specified six color levels of a rice leaf associated with the desired amount of N fertilizer for the rice field. Our key design is in a reflective optical architecture that allows us to investigate the amount of light scattered from only one side of the rice leaf. We also show how we implement this needed rice leaf color analyzer by integrating an off-the-shelf 562-nm wavelength light emitting diode (LED), a silicon photodiode, an 8-bit microcontroller, and a 6×1 LED panel in a compact plastic package. Field test results in rice fields confirm that leaf color levels of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 are effectively identified and their corresponding amount of N fertilizer can be determined. For the leaf color level of 4, our single-wavelength based rice leaf color analyzer sometimes indicates a higher color level of 5 whose suggested amount of N fertilizer is equal to that for the leaf color level of 4. Other key features include ease of use and upgradability for different color levels.

  2. First records of a field experiment on fertilizer effects on methane emission from rice fields in Hunan-Province (PR China)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wassmann, R.; Wang, M. X.; Shangguan, X. J.; Xie, X. L.; Shen, R. X.; Wang, Y. S.; Papen, H.; Rennenberg, H.; Seiler, W.

    Fertilizer effects on methane emission from Chinese rice fields were investigated by a praxis-oriented approach applying balanced amendments of N, P and K. The data set obtained covered the emission rates of app. one month in early rice and one month in late rice 1991. An intercomparison between the 4 treatments showed pronounced differences in the magnitudes of methane emission rates. The combined organic/mineral fertilizer application, commonly used as local farming practice, resulted in relatively high seasonal averages of methane emission rates (26.5 mg CH4 m-2 h-1 in early rice and 50.1 mg CH4 m-2 h-1 in late rice). The lowest emission rates were observed in the plot with pure mineral fertilization (6.5 mg CH4 m-2 h-1 in early rice and 14.3 mg CH4 m-2 h-1 in late rice). Pure organic fertilizers by unfermented substances yielded the highest methane emission rates of all field trials (38.6 mg CH4 m-2 h-1 in early rice and 56.2 CH4 m-2 h-1 in late rice). The fertilization with fermented material derived from biogas generators resulted in substantially lower emission rates than the other trials with organic amendments, the seasonal averages corresponded to 15.9 mg CH4 m-2 h-1 (early rice) and 22.5 mg CH4 m-2 h-1 (late rice). Interpretation of the results can be obtained from the different potentials of these fertilizers for methane production. Based on this concept the different methane emission rates observed with organic/mineral, pure mineral and pure unfermented-organic fertilizers could directly be attributed to the different quantities of organic matter incorporated into the soil. The low methane emission from the plot treated with fermented material could be explained by a depletion of potential methane precursors resulting from the preceding fermentation. The results of this investigation provide evidence that the extensive use of specific chemical fertilizers and the application of sludge from the operation of biogas generators could lead to a net reduction of the methane emission from rice fields.

  3. Diversity of Cultivable Methane-Oxidizing Bacteria in Microsites of a Rice Paddy Field: Investigation by Cultivation Method and Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (FISH)

    PubMed Central

    Dianou, Dayéri; Ueno, Chihoko; Ogiso, Takuya; Kimura, Makoto; Asakawa, Susumu

    2012-01-01

    The diversity of cultivable methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) in the rice paddy field ecosystem was investigated by combined culture-dependent and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques. Seven microsites of a Japanese rice paddy field were the focus of the study: floodwater, surface soil, bulk soil, rhizosphere soil, root, basal stem of rice plant, and rice stumps of previous harvest. Based on pmoA gene analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), four type I, and nine type II MOB isolates were obtained from the highest dilution series of enrichment cultures. The type I MOB isolates included a novel species in the genus Methylomonas from floodwater and this is the first type I MOB strain isolated from floodwater of a rice paddy field. In the type I MOB, two isolates from stumps were closely related to Methylomonas spp.; one isolate obtained from rhizosphere soil was most related to Methyloccocus-Methylocaldum-Methylogaea clade. Almost all the type II MOB isolates were related to Methylocystis methanotrophs. FISH confirmed the presence of both types I and II MOB in all the microsites and in the related enrichment cultures. The study reported, for the first time, the diversity of cultivable methanotrophs including a novel species of type I MOB in rice paddy field compartments. Refining growth media and culture conditions, in combination with molecular approaches, will allow us to broaden our knowledge on the MOB community in the rice paddy field ecosystem and consequently to implement strategies for mitigating CH4 emission from this ecosystem. PMID:22446309

  4. Analysis of hyperspectral field radiometric data for monitoring nitrogen concentration in rice crops

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stroppiana, D.; Boschetti, M.; Confalonieri, R.; Bocchi, S.; Brivio, P. A.

    2005-10-01

    Monitoring crop conditions and assessing nutrition requirements is fundamental for implementing sustainable agriculture. Rational nitrogen fertilization is of particular importance in rice crops in order to guarantee high production levels while minimising the impact on the environment. In fact, the typical flooded condition of rice fields can be a significant source of greenhouse gasses. Information on plant nitrogen concentration can be used, coupled with information about the phenological stage, to plan strategies for a rational and spatially differentiated fertilization schedule. A field experiment was carried out in a rice field Northern Italy, in order to evaluate the potential of field radiometric measurements for the prediction of rice nitrogen concentration. The results indicate that rice reflectance is influenced by nitrogen supply at certain wavelengths although N concentration cannot be accurately predicted based on the reflectance measured at a given wavelength. Regression analysis highlighted that the visible region of the spectrum is most sensitive to plant nitrogen concentration when reflectance measures are combined into a spectral index. An automated procedure allowed the analysis of all the possible combinations into a Normalized Difference Index (NDI) of the narrow spectral bands derived by spectral resampling of field measurements. The derived index appeared to be least influenced by plant biomass and Leaf Area Index (LAI) providing a useful approach to detect rice nutritional status. The validation of the regressive model showed that the model is able to predict rice N concentration (R2=0.55 [p<0.01] RRMSE=29.4; modelling efficiency close to the optimum value).

  5. Insights into molecular mechanism of blast resistance in weedy rice

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Weedy rice is a serious pest in direct-seeded rice fields in the U.S. and worldwide. Under suitable conditions, weedy rice can reduce crop yields up to 70%. However, weedy rice may carry novel disease resistance genes. Rice blast disease caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is a major disease wo...

  6. Molecular evolution of the sh4 shattering locus in U.S. weedy rice

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Cultivated rice fields worldwide are plagued with weedy rice, a congeneric weed of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.). The persistence of weedy rice has been attributed, in part, to its ability to shatter (disperse) seed prior to crop harvesting. In the United States, separately evolved weedy rice g...

  7. Lethal and sub-lethal effects of five pesticides used in rice farming on the earthworm Eisenia fetida.

    PubMed

    Rico, Andreu; Sabater, Consuelo; Castillo, María-Ángeles

    2016-05-01

    The toxicity of five pesticides typically used in rice farming (trichlorfon, dimethoate, carbendazim, tebuconazole and prochloraz) was evaluated on different lethal and sub-lethal endpoints of the earthworm Eisenia fetida. The evaluated endpoints included: avoidance behaviour after an exposure period of 2 days; and mortality, weight loss, enzymatic activities (cholinesterase, lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase) and histopathological effects after an exposure period of 14 days. Carbendazim was found to be highly toxic to E. fetida (LC50=2mg/kg d.w.), significantly reducing earthworm weight and showing an avoidance response at soil concentrations that are close to those predicted in rice-fields and in surrounding ecosystems. The insecticide dimethoate showed a moderate acute toxicity (LC50=28mg/kg d.w.), whereas the rest of tested pesticides showed low toxicity potential (LC50 values above 100mg/kg d.w.). For these pesticides, however, weight loss was identified as a sensitive endpoint, with NOEC values approximately 2 times or lower than the calculated LC10 values. The investigated effects on the enzymatic activities of E. fetida and the observed histopathological alterations (longitudinal and circular muscle lesions, edematous tissues, endothelial degeneration and necrosis) proved to be sensitive biomarkers to monitor pesticide contamination and are proposed as alternative measures to evaluate pesticide risks on agro-ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Water consumption, grain yield, and water productivity in response to field water management in double rice systems in China.

    PubMed

    Wu, Xiao Hong; Wang, Wei; Yin, Chun Mei; Hou, Hai Jun; Xie, Ke Jun; Xie, Xiao Li

    2017-01-01

    Rice cultivation has been challenged by increasing food demand and water scarcity. We examined the responses of water use, grain yield, and water productivity to various modes of field water managements in Chinese double rice systems. Four treatments were studied in a long-term field experiment (1998-2015): continuous flooding (CF), flooding-midseason drying-flooding (F-D-F), flooding-midseason drying-intermittent irrigation without obvious standing water (F-D-S), and flooding-rain-fed (F-RF). The average precipitation was 483 mm in early-rice season and 397 mm in late-rice season. The irrigated water for CF, F-D-F, F-D-S, and F-RF, respectively, was 263, 340, 279, and 170 mm in early-rice season, and 484, 528, 422, and 206 mm in late-rice season. Grain yield for CF, F-D-F, F-D-S, and F-RF, respectively, was 4,722, 4,597, 4,479, and 4,232 kgha-1 in early-rice season, and 5,420, 5,402, 5,366, and 4,498 kgha-1 in late-rice season. Compared with CF, F-D-F consumed more irrigated water, which still decreased grain yield, leading to a decrease in water productivity by 25% in early-rice season and by 8% in late-rice season. Compared with F-D-F, F-D-S saved much irrigated water with a small yield reduction, leading to an increase in water productivity by 22% in early-rice season and by 26% in late-rice season. The results indicate that CF is best for early-rice and FDS is best for late-rice in terms of grain yield and water productivity.

  9. Spatial Field Variability Mapping of Rice Crop using Clustering Technique from Space Borne Hyperspectral Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moharana, S.; Dutta, S.

    2015-12-01

    Precision farming refers to field-specific management of an agricultural crop at a spatial scale with an aim to get the highest achievable yield and to achieve this spatial information on field variability is essential. The difficulty in mapping of spatial variability occurring within an agriculture field can be revealed by employing spectral techniques in hyperspectral imagery rather than multispectral imagery. However an advanced algorithm needs to be developed to fully make use of the rich information content in hyperspectral data. In the present study, potential of hyperspectral data acquired from space platform was examined to map the field variation of paddy crop and its species discrimination. This high dimensional data comprising 242 spectral narrow bands with 30m ground resolution Hyperion L1R product acquired for Assam, India (30th Sept and 3rd Oct, 2014) were allowed for necessary pre-processing steps followed by geometric correction using Hyperion L1GST product. Finally an atmospherically corrected and spatially deduced image consisting of 112 band was obtained. By employing an advanced clustering algorithm, 12 different clusters of spectral waveforms of the crop were generated from six paddy fields for each images. The findings showed that, some clusters were well discriminated representing specific rice genotypes and some clusters were mixed treating as a single rice genotype. As vegetation index (VI) is the best indicator of vegetation mapping, three ratio based VI maps were also generated and unsupervised classification was performed for it. The so obtained 12 clusters of paddy crop were mapped spatially to the derived VI maps. From these findings, the existence of heterogeneity was clearly captured in one of the 6 rice plots (rice plot no. 1) while heterogeneity was observed in rest of the 5 rice plots. The degree of heterogeneous was found more in rice plot no.6 as compared to other plots. Subsequently, spatial variability of paddy field was observed in different plot levels in the paddy fields from the two images. However, no such significant variation in rice genotypes at growth level was observed. Hence, the spectral information acquired from space platform can be linearly scaled to map the variation in field levels of rice crop which will be act as an informative system for rice agriculture practice.

  10. Feral rice from introgression of weedy rice genes into transgenic herbicide-resistant hybrid-rice progeny.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jingxu; Kang, Ye; Valverde, Bernal E; Dai, Weimin; Song, Xiaoling; Qiang, Sheng

    2018-06-05

    Pollen-mediated herbicide-resistance transgene flow occurs bidirectionally between transgenic cultivated rice and weedy rice. The potential risk of weedy traits introgressing into hybrid rice is underestimated and poorly understood. Two of each glufosinate-resistant transgenic rice varieties and hybrid rice (F1) and their succeeding generations (F2-F4) were planted for three years in weedy-rice-free field plots adjacent to experimental weedy-rice fields. Weedy-rice-like (feral) plants, both glufosinate-resistant and with red-pericarp seed, were initially found only among the F3 generations of the two glufosinate-resistant transgenic hybrid rice. The composite fitness (an index based on eight productivity and weediness traits) of the feral progeny was significantly higher than that of glufosinate-resistant transgenic hybrid rice (the original female parent of feral progeny) under common monoculture garden conditions. Hybrid rice progeny segregated into individuals of variable height and extended flowering. Hybrid rice F2 generations had higher outcrossing rates by pollen reception (0.96%-1.65%) than their progenitors (0.07%-0.98%). Herbicide-resistant weedy rice can rapidly arise by pollen-mediated gene flow from weedy to transgenic hybrid rice. Their segregating pollen-receptive progeny pose greater agro-ecological risk than transgenic varieties. The safety assessment and management regulations for transgenic hybrid rice should take into account the risk of bidirectional gene flow.

  11. KSC-08pd1811

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2008-06-23

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A Senate field hearing held at the Canaveral Port Authority and chaired by Florida Sen. Bill Nelson focuses on workforce related challenges at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and potential solutions to mitigate the transition's effects on the community. The hearing examined issues surrounding the retirement of the space shuttle and the transition to the new Orion/Ares system. At the table are community representatives Lynda Weatherman, president and CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast; Lisa Rice, president of the Brevard Workforce Development Board Inc.; Randy Berridge, president of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council; and Steve Kohler, president of Space Florida. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin is seated at right. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

  12. KSC-07pd0727

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-03-29

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Snowy egrets wade through a pond for their food. The pond is near Kennedy Space Center. This species inhabits salt marshes, ponds, rice field and shallow coastal bays along the coast from Maine to southern South America. They are also found in northern California, Texas and Oklahoma. KSC shares a boundary with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which surrounds it. The refuge is a habitat for more than 310 species of birds, 25 mammals, 117 fishes and 65 amphibians and reptiles. In addition, the refuge supports 19 endangered or threatened wildlife species on Federal or State lists, more than any other single refuge in the U.S. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

  13. A possible alternative method for collecting mosquito larvae in rice fields

    PubMed Central

    Robert, Vincent; Goff, Gilbert Le; Ariey, Frédéric; Duchemin, Jean-Bernard

    2002-01-01

    Background Rice fields are efficient breeding places for malaria vectors in Madagascar. In order to establish as easily as possible if a rice field is an effective larval site for anophelines, we compared classical dipping versus a net as methods of collecting larvae. Results Using similar collecting procedures, we found that the total number of anopheline larvae collected with the net was exactly double (174/87) that collected by dipping. The number of anopheline species collected was also greater with a net. Conclusions The net is an effective means of collecting anopheline larvae and can be used for qualitative ecological studies and to rapidly determine which rice fields are containing malaria vectors. PMID:12057018

  14. Annual Changes of Paddy Rice Planting Areas in Northeastern Asia from MODIS images in 2000-2014

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xiao, X.; Zhang, G.; Dong, J.; Menarguez, M. A.; Kou, W.; Jin, C.; Qin, Y.; Zhou, Y.; Wang, J.; Moore, B., III

    2014-12-01

    Knowledge of the area and spatial distribution of paddy rice is important for assessment of food security, management of water resources, estimation of greenhouse gas (methane) emissions, and understanding avian influenza virus transmission. Over the past two decades, paddy rice cultivation has expanded northward in temperate and cold temperate zones, particularly in Northeastern China. There is a need to quantify and map changes in paddy rice planting areas in Northeastern Asia (Japan, North and South Korea, and northeast China) at annual interval. We developed a pixel- and phenology-based image analysis system, MODIS-RICE, to map the paddy rice in Northeastern Asia by using multi-temporal MODIS thermal and surface reflectance imagery. Paddy rice fields during the flooding and transplanting phases have unique physical and spectral characteristics, which make it possible for the development of an automated and robust algorithm to track flooding and transplanting phases of paddy rice fields over time. In this presentation, we will show the MODIS-based annual maps of paddy rice planting area in the Northeastern Asia from 2000-2014 (500-m spatial resolution). Accuracy assessments using high-resolution images show that the resultant paddy rice map of Northeastern Asia had a comparable accuracy to the existing products, including 2010 Landsat-based National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) of China, the 2010 RapidEye-based paddy rice map in North Korea, and the 2010 AVNIR-2-based National Land Cover Dataset in Japan in terms of both area and spatial pattern of paddy rice. This study has demonstrated that our novel MODIS-Rice system, which use both thermal and optical MODIS data over a year, are simple and robust tools to identify and map paddy rice fields in temperate and cold temperate zones.

  15. [Characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus runoff losses from croplands with different planting patterns in a riverine plain area of Zhejiang Province, East China].

    PubMed

    Zhang, Ming-Kui; Wang, Yang; Huang, Chao

    2011-12-01

    By the method of site-specific observation, and selecting 27 field plots with 7 planting patterns in Shaoxing county of Zhejiang Province as test objects, this paper studied the characteristics of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) runoff losses, loads, and their affecting factors in the croplands with different planting patterns in riverine plain area of the Province under natural rainfall. The mean annual runoff loads of total P, dissolved P, and particulate P from the field plots were 4.75, 0.74 and 4.01 kg x hm(-2), respectively, and the load of particulate P was much higher than that of dissolved P. The mean annual runoff loads of total N, dissolved total N, dissolved organic N, NH4(+)-N, and NO3(-)-N were 21.87, 17.19, 0.61, 3.63 and 12.95 kg x hm(-2), respectively, and the load of different fractions of dissolved total N was in the sequence of NO3(-)-N > NH4(+)-N > dissolved organic N. As for the field plots with different planting patterns, the runoff loads of total N, dissolved total N, dissolved organic N, and NO3(-)-N were in the sequence of fallow land < nursery land < single late rice field < double rice field < rape (or wheat)-single late rice field < wheat-early rice-late rice field < vegetable field, while those of total P and particulate P were in the sequence of fallow land < nursery land < single late rice field and double rice field < wheat-early rice-late rice field < rape (wheat)-single late rice field < vegetable field. No significant difference was observed in the load of water-dissolved P among the test plots with different planting patterns. The runoff losses of N and P mainly occurred in crop growth period, and the proportions of N and P losses in the growth period increased with increasing multiple crop index. The runoff losses of total N, dissolved N, and NO3(-)-N were mainly related to the application rate of N fertilizer, and soil NO3(-)-N content also had obvious effects on the runoff losses of total N and dissolved N. The runoff loss of dissolved organic N was related not only to N application rate, but also to soil total N and organic carbon. The runoff loss of NH4(+)-N was mainly related to soil available NH4(+)-N, but not related to N application rate. The runoff losses of total P and particulate P were related to both P application rate and soil available P, while the runoff loss of water dissolved P was less related to P application rate but had relations to soil total P and available P.

  16. Rice Cluster I, an Important Group of Archaea Producing Methane in Rice Fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Conrad, R.

    2006-12-01

    Rice fields are an important source for the greenhouse gas methane. Methane is a major degradation product of organic matter in the anoxic soil, is partially oxidized in the rhizosphere and is emitted into the atmosphere through the aerenchyma system of the plants. Anaerobic degradation of organic matter by fermenting bacteria eventually results in the production of acetate and hydrogen, the two major substrates for microbial methanogenesis. The community of methanogenic archaea consists of several major orders or families including hydrogen-utilizing Rice Cluster-I (RC-I). Environmental conditions affect the methanogenic degradation process and the community structure of the methanogenic archaea in soil and rhizosphere. For example, populations of acetoclastic Methanosaetaceae and Methanosarcinaceae are enhanced by low and high acetate concentrations, respectively. Stable isotope probing of 16S rRNA showed that RC-I methanogens are mainly active on rice roots and at low H2 concentrations. Growth and population size is largely consistent with energetic conditions. RC-I methanogens on roots seem to be responsible for methane production from plant photosynthates that account for a major part of the emitted methane. Populations of RC-I methanogens in rice field soil are also enhanced at elevated temperatures (40-50°C). Moderately thermophilic members of RC-I methanogens or other methanogenic families were found to be ubiquitously present in soils from rice fields and river marshes. The genome of a RC-I methanogen was completely sequenced out of an enrichment culture using a metagenome approach. Genes found are consistent with life in the rhizosphere and in temporarily drained, oxic soil. We found that the methanogenic community structure on the rice roots is mainly determined by the respective community structure of the soil, but is in addition affected by the rice cultivar. Rice microcosms in which soil and rice roots are mainly colonized by RC-I methanogens produce and emit more methane than when inhabited by Methanomicrobiales, indicating that the methanogenic archaeal community is an important factor for methane emission from rice fields.

  17. Elucidation of molecular dynamics of invasive species of rice

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Cultivated rice fields are aggressively invaded by weedy rice in the U.S. and worldwide. Weedy rice results in loss of yield and seed contamination. The molecular dynamics of the evolutionary adaptive traits of weedy rice are not fully understood. To understand the molecular basis and identify the i...

  18. Molecular evolution of flowering time loci in U.S. weedy rice

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Weedy rice is a persistent weed of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) fields worldwide, which competes with the crop and drastically reduces rice yields. Within the US, two main populations of genetically differentiated weedy rice exist, the straw-hulled (SH) group and the black-hulled awned (BHA) grou...

  19. Model development for nutrient loading estimates from paddy rice fields in Korea.

    PubMed

    Jeon, Ji-Hong; Yoon, Chun G; Ham, Jong-Hwa; Jung, Kwang-Wook

    2004-01-01

    A field experiment was performed to evaluate water and nutrient balances in paddy rice culture operations during 2001-2002. The water balance analysis indicated that about half (50-60%) of the total outflow was lost by surface drainage, with the remainder occurring by evapotranspiration (490-530 mm). The surface drainage from paddy fields was mainly caused by rainfall and forced-drainage, and in particular, the runoff during early rice culture periods depends more on the forced-drainage due to fertilization practices. Most of the total phosphorus (T-P) inflow was supplied by fertilization at transplanting, while the total nitrogen (T-N) inflow was supplied by the three fertilizations, precipitation. and from the upper paddy field, which comprised 13-33% of the total inflow. Although most of the nutrient outflow was attributed to plant uptake. nutrient loss by surface drainage was substantial, comprising 20% for T-N and 10% for T-P. Water and nutrient balances indicate that reduction of surface drainage from paddy rice fields is imperative for nonpoint source pollution control. The simplified computer model, PADDIMOD, was developed to simulate water and nutrient (T-N and T-P) behavior in the paddy rice field. The model predicts daily ponded water depth, surface drainage, and nutrient concentrations. It was formulated with a few equations and simplified assumptions, but its application and a model fitness test indicated that the simulation results reasonably matched the observed data. It is a simple and convenient planning model that could be used to evaluate BMPs of paddy rice fields alone or in combination with other complex watershed models. Application of the PADDIMOD to other paddy rice fields with different agricultural environments might require further calibration and validation.

  20. Dynamical roguing model for controlling the spread of tungro virus via Nephotettix Virescens in a rice field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blas, Nikki; David, Guido

    2017-10-01

    Rice tungro disease is described as a cancer due to its major impact on the livelihood of farmers and the difficulty of controlling it. Tungro is a semi-persistent virus transmitted by green leafhoppers called Nephotettix Virescens. In this paper, we presented a compartmental plant-vector model of the Nephotettix Virescens - rice plant interaction based on a system of ordinary differential equations to simulate the effects of roguing in controlling the spread of Tungro virus in a model rice field of susceptible rice variety (Taichung Native 1).

  1. Field-based rice classification in Wuhua county through integration of multi-temporal Sentinel-1A and Landsat-8 OLI data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Huijin; Pan, Bin; Wu, Wenfu; Tai, Jianhao

    2018-07-01

    Rice is one of the most important cereals in the world. With the change of agricultural land, it is urgently necessary to update information about rice planting areas. This study aims to map rice planting areas with a field-based approach through the integration of multi-temporal Sentinel-1A and Landsat-8 OLI data in Wuhua County of South China where has many basins and mountains. This paper, using multi-temporal SAR and optical images, proposes a methodology for the identification of rice-planting areas. This methodology mainly consists of SSM applied to time series SAR images for the calculation of a similarity measure, image segmentation process applied to the pan-sharpened optical image for the searching of homogenous objects, and the integration of SAR and optical data for the elimination of some speckles. The study compares the per-pixel approach with the per-field approach and the results show that the highest accuracy (91.38%) based on the field-based approach is 1.18% slightly higher than that based on the pixel-based approach for VH polarization, which is brought by eliminating speckle noise through comparing the rice maps of these two approaches. Therefore, the integration of Sentinel-1A and Landsat-8 OLI images with a field-based approach has great potential for mapping rice or other crops' areas.

  2. Dynamic changes in the rice blast population in the USA over six decades

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae is one of the most destructive diseases of rice. Field isolates of M. oryzae rapidly adapt to the hosts and climate. Tracking the genetic and pathogenic variability of the field isolates is essential to understand how M. oryzae interacts with hosts an...

  3. Long-term cultivation of Bt rice expressing the Cry1Ab/1Ac gene reduced phytoparasitic nematode abundance but did not affect other nematode parameters in paddy fields.

    PubMed

    Chen, Qunying; Yang, Bing; Liu, Xianghui; Chen, Fajun; Ge, Feng

    2017-12-31

    The uncertainty of ecological risks and the effects of growing transgenic Bt rice on the environment hamper its commercial production. Here, soil nematode communities were used as an indicator of soil health and soil food web structure to evaluate the potential effects of growing Bt rice without chemical insecticides for 3years in the paddy field. The nematodes and soil physicochemical properties of Bt rice fields were compared to the near-isogenic control, non-Bt rice fields. A total of 108,363 specimens belonging to 28 different genera were enumerated. The Hirschmanniella, Tobrilus, Dorylaimus and Filenchus were dominant genera. A three-year paddy rice cultivation of Bt rice (Huahui 1) negatively affected the abundance of phytoparasitic nematodes but did not affect the total number of nematodes, the abundance and relative abundance of free-living nematodes, genera richness, diversity indices, soil food web conditions, or community compositions. However, apparent seasonal and inter-annual changes in these variables were observed, indicating that the impact of environmental factors was more stronger than that of the Bt toxin. In conclusion, the potential ecological risks of Bt rice on soil health and sustainability warrant further research to disentangle the impacts from various confounding environmental factors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. No effect of Bt-transgenic rice litter on the meiobenthos community in field ditches.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yongbo; Jiang, Wanxiang; Liang, Yuyong; Zhao, Caiyun; Li, Junsheng

    2017-06-01

    The non-target effect of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins in aquatic ecosystems is crucial to improve the present assessment of Bt-transgenic plants, particularly where crops are cultivated near aquatic ecosystems. We conducted decomposition experiments during two growing seasons to determine the effects of Bt-transgenic rice litter with and without insecticide application on the meiobenthos communities in a field ditch. The community composition of meiobenthos colonised on leaf litter was not significantly different between Bt and non-Bt rice. The abundance of meiobenthos colonising leaves differed between insecticide application and control, and this insecticide effect interacted with rice type. No Bt toxin was detected in field ditch water. Leaf decomposition and nutrient content were comparable for both Bt and non-Bt rice with or without insecticide application. Bt-transgenic rice litter had no effect on the meiobenthos community composition in field ditches, but the chronic persistence of transgenic litter in nature needs to be taken into account at large scales in aquatic ecosystems. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  5. Cadmium accumulation in and tolerance of rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties with different rates of radial oxygen loss.

    PubMed

    Wang, M Y; Chen, A K; Wong, M H; Qiu, R L; Cheng, H; Ye, Z H

    2011-06-01

    Cadmium (Cd) uptake and tolerance were investigated among 20 rice cultivars based on a field experiment (1.2 mg Cd kg⁻¹ in soil) and a soil pot trial (control, 100 mg Cd kg⁻¹), and rates of radial oxygen loss (ROL) were measured under a deoxygenated solution. Significant differences were found among the cultivars in: (1) brown rice Cd concentrations (0.11-0.29 mg kg⁻¹) in a field soil, (2) grain Cd tolerance (34-113%) and concentrations (2.1-6.5 mg kg⁻¹) in a pot trial, and (3) rates of ROL (15-31 mmol O₂ kg⁻¹ root d.w. h⁻¹). Target hazard quotients were calculated for the field experiment to assess potential Cd risk. Significant negative relationships were found between rates of ROL and concentrations of Cd in brown rice or straw under field and greenhouse conditions, indicating that rice cultivars with higher rates of ROL had higher capacities for limiting the transfer of Cd to rice and straw. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Field trial of GABA-fortified rice plants and oral administration of milled rice in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

    PubMed

    Kowaka, Emi; Shimajiri, Yasuka; Kawakami, Kouhei; Tongu, Miki; Akama, Kazuhito

    2015-06-01

    Hypertension is one of the most critical risk factors accompanying cardiovascular diseases. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid that functions as a major neurotransmitter in mammals and also as a blood-pressure lowering agent. We previously produced GABA-fortified rice lines of a popular Japonica rice cultivar 'Koshihikari' by genetic manipulation of GABA shunt-related genes. In the study reported here, we grew these same novel rice lines in a field trial and administered the milled rice orally to rats. The yield parameters of the transgenic rice plants were almost unchanged compared to those of untransformed cv. 'Koshihikari' plants, while the rice grains of the transgenic plants contained a high GABA content (3.5 g GABA/kg brown rice; 0.75-0.85 GABA g/kg milled rice) in a greenhouse trial. Oral administration of a diet containing 2.5% GABA-fortified rice, with a daily intake for 8 weeks, had an approximately 20 mmHg anti-hypertensive effect in spontaneous hypertensive rats but not in normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. These results suggest that GABA-fortified rice may be applicable as a staple food to control or prevent hypertension.

  7. Effect of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis rice lines on mortality and feeding behavior of rice stem borers (Lepidoptera: Crambidae).

    PubMed

    Chen, Hao; Zhang, Guoan; Zhang, Qifa; Lin, Yongjun

    2008-02-01

    Ten transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis Bt rice, Oryza sativa L., lines with different Bt genes (two Cry1Ac lines, three Cry2A lines, and five Cry9C lines) derived from the same variety Minghui 63 were evaluated in both the laboratory and the field. Bioassays were conducted by using the first instars of two main rice lepidopteran insect species: yellow stem borer, Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker) and Asiatic rice borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker). All transgenic lines exhibited high toxicity to these two rice borers. Field evaluation results also showed that all transgenic lines were highly insect resistant with both natural infestation and manual infestation of the neonate larvae of S. incertulas compared with the nontransformed Minghui63. Bt protein concentrations in leaves of 10 transgenic rice lines were estimated by the sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The cry9C gene had the highest expression level, next was cry2A gene, and the cry1Ac gene expressed at the lowest level. The feeding behavior of 7-d-old Asiatic rice borer to three classes of Bt transgenic rice lines also was detected by using rice culm cuttings. The results showed that 7-d-old larvae of Asiatic rice borer have the capacity to distinguish Bt and non-Bt culm cuttings and preferentially fed on non-Bt cuttings. When only Bt culm cuttings with three classes of different Bt proteins (CrylAc, Cry2A, and Cry9C) were fed, significant distribution difference of 7-d-old Asiatic rice borer in culm cuttings of different Bt proteins also was found. In the current study, we evaluate different Bt genes in the same rice variety in both the laboratory and the field, and also tested feeding behavior of rice insect to these Bt rice. These data are valuable for the further development of two-toxin Bt rice and establishment of appropriate insect resistance management in the future.

  8. Agricultural wetlands as potential hotspots for mercury bioaccumulation: Experimental evidence using caged fish

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ackerman, Joshua T.; Eagles-Smith, Collin A.

    2010-01-01

    Wetlands provide numerous ecosystem services, but also can be sources of methylmercury (MeHg) production and export. Rice agricultural wetlands in particular may be important sites for MeHg bioaccumulation due to their worldwide ubiquity, periodic flooding schedules, and high use by wildlife. We assessed MeHg bioaccumulation within agricultural and perennial wetlands common to California's Central Valley during summer, when the majority of wetland habitats are shallowly flooded rice fields. We introduced caged western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) within white rice (Oryza sativa), wild rice (Zizania palustris), and permanent wetlands at water inlets, centers, and outlets. Total mercury (THg) concentrations and body burdens in caged mosquitofish increased rapidly, exceeding baseline values at introduction by 135% to 1197% and 29% to 1566% among sites, respectively, after only 60 days. Mercury bioaccumulation in caged mosquitofish was greater in rice fields than in permanent wetlands, with THg concentrations at wetland outlets increasing by 12.1, 5.8, and 2.9 times over initial concentrations in white rice, wild rice, and permanent wetlands, respectively. In fact, mosquitofish caged at white rice outlets accumulated 721 ng Hg/fish in just 60 days. Mercury in wild mosquito fish and Mississippi silversides (Menidia audens) concurrently sampled at wetland outlets also were greater in white rice and wild rice than permanent wetlands. Within wetlands, THg concentrations and body burdens of both caged and wild fish increased from water inlets to outlets in white rice fields, and tended to not vary among sites in permanent wetlands. Fish THg concentrations in agricultural wetlands were high, exceeding 0.2 ??g/g ww in 82% of caged fish and 59% of wild fish. Our results indicate that shallowly flooded rice fields are potential hotspots for MeHg bioaccumulation and, due to their global prevalence, suggest that agricultural wetlands may be important contributors to MeHg contamination.

  9. Arsenic in soil and irrigation water affects arsenic uptake by rice: complementary insights from field and pot studies.

    PubMed

    Dittmar, Jessica; Voegelin, Andreas; Maurer, Felix; Roberts, Linda C; Hug, Stephan J; Saha, Ganesh C; Ali, M Ashraf; Badruzzaman, A Borhan M; Kretzschmar, Ruben

    2010-12-01

    Groundwater rich in arsenic (As) is extensively used for dry season boro rice cultivation in Bangladesh, leading to long-term As accumulation in soils. This may result in increasing levels of As in rice straw and grain, and eventually, in decreasing rice yields due to As phytotoxicity. In this study, we investigated the As contents of rice straw and grain over three consecutive harvest seasons (2005-2007) in a paddy field in Munshiganj, Bangladesh, which exhibits a documented gradient in soil As caused by annual irrigation with As-rich groundwater since the early 1990s. The field data revealed that straw and grain As concentrations were elevated in the field and highest near the irrigation water inlet, where As concentrations in both soil and irrigation water were highest. Additionally, a pot experiment with soils and rice seeds from the field site was carried out in which soil and irrigation water As were varied in a full factorial design. The results suggested that both soil As accumulated in previous years and As freshly introduced with irrigation water influence As uptake during rice growth. At similar soil As contents, plants grown in pots exhibited similar grain and straw As contents as plants grown in the field. This suggested that the results from pot experiments performed at higher soil As levels can be used to assess the effect of continuing soil As accumulation on As content and yield of rice. On the basis of a recently published scenario of long-term As accumulation at the study site, we estimate that, under unchanged irrigation practice, average grain As concentrations will increase from currently ∼0.15 mg As kg(-1) to 0.25-0.58 mg As kg(-1) by the year 2050. This translates to a 1.5-3.8 times higher As intake by the local population via rice, possibly exceeding the provisional tolerable As intake value defined by FAO/WHO.

  10. Metaproteomic identification of diazotrophic methanotrophs and their localization in root tissues of field-grown rice plants.

    PubMed

    Bao, Zhihua; Okubo, Takashi; Kubota, Kengo; Kasahara, Yasuhiro; Tsurumaru, Hirohito; Anda, Mizue; Ikeda, Seishi; Minamisawa, Kiwamu

    2014-08-01

    In a previous study by our group, CH4 oxidation and N2 fixation were simultaneously activated in the roots of wild-type rice plants in a paddy field with no N input; both processes are likely controlled by a rice gene for microbial symbiosis. The present study examined which microorganisms in rice roots were responsible for CH4 oxidation and N2 fixation under the field conditions. Metaproteomic analysis of root-associated bacteria from field-grown rice (Oryza sativa Nipponbare) revealed that nitrogenase complex-containing nitrogenase reductase (NifH) and the alpha subunit (NifD) and beta subunit (NifK) of dinitrogenase were mainly derived from type II methanotrophic bacteria of the family Methylocystaceae, including Methylosinus spp. Minor nitrogenase proteins such as Methylocella, Bradyrhizobium, Rhodopseudomonas, and Anaeromyxobacter were also detected. Methane monooxygenase proteins (PmoCBA and MmoXYZCBG) were detected in the same bacterial group of the Methylocystaceae. Because these results indicated that Methylocystaceae members mediate both CH4 oxidation and N2 fixation, we examined their localization in rice tissues by using catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH). The methanotrophs were localized around the epidermal cells and vascular cylinder in the root tissues of the field-grown rice plants. Our metaproteomics and CARD-FISH results suggest that CH4 oxidation and N2 fixation are performed mainly by type II methanotrophs of the Methylocystaceae, including Methylosinus spp., inhabiting the vascular bundles and epidermal cells of rice roots. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  11. Indigenous utilization of termite mounds and their sustainability in a rice growing village of the central plain of Laos.

    PubMed

    Miyagawa, Shuichi; Koyama, Yusaku; Kokubo, Mika; Matsushita, Yuichi; Adachi, Yoshinao; Sivilay, Sengdeaune; Kawakubo, Nobumitsu; Oba, Shinya

    2011-08-18

    The objective of this study was to investigate the indigenous utilization of termite mounds and termites in a rain-fed rice growing village in the central plain of Laos, where rice production is low and varies year-to-year, and to assess the possibility of sustainable termite mound utilization in the future. This research was carried out from 2007 to 2009. The termites were collected from their mounds and surrounding areas and identified. Twenty villagers were interviewed on their use of termites and their mounds in the village. Sixty-three mounds were measured to determine their dimensions in early March, early July and middle to late November, 2009. Eleven species of Termitidae were recorded during the survey period. It was found that the villagers use termite mounds as fertilizer for growing rice, vegetable beds and charcoal kilns. The villagers collected termites for food and as feed for breeding fish. Over the survey period, 81% of the mounds surveyed increased in volume; however, the volume was estimated to decrease by 0.114 m3 mound(-1) year(-1) on average due to several mounds being completely cut out. It was concluded that current mound utilization by villagers is not sustainable. To ensure sustainable termite utilization in the future, studies should be conducted to enhance factors that promote mound restoration by termites. Furthermore, it will be necessary to improve mound conservation methods used by the villagers after changes in the soil mass of mounds in paddy fields and forests has been measured accurately. The socio-economic factors that affect mound utilization should also be studied.

  12. Indigenous utilization of termite mounds and their sustainability in a rice growing village of the central plain of Laos

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background The objective of this study was to investigate the indigenous utilization of termite mounds and termites in a rain-fed rice growing village in the central plain of Laos, where rice production is low and varies year-to-year, and to assess the possibility of sustainable termite mound utilization in the future. This research was carried out from 2007 to 2009. Methods The termites were collected from their mounds and surrounding areas and identified. Twenty villagers were interviewed on their use of termites and their mounds in the village. Sixty-three mounds were measured to determine their dimensions in early March, early July and middle to late November, 2009. Results Eleven species of Termitidae were recorded during the survey period. It was found that the villagers use termite mounds as fertilizer for growing rice, vegetable beds and charcoal kilns. The villagers collected termites for food and as feed for breeding fish. Over the survey period, 81% of the mounds surveyed increased in volume; however, the volume was estimated to decrease by 0.114 m3 mound-1 year-1 on average due to several mounds being completely cut out. Conclusion It was concluded that current mound utilization by villagers is not sustainable. To ensure sustainable termite utilization in the future, studies should be conducted to enhance factors that promote mound restoration by termites. Furthermore, it will be necessary to improve mound conservation methods used by the villagers after changes in the soil mass of mounds in paddy fields and forests has been measured accurately. The socio-economic factors that affect mound utilization should also be studied. PMID:21849087

  13. Ethnobotanical investigation of 'wild' food plants used by rice farmers in Kalasin, Northeast Thailand

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Wild food plants are a critical component in the subsistence system of rice farmers in Northeast Thailand. One of the important characteristics of wild plant foods among farming households is that the main collection locations are increasingly from anthropogenic ecosystems such as agricultural areas rather than pristine ecosystems. This paper provides selected results from a study of wild food conducted in several villages in Northeast Thailand. A complete botanical inventory of wild food plants from these communities and surrounding areas is provided including their diversity of growth forms, the different anthropogenic locations were these species grow and the multiplicity of uses they have. Methods Data was collected using focus groups and key informant interviews with women locally recognized as knowledgeable about contemporarily gathered plants. Plant species were identified by local taxonomists. Results A total of 87 wild food plants, belonging to 47 families were reported, mainly trees, herbs (terrestrial and aquatic) and climbers. Rice fields constitute the most important growth location where 70% of the plants are found, followed by secondary woody areas and home gardens. The majority of species (80%) can be found in multiple growth locations, which is partly explained by villagers moving selected species from one place to another and engaging in different degrees of management. Wild food plants have multiple edible parts varying from reproductive structures to vegetative organs. More than two thirds of species are reported as having diverse additional uses and more than half of them are also regarded as medicine. Conclusions This study shows the remarkable importance of anthropogenic areas in providing wild food plants. This is reflected in the great diversity of species found, contributing to the food and nutritional security of rice farmers in Northeast Thailand. PMID:22067578

  14. Spatial Analysis of Rice Blast in China at Three Different Scales.

    PubMed

    Guo, Fangfang; Chen, Xinglong; Lu, Minghong; Yang, Li; Wang, Shi Wei; Wu, Bo Ming

    2018-05-22

    In this study, spatial analyses were conducted at three different scales to better understand the epidemiology of rice blast, a major rice disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae. At regional scale, across the major rice production regions in China, rice blast incidence was monitored on 101 dates at 193 stations from June 10 th to Sep. 10 th during 2009-2014, and surveyed in 143 fields in September, 2016; at county scale, 3 surveys were done covering 1-5 counties in 2015-2016; and at field scale, blast was evaluated in 6 fields in 2015-2016. Spatial cluster and hot spot analyses were conducted in GIS on the geographical pattern of the disease at regional scale, and geostatistical analysis performed at all the three scales. Cluster and hot spot analyses revealed that high-disease areas were clustered in mountainous areas in China. Geostatistical analyses detected spatial dependence of blast incidence with influence ranges of 399 to 1080 km at regional scale, and 5 to 10 m at field scale, but not at county scale. The spatial patterns at different scales might be determined by inherent properties of rice blast and environmental driving forces, and findings from this study provide helpful information to sampling and management of rice blast.

  15. Genomic patterns of nucleotide diversity in divergent populations of U.S. weedy rice

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Weedy rice is a significant problem in cultivated rice fields throughout the world, and is an emerging threat in regions where it was previously absent. Prior research has classified weedy rice as the same species as Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.). This close genetic relationship makes cont...

  16. Understanding of evolutionary genomics of invasive species of rice

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Red rice is an aggressive, weedy form of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) that infests crop fields and is a primary factor limiting rice productivity in the U.S. and worldwide. As the weedy relative of a genomic model species, red rice is a model for understanding the genetic and evolutionary mechani...

  17. Water balance of rice plots under three different water treatments: monitoring activity and experimental results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chiaradia, Enrico Antonio; Romani, Marco; Facchi, Arianna; Gharsallah, Olfa; Cesari de Maria, Sandra; Ferrari, Daniele; Masseroni, Daniele; Rienzner, Michele; Battista Bischetti, Gian; Gandolfi, Claudio

    2014-05-01

    In the agricultural seasons 2012 and 2013, a broad monitoring activity was carried out at the Rice Research Centre of Ente Nazionale Risi (CRR-ENR) located in Castello d'Agogna (PV, Italy) with the purpose of comparing the water balance components of paddy rice (Gladio cv.) under different water regimes and assessing the possibility of reducing the high water inputs related to the conventional practice of continuous submergence. The experiments were laid out in six plots of about 20 m x 80 m each, with two replicates for each of the following water regimes: i) continuous flooding with wet-seeded rice (FLD), ii) continuous flooding from around the 3-leaf stage with dry-seeded rice (3L-FLD), and iii) surface irrigation every 7-10 days with dry-seeded rice (IRR). One out of the two replicates of each treatment was instrumented with: water inflow and outflow meters, set of piezometers, set of tensiometers and multi-sensor moisture probes. Moreover, an eddy covariance station was installed on the bund between the treatments FLD and IRR. Data were automatically recorded and sent by a wireless connection to a PC, so as to be remotely controlled thanks to the development of a Java interface. Furthermore, periodic measurements of crop biometric parameters (LAI, crop height and rooting depth) were performed in both 2012 and 2013 (11 and 14 campaigns respectively). Cumulative water balance components from dry-seeding (3L-FLD and IRR), or flooding (FLD), to harvest were calculated for each plot by either measurements (i.e. rainfall, irrigation and surface drainage) or estimations (i.e. difference in the field water storage, evaporation from both the soil and the water surface and transpiration), whereas the sum of percolation and capillary rise (i.e. the 'net percolation') was obtained as the residual term of the water balance. Incidentally, indices of water application efficiency (evapotranspiration over net water input) and water productivity (grain production over net water input) were calculated for each treatment. The outcomes show that the water application efficiencies of all treatments were higher in 2013 than in 2012 (by 23%, 25% and 4% for FLD, 3L-FLD, and IRR respectively). These results could be ascribed to the higher groundwater level observed in 2013 (about 10-15 cm closer to the soil surface), likely due to the conversion of the field beyond the monitored plots from soybean to flooded rice. Moreover, a small increase of the water application efficiency of 3L-FLD was found if compared to FLD (3% on average), while the water application efficiency of IRR was, on average, higher by 67% compared to FLD. The good performance of IRR is related to lower percolation rates and a relevant contribution of capillary rise due to the shallow groundwater table maintained by the continuous submergence of the surrounding paddy fields. The performed experiment highlighted that significant improvement in the water use efficiency at the field scale can be achieved. However, a widespread adoption of water regimes different from continuous flooding should be carefully evaluated by a larger-scale approach since a consequent drop in the groundwater table depth could have repercussions on the potential gains themselves.

  18. Weed control in organic rice using plastic mulch and water seeding methods in addition to cover crops

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Weeds are a major yield limiting factor in organic rice farming and are more problematic than in conventional production systems. Water seeding is a common method of reducing weed pressure in rice fields as many weeds connot tolerate flooded field conditions. The use of cover crops is another method...

  19. Alternate wetting and drying decreases methylmercury in flooded rice (Oryza sativa) systems

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tanner, K. Christy; Windham-Myers, Lisamarie; Marvin-DiPasquale, Mark C.; Fleck, Jacob; Linquist, Bruce A.

    2018-01-01

    In flooded soils, including those found in rice (Oryza sativa L.) fields, microbes convert inorganic Hg to more toxic methylmercury (MeHg). Methylmercury is accumulated in rice grain, potentially affecting health. Methylmercury in rice field surface water can bioaccumulate in wildlife. We evaluated how introducing aerobic periods into an otherwise continuously flooded rice growing season affects MeHg dynamics. Conventional continuously flooded (CF) rice field water management was compared with alternate wetting and drying, where irrigation was stopped twice during the growing season, allowing soil to dry to 35% volumetric moisture content, at which point plots were reflooded (AWD-35). Methylmercury studies began at harvest in Year 3 and throughout Year 4 of a 4-yr replicated field experiment. Bulk soil, water, and plant samples were analyzed for MeHg and total Hg (THg), and iron (Fe) speciation was measured in soil samples. Rice grain yield over 4 yr did not differ between treatments. Soil chemistry responded quickly to AWD-35 dry-downs, showing significant oxidation of Fe(II) accompanied by a significant reduction of MeHg concentration (76% reduction at harvest) compared with CF. Surface water MeHg decreased by 68 and 39% in the growing and fallow seasons, respectively, suggesting that the effects of AWD-35 management can last through to the fallow season. The AWD-35 treatment reduced rice grain MeHg and THg by 60 and 32%, respectively. These results suggest that the more aerobic conditions caused by AWD-35 limited the activity of Hg(II)-methylating microbes and may be an effective way to reduce MeHg concentrations in rice ecosystems.

  20. Mapping paddy rice planting area in rice-wetland coexistent areas through analysis of Landsat 8 OLI and MODIS images

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Yuting; Xiao, Xiangming; Qin, Yuanwei; Dong, Jinwei; Zhang, Geli; Kou, Weili; Jin, Cui; Wang, Jie; Li, Xiangping

    2016-01-01

    Accurate and up-to-date information on the spatial distribution of paddy rice fields is necessary for the studies of trace gas emissions, water source management, and food security. The phenology-based paddy rice mapping algorithm, which identifies the unique flooding stage of paddy rice, has been widely used. However, identification and mapping of paddy rice in rice-wetland coexistent areas is still a challenging task. In this study, we found that the flooding/transplanting periods of paddy rice and natural wetlands were different. The natural wetlands flood earlier and have a shorter duration than paddy rice in the Panjin Plain, a temperate region in China. We used this asynchronous flooding stage to extract the paddy rice planting area from the rice-wetland coexistent area. MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) data was used to derive the temperature-defined plant growing season. Landsat 8 OLI imagery was used to detect the flooding signal and then paddy rice was extracted using the difference in flooding stages between paddy rice and natural wetlands. The resultant paddy rice map was evaluated with in-situ ground-truth data and Google Earth images. The estimated overall accuracy and Kappa coefficient were 95% and 0.90, respectively. The spatial pattern of OLI-derived paddy rice map agrees well with the paddy rice layer from the National Land Cover Dataset from 2010 (NLCD-2010). The differences between RiceLandsat and RiceNLCD are in the range of ±20% for most 1-km grid cell. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of the phenology-based paddy rice mapping algorithm, via integrating MODIS and Landsat 8 OLI images, to map paddy rice fields in complex landscapes of paddy rice and natural wetland in the temperate region. PMID:27688742

  1. Mapping paddy rice planting area in rice-wetland coexistent areas through analysis of Landsat 8 OLI and MODIS images.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Yuting; Xiao, Xiangming; Qin, Yuanwei; Dong, Jinwei; Zhang, Geli; Kou, Weili; Jin, Cui; Wang, Jie; Li, Xiangping

    2016-04-01

    Accurate and up-to-date information on the spatial distribution of paddy rice fields is necessary for the studies of trace gas emissions, water source management, and food security. The phenology-based paddy rice mapping algorithm, which identifies the unique flooding stage of paddy rice, has been widely used. However, identification and mapping of paddy rice in rice-wetland coexistent areas is still a challenging task. In this study, we found that the flooding/transplanting periods of paddy rice and natural wetlands were different. The natural wetlands flood earlier and have a shorter duration than paddy rice in the Panjin Plain, a temperate region in China. We used this asynchronous flooding stage to extract the paddy rice planting area from the rice-wetland coexistent area. MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) data was used to derive the temperature-defined plant growing season. Landsat 8 OLI imagery was used to detect the flooding signal and then paddy rice was extracted using the difference in flooding stages between paddy rice and natural wetlands. The resultant paddy rice map was evaluated with in-situ ground-truth data and Google Earth images. The estimated overall accuracy and Kappa coefficient were 95% and 0.90, respectively. The spatial pattern of OLI-derived paddy rice map agrees well with the paddy rice layer from the National Land Cover Dataset from 2010 (NLCD-2010). The differences between Rice Landsat and Rice NLCD are in the range of ±20% for most 1-km grid cell. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of the phenology-based paddy rice mapping algorithm, via integrating MODIS and Landsat 8 OLI images, to map paddy rice fields in complex landscapes of paddy rice and natural wetland in the temperate region.

  2. Species diversity of ostracods (Crustacea: Ostracoda) from rice fields in Northeast Thailand, with the description of a new Tanycypris species.

    PubMed

    Savatenalinton, Sukonthip

    2017-12-07

    The species diversity of ostracods in rice fields from Northeast Thailand was studied. Fifty-two samples were collected from 43 rice fields during 2010-2016. This investigation revealed 23 genera and 52 species, including one new to science (Tanycypris eugenkempfi n. sp.) and 21 endemic species: endemic to the Oriental region (14 species), Southeast Asia (two species) and Thailand (five species). In addition, two species that were restricted to rice fields in this study were recognized: Bradleytriebella tuberculata (Hartmann, 1964) and Notodromas sinensis Neale & Zhao, 1991. The most diverse genus was Pseudostrandesia, followed by Strandesia with eight and five species, respectively. The most widely distributed species were Pseudocypretta maculata Klie, 1932 and Strandesia kraepelini (G.W. Müller, 1906) occurring in 48.8 % of the total of surveyed rice fields. The number of species in individual rice fields ranged from none to 18. Most of the samples contained three species, but one rice field showed very high species richness (18 species). Most of the species recorded in this study were also found in several types of water bodies and reported from several zoogeographical regions. The main distinguishing characters between Tanycypris eugenkempfi n. sp. and other Tanycypris species are the more tumid carapace in dorsal view, the distinctly arched dorsal margin of the carapace in lateral view, the presence of a subapical dorsal seta on the first segment of the first antenna, the smooth large bristles on the third endite of the maxillula, the absence of c-seta on the first thoracopod, and the long proximal claw (Gp) of the caudal ramus.

  3. Methylmercury dynamics in Upper Sacramento Valley rice fields with low background soil mercury levels

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tanner, K. Christy; Windham-Myers, Lisamarie; Marvin-DiPasquale, Mark C.; Fleck, Jacob; Tate, Kenneth W.; Linquist, Bruce A.

    2018-01-01

    Few studies have considered how methylmercury (MeHg, a toxic form of Hg produced in anaerobic soils) production in rice (Oryza sativa L.) fields can affect water quality, and little is known about MeHg dynamics in rice fields. Surface water MeHg and total Hg (THg) imports, exports, and storage were studied in two commercial rice fields in the Sacramento Valley, California, where soil THg was low (25 and 57 ng g−1). The median concentration of MeHg in drainage water exiting the fields was 0.17 ng g−1 (range: <0.007–2.1 ng g−1). Compared with irrigation water, drainage water had similar MeHg concentrations, and lower THg concentrations during the growing season. Significantly elevated drainage water MeHg and THg concentrations were observed in the fallow season compared with the growing season. An analysis of surface water loads indicates that fields were net importers of both MeHg (76–110 ng m−2) and THg (1947–7224 ng m−2) during the growing season, and net exporters of MeHg (35–200 ng m−2) and THg (248–6496 ng m−2) during the fallow season. At harvest, 190 to 700 ng MeHg m−2 and 1400 to 1700 ng THg m−2 were removed from fields in rice grain. Rice straw, which contained 120 to 180 ng MeHg m−2 and 7000–10,500 ng m−2 THg was incorporated into the soil. These results indicate that efforts to reduce MeHg and THg exports in rice drainage water should focus on the fallow season. Substantial amounts of MeHg and THg were stored in plants, and these pools should be considered in future studies.

  4. Water management practices affect arsenic and cadmium accumulation in rice grains.

    PubMed

    Sun, Liming; Zheng, Manman; Liu, Hongyan; Peng, Shaobing; Huang, Jianliang; Cui, Kehui; Nie, Lixiao

    2014-01-01

    Cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) accumulation in rice grains is a great threat to its productivity, grain quality, and thus human health. Pot and field studies were carried out to unravel the effect of different water management practices (aerobic, aerobic-flooded, and flooded) on Cd and As accumulation in rice grains of two different varieties. In pot experiment, Cd or As was also added into the soil as treatment. Pots without Cd or As addition were maintained as control. Results indicated that water management practices significantly influenced the Cd and As concentration in rice grains and aerobic cultivation of rice furnished less As concentration in its grains. Nonetheless, Cd concentration in this treatment was higher than the grains of flooded rice. Likewise, in field study, aerobic and flooded rice cultivation recorded higher Cd and As concentration, respectively. However, growing of rice in aerobic-flooded conditions decreased the Cd concentration by 9.38 times on average basis as compared to aerobic rice. Furthermore, this treatment showed 28% less As concentration than that recorded in flooded rice cultivation. The results suggested that aerobic-flooded cultivation may be a promising strategy to reduce the Cd and As accumulations in rice grains simultaneously.

  5. [Effects of land-use conversion from double rice cropping to vegetables on CO2 and CH4 fluxes in southern China].

    PubMed

    Yuan, Ye; Liu, Chang-hong; Dai, Xiao-qin; Wang, Hui-min

    2015-01-01

    In this study, the CO2 and CH4 fluxes in the first year after land use conversion from paddy rice to vegetables were measured by static opaque chamber and gas-chromatograph (GC) method to investigate the land conversion effects on soil CO2 and CH4 emissions. Our results showed that the differences in CO2 fluxes depended on the vegetable types, growing status and seasons. The CO2 flux from the vegetable field was greater than that from the paddy rice field when cowpea was planted, but was lower when pepper was planted. The CH4 flux significantly decreased from 6.96 mg C . m-2 . h-1 to -0.004 mg C . m-2 . h-1 with the land use conversion from rice to vegetables.The net carbon absorption ( CO2 + CH4) of the vegetable fields was 543 kg C . hm-2, significantly lower than that (3641 kg C . hm-2) of the rice paddies. However, no significant difference was found in their global warming impact. In addition, soil carbon content increased in vegetable fields compared to the paddy rice fields after a year of conversion, especially in the 10-20 cm soil layer.

  6. An Inclusive Investigation on Conceivable Performance of Rice Straw Incinerated Electricity Generation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bhattacharjee, Subhadeep; Mohanta, Subhajit

    2018-06-01

    Biomass energy is one of the potential renewable energy sources which occupy 77% of the available natural resources of the world. In India, agro residues constitute a major part of the total annual production of the biomass resource. Rice is the major crop in India that leaves substantial quantity of straw in the field. 34% of rice straw residue produced in the country is surplus and is either left in the field as uncollected or to a large extent open-field burnt. Thus, the unutilized rice straw is found promising for heat and power generation either through incineration (direct combustion) or thermo chemical conversion. This present work envisages the comprehensive performative evaluation of a rice straw supported biomass incineration power plant mainly through plant performance characterization, plant economics, and co-firing issues with emission analysis.

  7. An Inclusive Investigation on Conceivable Performance of Rice Straw Incinerated Electricity Generation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bhattacharjee, Subhadeep; Mohanta, Subhajit

    2018-03-01

    Biomass energy is one of the potential renewable energy sources which occupy 77% of the available natural resources of the world. In India, agro residues constitute a major part of the total annual production of the biomass resource. Rice is the major crop in India that leaves substantial quantity of straw in the field. 34% of rice straw residue produced in the country is surplus and is either left in the field as uncollected or to a large extent open-field burnt. Thus, the unutilized rice straw is found promising for heat and power generation either through incineration (direct combustion) or thermo chemical conversion. This present work envisages the comprehensive performative evaluation of a rice straw supported biomass incineration power plant mainly through plant performance characterization, plant economics, and co-firing issues with emission analysis.

  8. Establishment of a rice-duck integrated farming system and its effects on soil fertility and rice disease control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Teng, Qing; Hu, Xue-Feng; Cheng, Chang; Luo, Zhi-Qing; Luo, Fan

    2015-04-01

    Rice-duck integrated farming is an ecological farming system newly established in some areas of southern China . It was reported that the ducks walking around the paddy fields is beneficial to control weed hazards and reduce rice pests and diseases. To study and evaluate the effects of the rice-duck integrated farming on soil fertility and rice disease control, a field experiment of rice cultivation was carried out in the suburb of Shanghai in 2014. It includes a treatment of raising ducks in the fields and a control without ducks. The treatment was implemented by building a duck coop nearby the experimental fields and driving 15 ducks into a plot at daytime since the early stage of rice growth. Each plot is 667 m2 in area. The treatment and control were replicated for three times. No any herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers were applied during the experiment to prevent any disturbance to duck growing and rice weed hazards and disease incidences from agrochemicals. The results are as follows: (1) The incidences of rice leaf rollers (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis) and stem borers treated with ducks, 0.45%and 1.18% on average, respectively, are lower than those of the control, 0.74% and 1.44% on average, respectively. At the late stage of rice growth, the incidence of rice sheath blight treated with ducks, 13.15% on average, is significantly lower than that of the control, 16.9% on average; and the incidence of rice planthoppers treated with ducks, 11.3 per hill on average, is also significantly lower than that of the control, 47.4 per hill on average. (2) The number of weeds in the plots treated with ducks, 8.3 per m2 on average, is significantly lower than that of the control, 87.5 m2 on average. (3) Raising ducks in the fields could also enhance soil enzyme activity and nutrient status. At the late stage of rice growth, the activities of urease, phosphatase, sucrase and catalase in the soils treated with ducks are 1.39 times, 1.40 times, 1.29 times and 1.13 times those of the control, respectively; and the content of available P and alkali-hydrolyzable N in the soils treated with ducks, 23.35 mg kg-1 and 107.33 mg kg-1, on average, respectively, are significantly higher than those of the control, 15.70 mg kg-1 and 84.00 mg kg-1 on average, respectively. (4) The grain yield of the plots treated with ducks, 6456.25 kg hm-2 on average, is significantly higher than that of the control, 3403.81 kg hm-2. In short, raising ducks in the paddy fields not only shows a potential of controlling weed hazards and reducing rice pests and diseases, but also effectively improves soil fertility and rice grain yield. Such rice-duck integrated farming will highly contribute to establishing an organic or low-input farming system in southern China in the future.

  9. Investigating options for attenuating methane emission from Indian rice fields.

    PubMed

    Singh, S N; Verma, Amitosh; Tyagi, Larisha

    2003-08-01

    The development of methods and strategies to reduce the emission of methane from paddy fields is a central component of ongoing efforts to protect the Earth's atmosphere and to avert a possible climate change. It appears from this investigation that there can be more than one strategy to contain methane emission from paddy fields, which are thought to be a major source of methane emission in tropical Asia. Promising among the mitigating options may be water management, organic amendments, fertilizer application and selection of rice cultivars. It is always better to adopt multi-pronged strategies to contain CH4 efflux from rice wetlands. Use of fermented manures with low C/N ratio, application of sulfate-containing chemical fertilizers, selection of low CH4 emitting rice cultivars, and implementation of one or two short aeration periods before the heading stage can be effective options to minimize CH4 emission from paddy fields. Among these strategies, water management, which appears to be the best cost-effective and eco-friendly way for methane mitigation, is only possible when excess water is available for reflooding after short soil drying at the right timing and stage. However, in tropical Asia, rice fields are naturally flooded during the monsoonal rainy season and fully controlled drainage is often impossible. In such situation, water deficits during the vegetative and reproductive stage may drastically affect the rice yields. Thus, care must be taken to mitigate methane emission without affecting rice yields.

  10. No-tillage effects on grain yield, N use efficiency, and nutrient runoff losses in paddy fields.

    PubMed

    Liang, Xinqiang; Zhang, Huifang; He, Miaomiao; Yuan, Junli; Xu, Lixian; Tian, Guangming

    2016-11-01

    The effect of no-tillage (NT) on rice yield and nitrogen (N) behavior often varies considerably from individual studies. A meta-analysis was performed to assess quantitatively the effect of NT on rice yield and N uptake by rice, N use efficiency (NUE, i.e., fertilizer N recovery efficiency), and nutrient runoff losses. We obtained data from 74 rice-field experiments reported during the last three decades (1983-2013). Results showed the NT system brought a reduction of 3.8 % in the rice yield compared with conventional tillage (CT). Soil pH of 6.5-7.5 was favorable for the improvement of rice yield with the NT system, while a significant negative NT effect on rice yield was observed in sandy soils (p < 0.05). N rate, ranging from 120 to 180 kg N ha -1 , for at least 3 years was necessary for NT to enable rice yield comparable with that of CT. Furthermore, the observations indicated NT reduced N uptake and NUE of the rice by 5.4 and 16.9 %, while increased the N and P exports via runoff by 15.4 and 40.1 % compared with CT, respectively. Seedling cast transplantation, N rate within the range 120-180 kg N ha -1 , and employing NT for longer than 3 years should be encouraged to compromise between productivity and environmental effects of NT implementation in rice fields.

  11. The influence of continuous rice cultivation and different waterlogging periods on morphology, clay mineralogy, Eh, pH and K in paddy soils.

    PubMed

    Bahmanyar, M A

    2007-09-01

    The effect of different rice cultivation periods on the properties of selected soils in alluvial plain were studied in Mazandaran province (north of Iran) in 2004. Soils were sampled form 0, 6, 16, 26 and over 40 years rice cultivation fields. In each treatment three soil profiles and six nearby auger holes were studied. The present study results indicated that continuous rice cultivation have changed soil moisture regime from xeric to aquic, soil color from brown to grayish, surface horizons from mollic to ochric epipedon and soil structure changed from granular or blocky to massive. Therefore, the soil order has changed from Mollisols to Inceptisols. No illuviation and eluviation of clay minerals occurred as a consequence of rice cultivation. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that clay minerals in non-rice cultivated field were illite, vermiculite, montmorillonite, kaolinite and chlorite, but in rice field were illite, montmorillonite, kaolinite and chlorite, respectively. In contrast of montmorillonite, the amount of illite and vermiculite have been decreased by increasing periods of rice cultivation. The pH values of the saturated soil surface in six weeks past plantation have shifted toward neutrality. While Eh value of non-paddy soils were about +90 mv, surface horizons of paddy soils at field conditions had Eh value about +40, -12, -84, -122 mv, respectively. The amounts of organic matter and available Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu were increased whereas available K was decreased in paddy soils.

  12. Microwave Backscatter and Attenuation Dependence of Leaf Area Index for Flooded Rice Fields

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Durden, Stephen L.; Morrissey, Leslie A.; Livingston, Gerald P.

    1995-01-01

    Wetlands are important for their role in global climate as a source of methane and other reduced trace gases. As part of an effort to determine whether radar is suitable for wetland vegetation monitoring, we have studied the dependence of microwave backscatter and attenuation on leaf area index (LAI) for flooded rice fields. We find that the radar return from a flooded rice field does show dependence on LAI. In particular, the C-band VV cross section per unit area decreases with increasing LAI. A simple model for scattering from rice fields is derived and fit to the observed HH and VV data. The model fit provides insight into the relation of backscatter to LAI and is also used to calculate the canopy path attenuation as a function of LAI.

  13. Genetic and field management strategies to for limiting accumulation of arsenic in rice grains

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In 2002, high levels of arsenic were reported in rice produced in Bangladesh using soil and water naturally high in arsenic. Study of arsenic in rice produced in additional countries, including the USA, soon followed. Grain-arsenic is higher in rice than other crops because the flooding of rice pa...

  14. All roads lead to weediness: patterns of genomic divergence reveal extensive recurrent weedy rice origins from South Asian Oryza

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Weedy rice (Oryza spp.), a weedy relative of cultivated rice (O. sativa), invades and persists in cultivated rice fields worldwide. Many weedy rice populations have evolved similar adaptive traits, considered part of the “agricultural weed syndrome,” making this an ideal model to study the genetic b...

