Smart Farming for Sustainable Rice Production:An Insight into Application,Challenge,and Future Prospect

Rice has a huge impact on socio-economic growth,and ensuring its sustainability and optimal utilization is vital.This review provides an insight into the role of smart farming in enhancing rice productivity.The applications of smart farming in rice production including yield estimation,smart irrigation systems,monitoring disease and growth,and predicting rice quality and classifications are highlighted.The challenges of smart farming in sustainable rice production to enhance the understanding of researchers,policymakers,and stakeholders are discussed.Numerous efforts have been exerted to combat the issues in rice production in order to promote rice sector development.The effective implementation of smart farming in rice production has been facilitated by various technical advancements,particularly the integration of the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.The future prospects of smart farming in transforming existing rice production practices are also elucidated.Through the utilization of smart farming,the rice industry can attain sustainable and resilient production systems that could mitigate environmental impact and safeguard food security.Thus,the rice industry holds a bright future in transforming current rice production practices into a new outlook in rice smart farming development.

Contour Farming Suitability of the Black Soil Region in Northeast China and Its Spatial Characteristics

Contour farming technology plays a key role in reducing soil erosion,enhancing water use efficiency,and fostering sustain-able agricultural development,Despite being a straightforward yet efficacious farming technique,it has not seen widespread implement-ation in China.Considering the deteriorating quality of arable lands in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China(BSR-NEC),it is ne-cessary to investigate spatial patterns and identify suitable areas for contour farming in this region.To achieve this objective,spatial autocorrelation and grouping analysis methods were employed to classify the land into four categories of suitability for contour farming:highly suitable,moderately suitable,generally suitable,and unsuitable.The results reveal that:1)the contour farming suitable area in BSR-NEC covers 89861.32 km^(2),accounting for 21.59%of arable land as of 2020.Heilongjiang Province owns the largest suitable area of 32853.68 km^(2),and Inner Mongolia has the highest proportion of 28.89%.2)In terms of the spatial distribution,regions with higher suitability for contour farming are concentrated in the Da Hinggan Mountains region,particularly Nenjiang City(Heilongjiang Province),which has the highest area of 2593.07 km^(2).Areas with a high proportion of suitable arable lands for contour farming are mainly found in the Da Hinggan Mountains and Changbai Mountains regions,with Ergun City(Inner Mongolia)having the highest pro-portion at 47.2%.Regions with higher suitability and proportion are concentrated in the Da Hinggan Mountains region,primarily cover-ing the Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang.3)Regarding spatial clustering,both the area and proportion of suitable contour farming areas exhibit noticeable clustering effects,though not entirely consistent.4)Group analysis results designate 148 counties in BSR-NEC as highly suitable areas,predominantly located in the Changbai Mountains region,Liaodong Peninsula,Hulun Buir Plateau,and the north and south regions of the Da Hinggan Mountains.The zoning of suitable areas for contour farming in BSR-NEC informs the strategic de-velopment of policies and measures,allowing for the implementation of targeted policies in distinct areas suitable for contour farming.This provides a valuable reference for promoting contour farming technology more effectively and efficiently.re effectively and effi-ciently.

Technical efficiency of cocoa farms at varying elevation levels in Davao City, Philippines: implications to sustainable upland farming systems

