Effects of Rice-duck Mutualism on Diseases Insect Pests and Weeds and Economic Benefits

[Objective] Study on the effects of rice-duck mutualism on weeds and insects pests and economic benefits of paddy field. [Method] Comparison of the incidence of weeds, sheath blight and insects pest under rice-duck mutualism, conventional cultivation and control treatment, the yield and economic benefits were analyzed under the 3 treatments. [Result] Average occurrence of weeds in rice-duck mutualism group decreased by 2.33 and 52.0g ind/m^2 compared with that in conventional cultivation and control treatment ; the control rate of mutualism was up to 75% against rice hopper, but just between 25% -60% against rice leaf roller and Chilo suppressalis. The rates of diseased plant and diseased bell against rice sheath blight were higher and disease indices were lower compared with control group. The yield of mutualism group was identical with conventional cultivation, Which was greatly higher than that of control group. The results suggested an higher economic benefits and lower cost benefit ratio for rice-duck mutualism treatment. [Conclusion] Rice-duck mutualism gives birth to a positive effect to control the diseases, insect pests and weeds, as well as to economic benefits, providing basis on extension of rice-duck mutualism system.

Rice-duck co-culture benefits grain 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline accumulation and quality and yield enhancement of fragrant rice

Rice-duck co-culture is an integrated farming technology that benefits rice production, grain quality, and ecological sustainability in paddy fields. However, little is known about the effects of rice-duck co-culture on enzyme activity involved in the biosynthesis of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP), the volatile that gives fragrant rice its' distinctive and sought-after aroma. The present study aimed to examine the influence of rice-duck co-culture on the photosynthesis, yield, grain quality, rice aroma, and the enzymes involved in 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline biosynthesis in the cultivar Meixiangzhan 2 during the early and late rice growing seasons of 2016 in Guangzhou, China. We compared the rice grown in paddy fields with and without ducks. We found that rice-duck co-culture not only improved the yield and quality of fragrant rice grain, but also promoted the precursors of 2-AP biosynthesis formation and 2-AP accumulation in the grain. Grain 2-AP content in rice-duck co-culture was noticeably increased with 9.60% and 20.81% in early and late seasons, respectively. Proline and pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid (P5C) (precursors of 2-AP biosynthesis) and the activity of enzymes such as proline dehydrogenase (ProDH), ornithine aminotransferase (OAT) and Δ1 pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid synthetase (P5CS) were all improved by 10.15%–12.99%, 32.91%–47.75%, 17.81%–26.71%, 6.25%–21.78%, and 10.58%–38.87% under rice-duck co-culture in both seasons, respectively. Overall, our results suggest that rice-duck co-culture is an environmentally-friendly and sustainable approach to improving rice aroma and grain quality of fragrant rice.

Influencing Factors on Rice Sheath Blight Epidemics in Integrated Rice-Duck System

Sheath blight, a disease caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn （anamorph）, has been the most economically significant disease of rice. It was frequently reported that the disease was well-controlled in integrated rice-duck system without the employment of fungicides. However, the effecting factors behind this phenomenon were rarely reported. In this research, experiment was carried out between two treatments, rice combined with ducks （RD） and conventional rice field without ducks rearing （CK） in early season rice paddy, to investigate the variations of sclerotia in floodwater and on rice plant, microclimate 10 cm above the waterline in rice paddy and activity of protective enzymes in rice plants. The results showed that the floating sclerotia in floodwater in RD was 86-91% lower than that in CK, and adhering sclerotia in rice plant in RD was 67-78% lower than that in CK. The relative humidity tested significantly lower and light intensity tested significantly higher in RD. The temperature in the early rice growth stages in RD was slightly lower than that in CK, but it was significantly higher （32.3-36.5~C） in the middle stage rice growth stages. The polyphenoloxidase （PPO） activity in RD were lower than that in CK, but the enhanced activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase （PAL）, peroxidase （POD） and Chitinase was observed in different stages of rice growth in RD, especially the Chitinase which showed higher activity in all investigating days.

