Mass and heat transfer mechanism in wood during radio frequency/vacuum drying and numerical analysis

The mass and heat transfer mechanisms during radio frequency/vacuum （RF/V） drying of square-edged timber were analyzed and discussed in detail, and a new one-dimensional mathematical model to describe the transport phenomena of mass and heat during continuous RF/V drying was derived from conservation equations based on the mass and heat transfer theory of porous materials The new model provided a relatively fast and efficient way to simulate vacuum drying behavior assisted by dielectric heating. Its advantages compared with the conventional models include： （1） Each independent vari- able has a separate control equation and is solved inde- pendently by converting the partial differential equation into a difference equation with the finite volume method; （2） The calculated data from different parts of the specimen can be displayed in the evolution curves, and the change law of the,parameters can be better described. After analyzing the calculated results, most of the important phenomena observed during RF/V drying were adequately described by this model.

Effects of different mechanical direct seeding methods on grain yield and lodging resistance of early indica rice in South China

Direct seeding of rice has become a main planting method due to the low labor input and high economic benefit in South China.Dry direct seeding(DDS)has been widely used for single-season rice planting establishment.However,few studies have examined the performance of early-season indica rice under mechanical dry direct seeding.A two-year field experiment was conducted with two indica rice cultivars(i.e.,Zhongjiazao 17 and Zhuliangyou 819)to study lodging characteristics and grain yield formation under DDS,flooded direct seeding(FDS)and wet direct seeding(WDS)patterns.The results showed that the annual grain yield in DDS was higher by 14.42–26.34%for cultivar ZLY819 and 6.64–24.58%for cultivar ZJZ17 than in WDS and FDS,respectively,and these increases were mainly attributed to the improvement of the panicles.The DDS pattern significantly increased the seedling emergence rate of early indica rice cultivars,and increased total dry weight and crop growth rate.Meanwhile,shorter basal internodes,better stem diameter and stem wall thickness and lower lodging index were found in DDS in contrast to FDS and WDS.In particular,DDS improved the stem lodging resistance.Our results suggested that the appropriate direct seeding method was beneficial for improving the grain yield and lodging resistance of early indica rice.