Elevation is one of many components that influence agriculture, and this in turn affects the level of both inputs and outputs of farmers. This article focuses on the productivity and technical efficiency of 100 cocoa farms using cross-sectional data from areas ranging from 190 to 1021 m above sea level which were classified as low, medium, and high elevation in Davao City, considered as the chocolate capital of the Philippines. Using stochastic frontier analysis, the results showed that the cost of inputs per ha and the number of cocoa trees per ha significantly increase yield. Farms at high elevations were less technically efficient, as this entails lower temperatures and increased rainfall, and cocoa farming in those areas and conditions can be more challenging, especially with changes in farming practices, terrain, and distance to markets. Other significant variables were age of cocoa farms, married farmers, and age of the farmers. Older farms may be more developed, farmers who are married benefit from their spouses being able to readily contribute as farm labor, and lastly, older farmers' inefficiency may likely stem from nonadaptation of newer farming practices. With an average technical efficiency of 0.61, 0.63, and 0.26 in low, medium, and high elevation areas, respectively, farmers therefore have an incentive to improve farm practices and consider topographical variations found in high elevation areas. Recommendations for the improvement of technical efficiency of cocoa farms are better connectivity to markets, enhancing farm practices, and continuation and improvement of government programs on cocoa with an added emphasis on research. For farmers in high elevation areas, mitigating solutions such as sustainable agriculture practices and ecolabelling are key to improving efficiency and minimizing the potential negative impact on upland farming systems. Moreover, such adaptation measures may also contribute to sustainability of cocoa farming in high elevation areas.

Fenlong Cultivation-the Fourth Set of Farming Methods Invented in China

The basic theory and effect of the new farming method of ＂Fenlong＂ cultivation which has been included in the main extension technology of Ministry of Agriculture of the People＇s Republic of China is fully illustrated for the first time, and it is the fourth set （generation） of farming modes and methods following manpower, animal and mechanical （tractor） farming. It follows the natural law to achieve soil activation, water saving, oxygen increase, warming and desalination through the active use of natural resources like soil, rainfall and solar energy, thereby promoting a new round of natural agricultural production and quality improvement and water con- servation, which has crop yield increase by 10%-30%, quality improvement of 5%, natural precipitation retaining increase by100%. The characteristics and mechanism are the use of spiral drill for one-time completion of the land preparation by drilling vertically to 30-50 cm of soil layer through high speed peeling. After instant high temperature and many fierce impacts, mechanical frictions, it could achieve the multiplication of the number of loose soil, soil physical modification and expansion of the soil nutrients, reservoirs, oxygen, microorganisms （＂Four pools＂）. Fenlong cultivation can give birth to new farming culture and civilization, and it can achieve the physical ＂desalinized＂ transformation and utilization of saline soil. The formation of Fenlong green farming technology system makes it possible to invent the farming tools of ＂serf-propelled Fenlong machinery＂ that has got the patent, and it is the method for farmland （dry land, paddy field） Fenlong cultivation, saline-alkali soil smash-ridging cultivation and for the abundance of grass ecology on degraded grassland. The application of Fenlong ＂4＋1＂ （arable, saline-alkali soil, grasslands, Sponge City＋rivers） green development in China can achieve the ＂double safety＂ of food and living space.

基于遗传Data Farming的公共政策优化仿真模型

为了解决公共政策优化仿真时考察点不全面及耗费时间大的问题,提出了基于遗传Data Farming的公共政策优化仿真模型。所提出的模型中,Data Farming被用于全面地考察输入参数空间中各输入参数水平对应的输出响应,通过把仿真过程的输出过程看作适应度的计算,遗传算法被用于优化仿真过程,提高优化效率。分析了公共政策作用效果的影响因素,并介绍了传统的Data Farming技术,然后从仿真目标、模型框架、算法等三方面介绍了所提出的优化仿真模型。最后进行了实验,证明了所提出模型的有效性。

区域经济发展Data Farming决策支持技术及其应用

为解决现有的决策支持技术不能解决的区域经济历史数据稀少的问题,提出了区域经济发展Data Farming决策支持技术。所提出的技术采用基于智能体仿真的Data Farming技术,对参数空间进行遍历搜索,以利用各个参数值对应的仿真结果来获取大量的数据,使决策者可以有效地识别到系统的最优控制值,并了解在控制值下的系统风险性。最后,以江门市社会消费品零售总额的控制优化为例,说明了该技术的有效性。