  15. Little white lies: pericarp color provides insights into the origins and evolution of Southeast Asian weedy rice

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Weedy rice is a conspecific form of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) that infests rice fields and results in severe crop losses. Weed strains in different world regions appear to have originated multiple times from different domesticated and/or wild rice progenitors. In the case of Malaysian weedy ...

  16. Belowground Inoculation With Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Increases Local and Systemic Susceptibility of Rice Plants to Different Pest Organisms

    PubMed Central

    Bernaola, Lina; Cosme, Marco; Schneider, Raymond W.; Stout, Michael

    2018-01-01

    Plants face numerous challenges from both aboveground and belowground stressors, and defend themselves against harmful insects and microorganisms in many ways. Because plant responses to biotic stresses are not only local but also systemic, belowground interactions can influence aboveground interactions in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are soilborne organisms that form symbiotic associations with many plant roots and are thought to play a central role in plant nutrition, growth, and fitness. In the present study, we focused on the influence of AMF on rice defense against pests. We inoculated rice plants with AMF in several field and greenhouse experiments to test whether the interaction of AMF with rice roots changes the resistance of rice against two chewing insects, the rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, RWW) and the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda, FAW), and against infection by sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani, ShB). Both in field and greenhouse experiments, the performance of insects and the pathogen on rice was enhanced when plants were inoculated with AMF. In the field, inoculating rice plants with AMF resulted in higher numbers of RWW larvae on rice roots. In the greenhouse, more RWW first instars emerged from AMF-colonized rice plants than from non-colonized control plants. Weight gains of FAW larvae were higher on rice plants treated with AMF inoculum. Lesion lengths and susceptibility to ShB infection were higher in rice plants colonized by AMF. Although AMF inoculation enhanced the growth of rice plants, the nutritional analyses of root and shoot tissues indicated no major increases in the concentrations of nutrients in rice plants colonized by AMF. The large effects on rice susceptibility to pests in the absence of large effects on plant nutrition suggest that AMF colonization influences other mechanisms of susceptibility (e.g., defense signaling processes). This study represents the first study conducted in the U.S. in rice showing AMF-induced plant susceptibility to several antagonists that specialize on different plant tissues. Given the widespread occurrence of AMF, our findings will help to provide a different perspective into the causal basis of rice systemic resistance/susceptibility to insects and pathogens. PMID:29922319

  17. Belowground Inoculation With Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Increases Local and Systemic Susceptibility of Rice Plants to Different Pest Organisms.

    PubMed

    Bernaola, Lina; Cosme, Marco; Schneider, Raymond W; Stout, Michael

    2018-01-01

    Plants face numerous challenges from both aboveground and belowground stressors, and defend themselves against harmful insects and microorganisms in many ways. Because plant responses to biotic stresses are not only local but also systemic, belowground interactions can influence aboveground interactions in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are soilborne organisms that form symbiotic associations with many plant roots and are thought to play a central role in plant nutrition, growth, and fitness. In the present study, we focused on the influence of AMF on rice defense against pests. We inoculated rice plants with AMF in several field and greenhouse experiments to test whether the interaction of AMF with rice roots changes the resistance of rice against two chewing insects, the rice water weevil ( Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, RWW) and the fall armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda , FAW), and against infection by sheath blight ( Rhizoctonia solani , ShB). Both in field and greenhouse experiments, the performance of insects and the pathogen on rice was enhanced when plants were inoculated with AMF. In the field, inoculating rice plants with AMF resulted in higher numbers of RWW larvae on rice roots. In the greenhouse, more RWW first instars emerged from AMF-colonized rice plants than from non-colonized control plants. Weight gains of FAW larvae were higher on rice plants treated with AMF inoculum. Lesion lengths and susceptibility to ShB infection were higher in rice plants colonized by AMF. Although AMF inoculation enhanced the growth of rice plants, the nutritional analyses of root and shoot tissues indicated no major increases in the concentrations of nutrients in rice plants colonized by AMF. The large effects on rice susceptibility to pests in the absence of large effects on plant nutrition suggest that AMF colonization influences other mechanisms of susceptibility (e.g., defense signaling processes). This study represents the first study conducted in the U.S. in rice showing AMF-induced plant susceptibility to several antagonists that specialize on different plant tissues. Given the widespread occurrence of AMF, our findings will help to provide a different perspective into the causal basis of rice systemic resistance/susceptibility to insects and pathogens.

  18. Mapping paddy rice distribution using multi-temporal Landsat imagery in the Sanjiang Plain, northeast China

    PubMed Central

    XIAO, Xiangming; DONG, Jinwei; QIN, Yuanwei; WANG, Zongming

    2016-01-01

    Information of paddy rice distribution is essential for food production and methane emission calculation. Phenology-based algorithms have been utilized in the mapping of paddy rice fields by identifying the unique flooding and seedling transplanting phases using multi-temporal moderate resolution (500 m to 1 km) images. In this study, we developed simple algorithms to identify paddy rice at a fine resolution at the regional scale using multi-temporal Landsat imagery. Sixteen Landsat images from 2010–2012 were used to generate the 30 m paddy rice map in the Sanjiang Plain, northeast China—one of the major paddy rice cultivation regions in China. Three vegetation indices, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and Land Surface Water Index (LSWI), were used to identify rice fields during the flooding/transplanting and ripening phases. The user and producer accuracies of paddy rice on the resultant Landsat-based paddy rice map were 90% and 94%, respectively. The Landsat-based paddy rice map was an improvement over the paddy rice layer on the National Land Cover Dataset, which was generated through visual interpretation and digitalization on the fine-resolution images. The agricultural census data substantially underreported paddy rice area, raising serious concern about its use for studies on food security. PMID:27695637

  19. Effects of water-saving irrigation on the residues and risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in paddy field.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Zhenhua; Xia, Liling; Jiang, Xin; Gao, Yanzheng

    2018-03-15

    The effects of different water-saving modes on PAHs residue and risk, field environment conditions and enzyme activities in paddy field were investigated in a field experiment plot in Laoyaba, Nanjing, China. Results showed that (1) water-saving treatment affected greatly the ΣPAHs in water and soil. The order of ΣPAHs residue in surface water and groundwater in farmland is as follows: dry fieldsroot>stem>rice grain. (4) Water-saving irrigation evidently decreased soil ecological risk (up to 55%-73%) and rice carcinogenic risk (up to 30%-45%) caused by PAHs compared with flooding irrigation. Water-saving irrigation could also reduce the Total Toxic Equivalency Concentration of PAHs in rice grain up to 50% relative to flooding irrigation. (5) The significant negative correlations were observed between the residual PAHs and the activities of laccase and dioxygenase (p<0.019), and the physical and chemical indexes (temperature, redox potential and dissolved oxygen of field, p<0.041). The changes of field environment conditions and enzyme activities induced by moisture control may be the main key factors affecting PAHs residue in water, soil and rice. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  20. Growth and Survival of Baldcypress Planted in an Old Rice Field of Coastal South Carolina

    Treesearch

    William H. Conner; L. Wayne Inabinette; Mehmet Ozalp

    2004-01-01

    Vast acreages of baldcypress [Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.] swampland in coastal South Carolina were cleared for rice production starting in the late 1600s. When rice cultivation ended in the late 1800s, many cultivated areas became marshlands. Other fields failed to return to forest unless they were planted. In one such area, nine acres were...

  1. Seasonal variation in measured H2O and CO2 flux of irrigated rice in the Mid-South

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rice production in the Lower Mississippi River Basin constitutes over half of US rice production, but little research has been done on water and carbon flux in this region at the field scale. Eddy covariance measurements of water and CO2 flux allow for an integrated field measurement of the interac...

  2. Winter fluxes from Eastern Arkansas Rice-Waterfowl Habitats

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reba, M. L.; Fong, B.; Runkle, B.; Suvocarev, K.; Adviento-Borbe, A.

    2016-12-01

    Seasonal flooding of rice fields in the mid-South for migratory birds during the winter months (December- January) has occurred for years. This practice can impact total annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fluxes during the production season (June-August). Over 75% of US rice production occurs in the mid-South, but limited research has analyzed the winter fluxes of methane and carbon dioxide in this rice-waterfowl habitat. Usually rice fields are flooded from June to August for the production season, and again December to January for migratory birds. In addition to hunting revenue, added benefits of winter flooding include weed control and prevention of soil oxidation and subsidence. Eddy covariance systems measuring carbon dioxide, water vapor and methane fluxes were installed at two sites in northeastern and east central Arkansas. Each site had two systems on neighboring fields with one flooded and the other not flooded. Seasonal variability in fluxes were compared and contrasted during the 2015-2016 winter. Both carbon dioxide and methane fluxes were positively related to temperatures. These findings will improve the understanding of seasonal greenhouse gas emissions at a field scale under typical mid-South rice production practices.

  3. Partitioning of arsenic in soil-crop systems irrigated using groundwater: a case study of rice paddy soils in southwestern Taiwan.

    PubMed

    Hsu, Wen-Ming; Hsi, Hsing-Cheng; Huang, You-Tuan; Liao, Chien-Sen; Hseu, Zeng-Yei

    2012-02-01

    The accumulation of As in rice due to groundwater irrigation in paddy fields represents a serious health hazard in South and Southeast Asia. In Taiwan, the fate of As in long-term irrigated paddy fields is poorly understood. Groundwater, surface soil, and rice samples were collected from a paddy field that was irrigated with As-containing groundwater in southwestern Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the source and sink of As in the paddy field by comparing the As fractions in the soils that were obtained by a sequential extraction procedure (SEP) with the As uptake of rice. The risks associated with eating rice from the field can thus be better understood. The concentration of As in groundwater varied with time throughout the growing seasons of rice, but always exceeded the permitted maximum (10 μg L(-1)) for drinking water by the WHO. The As concentration increased with the concentration of Fe in the groundwater, supporting the claim that a large amount of As was concentrated in the Fe flocs collected from the internal wall of the groundwater pump. The results of the SEP revealed that As bound with amorphous and crystalline hydrous oxides exhibited high availability in the soils. The root of rice accumulated the largest amount of As, followed by the straw, husk, and grain. Although the As concentration in the rice grain was less than 1.0 mg kg(-1), the estimated intake level was close to the maximum tolerable daily intake of As, as specified by the WHO. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Improved stress tolerance and productivity in transgenic rice plants constitutively expressing the Oryza sativa glutathione synthetase OsGS under paddy field conditions.

    PubMed

    Park, Seong-Im; Kim, Young-Saeng; Kim, Jin-Ju; Mok, Ji-Eun; Kim, Yul-Ho; Park, Hyang-Mi; Kim, Il-Sup; Yoon, Ho-Sung

    2017-08-01

    Reactive oxygen species, which increase under various environmental stresses, have deleterious effects on plants. An important antioxidant, glutathione, is used to detoxify reactive oxygen species in plant cells and is mainly produced by two enzymes: gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-ECS) and glutathione synthetase (GS). To evaluate the functional roles of the glutathione synthetase gene (OsGS) in rice, we generated four independent transgenic rice plants (TG1-TG4) that overexpressed OsGS under the control of the constitutively expressed OsCc1 promoter. When grown under natural paddy field conditions, the TG rice plants exhibited greater growth development, higher chlorophyll content, and higher GSH/GSSH ratios than control wild-type (WT) rice plants. Subsequently, the TG rice plants enhanced redox homeostasis by preventing hydroperoxide-mediated membrane damage, which improved their adaptation to environmental stresses. As a result, TG rice plants improved rice grain yield and total biomass following increases in panicle number and number of spikelets per panicle, despite differences in climate during the cultivation periods of 2014 and 2015. Overall, our results indicate that OsGS overexpression improved redox homeostasis by enhancing the glutathione pool, which resulted in greater tolerance to environmental stresses in the paddy fields. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  5. Rice Crop Monitoring Using Microwave and Optical Remotely Sensed Image Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suga, Y.; Konishi, T.; Takeuchi, S.; Kitano, Y.; Ito, S.

    Hiroshima Institute of Technology HIT is operating the direct down-links of microwave and optical satellite data in Japan This study focuses on the validation for rice crop monitoring using microwave and optical remotely sensed image data acquired by satellites referring to ground truth data such as height of crop ratio of crop vegetation cover and leaf area index in the test sites of Japan ENVISAT-1 ASAR data has a capability to capture regularly and to monitor during the rice growing cycle by alternating cross polarization mode images However ASAR data is influenced by several parameters such as landcover structure direction and alignment of rice crop fields in the test sites In this study the validation was carried out combined with microwave and optical satellite image data and ground truth data regarding rice crop fields to investigate the above parameters Multi-temporal multi-direction descending and ascending and multi-angle ASAR alternating cross polarization mode images were used to investigate rice crop growing cycle LANDSAT data were used to detect landcover structure direction and alignment of rice crop fields corresponding to the backscatter of ASAR As the result of this study it was indicated that rice crop growth can be precisely monitored using multiple remotely sensed data and ground truth data considering with spatial spectral temporal and radiometric resolutions

  6. Habitat manipulation in lowland rice-coconut cropping systems of the Philippines--an effective rodent pest management strategy?

    PubMed

    Stuart, Alexander M; Prescott, Colin V; Singleton, Grant R

    2014-06-01

    Reduction of vegetation height is recommended as a management strategy for controlling rodent pests of rice in South-east Asia, but there are limited field data to assess its effectiveness. The breeding biology of the main pest species of rodent in the Philippines, Rattus tanezumi, suggests that habitat manipulation in irrigated rice-coconut cropping systems may be an effective strategy to limit the quality and availability of their nesting habitat. The authors imposed a replicated manipulation of vegetation cover in adjacent coconut groves during a single rice-cropping season, and added artificial nest sites to facilitate capture and culling of young. Three trapping sessions in four rice fields (two treatments, two controls) adjacent to coconut groves led to the capture of 176 R. tanezumi, 12 Rattus exulans and seven Chrotomys mindorensis individuals. There was no significant difference in overall abundance between crop stages or between treatments, and there was no treatment effect on damage to tillers or rice yield. Only two R. tanezumi were caught at the artificial nest sites. Habitat manipulation to reduce the quality of R. tanezumi nesting habitat adjacent to rice fields is not effective as a lone rodent management tool in rice-coconut cropping systems. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

  7. Bt rice does not disrupt the host-searching behavior of the parasitoid Cotesia chilonis

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Qingsong; Romeis, Jörg; Yu, Huilin; Zhang, Yongjun; Li, Yunhe; Peng, Yufa

    2015-01-01

    We determined whether plant volatiles help explain why Cotesia chilonis (a parasitoid of the target pest Chilo suppressalis) is less abundant in Bt than in non-Bt rice fields. Olfactometer studies revealed that C. chilonis females responded similarly to undamaged Bt and non-Bt rice plants. Parasitoids preferred rice plants damaged by 3rd-instar larvae of C. suppressalis, but did not differentiate between caterpillar-infested Bt and non-Bt plants. According to GC-MS analyses of rice plant volatiles, undamaged Bt and non-Bt rice plants emitted the same number of volatile compounds and there were no significant differences in the quantity of each volatile compound between the treatments. When plants were infested with and damaged by C. suppressalis larvae, both Bt and non-Bt rice plants emitted higher numbers and larger amounts of volatile compounds than undamaged plants, but there were no significant differences between Bt and non-Bt plants. These results demonstrate that the volatile-mediated interactions of rice plants with the parasitoid C. chilonis were not disrupted by the genetic engineering of the plants. We infer that parasitoid numbers are lower in Bt than in non-Bt fields because damage and volatile induction by C. suppressalis larvae are greatly reduced in Bt fields. PMID:26470012

  8. Mapping of Rice Varieties and Sowing Date Using X-Band SAR Data

    PubMed Central

    Le Toan, Thuy; Nguyen, Lam Dao; Pham Duy, Tien

    2018-01-01

    Rice is a major staple food for nearly half of the world’s population and has a considerable contribution to the global agricultural economy. While spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data have proved to have great potential to provide rice cultivation area, few studies have been performed to provide practical information that meets the user requirements. In rice growing regions where the inter-field crop calendar is not uniform such as in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, knowledge of the start of season on a field basis, along with the planted rice varieties, is very important for correct field management (timing of irrigation, fertilization, chemical treatment, harvest), and for market assessment of the rice production. The objective of this study is to develop methods using SAR data to retrieve in addition to the rice grown area, the sowing date, and the distinction between long and short cycle varieties. This study makes use of X-band SAR data from COSMO-SkyMed acquired from 19 August to 23 November 2013 covering the Chau Thanh and Thoai Son districts in An Giang province, Viet Nam, characterized by a complex cropping pattern. The SAR data have been analyzed as a function of rice parameters, and the temporal and polarization behaviors of the radar backscatter of different rice varieties have been interpreted physically. New backscatter indicators for the detection of rice paddy area, the estimation of the sowing date, and the mapping of the short cycle and long cycle rice varieties have been developed and assessed. Good accuracy has been found with 92% in rice grown area, 96% on rice long or short cycle, and a root mean square error of 4.3 days in sowing date. The results have been discussed regarding the generality of the methods with respect to the rice cultural practices and the SAR data characteristics. PMID:29361776

  9. [Dynamics and combined injuries of main pest species in rice cropping zones of Yunnan, Southwest China].

    PubMed

    Dong, Kun; Dong, Yan; Wang, Hai-Long; Zhang, Li-Min; Zan, Qing-An; Chen, Bin; Li, Zheng-Yue

    2014-01-01

    A series of rice pest injuries (due to pathogens, insects, and weeds) were surveyed in 286 farmers' fields for major rice varieties of three rice cropping zones of Yunnan Province, Southwest China. The composition and dynamics of main pest species were analyzed, and the trend of rice pest succession in Yunnan was discussed based upon landmark publications. The results showed that the three rice cropping zones had different pest characteristics as regard to main species, dynamics and combined injuries. Sheath rot, bacterial leaf blight, rice stripe, leaf hoppers, armyworms and stem borers were serious in the japonica rice zone. Sheath blight and rice stripe were serious in the japonica-indica interlacing zone. Leaf blast, sheath blight, leaf folders and weeds above rice crop canopy were serious in the indica rice zone. False smut, plant hoppers and weeds below rice crop canopy were ubiquitous and serious in the three kinds of rice cropping zones. Many kinds of weed infestation emerged in the whole rice cropping seasons. Echinochloa crusgalli, Sagittaria pygmaea, Potamogeton distinctus and Spirodela polyrhiza were the main species of weeds in the rice cropping zones of Yunnan. Overall, levels of combined injuries due to pests in the japonica rice zone and the indica rice zone were higher than that in the japonica-indica interlacing zone. In terms of the trend of rice pest succession in Yunnan, injuries due to false smut, sheath blight and plant hoppers seemed to be in a worse tendency in all rice cropping zones of Yunnan, while dominants species of weeds in the paddy fields are shifting from the annual weeds to the perennial malignant weeds.

  10. [Effect of transgenic insect-resistant rice on biodiversity].

    PubMed

    Zhang, Lei; Zhu, Zhen

    2011-05-01

    Rice is the most important food crops in maintaining food security in China. The loss of China's annual rice production caused by pests is over ten million tons. Present studies showed that the transgenic insect-resistant rice can substantially reduce the application amount of chemical pesticides. In the case of no pesticide use, the pest density in transgenic rice field is significantly lower than that in non-transgenic field, and the neutral insects and natural enemies of pests increased significantly, indicating that the ecological environment and biodiversity toward the positive direction. The gene flow frequency from transgenic rice is dramatically reduced with the distance increases, reaching less than 0.01% at the distance of 6.2 m. Application of transgenic insect-resistant rice in China has an important significance for ensuring food security, maintaining sustainable agricultural development, and protecting the ecological environment and biodiversity. This review summarized the research progress in transgenic insect-resistant rice and its effect on biodiversity. The research directions and development trends of crop pest controlling in future are discussed. These help to promote better use of transgenic insect-resistant rice.

  11. KSC-07pd0726

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-03-29

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A snowy egret marches through a pond near Kennedy Space Center, looking for food. The snowy egret can be identified by its slender black bill, black legs and yellow feet. This species inhabits salt marshes, ponds, rice field and shallow coastal bays along the coast from Maine to southern South America. They are also found in northern California, Texas and Oklahoma. KSC shares a boundary with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which surrounds it. The refuge is a habitat for more than 310 species of birds, 25 mammals, 117 fishes and 65 amphibians and reptiles. In addition, the refuge supports 19 endangered or threatened wildlife species on Federal or State lists, more than any other single refuge in the U.S. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

  12. A new approach to evaluate regional methane emission from irrigated rice paddies: Combining process study, modeling and remote sensing into GIS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ding, Aiju

    2000-10-01

    A large seasonal variation in methane emission from Texas rice fields was observed in most of the growing seasons from 1989 through 1997. In general, the pattern showed small fluxes in the early season of cultivation and reached maximum at post-heading time, then declined and stopped after fields were drained. The amount of methane emission positively relates to the aboveground biomass, the number of effective stems and tillers, and nitrogen addition. The day-to-day pattern of methane emissions was similar among all cultivars. The seasonal total methane emission shows a significant positive correlation with post-heading plant height. The total methane emission from Texas rice fields was estimated as 33.25 × 109 g in 1993, ranging from 25.85 × 109 g/yr to 40.65 × 109 g/yr. A mitigation technique was developed to obtain both high yield and less methane emission from Texas rice fields. A new approach was also developed to evaluate regional to large-scale methane emission from irrigated rice paddies. By combining modeling, ground truth information and remote sensing into a Geographic Information System (GIS)-a computer based system, the seasonal methane emission from a large area can be calculated efficiently and more accurately. The methodology was tested at the Richmond Irrigation District (RID) site in Texas. The average daily methane emission varied from field to field and even within a single field. The calculated seasonal total methane emission from RID rice fields was as low as 3.34 × 108 g CH4 in 1996 and as high as 7.80 × 108 g CH4 in 1998. To support the application of the estimation method in a worldwide study, an algorithm describing the mapping of irrigated rice paddies from Landsat TM data was demonstrated. The accuracy in 1998- supervised classification approached 95% when cloud cover was taken into account. Model uncertainty and data availability are the two major potential problems in worldwide application of the new approach. A potential alternative model is proposed which allows estimation of regional methane emission from rice plant height.

  13. Rice methylmercury exposure and mitigation: a comprehensive review

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rothenberg, Sarah E.; Windham-Myers, Lisamarie; Creswell, Joel E.

    2014-01-01

    Rice cultivation practices from field preparation to post-harvest transform rice paddies into hot spots for microbial mercury methylation, converting less-toxic inorganic mercury to more-toxic methylmercury, which is likely translocated to rice grain. This review includes 51 studies reporting rice total mercury and/or methylmercury concentrations, based on rice (Orzya sativa) cultivated or purchased in 15 countries. Not surprisingly, both rice total mercury and methylmercury levels were significantly higher in polluted sites compared to non-polluted sites (Wilcoxon rank sum, p<0.001). However, rice percent methylmercury (of total mercury) did not differ statistically between polluted and non-polluted sites (Wilcoxon rank sum, p=0.35), suggesting comparable mercury methylation rates in paddy soil across these sites and/or similar accumulation of mercury species for these rice cultivars. Studies characterizing the effects of rice cultivation under more aerobic conditions were reviewed to determine the mitigation potential of this practice. Rice management practices utilizing alternating wetting and drying (instead of continuous flooding) caused soil methylmercury levels to spike, resulting in a strong methylmercury pulse after fields were dried and reflooded; however, it is uncertain whether this led to increased translocation of methylmercury from paddy soil to rice grain. Due to the potential health risks, it is advisable to investigate this issue further, and to develop separate water management strategies for mercury polluted and non-polluted sites, in order to minimize methylmercury exposure through rice ingestion.

  14. Rice Methylmercury Exposure and Mitigation: A Comprehensive Review

    PubMed Central

    Rothenberg, Sarah E.; Windham-Myers, Lisamarie; Creswell, Joel E.

    2014-01-01

    Rice cultivation practices from field preparation to post-harvest transform rice paddies into hot spots for microbial mercury methylation, converting less-toxic inorganic mercury to more-toxic methylmercury, which is likely translocated to rice grain. This review includes 51 studies reporting rice total mercury and/or methylmercury concentrations, based on rice cultivated or purchased in 15 countries. Not surprisingly, both rice total mercury and methylmercury levels were significantly higher in polluted sites compared to non-polluted sites (Wilcoxon rank sum, p<0.001). However, rice percent methylmercury (of total mercury) did not differ statistically between polluted and non-polluted sites (Wilcoxon rank sum, p=0.35), suggesting comparable mercury methylation rates in paddy soil across these sites and/or similar accumulation of mercury species for these rice cultivars. Studies characterizing the effect of rice cultivation under more aerobic conditions were reviewed to determine the mitigation potential of this practice. Rice management practices utilizing alternating wetting and drying (instead of continuous flooding) caused soil methylmercury levels to spike, resulting in a strong methylmercury pulse after fields were dried and reflooded; however, it is uncertain whether this led to increased translocation of methylmercury from paddy soil to rice grain. Due to the potential health risks, it is advisable to investigate this issue further, and to develop separate water management strategies for mercury polluted and non-polluted sites, which minimize methylmercury exposure through rice ingestion. PMID:24972509

  15. Greenhouse gas budget from a rice paddy field in the Albufera of Valencia, Spain.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meijide, Ana; López-Ballesteros, Ana; Calvo-Roselló, Esperanza; López-Jiménez, Ramón; Recio-Huetos, Jaime; Calatayud, Vicent; Carrara, Arnaud; Serrano-Ortiz, Penelope

    2017-04-01

    Rice paddy fields are large sources of anthropogenic methane (CH4) and therefore many studies have assessed CH4 fluxes from rice paddy fields, mainly in Asia where most of the rice cultivation takes place. However, rice is also cultivated in the Mediterranean, where climatic and management conditions greatly differ. In the Albufera of Valencia, the largest freshwater lagoon in Spain, rice paddy fields have the particularity of being flooded not only while the rice grows, but also after the harvest during the winter. These flooding conditions might result in emissions which are very specific of this ecosystem, and cannot be extrapolated from other studies. We studied CH4 fluxes in a rice paddy field in the Albufera of Valencia at different stages of rice cultivation using the eddy covariance technique and static chambers. We additionally measured carbon dioxide (CO2), water fluxes and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes with eddy covariance and chamber methods respectively, in order to obtain a full greenhouse gas (GHG) budget. Our study also aimed at providing a mechanistic understanding of GHG emissions at different stages of rice cultivation, and therefore we also used the Enhanced and Normalized Vegetation Indexes (EVI and NDVI, respectively), derived from remote sensing images. The general ecosystem functioning encompasses three different phases. The first one, over the autumn and the winter, a biological dormancy period causes low CO2 emissions (ca. 1-5 µmol m-2 s-1), which coincides with the EVI and NDVI. The intermittent flooding taking place during this period is expected to cause CH4 emissions. Then, during the spring months (March-May), larger CO2 respiratory emissions take place during the daytime (> 5 µmol m-2 s-1) due to an increase in air temperature, which turn to neutral at the end of spring due to the start of photosynthesis by the rice. The third phase corresponds to the vegetation growth, when the net CO2 uptake increases gradually up to maximum CO2 sequestration rates of ca. 40 µmol m-2 s-1. During this period, the higher air temperature together with the flooding allows for the development of rice plants, resulting in the highest EVI and NDVI values (0.59 and 0.85, respectively) and nighttime maximum CO2 emissions (5-10 µmol m-2 s-1). These conditions also favor the production of CH4, which make the rice paddy field a CH4 source. The ecosystem behaved as a N2O sink during most of the study period. Positive N2O emissions were only observed at the beginning of the vegetation growth phase, which seems to be related to fertilizer application.

  16. Rice microstructure

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    An understanding of plant structure is desirable to obtain a clear idea of the overall impact of a crop. A mature rice plant consists of leafy components (left in the field post-harvest) and paddy rice (collected). The rice plant is supported by a hollow stem (culm) with leaf sheaths attached to nod...

  17. Studying the Impacts of Environmental Factors and Agricultural Management on Methane Emissions from Rice Paddies Using a Land Surface Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lin, T. S.; Gahlot, S.; Shu, S.; Jain, A. K.; Kheshgi, H. S.

    2017-12-01

    Continued growth in population is projected to drive increased future demand for rice and the methane emissions associated with its production. However, observational studies of methane emissions from rice have reported seemingly conflicting results and do not all support this projection. In this study we couple an ecophysiological process-based rice paddy module and a methane emission module with a land surface model, Integrated Science Assessment Model (ISAM), to study the impacts of various environmental factors and agricultural management practices on rice production and methane emissions from rice fields. This coupled modeling framework accounts for dynamic rice growth processes with adaptation of photosynthesis, rice-specific phenology, biomass accumulation, leaf area development and structures responses to water, temperature, light and nutrient stresses. The coupled model is calibrated and validated with observations from various rice cultivation fields. We find that the differing results of observational studies can be caused by the interactions of environmental factors, including climate, atmospheric CO2 concentration, and N deposition, and agricultural management practices, such as irrigation and N fertilizer applications, with rice production at spatial and temporal scales.

  18. Ecological mechanisms underlying the sustainability of the agricultural heritage rice-fish coculture system.

    PubMed

    Xie, Jian; Hu, Liangliang; Tang, Jianjun; Wu, Xue; Li, Nana; Yuan, Yongge; Yang, Haishui; Zhang, Jiaen; Luo, Shiming; Chen, Xin

    2011-12-13

    For centuries, traditional agricultural systems have contributed to food and livelihood security throughout the world. Recognizing the ecological legacy in the traditional agricultural systems may help us develop novel sustainable agriculture. We examine how rice-fish coculture (RF), which has been designated a "globally important agricultural heritage system," has been maintained for over 1,200 y in south China. A field survey demonstrated that although rice yield and rice-yield stability are similar in RF and rice monoculture (RM), RF requires 68% less pesticide and 24% less chemical fertilizer than RM. A field experiment confirmed this result. We documented that a mutually beneficial relationship between rice and fish develops in RF: Fish reduce rice pests and rice favors fish by moderating the water environment. This positive relationship between rice and fish reduces the need for pesticides in RF. Our results also indicate a complementary use of nitrogen (N) between rice and fish in RF, resulting in low N fertilizer application and low N release into the environment. These findings provide unique insights into how positive interactions and complementary use of resource between species generate emergent ecosystem properties and how modern agricultural systems might be improved by exploiting synergies between species.

  19. NO X fluxes from several typical agricultural fields during summer-autumn in the Yangtze Delta, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fang, Shuangxi; Yujing, Mu

    NO X fluxes from three kinds of vegetable lands and a rice field were measured during summer-autumn in the Yangtze Delta, China. The average NO fluxes from the rice fields (RF), celery field (CE), maize field (MA) and cowpea field (CP) were 4.1, 30.8, 54 and 32.2 ng N m -2 s -1, respectively; and the average NO 2 fluxes were -2.12, 0.68, 1.33 and 0.5 ng N m -2 s -1, respectively. The liquid N fertilizer (the mixture of swine excrement and urine) which is widely applied to vegetable lands by Chinese farmers was found to quickly stimulate NO emission, and have significant contribution to NO emission from the investigated vegetable lands. Apparent linearity correlations were found between NO 2 fluxes and the ambient concentrations of the rice fields, with a compensation point of about 2.84 μg m -3. Total emissions of NO during summer-autumn time from this area were roughly estimated to be 4.1 and 8.4 Gg N for rice field and vegetable lands, respectively.

  20. PCDD/F EMISSIONS FROM BURNING WHEAT AND RICE FIELD RESIDUE

    EPA Science Inventory

    The paper presents the first known values for emissions of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDDs/Fs) from combustion of agricultural field biomass. Wheat and rice straw stubble collected from two western U.S. states were tested in a field burn simulation to dete...

  1. Examination of the semi-automatic calculation technique of vegetation cover rate by digital camera images.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takemine, S.; Rikimaru, A.; Takahashi, K.

    The rice is one of the staple foods in the world High quality rice production requires periodically collecting rice growth data to control the growth of rice The height of plant the number of stem the color of leaf is well known parameters to indicate rice growth Rice growth diagnosis method based on these parameters is used operationally in Japan although collecting these parameters by field survey needs a lot of labor and time Recently a laborsaving method for rice growth diagnosis is proposed which is based on vegetation cover rate of rice Vegetation cover rate of rice is calculated based on discriminating rice plant areas in a digital camera image which is photographed in nadir direction Discrimination of rice plant areas in the image was done by the automatic binarization processing However in the case of vegetation cover rate calculation method depending on the automatic binarization process there is a possibility to decrease vegetation cover rate against growth of rice In this paper a calculation method of vegetation cover rate was proposed which based on the automatic binarization process and referred to the growth hysteresis information For several images obtained by field survey during rice growing season vegetation cover rate was calculated by the conventional automatic binarization processing and the proposed method respectively And vegetation cover rate of both methods was compared with reference value obtained by visual interpretation As a result of comparison the accuracy of discriminating rice plant areas was increased by the proposed

  2. Effect of irrigation and silicon fertilizer on total rice grain arsenic content and yield

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Field tests were conducted for two years with rice grown with different irrigation systems and rates of calcium silicate fertilizer to determine the effects on brown rice arsenic (As) levels and rough rice yields. Irrigation systems were sprinkler irrigation using a center pivot system, intermitten...

  3. Development of Novel Glyphosate-Tolerant Japonica Rice Lines: A Step Toward Commercial Release.

    PubMed

    Cui, Ying; Huang, Shuqing; Liu, Ziduo; Yi, Shuyuan; Zhou, Fei; Chen, Hao; Lin, Yongjun

    2016-01-01

    Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide for its low cost and high efficiency. However, it is rarely applied directly in rice field due to its toxicity to rice. Therefore, glyphosate-tolerant rice can greatly decrease the cost of rice production and provide a more effective weed management strategy. Although, several approaches to develop transgenic rice with glyphosate tolerance have been reported, the agronomic performances of these plants have not been well evaluated, and the feasibility of commercial production has not been confirmed yet. Here, a novel glyphosate-tolerant gene cloned from the bacterium Isoptericola variabilis was identified, codon optimized (designated as I. variabilis-EPSPS (*)), and transferred into Zhonghua11, a widely used japonica rice cultivar. After systematic analysis of the transgene integration via PCR, Southern blot and flanking sequence isolation, three transgenic lines with only one intact I. variabilis-EPSPS (*) expression cassette integrated into intergenic regions were identified. Seed test results showed that the glyphosate tolerance of the transgenic rice was about 240 times that of wild type on plant medium. The glyphosate tolerance of transgenic rice lines was further evaluated based on comprehensive agronomic performances in the field with T3 and T5generations in a 2-year assay, which showed that they were rarely affected by glyphosate even when the dosage was 8400 g ha(-1). To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the development of glyphosate-tolerant rice lines based on a comprehensive analysis of agronomic performances in the field. Taken together, the results suggest that the selected glyphosate-tolerant rice lines are highly tolerant to glyphosate and have the possibility of commercial release. I. variabilis-EPSPS (*) also can be a promising candidate gene in other species for developing glyphosate-tolerant crops.

  4. Mapping paddy rice planting areas through time series analysis of MODIS land surface temperature and vegetation index data

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Geli; Xiao, Xiangming; Dong, Jinwei; Kou, Weili; Jin, Cui; Qin, Yuanwei; Zhou, Yuting; Wang, Jie; Menarguez, Michael Angelo; Biradar, Chandrashekhar

    2016-01-01

    Knowledge of the area and spatial distribution of paddy rice is important for assessment of food security, management of water resources, and estimation of greenhouse gas (methane) emissions. Paddy rice agriculture has expanded rapidly in northeastern China in the last decade, but there are no updated maps of paddy rice fields in the region. Existing algorithms for identifying paddy rice fields are based on the unique physical features of paddy rice during the flooding and transplanting phases and use vegetation indices that are sensitive to the dynamics of the canopy and surface water content. However, the flooding phenomena in high latitude area could also be from spring snowmelt flooding. We used land surface temperature (LST) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor to determine the temporal window of flooding and rice transplantation over a year to improve the existing phenology-based approach. Other land cover types (e.g., evergreen vegetation, permanent water bodies, and sparse vegetation) with potential influences on paddy rice identification were removed (masked out) due to their different temporal profiles. The accuracy assessment using high-resolution images showed that the resultant MODIS-derived paddy rice map of northeastern China in 2010 had a high accuracy (producer and user accuracies of 92% and 96%, respectively). The MODIS-based map also had a comparable accuracy to the 2010 Landsat-based National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) of China in terms of both area and spatial pattern. This study demonstrated that our improved algorithm by using both thermal and optical MODIS data, provides a robust, simple and automated approach to identify and map paddy rice fields in temperate and cold temperate zones, the northern frontier of rice planting. PMID:27667901

  5. Mapping paddy rice planting areas through time series analysis of MODIS land surface temperature and vegetation index data.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Geli; Xiao, Xiangming; Dong, Jinwei; Kou, Weili; Jin, Cui; Qin, Yuanwei; Zhou, Yuting; Wang, Jie; Menarguez, Michael Angelo; Biradar, Chandrashekhar

    2015-08-01

    Knowledge of the area and spatial distribution of paddy rice is important for assessment of food security, management of water resources, and estimation of greenhouse gas (methane) emissions. Paddy rice agriculture has expanded rapidly in northeastern China in the last decade, but there are no updated maps of paddy rice fields in the region. Existing algorithms for identifying paddy rice fields are based on the unique physical features of paddy rice during the flooding and transplanting phases and use vegetation indices that are sensitive to the dynamics of the canopy and surface water content. However, the flooding phenomena in high latitude area could also be from spring snowmelt flooding. We used land surface temperature (LST) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor to determine the temporal window of flooding and rice transplantation over a year to improve the existing phenology-based approach. Other land cover types (e.g., evergreen vegetation, permanent water bodies, and sparse vegetation) with potential influences on paddy rice identification were removed (masked out) due to their different temporal profiles. The accuracy assessment using high-resolution images showed that the resultant MODIS-derived paddy rice map of northeastern China in 2010 had a high accuracy (producer and user accuracies of 92% and 96%, respectively). The MODIS-based map also had a comparable accuracy to the 2010 Landsat-based National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) of China in terms of both area and spatial pattern. This study demonstrated that our improved algorithm by using both thermal and optical MODIS data, provides a robust, simple and automated approach to identify and map paddy rice fields in temperate and cold temperate zones, the northern frontier of rice planting.

  6. Carbon dioxide emissions and energy balance closure before, during, and after biomass burning in mid-South rice fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fong, B.; Adviento-Borbe, A.; Reba, M. L.; Runkle, B.; Suvocarev, K.

    2017-12-01

    Biomass burning or field burning is a crop management practice that removes rice straw, reduces tillage, controls pests and releases nutrients for the next cropping season. Current field burning emissions are not included in agricultural field annual emissions largely because of the lack of studies, especially on the field scale. Field burning measurements are important for greenhouse gas emission inventories and quantifying the annual carbon footprint of rice. Paired eddy covariance systems were used to measure energy balance, CO2 fluxes, and H2O fluxes in mid-South US rice fields (total area of 25 ha) before, during and after biomass burning for 20 days after harvest. During the biomass burning, air temperatures increased 29°C, while ambient CO2 concentration increased from 402 to 16,567 ppm and H2O concentrations increased from 18.73 to 25.62 ppt. For the burning period, 67-86 kg CO2 ha-1 period-1 was emitted calculated by integrating fluxes over the biomass burning event. However, the estimated emission using aboveground biomass and combustion factors was calculated as 11,733 kg CO2 ha-1 period-1. Part of the difference could be attributed to sensor sensitivity decreasing 80% during burning for two minutes due to smoke. Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) increased by a factor of two, 1.14 before burning to 2.44 μmol m-2 s-1 possibly due to greater reduction of plant material and photosynthesis following burning. This study highlights the contribution of rice straw burning to total CO2 emissions from rice production.

  7. Integrated rice-duck farming decreases global warming potential and increases net ecosystem economic budget in central China.

    PubMed

    Sheng, Feng; Cao, Cou-Gui; Li, Cheng-Fang

    2018-05-31

    Over the past decades, many attempts have been made to assess the effects of integrated rice-duck farming on greenhouse gas emissions, use efficient of energy, soil fertility, and economic significance. However, very few studies have been focused on the effects of the farming on net ecosystem economic budget (NEEB). Here, a 2-year field experiment was conducted to comprehensively investigate the effects of ducks raised in paddy fields on CH 4 and N 2 O emissions, global warming potential (GWP), rice grain yield, and NEEB in central China. The experiment included two treatments: integrated rice-duck farming (RD) and conventional rice farming (R). The introduction of ducks into the paddy fields markedly increased the rice grain yield due to enhanced tiller number and root bleeding rate. RD treatment significantly elevated the N 2 O emissions (p < 0.05) but decreased CH 4 emissions (p < 0.05) during rice growing seasons compared with R treatment. Analysis of GWP based on CH 4 and N 2 O emissions showed that compared with R treatment, RD treatment significantly decreased the GWP by 28.1 and 28.0% and reduced the greenhouse gas intensity by 30.6 and 29.8% in 2009 and 2010, respectively. In addition, RD treatment increased NEEB by 40.8 and 39.7% respectively in 2009 and 2010 relative to R treatment. Taken together, our results suggest that the integrated rice-duck farming system is an effective strategy to optimize the economic and environmental benefits of paddy fields in central China.

  8. Can rice field channels contribute to biodiversity conservation in Southern Brazilian wetlands?

    PubMed

    Maltchik, Leonardo; Rolon, Ana Silvia; Stenert, Cristina; Machado, Iberê Farina; Rocha, Odete

    2011-12-01

    Conservation of species in agroecosystems has attracted attention. Irrigation channels can improve habitats and offer conditions for freshwater species conservation. Two questions from biodiversity conservation point of view are: 1) Can the irrigated channels maintain a rich diversity of macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and amphibians over the cultivation cycle? 2) Do richness, abundance and composition of aquatic species change over the rice cultivation cycle? For this, a set of four rice field channels was randomly selected in Southern Brazilian wetlands. In each channel, six sample collection events were carried out over the rice cultivation cycle (June 2005 to June 2006). A total of 160 taxa were identified in irrigated channels, including 59 macrophyte species, 91 taxa of macroinvertebrate and 10 amphibian species. The richness and abundance of macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and amphibians did not change significantly over the rice cultivation cycle. However, the species composition of these groups in the irrigation channels varied between uncultivated and cultivated periods. Our results showed that the species diversity found in the irrigation channels, together with the permanence of water enables these man-made aquatic networks to function as important systems that can contribute to the conservation of biodiversity in regions where the wetlands were converted into rice fields. The conservation of the species in agriculture, such as rice field channels, may be an important alternative for biodiversity conservation in Southern Brazil, where more than 90% of wetland systems have already been lost and the remaining ones are still at high risk due to the expansion of rice production.

  9. Study of mosquito fauna in rice ecosystems around Hanoi, northern Vietnam.

    PubMed

    Ohba, Shin-ya; Van Soai, Nguyen; Van Anh, Dinh Thi; Nguyen, Yen T; Takagi, Masahiro

    2015-02-01

    Species of the Culex vishnui subgroup, Cx. fuscocephala and Cx. gelidus, which are known Japanese encephalitis (JE) vectors, are distributed in rice agroecosystems in Asian countries. Hence, although ecological studies of rice agroecosystems in northern Vietnam are necessary, very few integrated studies of breeding habitats of mosquitoes, including JE vectors, have been conducted. We carried out a field study and investigated the mosquito fauna in six rice production areas in northern Vietnam during the rainy and dry seasons of 2009. Mosquitoes and potential mosquito predators were collected from aquatic habitats by using larval dippers. We collected 1780 Culex individuals (including 254 Cx. tritaeniorhynchus; 113 Cx. vishnui, 58 Cx. vishnui complex, consisting of Cx. vishnui and Cx. pseudovishnui; 12 Cx. gelidus; 1 Cx. bitaeniorhynchus; and 1 Cx. fuscocephala), 148 Anopheles individuals (including 5 An. vagus), 1 Mansonia annulifera, and 1 Mimomyia chamberlaini during the rainy season. During the dry season, we collected 176 Culex individuals (including 33 Cx. vishnui, 24 Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, 8 Cx. vishnui complex, and 1 Cx. gelidus) and 186 Anopheles individuals (including 9 An. tessellatus, 2 An. kochi, and 2 An. barbumbrosus). We found mosquitoes in all aquatic habitats, namely, rice fields, ditches, ponds, wetlands, irrigation canals, and rice nurseries, and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus and Cx. vishnui complex were found in all the above six areas. Heteroptera such as Micronecta, Veliidae, and Pleidae were abundant and widely distributed in both the seasons. The abundance of mosquito larvae was higher in the rice fields, ditches, and ponds during the rainy season than during the dry season. Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. vishnui complex, Cx. fuscocephala, and Cx. gelidus were abundant in rice agroecosystems (rice fields, ditches, ponds, and wetlands) in northern Vietnam, and their abundance was high during the rainy season. These findings deepen our understanding of mosquito ecology and strengthen mosquito control strategies to be applied in rice ecosystems Vietnam in the future. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Transgenic rice plants expressing a fused protein of Cry1Ab/Vip3H has resistance to rice stem borers under laboratory and field conditions.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yang; Tian, Jun-Ce; Shen, Zhi-Chen; Peng, Yu-Fa; Hu, Cui; Guo, Yu-Yuan; Ye, Gong-Yin

    2010-08-01

    Six transgenic rice, Oryza sativa L., lines (G6H1, G6H2, G6H3, G6H4, G6H5, and G6H6) expressing a fused Cry1Ab/Vip3H protein, were evaluated for resistance against the Asiatic rice borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), and the stem borer Sesamia inferens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the laboratory and field. The bioassay results indicated that the mortality of Asiatic rice borer and S. inferens neonate larvae on six transgenic lines from seedling to filling stage was up to 100% at 168 h after infestation. The cumulative feeding area by Asiatic rice borer neonate larvae on all transgenic lines was significantly reduced compared with the untransformed parental 'Xiushui 110' rice. A 2-yr field evaluation showed that damage during the vegetative stage (deadheart) or during the reproductive stage (whitehead) caused by Asiatic rice borer and S. inferens for transgenic lines was much lower than the control. For three lines (G6H1, G6H2, and G6H6), no damage was found during the entire growing period. Estimation of fused Cry1Ab/Vip3H protein concentrations using PathoScreen kit for Bt-Cry1Ab/1Ac protein indicated that the expression levels of Cry1Ab protein both in main stems (within the average range of 0.006-0.073% of total soluble protein) and their flag leaves (within the average range of 0.001-0.038% of total soluble protein) were significantly different among six transgenic lines at different developmental stages. Both laboratory and field researches suggested that the transgenic rice lines have considerable potential for protecting rice from attack by both stem borers.

  11. The distribution of the invasive pest, rice water weevil Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is expanding in Europe: First record in the Balkans, confirmed by CO1 DNA barcoding

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    This is the first report of the invasive rice pest, rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel) in the Balkans. Adult specimens were collected in flooded rice fields in the principal rice-growing region of Central Macedonia, Greece during July-August, 2016. Morphological identification was...

  12. Field evidence for the potential of Rhodobacter capsulatus as Biofertilizer for flooded rice.

    PubMed

    Gamal-Eldin, Hosny; Elbanna, Khaled

    2011-02-01

    In a previous study, we evaluated the effects of inoculating rice plants with the phototrophic purple nonsulfur bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus (Rc) on growth and yield of rice in pots and lysimeter experiments and the results obtained have been highly encouraging. In this study, we carried out two field experiments: one in the experimental farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, and the second in a farmer's field in Kafr El-sheikh, to assess the effects of Rc on growth and yield of rice in comparison and in combination with chemical nitrogen fertilizer (CNF) and farmyard manure. The results indicated that both biological and grain yields in all the Rc inoculated treatments were significantly higher than those in the uninoculated corresponding treatments in both fields. With regard to grain yield, the major factor for determining the effectiveness of any agricultural treatment, inoculation with Rc in combination with 50% of the recommended CNF rate gave a grain yield that was statistically equivalent to that obtained with 100% of the recommended CNF rate. These results provide a clear evidence for the potential of Rc as biofertilizer for flooded rice under field conditions.

  13. Comparison of on-site field measured inorganic arsenic in rice with laboratory measurements using a field deployable method: Method validation.

    PubMed

    Mlangeni, Angstone Thembachako; Vecchi, Valeria; Norton, Gareth J; Raab, Andrea; Krupp, Eva M; Feldmann, Joerg

    2018-10-15

    A commercial arsenic field kit designed to measure inorganic arsenic (iAs) in water was modified into a field deployable method (FDM) to measure iAs in rice. While the method has been validated to give precise and accurate results in the laboratory, its on-site field performance has not been evaluated. This study was designed to test the method on-site in Malawi in order to evaluate its accuracy and precision in determination of iAs on-site by comparing with a validated reference method and giving original data on inorganic arsenic in Malawian rice and rice-based products. The method was validated by using the established laboratory-based HPLC-ICPMS. Statistical tests indicated there were no significant differences between on-site and laboratory iAs measurements determined using the FDM (p = 0.263, ά = 0.05) and between on-site measurements and measurements determined using HPLC-ICP-MS (p = 0.299, ά = 0.05). This method allows quick (within 1 h) and efficient screening of rice containing iAs concentrations on-site. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Landuse change identification using SPOT 6 for food security analysis of Denpasar City, Bali Province, Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Supardan, N.; Panularsih, M.; Darmawan, M.

    2018-05-01

    Land use change was common in Indonesia, including Bali, especially land conversion from paddy field to other uses. Based on statistics data of Bali 2015, the area of rice fields continues to decline every year, both irrigated and rain-fed rice fields. This study was conducted to analyze land use change and its impact on food security in Denpasar. Land use change dynamics can be observed by multi-temporal land use changes. GIS analysis was performed to obtain spatial land use changes in the study area by using topographic map 1: 25,000 with data sources 2002 and land cover classification of SPOT 6 image acquisition 2015. The results of GIS analysis indicate that settlement and built-up area increased by 1,736 hectares and the area of rice field decreased by 1,695 hectares during 13 years. The increasing of settlement rate was 133,5 ha / year and the decreasing of rice field was 130 ha / year. Meanwhile, the result of food availability analysis shows that the Denpasar City still deficit of rice amount 48,997 tons in 2014, and 69,175 tons in 2015 or only fulfill about 45% of food requirement.

  15. Application of a rotation system to oilseed rape and rice fields in Cd-contaminated agricultural land to ensure food safety.

    PubMed

    Yu, Lingling; Zhu, Junyan; Huang, Qingqing; Su, Dechun; Jiang, Rongfeng; Li, Huafen

    2014-10-01

    This field experiment analyzed the phytoremediation effects of oilseed rape in moderately cadmium (Cd)-contaminated farmland and the food safety of successive rice in an oilseed rape-rice rotation system. Two oilseed rape cultivars accumulated Cd at different rates. The rapeseed cultivar Zhucang Huazi exhibited high Cd accumulation rates, higher than the legal limit for human consumption (0.2mgkg(-1)); Cd concentrations in the cultivar Chuanyou II-93 were all below the maximum allowed level. Planting oilseed rape increased the uptake of Cd by the successive rice crop compared with a previous fallow treatment. Most Cd concentrations of brown rice were below the maximum allowed level. The phytoextraction efficiency was lower in the moderately Cd-contaminated soil in field experiments. The results suggest screening rice cultivars with lower Cd accumulation can assure the food safety; the mobilization of heavy metals by roots of different plant species should be considered during crop rotation to assure food safety. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Mapping rice areas of South Asia using MODIS multitemporal data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gumma, Murali Krishna; Nelson, Andrew; Thenkabail, Prasad S.; Singh, Amrendra N.

    2011-01-01

    Our goal is to map the rice areas of six South Asian countries using moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) time-series data for the time period 2000 to 2001. South Asia accounts for almost 40% of the world's harvested rice area and is also home to 74% of the population that lives on less than $2.00 a day. The population of the region is growing faster than its ability to produce rice. Thus, accurate and timely assessment of where and how rice is cultivated is important to craft food security and poverty alleviation strategies. We used a time series of eight-day, 500-m spatial resolution composite images from the MODIS sensor to produce rice maps and rice characteristics (e.g., intensity of cropping, cropping calendar) taking data for the years 2000 to 2001 and by adopting a suite of methods that include spectral matching techniques, decision trees, and ideal temporal profile data banks to rapidly identify and classify rice areas over large spatial extents. These methods are used in conjunction with ancillary spatial data sets (e.g., elevation, precipitation), national statistics, and maps, and a large volume of field-plot data. The resulting rice maps and statistics are compared against a subset of independent field-plot points and the best available subnational statistics on rice areas for the main crop growing season (kharif season). A fuzzy classification accuracy assessment for the 2000 to 2001 rice-map product, based on field-plot data, demonstrated accuracies from 67% to 100% for individual rice classes, with an overall accuracy of 80% for all classes. Most of the mixing was within rice classes. The derived physical rice area was highly correlated with the subnational statistics with R2 values of 97% at the district level and 99% at the state level for 2000 to 2001. These results suggest that the methods, approaches, algorithms, and data sets we used are ideal for rapid, accurate, and large-scale mapping of paddy rice as well as for generating their statistics over large areas.

  17. Adapting rice production to climate change for sustainable blue water consumption: an economic and virtual water analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Darzi-Naftchali, Abdullah; Karandish, Fatemeh

    2017-12-01

    Sustainable utilization of blue water resources under climate change is of great significance especially for producing high water-consuming crops in water-scarce regions. Based on the virtual water concept, we carried out a comprehensive field-modeling research to find the optimal agricultural practices regarding rice blue water consumption under prospective climate change. The DSSAT-CERES-Rice model was used in combination with 20 GCMs under three Representative Concentration Pathways of low (RCP2.6), intermediate (RCP4.6), and very high (RCP8.5) greenhouse concentrations to predict rice yield and water requirement and related virtual water and economic return for the base and future periods. The crop model was calibrated and validated based on the 2-year field data obtained from consolidated paddy fields of the Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University during 2011 and 2012 rice cropping cycles. Climate change imposes an increase of 0.02-0.04 °C in air temperature which consequently shifts rice growing seasons to winter season, and shorten the length of rice physiological maturity period by 2-15 days. While rice virtual water reduces by 0.1-20.6% during 2011-2070, reduced rice yield by 3.8-22.6% over the late twenty-first century results in a considerable increase in rice virtual water. By increasing the contribution of green water in supplying crop water requirement, earlier cropping could diminish blue water consumption for rice production in the region while cultivation postponement increases irrigation water requirement by 2-195 m3 ha-1. Forty days delay in rice cultivation in future will result in 29.9-40.6% yield reduction and 43.9-60% increase in rice virtual water under different scenarios. Earlier cropping during the 2011-2040 and 2041-2070 periods would increase water productivity, unit value of water, and economic value of blue water compared to the base period. Based on the results, management of rice cultivation calendar is a suitable strategy for sustainable blue water consumption for producing rice under future climate.

  18. Mapping rice areas of South Asia using MODIS multitemporal data

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gumma, M.K.; Nelson, A.; Thenkabail, P.S.; Singh, A.N.

    2011-01-01

    Our goal is to map the rice areas of six South Asian countries using moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) time-series data for the time period 2000 to 2001. South Asia accounts for almost 40% of the world's harvested rice area and is also home to 74% of the population that lives on less than $2.00 a day. The population of the region is growing faster than its ability to produce rice. Thus, accurate and timely assessment of where and how rice is cultivated is important to craft food security and poverty alleviation strategies. We used a time series of eight-day, 500-m spatial resolution composite images from the MODIS sensor to produce rice maps and rice characteristics (e.g., intensity of cropping, cropping calendar) taking data for the years 2000 to 2001 and by adopting a suite of methods that include spectral matching techniques, decision trees, and ideal temporal profile data banks to rapidly identify and classify rice areas over large spatial extents. These methods are used in conjunction with ancillary spatial data sets (e.g., elevation, precipitation), national statistics, and maps, and a large volume of field-plot data. The resulting rice maps and statistics are compared against a subset of independent field-plot points and the best available subnational statistics on rice areas for the main crop growing season (kharif season). A fuzzy classification accuracy assessment for the 2000 to 2001 rice-map product, based on field-plot data, demonstrated accuracies from 67% to 100% for individual rice classes, with an overall accuracy of 80% for all classes. Most of the mixing was within rice classes. The derived physical rice area was highly correlated with the subnational statistics with R2 values of 97% at the district level and 99% at the state level for 2000 to 2001. These results suggest that the methods, approaches, algorithms, and data sets we used are ideal for rapid, accurate, and large-scale mapping of paddy rice as well as for generating their statistics over large areas. ?? 2011 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

  19. Photosynthetic Bradyrhizobia Are Natural Endophytes of the African Wild Rice Oryza breviligulata

    PubMed Central

    Chaintreuil, Clémence; Giraud, Eric; Prin, Yves; Lorquin, Jean; Bâ, Amadou; Gillis, Monique; de Lajudie, Philippe; Dreyfus, Bernard

    2000-01-01

    We investigated the presence of endophytic rhizobia within the roots of the wetland wild rice Oryza breviligulata, which is the ancestor of the African cultivated rice Oryza glaberrima. This primitive rice species grows in the same wetland sites as Aeschynomene sensitiva, an aquatic stem-nodulated legume associated with photosynthetic strains of Bradyrhizobium. Twenty endophytic and aquatic isolates were obtained at three different sites in West Africa (Senegal and Guinea) from nodal roots of O. breviligulata and surrounding water by using A. sensitiva as a trap legume. Most endophytic and aquatic isolates were photosynthetic and belonged to the same phylogenetic Bradyrhizobium/Blastobacter subgroup as the typical photosynthetic Bradyrhizobium strains previously isolated from Aeschynomene stem nodules. Nitrogen-fixing activity, measured by acetylene reduction, was detected in rice plants inoculated with endophytic isolates. A 20% increase in the shoot growth and grain yield of O. breviligulata grown in a greenhouse was also observed upon inoculation with one endophytic strain and one Aeschynomene photosynthetic strain. The photosynthetic Bradyrhizobium sp. strain ORS278 extensively colonized the root surface, followed by intercellular, and rarely intracellular, bacterial invasion of the rice roots, which was determined with a lacZ-tagged mutant of ORS278. The discovery that photosynthetic Bradyrhizobium strains, which are usually known to induce nitrogen-fixing nodules on stems of the legume Aeschynomene, are also natural true endophytes of the primitive rice O. breviligulata could significantly enhance cultivated rice production. PMID:11097925

  20. Phenotype diversity analysis of red-grained rice landraces from Yuanyang Hani's terraced fields, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Lianjie; Cheng, Long

    2017-10-01

    There are many areas in the world have terraced fields, Yuanyang Rani's terraced fields are examples in the world, and their unique ecological diversity is beyond other terraced fields, rice landraces are very rich. In order to provide useful information for protection and utilization of red-grained rice landraces from Rani's terraced fields, 61 red-grained rice landraces were assessed based 20 quantitative traits. Principal component analysis (PCA) suggested that 20 quantitative characters could be simplified to seven principal components, and their accumulative contribution ration amounted to 78.699%. The first principal component (PC1) explained 18.375% of the total variance, which was contributed by filled grain number, 1000-grain weight, spikelets per panicle, secondary branch number, grain length, and grain thickness. PC2 accounted for 16.548% of the variance and featured flag leaf width, flag leaf area, panicle neck length and primary branch number. These traits were the most effective parameters to discriminate individuals. At the request of the proceedings editor and with the approval of all authors, article 040111 titled, "Phenotype diversity analysis of red-grained rice landraces from Yuanyang Hani's terraced fields, China," is being retracted from the public record due to the fact that it is a duplication of article 040110 published in the same volume.

  1. Structure and function of the methanogenic microbial communities in Uruguayan soils shifted between pasture and irrigated rice fields.

    PubMed

    Scavino, Ana Fernandez; Ji, Yang; Pump, Judith; Klose, Melanie; Claus, Peter; Conrad, Ralf

    2013-09-01

    Irrigated rice fields in Uruguay are temporarily established on soils used as cattle pastures. Typically, 4 years of cattle pasture are alternated with 2 years of irrigated rice cultivation. Thus, oxic upland conditions are rotated with seasonally anoxic wetland conditions. Only the latter conditions are suitable for the production of CH4 from anaerobic degradation of organic matter. We studied soil from a permanent pasture as well as soils from different years of the pasture-rice rotation hypothesizing that activity and structure of the bacterial and archaeal communities involved in production of CH4 change systematically with the duration of either oxic or anoxic conditions. Soil samples were taken from drained fields, air-dried and used for the experiments. Indeed, methanogenic archaeal gene copy numbers (16S rRNA, mcrA) were lower in soil from the permanent pasture than from the pasture-rice alternation fields, but within the latter, there was no significant difference. Methane production started to accumulate after 16 days and 7 days of anoxic incubation in soil from the permanent pasture and the pasture-rice alternation fields respectively. Then, CH4 production rates were slightly higher in the soils used for pasture than for rice production. Analysis of δ(13) C in CH4, CO2 and acetate in the presence and absence of methyl fluoride, an inhibitor of aceticlastic methanogenesis, indicated that CH4 was mainly (58-75%) produced from acetate, except in the permanent pasture soil (42%). Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) of archaeal 16S rRNA genes showed no difference among the soils from the pasture-rice alternation fields with Methanocellaceae and Methanosarcinaceae as the main groups of methanogens, but in the permanent pasture soil, Methanocellaceae were relatively less abundant. T-RFLP analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA genes allowed the distinction of permanent pasture and fields from the pasture-rice rotation, but nevertheless with a high similarity. Pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes generally revealed Firmicutes as the dominant bacterial phylum, followed by Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria. We conclude that a stable methanogenic microbial community established once pastures have been turned into management by pasture-rice alternation despite the fact that 2 years of wetland conditions were followed by 4 years of upland conditions that were not suitable for CH4 production. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

  2. Agriculture and the promotion of insect pests: rice cultivation in river floodplains and malaria vectors in The Gambia.

    PubMed

    Jarju, Lamin B S; Fillinger, Ulrike; Green, Clare; Louca, Vasilis; Majambere, Silas; Lindsay, Steven W

    2009-07-27

    Anthropogenic modification of natural habitats can create conditions in which pest species associated with humans can thrive. In order to mitigate for these changes, it is necessary to determine which aspects of human management are associated with the promotion of those pests. Anopheles gambiae, the main Africa malaria vector, often breeds in rice fields. Here the impact of the ancient practice of 'swamp rice' cultivation, on the floodplains of the Gambia River, on the production of anopheline mosquitoes was investigated. Routine surveys were carried out along 500 m transects crossing rice fields from the landward edge of the floodplains to the river during the 2006 rainy season. Aquatic invertebrates were sampled using area samplers and emergence traps and fish sampled using nets. Semi-field experiments were used to investigate whether nutrients used for swamp rice cultivation affected mosquito larval abundance. At the beginning of the rainy season rice is grown on the landward edge of the floodplain; the first area to flood with fresh water and one rich in cattle dung. Later, rice plants are transplanted close to the river, the last area to dry out on the floodplain. Nearly all larval and adult stages of malaria vectors were collected 0-100 m from the landward edge of the floodplains, where immature rice plants were grown. These paddies contained stagnant freshwater with high quantities of cattle faeces. Semi-field studies demonstrated that cattle faeces nearly doubled the number of anopheline larvae compared with untreated water. Swamp rice cultivation creates ideal breeding sites for malaria vectors. However, only those close to the landward edge harboured vectors. These sites were productive since they were large areas of standing freshwater, rich in nutrients, protected from fish, and situated close to human habitation, where egg-laying mosquitoes from the villages had short distances to fly. The traditional practice of 'swamp rice' cultivation uses different bodies of water on the floodplains to cultivate rice during the rainy season. A consequence of this cultivation is the provizion of ideal conditions for malaria vectors to thrive. As the demand for locally-produced rice grows, increased rice farming will generate great numbers of vectors; emphasizing the need to protect local communities against malaria.

  3. The Birth of a Black Rice Gene and Its Local Spread by Introgression

    PubMed Central

    Oikawa, Tetsuo; Maeda, Hiroaki; Oguchi, Taichi; Yamaguchi, Takuya; Tanabe, Noriko; Ebana, Kaworu; Yano, Masahiro; Izawa, Takeshi

    2015-01-01

    The origin and spread of novel agronomic traits during crop domestication are complex events in plant evolution. Wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) has red grains due to the accumulation of proanthocyanidins, whereas most cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) varieties have white grains induced by a defective allele in the Rc basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) gene. Although the events surrounding the origin and spread of black rice traits remain unknown, varieties with black grains due to anthocyanin accumulation are distributed in various locations throughout Asia. Here, we show that the black grain trait originated from ectopic expression of the Kala4 bHLH gene due to rearrangement in the promoter region. Both the Rc and Kala4 genes activate upstream flavonol biosynthesis genes, such as chalcone synthase and dihydroflavonol-4-reductase, and downstream genes, such as leucoanthocyanidin reductase and leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase, to produce the respective specific pigments. Genome analysis of 21 black rice varieties as well as red- and white-grained landraces demonstrated that black rice arose in tropical japonica and its subsequent spread to the indica subspecies can be attributed to the causal alleles of Kala4. The relatively small size of genomic fragments of tropical japonica origin in some indica varieties indicates that refined introgression must have occurred by natural crossbreeding in the course of evolution of the black trait in rice. PMID:26362607

  4. The Birth of a Black Rice Gene and Its Local Spread by Introgression.

    PubMed

    Oikawa, Tetsuo; Maeda, Hiroaki; Oguchi, Taichi; Yamaguchi, Takuya; Tanabe, Noriko; Ebana, Kaworu; Yano, Masahiro; Ebitani, Takeshi; Izawa, Takeshi

    2015-09-01

    The origin and spread of novel agronomic traits during crop domestication are complex events in plant evolution. Wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) has red grains due to the accumulation of proanthocyanidins, whereas most cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) varieties have white grains induced by a defective allele in the Rc basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) gene. Although the events surrounding the origin and spread of black rice traits remain unknown, varieties with black grains due to anthocyanin accumulation are distributed in various locations throughout Asia. Here, we show that the black grain trait originated from ectopic expression of the Kala4 bHLH gene due to rearrangement in the promoter region. Both the Rc and Kala4 genes activate upstream flavonol biosynthesis genes, such as chalcone synthase and dihydroflavonol-4-reductase, and downstream genes, such as leucoanthocyanidin reductase and leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase, to produce the respective specific pigments. Genome analysis of 21 black rice varieties as well as red- and white-grained landraces demonstrated that black rice arose in tropical japonica and its subsequent spread to the indica subspecies can be attributed to the causal alleles of Kala4. The relatively small size of genomic fragments of tropical japonica origin in some indica varieties indicates that refined introgression must have occurred by natural crossbreeding in the course of evolution of the black trait in rice. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

  5. Characterization of competitive interactions in the coexistence of Bt-transgenic and conventional rice.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yongbo; Ge, Feng; Liang, Yuyong; Wu, Gang; Li, Junsheng

    2015-04-26

    Transgene flow through pollen and seeds leads to transgenic volunteers and feral populations in the nature, and consumer choice and economic incentives determine whether transgenic crops will be cultivated in the field. Transgenic and non-transgenic plants are likely to coexist in the field and natural habitats, but their competitive interactions are not well understood. Field experiments were conducted in an agricultural ecosystem with insecticide spraying and a natural ecosystem, using Bt-transgenic rice (Oryza sativa) and its non-transgenic counterpart in pure and mixed stands with a replacement series. Insect damage and competition significantly decreased plant growth and reproduction under the coexistence of transgenic and conventional rice. Insect-resistant transgenic rice was not competitively superior to its counterpart under different densities in both agricultural and natural ecosystems, irrespective of insect infection. Fitness cost due to Bt-transgene expression occurred only in an agroecosystem, where the population yield decreased with increasing percentage of transgenic rice. The population yield fluctuated in a natural ecosystem, with slight differences among pure and mixed stands under plant competition or insect pressure. The presence of Chilo suppressalis infection increased the number of non-target insects. Plant growth and reproduction patterns, relative competition ability and population yield indicate that Bt-transgenic and non-transgenic rice can coexist in agroecosystems, whereas in more natural habitats, transgenic rice is likely to outcompete non-transgenic rice.

