Empirical Analysis on Rural Financial Development and Farmers' Income Increase in China

The growth of farmer＇s incomes is cIoseIy reIated to rural finance. The research analyzed the dynamic reIationship of rural financial deveIopment, efficiency and farmer＇s incomes based on VAR modeI, and the resuIts indicated that the ex-pansion of rural finance wouId stimuIate farmer＇s incomes in a Iong term, and the growth of rural financial efficiency significantIy improves farmer＇s incomes in a short term, instead of a Iong term. Hence, it is necessary to introduce more credit funds and social funds to rural areas, deepen rural financial system reform and acceIerate use rate of Ioan capital and enhance guidance for farmers and township enterprises in use of Ioan capitals.

Nutrient Limiting Factor and Agronomic Efficiency of Wheat in Fluvo-aquic Soil District in Northwest of Shandong Province

[Objective] This study aimed to provide basis for rational fertilizer application of wheat in fluvo-aquic soil in the northwest of Shandong Province.[Method] In this paper,the treatments of reduced N,P and K were set in order to explore the effects of fertilizer recommendation based on ASI systematic approach on wheat yield,agronomic efficiency and recovery rate of nutrients.[Result] Nitrogen was the main limiting factor for wheat production in that area,followed by phosphorus,and the third was potassium.Compared with the optimum treatment （OPT）,the reduction of N,P and K reduced the grain yield obviously,which came up to 22.4％,14.4％ and 13.4％ respectively.There were no obvious differences in grain yield among Farmer＇s Fertilization Practice （FP）,60％ OPT-N and OPT treatment.[Conclusion] Agronomic efficiency of N,P and K was 6.3,12.9 and 10 kg/kg respectively.The recovery rates of N,P and K in wheat season were 16.41％,17.27％ and 27.27％ respectively.

Analysis of Emergy Structure,Function and Efficiency of Agro-ecosystem in Hunan Province

[Objective] The aim was to explore function and efficiency of emergy input/ output of Hunan agricultural ecosystem to reveal relationship of human being with natural resources and environment. [Method] Emergy structure, function and efficien- cy of Hunan agricultural ecosystem were analyzed based on input/output data in Hunan Province in 2009 as per emergy theory. [Result] The structure characters of agricultural ecosystem were as follows： Hunan is characterized with traditional agri- culture, depending greatly on both human and animal labor. For industrial accessory emergy, chemical fertilizers make most contribution to the system, and agricultural mechanization is not satisfied. Furthermore, renewable ratio of industrial accessory emergy is lower, and development and potential of green energy is promising. In addition, prices of the products are lower, without consideration of contribution made by natural resources and environment. It also suggested that Hunan agricultural chain is short and added value of products is not high. In general, emergy output of farming and animal husbandry dominates and the prices are lower than those of forestry and fishery. The function of the system was as follows： With lower environ- mental load ratio, the system is overloaded by population and the index of sustain- able development was 5.96, suggesting that the system enjoys vitality and potential, but the economy is undeveloped and the pressure from natural resources and envi- ronment is not high. The emergy output ratio was a little lower than national level in 2009, suggesting Hunan agricultural production is extensive. [Conclusion] The re- search indicated that rapid increase of population should be controlled; surplus labor should be transferred; agricultural structure and products structure should be further adjusted; agricultural technology should be further developed; agdcultural mechaniza- tion and modernization should be improved.

Study on Photosynthetic Characteristics of a Rice CMS Line Renong 1A with Yellow-green Revertible Leaves

[Objective] Understanding the photosynthetic characteristics of the rice CMS line Renong 1A with leaf color markers can promote its utilization in breeding. [Method] The wild type （WT） of rice spontaneous mutant with virescent-yellow leaves that was the male parent of Renong 1A was selected as the control, and the contents of photosynthetic pigments, photosynthetic parameters, light-response curve and chlorophyll fluorescence kinetic parameters of Renong 1A were measured at the tillering stage. [Result] New leaves of Renong 1A yellowed obviously in the early period. Chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate and values of parameters Pdt, F/Fm Fv＇/Fm＇,φPSII, and ETR of Renong 1A were all significantly lower than those of the control. However, there was no difference between Renong 1A and the control in terms of photosynthetic rate of leaves turning green. [Conclusion] The photosynthetic capacity of new leaves of Renong 1A decreased at the early stage due to the reduction of chlorophyll content, and then it became normal at the later stage with the increase of chlorophyll content.

