The new Caribbean Nitrogen Index to assess nitrogen dynamics in vegetable production systems in southwestern Puerto Rico

Nutrient loss from agricultural fields is one of the main factors influencing surface-and ground-water quality.Typical fertilizer nitrogen(N)consumption rates in vegetable production systems and horticultural crops in Puerto Rico fluctuate between 112 and 253 kg N/ha.The nitrogen use efficiency of vegetable crops is low,increasing the potential for nitrogen losses and high residual soil nitrate content.Quantification of residual soil N and N losses to the environment can be a difficult task.Simulation models such as the USDA-ARS N Index can be used to identify the relative magnitude of varying N-loss pathways and to identify best management practices.Field studies were conducted to quantify residual soil N and crop N removal,and to validate the Nitrogen Index in onion,tropical pumpkin and tomato production systems in the Lajas Valley in southwestern Puerto Rico.Relationships between observed and simulated values were determined to examine the capability of the model for evaluating N losses.There was good correlation between observed and predicted values for residual soil N(r=0.88)and crop N removal(r=0.99)(p<0.05).In the production systems evaluated,the N volatilization losses ranged from 1 to 4 kg N/ha,the denitrification losses ranged from 18 to 46 kg N/ha,the leaching losses ranged from 155 to 779 kg N/ha,and the residual soil nitrate ranged from 64 to 401 kg N/ha.The N use efficiency ranged from 15% to 39%.The results obtained showed that the Nitrogen Index tool can be a useful tool for evaluating N transformations in vegetable production systems of Puerto Rico's semi-arid zone.

A nitrogen index for improving nutrient management within commercial Mexican dairy operations

Some intensive dairy operations in Mexico are contributing to large,negative environmental impacts,especially in regions dominated by high concentrations of animals.Excessive manure inputs plus additional nitrogen(N)fertilizer has,in some cases,resulted in background nitrate–nitrogen(NO3–N)levels in irrigation water that are so high,it is not safe for human consumption.One reason is that commercial farmers in this region are currently not using any method to rapidly calculate N budgets based on their practices,N inputs and/or crop N uptake.The Nitrogen Index,a quick tool that can be used to conduct an assessment within a few minutes,was developed for Mexico,but needed further testing under commercial field operations.We conducted studies in 2010 and 2011 and collected soil and crop information from several commercial farming operations to test the tool.The index accurately assessed(Po0.0001)residual soil nitrate after harvesting corn(Zea mays L.)and oats(Avena sativa L.);and also accurately assessed the N uptake of these crops(Po0.01).The Mexico N Index is a tool that can be used to quickly conduct N balances,show when N is being over-applied,and help reduce over-application,thus reducing N losses to the environment and improving management of dairy forage systems in Mexico.

Nitrogen Nutrition Index and Its Relationship with N Use Efficiency, Tuber Yield, Radiation Use Effi ciency, and Leaf Parameters in Potatoes

Knowledge about crop growth processes in relation to N limitation is necessary to optimize N management in farming system. Plant-based diagnostic method, for instance nitrogen nutrition index （NNI） were used to determine the crop nitrogen status. This study determines the relationship of NNI with agronomic nitrogen use efficiency （AEN）, tuber yield, radiation use efficiency （RUE） and leaf parameters including leaf area index （LAI）, areal leaf N content （NJ and leaf N concentration （N0. Potatoes were grown in field at three N levels： no N （N 1）, 150 kg N ha^-1 （N2）, 300 kg N ha^-1 （N3）. N deficiency was quantified by NNI and RUE was generally calculated by estimating of the light absorbance on leaf area. NNI was used to evaluate the N effect on tuber yield, RUE, LAI, NAL, and NL. The results showed that NNI was negatively correlated with AEN, N deficiencies （NNI〈 1） which occurred for N 1 and N2 significantly reduced LAI, NL and tuber yield; whereas the N deficiencies had a relative small effect on NAL and RUE. To remove any effect other than N on these parameters, the actual ratio to maximum values were calculated for each developmental linear relationships were obtained between NNI and tuber RUE to NNI. stage of potatoes. When the NNI ranged from 0.4 to 1, positive yield, LAI, NL, while a nonlinear regression fitted the response of

Determination of critical nitrogen dilution curve based on leaf area index for winter wheat in the Guanzhong Plain, Northwest China