  6. Biofortification of rice with the essential amino acid lysine: molecular characterization, nutritional evaluation, and field performance

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Qing-qing; Zhang, Chang-quan; Chan, Man-ling; Zhao, Dong-sheng; Chen, Jin-zhu; Wang, Qing; Li, Qian-feng; Yu, Heng-xiu; Gu, Ming-hong; Sun, Samuel Sai-ming; Liu, Qiao-quan

    2016-01-01

    Rice (Oryza sativa L.), a major staple crop worldwide, has limited levels of the essential amino acid lysine. We previously produced engineered rice with increased lysine content by expressing bacterial aspartate kinase and dihydrodipicolinate synthase and inhibiting rice lysine ketoglutarate reductase/saccharopine dehydrogenase activity. However, the grain quality, field performance, and integration patterns of the transgenes in these lysine-enriched lines remain unclear. In the present study, we selected several elite transgenic lines with endosperm-specific or constitutive regulation of the above key enzymes but lacking the selectable marker gene. All target transgenes were integrated into the intragenic region in the rice genome. Two pyramid transgenic lines (High Free Lysine; HFL1 and HFL2) with free lysine levels in seeds up to 25-fold that of wild type were obtained via a combination of the above two transgenic events. We observed a dramatic increase in total free amino acids and a slight increase in total protein content in both pyramid lines. Moreover, the general physicochemical properties were improved in pyramid transgenic rice, but the starch composition was not affected. Field trials indicated that the growth of HFL transgenic rice was normal, except for a slight difference in plant height and grain colour. Taken together, these findings will be useful for the potential commercialization of high-lysine transgenic rice. PMID:27252467

  7. Rapid Measurement of Soil Carbon in Rice Paddy Field of Lombok Island Indonesia Using Near Infrared Technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kusumo, B. H.; Sukartono, S.; Bustan, B.

    2018-02-01

    Measuring soil organic carbon (C) using conventional analysis is tedious procedure, time consuming and expensive. It is needed simple procedure which is cheap and saves time. Near infrared technology offers rapid procedure as it works based on the soil spectral reflectance and without any chemicals. The aim of this research is to test whether this technology able to rapidly measure soil organic C in rice paddy field. Soil samples were collected from rice paddy field of Lombok Island Indonesia, and the coordinates of the samples were recorded. Parts of the samples were analysed using conventional analysis (Walkley and Black) and some other parts were scanned using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for soil spectral collection. Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) Models were developed using data of soil C analysed using conventional analysis and data from soil spectral reflectance. The models were moderately successful to measure soil C in rice paddy field of Lombok Island. This shows that the NIR technology can be further used to monitor the C change in rice paddy soil.

  8. Field Evaluation of Four Spatial Repellent Devices Against Arkansas Rice-Land Mosquitoes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-03-01

    FIELD EVALUATION OF FOUR SPATIAL REPELLENT DEVICES AGAINST ARKANSAS RICE-LAND MOSQUITOES DAVID A. DAME,1 MAX V. MEISCH,2 CAROLYN N. LEWIS,2 DANIEL L... mosquitoes to locate a host. There are many commercially available spatial repellent products currently on the market. These products include...a large rice growing area where late-spring and summer agricultural irriga- tion generates dense mosquito populations. Spatial repellent devices

  9. Richness and density of aquatic benthic macroinvertebrates after exposure to fungicides and insecticides in rice paddy fields.

    PubMed

    Wandscheer, Alana C D; Marchesan, Enio; Santos, Sandro; Zanella, Renato; Silva, Marília F; Londero, Guilherme P; Donato, Gabriel

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this study was to verify the richness and density of aquatic benthic macroinvertebrates after exposure to fungicides and insecticides of the rice paddy fields. In the crop seasons of 2012/13 and 2013/14, field experiments were performed, which consisted of single-dose applications of the fungicides trifloxystrobin + tebuconazole and tricyclazole, and the insecticides lambda-cyhalothrin + thiamethoxam and diflubenzuron, in 10 m2 experimental plots, over rice plants in the R3 stage. Control plots with and without rice plants were maintained in order to simulate a natural environment. Soil samples were collected during rice cultivation for assessment of the macroinvertebrate fauna. Chemical-physical parameters assessed in the experiments included temperature, pH and oxygen dissolved in the water and pesticide persistence in the water and in the soil. The application of a single dose of the pesticides and fungicides in the recommended period does not cause significant negative effects over the richness and density of the macroinvertebrates. Tebuconazole, tricyclazole and thiamethoxam showed high persistence in the irrigation water of rice paddy fields. Thus, the doses and number of applications of these products in crops should be carefully handled in order to avoid contamination of the environment.

  10. Rice methylmercury exposure and mitigation: a comprehensive review.

    PubMed

    Rothenberg, Sarah E; Windham-Myers, Lisamarie; Creswell, Joel E

    2014-08-01

    Rice cultivation practices from field preparation to post-harvest transform rice paddies into hot spots for microbial mercury methylation, converting less-toxic inorganic mercury to more-toxic methylmercury, which is likely translocated to rice grain. This review includes 51 studies reporting rice total mercury and/or methylmercury concentrations, based on rice (Orzya sativa) cultivated or purchased in 15 countries. Not surprisingly, both rice total mercury and methylmercury levels were significantly higher in polluted sites compared to non-polluted sites (Wilcoxon rank sum, p<0.001). However, rice percent methylmercury (of total mercury) did not differ statistically between polluted and non-polluted sites (Wilcoxon rank sum, p=0.35), suggesting comparable mercury methylation rates in paddy soil across these sites and/or similar accumulation of mercury species for these rice cultivars. Studies characterizing the effects of rice cultivation under more aerobic conditions were reviewed to determine the mitigation potential of this practice. Rice management practices utilizing alternating wetting and drying (instead of continuous flooding) caused soil methylmercury levels to spike, resulting in a strong methylmercury pulse after fields were dried and reflooded; however, it is uncertain whether this led to increased translocation of methylmercury from paddy soil to rice grain. Due to the potential health risks, it is advisable to investigate this issue further, and to develop separate water management strategies for mercury polluted and non-polluted sites, in order to minimize methylmercury exposure through rice ingestion. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Progress in the paddy field

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rice feeds around 3.5 billion people and provides a significant proportion of calories for many of the world’s poor. The USA is a major producer and exporter of rice. The USDA/ARS Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center (DBNRRC) is located in the heart of the southern USA rice growing region in A...

  12. Aerobic Decomposition and Organic Amendments Effects on Grain Yield of Triple-Cropped Rice in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Soil aeration during decomposition of incorporated crop residues and application of organic amendments might help improve soil quality and rice yield for sustainable intensive rice production. A field experiment was conducted on triple-cropped rice during three consecutive crops with five treatments...

  13. Simulation of future global warming scenarios in rice paddies with an open-field ecosystem warming facility

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Yangtze River Valley (YRV) suffered serious yield losses in 2003 when extreme heatwave (HW), hampered rice reproductive growth phase (RGP). Climate change induced extreme and asymmetrical fluctuations in temperature during heat sensitive stage of rice growth cycle, i.e., RG...

  14. Rice emissions during field flooding and air pollution feedbacks across South Korea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    So, C.; Diskin, G. S.; DiGangi, J. P.; Choi, Y.; Rana, M.; Hughes, S.; Blake, D. R.; Nault, B.; Schroeder, J.; Campuzano Jost, P.; Jimenez, J. L.; Kim, M. J.; Teng, A.; Crounse, J. D.; Wenneberg, P.; Kaser, L.; Mikoviny, T.; Müller, M.; Wisthaler, A.; Pusede, S. E.

    2017-12-01

    Nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) are important long-lived greenhouse gases. Known anthropogenic sources of these gases include rice cultivation, which represents anywhere between 5% and 20% of methane emissions globally. Other volatile molecules are also produced by soil biogeochemistry when rice fields are flooded, including small organic oxygenates. Here, we use recent aircraft measurements from the KORUS-AQ experiment to describe controls over rice emissions of N2O and CH4 at regional-scales across the South Korean Peninsula. We also investigate potential emissions of molecular hydrogen and volatile alcohols and organic acids and consider the effect of aerosol nitrate and sulfate deposition on rice soil biogeochemistry on paddies downwind of polluted urban areas.

  15. Weed communities of rain-fed lowland rice vary with infestation by Rhamphicarpa fistulosa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Houngbédji, Tossimidé; Dessaint, Fabrice; Nicolardot, Bernard; Shykoff, Jacqui A.; Gibot-Leclerc, Stéphanie

    2016-11-01

    The facultative hemiparasitic plant Rhamphicarpa fistulosa (Orobanchaceae) thrives in seasonally wet soils in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly in marginal lowland rice growing environments where weeds are already a major constraint for rice production. Because lowland rice production is increasing in tropical Africa, it is important to ascertain the influence of R. fistulosa on weed plant communities in these rice-growing habitats. We investigated weed plant community richness and composition at four different levels of R. fistulosa infestation across two years of surveys from lowland rice fields in northern Togo (West Africa). Despite a lack of significant differences in community richness among sites with different R. fistulosa infestation levels, there were significant differences in community composition, both when estimated from presence-absence data and from relative abundance data, after controlling statistically for geographic proximity among sites. Rhamphicarpa fistulosa infestation, therefore, may influence the competitive balance between rice and its weeds and shape weed community structure. However, experimental studies are required to elucidate the weed host range of R. fistulosa and the direct and indirect effects of this hemiparasite in rice fields in order to predict its net impact on rice and its weed species.

  16. [Reducing cadmium content of rice grains by means of flooding and a few problems].

    PubMed

    Kawasaki, Akira; Arao, Tomohito; Ishikawa, Satoru

    2012-01-01

    The effects of water management in rice paddies on the levels of cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) in Japanese rice grains were tested. In order to reduce the Cd concentration in rice grains, flooding for 3 weeks before and after heading was most effective, but this treatment increased As concentration considerably. Aerobic treatment was effective in reducing As concentration in rice grains, but increased Cd concentration markedly. In the pot experiment, flooding treatment after heading was more effective than flooding treatment before heading in reducing both Cd and As concentrations in rice grains. The concentration of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in rice grains was very low under aerobic conditions, but increased in the continuous-flooding treatment. In the field experiment, the grain As concentration in the case of flooding for 3 weeks before and after heading was higher than that in the case of intermittent irrigation. The ratios of DMA to the total As concentration were 3-52% in the pot experiment and 7-13% in the field experiment.

  17. Nontarget bird exposure to DRC-1339 during fall in North Dakota and spring in South Dakota

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Custer, Thomas W.; Custer, Christine M.; Dummer, Paul M.; Linz, George M.; Sileo, Louis; Stahl, Randal S.; Johnston, John J.; Linz, G.M.

    2003-01-01

    Blackbirds frequently use ripening sunflower (Heltantbus annuus) as a food source in the northern Great Plains. In 1999 and 2000, the avicide DRC-1339 (3-chloro-4-methylaniline hydrochloride) was used experimentally on fall-ripening sunflower fields in North Dakota so researchers could evaluate its effectiveness for reducing crop depredations by blackbirds. DRC-1339 was applied to rice and broadcast on the ground in a confined area within ripening sunflower fields. One objective of this study was to determine whether nontarget birds, birds other than blackbirds, were eating rice and were exposed to the DRC-1339. In 1999, 8 of 11 (73%) sparrows collected by shotgun in sunflower fields treated with DRe-1339 had rice in their gastrointestinal (GI) tracts. In 2000, 5 mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) and 3 sparrows were collected by shotgun in sunflower fields treated with DRC-1339. Three doves had rice in their GI tracts, 4 doves and all 3 sparrows had measurable DRC1339 concentrations in their GI tracts, and 3 mourning doves and 1 savannah sparrow (Passerculus sanduncbensis) exhibited histopathological signs of kidney damage. In April 2002, untreated rice was applied to corn stubble plots in South Dakota to determine which bird species ate rice. In 2002, 3 of 3 song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) collected by shotgun had rice in their GI tracts. Our results demonstrate that the use of DRC-1339 to control blackbirds in the northern Great Plains will likely expose nontarget birds to the DRC-1339 bait.

  18. Mercury cycling in agricultural and managed wetlands of California: seasonal influences of vegetation on mercury methylation, storage, and transport

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Windham-Myers, Lisamarie; Marvin-DiPasquale, Mark C.; Kakouros, Evangelos; Agee, Jennifer L.; Kieu, Le H.; Stricker, Craig A.; Fleck, Jacob A.; Ackerman, Joshua T.

    2013-01-01

    Plants are a dominant biologic and physical component of many wetland capable of influencing the internal pools and fluxes of methylmercury (MeHg). To investigate their role with respect to the latter, we examined the changing seasonal roles of vegetation biomass and Hg, C and N composition from May 2007-February 2008 in 3 types of agricultural wetlands (domesticated or white rice, wild rice, and fallow fields), and in adjacent managed natural wetlands dominated by cattail and bulrush (tule). We also determined the impact of vegetation on seasonal microbial Hg methylation rates, and Hg and MeHg export via seasonal storage in vegetation, and biotic consumption of rice seed. Despite a compressed growing season of ~ 3 months, annual net primary productivity (NPP) was greatest in white rice fields and carbon more labile (leaf median C:N ratio = 27). Decay of senescent litter (residue) was correlated with microbial MeHg production in winter among all wetlands. As agricultural biomass accumulated from July to August, THg concentrations declined in leaves but MeHg concentrations remained consistent, such that MeHg pools generally increased with growth. Vegetation provided a small, temporary, but significant storage term for MeHg in agricultural fields when compared with hydrologic export. White rice and wild rice seeds reached mean MeHg concentrations of 4.1 and 6.2 ng gdw- 1, respectively. In white rice and wild rice fields, seed MeHg concentrations were correlated with root MeHg concentrations (r = 0.90, p < 0.001), suggesting transport of MeHg to seeds from belowground tissues. Given the proportionally elevated concentrations of MeHg in rice seeds, white and wild rice crops may act as a conduit of MeHg into biota, especially waterfowl which forage heavily on rice seeds within the Central Valley of California, USA. Thus, while plant tissues and rhizosphere soils provide temporary storage for MeHg during the growing season, export of MeHg is enhanced post-harvest through increased hydrologic and biotic export.

  19. Mapping paddy rice planting area in wheat-rice double-cropped areas through integration of Landsat-8 OLI, MODIS, and PALSAR images.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jie; Xiao, Xiangming; Qin, Yuanwei; Dong, Jinwei; Zhang, Geli; Kou, Weili; Jin, Cui; Zhou, Yuting; Zhang, Yao

    2015-05-12

    As farmland systems vary over space and time (season and year), accurate and updated maps of paddy rice are needed for studies of food security and environmental problems. We selected a wheat-rice double-cropped area from fragmented landscapes along the rural-urban complex (Jiangsu Province, China) and explored the potential utility of integrating time series optical images (Landsat-8, MODIS) and radar images (PALSAR) in mapping paddy rice planting areas. We first identified several main types of non-cropland land cover and then identified paddy rice fields by selecting pixels that were inundated only during paddy rice flooding periods. These key temporal windows were determined based on MODIS Land Surface Temperature and vegetation indices. The resultant paddy rice map was evaluated using regions of interest (ROIs) drawn from multiple high-resolution images, Google Earth, and in-situ cropland photos. The estimated overall accuracy and Kappa coefficient were 89.8% and 0.79, respectively. In comparison with the National Land Cover Data (China) from 2010, the resultant map better detected changes in the paddy rice fields and revealed more details about their distribution. These results demonstrate the efficacy of using images from multiple sources to generate paddy rice maps for two-crop rotation systems.

  20. Hydrolytic Activation Kinetics of the Herbicide Benzobicyclon in Simulated Aquatic Systems.

    PubMed

    Williams, Katryn L; Tjeerdema, Ronald S

    2016-06-22

    Herbicide resistance is a growing concern for weeds in California rice fields. Benzobicyclon (BZB; 3-(2-chloro-4-(methylsulfonyl)benzoyl)-2-phenylthiobicyclo[3.2.1]oct-2-en-4-one) has proven successful against resistant rice field weeds in Asia. A pro-herbicide, BZB forms the active agent, benzobicyclon hydrolysate (BH), in water; however, the transformation kinetics are not understood for aquatic systems, particularly flooded California rice fields. A quantitative experiment was performed to assess the primary mechanism and kinetics of BZB hydrolysis to BH. Complete conversion to BH was observed for all treatments. Basic conditions (pH 9) enhanced the reaction, with half-lives ranging from 5 to 28 h. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) hindered transformation, which is consistent with other base-catalyzed hydrolysis reactions. BH was relatively hydrolytically stable, with 18% maximum loss after 5 days. Results indicate BZB is an efficient pro-herbicide under aqueous conditions such as those of a California rice field, although application may be best suited for fields with recirculating tailwater systems.

  1. [Exposure degree of important non-target arthropods to Cry2Aa in Bt rice fields].

    PubMed

    Zhang, Qing-Ling; Li, Yun-He; Hua, Hong-Xia; Yang, Chang-Ju; Wu, Hong-Jin; Peng, Yu-Fa

    2013-06-01

    Based on the principle of "risk = hazard x exposure", the selected representative nontarget organisms in the assessment of the potential effects of insect-resistant genetically modified (GM) crops on non-target arthropods in laboratory are generally the arthropod species highly exposed to the insecticidal proteins expressed by the GM crops in farmland ecosystem. In order to understand the exposure degree of the important arthropod species to Cry proteins in Bt rice fields, and to select the appropriate non-target arthropods in the risk assessment of insect-resistant GM crops, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to measure the Cry2Aa protein concentration in the arthropods collected from the cry2Aa rice fields at different rice growth stages. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the Cry2Aa content protein concentration in different arthropod species. Some species did not contain Cry2Aa protein, while some species contained larger amounts of Cry2Aa protein. Relative to the arthropods colleted after rice anthesis, the arthropods colleted in rice anthesis contained relative higher concentrations of Cry2Aa protein, especially for the predacious arthropods. No Cry proteins were detected in parasitic arthropods. This study provided references for the laboratory assessment of the effects of GM rice on nontarget arthropods.

  2. Mapping paddy rice planting area in northeastern Asia with Landsat 8 images, phenology-based algorithm and Google Earth Engine

    PubMed Central

    Dong, Jinwei; Xiao, Xiangming; Menarguez, Michael A.; Zhang, Geli; Qin, Yuanwei; Thau, David; Biradar, Chandrashekhar; Moore, Berrien

    2016-01-01

    Area and spatial distribution information of paddy rice are important for understanding of food security, water use, greenhouse gas emission, and disease transmission. Due to climatic warming and increasing food demand, paddy rice has been expanding rapidly in high latitude areas in the last decade, particularly in northeastern (NE) Asia. Current knowledge about paddy rice fields in these cold regions is limited. The phenology- and pixel-based paddy rice mapping (PPPM) algorithm, which identifies the flooding signals in the rice transplanting phase, has been effectively applied in tropical areas, but has not been tested at large scale of cold regions yet. Despite the effects from more snow/ice, paddy rice mapping in high latitude areas is assumed to be more encouraging due to less clouds, lower cropping intensity, and more observations from Landsat sidelaps. Moreover, the enhanced temporal and geographic coverage from Landsat 8 provides an opportunity to acquire phenology information and map paddy rice. This study evaluated the potential of Landsat 8 images on annual paddy rice mapping in NE Asia which was dominated by single cropping system, including Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and NE China. The cloud computing approach was used to process all the available Landsat 8 imagery in 2014 (143 path/rows, ~3290 scenes) with the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. The results indicated that the Landsat 8, GEE, and improved PPPM algorithm can effectively support the yearly mapping of paddy rice in NE Asia. The resultant paddy rice map has a high accuracy with the producer (user) accuracy of 73% (92%), based on the validation using very high resolution images and intensive field photos. Geographic characteristics of paddy rice distribution were analyzed from aspects of country, elevation, latitude, and climate. The resultant 30-m paddy rice map is expected to provide unprecedented details about the area, spatial distribution, and landscape pattern of paddy rice fields in NE Asia, which will contribute to food security assessment, water resource management, estimation of greenhouse gas emissions, and disease control. PMID:28025586

  3. Mapping paddy rice planting area in northeastern Asia with Landsat 8 images, phenology-based algorithm and Google Earth Engine.

    PubMed

    Dong, Jinwei; Xiao, Xiangming; Menarguez, Michael A; Zhang, Geli; Qin, Yuanwei; Thau, David; Biradar, Chandrashekhar; Moore, Berrien

    2016-11-01

    Area and spatial distribution information of paddy rice are important for understanding of food security, water use, greenhouse gas emission, and disease transmission. Due to climatic warming and increasing food demand, paddy rice has been expanding rapidly in high latitude areas in the last decade, particularly in northeastern (NE) Asia. Current knowledge about paddy rice fields in these cold regions is limited. The phenology- and pixel-based paddy rice mapping (PPPM) algorithm, which identifies the flooding signals in the rice transplanting phase, has been effectively applied in tropical areas, but has not been tested at large scale of cold regions yet. Despite the effects from more snow/ice, paddy rice mapping in high latitude areas is assumed to be more encouraging due to less clouds, lower cropping intensity, and more observations from Landsat sidelaps. Moreover, the enhanced temporal and geographic coverage from Landsat 8 provides an opportunity to acquire phenology information and map paddy rice. This study evaluated the potential of Landsat 8 images on annual paddy rice mapping in NE Asia which was dominated by single cropping system, including Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and NE China. The cloud computing approach was used to process all the available Landsat 8 imagery in 2014 (143 path/rows, ~3290 scenes) with the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. The results indicated that the Landsat 8, GEE, and improved PPPM algorithm can effectively support the yearly mapping of paddy rice in NE Asia. The resultant paddy rice map has a high accuracy with the producer (user) accuracy of 73% (92%), based on the validation using very high resolution images and intensive field photos. Geographic characteristics of paddy rice distribution were analyzed from aspects of country, elevation, latitude, and climate. The resultant 30-m paddy rice map is expected to provide unprecedented details about the area, spatial distribution, and landscape pattern of paddy rice fields in NE Asia, which will contribute to food security assessment, water resource management, estimation of greenhouse gas emissions, and disease control.

  4. Looking Inward to the Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for Rice Production Assessment in Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Komaladara, A. A. S. P.; Ambarawati, I. G. A. A.; Wijaya, I. M. A. S.; Hongo, C.; Mirah Adi, A. A. A.

    2015-12-01

    Rice is the main source of carbohydrate for most Indonesians. Rice production has been very dynamic due to improved infrastructure, research and development, and better farm management. However, rice production is susceptible to loss caused by drought, pest and disease attack and climate change. With the growing concern on sustainable and self-reliance food production in the country, there is an urgency to encourage research and efforts to increase rice productivity. Attempts to provide spatial distribution of rice fields on high resolution optical remote sensing data have been employed to some extent, however this technology could be costly. The use of UAV has been introduced to estimate damage ratio in rice crop recently in Indonesia. This technology is one of the ways to estimate rice production quicker, cost-saving and before harvesting time. This study aims to analyze spatio temporal and damage ratio of rice crop using UAV in Indonesia. The study empirically presents the use of UAV (Phantom 2 Vision +) on rice fields to the soil condition and development of management zone map in Bali as an example. The study concludes that the use of UAV allows researchers to pin point characteristics of crop and land in a specific area of a farm. This will then allow researchers to assist farmers in implementing specific and appropriate solutions to production issues. Key words: UAV, rice production, damage ratio

  5. Evaluation of Rice Resistance to Southern Rice Black-Streaked Dwarf Virus and Rice Ragged Stunt Virus through Combined Field Tests, Quantitative Real-Time PCR, and Proteome Analysis.

    PubMed

    Wang, Zhenchao; Yu, Lu; Jin, Linhong; Wang, Wenli; Zhao, Qi; Ran, Longlu; Li, Xiangyang; Chen, Zhuo; Guo, Rong; Wei, Yongtian; Yang, Zhongcheng; Liu, Enlong; Hu, Deyu; Song, Baoan

    2017-02-22

    Diseases caused by southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV) and rice ragged stunt virus (RRSV) considerably decrease grain yield. Therefore, determining rice cultivars with high resistance to SRBSDV and RRSV is necessary. In this study, rice cultivars with high resistance to SRBSDV and RRSV were evaluated through field trials in Shidian and Mangshi county, Yunnan province, China. SYBR Green I-based quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis was used to quantitatively detect virus gene expression levels in different rice varieties. The following parameters were applied to evaluate rice resistance: acre yield (A.Y.), incidence of infected plants (I.I.P.), virus load (V.L.), disease index (D.I.), and insect quantity (I.Q.) per 100 clusters. Zhongzheyou1 (Z1) and Liangyou2186 (L2186) were considered the most suitable varieties with integrated higher A.Y., lower I.I.P., V.L., D.I. and I.Q. In order to investigate the mechanism of rice resistance, comparative label-free shotgun liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) proteomic approaches were applied to comprehensively describe the proteomics of rice varieties' SRBSDV tolerance. Systemic acquired resistance (SAR)-related proteins in Z1 and L2186 may result in the superior resistance of these varieties compared with Fengyouxiangzhan (FYXZ).

  6. The archaeobotany of Asian rice expansion and the development of wet-field cultivation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fuller, D.

    2008-12-01

    Archaeobotanical evidence provides direct data on past human diet and agriculture, including a geographical and chronological framework for studying the expansion of rice agriculture. The growth of systematic archaeobotanical sampling in recent years has allowed for the past presence of rice to be seen in relation to cultivation of other crops and associated weeds. The weed flora provides a basis for inferring the nature of cultivation systems, whether rain-fed dry rice or wetland "paddy" rice, a key distinction for considerations of past methane production. Nevertheless, current data is very unevenly distributed. This poster will summarize available evidence for the origins and spread of rice in South Asia (India and Pakistan), and mainland and Island Southeast Asia deriving from an earlier Chinese domestication. Where possible, such as in India or China, the potential of the weed flora remains for distinguishing wetland rice crops will be summarized. In broad terms, although the origins of rice use and cultivation begins by or during the Middle Holocene (6000- 3000 BC), rice cultivation spread outside the regions of the wild progenitor after this time. Two phases of rice expansion can be distinguished. Phase 1, between 3000 and 1500 BC, introduced rice to Southeast Asia, probably under wetland cultivation, and the spread of dry rice over northern India and Pakistan. Phase 2, taking place between 1000 and 0 BC, sees the spread of rice throughout the Southern Indian Peninsula, with weed evidence suggesting irrigated wetland rice. Similarly, this period sees the spread of intensive paddy agriculture through Korea and Japan, but in Southeast Asia is probably related to a spread of rice in upland, dry field systems.

  7. [Tasseled cap triangle (TCT)-leaf area index (LAI)model of rice fields based on PROSAIL model and its application].

    PubMed

    Li, Ya Ni; Lu, Lei; Liu, Yong

    2017-12-01

    The tasseled cap triangle (TCT)-leaf area index (LAI) isoline is a model that reflects the distribution of LAI isoline in the spectral space constituted by reflectance of red and near-infrared (NIR) bands, and the LAI retrieval model developed on the basis of this is more accurate than the commonly used statistical relationship models. This study used ground-based measurements of the rice field, validated the applicability of PROSAIL model in simulating canopy reflectance of rice field, and calibrated the input parameters of the model. The ranges of values of PROSAIL input parameters for simulating rice canopy reflectance were determined. Based on this, the TCT-LAI isoline model of rice field was established, and a look-up table (LUT) required in remote sensing retrieval of LAI was developed. Then, the LUT was used for Landsat 8 and WorldView 3 data to retrieve LAI of rice field, respectively. The results showed that the LAI retrieved using the LUT developed from TCT-LAI isoline model had a good linear relationship with the measured LAI R 2 =0.76, RMSE=0.47. Compared with the LAI retrieved from Landsat 8, LAI values retrieved from WorldView 3 va-ried with wider range, and data distribution was more scattered. Resampling the Landsat 8 and WorldView 3 reflectance data to 1 km to retrieve LAI, the result of MODIS LAI product was significantly underestimated compared to that of retrieved LAI.

  8. Effects of red mud based passivator on the transformation of Cd fraction in acidic Cd-polluted paddy soil and Cd absorption in rice.

    PubMed

    Li, Hui; Liu, Yan; Zhou, Yaoyu; Zhang, Jiachao; Mao, Qiming; Yang, Yuan; Huang, Hongli; Liu, Zhaohui; Peng, Qinghui; Luo, Lin

    2018-06-04

    Highly effective, economical, and replicable ways of Cd-polluted paddy field remediation (in situ) are urgently needed. In this work, a yearlong field experiment (both early and late rice) was conducted to investigate the effects of red mud based passivator [red mud, diatomite, and lime (5:3:2)] on remediation of an acidic Cd-polluted paddy field in Hunan Province. Compared with the control, the addition of red mud based passivator in the early and late rice reduced Cd concentration in each part of the rice plant (with the most significant decrease rate of 59.18% and 72.11% for brown rice in the early rice and late rice seasons respectively). The effect of Cd reduction in the rice plant was persistent in the next growing season. The addition of red mud based passivator also reduced the exchangeable fraction of Cd in the soil and converted the exchangeable fraction into other unavailable fractions. This study demonstrated that the pH in acidic soil increased after the application of red mud based passivator. Furthermore, red mud based passivator had no effect on the concentrations of Olsen-K, Alkaline-N, Olsen-P in the soil, but increased rice grain yield. Overall, the results of this study indicated that the red mud based passivator at 0.6 kg m -2 could be a recommendation for Cd-polluted acidic paddy soil stabilization, and it would be a suitable method for remediation of Cd-polluted acidic paddy soil. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Effects of Residue Management on Decomposition in Irrigated Rice Fields Are Not Related to Changes in the Decomposer Community.

    PubMed

    Schmidt, Anja; John, Katharina; Arida, Gertrudo; Auge, Harald; Brandl, Roland; Horgan, Finbarr G; Hotes, Stefan; Marquez, Leonardo; Radermacher, Nico; Settele, Josef; Wolters, Volkmar; Schädler, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Decomposers provide an essential ecosystem service that contributes to sustainable production in rice ecosystems by driving the release of nutrients from organic crop residues. During a single rice crop cycle we examined the effects of four different crop residue management practices (rice straw or ash of burned straw scattered on the soil surface or incorporated into the soil) on rice straw decomposition and on the abundance of aquatic and soil-dwelling invertebrates. Mass loss of rice straw in litterbags of two different mesh sizes that either prevented or allowed access of meso- and macro-invertebrates was used as a proxy for decomposition rates. Invertebrates significantly increased total loss of litter mass by up to 30%. Initially, the contribution of invertebrates to decomposition was significantly smaller in plots with rice straw scattered on the soil surface; however, this effect disappeared later in the season. We found no significant responses in microbial decomposition rates to management practices. The abundance of aquatic fauna was higher in fields with rice straw amendment, whereas the abundance of soil fauna fluctuated considerably. There was a clear separation between the overall invertebrate community structure in response to the ash and straw treatments. However, we found no correlation between litter mass loss and abundances of various lineages of invertebrates. Our results indicate that invertebrates can contribute to soil fertility in irrigated paddy fields by decomposing rice straw, and that their abundance as well as efficiency in decomposition may be promoted by crop residue management practices.

  10. Effects of Residue Management on Decomposition in Irrigated Rice Fields Are Not Related to Changes in the Decomposer Community

    PubMed Central

    Schmidt, Anja; John, Katharina; Arida, Gertrudo; Auge, Harald; Brandl, Roland; Horgan, Finbarr G.; Hotes, Stefan; Marquez, Leonardo; Radermacher, Nico; Settele, Josef; Wolters, Volkmar; Schädler, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Decomposers provide an essential ecosystem service that contributes to sustainable production in rice ecosystems by driving the release of nutrients from organic crop residues. During a single rice crop cycle we examined the effects of four different crop residue management practices (rice straw or ash of burned straw scattered on the soil surface or incorporated into the soil) on rice straw decomposition and on the abundance of aquatic and soil-dwelling invertebrates. Mass loss of rice straw in litterbags of two different mesh sizes that either prevented or allowed access of meso- and macro-invertebrates was used as a proxy for decomposition rates. Invertebrates significantly increased total loss of litter mass by up to 30%. Initially, the contribution of invertebrates to decomposition was significantly smaller in plots with rice straw scattered on the soil surface; however, this effect disappeared later in the season. We found no significant responses in microbial decomposition rates to management practices. The abundance of aquatic fauna was higher in fields with rice straw amendment, whereas the abundance of soil fauna fluctuated considerably. There was a clear separation between the overall invertebrate community structure in response to the ash and straw treatments. However, we found no correlation between litter mass loss and abundances of various lineages of invertebrates. Our results indicate that invertebrates can contribute to soil fertility in irrigated paddy fields by decomposing rice straw, and that their abundance as well as efficiency in decomposition may be promoted by crop residue management practices. PMID:26225556

  11. Comparison of CH4 Emission from Rice Paddy Soils between Coastal Zone and Inland Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, M.; Li, X.

    2016-12-01

    Numerous measurements of methane (CH4) emission fluxes have been carried out in rice paddy soil between coastal zone and inland regions. However, the differences of CH4 emission from rice paddy soils in these two locations were unavailable. A database of CH4 emission in paddy rice was compiled from previous published references and field observations with major parameters including water regimes, fertilizer application, CH4 fluxes, and environmental variables. Results showed that CH4 emission from inland paddy fields was significantly higher than that in the coastal zone (p < 0.05). Fertilizer application and water management played an important role in CH4 emission. The application of organic fertilizer and continuous flooding significantly promoted CH4 emission from paddy fields. CH4 fluxes showed significantly positive correlations with organic matter, total nitrogen, available potassium and annual temperature (R2 = 0.39, 0.53, 0.27 and 0.23, p < 0.05), and negative correlations with pH and available phosphorus (R2 = 0.29 and 0.37, p < 0.05). Significant differences occurred in available potassium between inland and coastal rice paddy (p < 0.05), which might account for the difference of CH4 emission between inland and coastal rice paddy. The contrasting of CH4 fluxes between inland and coastal wetlands could improve our understanding of the roles of rice paddies in the regional CH4 regulation. Our results also have implications for informing rice paddy management and climate change policy making the efforts being made by agricultural organizations and enterprises to restore coastal rice paddies for mitigating CH4 emissions.

  12. Flood-tolerant rice reduces yield variability and raises expected yield, differentially benefitting socially disadvantaged groups

    PubMed Central

    Dar, Manzoor H.; de Janvry, Alain; Emerick, Kyle; Raitzer, David; Sadoulet, Elisabeth

    2013-01-01

    Approximately 30% of the cultivated rice area in India is prone to crop damage from prolonged flooding. We use a randomized field experiment in 128 villages of Orissa India to show that Swarna-Sub1, a recently released submergence-tolerant rice variety, has significant positive impacts on rice yield when fields are submerged for 7 to 14 days with no yield penalty without flooding. We estimate that Swarna-Sub1 offers an approximate 45% increase in yields over the current popular variety when fields are submerged for 10 days. We show additionally that low-lying areas prone to flooding tend to be more heavily occupied by people belonging to lower caste social groups. Thus, a policy relevant implication of our findings is that flood-tolerant rice can deliver both efficiency gains, through reduced yield variability and higher expected yield, and equity gains in disproportionately benefiting the most marginal group of farmers. PMID:24263095

  13. Abundance and Spatial Dispersion of Rice Stem Borer Species in Kahama, Tanzania

    PubMed Central

    Leonard, Alfonce; Rwegasira, Gration M.

    2015-01-01

    Species diversity, abundance, and dispersion of rice stem borers in framer’s fields were studied in four major rice growing areas of Kahama District. Stem borer larvae were extracted from the damaged tillers in 16 quadrants established in each field. Adult Moths were trapped by light traps and collected in vials for identification. Results indicated the presence of Chilo partellus, Maliarpha separatella, and Sesamia calamistis in all study areas. The most abundant species was C. partellus (48.6%) followed by M. separatella (35.4%) and S. calamistis was least abundant (16.1%). Stem borers dispersion was aggregated along the edges of rice fields in three locations (wards) namely: Bulige, Chela, and Ngaya. The dispersion in the fourth ward, Kashishi was uniform as established from two of the three dispersion indices tested. Further studies would be required to establish the available alternative hosts, the extent of economic losses and the distribution of rice stem borers in the rest of the Lake zone of Tanzania. PMID:26411785

  14. Genome Sequence of the Rice-Pathogenic Bacterium Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae RS-1 ▿

    PubMed Central

    Xie, Guan-Lin; Zhang, Guo-Qing; Liu, He; Lou, Miao-Miao; Tian, Wen-Xiao; Li, Bin; Zhou, Xue-Ping; Zhu, Bo; Jin, Gu-Lei

    2011-01-01

    Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae is a phytobacterium which is the causative agent of several plant diseases with economic significance. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of strain RS-1, which was isolated from rice shoots in a rice field in China. This strain can cause bacterial stripe of rice. PMID:21742879

  15. 76 FR 47608 - Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Rice Solar Energy, LLC...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-05

    ... on privately owned land, would contain the power block, a central receiver or tower, a solar field... Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Rice Solar Energy, LLC Rice Solar Energy... Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan Amendment for the Rice Solar Energy Project (RSEP) in Riverside...

  16. Evaluation of host-plant resistance of selected rice genotypes to the rice water weevil (Coleoptera:Curculionidae)

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The rice water weevil (RWW), Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, is the most important economic insect pest of rice in the United States. Currently, management of RWW mainly depends upon the use of insecticides due to the lack of effective alternate management tactics. A three year field study was co...

  17. Assessing energy efficiencies and greenhouse gas emissions under bioethanol-oriented paddy rice production in northern Japan.

    PubMed

    Koga, Nobuhisa; Tajima, Ryosuke

    2011-03-01

    To establish energetically and environmentally viable paddy rice-based bioethanol production systems in northern Japan, it is important to implement appropriately selected agronomic practice options during the rice cultivation step. In this context, effects of rice variety (conventional vs. high-yielding) and rice straw management (return to vs. removal from the paddy field) on energy inputs from fuels and consumption of materials, greenhouse gas emissions (fuel and material consumption-derived CO(2) emissions as well as paddy soil CH(4) and N(2)O emissions) and ethanol yields were assessed. The estimated ethanol yield from the high-yielding rice variety, "Kita-aoba" was 2.94 kL ha(-1), a 32% increase from the conventional rice variety, "Kirara 397". Under conventional rice production in northern Japan (conventional rice variety and straw returned to the paddy), raising seedlings, mechanical field operations, transportation of harvested unhulled brown rice and consumption of materials (seeds, fertilizers, biocides and agricultural machinery) amounted to 28.5 GJ ha(-1) in energy inputs. The total energy input was increased by 14% by using the high-yielding variety and straw removal, owing to increased requirements for fuels in harvesting and transporting harvested rice as well as in collecting, loading and transporting rice straw. In terms of energy efficiency, the variation among rice variety and straw management scenarios regarding rice varieties and rice straw management was small (28.5-32.6 GJ ha(-1) or 10.1-14.0 MJ L(-1)). Meanwhile, CO(2)-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions varied considerably from scenario to scenario, as straw management had significant impacts on CH(4) emissions from paddy soils. When rice straw was incorporated into the soil, total CO(2)-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions for "Kirara 397" and "Kita-aoba" were 25.5 and 28.2 Mg CO(2) ha(-1), respectively; however, these emissions were reduced notably for the two varieties when rice straw was removed from the paddy fields in an effort to mitigate CH(4) emissions. Thus, rice straw removal avers itself a key practice with respect to lessening the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions in paddy rice-based ethanol production systems in northern Japan. More crucially, the rice straw removed is available for ethanol production and generation of heat energy with a biomass boiler, all elements required for biomass-to-ethanol transformation steps including saccharification, fermentation and distillation. This indicates opportunities for further improvement in energy efficiency and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions under whole rice plant-based bioethanol production systems. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Effect of biomass open burning on particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentration levels and PAH dry deposition in ambient air.

    PubMed

    Chiu, Jui C; Shen, Yun H; Li, Hsing W; Chang, Shun S; Wang, Lin C; Chang-Chien, Guo P

    2011-01-01

    The objectives of the present study were to investigate particulate matter (PM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in ambient air during rice straw open burning and non-open burning periods. In the ambient air of a rice field, the mean PM concentration during and after an open burning event were 1828 and 102 μg m⁻³, respectively, which demonstrates that during a rice field open burning event, the PM concentration in the ambient air of rice field is over 17 times higher than that of the non-open burning period. During an open burning event, the mean total PAH and total toxic equivalence (BaP(eq)) concentrations in the ambient air of a rice field were 7206 ng m⁻³ and 10.3 ng m⁻³, respectively, whereas after the open burning event, they were 376 ng m⁻³ and 1.50 ng m⁻³, respectively. Open burning thus increases total PAH and total BaP(eq) concentrations by 19-fold and 6.8-fold, respectively. During a rice straw open burning event, in the ambient air of a rice field, the mean dry deposition fluxes of total PAHs and total BaP(eq) were 1222 μg m⁻² day⁻¹ and 4.80 μg m⁻² day⁻¹, respectively, which are approximately 60- and 3-fold higher than those during the non-open burning period, respectively. During the non-open burning period, particle-bound PAHs contributed 79.2-84.2% of total dry deposition fluxes (gas + particle) of total PAHs. However, an open burning event increases the contribution to total PAH dry deposition by particle-bound PAHs by up to 85.9-95.5%. The results show that due to the increased amount of PM in the ambient air resulting from rice straw open burning, particle-bound PAHs contributed more to dry deposition fluxes of total PAHs than they do during non-open burning periods. The results show that biomass (rice straw) open burning is an important PAH emission source that significantly increases both PM and PAH concentration levels and PAH dry deposition in ambient air.

  19. Development of an Improved Irrigation Subroutine in SWAT to Simulate the Hydrology of Rice Paddy Grown under Submerged Conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muraleedharan, B. V.; Kathirvel, K.; Narasimhan, B.; Nallasamy, N. D.

    2014-12-01

    Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a basin scale, distributed hydrological model commonly used to predict the effect of management decisions on the hydrologic response of watersheds. Hydrologic response is decided by the various components of water balance. In the case of watersheds located in south India as well as in several other tropical countries around the world, paddy is one of the dominant crop controlling the hydrologic response of a watershed. Hence, the suitability of SWAT in replicating the hydrology of paddy fields needs to be verified. Rice paddy fields are subjected to flooding method of irrigation, while the irrigation subroutines in SWAT are developed to simulate crops grown under non flooding conditions. Moreover irrigation is represented well in field scale models, while it is poorly represented within watershed models like SWAT. Reliable simulation of flooding method of irrigation and hydrology of the fields will assist in effective water resources management of rice paddy fields which are one of the major consumers of surface and ground water resources. The current study attempts to modify the irrigation subroutine in SWAT so as to simulate flooded irrigation condition. A field water balance study was conducted on representative fields located within Gadana, a subbasin located in Tamil Nadu (southern part of India) and dominated by rice paddy based irrigation systems. The water balance of irrigated paddy fields simulated with SWAT was compared with the water balance derived by rice paddy based crop growth model named ORYZA. The variation in water levels along with the soil moisture variation predicted by SWAT was evaluated with respect to the estimates derived from ORYZA. The water levels were further validated with field based water balance measurements taken on a daily scale. It was observed that the modified irrigation subroutine was able to simulate irrigation of rice paddy within SWAT in a realistic way compared to the existing method.

  20. Partitioning of CH4 and CO2 Production Originating from Rice Straw, Soil and Root Organic Carbon in Rice Microcosms

    PubMed Central

    Yuan, Quan; Pump, Judith; Conrad, Ralf

    2012-01-01

    Flooded rice fields are an important source of the greenhouse gas CH4. Possible carbon sources for CH4 and CO2 production in rice fields are soil organic matter (SOM), root organic carbon (ROC) and rice straw (RS), but partitioning of the flux between the different carbon sources is difficult. We conducted greenhouse experiments using soil microcosms planted with rice. The soil was amended with and without 13C-labeled RS, using two 13C-labeled RS treatments with equal RS (5 g kg−1 soil) but different δ13C of RS. This procedure allowed to determine the carbon flux from each of the three sources (SOM, ROC, RS) by determining the δ13C of CH4 and CO2 in the different incubations and from the δ13C of RS. Partitioning of carbon flux indicated that the contribution of ROC to CH4 production was 41% at tillering stage, increased with rice growth and was about 60% from the booting stage onwards. The contribution of ROC to CO2 was 43% at tillering stage, increased to around 70% at booting stage and stayed relatively constant afterwards. The contribution of RS was determined to be in a range of 12–24% for CH4 production and 11–31% for CO2 production; while the contribution of SOM was calculated to be 23–35% for CH4 production and 13–26% for CO2 production. The results indicate that ROC was the major source of CH4 though RS application greatly enhanced production and emission of CH4 in rice field soil. Our results also suggest that data of CH4 dissolved in rice field could be used as a proxy for the produced CH4 after tillering stage. PMID:23162678

  1. Effects on wildlife of ethyl and methyl parathion applied to California rice fields

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Custer, T.W.; Hill, E.F.; Ohlendorf, H.M.

    1985-01-01

    Selected rice fields on the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex were aerially sprayed one time during May or June 1982 with either ethyl (0.11 kg Al/ha) or methyl (0.84 kg AI/ha) parathion for control of tadpole shrimp, Triops longicaudatus. No sick or dead vertebrate wildlife were found or adjacent to the treated rice fields after spraying. Specimens of the following birds and mammals were assayed for brain cholinesterase (ChE) activity to determine exposure to either form of parathion; house mouse, Mus musculus; black-tailed jackrabbit, Lepus californicus; mallard, Anas platyrhynchos; ring-necked pheasant, Phasianus colchicus; American coot, Fulica americana; and red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus. Both mice and pheasants from methyl parathion-treated fields had overall mean ChE activities that were significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited compared with controls, and 7, 40, 54 and 57% of individual blackbirds, pheasant, mice, and coots, respectively, had inhibited brain ChE activities (i.e., less than -2 SD of control mean). Although no overall species effect was detected for ethyl parathoid treatment, pheasants (43%), coots (33%), and mice (37%) had significantly inhibited brain ChE activities. Neither of the parathion treatment appeared acutely hazardous to wildlife in or adjacent to rice fields, but sufficient information on potential hazards was obtained to warrant caution in use of these chemicals, especially methyl parathion, in rice fields.

  2. Effects of wildlife of ethyl and methyl parathion applied to California USA rice fields

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Custer, T.W.; Hill, E.F.; Ohlendorf, H.M.

    1985-01-01

    Selected rice fields on the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex were aerially sprayed one time during May or June 1982 with either ethyl (0.11 kg Al/ha) or methyl (0.84 kg AI/ha) parathion for control of tadpole shrimp, Triops longicaudatus. No sick or dead vertebrate wildlife were found or adjacent to the treated rice fields after spraying. Specimens of the following birds and mammals were assayed for brain cholinesterase (ChE) activity to determine exposure to either form of parathion; house mouse, Mus musculus; black-tailed jackrabbit, Lepus californicus; mallard, Anas platyrhynchos; ring-necked pheasant, Phasianus colchicus; American coot, Fulica americana; and red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus. Both mice and pheasants from methyl parathion-treated fields had overall mean ChE activities that were significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited compared with controls, and 7, 40, 54 and 57% of individual blackbirds, pheasant, mice, and coots, respectively, had inhibited brain ChE activities (i.e., less than -2 SD of control mean). Although no overall species effect was detected for ethyl parathoid treatment, pheasants (43%), coots (33%), and mice (37%) had significantly inhibited brain ChE activities. Neither of the parathion treatment appeared acutely hazardous to wildlife in or adjacent to rice fields, but sufficient information on potential hazards was obtained to warrant caution in use of these chemicals, especially methyl parathion, in rice fields.

  3. Heavy Metal Content in Terraced Rice Fields at Sruwen Tengaran Semarang - Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hindarwati, Yulis; Soeprobowati, Tri Retnaningsih; Sudarno

    2018-02-01

    The presence of heavy metal on agricultural soils can be caused not only natural factors but also due to human intervention. Differences in management and lack of understanding of farmers in the production input of fertilizers and pesticides ensued in land ravaged. Periodic testing of paddy fields is necessary to minimize the contaminants from being absorbed by plants that will have an impact on health decline. The purpose of the assessment was to identify the heavy metal content in the terraced rice field in Sruwen Village, Tengaran District, Semarang Regency. Survey was conducted in February 2017. Sampling on terraced rice fields of different heights consisted of upper, middle, and upper down. Taken as many as eight single points and composed at a depth of 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm. The identification results showed that heavy metal content of Pb, Cd, and Cu were present at all altitudes. Heavy Metals Pb and Cd at a depth of 0-20 cm were higher from 20-40 cm in the upper and lower rice fields but lower in the middle rice field. Cu heavy metal at a depth of 0-20 cm was higher than 20-40 cm in all altitude land. The heavy metal content of Pb, Cd, and Cu was still below the heavy metal standard set by the European Union and India.

  4. Persistence behavior of metamifop and its metabolite in rice ecosystem.

    PubMed

    Barik, Suhrid Ranjan; Ganguly, Pritam; Patra, Sandip; Dutta, Swaraj Kumar; Goon, Arnab; Bhattacharyya, Anjan

    2018-02-01

    A field experiment was conducted to determine the persistence of metamifop in transplanted rice crop for two seasons. Metamifop 10% EC was applied at two doses: 100 g a.i. ha -1 and 200 g a.i. ha -1 at 2-3 leaf stage of Echinochloa crusgalli. The residues of metamifop along with its major metabolite, N-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-hydroxy-N-methylpropionamide (HFMPA), were estimated in rice plant, field water and soil using Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. Limit of detection and limit of quantification of the method for both the compounds were set at 0.003 μg g -1 and 0.010 μg g -1 respectively. Metamifop showed less persistence in field water and rice plant as compared to soil samples. Presence of HFMPA was recorded in rice plant and soil. Both the compounds were found below level of quantification in harvest samples of straw, grains, husk and soil. A safe waiting period of 52 d was suggested for harvesting of rice when metamifop was applied at 100 g a.i. ha -1 (recommended dose). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Conserving waste rice for wintering waterfowl in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kross, J.P.; Kaminski, R.M.; Reinecke, K.J.; Pearse, A.T.

    2008-01-01

    Rice lost before or during harvest operations (hereafter waste rice) provides important food for waterfowl in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, USA, but >70% of waste rice is lost during autumn. We conducted experiments in 19 production rice fields in Arkansas and Mississippi during autumns 2003 and 2004 to evaluate the ability of common postharvest practices (i.e., burn, mow, roll, disk, or standing stubble) to conserve waste rice. We detected a postharvest treatment effect and a positive effect of initial abundance of waste rice on late-autumn abundance of waste rice (P < 0.022). Standing stubble contained the greatest abundance of waste rice followed by burned, mowed, rolled, and disked stubble. We recommend standing stubble or burning to maximize waste rice abundance for wintering waterfowl.

  6. Conserving waste rice for wintering waterfowl in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kross, J.P.; Kaminski, R.M.; Reinecke, K.J.; Pearse, A.T.

    2008-01-01

    Rice lost before or during harvest operations (hereafter waste rice) provides important food for waterfowl in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, USA, but >70% of waste rice is lost during autumn. We conducted experiments in 19 production rice fields in Arkansas and Mississippi during autumns 2003 and 2004 to evaluate the ability of common postharvest practices (i.e., burn, mow, roll, disk, or standing stubble) to conserve waste rice. We detected a postharvest treatment effect and a positive effect of initial abundance of waste rice on late-autumn abundance of waste rice (P ??? 0.022). Standing stubble contained the greatest abundance of waste rice followed by burned, mowed, rolled, and disked stubble. We recommend standing stubble or burning to maximize waste rice abundance for wintering waterfowl.

  7. Greenhouse gas emissions of different land uses in the delta region of Red River, Vietnam

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Minghua; Ha, Thu; An, Ngo The; Brüggemann, Nicolas

    2017-04-01

    Agricultural activities are responsible for up to a third of total anthropogenic GHG emissions. The subtropical/tropical delta areas of the large rivers in Southeast Asia are long-term history agricultural regions in the world. However, due to lack of field measurements, the estimation of the contribution of agro-ecosystems in the subtropical/tropical delta areas to global greenhouse gas emissions remains largely uncertain. Here, we conducted field experiments since January 2016 to quantify greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O) emissions from four agricultural land uses of annual rice-rice, rice-vegetable, continuous vegetable system and fish pond in Red River delta region of Vietnam by using the transparent static chamber-gas chromatography technique. Higher N2O emissions were observed in the rice-vegetable and continuous vegetable systems, while lower N2O emissions were observed in the rice-rice and find pond systems. Compared to rice-rice system the cumulative N2O fluxes were on average twenty-fold higher in the rice-vegetable and continuous vegetable systems but significantly lower (75%) in the fish pond. Overall the net CO2 sinks were observed in the rice-rice system while other three land uses of rice-vegetable, continuous vegetable and fish pond acted as the net CO2 sources. The rice-rice and fish pond showed net CH4 emissions while variations of CH4 emissions (i.e. shifting between sources and sinks) along variations of soil moisture and temperature were observed in rice-vegetable and continuous vegetable systems. Compared to rice-rice system, the cumulative CH4 fluxes were significantly decreased by 100% for continuous vegetable system, 94% for rice-vegetable system and 89% for fish pond. Overall, the data suggest that conversion of traditional rice-rice paddy system to rice-vegetable, continuous vegetable system and find pond, which are currently undergoing driven by the economical requests and environmental changes (e.g., salinity intrusion) in this delta region, could alter CH4, CO2 and N2O emissions.

  8. Soil to rice transfer factors for (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (210)Pb, (40)K and (137)Cs: a study on rice grown in India.

    PubMed

    Karunakara, N; Rao, Chetan; Ujwal, P; Yashodhara, I; Kumara, Sudeep; Ravi, P M

    2013-04-01

    India is the second largest producer of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the world and rice is an essential component of the diet for a majority of the population in India. However, detailed studies aimed at the evaluation of radionuclide transfer factors (F(v)) for the rice grown in India are almost non-existent. This paper presents the soil to rice transfer factors for natural ((226)Ra, (228)Ra, (40)K, and (210)Pb) and artificial ((137)Cs) radionuclides for rice grown in natural field conditions on the West Coast of India. A rice field was developed very close to the Kaiga nuclear power plant and the water required for this field was drawn from the cooling water discharge canal of the power plant. For a comparative study of the radionuclide transfer factors, rice samples were also collected from the rice fields of nearby villages. The study showed that the (226)Ra and (228)Ra activity concentrations were below detection levels in different organs of the rice plant. The soil to un-hulled rice grain (40)K transfer factor varied in the range of 6.5 × 10(-1) to 2.9 with a mean of 0.15 × 10(1), and of (210)Pb varied in the range of <1.2 × 10(-2) to 8.1 × 10(-1) with a mean of 1.4 × 10(-1), and of (137)Cs varied in the range of 6.6 × 10(-2) to 3.4 × 10(-1) with a mean of 2.1 × 10(-1). The mean values of un-hulled grain to white rice processing retention factors (F(r)) were 0.12 for (40)K, 0.03 for (210)Pb, and 0.14 for (137)Cs. Using these processing retention factors, the soil to white rice transfer factors were estimated and these were found to have mean values of 1.8 × 10(-1), 4.2 × 10(-3), and 3.0 × 10(-2) for (40)K, (210)Pb, and (137)Cs, respectively. The study has shown that the transfer of (40)K was higher for above the ground organs than for the root, but (210)Pb and (137)Cs were retained in the root and their transfer to above the ground organs of the rice plant is significantly lower. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. [Characteristics of paddy field nitrogen leakage and runoff in rice-duck farming system].

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiang; Wang, Qiang-sheng; Wang, Shao-hua; Liu, Zheng-hui; Wang, Xia-wen; Ding, Yan-feng

    2009-01-01

    A field experiment was conducted to study the characteristics of paddy field nitrogen (N) leakage and runoff under rice-duck farming (MRD), conventional farming (MR), and conventional farming with flooding (CK). Comparing with that under MR, the paddy field under MRD had a notable decrease of N (especially NO3- -N) concentration in its leaked liquid; but this concentration was tended to be increased, compared with that under CK. After 7-9 days of fertilization, the NH4+ -N and NO3- -N concentrations in paddy field surface water were higher under MRD than under MR. However, owing to the no draining and the higher band, the paddy field under MRD had a notable reduction of drainage, resulting in a marked decrease of N runoff than that under MR. Comparing with MR, the paddy field under MRD had an addition of nitrogen supply from duck dung, a reduction of N leakage and runoff, a lesser application of chemical nitrogen fertilizer, and more nitrogen uptake by rice plant. Both the reduction of N input and that of N output in rice-duck farming system were nearly equal in quantity.

  10. Field experiment for determining lead accumulation in rice grains of different genotypes and correlation with iron oxides deposited on rhizosphere soil.

    PubMed

    Lai, Yu-Cheng; Syu, Chien-Hui; Wang, Pin-Jie; Lee, Dar-Yuan; Fan, Chihhao; Juang, Kai-Wei

    2018-01-01

    Paddy rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a major staple crop in Asia. However, heavy metal accumulation in paddy soil poses a health risk for rice consumption. Although plant uptake of Pb is usually low, Pb concentrations in rice plants have been increasing with Pb contamination in paddy fields. It is known that iron oxide deposits in the rhizosphere influence the absorption of soil Pb by rice plants. In this study, 14 rice cultivars bred in Taiwan, including ten japonica cultivars (HL21, KH145, TC192, TK9, TK14, TK16, TN11, TNG71, TNG84, and TY3) and four indica cultivars (TCS10, TCS17, TCSW2, and TNGS22), were used in a field experiment. We investigated the genotypic variation in rice plant Pb in relation to iron oxides deposited in the rhizosphere, as seen in a suspiciously contaminated site in central Taiwan. The results showed that the cultivars TCSW2, TN11, TNG71, and TNG84 accumulated brown rice Pb exceeding the tolerable level of 0.2mgkg -1 . In contrast, the cultivars TNGS22, TK9, TK14, and TY3 accumulated much lower brown rice Pb (<0.1mgkg -1 ); therefore, they should be prioritized as safe cultivars for sites with potential contamination. Moreover, the iron oxides deposited on the rhizosphere soil show stronger affinity to soil-available Pb than those on the root surface to form iron plaque. The relative tendency of Pb sequestration toward rhizosphere soil was negatively correlated with the Pb concentrations in brown rice. The iron oxides deposited on the rhizosphere soil but not on the root surface to form iron plaque dominate Pb sequestration in the rhizosphere. Therefore, the enhancement of iron oxide deposits on the rhizosphere soil could serve as a barrier preventing soil Pb on the root surface and result in reduced Pb accumulation in brown rice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Enzyme dynamics in paddy soils of the rice district (NE Italy) under different cropping patterns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bini, Claudio; Nadimi-Goki, Mandana; Kato, Yoichi; Fornasier, Flavio; Wahsha, Mohammad; Spiandorello, Massimo

    2014-05-01

    The recent widespread interest on soil enzymes is due to the need to develop sensitive indicators of soil quality that reflect the effects of land management on soil and assist land managers in promoting long-term sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems. The activities of six important enzymes involved in C, N, P, and S cycling were investigated in a paddy soil from the Veneto region, Italy, in four different rotation systems (rice-rice-rice: R-R-R; soya-rice-rice: S-R-R; fallow-rice: F-R; pea-soya-rice: P-S-R) with three replications in April (after field preparation, field moist condition), June (after seedling, waterlogged soil condition), August (after tillering stage of rice, waterlogged soil condition) and October (after rice harvesting, drained soil condition) over the 2012 growing season. Our results demonstrated that enzyme activities varied with rotation systems and growth stages in paddy soil. Compared with field moist soil, drained soil condition resulted in a significant increase (P < 0.05) of β-glucosidase, arylsulfatase, alkaline and acid phosphatases, leucine aminopeptidase (except of fallow-rice), and chitinase activities in all rotations, while compared with drained soil, early waterlogging (in month of June) significantly decreased (P moist soil> late waterlogged>early waterlogged. There was an inhibitory effect of waterlogging (except P-S-R rotation) for both alkaline and acid phosphatases due to high pH and redox conditions. However, the response of enzymes to waterlogging differed with the chemical species and the cropping pattern. The best rotation system for chitinase, leucine aminopeptidase and β-glucosidase activity (C and N cycles) proved R-R-R, while for arylsulfatase, alkaline and acid phosphatases (P and S cycles) it was the S-R-R. Key Words: enzyme activity, paddy soil, Crop Rotation System, Italy __ Corresponding Author: Mandana Nadimi-Goki, Tel.: +39 3891356251 E-mail address: mandy.nadimi@gmail.com

  12. Field Trials Reveal Ecotype-Specific Responses to Mycorrhizal Inoculation in Rice.

    PubMed

    Diedhiou, Abdala Gamby; Mbaye, Fatou Kine; Mbodj, Daouda; Faye, Mathieu Ndigue; Pignoly, Sarah; Ndoye, Ibrahima; Djaman, Koffi; Gaye, Souleymane; Kane, Aboubacry; Laplaze, Laurent; Manneh, Baboucarr; Champion, Antony

    2016-01-01

    The overuse of agricultural chemicals such as fertilizer and pesticides aimed at increasing crop yield results in environmental damage, particularly in the Sahelian zone where soils are fragile. Crop inoculation with beneficial soil microbes appears as a good alternative for reducing agricultural chemical needs, especially for small farmers. This, however, requires selecting optimal combinations of crop varieties and beneficial microbes tested in field conditions. In this study, we investigated the response of rice plants to inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) under screenhouse and field conditions in two consecutive seasons in Senegal. Evaluation of single and mixed inoculations with AMF and PGPB was conducted on rice (Oryza sativa) variety Sahel 202, on sterile soil under screenhouse conditions. We observed that inoculated plants, especially plants treated with AMF, grew taller, matured earlier and had higher grain yield than the non-inoculated plants. Mixed inoculation trials with two AMF strains were then conducted under irrigated field conditions with four O. sativa varieties, two O. glaberrima varieties and two interspecific NERICA varieties, belonging to 3 ecotypes (upland, irrigated, and rainfed lowland). We observed that the upland varieties had the best responses to inoculation, especially with regards to grain yield, harvest index and spikelet fertility. These results show the potential of using AMF to improve rice production with less chemical fertilizers and present new opportunities for the genetic improvement in rice to transfer the ability of forming beneficial rice-microbe associations into high yielding varieties in order to increase further rice yield potentials.

  13. Field Trials Reveal Ecotype-Specific Responses to Mycorrhizal Inoculation in Rice

    PubMed Central

    Diedhiou, Abdala Gamby; Mbaye, Fatou Kine; Mbodj, Daouda; Faye, Mathieu Ndigue; Pignoly, Sarah; Ndoye, Ibrahima; Djaman, Koffi; Gaye, Souleymane; Kane, Aboubacry; Laplaze, Laurent; Manneh, Baboucarr; Champion, Antony

    2016-01-01

    The overuse of agricultural chemicals such as fertilizer and pesticides aimed at increasing crop yield results in environmental damage, particularly in the Sahelian zone where soils are fragile. Crop inoculation with beneficial soil microbes appears as a good alternative for reducing agricultural chemical needs, especially for small farmers. This, however, requires selecting optimal combinations of crop varieties and beneficial microbes tested in field conditions. In this study, we investigated the response of rice plants to inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) under screenhouse and field conditions in two consecutive seasons in Senegal. Evaluation of single and mixed inoculations with AMF and PGPB was conducted on rice (Oryza sativa) variety Sahel 202, on sterile soil under screenhouse conditions. We observed that inoculated plants, especially plants treated with AMF, grew taller, matured earlier and had higher grain yield than the non-inoculated plants. Mixed inoculation trials with two AMF strains were then conducted under irrigated field conditions with four O. sativa varieties, two O. glaberrima varieties and two interspecific NERICA varieties, belonging to 3 ecotypes (upland, irrigated, and rainfed lowland). We observed that the upland varieties had the best responses to inoculation, especially with regards to grain yield, harvest index and spikelet fertility. These results show the potential of using AMF to improve rice production with less chemical fertilizers and present new opportunities for the genetic improvement in rice to transfer the ability of forming beneficial rice-microbe associations into high yielding varieties in order to increase further rice yield potentials. PMID:27907023

  14. Interference of allelopathic rice with penoxsulam-resistant barnyardgrass.

    PubMed

    Yang, Xue-Fang; Kong, Chui-Hua; Yang, Xia; Li, Yong-Feng

    2017-11-01

    Despite increasing knowledge of allelopathic rice interference with barnyardgrass, relatively little is known about its action on herbicide-resistant barnyardgrass. The incidence of herbicide-resistant barnyardgrass is escalating in paddy fields. Knowledge of the interference of allelopathic rice with herbicide-resistant barnyardgrass and the potential mechanisms involved is warranted. Penoxsulam-resistant and -susceptible barnyardgrass biotypes were identified and segregated from a putative penoxsulam-resistant population occurring in paddy fields in China. Allelopathic rice inhibited the growth of barnyardgrass roots more than shoots, regardless of biotype. In particular, there was a stronger inhibition for resistant barnyardgrass than for susceptible barnyardgrass. Allelopathic rice significantly reduced total root length, total root area, maximum root amplitude and maximum root depth in barnyardgrass. Furthermore, the rice allelochemicals tricin and momilactone B inhibited the growth of both resistant and susceptible barnyardgrass. Compared with root contact, root segregation significantly increased inhibition of barnyardgrass with an increase in rice allelochemicals. Root exudates from barnyardgrass induced the production of rice allelochemicals, but the effect of susceptible barnyardgrass was much stronger than that of resistant barnyardgrass. Allelopathic rice can interfere with the growth of penoxsulam-resistant barnyardgrass through allelochemical-mediated root interactions. This type of allelopathic interference may provide a non-herbicidal alternative for herbicide-resistant weed management in paddy systems. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  15. Variation among conventional cultivars could be used as a criterion for environmental safety assessment of Bt rice on nontarget arthropods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Fang; Dang, Cong; Chang, Xuefei; Tian, Junce; Lu, Zengbin; Chen, Yang; Ye, Gongyin

    2017-02-01

    The current difficulty facing risk evaluations of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops on nontarget arthropods (NTAs) is the lack of criteria for determining what represents unacceptable risk. In this study, we investigated the biological parameters in the laboratory and field population abundance of Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) on two Bt rice lines and the non-Bt parent, together with 14 other conventional rice cultivars. Significant difference were found in nymphal duration and fecundity of N. lugens fed on Bt rice KMD2, as well as field population density on 12 October, compared with non-Bt parent. However, compared with the variation among conventional rice cultivars, the variation of each parameter between Bt rice and the non-Bt parent was much smaller, which can be easily seen from low-high bar graphs and also the coefficient of variation value (C.V). The variation among conventional cultivars is proposed to be used as a criterion for the safety assessment of Bt rice on NTAs, particularly when statistically significant differences in several parameters are found between Bt rice and its non-Bt parent. Coefficient of variation is suggested as a promising parameter for ecological risk judgement of IRGM rice on NTAs.