Analysis of Electricity Cost of Agricultural Irrigation and Drainage in Experiment Station

The electricity cost of agricultural irrigation and drainage in the Dahe Ex- periment Station was analyzed. The results showed that from 2012 to 2016, the annual total power and total electricity cost increased year by year. The higher the electricity consumption was, the lower the factor adjusted power price was. The an- nual factor adjusted power price decreased from 532.5 yuan （above the national standard） to -599.78 yuan （below the national standard）. The electricity consumption was always highest in June. The more the rainfall from June to September was, the less the monthly electricity usage was. The collect electricity charge to total electricity charge ratio was 1.26%-1.34%, the directory electricity charge to total electricity charge ratio was 96.34%-99.80%, and the electricity loss of transformer was 288-496 kW/h.

Impact of Labor Transfer on Agricultural Land Use Conversion at Rural Household Level Based on Logit Model

Since land and labor force are primary resources to be used and controlled by rural households, the allocation of labor forces will influence land uses, and further lead to land use conversion. The present study used the Binary Logit model to investigate the influence of labor force transfer, characteristics of rural households, location, and land market on agricultural land use conversion at rural household level. This study was conducted based on 329 valid questionnaires, which were obtained in Changshu, Rudong, and Tongshan counties, respectively representing the southern, middle and northern areas of Jiangsu Province. The results showed that land market participation, location, zonal difference and labor transfer had strong influences on agricultural land use conversion. The participation of land market had a strong positive effect on land use conversion, especially for the farmland converted to the fishpond. The nearer to the county seat, the more conversion of land use occurred. Particularly, the labor force transfer caused by wage employment decreased this conversion probability, while the labor transfer caused by self-employment led to more conversion; and the increasing of income from labor transfer increased the conversion. Moreover, land use con- versions demonstrated zonal difference, which were more in Rudong and Changshu counties than in Tongshan County, and the factors influencing this conversion were different in the three regions.

IMPROVEMENT OF SANDY SOIL WITH WATER-CONSERVING MEMBRANE AND ITS EFFECT ON CROP GROWTH

Water-conserving membrane is a new material of improving sandy soil. It is based on the rule that a compound with organic and inorganic components can produce colloid after its integrating with Ca2+ in soil. The water-conserving membrane will obstruct capillary and increase viscidity of sandy soil, so as to decrease leakage and evaporation in sandy soil. The water-conserving membrane contains polyacrylic acid (PAA) and bentonite. When PAA concentration and pH of solution are different, water-conserving membrane can be made in different depth of soil. This experiment shows that the solution with 0.2% PAA does not harm and poison the crops, on the contrary, promotes crop germination. The solution with 0.2% or 0.4% PAA can accelerate corn growth. Accordingly, different crops need the application of the different PAA concentrations in the cultivation. Therefore, on the basis of different vadose coefficient in sandy soil, the solution with different PAA concentration can improve sandy soil and increase its water-conserving competence very well. The solution can be used to improve sandy soil and control desert enlargement in arid, semi-arid and semi-humid areas.

Potentialities of Maize on the Removal of Organochlorine Pesticides from Contaminated Soils

In this paper, glasshouse experiments were conducted to determine the accumulation, distribution and transformation of DDTs and HCHs by maize under pot culture conditions. The culture soil was spiked with the organic pollutants and samples were collected in different durations. Analysis of the plants at harvest showed that the selected plant varied widely in their ability to remove and translo- cate DDTs and HCHs from the soil, the bioconcentration factor ranged from 0.004 to 0.027 for the shoot and from 0.036 to 0.097 for the roots, and the translocation factors were lower than 0.1 with variation between DDTs and HCHs, but no signifi- cant differences were observed. DDTs appeared to have accumulated by both pas- sive adsorption and active absorption, p,p＇-DDT and p,p＇-DDE were the major metabolite and the transformation was mediated by reductive dehalogenation, the affinity of the OCPs for lipids is one of the major factors affecting their uptake and translocation within the plants.