Systems of Agriculture Farming in the Uttranchal Himalaya, India

Agricultural practices are the main stay of the people of Uttranchal. Out of the total population, more than 75% people are engaged either with the main occupation of agriculture or its allied practices, dominated by traditional subsistence cereal farming. Among them, the main crops are rice, wheat, millet, barley, all types of pulses, all types of oilseeds and almost all types of fruits. The crops, vegetables and fruits of all varieties are grown in the different climatic zones such as tropical, temperate, and cold because, the region is characterized by the different altitudinal zones elevated from 200 m to more than 8000m. As a result, different climates are found from hot tropical to sub temperate and chilly cold. Pulses varieties are grown extensively. Among vegetables, potato, onion, carrot, all types of green leaf vegetables, brinzal, pumpkin, ladyfinger, pea, gram, radish, ginger, garlic, etc, are grown widely. All fruit varieties are grown in the different altitudinal zones. The main fruits are orange, malta (a big size of orange), elephant citrus, lemon and all other types of citrus, apple, stone fruits including peach and pears, many kinds of nuts, and the fruits which are grown in the low lying areas. In spite of feasible climatic conditions, agricultural dominant society, and availability of all types of crops, the production and productivity of these crops are very low, even they are unable to meet the grain-need of the people in Uttaranchal. Agricultural crops are grown almost in all the altitudinal zones — from the low-lying areas, which are called ‘Gangarh’, to the highly elevated region, where the legendary term is given as ‘Danda’. The growing seasons vary according to the heights. The present paper aims to discuss the agricultural practices including cropping season, cropping pattern, land use, production of crops and ecological aspect of agricultural system in this Himalayan state and suggest some measures for developing farming system, which could lead the sustainability, in terms of meeting the food grain needs of the people on the one hand and restoring the ecological balance on the other.

Economic Analysis of Pollution Caused by Animal Farming in China

The research introduced pollution caused by animal farming on waters,agricultural lands,and atmosphere,as well as environment pollution and economic causes.Furthermore,a series of economic policies were proposed on preventing animal farming,such as definition of rights property,economic impetus and circular farming.

The influencing factors and Development Countermeasures of Large Farming Household in Jiangxi Province

As an important part of the new agricultural business entities, large-scale grain-production households play a significantly positive role in improving the land resource utilization, improving agricultural productivity, increasing agricultural output and farmers＂ income, and making a certain contribution to stabilize grain production. This paper analyzed the current situation of large-scale grain-production household in Jiangxi Province, as well as the problems in land transfer, farmland infrastructure, production and management, capital and other risks. At last, the paper proposed targeted countermeasures.

Farming Ritual and Festival Folk Custom of Dong Ethnic Minority Group

In order to pray for harvest and express gratitude, Dong ethnic arranged sacrifices of farming in accordance with periodicity of rice production and its requirements to festivals and calendar. Meanwhile, New Year, Pray in Spring and Return in Autumn not only play significant roles in agricultural production, but also evolve to farming holidays which are enriched with more social connotations. Centered on husbandry and production, some folklore that is rich in local color has been formed in Dong society. The writer introduced some farming ritual of Dong ethnic group, such as, sowing, Kai Yang Men, Rain-praying, Chang Xin, reaping and Lunar New Year, summarized their belief in the land worship, festival ritual, ancestor ritual and ceres ritual. It is concluded that sacrifice is a production-related folklore, which is formed by repeated operation and constant practice. Some taboos were also prohibited in agricultural sacrifice because people were not able to change the unfavorable reality of farming with their insufficient experience and knowledge; however, they resorted to witchcraft for the purpose of harvest. It is believed that the activity of sacrifice will also be kept in the life of Dong ethnic group due to their dependency on agriculture and the land.