  16. Genetic, chemical, and field management strategies for reducing accumulation of arsenic in rice grains

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    There is public concern over amounts of arsenic contained in rice grains and foods. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a CODEX limit of 0.2 ppm inorganic arsenic (iAs) in milled white rice, and a lower limit of 0.1 ppm for baby food products. Arsenic is of greater concern in rice than oth...

  17. Integrated Emergy, Energy and Economic Evaluation of Rice and Vegetable Production Systems in Alluvial Paddy Fields: Implications for Agricultural Policy in China

    EPA Science Inventory

    China is the largest rice producing and consuming country in the world, but rice production has given way to the production of vegetables during the past twenty years. The government has been trying to stop this land-use conversion and increase the area in rice-vegetable rotation...

  18. Sulfide Generated by Sulfate Reduction is a Primary Controller of the Occurrence of Wild Rice (Zizania palustris) in Shallow Aquatic Ecosystems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Myrbo, A.; Swain, E. B.; Engstrom, D. R.; Coleman Wasik, J.; Brenner, J.; Dykhuizen Shore, M.; Peters, E. B.; Blaha, G.

    2017-11-01

    Field observations suggest that surface water sulfate concentrations control the distribution of wild rice, an aquatic grass (Zizania palustris). However, hydroponic studies show that sulfate is not toxic to wild rice at even unrealistically high concentrations. To determine how sulfate might directly or indirectly affect wild rice, potential wild rice habitat was characterized for 64 chemical and physical variables in over 100 sites spanning a relatively steep climatic and geological gradient in Minnesota. Habitat suitability was assessed by comparing the occurrence of wild rice with the field variables, through binary logistic regression. This analysis demonstrated that sulfide in sediment pore water, generated by the microbial reduction of sulfate that diffuses or advects into the sediment, is the primary control of wild rice occurrence. Water temperature and water transparency independently control the suitability of habitat for wild rice. In addition to generating phytotoxic sulfide, sulfate reduction also supports anaerobic decomposition of organic matter, releasing nutrients that can compound the harm of direct sulfide toxicity. These results are important because they show that increases in sulfate loading to surface water can have multiple negative consequences for ecosystems, even though sulfate itself is relatively benign.

  19. Shorebird habitat availability assessment of agricultural fields using a digital aerial video system

    Treesearch

    Clinton W. Jeske; Scott Wilson; Paul C. Chadwick; Wylie Barrow

    2005-01-01

    Field and wetland conditions in the rice prairies of Louisiana and Texas are highly dynamic habitats. Rice prairies are important habitat for many species of migratory birds, including shorebirds, wading birds, and waterfowl. Ground sampling a variety of fields to assess habitat availability is very labor intensive, and accessibility to private lands makes statistical...

  20. Influence of harvester and weather conditions on field loss and milling quality of rough rice

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    A better understanding of factors affecting field losses and milling quality during harvest is needed to improve the economic value of rice. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of harvester header, harvester type, and weather conditions on field loss and milling quality of ro...

  1. Delay-tolerant mobile network protocol for rice field monitoring using wireless sensor networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guitton, Alexandre; Andres, Frédéric; Cardoso, Jarbas Lopes; Kawtrakul, Asanee; Barbin, Silvio E.

    2015-10-01

    The monitoring of rice fields can improve productivity by helping farmers throughout the rice cultivation cycle, on various issues: when to harvest, when to treat the crops against disease, when to increase the water level, how to share observations and decisions made in a collaborative way, etc. In this paper, we propose an architecture to monitor a rice field by a wireless sensor network. Our architecture is based on static sensor nodes forming a disconnected network, and mobile nodes communicating with the sensor nodes in a delay-tolerant manner. The data collected by the static sensor nodes are transmitted to mobile nodes, which in turn transmit them to a gateway, connected to a database, for further analysis. We focus on the related architecture, as well as on the energy-efficient protocols intended to perform the data collection.

  2. Labor efficiency and intensity of land use in rice production: an example from Kalimantan

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Padoch, C.

    1986-09-01

    The ''Boserup hypothesis'' contends that land-intensive systems of agriculture will be adopted only when high population density precludes the use of land-extensive methods. In the Kerayan District of East Kalimantan (Indonesia) the Lun Dayeh practice permanent-field rice cultivation despite very low human densities. An examination of the relative labor efficiencies of shifting and permanent-field agriculture in the Kerayan, as well as of local environmental and historical variables, explains why this ''anomalous'' situation exists. It is argued that since relative success in production of rice by shifting- and permanent-field irrigated methods depends on many natural and social conditions other than levelsmore » of population density, the ''environment-free'' Boserup hypothesis cannot adequately explain or predict the occurrence of particular forms of rice agriculture.« less

  3. A 400-year phytolith-based reconstruction of wild rice (Zizania palustris) abundance from Mud Lake core sediments, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation, Minnesota, USA.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Munoz, R.; Caylor, E.; Yost, C. L.; Drake, C.; Ladwig, J. L.; Myrbo, A.; Howes, T.

    2014-12-01

    Wild rice (Zizania palustris L.) is an aquatic grass with spiritual and subsistence significance to Native people of the Great Lakes region of North America. Mud Lake (Mashkiigwaagamaag), located on the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation in Carlton County, Minnesota, USA, once supported an extensive population of wild rice (manoomin). However, early 20th century attempts to ditch and drain surrounding wetlands for landuse intensification severely altered the natural hydrological system that supports wild rice. Fond du Lac Resource Management (FDLRM) technicians are currently working to increase the wild rice population in Mud Lake. As part of these efforts, this phytolith study was undertaken to better understand how wild rice abundance has fluctuated over the past 400 years, with particular emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. Phytoliths are microscopic opal silica plant remains that are incorporated into soils and lake sediments after the plant-parts that contain them decay. Wild rice produces phytolith morphotypes that are unequivocally diagnostic. Mud Lake core MNMN-MUD11-1C-1P-1 (46°43'38.39"N, 92°42'2.45"W) was piston cored by LacCore (National Lacustrine Core Facility) and FDLRM technicians on 24 May 2011. Initial core descriptions, multi-sensor core logging, phytolith sampling and phytolith extractions were completed during the summer of 2014 at LacCore. Wild rice phytolith identification and quantification was conducted on twelve samples using brightfield microscopy at 400x magnification. Wild rice phytolith concentration values ranged from 68 to 2,300 phytoliths/cm3. Wild rice accumulation rates ranged from 9 to 383 phytoliths/ cm2/yr, peaking in 1952 AD. Wild rice abundance in Mud Lake appears to be influenced by a complex set of variables that include anthropogenic disturbance, climatic events and aquatic plant community succession.

  4. CLIMATE CHANGE IN THAILAND AND ITS POTENTIAL IMPACT ON RICE YIELD

    EPA Science Inventory

    Because of the uncertainties surrounding prediction of climate change, it is common to employ climate scenarios to estimate its impacts on a system. Climate scenarios are sets of climatic perturbations used with models to test system sensitivity to projected changes. In this stud...

  5. Study of Ceratopogonidae of Medical Importance in Thailand.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    northern provinces; Chiang Mai , Chiang Rai and Phrae where the average rainfall is 1290 mm. Here collecting sites are near villages surrounded by rice...Culicoides species collected in Chiang Mai , Chiang Rai and Phrae were 22, 19 and 17 respectively with greater numbers of Culicoides homotomus, gemellus

  6. A three-season field study on the in-situ remediation of Cd-contaminated paddy soil using lime, two industrial by-products, and a low-Cd-accumulation rice cultivar.

    PubMed

    Yan-Bing, He; Dao-You, Huang; Qi-Hong, Zhu; Shuai, Wang; Shou-Long, Liu; Hai-Bo, He; Han-Hua, Zhu; Chao, Xu

    2017-02-01

    To mitigate the serious problem of Cd-contaminated paddy soil, we investigated the remediation potential of combining in-situ immobilization with a low-Cd-accumulation rice cultivar. A three-season field experiment compared the soil pH, available Cd and absorption of Cd by three rice cultivars with different Cd accumulation abilities grown in Cd-contaminated paddy soil amended with lime (L), slag (S), and bagasse (B) alone or in combination. The three amendments applied alone and in combination significantly increased soil pH, reduced available Cd and absorption of Cd by rice with no effect on grain yield. Among these, the LS and LSB treatments reduced the brown rice Cd content by 38.3-69.1% and 58.3-70.9%, respectively, during the three seasons. Combined with planting of a low-Cd-accumulation rice cultivar (Xiang Zaoxian 32) resulted in a Cd content in brown rice that met the contaminant limit (≤0.2mgkg -1 ). However, the grain yield of the low-Cd-accumulation rice cultivar was approximately 30% lower than the other two rice cultivars. Applying LS or LSB as amendments combined with planting a low-Cd-accumulation rice cultivar is recommended for the remediation of Cd-contaminated paddy soil. The selection and breeding of low-Cd-accumulation rice cultivars with high grain production requires further research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Testing climate-smart irrigation strategies to reduce methane emissions from rice fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Runkle, B.; Suvocarev, K.; Reba, M. L.

    2017-12-01

    Approximately 11% of the global 308 Tg CH4 anthropogenic emissions are currently attributed to rice cultivation. In this study, the impact of water conservation practices on rice field CH4 emissions was evaluated in Arkansas, the leading state in US rice cultivation. While conserving water, the Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation practice can also reduce CH4 emissions through the deliberate, periodic introduction of aerobic conditions. Seasonal CH4emissions from a pair of adjacent, production-sized rice fields were estimated and compared during the 2015 to 2017 growing seasons using the eddy covariance method on each field. The fields were alternately treated with continuous flood (CF) and AWD irrigation. In 2015, the seasonal cumulative carbon losses by CH4 emission were 30.3 ± 6.3 and 141.9 ± 8.6 kg CH4-C ha-1 for the AWD and CF treatments, respectively. Data from 2016 and 2017 will be analyzed and shown within this presentation; an initial view demonstrates consistent findings to 2015. When accounting for differences in field conditions and soils, the AWD practice is attributable to a 36-51% reduction in seasonal emissions. The substantial decrease in CH4 emissions by AWD supports previous chamber-based research and offers strong evidence for the efficacy of AWD in reducing CH4 emissions in Arkansas rice production. The AWD practice has enabled the sale of credits for carbon offsets trading and this new market could encourage CH4 emissions reductions on a national scale. These eddy covariance towers are being placed into a regional perspective including crop and forest land in the three states comprising the Mississippi Delta: Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

  8. Remotely Sensing Larval Population Dynamics of Rice Field Anophelines

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Beck, Louisa R.; Dister, Sheri W.; Wood, Byron L.; Washino, Robert K.

    1997-01-01

    The primary objective of both studies was to determine if RS and GIS techniques could be used to distinguish between high and low larval-producing rice fields in California. Results of the first study suggested that early-season green-up and proximity to livestock pastures were positively correlated with high larval abundance. Based on the early-season spectral differences between high and low larval-producing fields, it appeared that canopy development and tillering influenced mosquito habitat quality. At that time, rice fields consisted of a mixture of plants and water, a combination that allowed An. freeborni females to lay eggs in partial sunlight, protected from both predators and wind. This established a population earlier in the season than in other, 'less-green' fields where tillering and plant emergence was too minimal for ovipositioning. The study also indicated the importance of the distance that a mosquito would have to fly in order to take a bloodmeal prior to ovipositing. These associations were fully explored in an expanded study two years later. The second study confirmed the positive relationship between early season canopy development and larval abundance, and also demonstrated the relationship between abundance and distance-to-pasture. The association between greenness (as measured using NDVI), distance-to-pasture, and abundance is illustrated. The second study also indicated the siginificance of the landscape context of rice fields for larval production. Fields that included opportunities for feeding and resting within the flight range of the mosquito had higher abundances than did fields that were in a homogeneous rice area.

  9. Live-cell imaging of rice cytological changes reveals the importance of host vacuole maintenance for biotrophic invasion by blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae.

    PubMed

    Mochizuki, Susumu; Minami, Eiichi; Nishizawa, Yoko

    2015-12-01

    The rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae grows inside living host cells. Cytological analyses by live-cell imaging have revealed characteristics of the biotrophic invasion, particularly the extrainvasive hyphal membrane (EIHM) originating from the host plasma membrane and a host membrane-rich structure, biotrophic interfacial complex (BIC). Here, we observed rice subcellular changes associated with invasive hyphal growth using various transformants expressing specifically localized fluorescent proteins. The invasive hyphae did not penetrate across but were surrounded by the host vacuolar membrane together with EIHM even after branching. High-resolution imaging of BICs revealed that the host cytosol was accumulated at BIC with aggregated EIHM and a symplastic effector, Pwl2, in a punctate form. The vacuolar membrane did not aggregate in but closely surrounded the BIC. A good correlation was observed between the early collapse of vacuoles and damage of invasive hyphae in the first-invaded cell. Furthermore, a newly developed, long-term imaging method has revealed that the central vacuole gradually shrank until collapse, which was caused by the hyphal invasion occurring earlier in the neighboring cells than in the first-invaded cells. These data suggest that M. oryzae may suppress host vacuole collapse during early infection stages for successful infection. © 2015 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Application of SAR remote sensing and crop modeling for operational rice crop monitoring in South and South East Asian Countries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Setiyono, T. D.; Holecz, F.; Khan, N. I.; Barbieri, M.; Maunahan, A. A.; Gatti, L.; Quicho, E. D.; Pazhanivelan, S.; Campos-Taberner, M.; Collivignarelli, F.; Haro, J. G.; Intrman, A.; Phuong, D.; Boschetti, M.; Prasadini, P.; Busetto, L.; Minh, V. Q.; Tuan, V. Q.

    2017-12-01

    This study uses multi-temporal SAR imagery, automated image processing, rule-based classification and field observations to classify rice in multiple locations in South and South Asian countries and assimilate the information into ORYZA Crop Growth Simulation Model (CGSM) to monitor rice yield. The study demonstrates examples of operational application of this rice monitoring system in: (1) detecting drought impact on rice planting in Central Thailand and Tamil Nadu, India, (2) mapping heat stress impact on rice yield in Andhra Pradesh, India, and (3) generating historical rice yield data for districts in Red River Delta, Vietnam.

  11. Homologous expression of cytosolic dehydroascorbate reductase increases grain yield and biomass under paddy field conditions in transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L. japonica).

    PubMed

    Kim, Young-Saeng; Kim, Il-Sup; Bae, Mi-Jung; Choe, Yong-Hoe; Kim, Yul-Ho; Park, Hyang-Mi; Kang, Hong-Gyu; Yoon, Ho-Sung

    2013-06-01

    Dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR, EC 1.8.5.1) maintains redox pools of ascorbate (AsA) by recycling oxidized AsA to reduced AsA. To investigate whether DHAR affects rice yield under normal environmental conditions, cDNA-encoding DHAR (OsDHAR1) was isolated from rice and used to develop OsDHAR1-overexpressing transgenic rice plants, under the regulation of a maize ubiquitin promoter. Incorporation and expression of the transgene in transgenic rice plants was confirmed by genomic polymerase chain reaction (PCR), semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), western blot, and enzyme activity. The expression levels were at least twofold higher in transgenic (TG) rice plants than in control wild-type (WT) rice plants. In addition, OsDHAR1-overexpression in seven-independent homologous transgenic plants, as compared to WT plants, increased photosynthetic capacity and antioxidant enzyme activities under paddy field conditions, which led to an improved AsA pool and redox homeostasis. Furthermore, OsDHAR1 overexpression significantly improved grain yield and biomass due to the increase of culm and root weights and to enhance panicle and spikelet numbers in the same seven independent TG rice plants during the farming season (2010 and 2011) in South Korea. The OsDHAR protein contained the redox-active site (Cys20), as well as the conserved GSH-binding region, GSH-binding motif, glutathione-S-transferase (GST) N-terminal domain, C-terminal domain interface, and GST C-terminal domain. Therefore, our results indicate that OsDHAR1 overexpression, capable of functioning in AsA recycling, and protein folding increases environmental adaptation to paddy field conditions by the improving AsA pool and redox homeostasis, which enhances rice grain yield and biomass.

  12. Exploring a suitable nitrogen fertilizer rate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure rice yields in paddy fields.

    PubMed

    Zhong, Yiming; Wang, Xiaopeng; Yang, Jingping; Zhao, Xing; Ye, Xinyi

    2016-09-15

    The application rate of nitrogen fertilizer was believed to dramatically influence greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from paddy fields. Thus, providing a suitable nitrogen fertilization rate to ensure rice yields, reducing GHG emissions and exploring emission behavior are important issues for field management. In this paper, a two year experiment with six rates (0, 75, 150, 225, 300, 375kgN/ha) of nitrogen fertilizer application was designed to examine GHG emissions by measuring carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) flux and their cumulative global warming potential (GWP) from paddy fields in Hangzhou, Zhejiang in 2013 and 2014. The results indicated that the GWP and rice yields increased with an increasing application rate of nitrogen fertilizer. Emission peaks of CH4 mainly appeared at the vegetative phase, and emission peaks of CO2, and N2O mainly appeared at reproductive phase of rice growth. The CO2 flux was significantly correlated with soil temperature, while the CH4 flux was influenced by logging water remaining period and N2O flux was significantly associated with nitrogen application rates. This study showed that 225kgN/ha was a suitable nitrogen fertilizer rate to minimize GHG emissions with low yield-scaled emissions of 3.69 (in 2013) and 2.23 (in 2014) kg CO2-eq/kg rice yield as well as to ensure rice yields remained at a relatively high level of 8.89t/ha in paddy fields. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Growth response to temperature and irradiance in Nostoc spongiaeforme

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    California water-seeded rice fields are typically shallow and have high nutrient levels, which are ideal growing conditions for algae and cyanobacteria. Nostoc spongiaeforme is problematic in California rice fields because floating mats may dislodge seedlings or smother them when the mats accumulat...

  14. [Effects of rice cleaning and cooking process on the residues of flutolanil, fenobucarb, silafluofen and buprofezin in rice].

    PubMed

    Satoh, Motoaki; Sakaguchi, Masayuki; Kobata, Masakazu; Sakaguchi, Yoko; Tanizawa, Haruna; Miura, Yuri; Sasano, Ryoichi; Nakanishi, Yutaka

    2003-02-01

    We studied the effect of cleaning and cooking on the residues of flutolanil, fenobucarb, silafluofen and buprofezin in rice. The rice had been sprayed in a paddy field in Wakayama city, with 3 kinds of pesticide application protocols: spraying once at the usual concentration of pesticides, repeated spraying (3 times) with the usual concentration of pesticides and spraying once with 3 times the usual concentration of pesticides. The residue levels of pesticide decreased during the rice cleaning process. Silafluofen, which has a higher log Pow value, remained in the hull of the rice. Fenobucarb, which has a lower log Pow value, penetrated inside the rice. The residue concentration of pesticide in polished rice was higher than that in pre-washed rice processed ready for cooking. During the cooking procedure, the reduction of pesticides in polished rice was higher than that in brown rice.

  15. The effects of rice canopy on the air-soil exchange of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticides using paired passive air samplers.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yan; Wang, Shaorui; Luo, Chunling; Li, Jun; Ming, Lili; Zhang, Gan; Li, Xiangdong

    2015-05-01

    The rice canopy in paddy fields can influence the air-soil exchange of organic chemicals. We used paired passive air samplers to assess the exchange of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in a paddy field, South China. Levels of OCPs and light PAHs were generally higher under the canopy than above it. We found that the rice canopy can physically obstruct the evaporation of most OCPs and light PAHs, and can also act as a barrier to the gaseous deposition of p,p'-DDT and heavy PAHs. Paddy fields can behave as a secondary source of OCPs and light PAHs. The homolog patterns of these two types of chemical varied slightly between the air below and above the rice canopy, implying contributions of different sources. Paired passive air samplers can be used effectively to assess the in situ air-soil exchange of PAHs and OCPs in subtropical paddy fields. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Electricity Generation in Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) by Bacterium Isolated from Rice Paddy Field Soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fakhirruddin, Fakhriah; Amid, Azura; Salim, Wan Wardatul Amani Wan; Suhaida Azmi, Azlin

    2018-03-01

    Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an alternative approach in generating renewable energy by utilising bacteria that will oxidize organic or inorganic substrates, producing electrons yielded as electrical energy. Different species of exoelectrogenic bacteria capable of generating significant amount of electricity in MFC has been identified, using various organic compounds for fuel. Soil sample taken from rice paddy field is proven to contain exoelectrogenic bacteria, thus electricity generation using mixed culture originally found in the soil, and pure culture isolated from the soil is studied. This research will isolate the exoelectrogenic bacterial species in the rice paddy field soil responsible for energy generation. Growth of bacteria isolated from the MFC is observed by measuring the optical density (OD), cell density weight (CDW) and viable cell count. Mixed bacterial species found in paddy field soil generates maximum power of 77.62 μW and 0.70 mA of current. In addition, the research also shows that the pure bacterium in rice paddy field soil can produce maximum power and current at 51.32 μW and 0.28 mA respectively.

  17. The use of Chironomus riparius larvae to assess effects of pesticides from rice fields in adjacent freshwater ecosystems.

    PubMed

    Faria, Mafalda S; Nogueira, António J A; Soares, Amadeu M V M

    2007-06-01

    A bioassay with Chironomus riparius larvae, using larval development and growth as endpoints, was carried out inside a rice field and in the adjacent wetland channel in Portugal, during pesticide treatments (molinate, endosulfan and propanil) to determine impact caused by pesticide contamination in freshwater ecosystems. The bioassay was also performed under laboratory conditions, to assess whether in situ and laboratory bioassays demonstrated comparable results. Growth was inhibited by concentrations of endosulfan (2.3 and 1.9 microgL(-1) averages) in water from rice field in both the field and laboratory, and by concentrations of endosulfan (0.55 and 0.76 microgL(-1) averages) in water from the wetland channel in the laboratory bioassay, while development was not affected. C. riparius larvae were not affected by molinate and propanil concentrations. The results indicate that endosulfan treatments in rice fields may cause an ecological impairment in adjacent freshwater ecosystems. The results also indicate that laboratory testing can be used to assess in situ toxicity caused by pesticide contamination.

  18. Seed deterioration in flooded agricultural fields during winter

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nelms, C.O.; Twedt, D.J.

    1996-01-01

    We determined rate of seed deterioration for 3 crops (corn, rice, and soybean) and 8 weeds commonly found in agricultural fields and moist-soil management units in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). The weeds were broadleaf signalgrass (Brachiaria platyphylla), junglerice barnyardgrass (Echinochloa colonum), morningglory (Ipomoea sp.), panic grass (Panicum sp.), bull paspalum (Paspalum boscianum), red rice (Oryza sativa), hemp sesbania (Sesbania exaltata), and bristlegrass (Setaria sp.). Weed seeds, except morningglory, deteriorated slower than corn and soybean, whereas rice decomposed slower than all weed seeds except red rice and bull paspalum. For land managers desiring to provide plant food for wintering waterfowl, rice is clearly the most persistent small grain crop in the MAV. Persistence of weed seeds under flooded conditions throughout winter makes them a cost-effective alternative to traditional crops on land managed for waterfowl.

  19. A mathematical model of transmission of rice tungro disease by Nephotettix Virescens

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blas, Nikki T.; Addawe, Joel M.; David, Guido

    2016-11-01

    One of the major threats in rice agriculture is the Tungro virus, which is transmitted semi-persistently to rice plants via green rice leafhoppers called Nephotettix Virescens. Tungro is polycyclic and complex disease of rice associated by dual infection with Rice Tungro Bacilliform Virus (RTBV) and Rice Tungro Spherical Virus (RTSV). Interaction of the two viruses results in the degeneration of the host. In this paper, we used a plant-vector system of ordinary differential equations to model the spread of the disease in a model rice field. Parameter values were obtained from studies on the entomology of Nephotettix Virescens and infection rates of RTSV and RTBV. The system was analyzed for equilibrium solutions, and solved numerically for susceptible rice varieties (Taichung Native 1).

  20. [Effects of marshland reclamation on evapotranspiration in the Sanjiang Plain].

    PubMed

    Jia, Zhi-jun; Zhang, Wen; Huang, Yao; Zhao, Xiao-song; Song, Chang-chun

    2010-04-01

    Extensive reclamation of marshland into cropland has had tremendous effects on the ecological environment in the Sanjiang Plain. Observations over marshland, rice paddy and soybean field were made with eddy covariance measuring systems from May to October in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The objective of this study was to identify the effects of the conversion of marshland to cropland on evapotranspiration in the Sanjiang Plain. The results showed that the diurnal variation curves of latent heat flux were single peaked in marshland, rice paddy and soybean field. The daily maximum latent heat flux increased by 14%-130% in rice paddy in the three measuring years, however, in soybean field, it increased by 3%-77% in 2006 but decreased by 25%-40% in 2005 and 2007 by comparison with that in marshland. This difference was due to the change of leaf area index when marshland was reclaimed into cropland. Seasonal change of latent heat flux was identical for the three land use types. Daily averaged latent heat flux of rice paddy, from May to October, showed 38%-53% increase compared with that of marshland, which resulted from the increase in net radiation and leaf area index. When marshland was reclaimed into soybean field, the variation of daily averaged latent heat flux depended primarily on precipitation. Precipitation was the main factor that controlled evapotranspiration over soybean field which was usually in condition of soil water deficit. Drought caused 11%-17% decrease of daily averaged latent heat flux over soybean field in 2005 and 2007, while sufficient precipitation caused 22% increase in 2006, comparing to marshland. Similarly, during the growing season from June to September, total evapotranspiration of rice paddy increased by 24%-51% compared with that of marshland, and the total evapotranspiration of soybean field decreased by 19%-23% in 2005 and 2007 and increased by 19% in 2006. It is concluded that the evapotranspiration changes significantly when the marshland was reclaimed into rice paddy or soybean field in the Sanjiang Plain. Compared to marshland, the evapotranspiration is higher in rice paddy and soybean filed with sufficient precipitation, while lower in soybean field under drought. These changes are found to be highly related to the variations of net radiation, leaf area index and precipitation.

  1. Earth Observation

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2012-07-29

    ISS032-E-010482 (29 July 2012) --- Sutter Buttes in California are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 32 crew member on the International Space Station. Sometimes called the ?smallest mountain range in the world?, the Sutter Buttes rise almost 610 meters above the surrounding flat agricultural fields of the Great Valley of central California. Scientists believe the Sutter Buttes are remnants of a volcano that was active approximately 1.6 ? 1.4 million years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch. The central core of the Buttes is characterized by lava domes?piles of viscous lava that erupted onto the surface, building higher with each successive layer. Today, these lava domes form the high central hills of the Buttes; shadows cast by the hills are visible at center. Surrounding the central core is an apron of fragmental material created by occasional eruptions of the lava domes ? this apron extends roughly 18 kilometers east-west and 16 kilometers north-south. The volcanic material was transported outwards from the central core during eruptions by hot gasses (pyroclastic flows) or by cooler water-driven flows (lahars). Later stream erosion of the debris apron is evident from the radial drainage pattern surrounding the central core. A third geomorphic region of valleys known as the ?moat? is present between the core and the debris apron, and was formed from erosion of older, exposed sedimentary rocks that underlie the volcanic rocks. The Sutter Buttes present a striking visual contrast with the surrounding green agricultural fields?here mostly rice, with some sunflower, winter wheat, tomato, and almonds?of the Great Valley. Urban areas such as Yuba City, CA (located 18 kilometers to the southeast) appear as light to dark gray stippled regions. Sacramento, CA (not shown) is located approximately 80 kilometers to the south-southeast. The image appears slightly distorted (oblique) due to the viewing angle from the space station.

  2. Focal species candidates for pesticide risk assessment in European rice fields: A review.

    PubMed

    Vallon, Martin; Dietzen, Christian; Laucht, Silke; Ludwigs, Jan-Dieter

    2018-04-25

    An assessment of potential risks of pesticides on wildlife is required during the process of product registration within Europe because of the importance of agricultural landscapes as wildlife habitats. Despite their peculiarity and their specific role as artificial wetlands, rice paddies are to date pooled with cereals in guidance documents on how to conduct risk assessments for birds and mammals in Europe. Hence, the focal species currently considered in risk assessments for rice paddies are those known from cereal fields and can therefore be expected to differ significantly from the species actually occurring in the wet environments of rice paddies. We present results of a comprehensive review on bird and mammal species regularly occurring in rice paddies during a time of potential pesticide exposure to identify appropriate focal species candidates for ecotoxicological pesticide risk assessment according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In addition, we present data on rice cultivation areas and agricultural practices in Europe to give background information supporting the species selection process. Our literature search identified a general scarcity of relevant data, particularly for mammals, which highlights the need for crop-specific focal species studies. However, our results clearly indicate that the relevant bird and mammal species in rice fields indeed differ strongly from the focal species used for the cereal risk assessment. They can thus be used as a baseline for more realistic wildlife risk assessments specific to rice and the development of a revised guidance document to bridge the gap for regulatory decision makers. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;00:000-000. © 2018 SETAC. © 2018 SETAC.

  3. [Effect of different organic fertilizers on bioavailability of soil Cd and Zn].

    PubMed

    Xie, Yun-he; Ji, Xiong-hui; Wu, Jia-mei; Huang, Juan; Guan, Di; Zhu, Jian

    2015-03-01

    The active effect of soil Cd and Zn and their interaction was studied in typical paddy field in south China by monitoring the contents of Cd and Zn in soil and rice in rice fields applied with pig manure, chicken manure or rice straw for 4 years continuously. The results showed that applying pig manure, chicken manure or rice straw had no significant impact on the soil total Cd content, soil available Cd content and soil Cd activity, but tended to increase the soil total Cd content and increased the soil total Zn content, soil available Zn content and Zn activity significantly. Applications of pig manure, chicken manure and rice straw all reduced the Cd content of brown rice, in order of pig manure > chicken manure > rice straw. The Cd contents of brown rice, stem and leaf in the treatment applied with pig manure were lower than in the control by 37.5%, 44.0% and 36.4%, respectively; the Cd contents of brown rice, stem and leaf in the treatment applied with chicken manure were lower than in the control by 22.5%, 33.8%, and 22.7%, respectively; the Cd content of brown rice in the treatment applied with rice straw was lower than in the control by 7.5% but its contents in stem and leaf increased by 8.2% and 22.7% , respectively. The reduction in the brown rice Cd content was mainly due to the reduction of Cd enrichment from soil to brown rice after application of pig or chicken manure, but mainly due to the reduction of Cd transportation from stem to brown rice after straw application. Applications of pig manure, chicken manure and rice straw increased Zn contents in rice stem by 53.4%, 53.4% and 13.9%, respectively, but all had no significant effect on brown rice and leaf' s Zn contents. Zn and Cd had the significant antagonistic effects in the soil and rice stem. The increase of Zn content in soil and rice stem inhibited the adsorption and accumulation of Cd in the brown rice, stem and leaf significantly, and with the increase of the proportion of Zn/Cd, the competitive absorption between Cd and Zn by rice was the main control factor affecting the Cd absorption by rice than their competitive adsorption by soil.

  4. Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from three paddy rice based cultivation systems in Southwest China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Changsheng; Wang, Yuesi; Zheng, Xunhua; Zhu, Bo; Huang, Yao; Hao, Qingju

    2006-05-01

    To understand methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from permanently flooded rice paddy fields and to develop mitigation options, a field experiment was conducted in situ for two years (from late 2002 to early 2005) in three rice-based cultivation systems, which are a permanently flooded rice field cultivated with a single time and followed by a non-rice season (PF), a rice-wheat rotation system (RW) and a rice-rapeseed rotation system (RR) in a hilly area in Southwest China. The results showed that the total CH4 emissions from PF were 646.3±52.1 and 215.0±45.4 kg CH4 hm-2 during the rice-growing period and non-rice period, respectively. Both values were much lower than many previous reports from similar regions in Southwest China. The CH4 emissions in the rice-growing season were more intensive in PF, as compared to RW and RR. Only 33% of the total annual CH4 emission in PF occurred in the non-rice season, though the duration of this season is two times longer than the rice season. The annual mean N2O flux in PF was 4.5±0.6 kg N2O hm-2 yr-1. The N2O emission in the rice-growing season was also more intensive than in the non-rice season, with only 16% of the total annual emission occurring in the non-rice season. The amounts of N2O emission in PF were ignorable compared to the CH4 emission in terms of the global warming potential (GWP). Changing PF to RW or RR not only eliminated CH4 emissions in the non-rice season, but also substantially reduced the CH4 emission during the following rice-growing period (ca. 58%, P<0.05). However, this change in cultivation system substantially increased N2O emissions, especially in the non-rice season, by a factor of 3.7 to 4.5. On the 100-year horizon, the integrated GWP of total annual CH4 and N2O emissions satisfies PF≫RR≈RW. The GWP of PF is higher than that of RW and RR by a factor of 2.6 and 2.7, respectively. Of the total GWP of CH4 and N2O emissions, CH4 emission contributed to 93%, 65% and 59% in PF, RW and RR, respectively. These results suggest that changing PF to RW and RR can substantially reduce not only CH4 emission but also the total GWP of the CH4 and N2O emissions.

  5. Understanding ecosystem services provided by rice fields

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    While the concept of ecosystem services is not new, there is revived interest in how these services should be measured, monitored, and valued. Focused research over the last four years has provided insight into the mitigation capabilities of rice fields in the lower Mississippi River Valley of the ...

  6. Agronomic and environmental aspects of diazotrophic bacteria in irrigated rice fields

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    This article provides an overview of the free-living and plant-associated nitrogen-fixing bacterial communities in irrigated rice fields, with a focus on describing the drivers affecting community assemblages in this soil-water-plant-atmosphere system. Theoretical and technical advances in non-legu...

  7. Microbial electricity generation in rice paddy fields: recent advances and perspectives in rhizosphere microbial fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Kouzuma, Atsushi; Kaku, Nobuo; Watanabe, Kazuya

    2014-12-01

    Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are devices that use living microbes for the conversion of organic matter into electricity. MFC systems can be applied to the generation of electricity at water/sediment interfaces in the environment, such as bay areas, wetlands, and rice paddy fields. Using these systems, electricity generation in paddy fields as high as ∼80 mW m(-2) (based on the projected anode area) has been demonstrated, and evidence suggests that rhizosphere microbes preferentially utilize organic exudates from rice roots for generating electricity. Phylogenetic and metagenomic analyses have been conducted to identify the microbial species and catabolic pathways that are involved in the conversion of root exudates into electricity, suggesting the importance of syntrophic interactions. In parallel, pot cultures of rice and other aquatic plants have been used for rhizosphere MFC experiments under controlled laboratory conditions. The findings from these studies have demonstrated the potential of electricity generation for mitigating methane emission from the rhizosphere. Notably, however, the presence of large amounts of organics in the rhizosphere drastically reduces the effect of electricity generation on methane production. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the potential of these systems for mitigating methane emission from rice paddy fields. We suggest that paddy-field MFCs represent a promising approach for harvesting latent energy of the natural world.

  8. Rice rhizosphere soil and root surface bacterial community response to water management changes

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Different water management practices could affect microbial populations in the rice rhizosphere. A field-scale study was conducted to evaluate microbial populations in the root plaque and rhizosphere of rice in response to continuous and intermittent flooding conditions. Microbial populations in rhi...

  9. Development of Bt Rice and Bt Maize in China and Their Efficacy in Target Pest Control

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Qingsong; Hallerman, Eric; Peng, Yufa; Li, Yunhe

    2016-01-01

    Rice and maize are important cereal crops that serve as staple foods, feed, and industrial material in China. Multiple factors constrain the production of both crops, among which insect pests are an important one. Lepidopteran pests cause enormous yield losses for the crops annually. In order to control these pests, China plays an active role in development and application of genetic engineering (GE) to crops, and dozens of GE rice and GE maize lines expressing insecticidal proteins from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been developed. Many lines have entered environmental release, field testing, and preproduction testing, and laboratory and field experiments have shown that most of the Bt rice and Bt maize lines developed in China exhibited effective control of major target lepidopteran pests on rice (Chilo suppressalis, Scirpophaga incertulas, and Cnaphalocrocis medinalis) and maize (Ostrinia furnacalis), demonstrating bright prospects for application. However, none of these Bt lines has yet been commercially planted through this writing in 2016. Challenges and perspectives for development and application of Bt rice and maize in China are discussed. This article provides a general context for colleagues to learn about research and development of Bt crops in China, and may shed light on future work in this field. PMID:27763554

  10. Development of Bt Rice and Bt Maize in China and Their Efficacy in Target Pest Control.

    PubMed

    Liu, Qingsong; Hallerman, Eric; Peng, Yufa; Li, Yunhe

    2016-10-18

    Rice and maize are important cereal crops that serve as staple foods, feed, and industrial material in China. Multiple factors constrain the production of both crops, among which insect pests are an important one. Lepidopteran pests cause enormous yield losses for the crops annually. In order to control these pests, China plays an active role in development and application of genetic engineering (GE) to crops, and dozens of GE rice and GE maize lines expressing insecticidal proteins from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis ( Bt ) have been developed. Many lines have entered environmental release, field testing, and preproduction testing, and laboratory and field experiments have shown that most of the Bt rice and Bt maize lines developed in China exhibited effective control of major target lepidopteran pests on rice ( Chilo suppressalis , Scirpophaga incertulas , and Cnaphalocrocis medinalis ) and maize ( Ostrinia furnacalis ), demonstrating bright prospects for application. However, none of these Bt lines has yet been commercially planted through this writing in 2016. Challenges and perspectives for development and application of Bt rice and maize in China are discussed. This article provides a general context for colleagues to learn about research and development of Bt crops in China, and may shed light on future work in this field.

  11. A Study toward the Evaluation of ALOS Images for LAI Estimation in Rice Fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharifi Hashjin, Sh.; Darvishzadeh, R.; Khandan, R.

    2013-10-01

    For expanding and managing agricultural sources, satellite data have a key role in determining required information about different factors in plants Including Leaf Area Index (LAI).This paper has studied the potential of spectral indices in estimating rice canopy LAI in Amol city as one of the main sources of rice production in Iran. Due to its importance in provision of food and calorie of a major portion of population, rice product was chosen for study. A field campaign was conducted when rice was in the max growth stage (late of June). Also, two satellite images from ALOS-AVNIR-2 were used (simultaneous with conducted field works) to extract and determine vegetation indices. Then the Regression between measured data and vegetation indices, derived from combination of different bands, was evaluated and after that suitable vegetation indices were realized. Finally, statistics and calculations for introduction of a suitable model were presented. After examination of models, the results showed that RDVI and SAVI2, by determination coefficient and RMSE of 0.12-0.59 and 0.24-0.62, have more accuracy in LAI estimation. Results of present study demonstrated the potential of ALOS images, for LAI estimation and their significant role in monitoring and managing the rice plant.

  12. Distribution of chlorpyrifos in rice paddy environment and its potential dietary risk.

    PubMed

    Fu, Yan; Liu, Feifei; Zhao, Chenglin; Zhao, Ying; Liu, Yihua; Zhu, Guonian

    2015-09-01

    Chlorpyrifos is one of the most extensively used insecticides in China. The distribution and residues of chlorpyrifos in a paddy environment were characterized under field and laboratory conditions. The half-lives of chlorpyrifos in the two conditions were 0.9-3.8days (field) and 2.8-10.3days (laboratory), respectively. The initial distribution of chlorpyrifos followed the increasing order of water

  13. Dynamics of the Methanogenic Archaeal Community during Plant Residue Decomposition in an Anoxic Rice Field Soil ▿

    PubMed Central

    Peng, Jingjing; Lü, Zhe; Rui, Junpeng; Lu, Yahai

    2008-01-01

    Incorporation of plant residues strongly enhances the methane production and emission from flooded rice fields. Temperature and residue type are important factors that regulate residue decomposition and CH4 production. However, the response of the methanogenic archaeal community to these factors in rice field soil is not well understood. In the present experiment, the structure of the archaeal community was determined during the decomposition of rice root and straw residues in anoxic rice field soil incubated at three temperatures (15°C, 30°C, and 45°C). More CH4 was produced in the straw treatment than root treatment. Increasing the temperature from 15°C to 45°C enhanced CH4 production. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses in combination with cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes showed that Methanosarcinaceae developed early in the incubations, whereas Methanosaetaceae became more abundant in the later stages. Methanosarcinaceae and Methanosaetaceae seemed to be better adapted at 15°C and 30°C, respectively, while the thermophilic Methanobacteriales and rice cluster I methanogens were significantly enhanced at 45°C. Straw residues promoted the growth of Methanosarcinaceae, whereas the root residues favored Methanosaetaceae. In conclusion, our study revealed a highly dynamic structure of the methanogenic archaeal community during plant residue decomposition. The in situ concentration of acetate (and possibly of H2) seems to be the key factor that regulates the shift of methanogenic community. PMID:18344350

  14. Testing estimation of water surface in Italian rice district from MODIS satellite data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ranghetti, Luigi; Busetto, Lorenzo; Crema, Alberto; Fasola, Mauro; Cardarelli, Elisa; Boschetti, Mirco

    2016-10-01

    Recent changes in rice crop management within Northern Italy rice district led to a reduction of seeding in flooding condition, which may have an impact on reservoir water management and on the animal and plant communities that depend on the flooded paddies. Therefore, monitoring and quantifying the spatial and temporal variability of water presence in paddy fields is becoming important. In this study we present a method to estimate dynamics of presence of standing water (i.e. fraction of flooded area) in rice fields using MODIS data. First, we produced high resolution water presence maps from Landsat by thresholding the Normalised Difference Flood Index (NDFI) made: we made it by comparing five Landsat 8 images with field-obtained information about rice field status and water presence. Using these data we developed an empirical model to estimate the flooding fraction of each MODIS cell. Finally we validated the MODIS-based flooding maps with both Landsat and ground information. Results showed a good predictability of water surface from Landsat (OA = 92%) and a robust usability of MODIS data to predict water fraction (R2 = 0.73, EF = 0.57, RMSE = 0.13 at 1 × 1 km resolution). Analysis showed that the predictive ability of the model decreases with the greening up of rice, so we used NDVI to automatically discriminate estimations for inaccurate cells in order to provide the water maps with a reliability flag. Results demonstrate that it is possible to monitor water dynamics in rice paddies using moderate resolution multispectral satellite data. The achievement is a proof of concept for the analysis of MODIS archives to investigate irrigation dynamics in the last 15 years to retrieve information for ecological and hydrological studies.

  15. Influence of transgenic rice expressing a fused Cry1Ab/1Ac protein on frogs in paddy fields.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jia-Mei; Chen, Xiu-Ping; Liang, Yu-Yong; Zhu, Hao-Jun; Ding, Jia-Tong; Peng, Yu-Fa

    2014-11-01

    As genetic engineering in plants is increasingly used to control agricultural pests, it is important to determine whether such transgenic plants adversely affect non-target organisms within and around cultivated fields. The cry1Ab/1Ac fusion gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has insecticidal activity and has been introduced into rice line Minghui 63 (MH63). We evaluated the effect of transgenic cry1Ab/1Ac rice (Huahui 1, HH1) on paddy frogs by comparing HH1 and MH63 rice paddies with and without pesticide treatment. The density of tadpoles in rice fields was surveyed at regular intervals, and Cry1Ab/1Ac protein levels were determined in tissues of tadpoles and froglets collected from the paddy fields. In addition, Rana nigromaculata froglets were raised in purse nets placed within these experimental plots. The survival, body weight, feeding habits, and histological characteristics of the digestive tract of these froglets were analyzed. We found that the tadpole density was significantly decreased immediately after pesticide application, and the weight of R. nigromaculata froglets of pesticide groups was significantly reduced compared with no pesticide treatment, but we found no differences between Bt and non-Bt rice groups. Moreover, no Cry1Ab/1Ac protein was detected in tissue samples collected from 192 tadpoles and froglets representing all four experimental groups. In addition, R. nigromaculata froglets raised in purse seines fed primarily on stem borer and non-target insects, and showed no obvious abnormality in the microstructure of their digestive tracts. Based on these results, we conclude that cultivation of transgenic cry1Ab/1Ac rice does not adversely affect paddy frogs.

  16. Occurrence and distribution study of residues from pesticides applied under controlled conditions in the field during rice processing.

    PubMed

    Pareja, Lucía; Colazzo, Marcos; Pérez-Parada, Andrés; Besil, Natalia; Heinzen, Horacio; Böcking, Bernardo; Cesio, Verónica; Fernández-Alba, Amadeo R

    2012-05-09

    The results of an experiment to study the occurrence and distribution of pesticide residues during rice cropping and processing are reported. Four herbicides, nine fungicides, and two insecticides (azoxystrobin, byspiribac-sodium, carbendazim, clomazone, difenoconazole, epoxiconazole, isoprothiolane, kresoxim-methyl, propanil, quinclorac, tebuconazole, thiamethoxam, tricyclazole, trifloxystrobin, λ-cyhalotrin) were applied to an isolated rice-crop plot under controlled conditions, during the 2009-2010 cropping season in Uruguay. Paddy rice was harvested and industrially processed to brown rice, white rice, and rice bran, which were analyzed for pesticide residues using the original QuEChERS methodology and its citrate variation by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS. The distribution of pesticide residues was uneven among the different matrices. Ten different pesticide residues were found in paddy rice, seven in brown rice, and eight in rice bran. The highest concentrations were detected in paddy rice. These results provide information regarding the fate of pesticides in the rice food chain and its safety for consumers.

  17. Can the co-cultivation of rice and fish help sustain rice production?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Liangliang; Zhang, Jian; Ren, Weizheng; Guo, Liang; Cheng, Yongxu; Li, Jiayao; Li, Kexin; Zhu, Zewen; Zhang, Jiaen; Luo, Shiming; Cheng, Lei; Tang, Jianjun; Chen, Xin

    2016-06-01

    Because rice feeds half of the world’s population, a secure global food supply depends on sustainable rice production. Here we test whether the co-cultivation of rice and fish into one “rice-fish system” (RFS; fish refers to aquatic animals in this article) could help sustain rice production. We examined intensive and traditional RFSs that have been widely practiced in China. We found that rice yields did not decrease when fish yield was below a threshold value in each intensive RFS. Below the thresholds, moreover, fish yields in intensive RFSs can be substantially higher than those in traditional RFS without reducing rice yield. Relative to rice monoculture, the use of fertilizer-nitrogen and pesticides decreased, and the farmers’ net income increased in RFSs. The results suggest that RFSs can help sustain rice production, and suggest that development of co-culture technologies (i.e. proper field configuration for fish and rice) is necessary to achieve the sustainability.

  18. Development and Event-specific Detection of Transgenic Glyphosate-resistant Rice Expressing the G2-EPSPS Gene

    PubMed Central

    Dong, Yufeng; Jin, Xi; Tang, Qiaoling; Zhang, Xin; Yang, Jiangtao; Liu, Xiaojing; Cai, Junfeng; Zhang, Xiaobing; Wang, Xujing; Wang, Zhixing

    2017-01-01

    Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide, due to its broad spectrum, low cost, low toxicity, high efficiency, and non-selective characteristics. Rice farmers rarely use glyphosate as a herbicide, because the crop is sensitive to this chemical. The development of transgenic glyphosate-tolerant rice could greatly improve the economics of rice production. Here, we transformed the Pseudomonas fluorescens G2 5-enolpyruvyl shikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene G2-EPSPS, which conferred tolerance to glyphosate herbicide into a widely used japonica rice cultivar, Zhonghua 11 (ZH11), to develop two highly glyphosate-tolerant transgenic rice lines, G2-6 and G2-7, with one exogenous gene integration. Seed germination tests and glyphosate-tolerance assays of plants grown in a greenhouse showed that the two transgenic lines could greatly improve glyphosate-tolerance compared with the wild-type; The glyphosate-tolerance field test indicated that both transgenic lines could grow at concentrations of 20,000 ppm glyphosate, which is more than 20-times the recommended concentration in the field. Isolation of the flanking sequence of transgenic rice G2-6 indicated that the 5′-terminal of T-DNA was inserted into chromosome 8 of the rice genome. An event-specific PCR test system was established and the limit of detection of the primers reached five copies. Overall, the G2-EPSPS gene significantly improved glyphosate-tolerance in transgenic rice; furthermore, it is a useful candidate gene for the future development of commercial transgenic rice. PMID:28611804

  19. Mitigation of cadmium and arsenic in rice grain by applying different silicon fertilizers in contaminated fields.

    PubMed

    Wang, Hong-Yan; Wen, Shi-Lin; Chen, Peng; Zhang, Lu; Cen, Kuang; Sun, Guo-Xin

    2016-02-01

    A field experiment was established to support the hypothesis that application of different silicon (Si) fertilizers can simultaneously reduce cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) concentration in rice grain. The "semi-finished product of Si-potash fertilizer" treatment at the high application of 9000 kg/ha (NP+S-KSi9000) significantly reduced the As concentration in rice grain by up to 20.1%, compared with the control. Si fertilization reduces the Cd concentration in rice considerably more than the As concentration. All Si fertilizers apart from sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3) exhibited a high ability to reduce Cd concentration in rice grain. The Si-calcium (CaSi) fertilizer is the most effective in the mitigation of Cd concentration in rice grain. The CaSi fertilizer applied at 9000 kg/ha (NPK+CaSi9000) and 900 kg/ha (NPK+CaSi900) reduced the Cd concentration in rice grain about 71.5 and 48.0%, respectively, while the Si-potash fertilizer at 900 kg/ha (NP+KSi900), the semi-finished product of Si-potash fertilizer at both 900 kg/ha (NP+S-KSi900) and 9000 kg/ha (NP+S-KSi9000), and the rice straw (NPK+RS) treatments reduced the Cd concentration in rice grain about 42, 26.5, 40.7, and 23.1%, respectively. The results of this investigation demonstrated the potential effects of Si fertilizers in reducing Cd and As concentrations in rice grain.

  20. Rice evapotranspiration at the field and canopy scales under water-saving irrigation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Xiaoyin; Xu, Junzeng; Yang, Shihong; Zhang, Jiangang

    2018-04-01

    Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important process of land surface water and thermal cycling, with large temporal and spatial variability. To reveal the effect of water-saving irrigation (WSI) on rice ET at different spatial scales and understand the cross spatial scale difference, rice ET under WSI condition at canopy (ETCML) and field scale (ETEC) were measured simultaneously by mini-lysimeter and eddy covariance (EC) in the rice season of 2014. To overcome the shortage of energy balance deficit by EC system, and evaluate the influence of energy balance closure degree on ETEC, ETEC was corrected as {ET}_{EC}^{*} by energy balance closure correction according to the evaporative fraction. Seasonal average daily ETEC, {ET}_{EC}^{*} and ETCML of rice under WSI practice were estimated as 3.12, 4.03 and 4.35 mm day-1, smaller than the values reported in flooded paddy fields. Daily ETEC, {ET}_{EC}^{*} and ETCML varied in a similar trends and reached the maximum in late tillering, then decreased along with the crop growth in late season. The value of ETEC was much lower than ETCML, and was frequently 1-2 h lagged behind ETCML. It indicated that the energy balance deficit resulted in underestimation of crop ET by EC system. The corrected value of {ET}_{EC}^{*} matched ETCML much better than ETEC, with a smaller RMSE (0.086 mm h-1) and higher R 2 (0.843) and IOA (0.961). The time lapse between {ET}_{EC}^{*} and ETCML was mostly shortened to less than 0.5 h. The multiple stepwise regression analysis indicated that net radiation ( R n) is the dominant factor for rice ET, and soil moisture ( θ) is another significant factor ( p < 0.01) in WSI rice fields. The difference between ETCML and {ET}_{EC}^{*} ({ET}_{CML} - {ET}_{EC}^{*}) were significantly ( p < 0.05) correlated with R n, air temperature ( T a), and air vapor pressure deficit ( D), and its partial correlation coefficients to R n and T a were slightly greater than D. Thus, R n, T a and D are important variables for understanding the spatial scale effect of rice ET in WSI fields, and for its cross scale conversion.

  1. Drainage and tillage practices in the winter fallow season mitigate CH4 and N2O emissions from a double-rice field in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Guangbin; Yu, Haiyang; Fan, Xianfang; Yang, Yuting; Ma, Jing; Xu, Hua

    2016-09-01

    Traditional land management (no tillage, no drainage, NTND) during the winter fallow season results in substantial CH4 and N2O emissions from double-rice fields in China. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of drainage and tillage during the winter fallow season on CH4 and N2O emissions and to develop mitigation options. The experiment had four treatments: NTND, NTD (drainage but no tillage), TND (tillage but no drainage), and TD (both drainage and tillage). The study was conducted from 2010 to 2014 in a Chinese double-rice field. During winter, total precipitation and mean daily temperature significantly affected CH4 emission. Compared to NTND, drainage and tillage decreased annual CH4 emissions in early- and late-rice seasons by 54 and 33 kg CH4 ha-1 yr-1, respectively. Drainage and tillage increased N2O emissions in the winter fallow season but reduced it in early- and late-rice seasons, resulting in no annual change in N2O emission. Global warming potentials of CH4 and N2O emissions were decreased by 1.49 and 0.92 t CO2 eq. ha-1 yr-1, respectively, and were reduced more by combining drainage with tillage, providing a mitigation potential of 1.96 t CO2 eq. ha-1 yr-1. A low total C content and high C / N ratio in rice residues showed that tillage in the winter fallow season reduced CH4 and N2O emissions in both early- and late-rice seasons. Drainage and tillage significantly decreased the abundance of methanogens in paddy soil, and this may explain the decrease of CH4 emissions. Greenhouse gas intensity was significantly decreased by drainage and tillage separately, and the reduction was greater by combining drainage with tillage, resulting in a reduction of 0.17 t CO2 eq. t-1. The results indicate that drainage combined with tillage during the winter fallow season is an effective strategy for mitigating greenhouse gas releases from double-rice fields.

  2. Biochar amendment reduces rice Cd uptake in polluted and unpolluted paddy soils: a long term field experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bian, R.; Cui, L.; Pan, G.; Li, L.

    2012-04-01

    The bioavailability of Cd in agricultural soils has been a great health concern due to the potential risk through exposure of agro-food produced in Cd-contaminated fields. Yet, rice subject to Cd contamination appears to have expanded at the last decade due to irrigation with waste water and chemical fertilization in south china. This is supposed to raise the Cd accumulation of rice grain. Therefore, techniques to reduce Cd mobility and plant uptake have been a urgent demand for food safety in China.A field experiment was performed in a high-polluted (HP), mid-pollute (MP) and unpolluted (UP) paddy soil with biochar(BC) amendment in 2011. BC was applied in HP, MP and UP in 2008, 2009, 2009 with the rates of 0, 10, 20, 40t ha-1 in HP, MP and 0, 40t ha-1 in UP. The experiment was monitored in 2011. It was observed that BC amendment did not affect rice grain yield but significantly increased soil pH by 0.58-0.77, 1.30 units in MP, UP and there was no difference in HP. The Cacl2 extracted Cd in soil was decreased by 18.1%-28.9% in HP, 49.3%-67.5% in MP and 83.1% in UP, respectively. Meanwhile, H2O extractable Cd in soil was decreased by 20.0%-31.7% in HP, 32.7%-44.2% in MP and 25.0% in UP, respectively. With the BC treatment, rice grain Cd concentration was decreased 4.7%-17.6% in HP, 35.9%-53.4% in MP. Especially in UP field, the rice grain Cd concentration was decreased from 0.22mg kg-1 to 0.07mg kg-1 which was below National standard (0.20mg kg-1) in China. The straw and root Cd contents were also significantly decreased with BC application. Therefore, BC amendment in polluted and unpolluted fields can sustainably reduce rice Cd uptake and it may offer a basic option to reduce Cd levels in rice. Keywords: Biochar, Cd, bioavailability, paddy soil, food safety

  3. Effect of depth of flooding on the rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus, and yield of rice.

    PubMed

    Tindall, Kelly V; Bernhardt, John L; Stout, Michael J; Beighley, Donn H

    2013-01-01

    The rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus (Kuschel) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a semi-aquatic pest of rice and is the most destructive insect pest of rice in the United States. Adults oviposit after floods are established, and greenhouse studies have shown that plants exposed to deep floods have more eggs oviposited in leaf sheaths than plants exposed to a shallow flood. Experiments were conducted in three mid-southern states in the USA to determine if the depth of flooding would impact numbers of L. oryzophilus on rice plants under field conditions. Rice was flooded at depths of approximately 5 or 10 cm in Arkansas in 2007 and 2008 and Louisiana in 2008, and at depths between 0-20 cm in Missouri in 2008. Plants were sampled three and four weeks after floods were established in all locations, and also two weeks after flood in Missouri. On all sampling dates in four experiments over two years and at three field sites, fewer L. oryzophilus larvae were collected from rice in shallow-flooded plots than from deep-flooded plots. The number of L. oryzophilus was reduced by as much as 27% in shallow-flooded plots. However, the reduction in insect numbers did not translate to a significant increase in rice yield. We discuss how shallow floods could be used as a component of an integrated pest management program for L. oryzophilus.

  4. Effect of Depth of Flooding on the Rice Water Weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus, and Yield of Rice

    PubMed Central

    Tindall, Kelly V.; Bernhardt, John L.; Stout, Michael J.; Beighley, Donn H.

    2013-01-01

    The rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus (Kuschel) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a semi-aquatic pest of rice and is the most destructive insect pest of rice in the United States. Adults oviposit after floods are established, and greenhouse studies have shown that plants exposed to deep floods have more eggs oviposited in leaf sheaths than plants exposed to a shallow flood. Experiments were conducted in three mid-southern states in the USA to determine if the depth of flooding would impact numbers of L. oryzophilus on rice plants under field conditions. Rice was flooded at depths of approximately 5 or 10 cm in Arkansas in 2007 and 2008 and Louisiana in 2008, and at depths between 0–20 cm in Missouri in 2008. Plants were sampled three and four weeks after floods were established in all locations, and also two weeks after flood in Missouri. On all sampling dates in four experiments over two years and at three field sites, fewer L. oryzophilus larvae were collected from rice in shallow-flooded plots than from deep-flooded plots. The number of L. oryzophilus was reduced by as much as 27% in shallow-flooded plots. However, the reduction in insect numbers did not translate to a significant increase in rice yield. We discuss how shallow floods could be used as a component of an integrated pest management program for L. oryzophilus. PMID:23906324

  5. Single and fused transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis rice alter the species-specific responses of non-target planthoppers to elevated carbon dioxide and temperature.

    PubMed

    Wan, Guijun; Dang, Zhihao; Wu, Gang; Parajulee, Megha N; Ge, Feng; Chen, Fajun

    2014-05-01

    The approval of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice by China was momentous for biotech crops, although it has yet to be approved for commercial production. Non-target pest problems in rice paddies, such as the three ecologically similar species of planthoppers Nilaparvata lugens, Laodelphax striatellus and Sogatella furcifera, could become increasingly serious under global climate change. Fused (Cry1Ab/Cry1Ac) and single (Cry1Ab) transgenic Bt rice were evaluated for effects on species-specific responses of planthoppers to elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) and temperature. Transgenic Bt rice lines significantly modified species-specific responses of the planthoppers to elevated CO2 and temperature. High temperature appears to favour outbreaks of S. furcifera relative to N. lugens and L. striatellus when feeding upon fused transgenic Bt rice, especially at elevated CO2 . Elevated CO2 at high temperature appears to be a factor reducing S. furcifera occurrence when feeding upon single transgenic Bt rice. Different types of transgenic Bt rice alter the species-specific responses of non-target planthoppers to elevated CO2 and temperature. Compared with their non-transgenic parental lines, the single transgenic Bt rice shows better performance in controlling the non-target planthopper S. furcifera by comparison with the fused transgenic Bt rice under elevated CO2 and temperature. It is suggested that multitypes of transgenic Bt rice be used in the field simultaneously in order to take advantage of high transgenic diversity for optimal performance against all pests in paddy fields. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

  6. Spatial distribution and temporal variability of arsenic in irrigated rice fields in Bangladesh. 2. Paddy soil.

    PubMed

    Dittmar, Jessica; Voegelin, Andreas; Roberts, Linda C; Hug, Stephan J; Saha, Ganesh C; Ali, M Ashraf; Badruzzaman, A Borhan M; Kretzschmar, Ruben

    2007-09-01

    Arsenic-rich groundwater from shallow tube wells is widely used for the irrigation of boro rice in Bangladesh and West Bengal. In the long term this may lead to the accumulation of As in paddy soils and potentially have adverse effects on rice yield and quality. In the companion article in this issue, we have shown that As input into paddy fields with irrigation water is laterally heterogeneous. To assess the potential for As accumulation in soil, we investigated the lateral and vertical distribution of As in rice field soils near Sreenagar (Munshiganj, Bangladesh) and its changes over a 1 year cycle of irrigation and monsoon flooding. At the study site, 18 paddy fields are irrigated with water from a shallow tube well containing 397 +/- 7 microg L(-1) As. The analysis of soil samples collected before irrigation in December 2004 showed that soil As concentrations in paddy fields did not depend on the length of the irrigation channel between well and field inlet. Within individual fields, however, soil As contents decreased with increasing distance to the water inlet, leading to highly variable topsoil As contents (11-35 mg kg(-1), 0-10 cm). Soil As contents after irrigation (May 2005) showed that most As input occurred close to the water inlet and that most As was retained in the top few centimeters of soil. After monsoon flooding (December 2005), topsoil As contents were again close to levels measured before irrigation. Thus, As input during irrigation was at least partly counteracted by As mobilization during monsoon flooding. However, the persisting lateral As distribution suggests net arsenic accumulation over the past 15 years. More pronounced As accumulation may occur in regions with several rice crops per year, less intense monsoon flooding, or different irrigation schemes. The high lateral and vertical heterogeneity of soil As contents must be taken into account in future studies related to As accumulation in paddy soils and potential As transfer into rice.

  7. Influence of nitrogen loading and plant nitrogen assimilation on nitrogen leaching and N₂O emission in forage rice paddy fields fertilized with liquid cattle waste.

    PubMed

    Riya, Shohei; Zhou, Sheng; Kobara, Yuso; Sagehashi, Masaki; Terada, Akihiko; Hosomi, Masaaki

    2015-04-01

    Livestock wastewater disposal onto rice paddy fields is a cost- and labor-effective way to treat wastewater and cultivate rice crops. We evaluated the influence of nitrogen loading rates on nitrogen assimilation by rice plants and on nitrogen losses (leaching and N2O emission) in forage rice fields receiving liquid cattle waste (LCW). Four forage rice fields were subjected to nitrogen loads of 107, 258, 522, and 786 kg N ha(-1) (N100, N250, N500, and N750, respectively) using basal fertilizer (chemical fertilizer) (50 kg N ha(-1)) and three LCW topdressings (each 57-284 kg N ha(-1)). Nitrogen assimilated by rice plants increased over time. However, after the third topdressing, the nitrogen content of the biomass did not increase in any treatment. Harvested aboveground biomass contained 93, 60, 33, and 31 % of applied nitrogen in N100, N250, N500, and N750, respectively. The NH4 (+) concentration in the pore water at a depth of 20 cm was less than 1 mg N L(-1) in N100, N250, and N500 throughout the cultivation period, while the NH4 (+) concentration in N750 increased to 3 mg N L(-1) after the third topdressing. Cumulative N2O emissions ranged from -0.042 to 2.39 kg N ha(-1); the highest value was observed in N750, followed by N500. In N750, N2O emitted during the final drainage accounted for 80 % of cumulative N2O emissions. This study suggested that 100-258 kg N ha(-1) is a recommended nitrogen loading rate for nitrogen recovery by rice plants without negative environmental impacts such as groundwater pollution and N2O emission.

  8. Evaluating the non-rice host plant species of Sesamia inferens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) as natural refuges: resistance management of Bt rice.

    PubMed

    Liu, Zhuorong; Gao, Yulin; Luo, Ju; Lai, Fengxiang; Li, Yunhe; Fu, Qiang; Peng, Yufa

    2011-06-01

    Although rice (Oryza sativa L.) lines that express Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins have shown great potential for managing the major Lepidoptera pests of rice in southern China, including Sesamia inferens, their long-term use is dependent on managing resistance development to Bt toxins in pest populations. The maintenance of "natural" refuges, non-Bt expressing plants that are hosts for a target pest, has been proposed as a means to minimize the evolution of resistance to Bt toxins in transgenic plants. In the current study, field surveys and greenhouse experiments were conducted to identify host plants of S. inferens that could serve as "natural" refuges in rice growing areas of southern China. A field survey showed that 34 plant species in four families can be alternative host plants of S. inferens. Based on injury level under field conditions, rice (Oryza sativa L.); water oat (Zizania latifolia Griseb.); corn (Zea mays L.); tidalmarsh flatsedge (Cyperus serotinus Rottb.); and narrow-leaved cat-tail (Typha angustifolia Linn.) were identified as the primary host plant species of S. inferens. Greenhouse experiments further demonstrated that water oat, corn, and narrow-leaved cat-tail could support the survival and development of S. inferens. Interestingly, greenhouse experiments showed that S. inferens preferred to lay eggs on tidalmarsh flatsedge compared with the other three nonrice host species, although no pupae were found in the plants examined in field surveys. Few larvae were found to survive on tidalmarsh flatsedge in greenhouse bioassays, suggesting that tidalmarsh flatsedge could serve as a "dead-end" trap crop for S. inferens, but is not a candidate to serve as natural refuge to maintain susceptible S. inferens. Overall, these results suggest that water-oat, corn, and narrow-leaved cat-tail might serve as "natural refuge" for S. inferens in rice planting area of southern China when Bt rice varieties are planted.

