Effects of Ploughing Astragalus sinicus at Maturity Stage on Rice Yield and Soil Properties of Paddy Field

[Objective] The effects of ploughing Astragalus sinicus at maturity stage as green manure on paddy soil properties were studied to provide references for ad- vancing the green manure production and field sustainable development. [Methods] A three-year field positioning experiment was carried out. In the first year, five differ- ent levels （0, 2.81, 5.61, 8.42, 11.23 t/hm~） of Astragalus sinicus ploughed at matu- rity stage were designed. And in the next two years, the amounts of ploughed As- tragalus sinicus at maturity stage were based on the natural growth amounts of As- tragalus sinicus at maturity stage of the former year in each plot field. The yields of Astragalus sinicus at maturity stage were estimated and ploughed directly before rice transplanting. Rice yield, soil nutrients, biological properties and water-stable aggre- gates of paddy fields were measured as well. [Results] The effective panicles and rice yields increased significantly after ploughing Astragalus sinicus at maturity stage. Meanwhile, the organic acid content in paddy field increased and the activities of soil phosphatases, invertase and catalase were higher. The soil dissolved organic carbon also increased with the increasing application of green manure. However, excess amount of green manure inhibited the soil microbial biomass carbon content. The macro aggregates and micro aggregates gathered to middle aggregates. [Conclusion] As green manure, the use of Astragalus sinicus at maturity stage could improve soil physiochemical and biological properties, improve soil fertility and increase rice yield significantly. But the ploughing amount of Astragalus sinicus at maturity stage before rice transplanting should be less than 8.42 t/hm2 （dry weight.

Effects of Cultivar and Maturity Stage on Chemical Composition and Ruminal Digestibility of Oat and Barley Hay Using Rumen Fluid or Faecal Liquor as the Inoculum

Two experiments were conducted to study the effects of variety and maturity stage on chemical composition and in vitro dry matter degradability of oat and barley forages. In exp1, four oat varieties and one barley variety were harvested at three maturity stages: stage 1, Two weeks before stage 2; stage 2, Mid-dough for oat and early-dough for barley; stage 3, One week after stage 2. All samples were analyzed for DM, CP, ether extract, ash, ADF(acid detergent fiber), NDF(neutral detergent fiber), ADL(acid detergent lignin), NDICP(neutral detergent insoluble crude protein) and IVDMD(In vitro dry matter digestibility). There was no difference in chemical components and IVDMD among oat variety. But maturity stage had a profound influence on some nutrient contents and IVDMD. With maturity advancing, CP decreased from15.5% to 11.03% and from 14.7% to 10.9% at stage 1 and stage 2 for oat and for barley, respectively, and IVDMD decreased slowly from 72.0% to 64.9% and from 73.5% to 68.8% for oat and for barley, respectively. For fiber fractions, NDF declined before stage 2 and then level off after stage 2, while ADF changed little throughout maturation. The ADL trended to increase with increased maturity. The results from the present experiment revealed that Bailor has relatively greater IVDMD value and kept lower ADL content than any other cultivars. The observed variation in chemical composition and ruminal digestibility among various oat cultivars would allow breeders choose suitable oat forages for cattle diet. In experiment. 2, the DaisyⅡ incubator was used to compare IVDMD values of forages of seven oat cultivars using rumen fluid or faecal liquor as the inoculum source. There was a strong linear relationship between the two estimates (R 2 = 0.809; P < 0.001), which indicated that fecal liquor method has the potential to be used instead of rumen fluid for estimation of in vitro digestibility of forage. It is suggested the method for determination of IVDMD using faecal liquor was appropriate for batch operation with precision and efficiency.

Effects of Gibberellic Acid (GA_(3)) and Salicylic Acid (SA) postharvest treatments on the quality of fresh Barhi dates at different ripening levels in the Khalal maturity stage during controlled atmosphere storage

Barhi dates at Khalal maturity stage are well-known with their pleasant taste,crispy texture,and bright yellow color.It is necessary to extend the duration of Barhi Khalal stage which is too short for effective marketing.This study aimed to inspect the effects of Gibberellic Acid(GA_(3))and Salicylic Acid(SA)postharvest treatments on retaining the high quality of Khalal Barhi fruits during controlled atmosphere storage.Fresh samples of Barhi fruits at Khalal stage harvested at three different ripening levels were dipped after harvesting in GA3(150 ppm)or SA(2.0 mmol/L)and subsequently stored in controlled atmosphere(0°С,5%O_(2),5%CO_(2),80%±5%RH).The results revealed that the GA_(3) and SA treatments reduced the percentage of weight loss and decay in the fruits,while the total soluble solids increased.Moreover,GA_(3) and SA treatments were significantly efficient in limiting the changes in fruit color and texture of Barhi dates compared to the control.Sensorial results support the experimental data and disclosed that the GA_(3)(150 ppm)treatment in the controlled atmosphere(CA)storage was better in conserving the quality of Barhi at the Khalal maturity stage and delaying ripening process.