Excessive use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in agricultural systems increases the cost of production and risk of environmental pollution. Therefore, determination of optimum N requirements for plant growth is necessary. Previous studies mostly established critical N dilution curves based on aboveground dry matter (DM) or leaf dry matter (LDM) and stem dry matter (SDM), to diagnose the N nutrition status of the whole plant. As these methods are time consuming, we investigated the more rapidly determined leaf area index (LAI) method to establish the critical nitrogen (Nc) dilution curve, and the curve was used to diagnose plant N status for winter wheat in Guanzhong Plain in Northwest China. Field experiments were conducted using four N fertilization levels (0, 105, 210 and 315 kg ha?1) applied to six wheat cultivars in the 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 growing seasons. LAI, DM, plant N concentration (PNC) and grain yield were determined. Data points from four cultivars were used for establishing the Nc curve and data points from the remaining two cultivars were used for validating the curve. The Nc dilution curve was validated for N-limiting and non-N-limiting growth conditions and there was good agreement between estimated and observed values. The N nutrition index (NNI) ranged from 0.41 to 1.25 and the accumulated plant N deficit (Nand) ranged from 60.38 to –17.92 kg ha?1 during the growing season. The relative grain yield was significantly affected by NNI and was adequately described with a parabolic function. The Nc curve based on LAI can be adopted as an alternative and more rapid approach to diagnose plant N status to support N fertilization decisions during the vegetative growth of winter wheat in Guanzhong Plain in Northwest China.

Diversity Analysis of Chlorophyll, Flavonoid, Anthocyanin, and Nitrogen Balance Index of Tea Based on Dualex

The chemical compositions of tea(Camellia sinensis)are affected by numerous factors,such as cultivar,climate,leaf position,and cultivation pattern.However,under the same conditions,the chemical compositions are mainly determined by varieties.Therefore,we investigated the genetic diversity of chemical compositions of tea tree resources in China to screen excellent germplasm resources.Three chemical compositions index(including chlorophyll index,flavonoid index,and anthocyanin index)and the nitrogen balance index of tea leaves were measured in 102 tea germplasms planted in Chinese Tea Plants Improved Variety Germplasm Resources Nursery(CTPIVGRN)by Dualex on April 152019.Results showed that the chlorophyll,flavonoid,and anthocyanin contents and the nitrogen balance index significantly differed between the 102 tea germplasms.The genetic diversity index values were 2.005,2.246,1.599,and 1.838,and the average genetic diversity was 1.922.The 102 tea germplasms can be divided into four categories by cluster analysis under the genetic distance threshold of 11.These results suggest that the genetic diversity of tea germplasm resources in China is rich.This study’s results can serve as a basis for the diversified development and utilization of tea plant.

An entirely new approach based on remote sensing data to calculate the nitrogen nutrition index of winter wheat

The nitrogen nutrition index(NNI)is a reliable indicator for diagnosing crop nitrogen(N)status.However,there is currently no specific vegetation index for the NNI inversion across multiple growth periods.To overcome the limitations of the traditional direct NNI inversion method(NNI_(T1))of the vegetation index and traditional indirect NNI inversion method(NNI_(T2))by inverting intermediate variables including the aboveground dry biomass(AGB)and plant N concentration(PNC),this study proposed a new NNI remote sensing index(NNI_(RS)).A remote-sensing-based critical N dilution curve(Nc_(_RS))was set up directly from two vegetation indices and then used to calculate NNI_(RS).Field data including AGB,PNC,and canopy hyperspectral data were collected over four growing seasons(2012–2013(Exp.1),2013–2014(Exp.2),2014–2015(Exp.3),2015–2016(Exp.4))in Beijing,China.All experimental datasets were cross-validated to each of the NNI models(NNI_(T1),NNI_(T2)and NNI_(RS)).The results showed that:(1)the NNI_(RS)models were represented by the standardized leaf area index determining index(sLAIDI)and the red-edge chlorophyll index(CI_(red edge))in the form of NNI_(RS)=CI_(red edge)/(a×sLAIDI~b),where"a"equals 2.06,2.10,2.08 and 2.02 and"b"equals 0.66,0.73,0.67 and 0.62 when the modeling set data came from Exp.1/2/4,Exp.1/2/3,Exp.1/3/4,and Exp.2/3/4,respectively;(2)the NNI_(RS)models achieved better performance than the other two NNI revised methods,and the ranges of R2 and RMSE were 0.50–0.82 and 0.12–0.14,respectively;(3)when the remaining data were used for verification,the NNI_(RS)models also showed good stability,with RMSE values of 0.09,0.18,0.13 and 0.10,respectively.Therefore,it is concluded that the NNI_(RS)method is promising for the remote assessment of crop N status.