Studies on Technique of Reducing Methane Emission in a Rice-Duck Ecological System and the Evaluation of Its Economic Significance

The rice-duck ecological system is one of the major practices of the traditional Chinese agriculture. A study on the effect of reducing methane emission using this practice provided theoretical and practical basis for further development and utilization of this classical agricultural technique. The effect of reducing methane emission and the economic benefits of rice-duck ecological system were studied by carrying out a field experiment and by using economic methodology. The daily variation of CH4 emission in late rice paddy field was basically consistent with the daily variation of atmospheric temperature. The highest emission occurred at the full tillering stage of late rice with a rate of 24.1 or 32.2 or 40.5 mg m^-2 h^-1 in no-tillage area with duck and no-tillage area without duck and conventional-tillage area without duck, respectively. The inhibition of methane emission was apparently effective in the rice-duck ecological system during the initial tillering stage and the full tillering stage. Compared to the no-tillage area without duck, methane emission decreased by 2.333 g m^-2. Compared to the conventional-tillage area without duck, methane emission decreased by 4.723 g m^-2. During the production period of late rice, the amount of methane emission in no-tillage area with duck was 3.373 g m^-2 lesser than that of no-tillage area without duck, and 5.59 g m^-2 less than that of conventional-tillage without duck area. The economic significance was analyzed. Farmers adopting the rice-duck ecological system obtained 2 166 and 4 207 RMB yuan ha^-1 more income than those who adopted a no-tillage without duck technique or conventional-tillage without duck technique, respectively. In addition to the reduction of the environmental pollution by methane emission, the farmers who adopted the rice-duck ecological system achieved economic benefits of 5 000 RMB yuan ha^-1, which was 2 206 and 4 274 RMB yuan ha^-1 more than those who adopted a no-tillage without duck technique and a conventional-tillage without duck technique, respectively. The rice-duck ecological system not only increased the economic benefits for farmers, but also reduced methane emission in rice paddy field. A sustainable agricultural production mode was formed.

Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Rice-Duck and Rice-Fish Complex Ecosystems and the Evaluation of Their Economic Significance

Rice-duck （RD） and rice-fish （RF） ecological systems are major complex planting and breeding models of rice paddy fields in southern China. Studying the methane （CH4） and nitrous oxide （N2O） emissions and their economic value from these two ecosystems can provide theoretical and practical basis for further development and utilization of these classical agricultural techniques. CH4 and N2O emissions from RD and RF ecological systems were measured in situ by using static chambers technique. Using global warming potentials （GWPs）, we assessed the greenhouse effect of CH4 and N2O and their economic value. Results showed that the peaks of CH4 emission fluxes from RD and RF appeared at full tillering stage and at heading stage, and the average emission fluxes were significantly （P〈 0.05） lower than that from CK. N2O fluxes remained low when the field is flooded and high after draining the water. Compared with CK, the total amount of N2O emissions was significantly （P〈0.05） higher and slightly lower than those from RD and RF, respectively. In 2006 and 2007, the total greenhouse effect of CH4 and N20 from RD and RF were 4 728.3 and 4 611 kg CO2 ha^-1, 4 545 and 4 754.3 kg CO2 ha^-1, respectively. The costs of greenhouse effect were 970.89 and 946.81 RMB yuan ha^-1, and 933.25 and 976.23 RMB yuan ha^-1, respectively, which were significant lower than those from CK （5 997.6 and 5 391.5 RMB yuan ha^-1）. Except for the environment cost of CH4 and N2O, the economic benefits from RD and RF were 2 210.64 and 4 881.92 RMB yuan ha^-1; 3 798.37 and 5 310.64 RMB yuan ha^-1, respectively, higher than those from CK. Therefore, RD and RF complex ecological planting and breeding models can effectively decrease and control CH4 and N2O emissions, and they are two of the effective strategies to reduce greenhouse gases from rice paddy fields and contribute in alleviating global warming. Thus, their adoption is important to the environment together with their economy benefits.

Dynamic Emission of CH₄from a Rice-Duck Farming Ecosystem

Global climatic change induced by emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities is an issue of increasing in-ternational environmental concerns, and agricultural practices and managements are the important contributors for such emissions. This study investigated dynamic emission of methane (CH4) from a paddy field in a rice-duck farming ecosystem. Three different cultivation treatments, namely the organic fertilizer + duck (OF+D), chemical fertilizer + duck (CF + D), and chemical fertilizer (Control) treatments, were employed in this study. Experimental data showed that hourly variations of CH4 emission from the paddy field during the day were somewhat positively correlated (R2 = 0.7 for the OF + D treatment and R2 = 0.6 for the CF+D treatment) to the hourly changes in air temperatures in addi-tion to the influences of the duck activities. The rate of CH4 emission for the CF+D treatment was higher than that of the Control treatment at the tillering stage, whereas the opposite was true at the heading stage. In contrary, the rate of CH4 emission for the OF + D treatment was always higher than that of the Control treatment regardless the tillering or heading stage. Our study revealed that the rate of CH4 emission depended not only on air temperature but also on the rice growth stage. A 6.7% increase in CH4 emission and in global warming potential (GWP) was observed for the CF + D treatment as compared to the Control treatment. This study suggested that although the impacts of duckling on the emission of CH4 depended on the rice growth stage and air temperature regime, the introduction of ducks into the rice farming system in general mitigated the overall CH4 emission and thereby the GWP.