  9. Cytological and transcriptional dynamics analysis of host plant revealed stage-specific biological processes related to compatible rice-Ustilaginoidea virens interaction.

    PubMed

    Chao, Jinquan; Jin, Jie; Wang, Dong; Han, Ran; Zhu, Renshan; Zhu, Yingguo; Li, Shaoqing

    2014-01-01

    Rice false smut, a fungal disease caused by Ustilaginoidea virens is becoming a severe detriment to rice production worldwide. However, little is known about the molecular response of rice to attacks by the smut pathogen. In this article, we define the initial infection process as having three stages: initial colonization on the pistil (stage 1, S1), amplification on the anther (stage 2, S2) and sporulation in the anther chambers (stage 3, S3). Based on the transcriptome of rice hosts in response to U. virens in two separate years, we identified 126, 204, and 580 specific regulated genes in their respective stages S1, S2, and S3, respectively, by excluding common expression patterns in other openly biotic/abiotic databases using bioinformatics. As the disease progresses, several stage-specific biological processes (BP) terms were distinctively enriched: "Phosphorylation" in stage S1, "PCD" in S2, and "Cell wall biogenesis" in S3, implying a concise signal cascade indicative of the tactics that smut pathogens use to control host rice cells during infection. 113 regulated genes were coexpressed among the three stages. They shared highly conserved promoter cis-element in the promoters in response to the regulation of WRKY and Myb for up-regulation, and ABA and Ca2+ for down regulation, indicating their potentially critical roles in signal transduction during rice-U. virens interaction. We further analyzed seven highly regulated unique genes; four were specific to pollen development, implying that pollen-related genes play critical roles in the establishment of rice susceptibility to U. virens. To my knowledge, this is the first report about probing of molecular response of rice to smut pathogen infection, which will greatly expand our understanding of the molecular events surrounding infection by rice false smut.

  10. Field evaluation of four spatial repellent devices against Arkansas rice-land mosquitoes

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Four commercially available spatial repellent devices were tested in a rice land habitat near Stuttgart, Arkansas after semi-field level assessments had been made at the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, ARS, USDA in Gainesville, FL. OFF! Clip-On® (a.i. metofluthrin, S.C....

  11. Taking transgenic rice drought screening to the field.

    PubMed

    Gaudin, Amélie C M; Henry, Amelia; Sparks, Adam H; Slamet-Loedin, Inez H

    2013-01-01

    Numerous transgenes have been reported to increase rice drought resistance, mostly in small-scale experiments under vegetative-stage drought stress, but few studies have included grain yield or field evaluations. Different definitions of drought resistance are currently in use for field-based and laboratory evaluations of transgenics, the former emphasizing plant responses that may not be linked to yield under drought. Although those fundamental studies use efficient protocols to uncover and validate gene functions, screening conditions differ greatly from field drought environments where the onset of drought stress symptoms is slow (2-3 weeks). Simplified screening methods, including severely stressed survival studies, are therefore not likely to identify transgenic events with better yield performance under drought in the target environment. As biosafety regulations are becoming established to allow field trials in some rice-producing countries, there is a need to develop relevant screening procedures that scale from preliminary event selection to greenhouse and field trials. Multilocation testing in a range of drought environments may reveal that different transgenes are necessary for different types of drought-prone field conditions. We describe here a pipeline to improve the selection efficiency and reproducibility of results across drought treatments and test the potential of transgenic rice for the development of drought-resistant material for agricultural purposes.

  12. Rice production with minimal irrigation and no nitrogen fertilizer by intensive use of treated municipal wastewater.

    PubMed

    Muramatsu, Ayumi; Watanabe, Toru; Sasaki, Atsushi; Ito, Hiroaki; Kajihara, Akihiko

    2014-01-01

    We designed a new cultivation system of rice with circulated irrigation to remove nitrogen from treated municipal wastewater effectively and assessed the possibility of nitrogen removal in the new system without any adverse effects on rice production through bench-scale experiments through two seasons. Overgrowth of the rice plant, which can lead to lodging and tasteless rice, was found in the first season probably because nitrogen supply based on standard practice in normal paddy fields was too much in the closed irrigation system. In the second season, therefore, the amount of treated wastewater initially applied to the system was reduced but this resulted in a considerably decreased yield. On the other hand, the taste of the rice was significantly improved. The two-season experiments revealed that the new system enabled rice production with minimal irrigation (approximately 50% on the yield base compared to normal paddy fields) and no nitrogen fertilizer. The system also achieved >95% removal of nitrogen from the treated wastewater used for circulated irrigation. The accumulation of harmful metals in the rice was not observed after one season of cultivation in the new system. The accumulation after cultivation using the same soil repeatedly for a longer time should be examined by further studies.

  13. Reducing rice field algae and cyanobacteria abundance by altering phosphorus fertilizer applications

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In California’s water seeded rice systems algal/cyanobacterial biomass can be a problem during rice establishment. Algal/cyanobacterial growth may be stimulated by phosphorus (P) additions in freshwater habitats, so we set up experiments to evaluate the effects of fertilizer P management on algal/cy...

  14. Coating of Prilled Urea with Neem (Azadirachta Indica Juss) Oil for Efficient Nitrogen Use in Rice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prasad, R.; Singh, S.; Saxena, V. S.; Devkumar, C.

    A field study made with rice at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, showed that coating urea with neem oil, neem cake or neem oil microemulsion improved rice growth and resulted in more grain and straw than did commercial prilled urea.

  15. Biofortified indica rice attains iron and zinc nutrition dietary targets in the field

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies are the most prevalent micronutrient malnutrition globally1. Fe in rice has proven efficacious in improving serum ferritin concentration and body Fe levels2. Rapid progress in biofortification demonstrates the feasibility to enhance Fe in polished rice by expre...

  16. Outbreak of Tagosodes orizicolus (Muir) in Texas rice

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The rice planthopper, Tagosodes orizicolus, is reported for the first time in Texas, where it is superabundant in rice fields in four counties (Brazoria, Colorado, Harris, and Wharton). The species is a known vector of the viral disease hoja blanca, which can reduce yields up to 50%, and hopper burn...

  17. Evaluations of the Synergy of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taniguchi, M.

    2017-12-01

    Analyses of the synergy and tradeoff of the water-energy-food nexus are keys to a sustainable society under the increasing demand for resources. Analyses of the water-energy-food nexus in Kumamoto, Japan showed that the paddy field for rice production, upstream of the basin with irrigated water from the river, had recharged the groundwater which is used as drinking water downstream in Kumamoto city without energy consumption for the transport of groundwater. National government regulations of "fallow rice fields" and urbanization after the 1970s caused the decrease in the groundwater recharge rate upstream in the paddy field area. This also lead to the decrease in water resources of groundwater downstream in Kumamoto city, which then required additional energy for water pumping. Therefore, the synergy of water-energy-food was lost after government regulations of rice production and urbanization which caused an impermeable layer for groundwater recharge. The nexus model has been established to analyze the synergy of water-energy-food, including cost-benefit analyses, food trade including rice with different scenarios of food self-sufficiency rates, water and energy consumption for food, and others. A decrease in rice consumption and production with the same self-sufficiency rate caused a decrease in water and energy consumption for rice production, and a decrease in carbon emissions. However, the cost of synergy loss in the water-energy-food nexus in Kumamoto did not outweigh the benefit of reductions in water and energy consumption for rice production.

  18. Mercury methylation, export and bioaccumulation in rice agriculture - model results from comparative and experimental studies in 3 regions of the California Delta, USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Windham-Myers, L.; Fleck, J.; Eagles-Smith, C.; Ackerman, J.

    2013-12-01

    Seasonally flooded wetland ecosystems are often poised for mercury (Hg) methylation, thus becoming sources of methylmercury (MeHg) to in situ and downstream biota. The seasonal flooding associated with cultivation of rice (Oryza sativa) also generates MeHg, which may be stored in sediment or plants, bioaccumulated into fauna, degraded or exported, depending on hydrologic and seasonal conditions. While many U.S. waters are regulated for total Hg concentrations based on fish targets, California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) will soon implement the first MeHg total maximum daily load (TMDL) control program. Since 2007, a conceptual model (DRERIP-MCM) and several ecosystem-level studies have been advanced to better understand the mechanisms behind Hg methylation, export and bioaccumulation within Delta wetlands, including rice agriculture. Three Delta rice-growing regions (Yolo Bypass, Cosumnes River, Central Delta) of varied soil characteristics, mining influences and hydrology, were monitored over full crop years to evaluate annual MeHg dynamics. In addition to fish tissue Hg accumulation, a broad suite of biogeochemical and hydrologic indices were assessed and compared between wetland types, seasons, and regions. In general, Delta rice fields were found to export MeHg during the post-harvest winter season, and promote MeHg uptake in fish and rice grain during the summer growing season. As described in a companion presentation (Eagles-Smith et al., this session), the experimental Cosumnes River study suggests that rice-derived dissolved organic carbon (DOC) fuels MeHg production and uptake into aquatic foodwebs. Explicit DRERIP-MCM linkages for the role of rice-DOC in MeHg production, export and bioaccumulation were verified across two summers (2011, 2012): rice biomass and root productivity influenced porewater DOC availability and microbial processes, which drove sediment MeHg production and flux to surface water, promoting MeHg bioaccumulation in fish. Linkages from plant biomass to fish Hg concentrations were less evident in non-agricultural wetlands (seasonal or permanent flooding), where aromatic DOC and physical controls (e.g. hydrology, photodemethylation) appeared to have a greater role. Winter rice straw management had no measurable impact on summer MeHg dynamics, but wetland data suggest that the inclusion of deepwater cells within fields may reduce MeHg exposure. As concern grows over MeHg concentrations in rice grains, research on cultivars and field management is expanding in China, but ecosystem-level studies remain rare. Broader global monitoring and research are needed to address these pathways of Hg exposure given the global expansion of rice agriculture and ongoing atmospheric Hg deposition. Dense root and canopy structure of California rice fields (Oryza sativa), August 2007

  19. Integrating Soil Silicon Amendment into Management Programs for Insect Pests of Drill-Seeded Rice

    PubMed Central

    Way, Michael O.; Pearson, Rebecca A.; Stout, Michael J.

    2017-01-01

    Silicon soil amendment has been shown to enhance plant defenses against insect pests. Rice is a silicon-accumulating graminaceous plant. In the southern United States, the rice water weevil and stem borers are important pests of rice. Current management tactics for these pests rely heavily on the use of insecticides. This study evaluated the effects of silicon amendment when combined with current management tactics for these rice insect pests in the field. Field experiments were conducted from 2013 to 2015. Rice was drill-planted in plots subjected to factorial combinations of variety (conventional and hybrid), chlorantraniliprole seed treatment (treated and untreated), and silicon amendment (treated and untreated). Silicon amendment reduced densities of weevil larvae on a single sampling date in 2014, but did not affect densities of whiteheads caused by stem borers. In contrast, insecticidal seed treatment strongly reduced densities of both weevil larvae and whiteheads. Higher densities of weevil larvae were also observed in the hybrid variety in 2014, while higher incidences of whiteheads were observed in the conventional variety in 2014 and 2015. Silicon amendment improved rice yields, as did chlorantraniliprole seed treatment and use of the hybrid variety. PMID:28805707

  20. Biogeochemical cycling in Rice Agroecosystems Resulting From Water and Si management: Implications for As abatement and Sustainable Rice Production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seyfferth, A.; Limmer, M. A.; Amaral, D.; Teasley, W.

    2017-12-01

    Flooded rice agroecosystems favor geochemical conditions that mobilize soil-bound arsenic (As) and produce methane (CH4). These negative outcomes of flooded rice may lead to As exposure upon As-laden rice grain consumption and enhanced greenhouse gas emissions. Periodic draining of fields (e.g., alternate wetting and drying) is effective at minimizing these negative outcomes, but may reduce rice yield, increase toxic Cd in grain, and increase nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Because 3 of the 4 dominant chemical form of As in flooded paddy soil share the efficient Si uptake pathway, increasing plant-available Si can decrease toxic As in grain and boost yield, particularly when plants are stressed with As. We used combined pot and field studies to examine the biogeochemical cycling of As, Fe, Si, and C when plants are grown with water and/or Si management, the latter of which under both low and high As conditions. We show that increasing plant-available Si can be used alone or in conjunction with water management to improve rice yields depending on the edaphic conditions. These processes and findings will be discussed in the larger context of global food security.

  1. Integrating Soil Silicon Amendment into Management Programs for Insect Pests of Drill-Seeded Rice.

    PubMed

    Villegas, James M; Way, Michael O; Pearson, Rebecca A; Stout, Michael J

    2017-08-13

    Silicon soil amendment has been shown to enhance plant defenses against insect pests. Rice is a silicon-accumulating graminaceous plant. In the southern United States, the rice water weevil and stem borers are important pests of rice. Current management tactics for these pests rely heavily on the use of insecticides. This study evaluated the effects of silicon amendment when combined with current management tactics for these rice insect pests in the field. Field experiments were conducted from 2013 to 2015. Rice was drill-planted in plots subjected to factorial combinations of variety (conventional and hybrid), chlorantraniliprole seed treatment (treated and untreated), and silicon amendment (treated and untreated). Silicon amendment reduced densities of weevil larvae on a single sampling date in 2014, but did not affect densities of whiteheads caused by stem borers. In contrast, insecticidal seed treatment strongly reduced densities of both weevil larvae and whiteheads. Higher densities of weevil larvae were also observed in the hybrid variety in 2014, while higher incidences of whiteheads were observed in the conventional variety in 2014 and 2015. Silicon amendment improved rice yields, as did chlorantraniliprole seed treatment and use of the hybrid variety.

  2. Taste of Super-Dwarf Rice Cultured in Space

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hirai, Hiroaki; Kitaya, Yoshiaki

    2016-07-01

    The interest of food production for lunar base and manned Mars mission has increased recently. So far, plants cultured long duration in space were leafy vegetables, arabidopsis, wheat, barley and so on. Although rice is a staple food for most of the world, research on rice cultivation in space has not been done much. Rice grains are nutrient-rich with carbohydrate, protein and dietary fiber. Moreover, rice is a high yield crop and harvested grains have a long shelf life. Rice symbolizes the rice-eating culture of Japan, is extremely useful as a specific cultured plant candidate of Japan in space. In the previous report, 'Kozo-no-sumika' found from seedlings in raising of seedling was introduced as a super-dwarf rice to culture in space. Considering this rice as food in space, we investigate the taste characteristics of this rice. At present, waxy 'Kozo-no-sumika' and nonwaxy 'Hosetsu dwarf' of super-dwarf rice and 'Nipponbare' of previous standard rice for sensory test are cultured in paddy field. Hereafter, we will harvest rice, investigate yield, evaluate taste.

  3. [Nutrient use efficiency and yield-increasing effect of single basal application of rice specific controlled release fertilizer].

    PubMed

    Chen, Jiansheng; Xu, Peizhi; Tang, Shuanhu; Zhang, Fabao; Xie, Chunsheng

    2005-10-01

    A series of pot and field experiments and field demonstrations showed that in comparing with the commonly used specific-fertilizers containing same amounts of nutrients, single basal application of rice-specific controlled release fertilizer could increase the use efficiency of N and P by 12.2% - 22.7% and 7.0% - 35.0%, respectively in pot experiment, and the use efficiency of N by 17.1% in field experiment. In 167 field demonstrations successively conducted for 3 years in various rice production areas of Guangdong Province, single basal application of the fertilizer saved the application rate of N and P by 22.1% and 21.8%, respectively, and increased the yield by 8.2%, compared with normal split fertilization.

  4. Cytoplasmic-genetic male sterility gene provides direct evidence for some hybrid rice recently evolving into weedy rice

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Jingxu; Lu, Zuomei; Dai, Weimin; Song, Xiaoling; Peng, Yufa; Valverde, Bernal E.; Qiang, Sheng

    2015-01-01

    Weedy rice infests paddy fields worldwide at an alarmingly increasing rate. There is substantial evidence indicating that many weedy rice forms originated from or are closely related to cultivated rice. There is suspicion that the outbreak of weedy rice in China may be related to widely grown hybrid rice due to its heterosis and the diversity of its progeny, but this notion remains unsupported by direct evidence. We screened weedy rice accessions by both genetic and molecular marker tests for the cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) genes (Wild abortive, WA, and Boro type, BT) most widely used in the production of indica and japonica three-line hybrid rice as a diagnostic trait of direct parenthood. Sixteen weedy rice accessions of the 358 tested (4.5%) contained the CMS-WA gene; none contained the CMS-BT gene. These 16 accessions represent weedy rices recently evolved from maternal hybrid rice derivatives, given the primarily maternal inheritance of this trait. Our results provide key direct evidence that hybrid rice can be involved in the evolution of some weedy rice accessions, but is not a primary factor in the recent outbreak of weedy rice in China. PMID:26012494

  5. Cytoplasmic-genetic male sterility gene provides direct evidence for some hybrid rice recently evolving into weedy rice.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jingxu; Lu, Zuomei; Dai, Weimin; Song, Xiaoling; Peng, Yufa; Valverde, Bernal E; Qiang, Sheng

    2015-05-27

    Weedy rice infests paddy fields worldwide at an alarmingly increasing rate. There is substantial evidence indicating that many weedy rice forms originated from or are closely related to cultivated rice. There is suspicion that the outbreak of weedy rice in China may be related to widely grown hybrid rice due to its heterosis and the diversity of its progeny, but this notion remains unsupported by direct evidence. We screened weedy rice accessions by both genetic and molecular marker tests for the cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) genes (Wild abortive, WA, and Boro type, BT) most widely used in the production of indica and japonica three-line hybrid rice as a diagnostic trait of direct parenthood. Sixteen weedy rice accessions of the 358 tested (4.5%) contained the CMS-WA gene; none contained the CMS-BT gene. These 16 accessions represent weedy rices recently evolved from maternal hybrid rice derivatives, given the primarily maternal inheritance of this trait. Our results provide key direct evidence that hybrid rice can be involved in the evolution of some weedy rice accessions, but is not a primary factor in the recent outbreak of weedy rice in China.

  6. Populations of Rice Grain Bug, Paraeuscosmetus pallicomis, (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) in Weed-free Paddy Field, Weedy Paddy Field and Paddy Dykes.

    PubMed

    Abdullah, Tamrin; Nasruddin, Andi; Agus, Nurariaty

    2017-07-01

    Research on the populations of rice grain bug Paraeuscosmetus pallicomis Dallas (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) in paddy field ecosystems was performed with the aim to determine the populations of rice grain bug in weed-free paddy field, weedy paddy field, and paddy dykes. Experiment was carried out in the village of Paccellekang in the district of Patallasang of Gowa Regency in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Observations were performed during the milky grain stage (85 days after planting), the mature grain stage (105 days after planting), and one day after harvest (115 days after transplanting). Results showed that 85 days after the transplanting, the populations of rice grain bug was significantly higher in the weedy paddy field compared to weed-free field and paddy dykes with total numbers of 1.75, 3.53, and 0.31 insects per 2 hills, respectively. Similarly, 105 days after the transplanting, 2.53, 5.53, and 0.11 insects per hill, respectively. However, one day after the harvest (115 days after transplanting) the number of insects in weed-free field decreased, while in the dykes increased, and the weedy plot still had the highest number of insects per 2 hills. Our results suggested that weeds played an important role in regulating the bug population by providing alternative shelter and foods for the insect.

  7. Populations of Rice Grain Bug, Paraeuscosmetus pallicomis, (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) in Weed-free Paddy Field, Weedy Paddy Field and Paddy Dykes

    PubMed Central

    Abdullah, Tamrin; Nasruddin, Andi; Agus, Nurariaty

    2017-01-01

    Research on the populations of rice grain bug Paraeuscosmetus pallicomis Dallas (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) in paddy field ecosystems was performed with the aim to determine the populations of rice grain bug in weed-free paddy field, weedy paddy field, and paddy dykes. Experiment was carried out in the village of Paccellekang in the district of Patallasang of Gowa Regency in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Observations were performed during the milky grain stage (85 days after planting), the mature grain stage (105 days after planting), and one day after harvest (115 days after transplanting). Results showed that 85 days after the transplanting, the populations of rice grain bug was significantly higher in the weedy paddy field compared to weed-free field and paddy dykes with total numbers of 1.75, 3.53, and 0.31 insects per 2 hills, respectively. Similarly, 105 days after the transplanting, 2.53, 5.53, and 0.11 insects per hill, respectively. However, one day after the harvest (115 days after transplanting) the number of insects in weed-free field decreased, while in the dykes increased, and the weedy plot still had the highest number of insects per 2 hills. Our results suggested that weeds played an important role in regulating the bug population by providing alternative shelter and foods for the insect. PMID:28890757

  8. Effects of alkaline and bioorganic amendments on cadmium, lead, zinc, and nutrient accumulation in brown rice and grain yield in acidic paddy fields contaminated with a mixture of heavy metals.

    PubMed

    He, Huaidong; Tam, Nora F Y; Yao, Aijun; Qiu, Rongliang; Li, Wai Chin; Ye, Zhihong

    2016-12-01

    Paddy soils and rice (Oryza sativa L.) contaminated by mixed heavy metals have given rise to great concern. Field experiments were conducted over two cultivation seasons to study the effects of steel slag (SS), fly ash (FA), limestone (LS), bioorganic fertilizer (BF), and the combination of SS and BF (SSBF) on rice grain yield, Cd, Pb, and Zn and nutrient accumulation in brown rice, bioavailability of Cd, Pb, and Zn in soil as well as soil properties (pH and catalase), at two acidic paddy fields contaminated with mixed heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Zn). Compared to the controls, SS, LS, and SSBF at both low and high additions significantly elevated soil pH over both cultivation seasons. The high treatments of SS and SSBF markedly increased grain yields, the accumulation of P and Ca in brown rice and soil catalase activities in the first cultivation season. The most striking result was from SS application (4.0 t ha -1 ) that consistently and significantly reduced the soil bioavailability of Cd, Pb, and Zn by 38.5-91.2 % and the concentrations of Cd and Pb in brown rice by 20.9-50.9 % in the two soils over both cultivation seasons. LS addition (4.0 t ha -1 ) also markedly reduced the bioavailable Cd, Pb, and Zn in soil and the Cd concentrations in brown rice. BF remobilized soil Cd and Pb leading to more accumulation of these metals in brown rice. The results showed that steel slag was most effective in the remediation of acidic paddy soils contaminated with mixed heavy metals.

  9. How rice roots form their surrounding: Distinctive sub-zones of oxides, silicates and organic matter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koelbl, Angelika; Mueller, Carsten; Hoeschen, Carmen; Lugmeier, Johann; Said-Pullicino, Daniel; Romani, Marco; Koegel-Knabner, Ingrid

    2016-04-01

    Most of the rice (Oryza sativa) worldwide is grown under flooded conditions in bunded fields (paddies). Inundation during long periods of the year leads to anoxic conditions in the soil. The rice plant is well adapted to these conditions by being able to transport oxygen via aerenchyma from the atmosphere to the roots. This plant mediated O2 transport also influences the adjacent soil. Driven by the O2 leakage into the rhizosphere, reddish ferric oxides and ferric hydroxides precipitate along the root channels. Thus, radial gradients of ferric Fe and with it co-precipitated organic substances form. Detailed investigations of element gradients on a submicron scale within the oxide coatings are still missing. Nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) analyses can help to visualize and study the interplay of the various soil components at a submicron scale like, e.g., the attachment of organic material to minerals or the architecture of microstructures. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the composition and size of oxide coatings around rice roots concerning the distribution of organic matter and its spatial relation to oxides and silicates. Samples were taken from the plough pan of a paddy field close to the National Rice Research Centre, Castello d'Agogna (Pavia, Italy). Intact soil aggregates were air-dried, embedded in epoxy resin and then cut and polished in order to obtain a surface with low topography. Reflected-light microscopy was used (mm to μm scale) to visualize the aggregate architecture and to identify root channels in the embedded aggregate. In the next step, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was applied to obtain images of high resolution and to define distinctive spots for subsequent NanoSIMS analyses. Using the Cameca NanoSIMS 50L at TU München, we simultaneously detected 12C-, 12C14N-, 28Si-, 32S-, 27Al16O- and 56Fe16O- at several areas around root channels in order to distinguish between organic material and different mineral particles (e.g. oxides, clay minerals). Beside single 40 x 40 μm sized spots, mosaics of 20 x 20 μm sized images were combined to investigate the region from the surface of the root channels into the soil matrix. The image data of all detected secondary ions was analysed using line scans and designation of regions of interest (ROI) to evaluate relative occurrences and spatial distributions. The results revealed that the oxic zone around rice roots can be subdivided in distinctive sub-zones. We identified a distinctive zone of approx. 20 μm around the root channels, where exclusively oxide-associated organic matter occurred. This zone can be clearly distinguished from a clay mineral-dominated zone. In addition, oxide-incrusted root cells revealed coexisting regions of Fe (hydr)oxides and Al-organic complexes.

  10. Analysis of Subak Landuse Change Due to Tourism Accomodation Development in North Kuta Sub-district, Badung Regency, Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lanya, I.; Dibia, I. N.; Diara, I. W.; Suarjaya, D. G.

    2017-12-01

    Subak is a traditional irrigation management system in Bali which governs the distribution of irrigation water into rice fields. The problems that occur in Subak in North Kuta Subdistrict is the high landuse change of rice field due to the rapid development of tourism and in the Region Spatial Plan is mostly designated as land for non agriculture. The aim of the research is to find out the Subak landuse change into tourism accommodation during the last five years, as well as knowing the area of Subak which located in the area of agricultural lands food crops related to landuse planning regulation of Badung Regency.The research methods included analysis of satellite imagery, literature studies, field survey, analysis of Subak landuse change, analysis of the subak in the area of the agricultural land food crop. Subak landuse change into non rice fields in the North of Kuta as uch as 538.88 ha during the last five years. The change of rice fields into tourist accommodation as much as 92 accommodation. Subak which is within the area of farmland of food crops 548.35 ha and outside the area of farmland 459.04ha.

  11. Nitrogen cycling under alternate wetting and drying cycles in Arkansas rice

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) cycles offer potential savings in water use for paddy rice production while reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and lowering grain arsenic content. In a three-year (2011-2013) field study near Stuttgart, AR, one-third of a field previously grown to soybean was b...

  12. The effect of water regime and soil management on methane (CH4) emission of rice field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Naharia, O.; Setyanto, P.; Arsyad, M.; Burhan, H.; Aswad, M.

    2018-05-01

    Mitigation of CH4 emission of rice field is becoming a serious issue. The Agricultural Environment Preservation Research Station in Central Java conducted a field study to investigate the effect of water regime and soil tillage on CH4 emission from paddy fields. Treatments consisted of two factors. The first factor was water regime, e.g., 1) continuously flooded 5 cm, 2) intermittent irrigation and 3) saturated water condition at 0-1 cm water level. The second factor was soil management, e.g., 1) normal tillage, 2) zero tillage + 3 sulfosate ha-1 and 3) zero tillage + 3 L paraquat ha-1. Most of treatments gave a significant reduction of total CH4 emission between 34 – 85% during the wet season crop as compared to normal rice cropping practice, while in the dry season the CH4 reduction ranged between 16 – 92%. No-tillage with non-selective herbicides combined with intermittent/saturated irrigation system significantly reduced methane emission without significantly affecting rice productivity as compared to normal tillage with continuous flooding (farmers practice)

  13. Purification of contaminated paddy fields by clean water irrigation over two decades.

    PubMed

    Tai, Yiping; Lu, Huanping; Li, Zhian; Zhuang, Ping; Zou, Bi; Xia, Hanping; Wang, Faming; Wang, Gang; Duan, Jun; Zhang, Jianxia

    2013-10-01

    Paddy fields near a mining site in north part of Guangdong Province, PR China, were severely contaminated by heavy metals as a result of wastewater irrigation from the tailing pond. The following clean water irrigation for 2 decades produced marked rinsing effect, especially on Pb and Zn. Paddy fields continuously irrigated with wastewater ever since mining started (50 years) had 1,050.0 mg kg−1 of Pb and 810.3 mg kg−1 of Zn for upper 20 cm soil, in comparison with 215.9 mg kg−1 of Pb and 525.4 mg kg−1 of Zn, respectively, with clean water irrigation for 20 years. Rinsing effect mainly occurred to a depth of upper 40 cm, of which the soil contained highest metals. Copper and Cd in the farmlands were also reduced due to clean water irrigation. Higher availability of Pb might partly account for more Pb transferred from the tailing pond to the farmland and also more Pb removal from the farmland as a result of clean water irrigation. Neither rice in the paddy field nor dense weeds in the uncultivated field largely took up the metals. However, they might contribute to activate metals differently, leading to a different purification extent. Rotation of rice and weed reduced metal retention in the farmland soil, in comparison with sole rice growth. Harvesting of rice grain (and partially rice stalk) only contributed small fraction of total amount of removed metal. In summary, heavy metal in paddy field resulting from irrigation of mining wastewater could be largely removed by clean water irrigation for sufficient time.

  14. Effect of water management variation on As and Cd accumulation or rice grain

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Because of the current interest in As accumulation in rice, we examined rice grain As and Cd levels from a field test evaluating the effect of irrigation water management. The original study was conducted to test water saving production methods because limitation on water supply is constraining prod...

  15. Identification of major blast resistance genes in the southern US

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Resistance (R) genes in rice play important roles in preventing infections of rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae. In order to identify more R genes for different rice growing areas in the Southern US, an extensive field survey of the blast fungus was performed from 2012 to 2013. A total of 500 is...

  16. Biofuel vs. Biodiversity? Integrated Emergy and Economic Cost-Benefit Evaluation of Rice-Ethanol Production in Japan

    EPA Science Inventory

    Energy analysis results confirmed that abandoned rice fields provide a good opportunity for Japan to fulfill its E-3 target by producing ethanol from high-yield rice feedstock. However, to be a viable alternative, a biofuel should not only provide a net energy gain and reduce the...

  17. Changes of Field Incurred Chlorpyrifos and Its Toxic Metabolite Residues in Rice during Food Processing from-RAC-to-Consumption

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Zhiyong; Jiang, Wayne W.; Jian, Qiu; Song, Wencheng; Zheng, Zuntao; Wang, Donglan; Liu, Xianjin

    2015-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of food processing on field incurred residues levels of chlorpyrifos and its metabolite 3,5,6-Trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) in rice. The chlorpyrifos and TCP were found to be 1.27 and 0.093 mg kg-1 in straw and 0.41 and 0.073 mg kg-1 in grain, respectively. It is observed that the sunlight for 2 hours does not decrease the chlorpyrifos and TCP residues in grain significantly. Their residues in rice were reduced by up to 50% by hulling. The cooking reduced the chlorpyrifos and TCP in rice to undetectable level (below 0.01 mg kg-1). Processing factors (PFs) of chlorpyrifos and TCP residues in rice during food processing were similar. Various factors have impacts on the fates of chlorpyrifos and TCP residues and the important steps to reduce their residues in rice were hulling and cooking. The results can contribute to assure the consumer of a safe wholesome food supply. PMID:25608031

  18. Effects of Colonization of the Roots of Domestic Rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Amaroo) by Burkholderia pseudomallei

    PubMed Central

    Constantinoiu, Constantin; Gardiner, Christopher; Warner, Jeffrey

    2015-01-01

    Burkholderia pseudomallei is a saprophytic bacterium that causes melioidosis and is often isolated from rice fields in Southeast Asia, where the infection incidence is high among rice field workers. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between this bacterium and rice through growth experiments where the effect of colonization of domestic rice (Oryza sativa L. cv Amaroo) roots by B. pseudomallei could be observed. When B. pseudomallei was exposed to surface-sterilized seeds, the growth of both the root and the aerosphere was retarded compared to that in controls. The organism was found to localize in the root hairs and endodermis of the plant. A biofilm formed around the root and root structures that were colonized. Growth experiments with a wild rice species (Oryza meridionalis) produced similar retardation of growth, while another domestic cultivar (O. sativa L. cv Koshihikari) did not show retarded growth. Here we report B. pseudomallei infection and inhibition of O. sativa L. cv Amaroo, which might provide insights into plant interactions with this important human pathogen. PMID:25911477

  19. Genome-Wide Association of Rice Blast Disease Resistance and Yield-Related Components of Rice.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xueyan; Jia, Melissa H; Ghai, Pooja; Lee, Fleet N; Jia, Yulin

    2015-12-01

    Robust disease resistance may require an expenditure of energy that may limit crop yield potential. In the present study, a subset of a United States Department of Agriculture rice core collection consisting of 151 accessions was selected using a major blast resistance (R) gene, Pi-ta, marker and was genotyped with 156 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Disease reactions to Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast disease, were evaluated under greenhouse and field conditions, and heading date, plant height, paddy and brown seed weight in two field environments were analyzed, using an association mapping approach. A total of 21 SSR markers distributed among rice chromosomes 2 to 12 were associated with blast resistance, and 16 SSR markers were associated with seed weight, heading date, and plant height. Most noticeably, shorter plants were significantly correlated with resistance to blast, rice genomes with Pi-ta were associated with lighter seed weights, and the susceptible alleles of RM171 and RM6544 were associated with heavier seed weight. These findings unraveled a complex relationship between disease resistance and yield-related components.

  20. Characterization of Agronomy, Grain Physicochemical Quality, and Nutritional Property of High-Lysine 35R Transgenic Rice with Simultaneous Modification of Lysine Biosynthesis and Catabolism.

    PubMed

    Yang, Qingqing; Wu, Hongyu; Li, Qianfeng; Duan, Ruxu; Zhang, Changquan; Sun, Samuel Saiming; Liu, Qiaoquan

    2017-05-31

    Lysine is the first limiting essential amino acid in rice. We previously constructed a series of transgenic rice lines to enhance lysine biosynthesis (35S), down-regulate its catabolism (Ri), or simultaneously achieve both metabolic effects (35R). In this study, nine transgenic lines, three from each group, were selected for both field and animal feeding trials. The results showed that the transgene(s) caused no obvious effects on field performance and main agronomic traits. Mature seeds of transgenic line 35R-17 contained 48-60-fold more free lysine than in wild type and had slightly lower apparent amylose content and softer gel consistency. Moreover, a 35-day feeding experiment showed that the body weight gain, food efficiency, and protein efficiency ratio of rats fed the 35R-17 transgenic rice diet were improved when compared with those fed wild-type rice diet. These data will be useful for further evaluation and potential commercialization of 35R high-lysine transgenic rice.

  1. Effects of Insect-Proof Net Cultivation, Rice-Duck Farming, and Organic Matter Return on Rice Dry Matter Accumulation and Nitrogen Utilization

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Xin; Xu, Guochun; Wang, Qiangsheng; Hang, Yuhao

    2017-01-01

    Insect-proof net cultivation (IPN), rice-duck farming (RD), and organic matter return (OM) are important methods to realize sustainable development of rice production. A split-plot field experiment was performed to study the effects of IPN, RD, and OM on the rice yield, dry matter accumulation and N utilization. Results showed that compared to inorganic N fertilizer (IN), wheat straw return, and biogas residue return increased the rice yield by 2.11–4.28 and 4.78–7.67%, respectively, and also improved dry matter and N accumulation after the elongation stage (EG), dry matter and N translocation, and N recovery efficiency (NRE). These results attributed to an increase in leaf SPAD values and net photosynthetic rate (Pn) after the EG. Compared to conventional rice farming (CR), RD promoted the rice yield by 1.52–3.74%, and contributed to higher the leaf photosynthesis, dry matter and N accumulation, dry matter and N translocation, and NRE. IPN decreased the intensity of sun radiation in the nets due to the coverage of the insect-proof nets, which declined the leaf Pn, dry matter accumulation and translocation, N absorption and translocation, and NRE compared to open field cultivation (OFC). The rice yield of IPN were 2.48–4.98% lower than that of OFC. Compared to the interaction between CR and IN, the interaction between RD and OM improved the rice yield by 5.26–9.33%, and increased dry matter and N accumulation after the EG, dry matter and N translocation, and NRE. These results indicated that OM, RD and the interaction between RD and OM could promote dry matter accumulation and N utilization, which was beneficial to improve the rice yield. PMID:28174589

  2. Diversity and functional traits of culturable microbiome members, including cyanobacteria in the rice phyllosphere.

    PubMed

    Venkatachalam, S; Ranjan, K; Prasanna, R; Ramakrishnan, B; Thapa, S; Kanchan, A

    2016-07-01

    The diversity and abundance of culturable microbiome members of the rice phyllosphere was investigated using cv. Pusa Punjab Basmati 1509. Both diversity and species richness of bacteria were significantly higher in plants in pots in a semi-controlled environment than those in fields. Application of fertilisers reduced both diversity and species richness in field-grown plants under a conventional flooded system of rice intensification (SRI) and in dry-seeded rice (DSR) modes. Sequence analyses of 16S rDNA of culturable bacteria, those selected after amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), showed the dominance of α-proteobacteria (35%) and actinobacteria (38%); Pantoea, Exiguobacterium and Bacillus were common among the culturable phyllospheric bacteria. About 34% of 83 culturable bacterial isolates had higher potential (>2 μg·ml(-1) ) for indole acetic acid production in the absence of tryptophan. Interestingly, the phyllosphere bacterial isolates from the pot experiment had significantly higher potential for nitrogen fixation than isolates from the field experiment. Enrichment for cyanobacteria showed both unicellular forms and non-heterocystous filaments under aerobic as well as anaerobic conditions. PCR-DGGE analysis of these showed that aerobic and anaerobic conditions as well as the three modes of cultivation of rice in the field strongly influenced the number and abundance of phylotypes. The adaptability and functional traits of these culturable microbiome members suggest enormous diversity in the phyllosphere, including potential for plant growth promotion, which was also significantly influenced by the different methods of growing rice. © 2016 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  3. The tiered-evaluation of the effects of transgenic cry1c rice on Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, a main predator of Nilaparvata lugens

    PubMed Central

    Han, Yu; Ma, Fugang; Nawaz, Muhammad; Wang, Yu; Cai, Wanlun; Zhao, Jing; He, Yueping; Hua, Hongxia; Zou, Yulan

    2017-01-01

    T1C-19, a newly developed transgenic cry1C rice line, expresses cry1C under the control of the maize ubiquitin promoter, and is highly resistant to lepidopteran pests of rice. Cyrtorhinus lividipennis is the major predator of the eggs and young nymphs of Nilaparvata lugens, which is the main non-target sap-sucking insect pest of Bt rice. C. lividipennis may be exposed to Cry1C protein, thus biosafety evaluations of transgenic cry1C rice on C. lividipennis should be conducted before the commercialization of T1C-19. In the current study, we tested the direct toxicity of elevated doses of Cry1C to C. lividipennis, effects of T1C-19 on the life-table parameters of C. lividipennis via preying planthoppers, and effects of T1C-19 on the population density and dynamics in rice fields. No detrimental effects on development, survival, female ratio and body weight of C. lividipennis were caused by direct exposure to elevated doses of the Cry1C protein or prey-mediated exposure to realistic doses of the protein. The population density and dynamics did not significantly differ between C. lividipennis in T1C-19 and non-transgenic rice fields. Thus, transgenic cry1C rice had no negative effects on C. lividipennis. This is the first report of the effects of transgenic cry1C rice on C. lividipennis. PMID:28205641

  4. The tiered-evaluation of the effects of transgenic cry1c rice on Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, a main predator of Nilaparvata lugens

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Yu; Ma, Fugang; Nawaz, Muhammad; Wang, Yu; Cai, Wanlun; Zhao, Jing; He, Yueping; Hua, Hongxia; Zou, Yulan

    2017-02-01

    T1C-19, a newly developed transgenic cry1C rice line, expresses cry1C under the control of the maize ubiquitin promoter, and is highly resistant to lepidopteran pests of rice. Cyrtorhinus lividipennis is the major predator of the eggs and young nymphs of Nilaparvata lugens, which is the main non-target sap-sucking insect pest of Bt rice. C. lividipennis may be exposed to Cry1C protein, thus biosafety evaluations of transgenic cry1C rice on C. lividipennis should be conducted before the commercialization of T1C-19. In the current study, we tested the direct toxicity of elevated doses of Cry1C to C. lividipennis, effects of T1C-19 on the life-table parameters of C. lividipennis via preying planthoppers, and effects of T1C-19 on the population density and dynamics in rice fields. No detrimental effects on development, survival, female ratio and body weight of C. lividipennis were caused by direct exposure to elevated doses of the Cry1C protein or prey-mediated exposure to realistic doses of the protein. The population density and dynamics did not significantly differ between C. lividipennis in T1C-19 and non-transgenic rice fields. Thus, transgenic cry1C rice had no negative effects on C. lividipennis. This is the first report of the effects of transgenic cry1C rice on C. lividipennis.

  5. [Influence of paddy rice-upland crop rotation of cold-waterlogged paddy field on crops produc- tion and soil characteristics].

    PubMed

    Wang, Fei; Li, Qing-hua; Lin, Cheng; He, Chun-mei; Zhong, Shao-jie; Li, Yu; Lin, Xin-jian; Huang, Jian-cheng

    2015-05-01

    Two consecutive years (4-crop) experiments were conducted to study the influence of different paddy rice-upland crop rotation in cold-waterlogged paddy field on the growth of crops and soil characteristics. The result showed that compared with the rice-winter fallow (CK) pattern, the two-year average yield of paddy rice under four rotation modes, including rape-rice (R-R), spring corn-rice (C-R), Chinese milk vetch-rice (M-R) and bean-rice (B-R), were increased by 5.3%-26.7%, with significant difference observed in C-R and R-R patterns. Except for M-R pattern, the annual average total economic benefits were improved by 79.0%-392.4% in all rotation pattern compared with the CK, and the ration of output/input was enhanced by 0.06-0.72 unit, with the most significant effect found in the C-R pattern. Likewise, compared with the CK, the contents of chlorophyll and carotenoid, and net photosynthetic rate (Pn) of rice plant were all increased during the full-tillering stage of rice in all rotation patterns. The rusty lines and rusty spots of soils were more obvious compared with the CK during the rice harvest, particularly in R-R, C-R and B-R patterns. The ratio of water-stable soil macro aggregates of plough layer of soil (> 2 mm) decreased at different levels in all rotation patterns while the ratios of middle aggregate (0.25-2 mm, expect for M-R) and micro aggregate of soil (< 0.25 mm) were opposite. There was a decreasing trend for soil active reducing agents in all rotation patterns, whereas the available nutrient increased. The amounts of soil bacteria in C-R and B-R patterns, fungi in B-R rotation pattern, cellulose bacteria in R-R, C-R and B-R patterns and N-fixing bacteria in B-R pattern were improved by 285.7%-403.0%, 221.7%, 64.6-92.2% and 162.2%, respectively. Moreover, the differences in all microorganisms were significant. Thus, based on the experimental results of cold-waterlogged paddy field, it was concluded that changing from single cropping rice system to C-R, R-R and B-R rotation patterns had good effect in terms of improving total yield and economic benefits, and soil physical and chemical properties were improved.

  6. Design and analysis of radial imaging capsule endoscope (RICE) system.

    PubMed

    Ou-Yang, Mang; Jeng, Wei-De

    2011-02-28

    In this study, a radial imaging capsule endoscope (RICE) system is designed, which differs from a conventional front imaging capsule endoscope (FICE) system. To observe the wrinkled intima of the intestine, which spreads without folding around the circumference of the capsule when a capsule endoscope with a diameter that slightly exceeds that of the intestine passes through it, the RICE uses a cone mirror, a radial window shell, and a focus optical module that comprise the radial imaging system. This concept was demonstrated in a packaged optical simulator. The RICE optical model also has been established and verified by many simulations and experiments. In minimizing the sagittal and tangential aberrations, the optical module of the RICE has achieved an F-number of 4.2, a viewing angle of 65.08°, and an RMS radius of the 4th to 6th fields of less than 17 um. A comparison of these characteristics with those of the focus optical module that is used in FICE lenses reveals that the spot size is 50% larger for each field, and the modulation transfer function (MTF) is remarkably improved from 7% to 36% at 100 lp/mm on the 5th field of the sagittal plane.

  7. Leaching behavior of nitrogen in a long-term experiment on rice under different N management systems.

    PubMed

    Luo, Liang-Guo; Itoh, Sumio; Zhang, Qing-Wen; Yang, Shi-Qi; Zhang, Qing-Zhong; Yang, Zheng-Li

    2011-06-01

    The leaching behavior of nitrogen was studied in single rice paddy production ecosystems in Tsukuba, Japan after 75 years of consistent fertilization regimes (no fertilizer, ammonium sulfate, a combination of composted rice straw with soybean cake, and fresh clover). During the 75-year period, management was unchanged with respect to rice planting density, irrigation, and net N fertilization for each field to which an N-source was added. Percolation water was collected, from May 2001 to April 2002, using porous suction cups installed in the fields at depths of 15, 40, and 60 cm. All water samples were taken to the laboratory for the measurement of both NH(4) ( + )-N and NO(3) ( - )-N concentrations using a continuous-flow nitrogen analyzer. The result indicated that there were significant differences in N leaching losses between treatments during the rice growing season. Total N leaching was significantly lower with the application of composted rice straw plus soybean cake (0.58 kg N ha( - 1)) than with ammonium sulfate (2.41 kg N ha( - 1)), which resulted in N leaching at a similar level to that with the fresh clover treatment (no significant difference). The majority of this N leaching was not due to NO(3) ( - )-N loss, but to that of NH(4) ( + )-N. The mean N leaching for all fertilizer treatments during the entire rice growing season was 1.58 kg N ha( - 1). Composted rice straw plus soybean cake produced leaching losses which were 65-75% lower than those with the application of fresh clover and ammonium sulfate. N accumulation resulting from nitrification in the fallow season could be a key source of nitrate-N leaching when fields become re-flooded before rice transplanting in the following year; particular attention should be paid to this phenomenon.

  8. Contrasting patterns of variation in weedy traits and unique crop features in divergent populations of US weedy rice (Oryza sativa sp.) in Arkansas and California.

    PubMed

    Kanapeckas, Kimberly L; Tseng, Te-Ming; Vigueira, Cynthia C; Ortiz, Aida; Bridges, William C; Burgos, Nilda R; Fischer, Albert J; Lawton-Rauh, Amy

    2018-06-01

    Weed evolution from crops involves changes in key traits, but it is unclear how genetic and phenotypic variation contribute to weed diversification and productivity. Weedy rice is a conspecific weed of rice (Oryza sativa) worldwide. We used principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering to understand how morphologically and evolutionarily distinct US weedy rice populations persist in rice fields in different locations under contrasting management regimes. Further, we used a representative subset of 15 sequence-tagged site fragments of expressed genes from global Oryza to assess genome-wide sequence variation among populations. Crop hull color and crop-overlapping maturity dates plus awns, seed (panicle) shattering (> 50%), pigmented pericarp and stature variation (30.2% of total phenotypic variance) characterize genetically less diverse California weedy rice. By contrast, wild-like hull color, seed shattering (> 50%) and stature differences (55.8% of total phenotypic variance) typify genetically diverse weedy rice ecotypes in Arkansas. Recent de-domestication of weedy species - such as in California weedy rice - can involve trait combinations indistinguishable from the crop. This underscores the need for strict seed certification with genetic monitoring and proactive field inspection to prevent proliferation of weedy plant types. In established populations, tillage practice may affect weed diversity and persistence over time. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  9. Occurrence of Aspergillus section Flavi and aflatoxins in Brazilian rice: From field to market.

    PubMed

    Katsurayama, Aline M; Martins, Ligia M; Iamanaka, Beatriz T; Fungaro, Maria Helena P; Silva, Josué J; Frisvad, Jens C; Pitt, John I; Taniwaki, Marta H

    2018-02-02

    The guarantee of the high quality of rice is of utmost importance because any toxic contaminant may affect consumer health, especially in countries such as Brazil where rice is part of the daily diet. A total of 187 rice samples, from field, processing and market from two different production systems, wetland from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, dryland, from the state of Maranhão and market samples from the state of São Paulo, were analyzed for fungi belonging to Aspergillus section Flavi and the presence of aflatoxins. Twenty-three soil samples from wetland and dryland were also analyzed. A total of 383 Aspergillus section Flavi strains were isolated from rice and soil samples. Using a polyphasic approach, with phenotypic (morphology and extrolite profiles) and molecular data (beta-tubulin gene sequences), five species were identified: A. flavus, A. caelatus, A. novoparasiticus, A. arachidicola and A. pseudocaelatus. This is the first report of these last three species from rice and rice plantation soil. Only seven (17%) of the A. flavus isolates produced type B aflatoxins, but 95% produced kojic acid and 69% cyclopiazonic acid. Less than 14% of the rice samples were contaminated with aflatoxins, but two of the market samples were well above the maximum tolerable limit (5μg/kg), established by the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Chlorpyrifos residual behaviors in field crops and transfers during duck pellet feed processing.

    PubMed

    Li, Rui; Wei, Wei; He, Liang; Hao, Lili; Ji, Xiaofeng; Zhou, Yu; Wang, Qiang

    2014-10-22

    Chlorpyrifos is a widely used organophosphorus pesticide in agricultural crops (including food) and animal feeds in China, resulting in heavy contamination. Many studies have focused on the food-processing effects on chlorpyrifos removal, but sufficient information is not observed for feed-processing steps. Here, chlorpyrifos residual behaviors in field crops and its transfers in duck pellet feed-processing steps were evaluated. In field trials, the highest residues for rice grain, shelled corn, and soybean seed were 12.0, 0.605, and 0.220 mg/kg, respectively. Residues of all rice grain and about half of shelled corn exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs) of China, and five soybean seeds exceeded the MRL of China. Chlorpyrifos residue was reduced 38.2% in brown rice after the raw rice grain was hulled. The residue in bran increased 71.2% after milling from brown rice. During the squashing step, the residue reduced 73.8% in soybean meal. The residues reduced significantly (23.7-36.8%) during the process of granulating for rice, maize, and soybean products. Comparatively, the grinding process showed only limited influence on chlorpyrifos removal (<10%). The residues of duck pellet feeds produced from highly contaminated raw materials of this study were 1.01 mg/kg (maize-soybean feed) and 3.20 mg/kg (rice-soybean feed), which were much higher than the generally accepted value (>0.1 mg/kg) for animal feeding. Chlorpyrifos residues were removed significantly by processing steps of pellet feeds, but the residue of raw materials was the determining factor for the safety of duck feeding.

  11. Pesticide residue analysis of soil, water, and grain of IPM basmati rice.

    PubMed

    Arora, Sumitra; Mukherji, Irani; Kumar, Aman; Tanwar, R K

    2014-12-01

    The main aim of the present investigations was to compare the pesticide load in integrated pest management (IPM) with non-IPM crops of rice fields. The harvest samples of Basmati rice grain, soil, and irrigation water, from IPM and non-IPM field trials, at villages in northern India, were analyzed using multi-pesticide residue method. The field experiments were conducted for three consecutive years (2008-2011) for the successful validation of the modules, synthesized for Basmati rice, at these locations. Residues of tricyclazole, propiconazole, hexconazole, lambda cyhalothrin, pretilachlor chlorpyrifos, DDVP, carbendazim, and imidacloprid were analyzed from two locations, Dudhli village of Dehradun, Uttrakhand and Saboli and Aterna village of Sonepat, Haryana. The pesticide residues were observed below detectable limit (BDL) (<0.001-0.05 μg/g) in all 24 samples of rice grains and soil under IPM and non-IPM trials. Residues were below detection level (<0.001-0.05 μg/L) in irrigation water samples (2008-09). Residues of tricyclazole and carbendazim, analyzed from same locations, revealed pesticide residues as BDL (<0.001-0.05 μg/g) in all 40 samples of Basmati rice grains and soil. It was also observed as BDL (<0.001-0.05 μg/L) for 12 water samples (2009-2010). The residues of tricyclazole, propioconazole, chlorpyrifos, hexaconazole, pretilachlor, and λ-cyhalothrin were also found as BDL (<0.001-0.05 μg/g) in 40 samples of Basmati rice grains and soil and 12 water samples (<0.001-0.05 μg/L) (2010-2011).

  12. Population dynamics of Sesamia inferens on transgenic rice expressing Cry1Ac and CpTI in southern China.

    PubMed

    Han, Lanzhi; Liu, Peilei; Wu, Kongming; Peng, Yufa; Wang, Feng

    2008-10-01

    Genetically modified insect-resistant rice lines containing the cry1Ac gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) or the CpTI (cowpea trypsin inhibitor) gene developed for the management of lepidopterous pests are highly resistant to the major target pests, Chilo suppressalis (Walker), Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée), and Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker), in the main rice-growing areas of China. However, the effects of these transgenic lines on Sesamia inferens (Walker), an important lepidopterous rice pest, are currently unknown. Because different insect species have varying susceptibility to Bt insecticidal proteins that may affect population dynamics, research into the effects of these transgenic rice lines on the population dynamics of S. inferens was conducted in Fuzhou, southern China, in 2005 and 2006. The results of laboratory, field cage, and field plot experiments show that S. inferens has comparatively high susceptibility to the transgenic line during the early growing season, with significant differences observed in larval density and infestation levels between transgenic and control lines. Because of a decrease in Cry1Ac levels in the plant as it ages, the transgenic line provided only a low potential for population suppression late in the growing season. There is a correlation between the changing expression of Cry1Ac and the impact of transgenic rice on the population dynamics of S. inferens during the season. These results indicate that S. inferens may become a major pest in fields of prospective commercially released transgenic rice, and more attention should be paid to developing an effective alternative management strategy.

  13. A Phenology-based Approach for Rice Crop Mapping from Multi-temporal Sentinel-1A Data in Taiwan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, C. F.; Chen, J. B.; Nguyen, S. T.; Chen, C. R.; Chiang, S. H.

    2016-12-01

    Rice is the most important food crop in Taiwan, accounting for approximately 5% (166,616 ha) of the total cultivated area. Besides its nutritional value, rice agriculture remains the primary source of livelihood for the majority of rural populations in the country. Rice monitoring is a crucial activity due to official initiatives to ensure the national food security. Because the size of rice fields in Taiwan is relatively small, rice monitoring is traditionally implemented through time-consuming and costly visual interpretation of aerial photos. The Sentinel-1A launched on 3 April 2014 provides the data that have sufficient spatial and temporal resolutions (i.e., 10 m resolution and 12-day revisit cycle) for monitoring small patches of rice fields in the country. This study aimed to develop a phenology-based approach to map rice-growing areas in Taiwan from multi-temporal descending Sentinel-1A VH and VV data. The data were processed for the second rice cropping season (July‒December) in 2015, consisting four main steps: (1) data pre-processing, including radiometric and geometric corrections, and speckle noise filtering of the VH and VV backscattering coefficient data, (2) normalization difference sigma-naught index (NDSI) calculation based on the sowing and heading periods obtained from the analysis of rice crop phenology in the region, (3) threshold-based rice classification using the expectation-maximization method, and (4) accuracy assessment of the mapping results. The mapping results compared with the ground reference data indicated that the overall accuracies and Kappa coefficients achieved for the VH data were 92.0% and 0.84, while the values for the VV data were 81.1% and 0.62, respectively. The mapping results further verified with the government's rice area statistics reaffirmed the consistency between these two datasets with the root mean square error (RMSE) less than 1%, in both cases. This study demonstrates the potential application of multi-temporal Sentinel-1A data for rice crop monitoring in Taiwan using information of rice crop phenology. The methods were thus proposed for rice monitoring in the country and other regions around the world.

  14. Internal aeration of paddy field rice (Oryza sativa) during complete submergence---importance of light and floodwater O2.

    PubMed

    Winkel, Anders; Colmer, Timothy D; Ismail, Abdelbagi M; Pedersen, Ole

    2013-03-01

    Flash floods can submerge paddy field rice (Oryza sativa), with adverse effects on internal aeration, sugar status and survival. Here, we investigated the in situ aeration of roots of rice during complete submergence, and elucidated how underwater photosynthesis and floodwater pO(2) influence root aeration in anoxic soil. In the field, root pO(2) was measured using microelectrodes during 2 d of complete submergence. Leaf gas films that formed on the superhydrophobic leaves were left intact, or experimentally removed, to elucidate their effect on internal aeration. In darkness, root pO(2) declined to very low concentrations (0.24 kPa) and was strongly correlated with floodwater pO(2). In light, root pO(2) was high (14 kPa) and primarily a function of the incident light determining the rates of underwater net photosynthesis. Plants with intact leaf gas films maintained higher underwater net photosynthesis relative to plants without gas films when the submerged shoots were in light. During complete submergence, internal aeration of rice in the field relies on underwater photosynthesis during the day and entry of O(2) from the floodwater during the night. Leaf gas films enhance photosynthesis during submergence leading to improved O(2) production and sugar status, and therefore contribute to the submergence tolerance of rice. © 2012 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2012 New Phytologist Trust.

  15. Effect of lambda cyhalothrin on Calothrix sp. (GUEco 1001), an autochthonous cyanobacterium of rice fields of Brahmaputra floodplain.

    PubMed

    Gupta, Kiran; Baruah, P P

    2015-12-01

    Pesticide contamination in the rice fields has manifested into a serious global environmental concern. Application of pesticides in the rice fields has deleterious effects on non-target organisms including nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria which help to maintain the rice field fertility. In the present research endeavor, the effect of lambda cyhalothrin (5% EC), a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide, has been studied on the growth and pigments content of Calothrix sp. (GUEco 1001), an indigenous strain isolated from rice grown areas of Brahmaputra floodplain. To study the toxic effect of lambda cyhalothrin, the test organism was exposed to varying concentrations of the insecticide i.e., 20 ppm, 40 ppm, 80 ppm, and 160 ppm based upon the determination of LC50 for a period of 20 days. The result obtained in the laboratory showed a progressive decrease in the growth and pigments content by the test organism with increasing concentrations of the lambda cyhalothrin against time dose-dependent manner. At high dose (160 ppm), the test organism showed significant decrease in dry weight biomass (54.5%), chlorophyll-a (68%), carotenoids (38%), phycocyanin (80%), and nitrogen contents (55%) over the control. A little but insignificant stimulatory effect on growth and chlorophyll-a contents was recorded in 20 ppm treatment of the insecticide that, however, was reversed in case of carotenoids and phycocyanin contents.

  16. Dissipation of the Herbicide Benzobicyclon Hydrolysate in a Model California Rice Field Soil.

    PubMed

    Williams, Katryn L; Gladfelder, Joshua J; Quigley, Lindsay L; Ball, David B; Tjeerdema, Ronald S

    2017-10-25

    The herbicide benzobicyclon (BZB; 3-(2-chloro-4-(methylsulfonyl)benzoyl)-2-phenylthiobicyclo[3.2.1]oct-2-en-4-one) has recently been approved for use on California rice fields by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). Hydrolysis of BZB rapidly forms the active compound, benzobicyclon hydrolysate (BH), whose fate is currently not well understood. A model California rice soil was used to determine BH soil dissipation. The pK a and aqueous solubility were also determined, as experimental values are not currently available. Sorption data indicate BH does not bind tightly, or irreversibly, with this soil. Flooding resulted in decreased BH loss, indicating anaerobic microbes are less likely to transform BH compared to aerobic microorganisms. Temperature increased dissipation, while autoclaving decreased BH loss. Overall, dissipation was slow regardless of treatment. Further investigation is needed to elucidate the exact routes of loss in soil, though BH is expected to dissipate slowly in flooded rice field soil.

  17. Wildlife hazards from Furadan 3G applications to rice in Texas

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Flickinger, Edward L.; King, K.A.; Stout, W.F.; Mohn, M.M.

    1980-01-01

    Mortality of birds, fish, frogs, crayfish, earthworms, and nontarget insects occurred in rice fields after treatments of Furadan 3G granules in 3 Texas counties in 1970 and 1973-75. Three western sandpipers (Ereunetes mauri), 1 pectoral sandpiper (Erolia melanotos), and 2 red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) were found dead or moribund between 17 and 24 hours after treatment. Cricket frogs (Acris crepitans blanchardi) were intoxicated 15 minutes post-treatment, and mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) showed effects 1 hour post-treatment. Mortality of mosquito fish, Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus), Atlantic croaker (Micropogon undulatus), and European carp (Cyprinus carpio) usually occurred between 24 and 28 hours after treatment. Mortality of frogs, crayfish, and nontarget insects generally occurred in rice field water between 1 and 45 hours after treatment. Mortality of earthworms in soil persisted for 52 hours. As a replacement for aldrin in Texas rice fields, Furadan 3G appeared to cause Iess mortality of birds than aldrin, but Furadan 3G was toxic to birds, fish, and invertebrates.

  18. [Effects of different multiple cropping systems on paddy field weed community under long term paddy-upland rotation].

    PubMed

    Yang, Bin-Juan; Huang, Guo-Qin; Xu, Ning; Wang, Shu-Bin

    2013-09-01

    Based on a long term field experiment, this paper studied the effects of different multiple cropping systems on the weed community composition and species diversity under paddy-upland rotation. The multiple cropping rotation systems could significantly decrease weed density and inhibited weed growth. Among the rotation systems, the milk vetch-early rice-late maize --> milk vetchearly maize intercropped with early soybean-late rice (CCSR) had the lowest weed species dominance, which inhibited the dominant weeds and decreased their damage. Under different multiple cropping systems, the main weed community was all composed of Monochoia vaginalis, Echinochloa crusgalli, and Sagittaria pygmae, and the similarity of weed community was higher, with the highest similarity appeared in milk vetch-early rice-late maize intercropped with late soybean --> milk vetch-early maize-late rice (CSCR) and in CCSR. In sum, the multiple cropping rotations in paddy field could inhibit weeds to a certain extent, but attentions should be paid to the damage of some less important weeds.

  19. Distribution and identification of proteolytic Bacillus spp. in paddy field soil under rice cultivation.

    PubMed

    Watanabe, K; Hayano, K

    1993-07-01

    Proteolytic bacteria in paddy field soils under rice cultivation were characterized and enumerated using azocoll agar plates. Bacillus spp. were the proteolytic bacteria that were most frequently present, comprising 59% of the isolates. They were always the numerically dominant proteolytic bacteria isolated from three kinds of fertilizer treatments (yearly application of rice-straw compost and chemical fertilizer, yearly application of chemical fertilizer, and no fertilizer application) and at three different stages of rice development (vegetative growth stage, maximal tillering stage, and harvest stage). Of the 411 proteolytic bacteria isolated, 124 isolates had stronger proteolytic activity than others on the basis of gelatin liquefaction tests and most of them were Bacillus spp. (100% in 1989 and 92.4% in 1991). Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus were the main bacteria of this group and Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus licheniformis, and Bacillus megaterium were also present. We conclude that these Bacillus spp. are the primary source of soil protease in these paddy fields.

  20. Gene flow from weedy red rice (Oryza sativa L.) to cultivated rice and fitness of hybrids.

    PubMed

    Shivrain, Vinod K; Burgos, Nilda R; Gealy, David R; Sales, Marites A; Smith, Kenneth L

    2009-10-01

    Gene transfer from weeds to crops could produce weedy individuals that might impact upon the evolutionary dynamics of weedy populations, the persistence of escaped genes in agroecosystems and approaches to weed management and containment of transgenic crops. The present aim was to quantify the gene flowrate from weedy red rice to cultivated rice, and evaluate the morphology, phenology and fecundity of resulting hybrids. Field experiments were conducted at Stuttgart and Rohwer, Arkansas, USA. Twelve red rice accessions and an imazethapyr-resistant rice (Imi-R; Clearfield) were used. Hybrids between Imi-R rice x red rice were 138-150 cm tall and flowered 1-5 days later than the rice parent, regardless of the red rice parent. Hybrids produced 20-50% more seed than the rice parent, but had equivalent seed production to the majority of red rice parents. Seeds of all hybrids were red, pubescent and dehisced at maturity. For the majority of hybrids, seed germination was higher than that of the red rice parent. The gene flowrate from red rice to rice was 0.01-0.2% and differed by red rice biotype. The hybrids had higher fecundity and potential competitive ability than the rice parent, and in some cases also the red rice parent. Red rice plants are vectors of gene flow back to cultivated rice and other weedy populations. The progeny of red rice hybrids from cultivated rice mother plants have higher chances of persistence than those from red rice mother plants. Gene flow mitigation strategies should consider this scenario. Copyright 2009 Society of Chemical Industry.

  1. Identification of large masses of citrus fruit and rice fields in eastern Spain

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Desagredo, F. L.; Salinas, F. G.

    1973-01-01

    ERTS-1 imagery has been successfully used for the identification of large areas of citrus groves and rice fields in the Valencia region of Eastern Spain. Results are encouraging and will facilitate the elaboration of a land use map with a fair degree of definition once methods prove to be fully operational.

  2. Remote sensing of rice fields and sea pollution by SIR-B

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fugono, N.; Furuhama, Y.; Takasugi, T.; Okamoto, K.; Fujita, M.; Yoshikado, S.; Masuko, H.; Shinozuka, T.; Inomata, H.; Shiro, I.

    1984-01-01

    Sensor calibration, rice fields, and sea pollution are to be investigated with respect to shuttle imaging radar-B (SIR-B). It is planned that the resolution characteristics of the SIR-B be evaluated, the sidelobe characteristics of the SIR-B be investigated, and the relationship between backscatter cross section and image intensity be established. The microwave-scattering characteristics of rice fields are to be studied using SIR-B data. The possibility of classifying crops from SIR-B data is to be explored. The characteristics of the radar image of oil-like surface films under several sea surface conditions are to be determined. The absolute measurement capability of the sea surface scattering cross section is to be estimated using the SIR.

  3. Alternate wetting and drying in high yielding direct-seeded rice systems accomplishes multiple environmental and agronomic objectives

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation is critically important for global food security, yet it also represents a significant fraction of agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water resource use. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) of rice fields has been shown to reduce both methane (CH4) emis...

  4. The race shift of Magnaporthe oryzae occurred within 50 years in the U.S.A.

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae is one of the most destructive diseases of rice. Infection of the races of M. oryzae can be prevented by the corresponding major resistance (R) gene in rice. However, the races of M. oryzae in the commercial fields can rapidly change to overcome resis...

  5. Antimicrobial Activity of Plant Extracts from Aloe Vera, Citrus Hystrix, Sabah Snake Grass and Zingiber Officinale against Pyricularia Oryzae that causes Rice Blast Disease in Paddy Plants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Uda, M. N. A.; Harzana Shaari, N.; Shamiera. Said, N.; Hulwani Ibrahim, Nur; Akhir, Maisara A. M.; Khairul Rabani Hashim, Mohd; Salimi, M. N.; Nuradibah, M. A.; Hashim, Uda; Gopinath, Subash C. B.

    2018-03-01

    Rice blast disease, caused by the fungus known as Pyricularia oryzae, has become an important and serious disease of rice worldwide. Around 50% of production may be lost in a field moderately affected by infection and each year the fungus destroys rice, which is enough to feed an estimated 60 million people. Therefore, use of herbal plants offer an alternative for the management of plant diseases. Herbal plant like Aloe vera, Citrus hystrix, Sabah snake grass and Zingiber officinale extracts can be used for controlling disease of rice blast. In this study, these four herbal plants were used for evaluating antimicrobial activity against rice plant fungus Pyricularia oryzae, which causes rice blast disease.