Erect panicle super rice varieties enhance yield by harvest index advantages in high nitrogen and density conditions

The erect panicle （Ep） type is an important characteristic for japonica super rice in Northeast China and plays a significant role in enhancing yield. The Ep type is considered to be a genetic ideotype resource to the japonica super rice group by virtue of its agronomic advantages such as grain number per panicle and biomass. This study addresses the effects of nitrogen and planting density conditions on yielding performance regarding panicle type （PT） using the recombinant inbred line （RIL） population derived from the cross between an Ep variety Liaogeng 5 and non-Ep variety Wanlun 422. The genetics underlying the Ep type proved to be robust not only for panicle-type optimization but also plant height, panicle length, flag leaf length and seed density. We also found that regardless of nitrogen and density, correlation between harvest index （HI） and plant height was not significant in Ep type whatever the nitrogen and density. The application of Ep type provides a potential strategy for yield improvement by increasing biomass through HI maintainable in rice.

Leaf area index based nitrogen diagnosis in irrigated lowland rice

Leaf area index （LAI） is used for crop growth monitoring in agronomic research, and is promising to diagnose the nitrogen （N） status of crops. This study was conducted to develop appropriate LAI-based N diagnostic models in irrigated lowland rice. Four field experiments were carried out in Jiangsu Province of East China from 2009 to 2014. Different N application rates and plant densities were used to generate contrasting conditions of N availability or population densities in rice. LAI was determined by LI-3000, and estimated indirectly by LAI-2000 during vegetative growth period. Group and individual plant characters （e.g., tiller number （TN） and plant height （H）） were investigated simultaneously. Two N indicators of plant N accumulation （NA） and N nutrition index （NNI） were measured as well. A calibration equation （LAI=1.7787LAI2o00-0.8816, R2=0.870＂） was developed for LAI-2000. The linear regression analysis showed a significant relationship between NA and actual LAI （R2=0.863^＊＊）. For the NNI, the relative LAI （R2=0.808-） was a relatively unbiased variable in the regression than the LAI （R^2=0.33^＊＊）. The results were used to formulate two LAI-based N diagnostic models for irrigated lowland rice （NA=29.778LAI-5.9397; NNI=0.7705RLAI＋0.2764）. Finally, a simple LAI deterministic model was developed to estimate the actual LAI using the characters of TN and H （LAI=-0.3375（THxHx0.01）2＋3.665（TH×H×0.01）-1.8249, R2=0.875＊＊）. With these models, the N status of rice can be diagnosed conveniently in the field.

An optimized strategy of nitrogen-split application based on the leaf positional differences in chlorophyll meter readings

Modern rice production faces the dual challenges of increasing grain yields while reducing inputs of chemical fertilizer.However,the disequilibrium between the nitrogen(N)supplement from the soil and the demand for N of plants is a serious obstacle to achieving these goals.Plant-based diagnosis can help farmers make better choices regarding the timing and amount of topdressing N fertilizer.Our objective was to evaluate a non-destructive assessment of rice N demands based on the relative SPAD value(RSPAD)due to leaf positional differences.In this study,two field experiments were conducted,including a field experiment of different N rates(Exp.I)and an experiment to evaluate the new strategy of nitrogen-split application based on RSPAD(Exp.II).The results showed that higher N inputs significantly increased grain yield in modern high yielding super rice,but at the expense of lower nitrogen use efficiency(NUE).The N nutrition index(NNI)can adequately differentiate situations of excessive,optimal,and insufficient N nutrition in rice,and the optimal N rate for modern high yielding rice is higher than conventional cultivars.The RSPAD is calculated as the SPAD value of the top fully expanded leaf vs.the value of the third leaf,which takes into account the non-uniform N distribution within a canopy.The RSPAD can be used as an indicator for higher yield and NUE,and guide better management of N fertilizer application.Furthermore,we developed a new strategy of nitrogen-split application based on RSPAD,in which the N rate was reduced by 18.7%,yield was increased by 1.7%,and the agronomic N use efficiency was increased by 27.8%,when compared with standard farmers'practices.This strategy of N fertilization shows great potential for ensuring high yielding and improving NUE at lower N inputs.