Dissolution of different zinc salts and Zn uptake by Sedum alfredii and maize in mono-and co-cropping under hydroponic culture

Previous soil pot and field experiments demonstrated that co-cropping the hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii with maize increased Zn phytoextraction by S. alfredii and decreased Zn uptake by maize shoots. This hydroponic experiment was conducted to investigate whether the facilitation of Zn phytoextraction by S. alfredii resulted from improved dissolution in this co-cropping system and its relation to root exudates. S. alfredii and maize were mono-and co-cropped （without a root barrier） in nutrient solution spiked with four Zn compounds, ZnS, ZnO, Zn3（PO4）2 and 5ZnO·2CO3·4H2O （represented as ZnCO3 ） at 1000 mg/L Zn for 15 days without renewal of nutrient solution after pre-culture. The root exudates were collected under incomplete sterilization and analyzed. The results indicated that the difference in Zn salts had a greater influence on the Zn concentration in maize than for S. alfredii, varying from 210-2603 mg/kg for maize shoots and 6445-12476 mg/kg for S. alfredii in the same order： ZnCO3 〉 ZnO 〉Zn3（PO4）2 〉 ZnS. For the four kinds of Zn sources in this experiment, co-cropping with maize did not improve Zn phytoextraction by S. alfredii. In most cases, compared to co-cropped and mono-cropped maize, mono-cropped S. alfredii resulted in the highest Zn2＋ concentration in the remaining nutrient solution, and also had a higher total concentration of low molecular weight organic acids （LMWOA） and lower pH of root exudation. Root exudates did partly influence Zn hyperaccumulation in S. alfredii.

Study on Diversity of Arthropod Community in a Rice-duck Integrated Farming System in South China

The integration of ducks into rice farming has raised concerns about possible effects on arthropod communities due to frequent predation by ducks. This paper conducted a study using three treatments, including integrated rice-duck cultivation （RD）, conventional rice cultivation （CC） and a control treatment （CK）, to investigate the impact of rice-duck farming on the diversity of arthropod communities in the field. The results revealed that arthropod numbers in both RD and CC treatments showed varying degrees of reduction when compared with the CK treatment. Arthropod individual numbers, Simpson （D） and Shannon＇s diversity index （H＇） values in RD were higher than those in CC. Arthropod individual numbers, richness index （R）, D and H＇ values in both tillering and booting phases of the late rice were significantly higher in RD treatment than those in CC treatment. Rice-duck integration system was favorable for the maintenance of arthropod diversity in the cropping field and may help to lessen the decline in abundance and diversity of rice farmland arthropods caused by the utilization of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

Soil Contamination due to Activities： A Review with E-Waste Disposal and Recycling Special Focus on China

This paper presents a review of soil contamination resulting from e-waste recycling activities, with a special focus on China, where many data have been collected for a decade. Soils in the e-waste areas are often contaminated by heavy metals and organic compounds, mainly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs）, polybrominated diphenyl ethers （PBDEs）, polychlorinated and polybrominated biphenyls （PCBs and PBBs）, dechlorane plus （DP）, hexabromocyclododecanes （HBCDs）, polychlorinated and polybrominated dibenzo- p-dioxins （PCDDs and PBDDs）, and polychlorinated and polybrominated dibenzofurans （PCDFs and PBDFs）, while other compounds, not systematically monitored, can be found as well. Pollutants are generally present in mixtures, so pollution situations are complex and diversified with a gradient of contamination from agricultural soils to hot spots at e-waste sites and mainly in open burning areas. It has been proved that pollutants were transferred to the food chain via rice in China, and that the population was threatened since high levels of various pollutants were detected in blood, placentas, hair, etc., of residents of e-waste sites. Eventually, soil remediation techniques are reviewed. Although there are many available techniques devoted to heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, the current techniques for the e-waste sites, where these contaminants coexist, are very sparse. Phytoremediation has been investigated and co-cropping appears as a promising approach for the slightly contaminated agricultural soils. In some cases, different remediation techniques should be combined or trained, while the influence of coexisting contaminants and the removal sequence of contaminants should be considered. In hot spots, physical and chemical techniques should be used to reduce high pollution levels to prevent further pollutant dissemination. This review highlights the urgent needs for 1） characterization of pollution status in all the countries where e-wastes are recycled, 2） research on fate and toxicity of pollutant mixtures, and 3） development of combined techniques and strategies to remediate agricultural fields and hot spots of pollution.