Emergy Efficiency and Structural Adjustment of Hunan Agro-ecosystem

[Objective] To analyze the efficiency of Hunan agro-ecosystem in 1980- 2010. [Method] This paper adopts the emergy methods to evaluate the emergy input and output. [Result] The growth of total emergy input was mainly caused by the auxiliary factors in this phase. The proportion of the nonrenewable purchased emergy input to the total auxiliary emergy input increased from 21.80% in 1980 to 33.04% in 2010. In 1980-2010 the total emergy output of the system increased by 2.43 times, the proportions of the stock farming emergy output and fishery emergy output to the total emergy output increased sharply, while those of the planting emergy output and forestry emergy output showed a considerable decline. [Conclusion] The emergy yield ratio of this system was improved but its sustainability was worrying.

Lamp Distribution Design for Adjustment of Florescence in Floral Production

[Objective] The aim was to introduce characters of light sources and select the optimal lamp scheme for floral production in greenhouses. [Method] With chrysanthemum cuttings as materials, HPSL, energy-saving fluorescent lamp, and LED agricultural lamp were made use of to carry out field tests in order to compare practical effects according to light characters of different lamps and plant growth de-mands. [Result] The results show that LED lamp performed the best of the three in practical use. LED square lamp designed in bat-wing shape would be the most ben-eficial for lamp distribution in a greenhouse. [Conclusion] LED agricultural lamp is the most popular currently, for it is energy saving and easy for operation.

Measurement of Technical, AIIocative and Economic Efficiency of Tomato Farms in Northern Pakistan

The study measures productive efficiency of tomato growers in village Akbarpura of Disctrict Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa （KPK） province of Northern Pakistan. The study uses household level data collected in summer 2010 from sample farmers selected by multi-staged sampling. The study uses a theoretical framework to measure productive efficiency and estimates the Cobb-Douglas frontier production and cost models. The study found that technical efficiency indices varied significantly, with technical efficiency index averaging at 65%. The indices of allocative efficiency also varied widely, with an average of 56%. There was a wide gap between the highest and lowest economic efficiency indices, with a mean economic efficiency of 35%. The study concluded that farmer education, extension visits, age and access to credit contributed significantly and positively to productive efficiencies. A policy implication of this study is that there is enough potential for farmers to increase tomato production and net profits. The study recommends that the government should further invest in public education and strengthen extension services farmer education and because extension visits constituted important determinants of productive efficiencies.

Impacts of climate change on agricultural water resources and adaptation on the North China Plain

Climate change is having a considerable impact on the availability of water resources for agricultural production on the North China Plain （NCP）, where the shortage of water is currently disturbing the stability and sustainability of agricultural production with respect to the drying tendency since the 1950s. However, although potential evapotranspiration （ET） has shown a decreasing trend under climate change, actual ET has slightly increased with an acceleration in hydrological cycling. Global climate model （GCM） ensemble projections predict that by the 2050s, the increased crop water demand and intensified ET resulting from global warming will reduce water resources surplus （Precipitation-ET） about 4%-24% and increase significantly the irrigation water demand in crop growth periods. This study assesses possible mitigation and adaptation measures for enabling agricultural sustainability. It is revealed that reducing the sowing area of winter wheat （3.0%-15.9%） in water-limited basins, together with improvement in crop water-use efficiency would effectively mitigate water shortages and intensify the resilience of agricultural systems to climate change.