Genome-wide association study of seedling nitrogen-use efficiency-associated traits in common wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)

Nitrogen(N)fertilizer application is essential for crop-plant growth and development.Identifying genetic loci associated with N-use efficiency(NUE)could increase wheat yields and reduce environmental pollution caused by overfertilization.We subjected a panel of 389 wheat accessions to N and chlorate(a nitrate analog)treatments to identify quantitative trait loci(QTL)controlling NUE-associated traits at the wheat seedling stage.Genotyping the panel with a 660K single-nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)array,we identified 397 SNPs associated with N-sensitivity index and chlorate inhibition rate.These SNPs were merged into 49 QTL,of which eight were multi-environment stable QTL and 27 were located near previously reported QTL.A set of 135 candidate genes near the 49 QTL included TaBOX(F-box family protein)and TaERF(ethylene-responsive transcription factor).A Tabox mutant was more sensitive to low-N stress than the wild-type plant.We developed two functional markers for Hap 1,the favorable allele of TaBOX.

Development of a novel critical nitrogen concentration-cumulative transpiration curve for optimizing nitrogen management under varying irrigation conditions in winter wheat

Accurate nitrogen(N)nutrition diagnosis is essential for improving N use efficiency in crop production.The widely used critical N(Nc)dilution curve traditionally depends solely on agronomic variables,neglecting crop water status.With three-year field experiments with winter wheat,encompassing two irrigation levels(rainfed and irrigation at jointing and anthesis)and three N levels(0,180,and 270 kg ha1),this study aims to establish a novel approach for determining the Nc dilution curve based on crop cumulative transpiration(T),providing a comprehensive analysis of the interaction between N and water availability.The Nc curves derived from both crop dry matter(DM)and T demonstrated N concentration dilution under different conditions with different parameters.The equation Nc=6.43T0.24 established a consistent relationship across varying irrigation regimes.Independent test results indicated that the nitrogen nutrition index(NNI),calculated from this curve,effectively identifies and quantifies the two sources of N deficiency:insufficient N supply in the soil and insufficient soil water concentration leading to decreased N availability for root absorption.Additionally,the NNI calculated from the Nc-DM and Nc-T curves exhibited a strong negative correlation with accumulated N deficit(Nand)and a positive correlation with relative grain yield(RGY).The NNI derived from the Nc-T curve outperformed the NNI derived from the Nc-DM curve concerning its relationship with Nand and RGY,as indicated by larger R2 values and smaller AIC.The novel Nc curve based on T serves as an effective diagnostic tool for assessing winter wheat N status,predicting grain yield,and optimizing N fertilizer management across varying irrigation conditions.These findings would provide new insights and methods to improve the simulations of water-N interaction relationship in crop growth models.

长期施肥下土壤氮素指标与小麦/玉米产量关系研究

为明确施肥对典型潮土区土壤氮素指标的影响以及氮素指标与作物产量的量化关系,本研究利用长期定位施肥试验系统评估施肥对土壤全氮、碱解氮、酸解有机氮组分、微生物量氮含量的影响,并进一步定量分析氮素指标与小麦、玉米产量间的关系。结果表明,与单施化肥或不施肥相比,长期化肥与秸秆或有机肥配施在显著提高土壤全氮含量的同时,对碱解氮、酸解总氮、酸解铵态氮、氨基酸态氮与微生物量氮含量的提高也有明显的促进作用。除土壤全氮外的其他氮素指标含量在高量化肥-有机肥配施、化肥-秸秆还田和常量化肥-有机肥配施处理间无显著差异。土壤全氮、微生物量氮和碱解氮含量是对作物产量影响程度相对较大的氮素指标。土壤全氮含量每增加0.1 g·kg^(−1),小麦和玉米分别增产822.7和968.2 kg·hm^(-2)。土微生物量氮与碱解氮含量每增加1 mg·kg^(−1),小麦增产195.2与58.1 kg·hm^(-2);玉米增产189.9与79.1 kg·hm^(-2)。酸解总氮与氨基酸态氮含量对小麦产量也有显著影响,酸解总氮与氨基酸态氮含量每增加1 mg·kg^(−1),小麦分别增产15.8与30.0 kg·hm^(-2)。综上所述,化肥与秸秆或有机肥配施可提高潮土氮素库容与供氮能力。小麦、玉米产量随土壤全氮、微生物量氮与碱解氮含量的提高呈线性增长,小麦产量与酸解总氮和氨基酸态氮含量呈显著正相关。本研究为典型潮土区地力培育与粮食丰产提供了理论依据和技术支撑。