  6. Invertebrate mercury bioaccumulation in permanent, seasonal, and flooded rice wetlands within California's Central Valley

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ackerman, Joshua T.; Miles, A. Keith; Eagles-Smith, Collin A.

    2010-01-01

    We examined methylmercury (MeHg) bioavailability in four of the most predominant wetland habitats in California's Central Valley agricultural region during the spring and summer: white rice, wild rice, permanent wetlands, and shallowly-flooded fallow fields. We sampled MeHg and total mercury (THg) concentrations in two aquatic macroinvertebrate taxa at the inlets, centers, and outlets of four replicated wetland habitats (8 wetlands total) during two time periods bounding the rice growing season and corresponding to flood-up and pre-harvest (96 total samples). In general, THg concentrations (mean ± standard error) in Notonectidae (Notonecta, back swimmers; 1.18 ± 0.08 µg g− 1 dry weight [dw]) were higher than in Corixidae (Corisella, water boatmen; 0.89 ± 0.06 µg g− 1 dw, MeHg: 0.74 ± 0.05 µg g− 1 dw). MeHg concentrations were correlated with THg concentrations in Corixidae (R2 = 0.80) and 88% of THg was in the MeHg form. Wetland habitat type had an important influence on THg concentrations in aquatic invertebrates, but this effect depended on the sampling time period and taxa. In particular, THg concentrations in Notonectidae, but not Corixidae, were higher in permanent wetlands than in white rice, wild rice, or shallowly-flooded fallow fields. THg concentrations in Notonectidae were higher at the end of the rice growing season than near the time of flood-up, whereas THg concentrations in Corixidae did not differ between time periods. The effect of wetland habitat type was more prevalent near the end of the rice growing season, when Notonectidae THg concentrations were highest in permanent wetlands. Additionally, invertebrate THg concentrations were higher at water outlets than at inlets of wetlands. Our results indicate that although invertebrate THg concentrations increased from the time of flood-up to draw-down of wetlands, temporarily flooded habitats such as white rice, wild rice, and shallowly-flooded fallow fields did not have higher THg or MeHg concentrations in invertebrates than permanent wetlands.

  7. Root attributes affecting water uptake of rice (Oryza sativa) under drought

    PubMed Central

    Henry, Amelia

    2012-01-01

    Lowland rice roots have a unique physiological response to drought because of their adaptation to flooded soil. Rice root attributes that facilitate growth under flooded conditions may affect rice response to drought, but the relative roles of root structural and functional characteristics for water uptake under drought in rice are not known. Morphological, anatomical, biochemical, and molecular attributes of soil-grown rice roots were measured to investigate the genotypic variability and genotype×environment interactions of water uptake under variable soil water regimes. Drought-resistant genotypes had the lowest night-time bleeding rates of sap from the root system in the field. Diurnal fluctuation predominated as the strongest source of variation for bleeding rates in the field and root hydraulic conductivity (Lp r) in the greenhouse, and was related to expression trends of various PIP and TIP aquaporins. Root anatomy was generally more responsive to drought treatments in drought-resistant genotypes. Suberization and compaction of sclerenchyma layer cells decreased under drought, whereas suberization of the endodermis increased, suggesting differential roles of these two cell layers for the retention of oxygen under flooded conditions (sclerenchyma layer) and retention of water under drought (endodermis). The results of this study point to the genetic variability in responsiveness to drought of rice roots in terms of morphology, anatomy, and function. PMID:22791828

  8. Root attributes affecting water uptake of rice (Oryza sativa) under drought.

    PubMed

    Henry, Amelia; Cal, Andrew J; Batoto, Tristram C; Torres, Rolando O; Serraj, Rachid

    2012-08-01

    Lowland rice roots have a unique physiological response to drought because of their adaptation to flooded soil. Rice root attributes that facilitate growth under flooded conditions may affect rice response to drought, but the relative roles of root structural and functional characteristics for water uptake under drought in rice are not known. Morphological, anatomical, biochemical, and molecular attributes of soil-grown rice roots were measured to investigate the genotypic variability and genotype×environment interactions of water uptake under variable soil water regimes. Drought-resistant genotypes had the lowest night-time bleeding rates of sap from the root system in the field. Diurnal fluctuation predominated as the strongest source of variation for bleeding rates in the field and root hydraulic conductivity (Lpr) in the greenhouse, and was related to expression trends of various PIP and TIP aquaporins. Root anatomy was generally more responsive to drought treatments in drought-resistant genotypes. Suberization and compaction of sclerenchyma layer cells decreased under drought, whereas suberization of the endodermis increased, suggesting differential roles of these two cell layers for the retention of oxygen under flooded conditions (sclerenchyma layer) and retention of water under drought (endodermis). The results of this study point to the genetic variability in responsiveness to drought of rice roots in terms of morphology, anatomy, and function.

  9. Influence of rice black streaked dwarf virus on the ecological fitness of non-vector planthopper Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae).

    PubMed

    Xu, Hong-Xing; He, Xiao-Chan; Zheng, Xu-Song; Yang, Ya-Jun; Lu, Zhong-Xian

    2014-08-01

    Rice black streak dwarf virus (RBSDV) is transmitted by the small brown planthopper (SBPH), Laodelphax striatellus (Fallen). Non-vector rice brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), shares the same host rice plants with SBPH in paddy fields. The changes in nutritional composition of rice plants infected by RBSDV and the ecological fitness of BPH feeding on the infected plants were studied under both artificial climate chamber and field conditions. Contents of 16 detected amino acids and soluble sugar in RBSDV infected rice plants were higher than those in the healthy ones. On the diseased plants BPH had significantly higher nymphal survival rates, nymphal duration of the males, weight of the female adults, as well as egg hatchability compared to BPH being fed on healthy plants. However, there was no obvious difference in female nymph duration, longevity and fecundity. Defense enzymes (superoxidase dismutase, SOD and catalase, CAT) and detoxifying enzymes (carboxylesterase, CAE and glutathione S-transferase, GST) in BPH adults fed on diseased plants had markedly higher activities. The results indicate rice plants infected by RBSDV improved the ecological fitness of the brown planthopper, a serious pest but not a transmitter of the RBSDV virus. © 2013 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  10. Genetic diversity of red-grained rice landraces in Hani's terraced fields based on phenotypic characteristics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Xiaomei; Zheng, Yun; Zhang, Tingting; Zhang, Xiaoqian; Ma, Mengli; Meng, Hengling; Wang, Tiantao; Lu, Bingyue

    2018-06-01

    In order to provide useful information for protection and utilization of red-grained rice landraces from Hani's terraced fields, the phenotypic diversity of 61 red-grained rice landraces were assessed based 20 quantitative traits. The results indicated that the phenotypic diversity was abundant in red-grained rice landraces. Coefficients of variation (CV) ranged from 4.878% to 72.878%, and the largest of CV was the panicle neck length, while grain width was smallest. Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H') of 20 traits ranged from 1.464 to 2.165, the largest and the smallest H' values were observed in filled grain number and chalkiness, respectively. Cluster analysis based on unweighted pair group method showed 61 red-grain rice landraces grouped into eight clusters at a cut-off value of 6.2631. The first cluster included 11 landraces, the main cluster II involved 42 landraces, and the cluster IV included 3 landraces. Laopinzhonghongmi, Chena2, Laojingnuo, Bianhao6 and Baimi were separated from the main clusters.

  11. Static Vented Chamber and Eddy Covariance Methane Flux Comparisons in Mid-South US Rice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reba, M. L.; Fong, B.; Adviento-Borbe, A.; Runkle, B.; Suvocarev, K.; Rival, I.

    2017-12-01

    Rice cultivation contributes higher amounts of GHG emissions (CO2 and CH4) due to flooded field conditions. A comparison between eddy covariance and static vented flux chamber measurement techniques is presented. Rice GHG emissions originating from plot level chambers may not accurately describe the aggregate effects of all the soil and micrometeorological variations across a production field. Eddy covariance (EC) is a direct, integrated field measurement of field scale trace gases. Flux measurements were collected in NE Arkansas production size rice fields (16 ha, 40 ac) during the 2015 and 2016 production seasons (June-August) in continuous flood (CF) irrigation. The study objectives included quantifying the difference between chamber and EC measurements, and categorizing flux behavior to growth stage and field history. EC daily average emissions correlated with chamber measurements (R2=0.27-0.54) more than average from 09:00-12:00 which encompassed chamber measurement times (R2=0.23-0.32). Maximum methane emissions occurred in the late afternoon from 14:00-18:00 which corresponded with maximum soil heat flux and air temperature. The total emissions from the study fields ranged from 27-117 kg CH4-C ha-1 season-1. The emission profile was lower in 2015, most likely due to higher rainfall and cooler temperatures during the growing season compared to 2016. These findings improve our understanding of GHG emissions at the field scale under typical production practices and validity of chamber and EC flux measurement techniques.

  12. Low uptake affinity cultivars with biochar to tackle Cd-tainted rice--A field study over four rice seasons in Hunan, China.

    PubMed

    Chen, De; Guo, Hu; Li, Ruiyue; Li, Lianqing; Pan, Genxing; Chang, Andrew; Joseph, Stephen

    2016-01-15

    Biochar is becoming an environmentally friendly material for remediation of heavy metal contaminated soils and improving food safety. A field trial over four rice seasons was conducted to investigate the use of biochar and low Cd accumulating cultivars on Cd uptake in a heavy metal contaminated soil. Wheat straw derived biochar was applied at 0, 20 and 40 t ha(-1). Two rice cultivars with differing Cd accumulation abilities were selected in each season. The results showed that both biochar and low Cd affinity cultivars significantly reduced rice grain Cd accumulation. Biochar had no significant effect the first season but thereafter consistently reduced rice grain Cd by a maximum of 61, 86 and 57% over the next three seasons. Zn accumulation in the rice grains was not decreased by biochar application, although available soil Zn was sharply reduced (35-91%). Indica conventional rice cultivars had much lower Cd, but higher Zn and lower Cd/Zn ratios in the grain than indica hybrid cultivars. Biochar was more effective for mitigating grain Cd accumulation in low Cd affinity cultivars than in high affinity cultivars. Soil pH was sustainably increased (up to nearly 1 unit) while available Cd significantly decreased by a maximum of 85% after biochar addition. The translocation of Cd from rice roots to shoots was reduced from 20 to 80% by biochar. Low uptake affinity cultivars combined with biochar reduced late rice grain Cd concentration and Cd/Zn ratios by 69-80% and 72-80%, respectively. It indicated that the management of combining biochar and low Cd affinity cultivars should be an efficient way to remediate Cd contaminated rice paddies and reduce health risk associated with consuming rice from these soils. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Epiphytic Cyanobacteria on Chara vulgaris Are the Main Contributors to N2 Fixation in Rice Fields

    PubMed Central

    Ariosa, Yoanna; Quesada, Antonio; Aburto, Juan; Carrasco, David; Carreres, Ramón; Leganés, Francisco; Fernández Valiente, Eduardo

    2004-01-01

    The distribution of nitrogenase activity in the rice-soil system and the possible contribution of epiphytic cyanobacteria on rice plants and other macrophytes to this activity were studied in two locations in the rice fields of Valencia, Spain, in two consecutive crop seasons. The largest proportion of photodependent N2 fixation was associated with the macrophyte Chara vulgaris in both years and at both locations. The nitrogen fixation rate associated with Chara always represented more than 45% of the global nitrogenase activity measured in the rice field. The estimated average N2 fixation rate associated with Chara was 27.53 kg of N ha−1 crop−1. The mean estimated N2 fixation rates for the other parts of the system for all sampling periods were as follows: soil, 4.07 kg of N ha−1 crop−1; submerged parts of rice plants, 3.93 kg of N ha−1 crop−1; and roots, 0.28 kg of N ha−1 crop−1. Micrographic studies revealed the presence of epiphytic cyanobacteria on the surface of Chara. Three-dimensional reconstructions by confocal scanning laser microscopy revealed no cyanobacterial cells inside the Chara structures. Quantification of epiphytic cyanobacteria by image analysis revealed that cyanobacteria were more abundant in nodes than in internodes (on average, cyanobacteria covered 8.4% ± 4.4% and 6.2% ± 5.0% of the surface area in the nodes and internodes, respectively). Epiphytic cyanobacteria were also quantified by using a fluorometer. This made it possible to discriminate which algal groups were the source of chlorophyll a. Chlorophyll a measurements confirmed that cyanobacteria were more abundant in nodes than in internodes (on average, the chlorophyll a concentrations were 17.2 ± 28.0 and 4.0 ± 3.8 μg mg [dry weight] of Chara−1 in the nodes and internodes, respectively). These results indicate that this macrophyte, which is usually considered a weed in the context of rice cultivation, may help maintain soil N fertility in the rice field ecosystem. PMID:15345425

  14. Conversion from rice to vegetable production increases N2O emission via increased soil organic matter mineralization.

    PubMed

    Wu, Lei; Tang, Shuirong; He, Dongdong; Wu, Xian; Shaaban, Muhammad; Wang, Milan; Zhao, Jingsong; Khan, Imran; Zheng, Xunhua; Hu, Ronggui; Horwath, William R

    2017-04-01

    The conversion from rice to vegetable production widely occurs in China. However, the effects of this conversion on N 2 O emission and the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. In the present study, 12 rice paddies (R) were selected and half of them converted to vegetable fields (V) with the following treatments: rice paddies without N-fertilizer (R-CK), rice paddies with conventional N-fertilizer (R-CN), converted vegetable fields without N-fertilizer (V-CK), and converted vegetable fields with conventional N-fertilizer (V-CN) in a randomized block design with 3 replicates. N 2 O emissions were measured with static chambers from December 2012 to December 2015. Within each V-CN plot, a root exclusion subplot was established to measure soil heterotrophic respiration (CO 2 effluxes), a proxy for soil organic matter mineralization. Conversion of rice paddies to vegetable production dramatically increased N 2 O emissions. The three-year cumulative N 2 O emissions were 0.59, 1.90, 55.50 and 160.14kg N ha -1 for R-CK, R-CN, V-CK and V-CN, respectively. The annual N 2 O emissions from vegetable fields ranged between 5.99 and 113.45kg N ha -1 yr -1 , with substantially higher emissions in the first year. N 2 O fluxes from V-CN were significantly and positively related to CO 2 fluxes and inorganic N concentrations. The linear relationship between natural logarithms of N 2 O and CO 2 fluxes was stronger and the regression coefficient higher in the first year, showing the dependence of N 2 O on soil organic matter mineralization. These results suggest that soil organic matter and N mineralization contributes significantly to N 2 O emission following conversion of rice paddies to vegetable production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Amyloplast Membrane Protein SUBSTANDARD STARCH GRAIN6 Controls Starch Grain Size in Rice Endosperm1

    PubMed Central

    Matsushima, Ryo; Maekawa, Masahiko; Kusano, Miyako; Tomita, Katsura; Kondo, Hideki; Nishimura, Hideki; Crofts, Naoko; Fujita, Naoko; Sakamoto, Wataru

    2016-01-01

    Starch is a biologically and commercially important polymer of glucose. Starch is organized into starch grains (SGs) inside amyloplasts. The SG size differs depending on the plant species and is one of the most important factors for industrial applications of starch. There is limited information on genetic factors regulating SG sizes. In this study, we report the rice (Oryza sativa) mutant substandard starch grain6 (ssg6), which develops enlarged SGs in endosperm. Enlarged SGs are observed starting at 3 d after flowering. During endosperm development, a number of smaller SGs appear and coexist with enlarged SGs in the same cells. The ssg6 mutation also affects SG morphologies in pollen. The SSG6 gene was identified by map-based cloning and microarray analysis. SSG6 encodes a protein homologous to aminotransferase. SSG6 differs from other rice homologs in that it has a transmembrane domain. SSG6-green fluorescent protein is localized in the amyloplast membrane surrounding SGs in rice endosperm, pollen, and pericarp. The results of this study suggest that SSG6 is a novel protein that controls SG size. SSG6 will be a useful molecular tool for future starch breeding and applications. PMID:26792122

  16. Massive subacromial-subdeltoid bursitis with rice bodies secondary to an orthopedic implant.

    PubMed

    Urruela, Adriana M; Rapp, Timothy B; Egol, Kenneth A

    2012-09-01

    Both early and late complications following open reduction and internal fixation of proximal humerus fractures have been reported extensively in the literature. Although orthopedic implants are known to cause irritation and inflammation, to our knowledge, this is the first case report to describe a patient with rice bodies secondary to an orthopedic implant. Although the etiology of rice bodies is unclear, histological studies reveal that they are composed of an inner amorphous core surrounded by collagen and fibrin. The differential diagnosis in this case included synovial chondromatosis, infection, and the formation of a malignant tumor. Additional imaging studies, such as magnetic resonance imaging, and more specific tests were necessary to differentiate the rice bodies due to bursitis versus neoplasm, prior to excision. The patient presented 5 years following open reduction and internal fixation of a displaced proximal humerus fracture, with swelling in the area of the previous surgical site. Examination revealed a large, painless tumor-like mass on the anterior aspect of the shoulder. The patient's chief concern was the unpleasant aesthetic of the mass; no pain was reported. Upon excision of the mass, the patient's full, painless range of motion returned.

  17. Modelling the fate of pesticides in paddy rice-fish pond farming system in Northern Vietnam

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lamers, M.; Nguyen, N.; Streck, T.

    2012-04-01

    During the last decade rice production in Vietnam has tremendously increased due to the introduction of new high yield, short duration rice varieties and an increased application of pesticides. Since pesticides are toxic by design, there is a natural concern on the possible impacts of their presence in the environment on human health and environment quality. In North Vietnam, lowland and upland rice fields were identified to be a major non-point source of agrochemical pollution to surface and ground water, which are often directly used for domestic purposes. Field measurements, however, are time consuming, costly and logistical demanding. Hence, quantification, forecast and risk assessment studies are hampered by a limited amount of field data. One potential way to cope with this shortcoming is the use of process-based models. In the present study we developed a model for simulating short-term pesticide dynamics in combined paddy rice field - fish pond farming systems under the specific environmental conditions of south-east Asia. Basic approaches and algorithms to describe the key underlying biogeochemical processes were mainly adopted from the literature to assure that the model reflects the current standard of scientific knowledge and commonly accepted theoretical background. The model was calibrated by means of the Gauss-Marquardt-Levenberg algorithm and validated against measured pesticide concentrations (dimethoate and fenitrothion) during spring and summer rice crop season 2008, respectively, of a paddy field - fish pond system typical for northern Vietnam. First simulation results indicate that our model is capable to simulate the fate of pesticides in such paddy - fish pond farming systems. The model efficiency for the period of calibration, for example, was 0.97 and 0.95 for dimethoate and fenitrothion, respectively. For the period of validation, however, the modeling efficiency slightly decreased to 0.96 and 0.81 for dimethoate and fenitrothion, respectively. In our presentation we will picture key model features and algorithms and demonstrate that our model provides a useful and appropriate tool for analyzing and quantifying the transport and behavior of pesticides in paddy rice farming systems.

  18. The estimation of rice paddy yield with GRAMI crop model and Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) image over South Korea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yeom, J. M.; Kim, H. O.

    2014-12-01

    In this study, we estimated the rice paddy yield with moderate geostationary satellite based vegetation products and GRAMI model over South Korea. Rice is the most popular staple food for Asian people. In addition, the effects of climate change are getting stronger especially in Asian region, where the most of rice are cultivated. Therefore, accurate and timely prediction of rice yield is one of the most important to accomplish food security and to prepare natural disasters such as crop defoliation, drought, and pest infestation. In the present study, GOCI, which is world first Geostationary Ocean Color Image, was used for estimating temporal vegetation indices of the rice paddy by adopting atmospheric correction BRDF modeling. For the atmospheric correction with LUT method based on Second Simulation of the Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum (6S), MODIS atmospheric products such as MOD04, MOD05, MOD07 from NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) were used. In order to correct the surface anisotropy effect, Ross-Thick Li-Sparse Reciprocal (RTLSR) BRDF model was performed at daily basis with 16day composite period. The estimated multi-temporal vegetation images was used for crop classification by using high resolution satellite images such as Rapideye, KOMPSAT-2 and KOMPSAT-3 to extract the proportional rice paddy area in corresponding a pixel of GOCI. In the case of GRAMI crop model, initial conditions are determined by performing every 2 weeks field works at Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea. The corrected GOCI vegetation products were incorporated with GRAMI model to predict rice yield estimation. The predicted rice yield was compared with field measurement of rice yield.

  19. Adaptation to flooding during emergence and seedling growth in rice and weeds, and implications for crop establishment.

    PubMed

    Ismail, Abdelbagi M; Johnson, David E; Ella, Evangelina S; Vergara, Georgina V; Baltazar, Aurora M

    2012-01-01

    Direct seeding of rice is being adopted in rainfed and irrigated lowland ecosystems because it reduces labour costs in addition to other benefits. However, early flooding due to uneven fields or rainfall slows down seed germination and hinders crop establishment. Conversely, early flooding helps suppress weeds and reduces the costs of manual weeding and/or dependence on herbicides; however, numerous weed species are adapted to lowlands and present challenges for the use of flooding to control weeds. Advancing knowledge on the mechanisms of tolerance of flooding during germination and early growth in rice and weeds could facilitate the development of improved rice varieties and effective weed management practices for direct-seeded rice. Rice genotypes with a greater ability to germinate and establish in flooded soils were identified, providing opportunities to develop varieties suitable for direct seeding in flooded soils. Tolerance of flooding in these genotypes was mostly attributed to traits associated with better ability to mobilize stored carbohydrates and anaerobic metabolism. Limited studies were undertaken in weeds associated with lowland rice systems. Remaining studies compared rice and weeds and related weed species such as Echinochloa crus-galli and E. colona or compared ecotypes of the same species of Cyperus rotundus adapted to either aerobic or flooded soils. Tolerant weeds and rice genotypes mostly developed similar adaptive traits that allow them to establish in flooded fields, including the ability to germinate and elongate faster under hypoxia, mobilize stored starch reserves and generate energy through fermentation pathways. Remarkably, some weeds developed additional traits such as larger storage tubers that enlarge further in deeper flooded soils (C. rotundus). Unravelling the mechanisms involved in adaptation to flooding will help design management options that will allow tolerant rice genotypes to adequately establish in flooded soils while simultaneously suppressing weeds.

  20. Greenhouse gas emissions, soil quality, and crop productivity from a mono-rice cultivation system as influenced by fallow season straw management.

    PubMed

    Liu, Wei; Hussain, Saddam; Wu, Lishu; Qin, Ziguo; Li, Xiaokun; Lu, Jianwei; Khan, Fahad; Cao, Weidong; Geng, Mingjian

    2016-01-01

    Straw management during fallow season may influence crop productivity, soil quality, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from rice field. A 3-year field experiment was carried out in central China to examine the influence of different fallow season straw management practices on rice yield, soil properties, and emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from a mono-rice cultivation system. The treatments comprised an unfertilized control (CK), inorganic fertilization (NPK), rice straw burning in situ (NPK + RSB), rice straw mulching (NPK + RSM), and rice straw strip mulching with green manuring (NPK + RSM + GM). The maximum rice yield, soil organic carbon, soil total nitrogen, and available potassium were observed in NPK + RSM + GM treatment. Compared with NPK, the NPK + RSM + GM recorded 9% higher grain yield averaged across 3 years. However, NPK + RSM and NPK + RSB were statistically similar with NPK regarding grain yield. The NPK + RSM and NPK + RSM + GM recorded significantly higher CH4 emission during rice growing season as well as winter fallow; however, the response of N2O emissions was variable. The NPK + RSM and NPK + RSM + GM were statistically similar for annual cumulative CH4 and N2O emissions. The NPK + RSM + GM recorded 103 and 72% higher straw-induced net economic benefits and soil organic carbon sequestration rate, and reduced net global warming potential by 27% as compared with NPK + RSM. Considering the benefits of soil fertility, higher crop productivity, and environmental safety, the NPK + RSM + GM could be the most feasible and sustainable option for mono-rice cultivation system in central China.

  1. Identification of qSOR1, a major rice QTL involved in soil-surface rooting in paddy fields.

    PubMed

    Uga, Yusaku; Hanzawa, Eiko; Nagai, Shinsei; Sasaki, Kazuhiro; Yano, Masahiro; Sato, Tadashi

    2012-01-01

    Specific Indonesian lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars elongate thick primary roots on the soil surface of paddy fields. To clarify the genetic factors controlling soil-surface rooting, we performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses using 124 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between Gemdjah Beton, an Indonesian lowland rice cultivar with soil-surface roots, and Sasanishiki, a Japanese lowland rice cultivar without soil-surface roots. These cultivars and the RILs were tested for soil-surface rooting in a paddy field. We identified four regions of chromosomes 3, 4, 6, and 7 that were associated with soil-surface rooting in the field. Among them, one major QTL was located on the long arm of chromosome 7. This QTL explained 32.5-53.6% of the total phenotypic variance across three field evaluations. To perform fine mapping of this QTL, we measured the basal root growth angle of crown roots at the seedling stage in seven BC(2)F(3) recombinant lines grown in small cups in a greenhouse. The QTL was mapped between markers RM21941 and RM21976, which delimit an 812-kb interval in the reference cultivar Nipponbare. We have designated this QTL qSOR1 (quantitative trait locus for SOIL SURFACE ROOTING 1).

  2. [Control effects of rice-duck farming and other weed management strategies on weed communities in paddy fields].

    PubMed

    Wei, Shouhui; Qiang, Sheng; Ma, Bo; Wei, Jiguang; Chen, Jianwei; Wu, Jianqiang; Xie, Tongzhou; Shen, Xiaokun

    2005-06-01

    By the methods of community ecology, field studies were conducted to evaluate the control effects of three weed management strategies, i. e., rice-duck farming (RD), manual weeding (MW) and chemical weeding (CW), on the weed communities in paddy fields. The results showed that under rice-duck farming, the weed density in paddy fields decreased significantly, and the control effects on dominant weed species such as Monochoria vaginalis, Cyperus difformis, Sagittaria pygmaea were all above 95%, with an overall effect higher than CW and MW. Under RD, the species richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity indices decreased slightly, while Pielou community evenness indices increased markedly, indicating that the species composition of weed community was greatly improved, and the infestation of former dominant weed species was reduced. The structure of weed communities in paddy fields varied with different weed management strategies, e. g., under RD, Lindernia procumbens, Cyperus difformis and Fimbristylis miliacea constituted the major weed community, and the Whittaker index was significant higher than that of CW, MW and CK, which indicated that rice-duck farming had a greater effect on the structure of the weed communities. The same conclusion could be drawn from Sorensen's similarity indices and cluster analysis with Sorensen's index as the distance measurement.

  3. Airborne observations of methane emissions from rice cultivation in the Sacramento Valley of California

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peischl, J.; Ryerson, T. B.; Holloway, J. S.; Trainer, M.; Andrews, A. E.; Atlas, E. L.; Blake, D. R.; Daube, B. C.; Dlugokencky, E. J.; Fischer, M. L.; Goldstein, A. H.; Guha, A.; Karl, T.; Kofler, J.; Kosciuch, E.; Misztal, P. K.; Perring, A. E.; Pollack, I. B.; Santoni, G. W.; Schwarz, J. P.; Spackman, J. R.; Wofsy, S. C.; Parrish, D. D.

    2012-12-01

    Airborne measurements of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) were taken over the rice growing region of California's Sacramento Valley in the late spring of 2010 and 2011. From these and ancillary measurements, we show that CH4 mixing ratios were higher in the planetary boundary layer above the Sacramento Valley during the rice growing season than they were before it, which we attribute to emissions from rice paddies. We derive daytime emission fluxes of CH4 between 0.6 and 2.0% of the CO2 taken up by photosynthesis on a per carbon, or mole to mole, basis. We also use a mixing model to determine an average CH4/CO2 flux ratio of -0.6% for one day early in the growing season of 2010. We conclude the CH4/CO2 flux ratio estimates from a single rice field in a previous study are representative of rice fields in the Sacramento Valley. If generally true, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) greenhouse gas inventory emission rate of 2.7 × 1010 g CH4/yr is approximately three times lower than the range of probable CH4 emissions (7.8-9.3 × 1010 g CH4/yr) from rice cultivation derived in this study. We attribute this difference to decreased burning of the residual rice crop since 1991, which leads to an increase in CH4 emissions from rice paddies in succeeding years, but which is not accounted for in the CARB inventory.

  4. Chinese Milk Vetch as Green Manure Mitigates Nitrous Oxide Emission from Monocropped Rice System in South China.

    PubMed

    Xie, Zhijian; Shah, Farooq; Tu, Shuxin; Xu, Changxu; Cao, Weidong

    2016-01-01

    Monocropped rice system is an important intensive cropping system for food security in China. Green manure (GM) as an alternative to fertilizer N (FN) is useful for improving soil quality. However, few studies have examined the effect of Chinese milk vetch (CMV) as GM on nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from monocropped rice field in south China. Therefore, a pot-culture experiment with four treatments (control, no FN and CMV; CMV as GM alone, M; fertilizer N alone, FN; integrating fertilizer N with CMV, NM) was performed to investigate the effect of incorporating CMV as GM on N2O emission using a closed chamber-gas chromatography (GC) technique during the rice growing periods. Under the same N rate, incorporating CMV as GM (the treatments of M and NM) mitigated N2O emission during the growing periods of rice plant, reduced the NO3- content and activities of nitrate and nitrite reductase as well as the population of nitrifying bacteria in top soil at maturity stage of rice plant versus FN pots. The global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) of N2O from monocropped rice field was ranked as M

  5. Dynamics of N-NH4 +, N-NO3 -, and total soil nitrogen in paddy field with azolla and biochar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dewi, W. S.; Wahyuningsih, G. I.; Syamsiyah, J.; Mujiyo

    2018-03-01

    Nitrogen (N) is one of macronutrients which is dynamic in the soil and becomes constraint factor for rice crops. The addition of nitrogen fertilizers and its absorption in paddy field causes the dynamics of nitrogen, thus declines of N absorption efficiency. The aim of this research is to know influence Azolla, biochar and different varieties application on N-NH4 +, N-NO3 -, and total soil N in paddy field. This research was conducted in a screen house located in Jumantono Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) with altitude 170 m asl from April to June 2016. Treatment factors that were examined consisted of azolla (0 and 10 tons/ha), biochar (0 and 2 tons/ha), and rice varieties (Cisadane, Memberamo, Ciherang, IR64). The results of this research showed that there was no interaction between azolla, biochar and varieties. Nevertheless, azolla treatment with dose of 10 tons/ha increased soil NH4 + content (41 days after planting, DAP) by 13.4% but tend to decrease at 70 and 90 DAP. Biochar treatment with dose of 2 ton/ha increases NO3 - soil content (70 DAP) by 1.7% but decreases total N soil by 5.8% (41 DAP) and 4.7% (90 DAP). Different rice varieties generated different soil NH4 + content (41 DAP) and rice root volume. Cisadane variety can increase soil NH4 + content (41 DAP) by 52.08% and root volume by 51.80% (90 DAP) compared with Ciherang variety. Organic rice field management with azolla and biochar affects the availability of N in the soil and increase N absorption efficiency through its role in increasing rice root volume.

  6. Some effects of aldrin-treated rice on Gulf Coast wildlife

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Flickinger, Edward L.; King, K.A.

    1972-01-01

    Wildlife casualties from aldrin-dieldrin poisoning are associated with the planting of aldrin-treated rice seed along the Texas Gulf Coast. The fulvous tree duck (Dendrocygna bicolor), which depends on the rice field habitats and is highly susceptible to aldrin-dieldrin poisoning, is suffering a serious population decline in that area. Dead waterfowl, shorebirds, and passerines were collected on study areas in Wharton, Brazoria, and Chambers counties, Texas, from 1967 through 1971. Residues of aldrin or dieldrin were found in all samples of bird casualties and in all eggs, scavengers, predators, fish, frogs, invertebrates, and soils. Fulvous tree ducks appeared to be less resistant to aldrin than other ducks. Dieldrin residues in brains of dead fulvous tree ducks were low, but whole-body residues were as high as 16 ppm. Brains of other dead ducks and geese averaged 10 ppm dieldrin. Some dead birds were exposed by eating treated rice seed, but many dead birds with high dieldrin residues were species that feed largely on invertebrates. Although soil residues were low, snails and crayfish contained enough aldrin and dieldrin (average 9.5 ppm) to account for deaths in birds that fed heavily on these invertebrates over a period of time. When fulvous tree ducks were penned for 3 days in fields aerially planted with treated seed, 3 of 10 birds died with brain residues of 2.5, 2.9, and 6.8 ppm dieldrin, and others were intoxicated. None of eight died, and some gained weight, when penned in fields planted with untreated seed. This study adds further evidence for the suspected lethal effects of aldrin-treated rice seed on wild birds and other wildlife in rice field habitats.

  7. Overexpression of an Arabidopsis thaliana galactinol synthase gene improves drought tolerance in transgenic rice and increased grain yield in the field.

    PubMed

    Selvaraj, Michael Gomez; Ishizaki, Takuma; Valencia, Milton; Ogawa, Satoshi; Dedicova, Beata; Ogata, Takuya; Yoshiwara, Kyouko; Maruyama, Kyonoshin; Kusano, Miyako; Saito, Kazuki; Takahashi, Fuminori; Shinozaki, Kazuo; Nakashima, Kazuo; Ishitani, Manabu

    2017-11-01

    Drought stress has often caused significant decreases in crop production which could be associated with global warming. Enhancing drought tolerance without a grain yield penalty has been a great challenge in crop improvement. Here, we report the Arabidopsis thaliana galactinol synthase 2 gene (AtGolS2) was able to confer drought tolerance and increase grain yield in two different rice (Oryza sativa) genotypes under dry field conditions. The developed transgenic lines expressing AtGolS2 under the control of the constitutive maize ubiquitin promoter (Ubi:AtGolS2) also had higher levels of galactinol than the non-transgenic control. The increased grain yield of the transgenic rice under drought conditions was related to a higher number of panicles, grain fertility and biomass. Extensive confined field trials using Ubi:AtGolS2 transgenic lines in Curinga, tropical japonica and NERICA4, interspecific hybrid across two different seasons and environments revealed the verified lines have the proven field drought tolerance of the Ubi:AtGolS2 transgenic rice. The amended drought tolerance was associated with higher relative water content of leaves, higher photosynthesis activity, lesser reduction in plant growth and faster recovering ability. Collectively, our results provide strong evidence that AtGolS2 is a useful biotechnological tool to reduce grain yield losses in rice beyond genetic differences under field drought stress. © 2017 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Plant genetic transformation efficiency of selected Malaysian rice based on selectable marker gene (hptII).

    PubMed

    Htwe, Nwe Nwe; Ling, Ho Chai; Zaman, Faridah Qamaruz; Maziah, Mahmood

    2014-04-01

    Rice is one of the most important cereal crops with great potential for biotechnology progress. In transformation method, antibiotic resistance genes are routinely used as powerful markers for selecting transformed cells from surrounding non-transformed cells. In this study, the toxicity level of hygromycin was optimized for two selected mutant rice lines, MR219 line 4 and line 9. The mature embryos were isolated and cultured on an MS medium with different hygromycin concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 mg L(-1)). Evidently, above 60 mg L(-1) was effective for callus formation and observed completely dead. Further there were tested for specific concentration (0-60). Although, 21.28% calli survived on the medium containing 45 mg L(-1) hygromycin, it seemed suitable for the identification of putative transformants. These findings indicated that a system for rice transformation in a relatively high frequency and the transgenes are stably expressed in the transgenic plants. Green shoots were regenerated from the explant under hygromycin stress. RT-PCR using hptII and gus sequence specific primer and Southern blot analysis were used to confirm the presence of the transgene and to determine the transformation efficiency for their stable integration in regenerated plants. This study demonstrated that the hygromycin resistance can be used as an effective marker for rice transformation.

  9. Mapping Rice Cropping Patterns Using Multi-temporal Sentinel-1A Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nguyen, S. T.; Chen, C. F.; Chen, C. R.; Chiang, S. H.; Khin, L. V.

    2016-12-01

    Rice is the world's third largest crop behind maize and wheat, providing food for more than half of the world's population. Rice agriculture has been a key driver of socioeconomic development in Vietnam as it provides food for more than 90 million people and is considered as a main source of income for the majority of rural populations. Vietnam has approximately 7.5 million ha, annually producing roughly 39 million tons of grain rice making this nation become one of the largest rice suppliers on earth with approximately 7.4 million tons of grain rice exported annually. Thus, monitoring rice-growing areas to meet people's food needs while safeguarding the environment is important to developing strategies for national food security and rice grain exports. Previous studies of rice crop monitoring are often carried using coarse resolution optical satellite data such as MODIS data. Because rice fields in Vietnam are generally small and fragmental, the use of coarse resolution optical satellite data reveals disadvantages due to mixed-pixel issues and data contamination caused by cloud cover. The Sentinel-1A satellite launched on 3 April 2014 provides opportunities to collectively map small patches of rice fields at different scales owing to its high spatial resolution of 10 m and temporal resolution of 12 days. The main objective of this study is to develop an approach to map rice-cropping systems in An Giang and Dong Thap provinces, South Vietnam using multi-temporal Sentinel-1A VH data. We processed the data following four main steps: (1) data pre-processing, (2) constructing smooth time-series VH backscatter data, (3) rice crop classification using the support vector machines (SVM), and (4) accuracy assessment. The mapping results validated with the ground the ground reference data indicated that the overall accuracy and Kappa coefficient were 83.4% and 0.7, respectively. The mapping results also compared with the government's rice area statistics at the district level reaffirmed the consistency between these two datasets with the correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.93 and the relative error in area of 2.2%. This study demonstrates the potential application of time-series Sentinel-1A data for rice crop mapping and the methods are thus proposed for large-scale rice crop monitoring in the country.

  10. Response of rice cultivars to rates of nitrogen and potassium application in field and pot conditions.

    PubMed

    Bahmaniar, M A; Ranjbar, G A

    2007-05-01

    Nitrogen and potassium are the yield-limiting nutrients in rice production regions of Iran. Use of N and K efficient cultivars is an important complementary strategy in improving rice yield, increasing the quality properties of rice grains and reducing cost of production. In order to consider the effects of different amounts of N and K application on rice (Oryza sativa L.) yield and yield components in pot and field conditions these experiments were undertaken in 2004 at Sari Agricultural Station, Iran. Four levels of N (0, 50, 100 and 150 Kg N ha(-1) in field and 0, 0.6, 1.2 and 1.8 g N pot(-1) in pot) corresponding with four levels of K (0, 75, 150 and 225 kg K2O ha(-1) in field and 0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 g K2O pot(-1) in pot) were applied in a split-factorial plot design with three replications in both pot and field experiments, variously. Grain yield, number of grain per panicle, number of tiller, plant height, length of flag leaf, total and shoot dry matter, 1000 grain weight and harvest index have been increased by N application in field conditions. However, in pot conditions grain yield, number of grain per panicle, number of tiller, plant height, width of flag leaf, total and shoot dry matter, leaf nitrogen contents and harvest index have significantly been increased (p < or = 0.05). Potassium application in field conditions has significantly affected on all characteristics but 1000 grain weight and leaf N and K contents. Simultaneous application of N and K have increasingly affected on grain yield, plant height, shoot dry matter and harvest index in field conditions and on plant height, length of flag leaf and shoot dry matter in pot conditions (p < or = 0.05).

  11. Insect remote sensing using a polarization sensitive cw lidar system in chinese rice fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Shiming; Malmqvist, Elin; Li, Yiyun; Jansson, Samuel; Li, Wansha; Duan, Zheng; Fu, Wei; Svanberg, Katarina; Bood, Joakim; Feng, Hongqiang; Åkesson, Susanne; Song, Ziwei; Zhang, Baoxin; Zhao, Guangyu; Li, Dunsong; Brydegaard, Mikkel; Svanberg, Sune

    2018-04-01

    A joint Chinese-Swedish field campaign of Scheimpflug continuous-wave lidar monitoring of rice-field flying pest insects was pursued in very hot July weather conditions close to Guangzhou, China. The occurrence of insects, birds and bats with almost 200 hours of round-the-clock polarization-sensitive recordings was studied. Wing-beat frequency recordings and depolarization properties were used for target classification. Influence of weather conditions on the flying fauna was also investigated.

  12. Adoption of an unmanned helicopter for low-altitude remote sensing to estimate yield and total biomass of a rice crop

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    A radio-controlled unmanned helicopter-based LARS (Low-Altitude Remote Sensing) platform was used to acquire quality images of high spatial and temporal resolution, in order to estimate yield and total biomass of a rice crop (Oriza Sativa, L.). Fifteen rice field plots with five N-treatments (0, 33,...

  13. Evaluation and first-year field testing of efficient vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for inoculation of wetland rice seedlings.

    PubMed

    Secilia, J; Bagyaraj, D J

    1994-07-01

    Grain yields of the rice cultivar 'Prakash' were improved upon inoculation with Glomus intraradices and G. fasciculatum, by 11% and 8%, respectively, compared with an uninoculated control. The results indicate that the amount of phosphate fertilizer usually applied to rice may be decreased by 50%, without affecting yield, if G. intraradices is inoculated.

  14. Characterizing virulence phenotypes among U.S. isolates of Magnaporthe oryzae using IRRI NILs, US germplasm, and NERICA lines

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rice blast disease, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, is a major constraint to rice production in most rice production areas, including the Southern U.S. In continued efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of resistance (R) genes, a total of 33 field and 12 U.S. reference isolates of M. oryzae were eval...

  15. Effects of crop rotation on properties of a Vietnam clay soil under rice-based cropping systems in small-scale farmers' fields

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In tropical deltas, intensive monocultures with three rice crops per year have been the standard for decades. In recent years, though, rice-based rotations with one or more upland crops per year are being adopted by several farmers. Their trends of increasing grain yields raise the question whether ...

  16. Can arbuscular mycorrhiza and fertilizer management reduce phosphorus runoff from paddy fields?

    PubMed

    Zhang, Shujuan; Wang, Li; Ma, Fang; Zhang, Xue; Li, Zhe; Li, Shiyang; Jiang, Xiaofeng

    2015-07-01

    Our study sought to assess how much phosphorus (P) runoff from paddy fields could be cut down by fertilizer management and inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. A field experiment was conducted in Lalin River basin, in the northeast China: six nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizer levels were provided (0, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of the recommended fertilizer supply), with or without inoculation with Glomus mosseae. The volume and concentrations of particle P (PP) and dissolved P (DP) were measured for each runoff during the rice growing season. It was found that the seasonal P runoff, including DP and PP, under the local fertilization was 3.7 kg/ha, with PP, rather than DP, being the main form of P in runoff water. Additionally, the seasonal P runoff dropped only by 8.9% when fertilization decreased by 20%; rice yields decreased with declining fertilization. We also found that inoculation increased rice yields and decreased P runoff at each fertilizer level and these effects were lower under higher fertilization. Conclusively, while rice yields were guaranteed arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation and fertilizer management would play a key role in reducing P runoff from paddy fields. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  17. Effect of preceding crop on Fusarium species and mycotoxin contamination of wheat grains.

    PubMed

    Qiu, Jianbo; Dong, Fei; Yu, Mingzheng; Xu, Jianhong; Shi, Jianrong

    2016-10-01

    The Fusarium graminearum species complex infects several cereals and causes the reduction of grain yield and quality. Many factors influence the extent of Fusarium infection and mycotoxin levels. Such factors include crop rotation. In the present study, we explored the effect of rice or maize as former crops on mycotoxin accumulation in wheat grains. More than 97% of samples were contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON). DON concentrations in wheat grains from rice and maize rotation fields were 884.37 and 235.78 µg kg(-1) . Zearalenone (ZEN) was detected in 45% of samples which were mainly collected from maize-wheat rotation systems. Fusarium strains were isolated and more F. graminearum sensu stricto (s. str.) isolates were cultured from wheat samples obtained from maize rotation fields. DON levels produced by Fusarium isolates from rice rotation fields were higher than those of samples from maize rotation fields. Rice-wheat rotation favours DON accumulation, while more ZEN contamination may occur in maize-wheat rotation models. Appropriate crop rotation may help to reduce toxin levels in wheat grains. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  18. Water-saving technologies affect the grain characteristics and recovery of fine-grain rice cultivars in semi-arid environment.

    PubMed

    Jabran, Khawar; Riaz, Muhammad; Hussain, Mubshar; Nasim, Wajid; Zaman, Umar; Fahad, Shah; Chauhan, Bhagirath Singh

    2017-05-01

    Growing rice with less water is direly needed due to declining water sources worldwide, but using methods that require less water inputs can have an impact on grain characteristics and recovery. A 2-year field study was conducted to evaluate the impact of conventionally sown flooded rice and low-water-input rice systems on the grain characteristics and recovery of fine rice. Three fine grain rice cultivars-Super Basmati, Basmati 2000, and Shaheen Basmati-were grown under conventional flooded transplanted rice (CFTR), alternate wetting and drying (AWD), and aerobic rice systems. Grain characteristics and rice recovery were significantly influenced by different water regimes (production systems). Poor milling, including the lowest percentage of brown (head) rice (65.3%) and polished (white) rice (64.2-66.9%) and the highest percentage of broken brown rice (10.2%), husk (24.5%-26.3%), polished broken rice (24.7%), and bran (11.0-12.5%), were recorded in the aerobic rice system sown with Shaheen Basmati. With a few exceptions, cultivars sown in CFTR were found to possess a higher percentage of brown (head) and polished (white) rice and they had incurred the least losses in the form of brown broken rice, husk, polished broken rice, and bran. In conclusion, better grain quality and recovery of rice can be attained by growing Super Basmati under the CFTR system. Growing Shaheen Basmati under low-water-input systems, the aerobic rice system in particular, resulted in poor grain characteristics tied with less rice recovery.

  19. Microbial Community and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes from Abandoned Rice Paddies with Different Vegetation.

    PubMed

    Kim, Sunghyun; Lee, Seunghoon; McCormick, Melissa; Kim, Jae Geun; Kang, Hojeong

    2016-10-01

    The area of rice paddy fields has declined continuously in East Asian countries due to abandonment of agriculture and concurrent socioeconomic changes. When they are abandoned, rice paddy fields generally transform into wetlands by natural succession. While previous studies have mainly focused on vegetation shifts in abandoned rice paddies, little information is available about how these changes may affect their contribution to wetland functions. As newly abandoned fields proceed through succession, their hydrology and plant communities often change. Moreover, the relationships between these changes, soil microbial characteristics, and emissions of greenhouse gasses are poorly understood. In this study, we examined changes over the course of secondary succession of abandoned rice paddies to wetlands and investigated their ecological functions through changes in greenhouse gas fluxes and microbial characteristics. We collected gas and soil samples in summer and winter from areas dominated by Cyperaceae, Phragmites, and Sphagnum in each site. We found that CO2 emissions in summer were significantly higher than those in winter, but CH4 and N2O emission fluxes were consistently at very low levels and were similar among seasons and locations, due to their low nutrient conditions. These results suggest that microbial activity and abundance increased in summer. Greenhouse gas flux, soil properties, and microbial abundance were not affected by plant species, although the microbial community composition was changed by plant species. This information adds to our basic understanding of the contribution of wetlands that are transformed from abandoned rice paddy systems.

  20. Estimation of the rice-planting field in Bangladesh by satellite remote sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Furuta, E.; Suzuki, G.; Yamassaki, M.; Teraoka, T.; Fujiwara, H.; Ogino, Y.; Akashi, M.; Lahrita, L.; Naruse, N.; Takahashi, Y.

    2016-12-01

    In Bangladesh, price of rice has been unstable due to a large increase in production. To control the price can become a political issue, because rice agriculture is one of the most important industries in Bangladesh, whereas the total area of the paddy field is accurately unknown, owing to unsustainable and on-site surveys for the area (1). Satellite remote sensing is an effective solution to research the all area of domestic paddy field. Microwave satellite imaging has a large merit to be observable regardless of the weather conditions, however, research institutions have been limited to observing continuously since the cost is high for developing countries, such as Bangladesh. This study aims to establish the way to grasp the paddy field using optical satellite images for free of charge (Landsat-8). We have focused on seasonal changes in the water and the vegetation indices obtained from paddy fields. We have performed image calculations of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) of the well-known paddy field in Bangladesh Rice Research Institute. We found that there are seasonal changes of NDVI and NDWI calculated from paddy field. The characteristics are as follows; the NDVI and the NDWI values varies by 0.17-0.25 up and 0.11-0.19 down, respectively, at the transition from the dry to the rainy season, on the other hand, the NDVI and the NDWI changes by 0.21-0.29 down and 0.09-0.17 up from the rainy to the dry season. These features make us to distinguish the paddy field from the other cultivated area. The decrease of NDVI means that rice bares, The increase of NDWI can be interpreted that the paddy field is covered with water for the preparation for planting it. Our estimated area of paddy field in Bangladesh (85,900km ) corresponds well with the previous reported value of 117,700km (1). We have established the way to grasp the paddy field using optical satellite images for free of charge, on the bases of the seasonal changes of NDVI and NDWI. Ref: 1.FAOSTAT 2013

  1. Soil removal as a decontamination practice and radiocesium accumulation in tadpoles in rice paddies at Fukushima.

    PubMed

    Sakai, Masaru; Gomi, Takashi; Nunokawa, Masanori; Wakahara, Taeko; Onda, Yuichi

    2014-04-01

    We investigated the biological accumulation of radiocesium in tadpoles [Rana (Pelophylax) porosa porosa] in rice paddies with and without decontamination practice at Fukushima. Radiocesium was accumulated in surface part of soils both in the control and decontaminated paddies one year after decontamination. Mean (134)Cs and (137)Cs concentrations in tadpoles in the control and decontaminated paddies were 3000 and 4500, and 600 and 890 Bq/kg dry weight, respectively. Radiocesium concentrations in surface soil (0-5 cm depth) and tadpoles in the decontaminated paddy were five times smaller than in the control paddy. These results suggest that decontamination practice can reduce radiocesium concentrations in both soil and tadpoles. However, at the decontaminated paddy, radiocesium concentrations in surface soils became 3.8 times greater one year after decontamination, which indicates that monitoring the subsequent movement of radiocesium in rice paddies and surrounding areas is essential for examining contamination propagation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Population structure and its effect on haplotype diversity and linkage disequilibrium surrounding the xa5 locus of rice (Oryza sativa L.).

    PubMed Central

    Garris, Amanda J; McCouch, Susan R; Kresovich, Stephen

    2003-01-01

    To assess the usefulness of linkage disequilibrium mapping in an autogamous, domesticated species, we have characterized linkage disequilibrium in the candidate region for xa5, a recessive gene conferring race-specific resistance to bacterial blight in rice. This trait and locus have good mapping information, a tractable phenotype, and available sequence data, but no cloned gene. We sampled 13 short segments from the 70-kb candidate region in 114 accessions of Oryza sativa. Five additional segments were sequenced from the adjacent 45-kb region in resistant accessions to estimate the distance at which linkage disequilibrium decays. The data show significant linkage disequilibrium between sites 100 kb apart. The presence of the xa5 resistant reaction in two ecotypes and in accessions with different haplotypes in the candidate region may indicate multiple origins or genetic heterogeneity for resistance. In addition, genetic differentiation between ecotypes emphasizes the need for controlling for population structure in the design of linkage disequilibrium studies in rice. PMID:14573486

  3. Influence of waxy rice flour substitution for wheat flour on characteristics of batter and freeze-thawed cake.

    PubMed

    Jongsutjarittam, Nisachon; Charoenrein, Sanguansri

    2013-09-12

    This study aimed to improve the freeze-thawed cake properties by10-20% waxy rice flour (WRF) substitution for wheat flour (WF). Viscosity of WRF-substituted batters was lower; consequently, trapped air was less uniformly distributed than WF batter. After five freeze-thaw cycles, firmness and enthalpy of melting retrograded amylopectin of WF- and WRF-substituted cakes increased and the matrix surrounding the air pores from SEM images was denser than in fresh-baked cakes. Sensory evaluation showed an increase in firmness and a decrease in firmness acceptability of freeze-thawed cakes. However, freeze-thawed cake with WRF substitution had significantly less firmness, less dense matrix and more acceptability than WF cake. This could have been due to a low amylose content of WRF and the spread of ruptured waxy rice starch granules around swollen wheat starch granules as observed by CLSM. Thus, WRF could be used for WF substitution to improve the firmness in freeze-thawed cake. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. The impact of elevated CO2 and temperature on grain quality of rice grown under open-air field conditions.

    PubMed

    Jing, Liquan; Wang, Juan; Shen, Shibo; Wang, Yunxia; Zhu, Jianguo; Wang, Yulong; Yang, Lianxin

    2016-08-01

    Rising atmospheric CO2 is accompanied by global warming. However, interactive effects of elevated CO2 and temperature have not been well studied on grain quality of rice. A japonica cultivar was grown in the field using a free-air CO2 enrichment facility in combination with a canopy air temperature increase system in 2014. The gas fumigation (200 µmol mol(-1) above ambient CO2 ) and temperature increase (1 °C above ambient air temperature) were performed from tillering until maturity. Compared with the control (ambient CO2 and air temperature), elevated CO2 increased grain length and width as well as grain chalkiness but decreased protein concentrations. In contrast, the increase in canopy air temperature had less effect on these parameters except for grain chalkiness. The starch pasting properties of rice flour and taste analysis of cooked rice indicated that the palatability of rice was improved by CO2 and/or temperature elevation, with the combination of the two treatments showing the most significant changes compared with ambient rice. It is concluded that projected CO2 in 2050 may have larger effects on rice grain quality than the projected temperature increase. Although deterioration in milling suitability, grain appearance and nutritional quality can be expected, the taste of cooked rice might be better in the future environment. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

  5. Effects of screenhouse cultivation and organic materials incorporation on global warming potential in rice fields.

    PubMed

    Xu, Guochun; Liu, Xin; Wang, Qiangsheng; Xiong, Ruiheng; Hang, Yuhao

    2017-03-01

    Global rice production will be increasingly challenged by providing healthy food for a growing population at minimal environmental cost. In this study, a 2-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of a novel rice cultivation mode (screenhouse cultivation, SHC) and organic material (OM) incorporation (wheat straw and wheat straw-based biogas residue) on methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions and rice yields. In addition, the environmental factors and soil properties were also determined. Relative to the traditional open-field cultivation (OFC), SHC decreased the CH 4 and N 2 O emissions by 6.58-18.73 and 2.51-21.35%, respectively, and the global warming potential (GWP) was reduced by 6.49-18.65%. This trend was mainly because of lower soil temperature and higher soil redox potential in SHC. Although the rice grain yield for SHC were reduced by 2.51-4.98% compared to the OFC, the CH 4 emissions and GWP per unit of grain yield (yield-scaled CH 4 emissions and GWP) under SHC were declined. Compared to use of inorganic fertilizer only (IN), combining inorganic fertilizer with wheat straw (WS) or wheat straw-based biogas residue (BR) improved rice grain yield by 2.12-4.10 and 4.68-5.89%, respectively. However, OM incorporation enhanced CH 4 emissions and GWP, leading to higher yield-scaled CH 4 emissions and GWP in WS treatment. Due to rice yield that is relatively high, there was no obvious effect of BR treatment on them. These findings suggest that apparent environmental benefit can be realized by applying SHC and fermenting straw aerobically before its incorporation.

  6. Introducing non-flooded crops in rice-dominated landscapes: Impact on carbon, nitrogen and water budgets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jauker, Frank; Wassmann, Reiner; Amelung, Wulf; Breuer, Lutz; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Conrad, Ralf; Ekschmitt, Klemens; Goldbach, Heiner; He, Yao; John, Katharina; Kiese, Ralf; Kraus, David; Reinhold-Hurek, Barbara; Siemens, Jan; Weller, Sebastian; Wolters, Volkmar

    2013-04-01

    Rice production consumes about 30% of all freshwater used worldwide and 45% in Asia. Turning away from permanently flooded rice cropping systems for mitigating future water scarcity and reducing methane emissions, however, will alter a variety of ecosystem services with potential adverse effects to both the environment and agricultural production. Moreover, implementing systems that alternate between flooded and non-flooded crops increases the risk of disruptive effects. The multi-disciplinary DFG research unit ICON aims at exploring and quantifying the ecological consequences of altered water regimes (flooded vs. non-flooded), crop diversification (irrigated rice vs. aerobic rice vs. maize), and different fertilization strategies (conventional, site-specific, and zero N fertilization). ICON particularly focuses on the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen, green-house gas (GHG) emissions, water balance, soil biotic processes and other important ecosystem services. The overarching goal is to provide the basic process understanding that is necessary for balancing the revenues and environmental impacts of high-yield rice cropping systems while maintaining their vital ecosystem services. To this aim, a large-scale field experiment has been established at the experimental farm of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI, Philippines). Ultimately, the experimental results are analyzed in the context of management scenarios by an integrated modeling of crop development (ORYZA), carbon and nitrogen cycling (MoBiLE-DNDC), and water fluxes (CMF), providing the basis for developing pathways to a conversion of rice-based systems towards higher yield potentials under minimized environmental impacts. In our presentation, we demonstrate the set-up of the controlled large-scale field experiment for simultaneous assessment of carbon and nitrogen fluxes and water budgets. We show and discuss first results for: - Quantification and assessment of the net-fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2 from rice-rice and rice-maize rotations. The conversion of flooded to non-flooded cropping systems resulted in pollution swapping of greenhouse gas emissions, shifting from CH4 under wet conditions to N2O under dry conditions. - Quantification and assessment of water budgets and nutrient loss in rice-rice and rice-maize rotations. Switching from rice-rice dominated growing systems to upland rice or maize-rice cropping systems resulted in reduced water use efficiency and increased nitrogen loss. - Quantification and assessment of soil functions affected by soil fauna community structure in flooded and non-flooded cropping rotations. In contrast to temperate soils, earthworms reduced the peaks of microbial C and N decomposition depending on soil water content.

  7. Fungal degradation of an acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor pyrazosulfuron-ethyl in soil.

    PubMed

    Sondhia, Shobha; Waseem, Uzma; Varma, R K

    2013-11-01

    Owing to reported phytotoxicity of some sulfonylurea class of herbicides in number of sensitive crops and higher persistence in soil, present study was conducted to isolate and identify pyrazosulfuron-ethyl degrading fungi from soil of rice field. Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus niger, were isolated and identified from rhizospere soil of rice field, as potent pyrazosulfuron-ethyl degrading fungi. Degradation of pyrazosulfuron-ethyl by P. chrysogenum and A. niger, yielded transformation products/metabolites which were identified and characterized by LC/MS/MS. The rate of dissipation of pyrazosulfuron-ethyl was found higher in soil of rice field and soil inoculated with P. chrysogenum. This showed important route of degradation of pyrazosulfuron-ethyl by microbes apart from chemical degradation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Developing Automatic Water Table Control System for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Paddy Fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arif, C.; Fauzan, M. I.; Satyanto, K. S.; Budi, I. S.; Masaru, M.

    2018-05-01

    Water table in rice fields play important role to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from paddy fields. Continuous flooding by maintenance water table 2-5 cm above soil surface is not effective and release more GHG emissions. System of Rice Intensification (SRI) as alternative rice farming apply intermittent irrigation by maintaining lower water table is proven can reduce GHG emissions reducing productivity significantly. The objectives of this study were to develop automatic water table control system for SRI application and then evaluate the performances. The control system was developed based on fuzzy logic algorithms using the mini PC of Raspberry Pi. Based on laboratory and field tests, the developed system was working well as indicated by lower MAPE (mean absolute percentage error) values. MAPE values for simulation and field tests were 16.88% and 15.80%, respectively. This system can save irrigation water up to 42.54% without reducing productivity significantly when compared to manual irrigation systems.

  9. Effects of furrow irrigation on the growth, production, and water use efficiency of direct sowing rice.

    PubMed

    He, Chunlin

    2010-08-03

    Rice farming is the major crop production in Asia and is predicted to increase significantly in the near future in order to meet the demands for the increasing human population. Traditional irrigation methods used in rice farming often result in great water loss. New water-saving methods are urgently needed to reduce water consumption. Three field and pot experiments were conducted to evaluate the furrow irrigation (FI) system to improve water use efficiency (WUE) and production of direct sowing rice in southern China. Compared to the conventional irrigation (CI) system (continuous flooding irrigation), for every square hectometer of rice field, the FI system reduced water use by 3130 m3, or 48.1%, and increased grain production by 13.9% for an early cultivar. For a late cultivar, the FI system reduced water use by 2655 m3, or 40.6%, and an increase of grain production by 12.1%. The improved WUE in the FI system is attributed to (1) a significant reduction of irrigation rate, seepage, evaporation, and evapotranspiration; (2) a significant reduction in the reduced materials, such as ferrous ion (Fe2+), and therefore an increase in the vitality of the root system, evident by the increases in the number of white roots by 32.62%, and decreases in the number of black roots by 20.04% and yellow roots by 12.58%; the use of the FI system may also reduce humidity of the rice field and enhance gas transport in the soil and light penetration, which led to reduced rice diseases and increased leaf vitality; and (3) increases in tiller and effective spikes by 11.53% and the weight per thousand grains by 1.0 g. These findings suggest that the shallow FI system is a promising means for rice farming in areas with increasing water shortages.

  10. [Distribution characteristics of soil profile nitrous oxide concentration in paddy fields with different rice-upland crop rotation systems].

    PubMed

    Liu, Ping-li; Zhang, Xiao-lin; Xiong, Zheng-qin; Huang, Tai-qing; Ding, Min; Wang, Jin-yang

    2011-09-01

    To investigate the dynamic distribution patterns of nitrous oxide (N2O) in the soil profiles in paddy fields with different rice-upland crop rotation systems, a special soil gas collection device was adopted to monitor the dynamics of N2O at the soil depths 7, 15, 30, and 50 cm in the paddy fields under both flooding and drainage conditions. Two rotation systems were installed, i.e., wheat-single rice and oilseed rape-double rice, each with or without nitrogen (N) application. Comparing with the control, N application promoted the N2O production in the soil profiles significantly (P < 0.01), and there existed significant correlations in the N2O concentration among the four soil depths during the whole observation period (P < 0.01). In the growth seasons of winter wheat and oilseed rape under drainage condition and with or without N application, the N2O concentrations at the soil depths 30 cm and 50 cm were significantly higher than those at the soil depths 7 cm and 15 cm; whereas in the early rice growth season under flooding condition and without N application, the N2O concentrations at the soil depth 7 cm and 15 cm were significantly higher than those at the soil depths 30 cm and 50 cm (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the N2O concentrations at the test soil depths among the other rice cropping treatments. The soil N2O concentrations in the treatments without N application peaked in the transitional period from the upland crops cropping to rice planting, while those in the treatments with N application peaked right after the second topdressing N of upland crops. Relatively high soil N2O concentrations were observed at the transitional period from the upland crops cropping to rice planting.

  11. Small GTPase Sar1 is crucial for proglutelin and α-globulin export from the endoplasmic reticulum in rice endosperm.

    PubMed

    Tian, Lihong; Dai, Ling Ling; Yin, Zhi Jie; Fukuda, Masako; Kumamaru, Toshihiro; Dong, Xiang Bai; Xu, Xiu Ping; Qu, Le Qing

    2013-07-01

    Rice seed storage proteins glutelin and α-globulin are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and deposited in protein storage vacuoles (PSVs). Sar1, a small GTPase, acts as a molecular switch to regulate the assembly of coat protein complex II, which exports secretory protein from the ER to the Golgi apparatus. To reveal the route by which glutelin and α-globulin exit the ER, four putative Sar1 genes (OsSar1a/b/c/d) were cloned from rice, and transgenic rice were generated with Sar1 overexpressed or suppressed by RNA interference (RNAi) specifically in the endosperm under the control of the rice glutelin promoter. Overexpression or suppression of any OsSar1 did not alter the phenotype. However, simultaneous knockdown of OsSar1a/b/c resulted in floury and shrunken seeds, with an increased level of glutelin precursor and decreased level of the mature α- and β-subunit. OsSar1abc RNAi endosperm generated numerous, spherical, novel protein bodies with highly electron-dense matrixes containing both glutelin and α-globulin. Notably, the novel protein bodies were surrounded by ribosomes, showing that they were derived from the ER. Some of the ER-derived dense protein bodies were attached to a blebbing structure containing prolamin. These results indicated that OsSar1a/b/c play a crucial role in storage proteins exiting from the ER, with functional redundancy in rice endosperm, and glutelin and α-globulin transported together from the ER to the Golgi apparatus by a pathway mediated by coat protein complex II.

  12. Reducing Soil CO2 Emission and Improving Upland Rice Yield with no-Tillage, Straw Mulch and Nitrogen Fertilization in Northern Benin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dossou-Yovo, E.; Brueggemann, N.; Naab, J.; Huat, J.; Ampofo, E.; Ago, E.; Agbossou, E.

    2015-12-01

    To explore effective ways to decrease soil CO2 emission and increase grain yield, field experiments were conducted on two upland rice soils (Lixisols and Gleyic Luvisols) in northern Benin in West Africa. The treatments were two tillage systems (no-tillage, and manual tillage), two rice straw managements (no rice straw, and rice straw mulch at 3 Mg ha-1) and three nitrogen fertilizers levels (no nitrogen, recommended level of nitrogen: 60 kg ha-1, and high level of nitrogen: 120 kg ha-1). Potassium and phosphorus fertilizers were applied to be non-limiting at 40 kg K2O ha-1 and 40 kg P2O5 ha-1. Four replications of the twelve treatment combinations were arranged in a randomized complete block design. Soil CO2 emission, soil moisture and soil temperature were measured at 5 cm depth in 6 to 10 days intervals during the rainy season and every two weeks during the dry season. Soil moisture was the main factor explaining the seasonal variability of soil CO2 emission. Much larger soil CO2 emissions were found in rainy than dry season. No-tillage planting significantly reduced soil CO2 emissions compared with manual tillage. Higher soil CO2 emissions were recorded in the mulched treatments. Soil CO2 emissions were higher in fertilized treatments compared with non fertilized treatments. Rice biomass and yield were not significantly different as a function of tillage systems. On the contrary, rice biomass and yield significantly increased with application of rice straw mulch and nitrogen fertilizer. The highest response of rice yield to nitrogen fertilizer addition was obtained for 60 kg N ha-1 in combination with 3 Mg ha-1 of rice straw for the two tillage systems. Soil CO2 emission per unit grain yield was lower under no-tillage, rice straw mulch and nitrogen fertilizer treatments. No-tillage combined with rice straw mulch and 60 kg N ha-1 could be used by smallholder farmers to achieve higher grain yield and lower soil CO2 emission in upland rice fields in northern Benin.