Significant decrease in prevalence ofHelicobacter pylori in the Czech Republic

AIM:To study possible decrease in prevalence of Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori) infection in the Czech Republic within a 10-year period.METHODS:A total of 22 centres entered the study.The catchment areas of these centres covered cities and towns with more than 20 000 inhabitants,smaller towns(≤ 20 000 inhabitants) with surrounding villages and rural areas,and were spread over the whole country,corresponding well to the geographical distribution of the Czech population.A total of 1 837 subjects(aged 5-98 years) took part in the study,randomly selected out of 38 147 people from the general population.H.pylori infection was investigated by means of a 13 C-urea breath test.Breath samples in duplicates were analysed using isotope ratio mass spectrometry.The cut-off point was 3.5.Social and demographic characteristics were based on data from self-completed questionnaires.RESULTS:The overall prevalence of H.pylori infection was 23.5%(430/1826),and 4.8%(20/420) in children aged 15 or less.There was no statistically significant difference in prevalence between males(24.3%;208/857) and females(22.9%,222/969,P = 0.494).H.pylori infection was strongly associated with higher age,among subjects aged 55+ years,prevalence of H.pylori infection was 39.8%(252/633,P < 0.001).The highest prevalence of H.pylori infection was found among persons aged 55-64 years(43.9%,97/221) and 75+ years(37.9%,58/153).Among study subjects aged 15+ years,prevalence of H.pylori infection was significantly increased in those with lowest education(odds risk 3.19,95% CI 1.87-5.47).Compared to never married(14.1%),the prevalence of H.pylori infection was statistically significantly higher among married(35.4%,246/694,P < 0.001),divorced(36.8%,49/133,P < 0.001) and widowed study subjects(40.2%,45/112,P < 0.001),both in minimally and fully adjusted analysis.There was no significant difference in the prevalence of H.pylori infection between married and widowed subjects(35.4%,246/694 vs 40.2%,45/112,P = 0.389).There was little variation in smoking prevalence across categories of smoking and there was no evidence of an increased risk ofH.pylori infection among current or past smokers in our data(odds risk 1.04 with 95% CI 0.78-1.40 for current smokers;odds ratio 0.83 with 95% CI 0.60-1.16 for former smokers).The current prevalence of H.pylori in 2011 was significantly lower compared to the prevalence reported from identical geographical areas in 2001(23.5%vs 41.7%,P < 0.001).CONCLUSION:The overall prevalence of H.pylori infection in the general population has fallen substantially in the Czech Republic over the past 10 years.

Spatial-temporal Evolution Pattern of Agricultural Productivity in Northwestern Sichuan Plateau

Currently, the agricultural growth in developed countries mainly relies on the improvement of productivity, which is also the target for China. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to describe the spatial-temporal evolution pattern of agricultural productivity, to reveal changes in total factor productivity in 2ooo-2olo, and analyze the impact of these changes in northwestern Sichuan plateau, China. Using data envelopment analysis （DEA） and the Malmquist Index, an in-depth study was conducted on agricultural productivity and changes in total factor productivity of 31 counties in northwestern Sichuan plateau. Results indicated that： （1） geographically, counties with optimal efficiency were mainly located in the north of northwestern Sichuan plateau and those with the lowest efficiency, in the south; （2） relative to pure technical efficiency, scale efficiency was the dominant factor in determining agricultural productivity; （3） the redundancy rate of input factors in zolo was slightly lower than that in zooo, thereby indicating an improved utilization of input factors to a certain extent and a great potential for further improving such utilization; （4） during the 2ooo-2olo period, the agricultural total factor productivity had an average annual growth rate of 8.3%, but the growth rates in various regions differed widely; （5） technical progress was the dominant factor promoting the improvement of total factor oroductivitv inagriculture. The disparities in spatial distribution may be due to the differences of natural conditions, former level agricultural productivity between counties. The findings are valuable for the government to make sustainable development policies for agriculture and improving agricultural development in northwestern Sichuan plateau.