Methods on Identification and Screening of Rice Genotypes with High Nitrogen Efficiency

In order to establish methods for indentification and screening of rice genotypes with high nitrogen （N） efficiency, N absorption efficiency （NAE）, N utilization efficiency （NUE） and N harvest index （NHI） in ten rice genotypes were investgated at the elongation, booting, heading and maturity stages under six N levels in a pot experiment with soil-sand mixtures at various ratios. NAE in various rice genotypes firstly increased, peaked under a medium nitrogen rate of 0.177 g/kg and then decreased, but NUE and NHI always decreased with increasing nitrogen levels. NAE in various rice genotypes ever increased with growing process and NUE indicated a descending tendency of elongation stage〉heading stage〉maturity stage〉booting stage. N level influenced rice NAE, NUE and NHI most, followed by genotype, and the both effects were significant at 0.01 level. In addition, the interaction effects of genotype and nitrogen level on rice NAE and NUE were significant at 0.01 level, but not significant on rice NHI. Because the maximum differences of NAE and NUE were found at the elongation stage, it was thought to be the most suitable stage for identification and screening these two paremeters. Therefore, the optimum conditions for identification and screening of rice NAE, NUE and NHI in a pot experiment were the nitrogen rate of 0.157 g/kg at the elongation stage, low nitrogen at the elongation stage, and the nitrogen rate of 0.277 g/kg at the maturity stage, respectively.

Determining nitrogen status and quantifying nitrogen fertilizer requirement using a critical nitrogen dilution curve for hybrid indica rice under mechanical pot-seedling transplanting pattern

Field experiments of nitrogen(N)treatment at five different application rates(0,75,150,225,and 300 kg ha^(-1))were conducted under pot-seedling mechanical transplanting(PMT)in 2018 and 2019.Two high-quality and high-yielding hybrids of indica rice,Huiliangyou 898 and Y Liangyou 900,were used in this study.The N nutrition index(NNI)and accumulated N deficit(N_(and)),used to assess the N nutrition status in real-time,were calculated for the indica cultivars under PMT with a critical nitrogen concentration(N_(c))dilution model based on shoot dry matter(DM)during the whole rice growth stage.The relationships between NNI and N_(and) with relative yield(RY)were determined,and accurate N application schemes were developed for hybrids indica rice under PMT.The results indicated that high application rate of N-fertilizer significantly increased the concentrations of shoot DM and N in aboveground organs during the observed stages in the two cultivars for two years(P<0.05).The N_(c) dilution model of hybrid indica cultivars was N_(c)=4.02 DM^(-0.42)(R^(2)=0.97)combining the two cultivars under PMT.Root-mean-square error and normalized root-mean-square error of the curve verification were 0.23 and 10.61%,respectively.The NNI and Nand ranged from 0.58 to 1.31 and 109 to–55 kg ha^(-1),respectively,in the two cultivars for all N treatments.NNI showed a linear relationship with Nand during the entire growth stage(0.53<R^(2)<0.99,P<0.01).In addition,NNI showed a linear-plateau relationship with RY(0.73<R<0.92,P<0.01)throughout the observed stages.These results suggest that the models can accurately diagnose the N-nutrition status and support effective N-fertilizer management in real-time for hybrid indica rice under PMT.