  13. Molecular evolution of shattering loci in U.S. weedy rice.

    PubMed

    Thurber, Carrie S; Reagon, Michael; Gross, Briana L; Olsen, Kenneth M; Jia, Yulin; Caicedo, Ana L

    2010-08-01

    Cultivated rice fields worldwide are plagued with weedy rice, a conspecific weed of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.). The persistence of weedy rice has been attributed, in part, to its ability to shatter (disperse) seed prior to crop harvesting. In the United States, separately evolved weedy rice groups have been shown to share genomic identity with exotic domesticated cultivars. Here, we investigate the shattering phenotype in a collection of U.S. weedy rice accessions, as well as wild and cultivated relatives. We find that all U.S. weedy rice groups shatter seeds easily, despite multiple origins, and in contrast to a decrease in shattering ability seen in cultivated groups. We assessed allelic identity and diversity at the major shattering locus, sh4, in weedy rice; we find that all cultivated and weedy rice, regardless of population, share similar haplotypes at sh4, and all contain a single derived mutation associated with decreased seed shattering. Our data constitute the strongest evidence to date of an evolution of weeds from domesticated backgrounds. The combination of a shared cultivar sh4 allele and a highly shattering phenotype, suggests that U.S. weedy rice have re-acquired the shattering trait after divergence from their progenitors through alternative genetic mechanisms.

  14. Microbial Community Structure in the Rhizosphere of Rice Plants

    PubMed Central

    Breidenbach, Björn; Pump, Judith; Dumont, Marc G.

    2016-01-01

    The microbial community in the rhizosphere environment is critical for the health of land plants and the processing of soil organic matter. The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which rice plants shape the microbial community in rice field soil over the course of a growing season. Rice (Oryza sativa) was cultivated under greenhouse conditions in rice field soil from Vercelli, Italy and the microbial community in the rhizosphere of planted soil microcosms was characterized at four plant growth stages using quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA gene pyrotag analysis and compared to that of unplanted bulk soil. The abundances of 16S rRNA genes in the rice rhizosphere were on average twice that of unplanted bulk soil, indicating a stimulation of microbial growth in the rhizosphere. Soil environment type (i.e., rhizosphere versus bulk soil) had a greater effect on the community structure than did time (e.g., plant growth stage). Numerous phyla were affected by the presence of rice plants, but the strongest effects were observed for Gemmatimonadetes, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. With respect to functional groups of microorganisms, potential iron reducers (e.g., Geobacter, Anaeromyxobacter) and fermenters (e.g., Clostridiaceae, Opitutaceae) were notably enriched in the rhizosphere environment. A Herbaspirillum species was always more abundant in the rhizosphere than bulk soil and was enriched in the rhizosphere during the early stage of plant growth. PMID:26793175

  15. Effects of nitrogen fertilization strategies on nitrogen use efficiency in physiology, recovery, and agronomy and redistribution of dry matter accumulation and nitrogen accumulation in two typical rice cultivars in Zhejiang, China.

    PubMed

    Xie, Wen-xia; Wang, Guang-huo; Zhang, Qi-chun; Guo, Hai-chao

    2007-03-01

    Field experiments were conducted in farmers' rice fields in 2001 and 2002 to study the effects of nitrogen (N) management strategies on N use efficiency in recovery (RE), agronomy (AE) and physiology (PE) and redistribution of dry matter accumulation (DMA) and nitrogen accumulation (NA) in two typical rice cultivars in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province. This study aimed mainly at identifying the possible causes of poor fertilizer N use efficiency (NUE) of rice in Zhejiang by comparing farmers' fertilizer practice (FFP) with advanced site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) and real-time N management (RTNM). The results showed that compared to FFP, SSNM and RTNM reduced DMA and NA before panicle initiation and increased DMA and NA at post-flowering. There is no significant difference between SSNM and FFP in post-flowering dry matter redistribution (post-DMR) and post-flowering nitrogen redistribution (post-NR). These results suggest that high input rate of fertilizer N and improper fertilizer N timing are the main factors causing low NUE of irrigated rice in the farmer's routine practice of Zhejiang. With SSNM, about 15% of the current total N input in direct-seeding early rice and 45% in single rice could be reduced without yield loss in Zhejiang, China.

  16. Field performance and genetic makeup of RU1001161, a good quality selection from crosses between weed-suppressive indica rice and commercial U.S. southern long grains

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Sustainable, economically viable weed control is an ongoing challenge in U.S. rice production, particularly in light of increased resistance to herbicides in populations of Echinochloa crus-galli (barnyardgrass) and other weed species. Indica rice lines such as PI 312777 and PI 338046 have been sho...

  17. Can herbicide safeners allow selective control of weedy rice infesting rice crops?

    PubMed

    Busi, Roberto; Nguyen, Nghia K; Chauhan, Bhagirath S; Vidotto, Francesco; Tabacchi, Maurizio; Powles, Stephen B

    2017-01-01

    Rice is a major field crop of paramount importance for global food security. However, the increased adoption of more profitable and resource-efficient direct-seeded rice (DSR) systems has contributed to greater weed infestations, including weedy rice, which has become a severe problem in several Asian regions. In this study we have developed a conceptually novel method to protect rice plants at high doses of clomazone and triallate. The insecticide phorate applied to rice seeds provided a substantial level of protection against the herbicides clomazone or triallate. A quantity of 15 kg phorate ha -1 significantly increased the LD 50 values, which were more than twofold greater than for rice plants treated only with clomazone. A quantity of 20 kg phorate ha -1 in combination with 2000 g triallate ha -1 safened rice plants (80% survival) with LD 50 >3.4-fold greater than in phorate-untreated rice. Weed control efficacy was not lowered by the presence of phorate-treated rice seeds. Weedy rice is one of the most damaging global weeds and a major threat to DSR systems. In this study we have developed a proof-of-concept method to allow selective weedy rice control in rice crops. We call for herbicide discovery programmes and research to identify candidate safener and herbicide combinations to achieve selective herbicide control of weedy rice and alleviate weed infestations in global rice crops. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  18. Spatially targeting Culex quinquefasciatus aquatic habitats on modified land cover for implementing an Integrated Vector Management (IVM) program in three villages within the Mwea Rice Scheme, Kenya

    PubMed Central

    Jacob, Benjamin G; Shililu, Josephat; Muturi, Ephantus J; Mwangangi, Joseph M; Muriu, Simon M; Funes, Jose; Githure, John; Regens, James L; Novak, Robert J

    2006-01-01

    Background Continuous land cover modification is an important part of spatial epidemiology because it can help identify environmental factors and Culex mosquitoes associated with arbovirus transmission and thus guide control intervention. The aim of this study was to determine whether remotely sensed data could be used to identify rice-related Culex quinquefasciatus breeding habitats in three rice-villages within the Mwea Rice Scheme, Kenya. We examined whether a land use land cover (LULC) classification based on two scenes, IKONOS at 4 m and Landsat Thematic Mapper at 30 m could be used to map different land uses and rice planted at different times (cohorts), and to infer which LULC change were correlated to high density Cx. quinquefasciatus aquatic habitats. We performed a maximum likelihood unsupervised classification in Erdas Imagine V8.7® and generated three land cover classifications, rice field, fallow and built environment. Differentially corrected global positioning systems (DGPS) ground coordinates of Cx. quinquefasciatus aquatic habitats were overlaid onto the LULC maps generated in ArcInfo 9.1®. Grid cells were stratified by levels of irrigation (well-irrigated and poorly-irrigated) and varied according to size of the paddy. Results Total LULC change between 1988–2005 was 42.1 % in Kangichiri, 52.8 % in Kiuria and and 50.6 % Rurumi. The most frequent LULC changes was rice field to fallow and fallow to rice field. The proportion of aquatic habitats positive for Culex larvae in LULC change sites was 77.5% in Kangichiri, 72.9% in Kiuria and 73.7% in Rurumi. Poorly – irrigated grid cells displayed 63.3% of aquatic habitats among all LULC change sites. Conclusion We demonstrate that optical remote sensing can identify rice cultivation LULC sites associated with high Culex oviposition. We argue that the regions of higher Culex abundance based on oviposition surveillance sites reflect underlying differences in abundance of larval habitats which is where limited control resources could be concentrated to reduce vector larval abundance. PMID:16684354

  19. Genomic organization of the 260 kb surrounding the waxy locus in a Japonica rice

    PubMed

    Nagano; Wu; Kawasaki; Kishima; Sano

    1999-12-01

    The present study was carried out to characterize the molecular organization in the vicinity of the waxy locus in rice. To determine the structural organization of the region surrounding waxy, contiguous clones covering a total of 260 kb were constructed using a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library from the Shimokita variety of Japonica rice. This map also contains 200 overlapping subclones, which allowed construction of a fine physical map with a total of 64 HindIII sites. During the course of constructing the map, we noticed the presence of some repeated regions which might be related to transposable elements. We divided the 260-kb region into 60 segments (average size of 5.7 kb) to use as probes to determine their genomic organization. Hybridization patterns obtained by probing with these segments were classified into four types: class 1, a single or a few bands without a smeared background; class 2, a single or a few bands with a smeared background; class 3, multiple discrete bands without a smeared background; and class 4, only a smeared background. These classes constituted 6.5%, 20.9%, 3.7%, and 68.9% of the 260-kb region, respectively. The distribution of each class revealed that repetitive sequences are a major component in this region, as expected, and that unique sequence regions were mostly no longer than 6 kb due to interruption by repetitive sequences. We discuss how the map constructed here might be a powerful tool for characterization and comparison of the genome structures and the genes around the waxy locus in the Oryza species.

  20. Seasonal trends and environmental controls of methane emissions in a rice paddy field in Northern Italy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meijide, A.; Manca, G.; Goded, I.; Magliulo, V.; di Tommasi, P.; Seufert, G.; Cescatti, A.

    2011-09-01

    Rice paddy fields are one of the greatest anthropogenic sources of methane (CH4), the third most important greenhouse gas after water vapour and carbon dioxide. In agricultural fields, CH4 is usually measured with the closed chamber technique, resulting in discontinuous series of measurements performed over a limited area, that generally do not provide sufficient information on the short-term variation of the fluxes. On the contrary, aerodynamic techniques have been rarely applied for the measurement of CH4 fluxes in rice paddy fields. The eddy covariance (EC) technique provides integrated continuous measurements over a large area and may increase our understanding of the underlying processes and diurnal and seasonal pattern of CH4 emissions in this ecosystem. For this purpose a Fast Methane Analyzer (Los Gatos Research Ltd.) was installed in an eddy-covariance field set-up in a rice paddy field in the Po Valley (Northern Italy). Methane fluxes were measured during the rice growing season, both with EC and with manually operated closed chambers. Methane fluxes were strongly influenced by the presence of the water table, with emissions peaking when it was above 10-12 cm. Further studies are required to evaluate if water table management could decrease CH4 emissions. The development of rice plants and soil temperature were also responsible of the seasonal variation on the fluxes. The EC measured showed a diurnal cycle in the emissions, which was more relevant during the vegetative period, and with CH4 emissions being higher in the late evening, possibly associated with higher water temperature. The comparison between both measurement techniques shows that greater fluxes are measured with the chambers, especially when higher fluxes are being produced, resulting in 30 % higher seasonal estimations with the chambers than with the EC (41.1 and 31.8 g CH4 m-2 measured with chambers and EC respectively). The differences may be a result of the combined effect of overestimation with the chambers, the possible underestimation by the EC technique and of not having considered the daily course of the fluxes for the calculation of seasonal emissions from chambers.

  1. Influence of water management and fertilizer application on (137)Cs and (133)Cs uptake in paddy rice fields.

    PubMed

    Wakabayashi, Shokichi; Itoh, Sumio; Kihou, Nobuharu; Matsunami, Hisaya; Hachinohe, Mayumi; Hamamatsu, Shioka; Takahashi, Shigeru

    2016-06-01

    Cesium-137 derived from the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident contaminated large areas of agricultural land in Eastern Japan. Previous studies before the accident have indicated that flooding enhances radiocesium uptake in rice fields. We investigated the influence of water management in combination with fertilizers on (137)Cs concentrations in rice plants at two fields in southern Ibaraki Prefecture. Stable Cs ((133)Cs) in the plants was also determined as an analogue for predicting (137)Cs behavior after long-term aging of soil (137)Cs. The experimental periods comprised 3 y starting from 2012 in one field, and 2 y from 2013 in another field. These fields were divided into three water management sections: a long-flooding section without midsummer drainage, and medial-flooding, and short-flooding sections with one- or two-week midsummer drainage and earlier end of flooding than the long-flooding section. Six or four types of fertilizer subsections (most differing only in potassium application) were nested in each water management section. Generally, the long-flooding treatment led to higher (137)Cs and (133)Cs concentrations in both straw and brown rice than medial- and short-flooding treatments, although there were some notable exceptions in the first experimental year at each site. Effects of differing potassium fertilizer treatments were cumulative; the effects on (137)Cs and (133)Cs concentrations in rice plants were not obvious in 2012 and 2013, but in 2014, these concentrations were highest where potassium fertilizer had been absent and lowest where basal dressings of K had been tripled. The relationship between (137)Cs and (133)Cs in rice plants was not correlative in the first experimental year at each site, but correlation became evident in the subsequent year(s). This study demonstrates a novel finding that omitting midsummer drainage and/or delaying drainage during the grain-filling period enhances uptake of both (137)Cs and (133)Cs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Preparation of an in-house reference material containing fumonisins in Thai rice and matrix extension of the analytical method for Japanese rice.

    PubMed

    Awaludin, Norhafniza; Nagata, Reiko; Kawasaki, Tomomi; Kushiro, Masayo

    2009-12-01

    Mycotoxin contamination in rice is less reported, compared to that in wheat or maize, however, some Fusarium fungi occasionally infect rice in the paddy field. Fumonisins are mycotoxins mainly produced by Fusarium verticillioides, which often ruins maize. Rice adherent fungus Gibberella fujikuroi is taxonomically near to F. verticillioides, and there are sporadic reports of fumonisin contamination in rice from Asia, Europe and the United States. Therefore, there exists the potential risk of fumonisin contamination in rice as well as the need for the validated analytical method for fumonisins in rice. Although both natural and spiked reference materials are available for some Fusarium mycotoxins in matrices of wheat and maize, there are no reference materials for Fusarium mycotoxins in rice. In this study, we have developed a method for the preparation of a reference material containing fumonisins in Thai rice. A ShakeMaster grinding machine was used for the preparation of a mixed material of blank Thai rice and F. verticillioides-infected Thai rice. The homogeneity of the mixed material was confirmed by one-way analysis of variance, which led this material to serve as an in-house reference material. Using this reference material, several procedures to extract fumonisins from Thai rice were compared. Accordingly, we proved the applicability of an effective extraction procedure for the determination of fumonisins in Japanese rice.

  3. Preparation of an In-House Reference Material Containing Fumonisins in Thai Rice and Matrix Extension of the Analytical Method for Japanese Rice

    PubMed Central

    Awaludin, Norhafniza; Nagata, Reiko; Kawasaki, Tomomi; Kushiro, Masayo

    2009-01-01

    Mycotoxin contamination in rice is less reported, compared to that in wheat or maize, however, some Fusarium fungi occasionally infect rice in the paddy field. Fumonisins are mycotoxins mainly produced by Fusarium verticillioides, which often ruins maize. Rice adherent fungus Gibberella fujikuroi is taxonomically near to F. verticillioides, and there are sporadic reports of fumonisin contamination in rice from Asia, Europe and the United States. Therefore, there exists the potential risk of fumonisin contamination in rice as well as the need for the validated analytical method for fumonisins in rice. Although both natural and spiked reference materials are available for some Fusarium mycotoxins in matrices of wheat and maize, there are no reference materials for Fusarium mycotoxins in rice. In this study, we have developed a method for the preparation of a reference material containing fumonisins in Thai rice. A ShakeMaster grinding machine was used for the preparation of a mixed material of blank Thai rice and F. verticillioides-infected Thai rice. The homogeneity of the mixed material was confirmed by one-way analysis of variance, which led this material to serve as an in-house reference material. Using this reference material, several procedures to extract fumonisins from Thai rice were compared. Accordingly, we proved the applicability of an effective extraction procedure for the determination of fumonisins in Japanese rice. PMID:22069540

  4. Evidence for the emergence of new rice types of interspecific hybrid origin in West African farmers' fields.

    PubMed

    Nuijten, Edwin; van Treuren, Robbert; Struik, Paul C; Mokuwa, Alfred; Okry, Florent; Teeken, Béla; Richards, Paul

    2009-10-06

    In West Africa two rice species (Oryza glaberrima Steud. and Oryza sativa L.) co-exist. Although originally it was thought that interspecific hybridization is impossible without biotechnological methods, progenies of hybridization appear to occur in farmer fields. AFLP analysis was used to assess genetic diversity in West Africa (including the countries The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Togo) using 315 rice samples morphologically classified prior to analysis. We show evidence for farmer interspecific hybrids of African and Asian rice, resulting in a group of novel genotypes, and identify possible mechanisms for in-field hybridization. Spontaneous back-crossing events play a crucial role, resulting in different groups of genetic diversity in different regions developed by natural and cultural selection, often under adverse conditions. These new groups of genotypes may have potential relevance for exploitation by plant breeders. Future advances in crop development could be achieved through co-operation between scientists and marginalized farmer groups in order to address challenges of rapid adaptation in a world of increasing socio-political and climatic uncertainty.

  5. Evidence for the Emergence of New Rice Types of Interspecific Hybrid Origin in West African Farmers' Fields

    PubMed Central

    Nuijten, Edwin; van Treuren, Robbert; Struik, Paul C.; Mokuwa, Alfred; Okry, Florent; Teeken, Béla; Richards, Paul

    2009-01-01

    In West Africa two rice species (Oryza glaberrima Steud. and Oryza sativa L.) co-exist. Although originally it was thought that interspecific hybridization is impossible without biotechnological methods, progenies of hybridization appear to occur in farmer fields. AFLP analysis was used to assess genetic diversity in West Africa (including the countries The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Togo) using 315 rice samples morphologically classified prior to analysis. We show evidence for farmer interspecific hybrids of African and Asian rice, resulting in a group of novel genotypes, and identify possible mechanisms for in-field hybridization. Spontaneous back-crossing events play a crucial role, resulting in different groups of genetic diversity in different regions developed by natural and cultural selection, often under adverse conditions. These new groups of genotypes may have potential relevance for exploitation by plant breeders. Future advances in crop development could be achieved through co-operation between scientists and marginalized farmer groups in order to address challenges of rapid adaptation in a world of increasing socio-political and climatic uncertainty. PMID:19806197

  6. Exploring the Potential of TanDEM-X Data in Rice Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erten, E.

    2015-12-01

    In this work, phenological parameters such as growth stage, calendar estimation, crop density and yield estimation for rice fields are estimated employing TanDEM-X data. Currently, crop monitoring is country-dependent. Most countries have databases based on cadastral information and annual farmer inputs. Inaccuracies are coming from wrong or missing farmer declarations and/or coarsely updated cadastral boundary definitions. This leads to inefficient regulation of the market, frauds as well as to ecological risks. An accurate crop calendar is also missing, since farmers provide estimations in advance and there is no efficient way to know the growth status over large plantations. SAR data is of particular interest for these purposes. The proposed method includes two step approach including field detection and phenological state estimation. In the context of precise farming it is substantial to define field borders which are usually changing every cultivation period. Linking the SAR inherit properties to transplanting practice such as irrigation, the spatial database of rice-planted agricultural crops can be updated. Boundaries of agricultural fields will be defined in the database, and assignments of crops and sowing dates will be continuously updated by our monitoring system considering that sowing practice variously changes depending on the field owner decision. To define and segment rice crops, the system will make use of the fact that rice fields are characterized as flooded parcels separated by path networks composed by soil or rare grass. This natural segmentation is well detectable by inspecting low amplitude and coherence values of bistatic acquisitions. Once the field borders are defined, the phenology estimation of crops monitored at any time is the key point of monitoring. In this aspect the wavelength and the polarization option of TanDEM-X are enough to characterize the small phenological changes. The combination of bistatic interferometry and Radiative Transfer Theory (RTT) with different polarization provides a realistic description of plants including their full morphology (stalks, tillers, leaves and panicles).

  7. Impact of Thiamethoxam Seed Treatment on Growth and Yield of Rice, Oryza sativa.

    PubMed

    Lanka, S K; Senthil-Nathan, S; Blouin, D J; Stout, M J

    2017-04-01

    Neonicotinoid seed treatments are widely used in agriculture. In rice, Oryza sativa L., in the southern United States, neonicotinoid seed treatments are used to manage early-season populations of the rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel. In addition to their effects on pests, neonicotinoid seed treatments may benefit crop plants directly by increasing plant growth or altering plant responses to stresses. As part of an effort to assess the overall benefits of thiamethoxam seed treatment in rice, rice emergence, growth, and yield were evaluated. In a growth chamber, rice emergence from the soil was 1-2 d more rapid from treated than untreated seeds. These laboratory results were supported by field experiments that revealed higher stand counts from thiamethoxam-treated plots than from untreated plots. Yields from thiamethoxam treatments were no higher than those from untreated plots under conditions in which weevil larvae were absent, a result inconsistent with the hypothesis that thiamethoxam imparts direct yield benefits. In a series of field experiments conducted to compare the relationship between weevil larval densities and rice yields in plots treated with several rates of thiamethoxam or chlorantraniliprole (another widely used seed treatment insecticide), the relationship between weevil density and yield did not differ markedly among both seed treatments. Overall yields from both seed treatments did not differ significantly, despite more effective control in chlorantraniliprole-treated plots. These results provide strong support for effect of thiamethoxam on early-season growth of rice, but only weak support for its direct effect on rice yields. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. An Approach to Assessing Flood Risk in Low-lying Paddy Areas of Japan considering Economic Damage on Rice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Minakawa, H.; Masumoto, T.

    2013-12-01

    Hiroki Minakawa, Takao Masumoto National Institute for Rural Engineering (NIRE), NARO, Japan Flooding is one type of nature disaster, and is caused by heavy rainfall events. In the future, the risk of flooding is predicted to increase due to global climate change. Immediate measures such as strengthening drainage capacity are needed to minimize the damage caused by more frequent flooding, so a quantitative evaluation method of flood risks is needed to discuss countermeasure against these problems. At the same time, rice is an important crop for food production in Japan. However, paddy fields are often damaged by flooding because they are principally spread in lower part of the basin. Therefore, it is also important to assess the damages to paddy fields. This study discusses a method for evaluating a relationship between the risk of flood damage and the scale of heavy rainfall. We also developed a method of estimating the economic effect of a reduction in rice yield by flooding. First, we developed a drainage analysis model that incorporates kinematic and diffusive runoff models for calculating water level in channels and paddies. Next, heavy rainfall data for drainage analyses were generated by using a diurnal rainfall pattern generator. The generator can create hourly data of heavy rainfall, and internal pattern of them is different each. These data were input to the drainage model to estimate flood risk. Simultaneously, we tried to clarify economic losses of a rice yields caused by flooding. Here, the reduction scale in rice yield which shows relations between flooding situation (e.g. water level, duration of submersion etc.) and damage of rice is available to calculate reduction of rice yield. In this study, we created new reduction scales through a pseudo-flooding experiment under real inundation conditions. The methodology of the experiment was as follow: We chose the popular Japanese rice cultivar Koshihikari for this experiment. An experimental arena was constructed in a rice paddy plot, which consisted of two zones, one in which the rice was cultivated as usual with normal water levels, and a flood zone, which was used for submerging rice plants. The flood zone, which was designed to reproduce actual flood disaster conditions in paddy fields, can be filled with water to a depth of 0.3, 0.6 or 0.9 m above ground level, and is divided into two plots, a clean water part and a turbid water part. Thus, the experimental conditions can vary according to 1) the development stage of rice, 2) complete or incomplete submersion, 3) clean or turbid water, and 4) duration of submergence. Finally, the reduction scales were formulated by using the resultant data and it was found that rice is most sensitive to damage during the development stage. Flood risk was evaluated by using calculated water level on each paddy. Here, the averaged duration of inundation to a depth of more than 0.3 m was used as the criteria for flood occurrence. The results indicated that the duration increased with larger heavy rainfall amounts. Furthermore, the damage to rice was predicted to increase especially in low-lying paddy fields. Mitigation measures, such as revising drainage planning and/or changing design standards for the capacity of drainage pumps may be necessary in the future.

  9. Characterization of isolates of meloidogyne from rice-wheat production fields in Nepal.

    PubMed

    Pokharel, Ramesh R; Abawi, George S; Zhang, Ning; Duxbury, John M; Smart, Christine D

    2007-09-01

    Thirty-three isolates of root-knot nematode were recovered from soil samples from rice-wheat fields in Nepal and maintained on rice cv. BR 11. The isolates were characterized using morphology, host range and DNA sequence analyses in order to ascertain their identity. Results indicated phenotypic similarity (juvenile measurements, perennial pattern, host range and gall shape) of the Nepalese isolates with Meloidogyne graminicola, with minor variations. The rice varieties LA 110 and Labelle were susceptible to all of the Nepalese isolates, but differences in the aggressiveness of the isolates were observed. Phylogenetic analyses based on the sequences of partial internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of the rRNA genes indicated that all Nepalese isolates formed a distinct clade with known isolates of M. graminicola with high bootstrap support. Furthermore, two groups were identified within the M. graminicola clade. No correlation between ITS haplotype and aggressiveness or host range was found among the tested isolates.

  10. [Effects of biochar application on greenhouse gas emission from paddy soil and its physical and chemical properties].

    PubMed

    Liu, Yu-xue; Wang, Yao-feng; Lü, Hao-hao; Chen, Yi; Tang, Xu; Wu, Chun-yan; Zhong, Zhe-ke; Yang, Sheng-mao

    2013-08-01

    A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of rice straw returning and rice straw biochar and life rubbish biochar application on the greenhouse gas (CH4, CO2 and N2O) emission from paddy soil, its physical and chemical properties, and rice grain yield. Compared with rice straw returning, applying rice straw biochar decreased the cumulative CH4 and N2O emissions from paddy soil significantly by 64.2% - 78.5% and 16.3% - 18.4%, respectively. Whether planting rice or not, the cumulative N2O emission from paddy soil under the applications of rice straw biochar and life rubbish biochar was decreased significantly, compared with that without biochar amendment. Under the condition of no rice planting, applying life rubbish biochar reduced the cumulative CO2 emission significantly by 25.3%. Rice straw biochar was superior to life rubbish biochar in improving soil pH and available potassium content. Both rice straw biochar and life rubbish biochar could increase the soil organic carbon content significantly, but had less effects on the soil bulk density, total nitrogen and available phosphorus contents, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and grain yield. It was suggested that compared with rice straw returning, straw biochar was more effective in improving rice grain yield.

  11. Effect of pullulan on the water distribution, microstructure and textural properties of rice starch gels during cold storage.

    PubMed

    Chen, Long; Tian, Yaoqi; Tong, Qunyi; Zhang, Zipei; Jin, Zhengyu

    2017-01-01

    The effects of pullulan on the water distribution, microstructure and textural properties of rice starch gels during cold storage were investigated by low field-nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and texture profile analysis (TPA). The addition of pullulan reduced the transversal relaxation time of rice starch gels during cold storage. The microstructure of rice starch gel with 0.5% pullulan was denser and more uniform compared with that of rice starch without pullulan in each period of storage time. With regard to textural properties, 0.01% pullulan addition did not significantly change the texture of rice starch gels, while 0.5% pullulan addition appeared to reduce the hardness and retain the springiness of rice starch gels (P⩽0.05). The restriction effects of pullulan on water mobility and starch retrogradation were hypothesized to be mainly responsible for the water retention, gel structure maintenance, and modification of the textural attributes of rice starch gels. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Characterization and differential expression patterns of conserved microRNAs and mRNAs in three genders of the rice field eel (Monopterus albus).

    PubMed

    Gao, Yu; Guo, Wei; Hu, Qing; Zou, Ming; Tang, Rong; Chi, Wei; Li, Dapeng

    2014-01-01

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small RNAs that can regulate target mRNAs by binding to their sequences in the 3' untranslated region. The expression of miRNAs and their biogenetic pathway are involved in sexual differentiation and in the regulation of the development of germ cells and gonadal somatic cells. The rice field eel (Monopterus albus) undergoes a natural sexual transformation from female to male via an intersex stage during its life cycle. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of this sexual transformation, miRNAs present in the different sexual stages of the rice field eel were identified by high-throughput sequencing technology. A significantly differential expression among the 3 genders (p < 0.001) was observed for 48 unique miRNAs and 3 miRNAs*. Only 9 unique miRNAs showed a more than 8-fold change in their expression among the 3 genders, including mal-miR-430a and mal-miR-430c which were higher in females than in males. However, mal-miR-430b was only detected in males. Several potential miRNA target genes (cyp19a, cyp19b, nr5a1b, foxl2 amh, and vasa) were also investigated. Real-time RT-PCR demonstrated highly specific expression patterns of these genes in the 3 genders of the rice field eel. Many of these genes are targets of mal-miR-430b according to the TargetScan and miRTarBase. These results suggest that the miR-430 family may be involved in the sexual transformation of the rice field eel. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  13. An Innovative Modeling and Measurement Approach to Improve Rice Water Use Efficiency in California

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Montazar, A.; Little, C.; Rejmanek, H.; Tindula, G.; Snyder, R. L.

    2014-12-01

    California is amongst the top rice producing states in the USA, and more than 95 percent of California's rice is grown in the Sacramento Valley. Based on older literature, the rice water requirement (ETc), ranges between 914 and 1,100 mm. In this study, the actual rice water requirement was measured using the residual of the energy balance method over three paddy rice fields during 2011-2013 seasons in the Sacramento Valley. Net radiation and ground heat flux density were measured, and both eddy covariance (EC) and the surface renewal (SR) technique were employed to determine the sensible heat flux density. The surface renewal method uses high frequency temperature measurements from fine wire thermocouples above the canopy. Mean amplitude and duration of the ramps over half hour periods were determined using a structure function and the characteristics are employed to estimate the direction and magnitude of sensible heat flux using the ratio of the amplitude to the ramp duration as the change in temperature per unit time and the volumetric heat capacity of the air to estimate the magnitude of the heat flux. In the study, 76.2 mm diameter chromel-constantan thermocouples were used to measure high frequency temperature at 10 Hz. The results indicate that there is considerable variability in rice water use both spatially and temporally. The average three-year measured ET of the experimental fields located in Butte County was 734 and 725 mm; and in Colusa County was 771 mm. A typical crop coefficient (Kc) curve was derived from the measured ETc and reference ET (ETo) data. Spatial estimates of monthly climate data from the Sacramento Valley were used to calculate monthly mean ETo, and smooth curve fits of the monthly data gave estimates of typical daily ETo. The daily ETc was calculated as the product of ETo and Kc, and seasonal ETc was calculated by summing the daily ETc values. The results reveal that the seasonal rice ETc was less than earlier estimates. Surface renewal equipment is relatively inexpensive and it provides rice growers with remote monitoring of water consumption by tracking ETc of the paddy fields; and hence assists them to improve rice water use efficiency. The information provided here is useful for determining volumes of water for water transfers and insuring adequate water supplies for optimal production.

  14. Statistical Inference of Selection and Divergence of the Rice Blast Resistance Gene Pi-ta

    PubMed Central

    Amei, Amei; Lee, Seonghee; Mysore, Kirankumar S.; Jia, Yulin

    2014-01-01

    The resistance gene Pi-ta has been effectively used to control rice blast disease, but some populations of cultivated and wild rice have evolved resistance. Insights into the evolutionary processes that led to this resistance during crop domestication may be inferred from the population history of domesticated and wild rice strains. In this study, we applied a recently developed statistical method, time-dependent Poisson random field model, to examine the evolution of the Pi-ta gene in cultivated and weedy rice. Our study suggests that the Pi-ta gene may have more recently introgressed into cultivated rice, indica and japonica, and U.S. weedy rice from the wild species, O. rufipogon. In addition, the Pi-ta gene is under positive selection in japonica, tropical japonica, U.S. cultivars and U.S. weedy rice. We also found that sequences of two domains of the Pi-ta gene, the nucleotide binding site and leucine-rich repeat domain, are highly conserved among all rice accessions examined. Our results provide a valuable analytical tool for understanding the evolution of disease resistance genes in crop plants. PMID:25335927

  15. Plausible rice yield losses under future climate warming.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Chuang; Piao, Shilong; Wang, Xuhui; Huang, Yao; Ciais, Philippe; Elliott, Joshua; Huang, Mengtian; Janssens, Ivan A; Li, Tao; Lian, Xu; Liu, Yongwen; Müller, Christoph; Peng, Shushi; Wang, Tao; Zeng, Zhenzhong; Peñuelas, Josep

    2016-12-19

    Rice is the staple food for more than 50% of the world's population 1-3 . Reliable prediction of changes in rice yield is thus central for maintaining global food security. This is an extraordinary challenge. Here, we compare the sensitivity of rice yield to temperature increase derived from field warming experiments and three modelling approaches: statistical models, local crop models and global gridded crop models. Field warming experiments produce a substantial rice yield loss under warming, with an average temperature sensitivity of -5.2 ± 1.4% K -1 . Local crop models give a similar sensitivity (-6.3 ± 0.4% K -1 ), but statistical and global gridded crop models both suggest less negative impacts of warming on yields (-0.8 ± 0.3% and -2.4 ± 3.7% K -1 , respectively). Using data from field warming experiments, we further propose a conditional probability approach to constrain the large range of global gridded crop model results for the future yield changes in response to warming by the end of the century (from -1.3% to -9.3% K -1 ). The constraint implies a more negative response to warming (-8.3 ± 1.4% K -1 ) and reduces the spread of the model ensemble by 33%. This yield reduction exceeds that estimated by the International Food Policy Research Institute assessment (-4.2 to -6.4% K -1 ) (ref. 4). Our study suggests that without CO 2 fertilization, effective adaptation and genetic improvement, severe rice yield losses are plausible under intensive climate warming scenarios.

  16. Proteomic changes in rice leaves grown under open field high temperature stress conditions.

    PubMed

    Das, Smruti; Krishnan, P; Mishra, Vagish; Kumar, Ritesh; Ramakrishnan, B; Singh, N K

    2015-11-01

    The interactive effect of temperature with other climatic and soil factors has profound influences on the growth and development of rice. The responses of rice to high temperatures under field conditions are more important than those under the controlled conditions. To understand the genes associated with high temperature stress response in general and tolerance in particular, the expression of all those genes associated with adaptation and tolerance in rice requires proteomic analysis. High temperature stress-tolerant cv. N22 was subjected to 28/18 °C (control) and 42/32 °C (high temperature stress) at flowering stage. The plants were grown in the field under the free air temperature increment condition. The proteomic changes in rice leaves due to high temperature stress were discussed. The proteomes of leaves had about 3000 protein spots, reproducibly detected on 2-dimensional electrophoretic gels with 573 proteins differentially expressed between the control and the high temperature treatments. Putative physiological functions suggested five categories such as growth (15.4%), heat shock proteins (7.7%), regulatory proteins (26.9%), redox homeostasis proteins (11.5%) and energy and metabolism (38.5%) related proteins. The results of the present study suggest that cv. N22, an agronomically recognized temperature tolerant rice cultivar copes with high temperature stress in a complex manner. Several functional proteins play important roles in its responses. The predicted climate change events necessitate more studies using this cultivar under different simulated ecological conditions to identify proteomic changes and the associated genes to be used as biomarkers and to gain a better understanding on the biochemical pathways involved in tolerance.

  17. Agronomie implications of waterfowl management in Mississippi ricefields

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Manley, S.W.; Kaminski, R.M.; Reinecke, K.J.; Gerard, P.D.

    2005-01-01

    Ricefields are important foraging habitat for waterfowl and other waterbirds in several North American wintering areas, including the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). Rice growers are likely to adopt management practices that provide habitat for waterfowl if agronomic benefits also occur. Therefore, we conducted a replicated field experiment during autumn through spring 1995-1997 to study effects of postharvest field treatment and winter-water management on agronomic variables including biomass of residual rice straw, cool-season grasses and forbs (i.e., winter weeds), and viability of red rice (Oryza sativa var.). The treatment combination of postharvest disking and flooding until early March reduced straw 68%, from 9,938 kg/ha after harvest to 3,209 kg/ha in spring. Treatment combinations that included flooding until early March were most effective in suppressing winter weeds and decreased their biomass in spring by 83% when compared to the average of other treatment combinations. Effects of treatment combinations on spring viability of red rice differed between winters, but no significant effects were found within winters. Autumn disking followed by flooding until early March reduced rice straw and suppressed winter weeds the most, but with additional costs. To obtain the most agronomic benefits, we recommend that rice growers forgo autumn disking and flood fields until early March, which will provide moderate straw reduction, good weed suppression, and predicted savings of $22.24-62.93/ha (U.S.) ($9.00-25.47/ac). Maintenance of floods on ricefields until early March also benefits waterfowl and other waterbirds by providing foraging habitat throughout winter.

  18. Rice straw mulch for post-fire erosion control: assessing non-target effects on vegetation communities

    Treesearch

    Kristen L. Shive; Becky L. Estes; Angela M. White; Hugh D. Safford; Kevin L. O' Hara; Scott L. Stephens

    2017-01-01

    Straw mulch is commonly used for post-fire erosion control in severely burned areas but this practice can introduce non-native species, even when certified weed-free straw is used. Rice straw has recently been promoted as an alternative to wheat under the hypothesis that non-native species that are able to grow in a rice field are unlikely to establish in dry forested...

  19. Method for estimating rice plant height without ground surface detection using laser scanner measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thi Phan, Anh Thu; Takahashi, Kazuyoshi; Rikimaru, Atsushi; Higuchi, Yasuhiro

    2016-10-01

    A method for estimating the height of rice plants, using three-dimensional laser range data from point clouds, is proposed and assessed. Rice plant height (H) is estimated using a reference position at the top of the rice plant, avoiding the need to determine the ground position. Field experiments were performed with a SICK LMS 200 laser scanner in 2013 and 2014 on a test field with five different planting geometries. Percentile analysis identified the closest percentile to the top of the rice plant (pt=1), with vertical distances at the first percentile unaffected by planting geometry. The plant bottom position was identified using three different percentile ranks (pb=95, pb =80, and pb =70). Relative vertical distances (rD) were computed from the difference between the top and bottom positions of the rice plant. These correlated well with measured H, with slopes greater than 1.0. A greater number of stems in 2014 led to steeper slopes. Estimated H was more accurate when plant bottom positions were closer to the ground surface, and the best results were obtained with pb=95 (r2>0.87 RMSE≈4 cm). Overall, H was typically 16.0 cm greater than rD with pb=95.

  20. Development of a real-time hydrological cycle - rice growth coupled simulation system as a tool for farmers' decision making in an ungauged basin in Cambodia for the better agricultural water resources management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsujimoto, K.; Ohta, T.; Yasukawa, M.; Koike, T.; Kitsuregawa, M.; Homma, K.

    2013-12-01

    The entire country of Cambodia depends on agriculture for its economy. Rice is the staple food, making it the major agricultural product (roughly 80% of total national production). The target area of this study is western Cambodia, where rice production is the greatest in the country and most land is rainfed. Since most farmers rely only on their (non-science-based) experience, they would not adjust to changing rainfall and degraded water resources under climate change, so food security in the region would be seriously threatened (Monichoth et al., 2013). Under this condition, irrigation master plans are being considered by several ODA projects. This study aims to contribute to the design of such irrigation plans through the development of a real-time hydrological cycle - rice growth coupled simulation system. The purpose of the development of this system is to support decision making 1) for determining the necessary agricultural water resources and 2) for allocating limited water resources to various sectors. Rice growing condition as affected by water stress due to the water shortage is supposed to be shown for both of the cases with and without irrigation for several rainfall patterns. A dynamically coupled model of a distributed hydrological model (WEB-DHM., Wang et al., 2009) and a rice growth model (SIMRIW-rainfed, Homma et al., 2009) has been developed with a simple irrigation model. The target basin, a small basin in western Cambodia, is basically an ungauged basin and the model was validated by soil moisture, LAI, dry matter production of the rice crop, and rice yield, using both intensive field observation and satellite observations. Calibrating hourly satellite precipitation dataset (GSMaP/NRT) using ground rain gauges, hydrological cycle (soil moisture at three layers, river discharge, irrigatable water amount, water level of each paddy field, water demand of each paddy field, etc.) and rice growth (LAI, developmental index of the rice crop, dry matter production of the rice crop, etc.) are being calculated on near real time basis and opened to the Cambodian governmental staff by a website with only 5-hour delay. This system enables the Cambodian local government to virtually experience the effectiveness of irrigation and to get qualitative information for the examination on whether or how much they will investigate for irrigation.

  1. [Effects of ex situ rice straw incorporation on organic matter content and main physical properties of hilly red soil].

    PubMed

    Zhu, Han-hua; Huang, Dao-you; Liu, Shou-long; Zhu, Qi-hong

    2007-11-01

    Two typical land-use types, i.e., newly cultivated slope land and mellow upland, were selected to investigate the effects of ex situ rice straw incorporation on the organic matter content, field water-holding capacity, bulk density, and porosity of hilly red soil, and to approach the correlations between these parameters. The results showed that ex situ incorporation of rice straw increased soil organic matter content, ameliorated soil physical properties, and improved soil water storage. Comparing with non-fertilization and applying chemical fertilizers, ex situ incorporation of rice straw increased the contents of organic matter (5.8%-28.9%) and > 0.25 mm water-stable aggregates in 0-20 cm soil layer, and increased the field water-holding capacity (6.8%-16.2%) and porosity (4.8%-7.7%) significantly (P < 0.05) while decreased the bulk density (4.5%-7.5%) in 10-15 cm soil layer. The organic matter content in 0-20 cm soil layer was significantly correlated to the bulk density, porosity, and field water-holding capacity in 10-15 cm soil layer (P < 0.01), and the field water-holding capacity in 0-20 cm and 10-15 cm soil layers was significantly correlated to the bulk density and porosity in these two layers (P < 0.05).

  2. Low nitrogen fertilization adapts rice root microbiome to low nutrient environment by changing biogeochemical functions.

    PubMed

    Ikeda, Seishi; Sasaki, Kazuhiro; Okubo, Takashi; Yamashita, Akifumu; Terasawa, Kimihiro; Bao, Zhihua; Liu, Dongyan; Watanabe, Takeshi; Murase, Jun; Asakawa, Susumu; Eda, Shima; Mitsui, Hisayuki; Sato, Tadashi; Minamisawa, Kiwamu

    2014-01-01

    Reduced fertilizer usage is one of the objectives of field management in the pursuit of sustainable agriculture. Here, we report on shifts of bacterial communities in paddy rice ecosystems with low (LN), standard (SN), and high (HN) levels of N fertilizer application (0, 30, and 300 kg N ha(-1), respectively). The LN field had received no N fertilizer for 5 years prior to the experiment. The LN and HN plants showed a 50% decrease and a 60% increase in biomass compared with the SN plant biomass, respectively. Analyses of 16S rRNA genes suggested shifts of bacterial communities between the LN and SN root microbiomes, which were statistically confirmed by metagenome analyses. The relative abundances of Burkholderia, Bradyrhizobium and Methylosinus were significantly increased in root microbiome of the LN field relative to the SN field. Conversely, the abundance of methanogenic archaea was reduced in the LN field relative to the SN field. The functional genes for methane oxidation (pmo and mmo) and plant association (acdS and iaaMH) were significantly abundant in the LN root microbiome. Quantitative PCR of pmoA/mcrA genes and a (13)C methane experiment provided evidence of more active methane oxidation in the rice roots of the LN field. In addition, functional genes for the metabolism of N, S, Fe, and aromatic compounds were more abundant in the LN root microbiome. These results suggest that low-N-fertilizer management is an important factor in shaping the microbial community structure containing key microbes for plant associations and biogeochemical processes in paddy rice ecosystems.

  3. Low Nitrogen Fertilization Adapts Rice Root Microbiome to Low Nutrient Environment by Changing Biogeochemical Functions

    PubMed Central

    Ikeda, Seishi; Sasaki, Kazuhiro; Okubo, Takashi; Yamashita, Akifumu; Terasawa, Kimihiro; Bao, Zhihua; Liu, Dongyan; Watanabe, Takeshi; Murase, Jun; Asakawa, Susumu; Eda, Shima; Mitsui, Hisayuki; Sato, Tadashi; Minamisawa, Kiwamu

    2014-01-01

    Reduced fertilizer usage is one of the objectives of field management in the pursuit of sustainable agriculture. Here, we report on shifts of bacterial communities in paddy rice ecosystems with low (LN), standard (SN), and high (HN) levels of N fertilizer application (0, 30, and 300 kg N ha−1, respectively). The LN field had received no N fertilizer for 5 years prior to the experiment. The LN and HN plants showed a 50% decrease and a 60% increase in biomass compared with the SN plant biomass, respectively. Analyses of 16S rRNA genes suggested shifts of bacterial communities between the LN and SN root microbiomes, which were statistically confirmed by metagenome analyses. The relative abundances of Burkholderia, Bradyrhizobium and Methylosinus were significantly increased in root microbiome of the LN field relative to the SN field. Conversely, the abundance of methanogenic archaea was reduced in the LN field relative to the SN field. The functional genes for methane oxidation (pmo and mmo) and plant association (acdS and iaaMH) were significantly abundant in the LN root microbiome. Quantitative PCR of pmoA/mcrA genes and a 13C methane experiment provided evidence of more active methane oxidation in the rice roots of the LN field. In addition, functional genes for the metabolism of N, S, Fe, and aromatic compounds were more abundant in the LN root microbiome. These results suggest that low-N-fertilizer management is an important factor in shaping the microbial community structure containing key microbes for plant associations and biogeochemical processes in paddy rice ecosystems. PMID:24463575

  4. Linking diurnal trends in methylmercury concentration and organic matter photo-reactivity in wetlands of the Yolo Bypass, California

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fleck, J. A.; Downing, B. D.; Saraceno, J.; Gill, G.; Stephenson, M.; Bergamaschi, B. A.

    2008-12-01

    Aqueous concentrations of methylmercury (MeHg) are known to vary temporally and spatially due to multiple concurrent production and loss mechanisms, and due to variations in the hydrologic connectivity between the methylating substrate (most commonly the benthos) and the overlying water compartments. Diurnal trends in MeHg production, bacterial demethylation, photo-demethylation, diffusion and advection transport processes have been identified and investigated; however, the magnitude and relative importance of each process in mediating overlying water MeHg concentrations, is not well known in natural wetland systems. Temporal variations in aqueous MeHg concentrations may impact the biological accumulation of MeHg into the base of the aquatic food chain, and may challenge regulatory efforts designed to mitigate MeHg exports from point and non-point sources. To identify the possible "hot moments" during the diurnal cycle, surface water MeHg concentrations were monitored in two agricultural wetland settings (wild rice and white rice fields) over a 24- hour period within the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, California using a combination of in situ optical sensors and traditional surface-water grab samples. In the wild rice field, MeHg concentrations doubled from 1 ng/L to 2 ng/L over the nighttime hours and returned to 1 ng/L during the daylight hours, whereas the white rice field showed no significant variation in MeHg concentration (0.73 +/- 0.08 ng/L) throughout the diurnal cycle. Similar trends were observed when MeHg data was expressed as a percentage of total Hg, with both wetland habitats exhibiting similar levels (20% MeHg) following the nighttime period and the wild rice field declining to 10% in the early evening. Field parameters measured in situ (including: solar radiation, pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature) exhibited large diurnal trends in both wetlands, whereas optical proxies for dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition mirrored the fluctuations in MeHg concentration and %MeHg, with a strong diurnal trend in wild rice and no apparent trend in white rice. These results suggest a unique link between DOM photo-reactivity and photo-demethylation in these wetlands that challenges traditional monitoring efforts in terms of defining generalized "hot moments" associated with the diurnal cycling of MeHg in shallow agricultural wetland settings.

  5. Ambrosia artemisiifolia as a potential resource for management of golden apple snails, Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck).

    PubMed

    Ding, Wenbing; Huang, Rui; Zhou, Zhongshi; He, Hualiang; Li, Youzhi

    2018-04-01

    Ambrosia artemisiifolia, an invasive weed in Europe and Asia, is highly toxic to the golden apple snail (GAS; Pomacea canaliculata) in laboratory tests. However, little is known about the chemical components of A. artemisiifolia associated with the molluscicidal activity or about its potential application for GAS control in rice fields. This study evaluated the molluscicidal activities of powders, methanol extracts, and individual compounds from A. artemisiifolia against GAS in rice fields and under laboratory conditions. Ambrosia artemisiifolia powders did not negatively affect the growth and development of rice but they reduced damage to rice caused by GAS. Extracts had moderate acute toxicity but potent chronic toxicity. The 24-h 50% lethal concentration (LC 50 ) of the extracts against GAS was 194.0 mg L -1 , while the weights, lengths and widths of GAS were significantly affected by exposure to a sublethal concentration (100 mg/mL). Psilostachyin, psilostachyin B, and axillaxin were identified as the most active molluscicide components in the aerial parts of A. artemisiifolia, and the 24-h LC 50 values of these purified compounds were 15.9, 27.0, and 97.0 mg/L, respectively. The results indicate that chemical compounds produced by A. artemisiifolia may be useful for population management of GAS in rice fields. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  6. Fertilizer nitrogen, soil chemical properties, and their determinacy on rice yield: Evidence from 92 paddy fields of a large-scale farm in the Kanto Region of Japan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, D.; Nanseki, T.; Chomei, Y.; Yokota, S.

    2017-07-01

    Rice, a staple crop in Japan, is at risk of decreasing production and its yield highly depends on soil fertility. This study aimed to investigate determinants of rice yield, from the perspectives of fertilizer nitrogen and soil chemical properties. The data were sampled in 2014 and 2015 from 92 peat soil paddy fields on a large-scale farm located in the Kanto Region of Japan. The rice variety used was the most widely planted Koshihikari in Japan. Regression analysis indicated that fertilizer nitrogen significantly affected the yield, with a significant sustained effect to the subsequent year. Twelve soil chemical properties, including pH, cation exchange capacity, content of pyridine base elements, phosphoric acid, and silicic acid, were estimated. In addition to silicic acid, magnesia, in forms of its exchangeable content, saturation, and ratios to potassium and lime, positively affected the yield, while phosphoric acid negatively affected the yield. We assessed the soil chemical properties by soil quality index and principal component analysis. Positive effects were identified for both approaches, with the former performing better in explaining the rice yield. For soil quality index, the individual standardized soil properties and margins for improvement were indicated for each paddy field. Finally, multivariate regression on the principal components identified the most significant properties.

  7. Biofortified indica rice attains iron and zinc nutrition dietary targets in the field

    PubMed Central

    Trijatmiko, Kurniawan R.; Dueñas, Conrado; Tsakirpaloglou, Nikolaos; Torrizo, Lina; Arines, Felichi Mae; Adeva, Cheryl; Balindong, Jeanette; Oliva, Norman; Sapasap, Maria V.; Borrero, Jaime; Rey, Jessica; Francisco, Perigio; Nelson, Andy; Nakanishi, Hiromi; Lombi, Enzo; Tako, Elad; Glahn, Raymond P.; Stangoulis, James; Chadha-Mohanty, Prabhjit; Johnson, Alexander A. T.; Tohme, Joe; Barry, Gerard; Slamet-Loedin, Inez H.

    2016-01-01

    More than two billion people are micronutrient deficient. Polished grains of popular rice varieties have concentration of approximately 2 μg g−1 iron (Fe) and 16 μg g−1 zinc (Zn). The HarvestPlus breeding programs for biofortified rice target 13 μg g−1 Fe and 28 μg g−1 Zn to reach approximately 30% of the estimated average requirement (EAR). Reports on engineering Fe content in rice have shown an increase up to 18 μg g−1 in glasshouse settings; in contrast, under field conditions, 4 μg g−1 was the highest reported concentration. Here, we report on selected transgenic events, field evaluated in two countries, showing 15 μg g−1 Fe and 45.7 μg g−1 Zn in polished grain. Rigorous selection was applied to 1,689 IR64 transgenic events for insert cleanliness and, trait and agronomic performances. Event NASFer-274 containing rice nicotianamine synthase (OsNAS2) and soybean ferritin (SferH-1) genes showed a single locus insertion without a yield penalty or altered grain quality. Endosperm Fe and Zn enrichment was visualized by X-ray fluorescence imaging. The Caco-2 cell assay indicated that Fe is bioavailable. No harmful heavy metals were detected in the grain. The trait remained stable in different genotype backgrounds. PMID:26806528

  8. Transformation of marine sediment to paddy soil: Primary marine, lacustrine, and land plant lipids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mueller-Niggemann, Cornelia; Cao, Zhihong; Schwark, Lorenz

    2010-05-01

    More than fifty percent of the world's population feeds on rice. The continuous population increase and urban sprawl leads to an ever-increasing demand for new rice cultivation area, in particular China. For centuries suitable coastal areas in China have been exploited for land reclamation, i.e. conversion of coastal marine and lacustrine marshlands into rice paddy fields. Flooded rice paddies are considered one of the major biogenic sources of methane into the atmospheric. Methane is thought to be about 30 times more efficient as greenhouse gas, when compared to carbon dioxide. Overall, rice fields are assumed to contribute app. 10-25% to global CH4 production. It is thus paramount importance to study the effects of increasing rice cultivation and land reclamation in China. For global carbon cycle investigation, it is crucial whether paddy soils, due to their large extent and higher carbon turnover, serve as carbon (CO2) sinks or sources. Here we present results from a chronosequence study of paddy soils with different and well known starting dates of cultivation, in the Zhejiang province (Yangtze River delta) by land reclamation through the building of protective dikes over the past 2000 years. Two end members of natural sediments subjected to land reclamation, a marine tidal mudflat in the Yangtze delta and a coastal lake, represent the substrate on which the paddy soil evolution started. Dike systems were constructed 2000, 1000, 700, 300, 100, and 50 years before present. We are thus able to follow the evolution of rice paddy soils developed on marine sediments using eight well defined tie-points. This chronosequence is then used for assessing the relative proportion of primary marine or lacustrine organic matter preserved in present day soils and to identify the amount and composition of organic matter added since cultivation started. Paddy soil management introduces rice plants debris and exudates as well as rice-associated microbial biomass (covered in a separate contribution) into soils. Management practises involve burning of rice straw on fields, thus adding biomass combustion residues that either may be particularly stable (e.g. PAH) or highly reactive (alkenes resulting from dehydration of alcohols). Bulk parameters reveal that the five field replicates taken at each site are highly compatible, with standard deviations usually between 0.1 to 5.0 % depending on site and/or parameter. This is better than expected and proves that the samples are representative for each cropping site. The n- and isoalkane composition also proved to be very systematic and reproducible. The marine end-member shows a broad n-alkane envelope from nC13 to nC40, with a maximum of nC31 and low abundance of nC17 and nC32+ alkanes. The lacustrine site also reveals a broad n-alkane envelope and a maximum of nC31 but shows higher relative abundance of nC17, nC23 and nC25 alkanes in addition to a C20-HBI. These biomarkers for aquatic macrophytes and diatoms were also found in minor proportions in paddy soils due to flooding with lacustrine water. Paddy n-alkane patterns were dominated by nC29 which systematically increased in abundance for older paddy soils. Paddy soil n-alkane patterns from the chronosequence are similar and related to the marine pattern. Combustion of rice straw on the field is a common management practise for nutrient return to soils. A rice straw ash sample collected in the field revealed a series of nC13 to nC37 n-alkane/alkene doublets with low odd over even predominance. As no alkenes were found in paddy soils, very fast diagenetic conversion of reactive alkenes must occur. Soil organic matter and aliphatics content increased six fold over a cultivation time of 2000 years, identifying paddies as CO2 sinks in the global carbon cycle.

  9. Adaptation to flooding during emergence and seedling growth in rice and weeds, and implications for crop establishment

    PubMed Central

    Ismail, Abdelbagi M.; Johnson, David E.; Ella, Evangelina S.; Vergara, Georgina V.; Baltazar, Aurora M.

    2012-01-01

    Background and aims Direct seeding of rice is being adopted in rainfed and irrigated lowland ecosystems because it reduces labour costs in addition to other benefits. However, early flooding due to uneven fields or rainfall slows down seed germination and hinders crop establishment. Conversely, early flooding helps suppress weeds and reduces the costs of manual weeding and/or dependence on herbicides; however, numerous weed species are adapted to lowlands and present challenges for the use of flooding to control weeds. Advancing knowledge on the mechanisms of tolerance of flooding during germination and early growth in rice and weeds could facilitate the development of improved rice varieties and effective weed management practices for direct-seeded rice. Principal results Rice genotypes with a greater ability to germinate and establish in flooded soils were identified, providing opportunities to develop varieties suitable for direct seeding in flooded soils. Tolerance of flooding in these genotypes was mostly attributed to traits associated with better ability to mobilize stored carbohydrates and anaerobic metabolism. Limited studies were undertaken in weeds associated with lowland rice systems. Remaining studies compared rice and weeds and related weed species such as Echinochloa crus-galli and E. colona or compared ecotypes of the same species of Cyperus rotundus adapted to either aerobic or flooded soils. Conclusions Tolerant weeds and rice genotypes mostly developed similar adaptive traits that allow them to establish in flooded fields, including the ability to germinate and elongate faster under hypoxia, mobilize stored starch reserves and generate energy through fermentation pathways. Remarkably, some weeds developed additional traits such as larger storage tubers that enlarge further in deeper flooded soils (C. rotundus). Unravelling the mechanisms involved in adaptation to flooding will help design management options that will allow tolerant rice genotypes to adequately establish in flooded soils while simultaneously suppressing weeds. PMID:22957137

  10. Monitoring of selected pesticides residue levels in water samples of paddy fields and removal of cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos residues from water using rice bran.

    PubMed

    Bhattacharjee, Shubhra; Fakhruddin, A N M; Chowdhury, M A Z; Rahman, M A; Alam, M K

    2012-08-01

    Consumption of pesticides associated foods increased in recent decades in Bangladesh. Most of the pesticides come from paddy, as rice is the main food items here and about 70 % pesticides are used only on paddy fields. Water samples of paddy fields and Kaliganga River of Manikganj district were analyzed to provide base line data on cypermethrin, chlorpyrifos and diazinon residue by using high performance liquid chromatography. Levels of Cypermethrin, chlorpyrifos and diazinon detected in the paddy field water samples were (0.605 ± 0.011 μg/L), (0.06 ± 0.001 μg/L) and (0.039 ± 0.002 μg/L), respectively. 0.11 ± 0.003 μg/L of cypermethrin and 0.012 ± 0.0006 μg/L of chlorpyrifos were also identified in the water samples of Kaligonga River. Diazinon residue was not detected in the river water samples. The detected concentrations of pesticide residues in the river water were below the accepted maximum residue limit (MRL) value of drinking water (0.1 μg/l) adopted by the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission. Cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos were chosen for decontamination through rice bran, as it was found in river water. Two gm rice bran could easily decontaminated 95.6 % and 96.4 % of cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos. The result of this study showed that pesticide residue was detected in water samples were below the MRLs value, which can easily be decontaminated through absorption of rice bran.

  11. Screening and selection of most potent diazotrophic cyanobacterial isolate exhibiting natural tolerance to rice field herbicides for exploitation as biofertilizer.

    PubMed

    Singh, Surendra; Datta, Pallavi

    2006-01-01

    Periodic applications of heavy dosages of herbicides in modern rice-agriculture are a necessary evil for obtaining high crop productivity. Such herbicides are not only detrimental to weeds but biofertilizer strains of diazotrophic cyanobacteria also. It is therefore, essential to screen and select such biofertilizer strains of diazotrophic cyanobacteria exhibiting natural tolerance to common rice-field herbicides that can be further improved by mutational techniques to make biofertilizer technology a viable one. Therefore, efforts have been made to screen five dominant diazotrophic cyanobacterial forms e.g. filamentous heterocystous Nostoc punctiforme , Nostoc calcicola , Anabaena variabilis and unicellular Gloeocapsa sp. and Aphanocapsa sp. along with standard laboratory strain Nostoc muscorum ISU against increasing concentrations (0-100 mg l(-1) of four commercial grade common rice-field herbicides i.e. Arozin, Butachlor, Alachlor and 2,4-D under diazotrophic growth conditions. The lethal and IGC(50) concentrations for all four herbicides tested were found highest for A. variabilis as compared to other test cyanobacteria. The lowest reduction in chlorophyll a content, photosynthetic oxygen evolution, and N(2)-fixation was found in A. variabilis as compared to other rice field isolates and standard laboratory strain N. muscorum ISU. On the basis of prolong survival potential and lowest reductions in vital metabolic activities tested at IGC(50) concentration of four herbicides, it is concluded that A. variabilis is the most potent and promising cyanobacterial isolate as compared with other forms. This could be further improved by mutational techniques for exploitation as most potential and viable biofertilizer strain.

  12. Dissection of cis-regulatory element architecture of the rice oleosin gene promoters to assess abscisic acid responsiveness in suspension-cultured rice cells.

    PubMed

    Kim, Sol; Lee, Soo-Bin; Han, Chae-Seong; Lim, Mi-Na; Lee, Sung-Eun; Yoon, In Sun; Hwang, Yong-Sic

    2017-08-01

    Oleosins are the most abundant proteins in the monolipid layer surrounding neutral storage lipids that form oil bodies in plants. Several lines of evidence indicate that they are physiologically important for the maintenance of oil body structure and for mobilization of the lipids stored inside. Rice has six oleosin genes in its genome, the expression of all of which was found to be responsive to abscisic acid (ABA) in our examination of mature embryo and aleurone tissues. The 5'-flanking region of OsOle5 was initially characterized for its responsiveness to ABA through a transient expression assay system using the protoplasts from suspension-cultured rice cells. A series of successive deletions and site-directed mutations identified five regions critical for the hormonal induction of its promoter activity. A search for cis-acting elements in these regions deposited in a public database revealed that they contain various promoter elements previously reported to be involved in the ABA response of various genes. A gain-of-function experiment indicated that multiple copies of all five regions were sufficient to provide the minimal promoter with a distinct ABA responsiveness. Comparative sequence analysis of the short, but still ABA-responsive, promoters of OsOle genes revealed no common modular architecture shared by them, indicating that various distinct promoter elements and independent trans-acting factors are involved in the ABA responsiveness of rice oleosin multigenes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  13. Molecular mapping and genetic analysis of a rice brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stål) resistance gene.

    PubMed

    Yang, Haiyuan; Ren, Xiang; Weng, Qingmei; Zhu, Lili; He, Guangcun

    2002-01-01

    The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens Stål, is a serious insect pest of rice (Oryza saliva L.). We have determined the chromosomal location of a BPH resistance gene in rice using SSR and RFLP techniques. A rice line 'B14', derived from the wild rice Oryza latifolia, showed high resistance to BPH. For tagging the resistance gene in 'B14X', an F2 population and a recombinant inbred (RI) population from a cross between Taichung Native 1 and 'B14' were developed and evaluated for BPH resistance. The results showed that a single dominant gene controlled the resistance of 'B14' to BPH. Bulked segregant SSR analysis was employed for identification of DNA markers linked to the resistance gene. From the survey of 302 SSR primer pairs, three SSR (RM335, RM261, RM185) markers linked to the resistance gene were identified. The closest SSR marker RM261 was linked to the resistance gene at a distance of 1.8 cM. Regions surrounding the resistance gene and the SSR markers were examined with additional RFLP markers on chromosome 4 to define the location of the resistance gene. Linkage of RFLP markers C820, R288, C946 with the resistance gene further confirmed its location on the short arm of chromosome 4. Closely linked DNA markers will facilitate selection for resistant lines in breeding programs and provide the basis for map-based cloning of this resistance gene.

  14. A built-in mechanism to mitigate the spread of insect-resistance and herbicide-tolerance transgenes into weedy rice populations.

    PubMed

    Liu, Chengyi; Li, Jingjing; Gao, Jianhua; Shen, Zhicheng; Lu, Bao-Rong; Lin, Chaoyang

    2012-01-01

    The major challenge of cultivating genetically modified (GM) rice (Oryza sativa) at the commercial scale is to prevent the spread of transgenes from GM cultivated rice to its coexisting weedy rice (O. sativa f. spontanea). The strategic development of GM rice with a built-in control mechanism can mitigate transgene spread in weedy rice populations. An RNAi cassette suppressing the expression of the bentazon detoxifying enzyme CYP81A6 was constructed into the T-DNA which contained two tightly linked transgenes expressing the Bt insecticidal protein Cry1Ab and the glyphosate tolerant 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS), respectively. GM rice plants developed from this T-DNA were resistant to lepidopteran pests and tolerant to glyphosate, but sensitive to bentazon. The application of bentazon of 2000 mg/L at the rate of 40 mL/m(2), which is approximately the recommended dose for the field application to control common rice weeds, killed all F(2) plants containing the transgenes generated from the Crop-weed hybrids between a GM rice line (CGH-13) and two weedy rice strains (PI-63 and PI-1401). Weedy rice plants containing transgenes from GM rice through gene flow can be selectively killed by the spray of bentazon when a non-GM rice variety is cultivated alternately in a few-year interval. The built-in control mechanism in combination of cropping management is likely to mitigate the spread of transgenes into weedy rice populations.

  15. Energy and environmental impact analysis of rice cultivation and straw management in northern Thailand.

    PubMed

    Yodkhum, Sanwasan; Sampattagul, Sate; Gheewala, Shabbir H

    2018-04-17

    Rice cultivation and energy use for rice production can produce the environmental impacts, especially related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Also, rice straw open burning by farmers generally practiced after harvesting stage in Thailand for removing the residues in the rice field is associated with emissions of air pollutants, especially particulate matter formation that affects human health and global climate. This study assessed the environmental burdens, consisting of GHG emissions, energy use, and particulate matter formation (PM10), from rice cultivation in Thailand by life cycle assessment (LCA) and compared the environmental burdens of rice straw management scenarios: open burning, incorporation into soil, and direct combustion for electricity generation. The data were collected from the rice production cooperative in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, via onsite records and face-to-face questionnaires in 2016. The environmental impacts were evaluated from cradle-to-farm gate. The results showed that the total GHG emissions were 0.64 kg CO 2 -eq per kilogram of paddy rice, the total energy use was 1.80 MJ per kilogram of paddy rice and the PM10 emissions were 0.42 g PM10-eq per kilogram of paddy rice. The results of rice straw management scenarios showed that rice straw open burning had the highest GHG and PM10 emissions. However, rice straw utilization by incorporation into soil and direct combustion for electricity generation could reduce these impacts substantially.

  16. Molecular evolution of shattering loci in U.S. weedy rice

    PubMed Central

    Thurber, Carrie S.; Reagon, Michael; Gross, Briana L.; Olsen, Kenneth M.; Jia, Yulin; Caicedo, Ana L.