Study on intermittent irrigation for Paddy Rice: Ⅱ. Crop Responses

Effect of intermittent irrigation on the production of paddy rice was studied in a well-puddled paddy field with four treatments and 2 replicates: continuous flooding irrigation (CFI), and intermittent irrigation Ⅱ-O, Ⅱ-1 and Ⅱ-2, in which plants were re-irrigated when the soil water potential fell below 0, -10, and -20 kPa, respectively, at soil depth of about 5 cm. Results showed that the reduction in soil water potential to about -10 or -20 kPa did not significantly affect the number of grains and the percentage of ripened grains. While, a lower crop growth rate (CGR) resulted from a decrease in the net assimilation rate (NAR) during intermittent irrigation Ⅱ-1 and Ⅱ-2, and there was also a reduction in the leaf area index (LAI) during intermittent irrigation Ⅱ-2. Senescence of lower leaves on stems was promoted in treatments Ⅱ-1 and Ⅱ-2 at the ripening stage. Early senescence at ripening stage and water stress around midday decreased the rate of photosynthesis in leaves, causing the lower NAR. These physiological responses of the plants were responsible for the reduction in the dry matter production and grain yield in the intermittent irrigation treatments.

Evaluation for Use Efficiency of Agricultural Resources in Grain Production:A Case Study of Changshu,Taihe and Ansai in China

This paper aims to establish an index system for evaluation of agricultural resources use efficiency(ARUE) in grain production and discuss the causes of low efficiency and high consumption of agricultural resources in Changshu of Jiangsu Province,Taihe of Jiangxi Province and Ansai of Shaanxi Province in China by analyzing the data about meteorology,soil,water consumption and grain production. Agro-ecological Zone(AEZ) method was adopted to calculate the potential productivity,and synthetically multivariate equation was used to evaluate the ARUE of study areas. This paper can be concluded as:1) the agricultural resources in grain production can be classified into five categories,i.e.,climatic resources,water resources,land resources,biological resources and assistant resources,and 15 indexes were selected to evaluate their use efficiency in grain production;2) the values of ARUE in grain production are 0.5868,0.6368 and 0.5390 respectively in Changshu,Taihe and Ansai;and 3) Changshu ranks the highest among the three study areas in terms of the use efficiency of climatic resources and biological resources(evaluation values are 0.0277 and 0.1530) ,but Taihe tops the three in terms of the use efficiency of water resources,land resources and assistant resources(evaluation values are 0.0502,0.2945 and 0.1379 respectively) . However,the ARUE remains always low in Ansai for all the resources. The inefficiencies are caused by poor grain revenue in Changshu,deficient agriculture investments in Taihe and unfavorable natural conditions in Ansai.

Assessment of fodder quality of leaves of multipurpose trees in subtropical humid climate of India

The leaves of 12 species （Acacia auriculiformis, Albizzia procera, Dalbergia sissoo, Gliricidia maculata, Leucaena leuco- cephala, Samanea saman, Azadirachta indica, Eucalyptus hybrida, Gmelina arborea, Michelia champaca, Morus alba, and Tectona grandis） of Multipurpose trees and shrubs （MPTs） grown in the agroforestry arboretum were evaluated for their nutritional characteristics in terms of proximate composition, cell wall constituents, total tannins, major （Ca and P） and trace minerals （Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn and Co）, in vitro dry matter and organic matter digestibility （IVDMD and IVOMD） and metabolisable energy （ME） values. There were significant （P〈0.01） variations among MPTs for all parameters studied. The average values of （92.02±0.30）%, （16.00±0.74）%, （3.05±0.13）%, （18.97±1.07）%, （54.00±1.12）% and （7.98 ± 0.30）% （DM basis） were observed for OM （organic matter）, CP （crude protein）, EE （ether extract）, CF （crude fibre）, NFE （nitrogen-free extract） and total ash, respectively. Leguminous trees had high CP compared to nonleguminous ones （18.30% vs 13.70%）. The mean values for cell wall constituents viz., NDF （neutral detergent fibre）, ADF （acid detergent fibre）, hemi cellulose, cellulose and ADL （acid detergent lignin） were found to be （52.48±1.05）%, （31.72±0.97）%, （20.76±0.88）%, （16.97±0.70）% and （9.57±0.62）%, respectively. The total tannin contents averaged （4.22±0.32）%. The ratio of Ca to P was quite wider. The levels of Fe and Mn were adequate to rich in all the MPTs while many of the tree species possessed P, Cu, Zn and Co level below the critical limits for the animals. The average IVDMD and IVOMD values were found to be （48.96±1.30）% and （50.69±1.36）%, respectively. The ME value averaged （6.95i-0.11） MJ·kg-1 DM. The CP content had significant positive correlation with IVDMD, IVOMD and ME val- ues while NDF, ADF, ADL and total tannins showed negative correlations with these three parameters. Based on the results, Leucaena Leucocephala could be considered as good quality fodder as it had the highest level of IVDMD/IVOMD （65.20%/67.66%） and ME （7.95 MJ·kg-1 DM） while G. maculata, M. alba, A. indica, D. sissoo and S. saman were of medium type and rest of poor quality.