Soil chemical properties under modern and traditional farming systems at Khagrachari,Chittagong Hill Tracts,Bangladesh

Land degradation in Chittagong hill tracts has been taking place due to shrinkage of forest cover, policy weakness, population explosion, and inappropriate hill farming system. Modem farming system in the Chittagong hill tracts like Sloping Agricultural Land Technology （SALT） is practiced to provide a new strategy for developing lands for economic productivity and bio-diversity conservation through establishment of ecological community rather than traditional shifting cultivation which is no longer sustainable according to the carrying capacity of ecosystem of Chittagong hill tracts. This study is to find out changing trends of soil chemical properties of sites under modem and traditional farming systems at Khagrachari district of Chittagong hill tracts. The result of the research shows that Sloping Agricultural Land Technology has significantly higher capacity of production due to the presence of the highest percentage of organic carbon, organic matter, compared with shifting cultivated site. The study recommends that shifting cultivation may be changed into a relatively stable semi-permanent farming system through developing participatory integrated farming systems to establish stable production environment in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

韩国贝类养殖(Shellfish Farming)现状及展望

韩国是水产养殖业的主要国家之一。本文作者概述了韩国贝类养殖现状,并展望韩国贝类养殖发展前景。

Tillage Effect and Development Prospect of Fenlong Farming Tools with"Drill"

In this paper,farming and crop cultivation effects of farming tools with"drill"which are invented independently in China are clarified firstly,containing horizontal cutting of soil,super deep ploughing,deep loosening and not disturbing soil layer,granular soil,soil not easy to bond and harden,and one-time land preparation.It is a significant path to deeply develop and use the"five natural resources"not fully utilized by human beings(soil resources at plough bottom and below,saline-alkali land,natural rainfall,solar energy,oxygen)and realize"mitigation"of five natural disasters(flood,drought,high temperature,low temperature and climate warming).In the past 10 years,the farming tools have been applied in 40 kinds of crops in 26 provinces of China.Compared with vertical breaking of soil by traditional"plow",the amount of loose soil,water storage and dissolved oxygen in cultivated land increased by more than one time,and yield increased by 10%-50%.They have been applied in transformation of saline-alkali land in 10 provinces,and yield increased by 30%-150%.After Fenlong treatment for 1 and 2 years,biomass of sugarcane increased by 68.9%and 50.1%respectively.Net photosynthetic rates of Gramineous crops were improved by 6.82%-11.94%,while net photosynthetic rates of Legume crops were improved by 20.32%-32.08%.After"spiral drill","vertical two-knife drill","vertical three-knife drill"and other hollow series of Fenlong farming toolss were invented newly.They were the most advanced farming tools with large soil discharge and small resistance,and could be equipped in large-,medium-and small-size modern Fenlong agricultural machinery as key technology,thereby setting up a new"standard stalk"for world agricultural reform and bringing benefit to mankind.

Factory Farming or Organic Farming:An Issue of Animal Cruelty in A Thousand Acres

Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres is one of her most famous and most studied works.Among several conflicts across the novel,one is often unnoticed.That is the conflict between factory farming and organic farming,represented respectively by Ginny’s father and husband,and by Ginny’s lover and the neighbor.Through a depiction of the expansion of factory farming and the failure of organic farming in the novel,Smiley exposes animal cruelty in factory farming,and attaches importance to animal welfare and human-animal relationship.

Analysis on Development Potential of Agricultural Resources of Farming System in Shandong Province

Based on the characteristics of agricultural resources and social resources in Shandong Province, the approaches of developing farming system potential were discussed, which provide important references for sustainable development of modern farming system.

Technical Standards for Lotus Root-Redswamp Crayfish Integrated Farming

Lotus root-redswamp crayfish integrated farming is a kind of ecologicalgrow mode on the basis of paddy field, which is an innovated mode for agricultural structure adjustment and special agriculture with high efficiency. In order to regulate producing technology of this mode, the essay puts forward some technical require- ments, stressing on cultivar selection, field works, farming technology and product quality, which aims at providing technical support for agricultural production.

Heavy metals pollution in poultry and livestock feeds and manures under intensive farming in Jiangsu Province, China

The heavy metals pollution in poultry and livestock feeds and manures under intensive farming in Jiangsu Province was investigated. 97 feed and manure samples were sampled from 31 farming plants in 10 major cities of Jiangsu. 14 metals, including Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Mo, Mn, Ba, Co, Sr, Ti, As and Hg, were analyzed after samples acid digestion. The results showed that the most feed samples contained high concentration of metals exceeding National Hygienical Standard for Feeds. Meanwhile, it was found that Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Cr concentrations in animal manures were also high, for example, Cu concentration in a manure sample reached to as much as 1726 3 mg/kg. Heavy metals loading quantities in soil per year were then calculated when metals contaminated organic fertilizers were applied, and its effects on soil environmental quality were further evaluated.