Dry Matter Accumulation,Moisture Content in Maize Kernel and Their Influences on Mechanical Harvesting

[Objective] The aim of this study was to investigate the dry matter accumulation,moisture content in maize kernel and their influences on mechanical harvesting.[Methods] Using Zhengdan 958,Xianyu 335,Hongda 8 and Liyu 16 as experimental materials,we preliminarily measured the dynamic changes of dry matter accumulation and moisture content with the days after pollination lasted,and investigated the effect of moisture content in kernels on mechanical harvesting of Zhengdan 958 and Liyu 16.[Results] During summer growing season,Zhengdan 958 and Liyu 16 became physiologically mature and suitable for harvesting at about 51 days after pollination,Xianyu 335 and Hongda 8 required 58 days to become physiologically mature and suitable for harvesting after pollination.At physiologically mature stage,the moisture contents in kernels of Zhengdan 958,Xianyu 335,Hongda 8 and Liyu 16 were respectively 33.74%,28.86%,32.05% and 35.24%,respectively.Adopting mechanical harvesting at physiologically mature stage,the kernel loss rate of Zhengdan 958 and Liyu 16 was consistent with the range of mechanical operation index（kernel loss rate of 0.84%≤2%）,while the percentage of broken kernels did not accord with the range of mechanical operation index（kernel crashing rate of 10.12%≧1%）.The results indicate that Zhengdan 958 and Liyu 16 are not suitable for mechanical harvesting using full feeding combine havester.[Conclusion] This study provided theoretical basis for improving the maize harvest index under delayed harvesting.

Improving the non-destructive maturity classification model for durian fruit using near-infrared spectroscopy

The maturity state of durian fruit is a key indicator of quality before trading.This research aims to improve the near-infrared(NIR)model for classifying the maturity stage of durian fruit using a completely non-destructive measurement.Both NIR spectrometers were investigated:the short wavelength NIR(SWNIR)ranging from 450 to 1000 nm and long wavelength NIR(LWNIR)ranging from 860 to 1750 nm.The samples collected for experimentation consisted of four stages:immaturity,prematurity,maturity,and ripe.Each fruit was scanned at the rind position on the main fertile lobe(header,middle,and tail)and stem.The classification models were developed using three supervised machine learning algorithms:linear discriminant analysis(LDA),support vector machine(SVM),and K-Nearest neighbours(KNN).The analysis results revealed that the use of durian rind spectra only obtained between 83.15%and 88.04%accuracy for the LWNIR spectrometer,while the SWNIR spectrometer provided 64.73 to 93.77%accuracy.The performance of model increases when developing with combination between rind and stem spectra.The LDA model developed using a combination of rind and stem spectra provided the greatest efficiency,exhibiting 97.28%and 100%accuracy for LWNIR and SWNIR spectrometers,respectively.The LDAmodelis therefore recommended for obtaining spectra from smoothingmoving average(MA)+baseline of rind position and when used in combination with the MA+standard normal variance(SNV)of stem spectra.The NIR spectroscopy indicated high potential for non-destructive estimation of the durian maturity stage.This process could be used for quality control in the durian export industry to solve the problem of unripe durian being mixed with ripe fruit.

Experimental Study on Induction of Tolerance to Experimental Autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis by Immature Dendritic Cells

Summary: To investigate the effect of immature dendritic cells (iDCs) on experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (MG), iDCs were generated in low dose of GM-CSF, and then they were pulsed with acetylcholine receptor (AchR) and transferred to allogeneic rats. After 3 weeks, all rats were immunized with AchR and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and observed for the corresponding indices of MG for 7 weeks. Our results showed that compared with mature DCs (mDCs) generated at high dose of GM-CSF plus additional stimulation by lipopolysaccharide, iDCs expressed significantly lower levels of MHC-Ⅱ, CD80 and CD86, and their ability to uptake FITC-Dextran was stronger but the ability of stimulating proliferation of allogeneic T cells were weaker. Like controls, after immunization, all rats transferred with iDCs, mDCs and AchR-pulsed mDCs showed typical symptoms in 4 to 7 weeks. The amplitude of electromyogram wave dropped obviously, the level of serum AchRab increased and neuromuscular junction showed typical damage of MG. In contrast, no conspicuous changes were noted in rats transferred with AchR-pulsed iDCs. The results suggest that iDCs could be generated by inducing bone marrow precursors in low dose of GM-CSF, AchR-pulsed iDCs could induce tolerance of EAMG. The dysfunction of DCs may play an important role in the initiation and maintenance of normal immune response in MG.

Radiographic Comparisons between Middle Phalanx of the Third Finger and Cervical Vertebrae Maturation for the Assessment of Skeletal Maturity

Sexual maturation characteristics,chronologic age,dental,and skeletal development are some of the more commonly used means to identify stages of growth.Hand wrist radiograph and cervical vertebrae maturation index(CVMI)are more reliable for skeletal development assessment.This study was conducted to compare the skeletal maturity using the maturational stages of middle phalanx of the third finger(MP3)with cervical vertebrae and then to evaluate the reliability of MP3 as a sole skeletal maturity assessment method.Chronological age group of the 112 subjects was 8-16 years for females and 10-18 years for males were selected for the study.Lateral cephalometry and intra oral peri‑apical radiograph of MP3 of the left hand of each patient were taken.Then,statistically it was correlated which was highly significant.Skeletal maturation of MP3 and cervical vertebrae stages progress with advancing chronological age.Female subjects were advanced on an average of 2 years earlier than male subjects at every stages of growth spurt.These results suggest that MP3 can substitute CVMI for skeletal maturity evaluation to determine optimal treatment time for various orthodontic procedures.The developmental stages of the MP3 could be used as a sole indicator in assessing the skeletal maturity.