Effects of Nitrogen Application on Osmotic Adjustmentof Ramie (Boehmeria nivea L.) with Different NitrogenEfficiency

Ramie (Boehmeria nivea L.) is one of the most important fiber crops and biomass materials. However, previous studies showed that ramie presented a very low nitrogen agronomy efficiency (NAE, 23.2%~27.8%) in traditional farming, and the nitrogen fertilizer was applied excessively in ramie field. Plant osmotic adjustment (OA) responses to environmental stresses positively and exhibits improvements in plant tolerance. Whereas results varied due to the complexity of plant-environment interactions and lack of insights of specific species. In order to improve ramie production through osmoregulation, our current study investigated the role of nitrogen application and osmotic adjustment in improving the growth and yield in two varieties of ramie (H2000-03 and Ceheng Jiama) with contrasting nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) grown at 5 different N rates including N0, N6, N9, N12 and N15;0, 6, 9, 12 and 15 mmol/L N, respectively. The results showed that ramie adapted to different nitrogen rates through OA and significant differences of osmolyte content between varieties only presented at the particular growth stage. Obvious inflexion of yield, osmolyte content involving proline, soluble protein (SP), soluble sugar (SS) and malonaldehyde (MDA);nitrogen sensitive index (NSI) and comprehensive evaluation (D) in both varieties were observed. Our results recommended that the overall lifting of OA at a lower N level and at the proper growth stage would be a reasonable approach for improving ramie NUE.

Nitrogen nutrition diagnosis for cotton under mulched drip irrigation using unmanned aerial vehicle multispectral images

Remote sensing has been increasingly used for precision nitrogen management to assess the plant nitrogen status in a spatial and real-time manner.The nitrogen nutrition index(NNI)can quantitatively describe the nitrogen status of crops.Nevertheless,the NNI diagnosis for cotton with unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)multispectral images has not been evaluated yet.This study aimed to evaluate the performance of three machine learning models,i.e.,support vector machine(SVM),back propagation neural network(BPNN),and extreme gradient boosting(XGB)for predicting canopy nitrogen weight and NNI of cotton over the whole growing season from UAV images.The results indicated that the models performed better when the top 15 vegetation indices were used as input variables based on their correlation ranking with nitrogen weight and NNI.The XGB model performed the best among the three models in predicting nitrogen weight.The prediction accuracy of nitrogen weight at the upper half-leaf level(R^(2)=0.89,RMSE=0.68 g m^(-2),RE=14.62%for calibration and R^(2)=0.83,RMSE=1.08 g m^(-2),RE=19.71%for validation)was much better than that at the all-leaf level(R^(2)=0.73,RMSE=2.20 g m^(-2),RE=26.70%for calibration and R^(2)=0.70,RMSE=2.48 g m^(-2),RE=31.49%for validation)and at the plant level(R^(2)=0.66,RMSE=4.46 g m^(-2),RE=30.96%for calibration and R^(2)=0.63,RMSE=3.69 g m^(-2),RE=24.81%for validation).Similarly,the XGB model(R^(2)=0.65,RMSE=0.09,RE=8.59%for calibration and R^(2)=0.63,RMSE=0.09,RE=8.87%for validation)also outperformed the SVM model(R^(2)=0.62,RMSE=0.10,RE=7.92%for calibration and R^(2)=0.60,RMSE=0.09,RE=8.03%for validation)and BPNN model(R^(2)=0.64,RMSE=0.09,RE=9.24%for calibration and R^(2)=0.62,RMSE=0.09,RE=8.38%for validation)in predicting NNI.The NNI predictive map generated from the optimal XGB model can intuitively diagnose the spatial distribution and dynamics of nitrogen nutrition in cotton fields,which can help farmers implement precise cotton nitrogen management in a timely and accurate manner.

Common Spectral Bands and Optimum Vegetation Indices for Monitoring Leaf Nitrogen Accumulation in Rice and Wheat

Real-time monitoring of nitrogen status in rice and wheat plant is of significant importance for nitrogen diagnosis, fertilization recommendation, and productivity prediction. With 11 field experiments involving different cultivars, nitrogen rates, and water regimes, time-course measurements were taken of canopy hyperspeetral reflectance between 350-2 500 nm and leaf nitrogen accumulation （LNA） in rice and wheat. A new spectral analysis method through the consideration of characteristics of canopy components and plant growth status varied with phenological growth stages was designed to explore the common central bands in rice and wheat. Comprehensive analyses were made on the quantitative relationships of LNA to soil adjusted vegetation index （SAVI） and ratio vegetation index （RVI） composed of any two bands between 350-2 500 nm in rice and wheat. The results showed that the ranges of indicative spectral reflectance were largely located in 770-913 and 729-742 nm in both rice and wheat. The optimum spectral vegetation index for estimating LNA was SAVI （R822, R738） during the early-mid period （from jointing to booting）, and it was RVI （Rs22, R73s） during the mid-late period （from heading to filling） with the common central bands of 822 and 738 nm in rice and wheat. Comparison of the present spectral vegetation indices with previously reported vegetation indices gave a satisfactory performance in estimating LNA. It is concluded that the spectral bands of 822 and 738 nm can be used as common reflectance indicators for monitoring leaf nitrogen accumulation in rice and wheat.