Modeling the relationship of land use change and some geophysical indicators for the interlock area of farming and pasturing in China

This paper discusses land-use changes in the interlock area of farming and pasturing (IAFP) in northern China. It presents detailed analyses of land-use features in the IAFP, which are controlled by the macro geomorphic units and geophysical conditions-constraints or advantages. Additionally, it selects some indicators, according to the availability in acquiring and processing their quantitative data, to analyze the canonical correlations between the typical conversion of grassland and geophysical conditions. The preliminary study indicates that the physical conditions are of great advantages to the development of grassland. There exists significant correlation between land use change and some geophysical conditions.

Long Term Effects of Farming System on Soil Water Content and Dry Soil Layer in Deep Loess Profile of Loess Tableland in China

Soil water is strongly affected by land use/cover in the Loess Plateau in China. Water stored in thick loessal soils is one of the most important resources regulating vegetation growth. However, soil water in the deep loess proifle, which is critical for maintaining the function of the“soil water pool”is rarely studied because deep proifle soil samples are dififcult to collect. In this study, four experimental plots were established in 2005 to represent different farming systems on the Changwu Tableland：fallow land, fertilized cropland, unfertilized cropland, and continuous alfalfa. The soil water content in the 15-m-deep loess proifles was monitored continuously from 2007 to 2012 with the neutron probe technique. The results showed that temporal variations in soil water proifles differed among the four farming systems. Under fallow land, the soil water content increased gradually over time, ifrst in the surface layers and later in the deep soil layers. In contrast, the soil water content decreased gradually under continuous alfalfa. The distributions of soil water in deep soil layers under both fertilized and unfertilized cropland were relatively stable over time. Thus farming system signiifcantly affected soil water content. Seven years after the start of the experiment, the soil water contents in the 15-m-deep proifles averaged 23.4%under fallow land, 20.3%under fertilized cropland, 21.6%under unfertilized cropland, and 16.0%under continuous alfalfa. Compared to measurements at the start of the experiment, both fallow land and unfertilized cropland increased soil water storage in the 15-m loess proifles. In contrast, continuous alfalfa reduced soil water storage. Fertilized cropland has no signiifcant effect on soil water storage. These results suggest that deep soil water can be replenished under the fallow and unfertilized farming systems. Dry soil layers （i.e., those which have soil water content less than the stable ifeld water capacity） in the subsoil of the Changwu Tableland region can be classiifed as either temporary dry soil layers or persistent dry soil layers. Temporary dry soil layers, which typically form under annual crops, often disappear during wet years. Persistent dry soil layers generally develop under perennial vegetation. Even after removing the vegetation, persistent dry soil layers remain for several decades. This study provides information useful for the conservation and utilization of soil water resources in the Loess Tableland.

Comparison of Soil Fauna (Oribatids and Enchytraeids)Between Conventional and Organic (Tillage and No-Tillage Practices) Farming Crop Fields in Japan

The major soil animal groups, enchytraeid worms and oribatid mites, were compared in the abundance and diversity between conventional fields (CT) and organic farming fields with tillage (OT) or no-tillage (ON) practices. The values of abundance, species richness, diversity and evenness were significantly larger in OT and ON than in CT, indicating that the abundance and diversity in organic farming fields were greater than those in conventional farming. The community structure of enchytraeid genera was different between OT and ON. Enchytraeus was the most abundant in OT, while Fridericia in ON. The abundance of oribatids in OT was similar to that in ON, while the species richness and diversity in the former were smaller. These results suggested that no-tillage practice under organic management might contribute to the improvement in quality of soil mesofauna.