Economic efficiency in fish farming: hope for agro-allied industries in Niagara

The challenge to increase the efficiency in food production level in Nigeria appears to be more urgent now than it has ever been in the history of the country. This is in view of the rapidly increasing population, the imminent decline in international economic and food aid and the need to conserve foreign exchange earnings through the production of raw materials to feed the growing industrial sector calls for urgent attention. The study was carded out in Ogun State. The descriptive statistics was used to determine the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. The stochastic frontiers production analysis was applied to estimate the technical, allocative efficiency and economic efficiency among the fish farmers in the state. The results of economic efficiency revealed that fish farming is economically efficient with a range of between 55% and 84% efficiency level suggesting a favourable hope for the agro-allied industry such as poultry and cottage industries etc in the state. The result of hypothesis of inefficiency sources models showed that years of experience of fish farmers is significant at 1% probability level indicating the factor contributing to the fish farming experience in the state. Thus, the efficiency is due to the fact that farmers are experienced and fairly educated. On the basis of findings, policy is suggested to be directed towards the encouragement of entrepreneurs in fish farming in the state by providing enabling environment like credit facilities, public enlightenment programme and provision of social amenities like feeder roads, pipe-born water etc and given the fact that an increase in the level of formal education variable leads to less inefficiency, government policy should be focused on adopting the best technology （e.g. fast growing species and equipment ） so as to improve the level of efficiency and investment which shall eventually lead to growth in output of fish fanning and a lead to the establishment of agro-allied industries in the state.

Phosphorus Use Efficiency of Safflower （Carthamus tinctorius L.） and Sunflower （Helianthus annuus L.） Studied in Nutrient Solution

Safflower represents an important oil crop internationally and may have a production potential under low input conditions, but its putatively high phosphorous use efficiency is not sustained. This study aims to directly compare safflower with sunflower in terms of phosphorus use efficiency in nutrient solution under controlled conditions. Growth of both species responded strongly to increasing P supply. Safflower recovers less proportion of added P than sunflower. External P requirement （（g P supply （100 g dry matter （DM） produced）~） was higher in safflower than sunflower. The efficiency of the crops for DM production based on accumulated P （mg P potl, efficiency ratio）, and P concentration in DM （（mg P （g DM）＇I）, utilization index） were interpreted using Michaelis-Menten kinetics as growth response curves. Accordingly, Km constant was lower in sunflower compared to safflower in terms of utilization index, but both were similar in terms of efficiency ratio. High Km constant in safflower in terms of utilization index indicates the high P concentration in tissues to produce 50% of potential maximum DM, consequently less efficient crop. Utilization efficiency contributed more than uptake efficiency in overall PUE in the efficient cultivar and could be the cause of its superiority in PUE. It can be concluded that safflower has a high requirement for P with respect to growth, sunflower is more efficient in terms of uptake and utilization of P at optimal and sub-optimal P supplies indicating that safflower can not be considered a low nutrient input crop compared to sunflower with respect to phosphorus.