不同益生菌对犊牛生长性能、消化代谢和免疫指标的影响

试验旨在探讨犊牛日粮中添加不同益生菌对其生长性能、消化率、氮代谢、免疫指标和腹泻发生的影响。选取42头20日龄荷斯坦犊牛,按照体重相近、公母各半的原则分成7组,每组6头牛,对照组饲喂基础日粮,试验组分别在基础日粮中添加0.1%枯草芽孢杆菌、0.05%腊样芽孢杆菌、0.2%乳酸杆菌、0.1%酵母菌、0.05%粪肠球菌和0.1%地衣芽孢杆菌。预饲期10 d,正试期75 d。结果表明:(1)105日龄时试验组体重高于对照组,其中0.2%乳酸杆菌组和0.05%粪肠球菌组体重显著高于对照组(P<0.05),60和105日龄时0.2%乳酸杆菌组体格高于对照组(P<0.05);30~105日龄0.2%乳酸杆菌组、0.1%酵母菌组、0.05%粪肠球菌组和0.1%地衣芽孢杆菌组日增重显著高于0.1%枯草芽孢杆菌组和对照组(P<0.05);(2)105日龄时0.05%粪肠球菌组干物质(DM)、中性洗涤纤维(NDF)、酸性洗涤纤维(ADF)和60日龄时0.2%乳酸杆菌组有机物(OM)、NDF表观消化率均显著高于对照组(P<0.05),105日龄时0.1%酵母菌组NDF表观消化率极显著高于对照组(P<0.01),ADF表观消化率显著高于对照组(P<0.05);(3)60日龄、105日龄时0.2%乳酸杆菌组、0.05%粪肠球菌组IgG含量极显著高于对照组(P<0.01),显著高于其他试验组(P<0.05);60日龄时0.05%粪肠球菌组的IgM、IgA含量和0.1%地衣芽孢杆菌组IgA含量显著高于对照组(P<0.05);(4)0.2%乳酸杆菌组和0.05%粪肠球菌组腹泻频率最低,粪便评分中对照组和0.05%腊样芽孢杆菌组较高。综上所述,益生菌对断奶后犊牛生长发育性能有促进作用,其中乳酸菌和粪肠球菌效果更明显;益生菌对犊牛DM、OM、NDF、ADF表观消化率及氮代谢有显著提升,粪肠球菌、酵母菌和乳酸菌在NDF和ADF表观消化率要优于其他益生菌;添加粪肠球菌可提高犊牛免疫球蛋白含量,益生菌能降低犊牛腹泻发生的概率,乳酸菌和粪肠球菌的降低的效果更佳。

Diagnosis of Nitrogen Status in Rice Leaves with Canopy Spectral Reflectance

The investigation was made on the relationship of seasonal time-course canopy spectral reflectance and ratio index to total leaf nitrogen accumulation (leaf nitrogen content per unit ground area) in rice under different nitrogen treatments. The results showed there was a close correlation between the canopy spectral reflectance and total leaf nitrogen accumulation. Ratio of near infrared to green band (R810/R560) was linearly related with total leaf nitrogen accumulation. independent of nitrogen levels and development stages. Different datasets were used to test the linear regression equation, with average estimation accuracy of 91. 22%, RMSE of 1.09 and average relative error of 0. 026. Thus, the ratio index R810/R560 of canopy spectral reflectance should be useful for non-destructive monitoring and diagnosis of nitrogen status in rice plants.

On the ECI and CEI of Boron-Nitrogen Fullerenes

The eccentric connectivity index and connective eccentricity index are important topological indices for chemistry. In this paper, we investigate the eccentric connectivity index and connective eccentricity index of boron-nitrogen fullerenes, respectively. And we give computing formulas of eccentric connectivity index and connective eccentricity index of all boron-nitrogen fullerenes with regular structure.