    2010-01-01

    Cultivated rice fields worldwide are plagued with weedy rice, a conspecific weed of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.). The persistence of weedy rice has been attributed, in part, to its ability to shatter (disperse) seed prior to crop harvesting. In the United States, separately evolved weedy rice groups have been shown to share genomic identity with exotic domesticated cultivars. Here, we investigate the shattering phenotype in a collection of U.S. weedy rice accessions, as well as wild and cultivated relatives. We find that all U.S. weedy rice groups shatter seeds easily, despite multiple origins, and in contrast to a decrease in shattering ability seen in cultivated groups. We assessed allelic identity and diversity at the major shattering locus, sh4, in weedy rice; we find that all cultivated and weedy rice, regardless of population, share similar haplotypes at sh4, and all contain a single derived mutation associated with decreased seed shattering. Our data constitute the strongest evidence to date of an evolution of weeds from domesticated backgrounds. The combination of a shared cultivar sh4 allele and a highly shattering phenotype, suggests that U.S. weedy rice have re-acquired the shattering trait after divergence from their progenitors through alternative genetic mechanisms. PMID:20584132

  17. Water management reduces greenhouse gas emissions in a Mediterranean rice paddy field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gruening, Carsten; Meijide, Ana; Manca, Giovanni; Goded, Ignacio; Seufert, Guenther; Cescatti, Alessandro

    2016-04-01

    Rice paddy fields are one of the biggest anthropogenic sources of methane (CH4), the second most important greenhouse gas (GHG) after carbon dioxide (CO2). Therefore most studies on greenhouse gases (GHG) in these agricultural systems focus on the evaluation of CH4 production. However, there are other GHGs such as CO2 and nitrous oxide (N2O) also exchanged within the atmosphere. Since each of the GHGs has its own radiative forcing effect, the total GHG budget of rice cultivation and its global warming potential (GWP) must be assessed. For this purpose a field experiment was carried out in a Mediterranean rice paddy field in the Po Valley (Italy), the largest rice producing region in Europe. Ecosystem CO2 and CH4 fluxes were assessed using the eddy covariance technique, while soil respiration and soil CH4 and N2O fluxes were measured with closed chambers for two complete years. Combining all GHGs measured, the rice paddy field acted as a sink of -368 and -828 g CO2 eq m-2 year-1 in the first and second years respectively. Both years, it was a CO2 sink and a CH4 source, while the N2O contribution to the GWP was relatively small. Differences in the GHG budget between the two years of measurements were mainly caused by the greater CH4 emissions in the first year (37.4 g CH4 m-2 compared to 21.03 g CH4 m-2 in the second year), probably as a consequence of the drainage of the water table in the middle of the growing season during the second year, which resulted in lower CH4 emissions without significant increases of N2O and CO2 fluxes. However, midseason drainage also resulted in small decreases of yield, indicating that GHG budget studies from agricultural systems should consider carbon exports through the harvest. The balance between net GWP and carbon yield indicated a loss of carbon equivalents from the system, which was more than 30-fold higher in the first year. Our results therefore suggest that an adequate management of the water table has the potential to be an effective GHG mitigation strategy to increase the carbon sequestration capacity of rice paddy fields and confirm that GHG budgets should be assessed in combination with yield in order to develop and evaluate mitigation strategies.

  18. Cadmium Accumulation Risk in Vegetables and Rice in Southern China: Insights from Solid-Solution Partitioning and Plant Uptake Factor.

    PubMed

    Yang, Yang; Wang, Meie; Chen, Weiping; Li, Yanling; Peng, Chi

    2017-07-12

    Solid-solution partitioning coefficient (K d ) and plant uptake factor (PUF) largely determine the solubility and mobility of soil Cd to food crops. A four-year regional investigation was conducted in contaminated vegetable and paddy fields of southern China to quantify the variability in K d and PUF. The distributions of K d and PUF characterizing transfers of Cd from soil to vegetable and rice are probabilistic in nature. Dynamics in soil pH and soil Zn greatly affected the variations of K d . In addition to soil pH, soil organic matter had a major influence on PUF variations in vegetables. Heavy leaching of soil Mn caused a higher Cd accumulation in rice grain. Dietary ingestion of 85.5% of the locally produced vegetable and rice would have adverse health risks, with rice consumption contributing 97.2% of the risk. A probabilistic risk analysis based on derived transfer function reveals the amorphous Mn oxide content exerts a major influence on Cd accumulation in rice in pH conditions below 5.5. Risk estimation and field experiments show that to limit the Cd concentration in rice grains, soil management strategies should include improving the pH and soil Mn concentration to around 6.0 and 345 mg kg -1 , respectively. Our work illustrates that re-establishing a balance in trace elements in soils' labile pool provides an effective risk-based approach for safer crop practices.

  19. Utilizing Bacillus to inhibit the growth and infection by sheath blight pathogen, Rhizoctoniasolani in rice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Margani, R.; Hadiwiyono; Widadi, S.

    2018-03-01

    Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn is a common pathogen of rice. The pathogen causes sheath blight of rice. The pathogen can cause loss in the production of rice up to 45%. So far, the disease however is still poorly taken care of by the farmers and researchers, so the control measures is nearly never practiced by the farmers in the fields. It due to the unavailability of effective control method of the disease. Therefore, development to control the disease is important. Bacillus is one of popular bacteria which is effective as biological control agent of a lot of pathogens in plants, but it has not been used for control sheath blight in rice yet. The current researches were aimed to study the potential of Bacillus collected from healthy rice as candidates of biological control agent of the disease. The results showed that some isolates showed indications to inhibit significantly the growth and infection of the pathogen. We obtained at least five isolates of Bacillus collected from leaves, sheath, and stem of healthy rice fields. All of the isolates could effectively inhibit the growth of R. solani in vitro on potato dextrose medium at range 30.33-58.00%, whereas in vivo B05 isolate was the most effective in inhibiting the infection of pathogen at 30.43%. It was not significantly different (P≥0.05) to application of hexaconazol with dosage of 2 ml L-1.

  20. Simulation of future global warming scenarios in rice paddies with an open-field warming facility

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    To simulate expected future global warming, hexagonal arrays of infrared heaters have previously been used to warm open-field canopies of upland crops such as wheat. Through the use of concrete-anchored posts, improved software, overhead wires, extensive grounding, and monitoring with a thermal camera, the technology was safely and reliably extended to paddy rice fields. The system maintained canopy temperature increases within 0.5°C of daytime and nighttime set-point differences of 1.3 and 2.7°C 67% of the time. PMID:22145582

  1. The Impact of Herbicide-Resistant Rice Technology on Phenotypic Diversity and Population Structure of United States Weedy Rice1[W][OPEN

    PubMed Central

    Burgos, Nilda Roma; Singh, Vijay; Tseng, Te Ming; Black, Howard; Young, Nelson D.; Huang, Zhongyun; Hyma, Katie E.; Gealy, David R.; Caicedo, Ana L.

    2014-01-01

    The use of herbicide-resistant (HR) Clearfield rice (Oryza sativa) to control weedy rice has increased in the past 12 years to constitute about 60% of rice acreage in Arkansas, where most U.S. rice is grown. To assess the impact of HR cultivated rice on the herbicide resistance and population structure of weedy rice, weedy samples were collected from commercial fields with a history of Clearfield rice. Panicles from each weedy type were harvested and tested for resistance to imazethapyr. The majority of plants sampled had at least 20% resistant offspring. These resistant weeds were 97 to 199 cm tall and initiated flowering from 78 to 128 d, generally later than recorded for accessions collected prior to the widespread use of Clearfield rice (i.e. historical accessions). Whereas the majority (70%) of historical accessions had straw-colored hulls, only 30% of contemporary HR weedy rice had straw-colored hulls. Analysis of genotyping-by-sequencing data showed that HR weeds were not genetically structured according to hull color, whereas historical weedy rice was separated into straw-hull and black-hull populations. A significant portion of the local rice crop genome was introgressed into HR weedy rice, which was rare in historical weedy accessions. Admixture analyses showed that HR weeds tend to possess crop haplotypes in the portion of chromosome 2 containing the ACETOLACTATE SYNTHASE gene, which confers herbicide resistance to Clearfield rice. Thus, U.S. HR weedy rice is a distinct population relative to historical weedy rice and shows modifications in morphology and phenology that are relevant to weed management. PMID:25122473

  2. The impact of herbicide-resistant rice technology on phenotypic diversity and population structure of United States weedy rice.

    PubMed

    Burgos, Nilda Roma; Singh, Vijay; Tseng, Te Ming; Black, Howard; Young, Nelson D; Huang, Zhongyun; Hyma, Katie E; Gealy, David R; Caicedo, Ana L

    2014-11-01

    The use of herbicide-resistant (HR) Clearfield rice (Oryza sativa) to control weedy rice has increased in the past 12 years to constitute about 60% of rice acreage in Arkansas, where most U.S. rice is grown. To assess the impact of HR cultivated rice on the herbicide resistance and population structure of weedy rice, weedy samples were collected from commercial fields with a history of Clearfield rice. Panicles from each weedy type were harvested and tested for resistance to imazethapyr. The majority of plants sampled had at least 20% resistant offspring. These resistant weeds were 97 to 199 cm tall and initiated flowering from 78 to 128 d, generally later than recorded for accessions collected prior to the widespread use of Clearfield rice (i.e. historical accessions). Whereas the majority (70%) of historical accessions had straw-colored hulls, only 30% of contemporary HR weedy rice had straw-colored hulls. Analysis of genotyping-by-sequencing data showed that HR weeds were not genetically structured according to hull color, whereas historical weedy rice was separated into straw-hull and black-hull populations. A significant portion of the local rice crop genome was introgressed into HR weedy rice, which was rare in historical weedy accessions. Admixture analyses showed that HR weeds tend to possess crop haplotypes in the portion of chromosome 2 containing the ACETOLACTATE SYNTHASE gene, which confers herbicide resistance to Clearfield rice. Thus, U.S. HR weedy rice is a distinct population relative to historical weedy rice and shows modifications in morphology and phenology that are relevant to weed management. © 2014 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  3. Climate Change Implications to Irrigated Rice Production in Southern Brazil: A Modelling Approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dos Santos, Thiago

    Rice is one of the staple foods for more than three billion people worldwide. When cultivated under irrigated conditions (i.e. lowland rice), rice is one of the most intensive water consumer crops globally. Therefore, representation of rice growth should be integrated into the latest land surface models to allow studies on food security and to ensure that accurate simulations of the bidirectional feedbacks between the land surface and atmosphere take place. In this study, I present a new process-based model for rice fields that includes rice growth and rice irrigation as modules within the Agro-IBIS dynamic agro-ecosystem model. The model includes a series of equations, agricultural management parameters and an irrigation scheme that are specifically tailored for rice crops. The model was evaluated against leaf area index and biomass observations, obtained for one growing season in Rio Grande do Sul state (southern Brazil), and in Los Banos, Philippines. The model accurately captured the temporal dynamics of leaf area index in both the Brazilian and the Philippine sites, and predicted end-of-season biomass with an error of between -9.5% and 11.3% depending on the location and the plant organ. Rice phenology is predicted by the model based on experimentally-derived growth rates, and was evaluated by comparing simulated and observed durations of the four growth phases considered by the model. Agro-IBIS showed a tendency to overestimate the duration of the growth stages between 3% and 16%, but underestimated by 8% the duration of the panicle formation phase in one growing season. The new irrigation model is based on the water balance at the surface and applies irrigation in order to keep the water layer at the paddy field always in the optimum level. A set of climate projections from global climate models under two emission scenarios, and excluding and considering CO2 fertilizations effects, was used to drive the updated Agro-IBIS to estimate the effects of climate change on rice phenology, productivity and irrigation demand in southern Brazil during the 21st century. The results suggest that rice yields in southern Brazil can increase in average by 10-30%, but by up to 80% in regions where the current temperature is below optimum for rice growth and therefore will be benefited by warming. However, the same region might experience higher water demand for rice irrigation, which might pose a challenge for rice production in that region.

  4. Rice Production. A Training Manual and Field Guide to Small-Farm Irrigated Rice Production. Appropriate Technologies for Development. Reprint No. R-40.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morris, Michael L., Ed.

    This manual presents a simple, step-by-step description of irrigated rice production in Sierra Leone. It is geared specifically to the role and needs of Peace Corps volunteers who, since the mid-1970s, have worked as agricultural extension agents in the Sierra Leone Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The manual is designed to serve both as a…

  5. Evaluating health of paddy rice field ecosystem with remote sensing and GIS in Lower Yangtze River Plain, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jingjing; Qin, Zhihao; Li, Wenjuan; Lin, Lu

    2008-10-01

    A paddy rice ecosystem is a farming system composed of paddy, animals, microbes and other environmental factors in specific time and space, with particular temporal and spatial dynamics. Since paddy rice is a main grain crop to feed above half of population in China, the performance of paddy rice ecosystem is highly concerned to yield level of paddy and food supply safety in China. Therefore, monitoring the performance of paddy rice ecosystem is very important to obtain the required information for evaluation of ecosystem health. In the study we intend to develop an approach to monitor the ecosystem performance spatially and dynamically in a regional scale using MODIS remote sensing data and GIS spatial mapping. On the basis of key factors governing the paddy rice ecosystem, we accordingly develop the following three indicators for the evaluation: Crop growing index (CGI), environmental Index (EI), and pests-diseases index (PDI). Then, we integrated the three indicators into a model with different weight coefficients to calculate Comprehensive ecosystem health index (CEHI) to evaluate the performance and functioning of paddy rice ecosystem in a regional scale. CGI indicates the health status of paddy rice calculated from the normalizing enhanced vegetation Index (EVI) retrieved from MODIS data. EI is estimated from temperature Index (TI) and precipitation Index (PI) indicating heat and water stress on the rice field. PDI reflects the damage brought by pests and diseases, which can be estimated using the information obtained from governmental websites. Applying the approach to Lower Yangtze River Plain, we monitor and evaluate the performance of paddy rice ecosystem in various stages of rice growing period in 2006. The results indicated that the performance of the ecosystem was generally very encouraging. During booting stage and heading and blooming stage, the health level was the highest in Anhui province, which is the main paddy rice producer in the region. During stage of yellow ripeness, Jiangsu province had the lowest level of performance. Yield level of paddy rice in 2006 confirms that the applicability of the proposed approach for a rapid evaluation and monitoring of agricultural ecosystem performance in Lower Yangtze River Plain. As a result, the new approach could supply scientific basis for relevant departments taking policies and measures to make sure stable development of paddy yield.

  6. The Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Associated with Three Cultivars of Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

    PubMed

    Bhattacharjee, Sujata; Sharma, G D

    2011-07-01

    The present study deals with the occurrence of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in three cultivars of rice in Barak valley. Three cultivars of rice were Pankaj, Malati and Ranjit. The results revealed the association of VAM fungi in all the cultivars of rice. The association was maximum in Pankaj cultivar followed by Malati, and Ranjit, respectively, in all the three sampling phases. All the three cultivars of rice crop showed maximum soil spore population and number of VAM fungal species at the harvesting phase (135 DAS) and minimum at the phase of maturation (90 DAS). Glomus species were found dominating followed by Acaulospora species. Glomus microcarpum, Glomus claroideum, Glomus mosseae and Acaulospora scrobiculata were found in all the three fields.

  7. Identification of gonadal soma-derived factor involvement in Monopterus albus (protogynous rice field eel) sex change.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Yefei; Wang, Chunlei; Chen, Xiaowu; Guan, Guijun

    2016-07-01

    We studied molecular events and potential mechanisms underlying the process of female-to-male sex transformation in the rice field eel (Monopterus albus), a protogynous hermaphrodite fish in which the gonad is initially a female ovary and transforms into male testes. We cloned and identified a novel gonadal soma derived factor (GSDF), which encodes a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily. gsdf expression was measured in gonads of female, intersex and male with reverse transcription-PCR and gsdf's role in sex transformation was studied with qPCR, histological analysis and dual-color in situ hybridization assays and compared to other sex-related genes. gsdf was correlated to Sertoli cell differentiation, indicating involvement in testicular differentiation and sex transformation from female to male in this species. A unique expression pattern reveals a potential role of gsdf essential for the sex transformation of rice field eels.

  8. Exposure to pesticide mixtures and DNA damage among rice field workers.

    PubMed

    Varona-Uribe, Marcela Eugenia; Torres-Rey, Carlos H; Díaz-Criollo, Sonia; Palma-Parra, Ruth Marien; Narváez, Diana María; Carmona, Sandra Patricia; Briceño, Leonardo; Idrovo, Alvaro J

    2016-01-01

    This study describes the use of pesticides mixtures and their potential association with comet assay results in 223 rice field workers in Colombia. Thirty-one pesticides were quantified in blood, serum, and urine (15 organochlorines, 10 organophosphorus, 5 carbamates, and ethylenethiourea), and the comet assay was performed. Twenty-four (77.42%) pesticides were present in the workers. The use of the maximum-likelihood factor analysis identified 8 different mixtures. Afterwards, robust regressions were used to explore associations between the factors identified and the comet assay. Two groups of mixtures--α-benzene hexachloride (α-BHC), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and β-BHC (β: 1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.33-2.10) and pirimiphos-methyl, malathion, bromophos-methyl, and bromophos-ethyl (β: 11.97, 95% CI: 2.34-21.60)--were associated with a higher percentage of DNA damage and comet tail length, respectively. The findings suggest that exposure to pesticides varies greatly among rice field workers.

  9. Seasonal trends and environmental controls of methane emissions in a rice paddy field in Northern Italy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meijide, A.; Manca, G.; Goded, I.; Magliulo, V.; di Tommasi, P.; Seufert, G.; Cescatti, A.

    2011-12-01

    Rice paddy fields are one of the greatest anthropogenic sources of methane (CH4), the third most important greenhouse gas after water vapour and carbon dioxide. In agricultural fields, CH4 is usually measured with the closed chamber technique, resulting in discontinuous series of measurements performed over a limited area, that generally do not provide sufficient information on the short-term variation of the fluxes. On the contrary, aerodynamic techniques have been rarely applied for the measurement of CH4 fluxes in rice paddy fields. The eddy covariance (EC) technique provides integrated continuous measurements over a large area and may increase our understanding of the underlying processes and diurnal and seasonal pattern of CH4 emissions in this ecosystem. For this purpose a Fast Methane Analyzer (Los Gatos Research Ltd.) was installed in a rice paddy field in the Po Valley (Northern Italy). Methane fluxes were measured during the rice growing season with both EC and manually operated closed chambers. Methane fluxes were strongly influenced by the height of the water table, with emissions peaking when it was above 10-12 cm. Soil temperature and the developmental stage of rice plants were also responsible of the seasonal variation on the fluxes. The measured EC fluxes showed a diurnal cycle in the emissions, which was more relevant during the vegetative period, and with CH4 emissions being higher in the late evening, possibly associated with higher water temperature. The comparison between the two measurement techniques shows that greater fluxes are measured with the chambers, especially when higher fluxes are being produced, resulting in 30 % higher seasonal estimations with the chambers than with the EC (41.1 and 31.7 g CH4 m-2 measured with chambers and EC respectively) and even greater differences are found if shorter periods with high chamber sampling frequency are compared. The differences may be a result of the combined effect of overestimation with the chambers and of the possible underestimation by the EC technique.

  10. [Interspecific relationship and Si, N nutrition of rice in rice-water spinach intercropping system.

    PubMed

    Ning, Chuan Chuan; Yang, Rong Shuang; Cai, Mao Xia; Wang, Jian Wu; Luo, Shi Ming; Cai, Kun Zheng

    2017-02-01

    Intercropping is a sound eco-agriculture model, but aquatic crops (e.g., rice) intercropping is seldom researched. In the present study, rice and water spinach were chosen as the research objects, a field trial was conducted to explore the yields, interspecific relationship and Si, N nutrition of rice under rice-water spinach intercropping for four seasons during two consecutive years (2014-2015). The experiment had five treatments: rice monoculture, water spinach monoculture, and rice-water spinach intercropping ratios of 2:2, 3:2, 4:2, respectively. The results showed that rice-water spinach intercropping significantly increased rice yield, and the increase rates of 2:2, 3:2 and 4:2 intercropping per unit area were 77.5%-120.6%, 64.9%-80.9%, 37.7%-56.0%, respectively. However, intercropping resulted in reduction of water spinach yield. Intercropping significantly increased total yield of rice and water spinach from land equivalent ratios (LER) analysis. The values of LER were more than 1.0, and the ratio of 3:2 intercropping had the best effect. As for the competitive index, rice was more competitive than water spinach in intercropping system, especially in early season. Compared with rice monoculture, rice-water spinach intercropping significantly increased the absorption of Si and N in rice leaves, and Si content of rice leaves during ripening stage, but didn't increase its N content and even slightly reduced it during ripening stage. Intercropping had no significant effect on available Si, ammonium N and nitrate N content in soil. Compared with rice monoculture and intercropping, water spinach monoculture had always the highest available Si, ammonium N and nitrate N contents in soil through the experiment period. The results suggested that rice-spinach intercropping could promote rice to absorb silicon and nitrogen and increase the competitive ability of rice.

  11. Sealing rice field boundaries in Bangladesh: a pilot study demonstrating reductions in water use, arsenic loading to field soils, and methane emissions from irrigation water.

    PubMed

    Neumann, Rebecca B; Pracht, Lara E; Polizzotto, Matthew L; Badruzzaman, A Borhan M; Ali, M Ashraf

    2014-08-19

    Irrigation of rice fields in Bangladesh with arsenic-contaminated and methane-rich groundwater loads arsenic into field soils and releases methane into the atmosphere. We tested the water-savings potential of sealing field bunds (raised boundaries around field edges) as a way to mitigate these negative outcomes. We found that, on average, bund sealing reduced seasonal water use by 52 ± 17% and decreased arsenic loading to field soils by 15 ± 4%; greater savings in both water use and arsenic loading were achieved in fields with larger perimeter-to-area ratios (i.e., smaller fields). Our study is the first to quantify emission of methane from irrigation water in Bangladesh, a currently unaccounted-for methane source. Irrigation water applied to unsealed fields at our site emits 18 to 31 g of methane per square-meter of field area per season, potentially doubling the atmospheric input of methane from rice cultivation. Bund sealing reduced the emission of methane from irrigation water by 4 to 19 g/m(2). While the studied outcomes of bund sealing are positive and compelling, widespread implementation of the technique should consider other factors, such as effect on yields, financial costs, and impact on the hydrologic system. We provide an initial and preliminary assessment of these implementation factors.

  12. More CH4 is emitted during the fallow than during the growing season in a Mediterranean rice agrosystems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martínez-Eixarch, Maite; Ibàñez, Carles; Alcaraz, Carles; Viñas, Marc; Aranda, Xavier; Saldaña, J. Antonio

    2017-04-01

    Paddy rice fields are an important source of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) as they contribute 5 to 20 % of the global anthropogenic CH4 emissions. The Ebre Delta (Catalonia, NE Spain) is one of the most important wetland complexes in the Western Mediterranean with 65 % of its area covered by rice fields. The results herein presented assess the annual pattern of CH4 emissions from paddy rice in Ebre Delta, including the growing and fallow seasons as well as the major environmental variables modulating such emissions. Fifteen rice fields covering the geo-physical variability of the Ebre Delta were selected for GHG monitoring. Common agronomic management was practiced: water direct-seeding, permanent flooding and moderate mineral fertilization during the growing season and straw incorporation, progressive drainage of the fields after the harvest. Fields are left fallow during the winter. GHG were monthly sampled, from May to December in 2015. In each field, three closed chambers were used; from each of these, four gas samples were taken over a 30-minute period. Simultaneously, hydrological regime, soil physic-chemical parameters and plant cover were measured. GHG were analysed by gas chromatography. A Generalized linear model analysis (GLM) was performed to assess the most important influencing factors on CH4 emissions. An information-theoretic approach was used to find the best approximating models. Overall, the CH4 emissions showed a bi-modal pattern, with peaks in July-August and in October. Emissions rates ranged from 2.1 ± 0.5 to 7.5 ± 1.4 mg C-CH4 m-2 h-1 in the growing season (May to September) and from 25.0 ± 5.7 to 20.1 ± 3.3 mg C-CH4 m-2 h-1 at post-harvest (October to December). In total, 314 kg C-CH4 ha-1 were emitted from Ebre Delta rice fields, of which 70 % during post-harvest. Larger off-season emissions were likely induced by straw incorporation. The results of the GLM-IT analysis revealed that during the growing season, soil Eh and water level were the most important factors influencing CH4 emissions, followed by soil temperature and plant cover, with similar degree of importance. During the fallow season, soil redox and water level were also the most important factors, along with air temperature. Throughout the growing and fallow seasons, soil Eh was negatively related to CH4 emissions whereas temperature and plant cover positively. Interestingly, water level showed a contrasting effect on CH4 emissions: positive during the growing season and negative the fallow. Traditionally, most of the research on GHG mitigation options in paddy rice has been focused on the rice growing period and less attention has been paid to the post-harvest season. The higher contribution of the fallow season to the total annual CH4 emissions evidenced in our study suggests that more effort should be made on this season when aiming at mitigating CH4 emissions, being water and straw management the key factors. Accordingly, we also recommend the inclusion of the fallow season for GHG inventories from paddy rice, usually neglected, to avoid CH4 emissions underestimations.

  13. Ghg and Aerosol Emission from Fire Pixel during Crop Residue Burning Under Rice and Wheat Cropping Systems in North-West India

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Acharya, Prasenjit; Sreekesh, S.; Kulshrestha, Umesh

    2016-10-01

    Emission of smoke and aerosol from open field burning of crop residue is a long-standing subject matter of atmospheric pollution. In this study, we proposed a new approach of estimating fuel load in the fire pixels and corresponding emissions of selected GHGs and aerosols i.e. CO2, CO, NO2, SO2, and total particulate matter (TPM) due to burning of crop residue under rice and wheat cropping systems in Punjab in north-west India from 2002 to 2012. In contrasts to the conventional method that uses RPR ratio to estimate the biomass, fuel load in the fire pixels was estimated as a function of enhanced vegetation index (EVI). MODIS fire products were used to detect the fire pixels during harvesting seasons of rice and wheat. Based on the field measurements, fuel load in the fire pixels were modelled as a function of average EVI using second order polynomial regression. Average EVI for rice and wheat crops that were extracted through Fourier transformation were computed from MODIS time series 16 day EVI composites. About 23 % of net shown area (NSA) during rice and 11 % during wheat harvesting seasons are affected by field burning. The computed average fuel loads are 11.32 t/ha (±17.4) during rice and 10.89 t/ha (±8.7) during wheat harvesting seasons. Calculated average total emissions of CO2, CO, NO2, SO2 and TPM were 8108.41, 657.85, 8.10, 4.10, and 133.21 Gg during rice straw burning and 6896.85, 625.09, 1.42, 1.77, and 57.55 Gg during wheat burning. Comparison of estimated values shows better agreement with the previous concurrent estimations. The method, however, shows its efficiency parallel to the conventional method of estimation of fuel load and related pollutant emissions.

  14. Emissions of CH4 and N2O under Different Tillage Systems from Double-Cropped Paddy Fields in Southern China

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Hai-Lin; Bai, Xiao-Lin; Xue, Jian-Fu; Chen, Zhong-Du; Tang, Hai-Ming; Chen, Fu

    2013-01-01

    Understanding greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions is becoming increasingly important with the climate change. Most previous studies have focused on the assessment of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration potential and GHG emissions from agriculture. However, specific experiments assessing tillage impacts on GHG emission from double-cropped paddy fields in Southern China are relatively scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of tillage systems on methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission in a double rice (Oryza sativa L.) cropping system. The experiment was established in 2005 in Hunan Province, China. Three tillage treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design: conventional tillage (CT), rotary tillage (RT) and no-till (NT). Fluxes of CH4 from different tillage treatments followed a similar trend during the two years, with a single peak emission for the early rice season and a double peak emission for the late rice season. Compared with other treatments, NT significantly reduced CH4 emission among the rice growing seasons (P<0.05). However, much higher variations in N2O emission were observed across the rice growing seasons due to the vulnerability of N2O to external influences. The amount of CH4 emission in paddy fields was much higher relative to N2O emission. Conversion of CT to NT significantly reduced the cumulative CH4 emission for both rice seasons compared with other treatments (P<0.05). The mean value of global warming potentials (GWPs) of CH4 and N2O emissions over 100 years was in the order of NT

  15. Emissions of CH4 and N2O under different tillage systems from double-cropped paddy fields in Southern China.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Hai-Lin; Bai, Xiao-Lin; Xue, Jian-Fu; Chen, Zhong-Du; Tang, Hai-Ming; Chen, Fu

    2013-01-01

    Understanding greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions is becoming increasingly important with the climate change. Most previous studies have focused on the assessment of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration potential and GHG emissions from agriculture. However, specific experiments assessing tillage impacts on GHG emission from double-cropped paddy fields in Southern China are relatively scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of tillage systems on methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission in a double rice (Oryza sativa L.) cropping system. The experiment was established in 2005 in Hunan Province, China. Three tillage treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design: conventional tillage (CT), rotary tillage (RT) and no-till (NT). Fluxes of CH4 from different tillage treatments followed a similar trend during the two years, with a single peak emission for the early rice season and a double peak emission for the late rice season. Compared with other treatments, NT significantly reduced CH4 emission among the rice growing seasons (P<0.05). However, much higher variations in N2O emission were observed across the rice growing seasons due to the vulnerability of N2O to external influences. The amount of CH4 emission in paddy fields was much higher relative to N2O emission. Conversion of CT to NT significantly reduced the cumulative CH4 emission for both rice seasons compared with other treatments (P<0.05). The mean value of global warming potentials (GWPs) of CH4 and N2O emissions over 100 years was in the order of NT

  16. H2-Producing Bacterial Community during Rice Straw Decomposition in Paddy Field Soil: Estimation by an Analysis of [FeFe]-Hydrogenase Gene Transcripts.

    PubMed

    Baba, Ryuko; Asakawa, Susumu; Watanabe, Takeshi

    2016-09-29

    The transcription patterns of [FeFe]-hydrogenase genes (hydA), which encode the enzymes responsible for H2 production, were investigated during rice straw decomposition in paddy soil using molecular biological techniques. Paddy soil amended with and without rice straw was incubated under anoxic conditions. RNA was extracted from the soil, and three clone libraries of hydA were constructed using RNAs obtained from samples in the initial phase of rice straw decomposition (day 1 with rice straw), methanogenic phase of rice straw decomposition (day 14 with rice straw), and under a non-amended condition (day 14 without rice straw). hydA genes related to Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, and Thermotogae were mainly transcribed in paddy soil samples; however, their proportions markedly differed among the libraries. Deltaproteobacteria-related hydA genes were predominantly transcribed on day 1 with rice straw, while various types of hydA genes related to several phyla were transcribed on day 14 with rice straw. Although the diversity of transcribed hydA was significantly higher in the library on day 14 with rice straw than the other two libraries, the composition of hydA transcripts in the library was similar to that in the library on day 14 without rice straw. These results indicate that the composition of active H2 producers and/or H2 metabolic patterns dynamically change during rice straw decomposition in paddy soil.

  17. Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions from a rice-wheat rotation as affected by crop residue incorporation and temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zou, Jianwen; Huang, Yao; Zong, Lianggang; Zheng, Xunhua; Wang, Yuesi

    2004-10-01

    Field measurements were made from June 2001 to May 2002 to evaluate the effect of crop residue application and temperature on CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions within an entire rice-wheat rotation season. Rapeseed cake and wheat straw were incorporated into the soil at a rate of 2.25 t hm-2 when the rice crop was transplanted in June 2001. Compared with the control, the incorporation of rapeseed cake enhanced the emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O in the rice-growing season by 12.3%, 252.3%, and 17.5%, respectively, while no further effect was held on the emissions of CO2 and N2O in the following wheatgrowing season. The incorporation of wheat straw enhanced the emissions of CO2 and CH4 by 7.1% and 249.6%, respectively, but reduced the N2O emission by 18.8% in the rice-growing season. Significant reductions of 17.8% for the CO2 and of 12.9% for the N2O emission were observed in the following wheatgrowing season. A positive correlation existed between the emissions of N2O and CO2 ( R 2 = 0.445, n = 73, p < 0.001) from the rice-growing season when N2O was emitted. A trade-off relationship between the emissions of CH4 and N2O was found in the rice-growing season. The CH4 emission was significantly correlated with the CO2 emission for the period from rice transplantation to field drainage, but not for the entire rice-growing season. In addition, air temperature was found to regulate the CO2 emissions from the non-waterlogged period over the entire rice-wheat rotation season and the N2O emissions from the nonwaterlogged period of the rice-growing season, which can be quantitatively described by an exponential function. The temperature coefficient ( Q 10) was then evaluated to be 2.3±0.2 for the CO2 emission and 3.9±0.4 for the N2O emission, respectively.

  18. Rice Yield and the Fate of Fertilizer Nitrogen as Affected by Addition of Earthworm Casts Collected from Oilseed Rape Fields: A Pot Experiment.

    PubMed

    Huang, Min; Zhou, Xuefeng; Xie, Xiaobing; Zhao, Chunrong; Chen, Jiana; Cao, Fangbo; Zou, Yingbin

    2016-01-01

    The mechanism associated with improvement of soil nutritional status by oilseed rape crop, leading to better performance of rice crop, in rice-oilseed rape cropping systems is little known. The present study was aimed to test the hypothesis that earthworm casts produced during oilseed rape-growing season have positive effects on grain yield and fertilizer nitrogen (N) utilization in the subsequent flooded rice crop. A 15N-tracing pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of earthworm casts collected from oilseed rape fields on yield attributes in rice and the fate of fertilizer N. Soil treated with earthworm casts (soil: earthworm casts = 4: 1, w/w) (EC1) produced 39% higher grain yield than soil only (EC0). EC1 had 18% more panicle number and 10% higher spikelet filling percentage than EC0. Aboveground biomass and harvest index were higher in EC1 than in EC0 by 20% and 15%, respectively. SPAD values in flag leaves were 10% and 22% higher under EC1 than EC0 at 15 and 20 days after heading, respectively. EC1 had 19% higher total N uptake and 18% higher physiological N-use efficiency than EC0. These positive effects of earthworm casts on yield attributes offset negative effects of decreasing N rate from 0.74 g pot-1 (equivalent to the recommended field rate of 150 kg ha-1) to 0.44 g pot-1 (equivalent to 60% of the recommended rate). Fertilizer N retention rate was 7% higher while fertilizer N loss rate was 6% lower in EC1 than in EC0. Our study suggests that earthworm casts produced during oilseed rape-growing season are expected to have the following benefits on the subsequent flooded rice system: (1) improving growth and physiological processes in rice plants and consequently increasing rice grain yield, and (2) increasing fertilizer N retention rate and hence decreasing fertilizer N loss rate and reducing environmental risk.

  19. Rice Yield and the Fate of Fertilizer Nitrogen as Affected by Addition of Earthworm Casts Collected from Oilseed Rape Fields: A Pot Experiment

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Min; Zhou, Xuefeng; Xie, Xiaobing; Zhao, Chunrong; Chen, Jiana; Cao, Fangbo; Zou, Yingbin

    2016-01-01

    The mechanism associated with improvement of soil nutritional status by oilseed rape crop, leading to better performance of rice crop, in rice-oilseed rape cropping systems is little known. The present study was aimed to test the hypothesis that earthworm casts produced during oilseed rape-growing season have positive effects on grain yield and fertilizer nitrogen (N) utilization in the subsequent flooded rice crop. A 15N-tracing pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of earthworm casts collected from oilseed rape fields on yield attributes in rice and the fate of fertilizer N. Soil treated with earthworm casts (soil: earthworm casts = 4: 1, w/w) (EC1) produced 39% higher grain yield than soil only (EC0). EC1 had 18% more panicle number and 10% higher spikelet filling percentage than EC0. Aboveground biomass and harvest index were higher in EC1 than in EC0 by 20% and 15%, respectively. SPAD values in flag leaves were 10% and 22% higher under EC1 than EC0 at 15 and 20 days after heading, respectively. EC1 had 19% higher total N uptake and 18% higher physiological N-use efficiency than EC0. These positive effects of earthworm casts on yield attributes offset negative effects of decreasing N rate from 0.74 g pot–1 (equivalent to the recommended field rate of 150 kg ha–1) to 0.44 g pot–1 (equivalent to 60% of the recommended rate). Fertilizer N retention rate was 7% higher while fertilizer N loss rate was 6% lower in EC1 than in EC0. Our study suggests that earthworm casts produced during oilseed rape-growing season are expected to have the following benefits on the subsequent flooded rice system: (1) improving growth and physiological processes in rice plants and consequently increasing rice grain yield, and (2) increasing fertilizer N retention rate and hence decreasing fertilizer N loss rate and reducing environmental risk. PMID:27880837

  20. Antixenosis and Antibiosis Resistance in Rice Cultivars against Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae).

    PubMed

    Tabari, M A; Fathi, S A A; Nouri-Ganbalani, G; Moumeni, A; Razmjou, J

    2017-08-01

    The striped stem borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is an important pest afflicting rice in most rice-growing countries in the world. Deliniating the categories of resistance in rice genotypes under field conditions could be helpful in managment of this pest. Two categories of resistance, antixenosis and antibiosis, were examined in ten popular and diverse rice genotypes of different origin that had been selected for their resistance to the striped stem borer in a previous study. Significant differences were found between genotypes for the number of egg masses, number of eggs, preference index, larval and pupal weight, larval development time, larval survival rate, larval mine length, and leaf trichome density. It was found that the rice genotypes Novator, A7801, and Nemat had the more pronounced antixenosis-type resistance, whereas AB1 and Shirodi had better antiobiosis-type resistance. Interestingly, the rice genotype AN-74 for which Nemat is the parental line showed both types of resistance and could be effectively used in an integrated pest management of the rice striped stem borer.

  1. Binding Site Concentration Explains the Differential Susceptibility of Chilo suppressalis and Sesamia inferens to Cry1A-Producing Rice

    PubMed Central

    Han, Chao; Liu, Zewen; Chen, Fajun; Hou, Maolin; Peng, Yufa

    2014-01-01

    Chilo suppressalis and Sesamia inferens are two important lepidopteran rice pests that occur concurrently during outbreaks in paddy fields in the main rice-growing areas of China. Previous and current field tests demonstrate that the transgenic rice line Huahui 1 (HH1) producing a Cry1Ab-Cry1Ac hybrid toxin from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis reduces egg and larval densities of C. suppressalis but not of S. inferens. This differential susceptibility to HH1 rice correlates with the reduced susceptibility to Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac toxins in S. inferens larvae compared to C. suppressalis larvae. The goal of this study was to identify the mechanism responsible for this differential susceptibility. In saturation binding assays, both Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac toxins bound with high affinity and in a saturable manner to midgut brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) from C. suppressalis and S. inferens larvae. While binding affinities were similar, a dramatically lower concentration of Cry1A toxin binding sites was detected for S. inferens BBMV than for C. suppressalis BBMV. In contrast, no significant differences between species were detected for Cry1Ca toxin binding to BBMV. Ligand blotting detected BBMV proteins binding Cry1Ac or Cry1Ca toxins, some of them unique to C. suppressalis or S. inferens. These data support that reduced Cry1A binding site concentration is associated with a lower susceptibility to Cry1A toxins and HH1 rice in S. inferens larvae than in C. suppressalis larvae. Moreover, our data support Cry1Ca as a candidate for pyramiding efforts with Cry1A-producing rice to extend the activity range and durability of this technology against rice stem borers. PMID:24928872

  2. Late-summer food of red-winged blackbirds in a fresh tidal-river marsh

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Meanley, B.

    1961-01-01

    During late summer in the Delaware Valley and Chesapeake Bay region, hundreds of thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds feed in wild rice beds of fresh tidal-river marshes. The period during which wild rice seed is available coincides with the ripening period of a part of the corn crop, and there is evidence to indicate that the availability of the wild rice reduces bird feeding pressure on corn in the area. The importance of wild rice and other marsh plants to the redwing during the period when wild rice seed is available was studied further by field observations and by analysis of stomach contents of 130 birds collected in wild rice beds of the Patuxent River in southern Maryland. Seeds of marsh plants formed the bulk of the food of redwings collected. Dotted smartweed, wild rice, and Walter?s millet were the most important food plants. Corn was the fourth most important item. It occurred in 35, approximately one-fourth, of the stomachs

  3. The Efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis spp. galleriae Against Rice Water Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) for Integrated Pest Management in California Rice.

    PubMed

    Aghaee, Mohammad-Amir; Godfrey, Larry D

    2015-02-01

    Rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kushel) is the most damaging insect pest of rice in the United States. Larval feeding on the roots stunt growth and reduce yield. Current pest management against the weevil in California relies heavily on pyrethroids that can be damaging to aquatic food webs. Examination of an environmentally friendly alternative biopesticide based on Bacillus thuringiensis spp. galleriae chemistry against rice water weevil larvae showed moderate levels of activity in pilot studies. We further examined the performance of different formulations of Bt.galleriae against the leading insecticide used in California rice, λ-cyhalothrin. The granular formulation performed as well as the λ-cyhalothrin in use in California in some of our greenhouse and field studies. This is the first reported use of B. thuringiensis spp. galleriae against rice water weevil. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Ammonia Volatilization from Urea-Application Influenced Germination and Early Seedling Growth of Dry Direct-Seeded Rice

    PubMed Central

    Qi, Xiaoli; Wu, Wei; Shah, Farooq; Peng, Shaobing; Huang, Jianliang; Cui, Kehui; Liu, Hongyan; Nie, Lixiao

    2012-01-01

    Poor seed germination and early seedling growth associated with urea-induced soil ammonia volatilization are major constraints in the adoption of dry direct-seeded rice. To directly examine soil ammonia volatilization and its damage to seed germination and early seedling growth of dry direct-seeded rice when urea is applied at seeding, two Petri-dish incubation experiments and a field experiment were conducted. Ammonia volatilization due to urea application significantly reduced seed germination and early seedling growth of dry direct-seedling rice. NBPT significantly reduced ammonia volatilization following urea application. The application of ammonium sulfate, instead of urea at seeding, may mitigate poor crop establishment of dry direct-seeded rice. Root growth of dry direct-seeded rice was more seriously inhibited by soil ammonia volatilization than that of shoot. Results suggest that roots are more sensitive to soil ammonia toxicity than shoots in dry direct-seeded rice system when N is applied as urea at seeding. PMID:22454611

  5. Combined influence of Bt rice and rice dwarf virus on biological parameters of a non-target herbivore, Nephotettix cincticeps (Uhler) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Qianjin; Han, Naishun; Dang, Cong; Lu, Zengbin; Wang, Fang; Yao, Hongwei; Peng, Yufa; Stanley, David

    2017-01-01

    The advent of genetically modified (GM) Bt rice creates the possibility of interactions among Bt crops, crop pathogens and non-target herbivores. In particular, information on how pathogen-infected Bt-expressing plants will influence non-target herbivores is necessary to predict the sustainability of GM cropping systems. Laboratory bioassays were conducted to evaluate the potential combined impacts of rice dwarf virus (RDV) and two Bt rice lines, T1C-19 (Cry1C) and T2A-1 (Cry2A), on non-target green rice leafhopper (GRLH), Nephotettix cincticeps (Uhler) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). In the first experiment, GRLHs feeding preference tests on Bt rice lines compared to a parental control rice line, MH63, were conducted. As rice plants were uninfected with RDV, GRLHs generally preferred the control MH63 line over the two Bt lines during the initial 8 h, with no significant preference during the following 64 h. As rice plants were infected with RDV, there were no clear preferences between the Bt rice lines and the control MH63 line. In the second experiment, we assessed the combined influence of RDV-infection status and Bt rice lines on GRLH biological parameters. Egg duration, adult weights, and male adult longevity were significantly affected on RDV-infected Bt rice. Other parameters, egg hatching rate, nymph survival and fecundity were not significantly influenced. We infer that interaction effect among two testing Bt rice lines and RDV will not lead to enlarged pest populations, thus demonstrating that growing these two Bt rice lines will poses negligible risk to GRLH in sustainable rice agroecosystems. Long-term field experiments to monitor the population dynamics of GRLHs at large scale need to be carried out to confirm the current results. PMID:28753622

  6. Combined influence of Bt rice and rice dwarf virus on biological parameters of a non-target herbivore, Nephotettix cincticeps (Uhler) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae).

    PubMed

    Wang, Qianjin; Han, Naishun; Dang, Cong; Lu, Zengbin; Wang, Fang; Yao, Hongwei; Peng, Yufa; Stanley, David; Ye, Gongyin

    2017-01-01

    The advent of genetically modified (GM) Bt rice creates the possibility of interactions among Bt crops, crop pathogens and non-target herbivores. In particular, information on how pathogen-infected Bt-expressing plants will influence non-target herbivores is necessary to predict the sustainability of GM cropping systems. Laboratory bioassays were conducted to evaluate the potential combined impacts of rice dwarf virus (RDV) and two Bt rice lines, T1C-19 (Cry1C) and T2A-1 (Cry2A), on non-target green rice leafhopper (GRLH), Nephotettix cincticeps (Uhler) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). In the first experiment, GRLHs feeding preference tests on Bt rice lines compared to a parental control rice line, MH63, were conducted. As rice plants were uninfected with RDV, GRLHs generally preferred the control MH63 line over the two Bt lines during the initial 8 h, with no significant preference during the following 64 h. As rice plants were infected with RDV, there were no clear preferences between the Bt rice lines and the control MH63 line. In the second experiment, we assessed the combined influence of RDV-infection status and Bt rice lines on GRLH biological parameters. Egg duration, adult weights, and male adult longevity were significantly affected on RDV-infected Bt rice. Other parameters, egg hatching rate, nymph survival and fecundity were not significantly influenced. We infer that interaction effect among two testing Bt rice lines and RDV will not lead to enlarged pest populations, thus demonstrating that growing these two Bt rice lines will poses negligible risk to GRLH in sustainable rice agroecosystems. Long-term field experiments to monitor the population dynamics of GRLHs at large scale need to be carried out to confirm the current results.

  7. Combining eddy-covariance measurements and Penman-Monteith type models to estimate evapotranspiration of flooded and aerobic rice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Facchi, Arianna; Masseroni, Daniele; Gharsallah, Olfa; Gandolfi, Claudio

    2014-05-01

    Rice is of great importance both from a food supply point of view, since it represents the main food in the diet of over half the world's population, and from a water resources point of view, since it consumes almost 40% of the water amount used for irrigation. About 90% of global production takes place in Asia, while European production is quantitatively modest (about 3 million tons). However, Italy is the Europe's leading producer, with over half of total production, almost totally concentrated in a large traditional paddy rice area between the Lombardy and Piedmont regions, in the north-western part of the country. In this area, irrigation of rice is traditionally carried out by continuous flooding. The high water requirement of this irrigation regime encourages the introduction of water saving irrigation practices, as flood irrigation after sowing in dry soil and intermittent irrigation (aerobic rice). In the agricultural season 2013 an intense monitoring activity was conducted on three experimental fields located in the Padana plain (northern Italy) and characterized by different irrigation regimes (traditional flood irrigation, flood irrigation after sowing in dry soil, intermittent irrigation), with the aim of comparing the water balance terms for the three irrigation treatments. Actual evapotranspiration (ET) is one of the terms, but, unlike others water balance components, its field monitoring requires expensive instrumentation. This work explores the possibility of using only one eddy covariance system and Penman-Monteith (PM) type models for the determination of ET fluxes for the three irrigation regimes. An eddy covariance station was installed on the levee between the traditional flooded and the aerobic rice fields, to contemporaneously monitor the ET fluxes from this two treatments as a function of the wind direction. A detailed footprint analysis was conducted - through the application of three different analytical models - to determine the position and the size of the footprint area at each monitoring time step (30-min). Two sets of half-hourly ET values, each one concerning one of the two treatments, were therefore obtained, each one comprising about 10-15% of the daytime time steps over the whole agricultural season. To confirm the reliability of the measured ET fluxes, the energy balance closure was computed for the two fields and resulted in an imbalance lower than 10% for both the irrigation treatments. The two eddy covariance data-sets were then used to calibrate three Penman-Monteith type models: one for the estimation of the rice crop transpiration (T), the second for the soil evaporation (ES), and the third for the evaporation from the water covering the soil in the case of flooded rice fields (EH20). Models were implemented using the available agro-meteorological data detected over the rice canopies and the periodically measured values of crop parameters (leaf area index, crop height). Finally, the calibrated models were used to compute the complete hourly ET data series for the three irrigation regimes.

  8. Characterization of functional trait diversity among Indian cultivated and weedy rice populations

    PubMed Central

    Rathore, M.; Singh, Raghwendra; Kumar, B.; Chauhan, B. S.

    2016-01-01

    Weedy rice, a menace in rice growing areas globally, is biosimilar having attributes similar to cultivated and wild rice, and therefore is difficult to manage. A study was initiated to characterize the functional traits of 76 weedy rice populations and commonly grown rice cultivars from different agro-climatic zones for nine morphological, five physiological, and three phenological parameters in a field experiment under an augmented block design. Comparison between weedy and cultivated rice revealed a difference in duration (days) from panicle emergence to heading as the most variable trait and awn length as the least variable one, as evidenced from their coefficients of variation. The results of principal component analysis revealed the first three principal components to represent 47.3% of the total variation, which indicates an important role of transpiration, conductance, leaf-air temperature difference, days to panicle emergence, days to heading, flag leaf length, SPAD (soil-plant analysis development), grain weight, plant height, and panicle length to the diversity in weedy rice populations. The variations existing in weedy rice population are a major reason for its wider adaptability to varied environmental conditions and also a problem while trying to manage it. PMID:27072282

  9. Knowledge-based decision tree approach for mapping spatial distribution of rice crop using C-band synthetic aperture radar-derived information

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mishra, Varun Narayan; Prasad, Rajendra; Kumar, Pradeep; Srivastava, Prashant K.; Rai, Praveen Kumar

    2017-10-01

    Updated and accurate information of rice-growing areas is vital for food security and investigating the environmental impact of rice ecosystems. The intent of this work is to explore the feasibility of dual-polarimetric C-band Radar Imaging Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) data in delineating rice crop fields from other land cover features. A two polarization combination of RISAT-1 backscatter, namely ratio (HH/HV) and difference (HH-HV), significantly enhanced the backscatter difference between rice and nonrice categories. With these inputs, a QUEST decision tree (DT) classifier is successfully employed to extract the spatial distribution of rice crop areas. The results showed the optimal polarization combination to be HH along with HH/HV and HH-HV for rice crop mapping with an accuracy of 88.57%. Results were further compared with a Landsat-8 operational land imager (OLI) optical sensor-derived rice crop map. Spatial agreement of almost 90% was achieved between outputs produced from Landsat-8 OLI and RISAT-1 data. The simplicity of the approach used in this work may serve as an effective tool for rice crop mapping.

  10. Effect of an extruded pea or rice diet on postprandial insulin and cardiovascular responses in dogs.

    PubMed

    Adolphe, J L; Drew, M D; Silver, T I; Fouhse, J; Childs, H; Weber, L P

    2015-08-01

    Peas are increasing in popularity as a source of carbohydrate, protein and fibre in extruded canine diets. The aim of this study was to test the health effects of two canine diets with identical macronutrient profiles, but containing either yellow field peas or white rice as the carbohydrate source on metabolism, cardiovascular outcomes and adiposity. First, the acute glycemic, insulinemic and cardiovascular responses to the pea- or rice-based diets were determined in normal weight beagles (n = 7 dogs). The glycemic index did not differ between the pea diet (56 ± 12) and rice diet (63 ± 9). Next, obese beagles (n = 9) were fed the yellow field pea diet or white rice diet ad libitum for 12 weeks in a crossover study. Adiposity (measured using computed tomography), metabolic (oral glucose tolerance test, plasma leptin, adiponectin, C-reactive protein) and cardiovascular assessments (echocardiography and blood pressure) were performed before and after each crossover study period. After 12 weeks on each diet, peak insulin (p = 0.05) and area under the curve (AUC) for insulin after a 10 g oral glucose tolerance test (p = 0.05) were lower with the pea than the rice diet. Diet did not show a significant effect on body weight, fat distribution, cardiovascular variables, adiponectin or leptin. In conclusion, a diet containing yellow field peas reduced the postprandial insulin response after glucose challenge in dogs despite continued obesity, indicating improved metabolic health. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  11. Limited Fitness Advantages of Crop-Weed Hybrid Progeny Containing Insect-Resistant Transgenes (Bt/CpTI) in Transgenic Rice Field

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Xiao; Wang, Feng; Su, Jun; Lu, Bao-Rong

    2012-01-01

    Background The spread of insect-resistance transgenes from genetically engineered (GE) rice to its coexisting weedy rice (O. sativa f. spontanea) populations via gene flow creates a major concern for commercial GE rice cultivation. Transgene flow to weedy rice seems unavoidable. Therefore, characterization of potential fitness effect brought by the transgenes is essential to assess environmental consequences caused by crop-weed transgene flow. Methodology/Principal Findings Field performance of fitness-related traits was assessed in advanced hybrid progeny of F4 generation derived from a cross between an insect-resistant transgenic (Bt/CpTI) rice line and a weedy strain. The performance of transgene-positive hybrid progeny was compared with the transgene-negative progeny and weedy parent in pure and mixed planting of transgenic and nontransgenic plants under environmental conditions with natural vs. low insect pressure. Results showed that under natural insect pressure the insect-resistant transgenes could effectively suppress target insects and bring significantly increased fitness to transgenic plants in pure planting, compared with nontransgenic plants (including weedy parent). In contrast, no significant differences in fitness were detected under low insect pressure. However, such increase in fitness was not detected in the mixed planting of transgenic and nontransgenic plants due to significantly reduced insect pressure. Conclusions/Significance Insect-resistance transgenes may have limited fitness advantages to hybrid progeny resulted from crop-weed transgene flow owning to the significantly reduced ambient target insect pressure when an insect-resistant GE crop is grown. Given that the extensive cultivation of an insect-resistant GE crop will ultimately reduce the target insect pressure, the rapid spread of insect-resistance transgenes in weedy populations in commercial GE crop fields may be not likely to happen. PMID:22815975

  12. A study of the sources and sinks of methane and methyl chloroform using a global three-dimensional Lagrangian tropospheric tracer transport model

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Taylor, John A.; Brasseur, G. P.; Zimmerman, P. R.; Cicerone, R. J.

    1991-01-01

    Sources and sinks of methane and methyl chloroform are investigated using a global three-dimensional Lagrangian tropospheric tracer transport model with parameterized hydroxyl and temperature fields. Using the hydroxyl radical field calibrated to the methyl chloroform observations, the globally averaged release of methane and its spatial and temporal distribution were investigated. Two source function models of the spatial and temporal distribution of the flux of methane to the atmosphere were developed. The first model was based on the assumption that methane is emitted as a proportion of net primary productivity (NPP). The second model identified source regions for methane from rice paddies, wetlands, enteric fermentation, termites, and biomass burning based on high-resolution land use data. The most significant difference between the two models were predictions of methane fluxes over China and South East Asia, the location of most of the world's rice paddies, indicating that either the assumption that a uniform fraction of NPP is converted to methane is not valid for rice paddies, or that NPP is underestimated for rice paddies, or that present methane emission estimates from rice paddies are too high.

  13. Impact of low-temperature, overcast and rainy weather during the reproductive growth stage on lodging resistance of rice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weng, Fei; Zhang, Wujun; Wu, Xiaoran; Xu, Xia; Ding, Yanfeng; Li, Ganghua; Liu, Zhenghui; Wang, Shaohua

    2017-04-01

    The objectives of this study were to explore the mechanism by which the lodging resistance of the rice population during the late growth period responds to low-temperature, overcast and rainy weather during the reproductive growth stage. Field experiments were conducted using indica rice Yliangyou2 (lodging-resistance variety), IIyou084 (lodging-susceptible variety) and japonica rice Wuyunjing23 (lodging-resistance variety) and W3668 (lodging- susceptible variety) in 2013 (high temperature and strong radiation during the rice reproductive growth stage), 2012 and 2014 (low temperature and weak radiation during rice reproductive growth stage). The results showed that the length of the basal internodes and the height of the gravitational centres were greater in plants grown in 2014. Dry weight of basal culms, culm diameter, lignin content and total content of structural carbohydrates (lignin and cellulose) in basal internodes were reduced in these plants, causing a significant reduction in the bending stress and lodging resistance of the rice stems. Low-temperature, overcast and rainy weather had a greater effect on lodging resistance in indica rice compared with japonica rice. This was reflected in a greater reduction in the lignin content of the indica rice stems, which yielded a significantly lower breaking strength and bending stress.

  14. Designing climate-resilient rice with ideal grain quality suited for high-temperature stress

    PubMed Central

    Sreenivasulu, Nese; Butardo, Vito M.; Misra, Gopal; Cuevas, Rosa Paula; Anacleto, Roslen; Kavi Kishor, Polavarpu B.

    2015-01-01

    To ensure rice food security, the target outputs of future rice breeding programmes should focus on developing climate-resilient rice varieties with emphasis on increased head rice yield coupled with superior grain quality. This challenge is made greater by a world that is increasingly becoming warmer. Such environmental changes dramatically impact head rice and milling yield as well as increasing chalkiness because of impairment in starch accumulation and other storage biosynthetic pathways in the grain. This review highlights the knowledge gained through gene discovery via quantitative trait locus (QTL) cloning and structural–functional genomic strategies to reduce chalk, increase head rice yield, and develop stable lines with optimum grain quality in challenging environments. The newly discovered genes and the knowledge gained on the influence of specific alleles related to stability of grain quality attributes provide a robust platform for marker-assisted selection in breeding to design heat-tolerant rice varieties with superior grain quality. Using the chalkiness trait in rice as a case study, we demonstrate here that the emerging field of systems genetics can help fast-track the identification of novel alleles and gene targets that can be pyramided for the development of environmentally robust rice varieties that possess improved grain quality. PMID:25662847

  15. Pre-sowing Seed Treatments in Direct-seeded Early Rice: Consequences for Emergence, Seedling Growth and Associated Metabolic Events under Chilling Stress

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Weiqin; Chen, Qian; Hussain, Saddam; Mei, Junhao; Dong, Huanglin; Peng, Shaobing; Huang, Jianliang; Cui, Kehui; Nie, Lixiao

    2016-01-01

    Double direct-seeding for double rice cropping is a simplified, labor saving, and efficient cropping system to improve multiple-crop index and total rice production in central China. However, poor crop establishment of direct-seeded early rice due to chilling stress is the main obstacle to wide spread of this system. A series of experiments were conducted to unravel the effects of pre-sowing seed treatments on emergence, seedling growth and associated metabolic events of direct-seeded early rice under chilling stress. Two seed priming treatments and two seed coating treatments were used in all the experiments. A non-treated control treatment was also maintained for comparison. In both the field and growth chamber studies, seed priming with selenium or salicylic acid significantly enhanced the emergence and seedling growth of rice compared with non-treated control. Nevertheless, such positive effects were not apparent for seed coating treatments. Better emergence and vigorous seedling growth of rice after seed priming was associated with enhanced α-amylase activity, higher soluble sugars contents, and greater respiration rate in primed rice seedlings under chilling stress. Taking together, these findings may provide new avenues for understanding and advancing priming-induced chilling tolerance in direct-seeded early rice in double rice cropping system.

  16. A Built-In Mechanism to Mitigate the Spread of Insect-Resistance and Herbicide-Tolerance Transgenes into Weedy Rice Populations

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Chengyi; Li, Jingjing; Gao, Jianhua; Shen, Zhicheng; Lu, Bao-Rong; Lin, Chaoyang

    2012-01-01

    Background The major challenge of cultivating genetically modified (GM) rice (Oryza sativa) at the commercial scale is to prevent the spread of transgenes from GM cultivated rice to its coexisting weedy rice (O. sativa f. spontanea). The strategic development of GM rice with a built-in control mechanism can mitigate transgene spread in weedy rice populations. Methodology/Principal Findings An RNAi cassette suppressing the expression of the bentazon detoxifying enzyme CYP81A6 was constructed into the T-DNA which contained two tightly linked transgenes expressing the Bt insecticidal protein Cry1Ab and the glyphosate tolerant 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS), respectively. GM rice plants developed from this T-DNA were resistant to lepidopteran pests and tolerant to glyphosate, but sensitive to bentazon. The application of bentazon of 2000 mg/L at the rate of 40 mL/m2, which is approximately the recommended dose for the field application to control common rice weeds, killed all F2 plants containing the transgenes generated from the Crop-weed hybrids between a GM rice line (CGH-13) and two weedy rice strains (PI-63 and PI-1401). Conclusions/Significance Weedy rice plants containing transgenes from GM rice through gene flow can be selectively killed by the spray of bentazon when a non-GM rice variety is cultivated alternately in a few-year interval. The built-in control mechanism in combination of cropping management is likely to mitigate the spread of transgenes into weedy rice populations. PMID:22359609

  17. Mapping Early, Middle and Late Rice Extent Using Sentinel-1A and Landsat-8 Data in the Poyang Lake Plain, China

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Mingquan; Wang, Li

    2018-01-01

    Areas and spatial distribution information of paddy rice are important for managing food security, water use, and climate change. However, there are many difficulties in mapping paddy rice, especially mapping multi-season paddy rice in rainy regions, including differences in phenology, the influence of weather, and farmland fragmentation. To resolve these problems, a novel multi-season paddy rice mapping approach based on Sentinel-1A and Landsat-8 data is proposed. First, Sentinel-1A data were enhanced based on the fact that the backscattering coefficient of paddy rice varies according to its growth stage. Second, cropland information was enhanced based on the fact that the NDVI of cropland in winter is lower than that in the growing season. Then, paddy rice and cropland areas were extracted using a K-Means unsupervised classifier with enhanced images. Third, to further improve the paddy rice classification accuracy, cropland information was utilized to optimize distribution of paddy rice by the fact that paddy rice must be planted in cropland. Classification accuracy was validated based on ground-data from 25 field survey quadrats measuring 600 m × 600 m. The results show that: multi-season paddy rice planting areas effectively was extracted by the method and adjusted early rice area of 1630.84 km2, adjusted middle rice area of 556.21 km2, and adjusted late rice area of 3138.37 km2. The overall accuracy was 98.10%, with a kappa coefficient of 0.94. PMID:29324647

  18. Shared flowering phenology, insect pests, and pathogens among wild, weedy, and cultivated rice in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: implications for transgenic rice.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Michael B; Arpaia, Salvatore; Lan, La Pham; Chau, Luong Minh; Snow, Allison A

    2008-01-01

    Many varieties of transgenic rice are under development in countries where wild and weedy relatives co-occur with the crop. To evaluate possible risks associated with pollen-mediated transgene dispersal, we conducted a two-year survey in Vietnam to examine overlapping flowering periods of rice (Oryza sativa L.), weedy rice (O. sativa), and wild rice (O. rufipogon Griff.), all of which are inter-fertile. We surveyed populations in two regions of the Mekong Delta, northern and southern, and at three sites in each of three habitats per region: fresh water, saline water, and acid sulfate soil. Weedy rice frequently flowered simultaneously with neighboring cultivated rice plants. Flowering was more seasonal in wild rice and often peaked in November and December. Peak flowering times of wild rice overlapped with adjacent rice fields at all of the saline sites and half of the acid sulfate sites. The longer flowering season of wild rice ensured that crop-to-wild gene flow was possible in fresh water habitats as well. Our second objective was to determine whether wild and weedy rice populations are exposed to pests that could be targeted by future transgenes, which may then provide fitness benefits. These populations shared many pathogen and insect herbivore species with cultivated rice (leaffolder, locust, cricket, planthoppers, rice bug, stem borer, sheath blight, blast, bacterial leaf blight, and brown spot). Damage by leaffolders and locusts was the most frequently observed insect feeding damage on all three rice types. Indicator species analysis revealed that most of the insect herbivores were associated with particular habitats, demonstrating the importance of broad geographic sampling for transgenic rice risk assessment. These survey data and the strong likelihood of gene flow from cultivated rice suggest that further studies are needed to examine the effects of transgenic traits such as resistance to pests on the abundance of wild and weedy rice.

  19. Effects of nitrogen and biochar amendment on soil methane concentration profiles and diffusion in a rice-wheat annual rotation system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Xin; Wu, Zhen; Dong, Yubing; Zhou, Ziqiang; Xiong, Zhengqin

    2016-12-01

    The CH4 emissions from soil were influenced by the changeable CH4 concentrations and diffusions in soil profiles, but that have been subjected to nitrogen (N) and biochar amendment over seasonal and annual time frames. Accordingly, a two-year field experiment was conducted in southeastern China to determine the amendment effects on CH4 concentrations and diffusive effluxes as measured by a multilevel sampling probe in paddy soil during two cycles of rice-wheat rotations. The results showed that the top 7-cm soil layers were the primary CH4 production sites during the rice-growing seasons. This layer acted as the source of CH4 generation and diffusion, and the deeper soil layers and the wheat season soil acted as the sink. N fertilization significantly increased the CH4 concentration and diffusive effluxes in the top 7-cm layers during the 2013 and 2014 rice seasons. Following biochar amendment, the soil CH4 concentrations significantly decreased during the rice season in 2014, relative to the single N treatment. Moreover, 40 t ha-1 biochar significantly decreased the diffusive effluxes during the rice seasons in both years. Therefore, our results showed that biochar amendment is a good strategy for reducing the soil profile CH4 concentrations and diffusive effluxes induced by N in paddy fields.

  20. The Transcription Factor OsWRKY45 Negatively Modulates the Resistance of Rice to the Brown Planthopper Nilaparvata lugens

    PubMed Central

    Huangfu, Jiayi; Li, Jiancai; Li, Ran; Ye, Meng; Kuai, Peng; Zhang, Tongfang; Lou, Yonggen

    2016-01-01

    WRKY transcription factors play a central role not only in plant growth and development but also in plant stress responses. However, the role of WRKY transcription factors in herbivore-induced plant defenses and their underlying mechanisms, especially in rice, remains largely unclear. Here, we cloned a rice WRKY gene OsWRKY45, whose expression was induced by mechanical wounding, by infestation of the brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens) and by treatment with jasmonic acid (JA) or salicylic acid (SA). The antisense expression of OsWRKY45 (as-wrky) enhanced BPH-induced levels of H2O2 and ethylene, reduced feeding and oviposition preference as well as the survival rate of BPH, and delayed the development of BPH nymphs. Consistently, lower population densities of BPH on as-wrky lines, compared to those on wild-type (WT) plants, were observed in field experiments. On the other hand, as-wrky lines in the field had lower susceptibility to sheath blight (caused by Rhizoctonia solani) but higher susceptibility to rice blast (caused by Magnaporthe oryzae) than did WT plants. These findings suggest that OsWRKY45 plays important but contrasting roles in regulating the resistance of rice to pathogens and herbivores, and attention should be paid if OsWRKY45 is used to develop disease or herbivore-resistant rice. PMID:27258255

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