Increasing yield potential through manipulating of an ARE1 ortholog related to nitrogen use efficiency in wheat by CRISPR/Cas9

Wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)is a staple food crop consumed by more than 30%of world population.Nitrogen(N)fertilizer has been applied broadly in agriculture practice to improve wheat yield to meet the growing demands for food production.However,undue N fertilizer application and the low N use efficiency(NUE)of modern wheat varieties are aggravating environmental pollution and ecological deterioration.Under nitrogen-limiting conditions,the rice(Oryza sativa)abnormal cytokinin response1 repressor1(are1)mutant exhibits increased NUE,delayed senescence and consequently,increased grain yield.However,the function of ARE1 ortholog in wheat remains unknown.Here,we isolated and characterized three TaARE1 homoeologs from the elite Chinese winter wheat cultivar ZhengMai 7698.We then used CRISPR/Cas9-mediated targeted mutagenesis to generate a series of transgene-free mutant lines either with partial or triple-null taare1 alleles.All transgene-free mutant lines showed enhanced tolerance to N starvation,and showed delayed senescence and increased grain yield in field conditions.In particular,the AABBdd and aabbDD mutant lines exhibited delayed senescence and significantly increased grain yield without growth defects compared to the wild-type control.Together,our results underscore the potential to manipulate ARE1 orthologs through gene editing for breeding of high-yield wheat as well as other cereal crops with improved NUE.

Effects of Different Proportions of Controlled Release Urea and Ordinary Urea on Peanut Yield

[Objectives]To study the effects of different proportions of controlled release urea and ordinary urea on peanut yield.[Methods]A total of 5 treatments were set up according to different proportions of controlled release urea and ordinary urea,randomly arranged in blocks and repeated 3 times.[Results]The test results of field districts showed that different proportions of controlled release urea and conventional urea had different effects on peanut yield.On the basis of applying 50 kg/666.7 m^(2)of calcium superphosphate and 17 kg/666.7 m^(2)of potassium sulfate,13.34 kg/666.7 m^(2)of pure nitrogen was applied.The optimal ratio of controlled release urea to ordinary urea was 75:25,followed by 50:50.The output was 379.83 and 371.83 kg/666.7 m^(2),separately increased by 6.74%and 4.50%compared to the application of ordinary urea.[Conclusions]The combined application of controlled release urea and ordinary urea in peanuts can significantly increase peanut yield compared to just applying ordinary urea.

The Salt Reduction and Yield Increase Effects of Smashing Ridging Transforming Saline-alkali Land and Its Development Prospects

Using smashing ridging tillage machine and smashing ridging technology invented by the authors, transformation test of saline-alkali land by smashing ridging was conducted respectively in Xinjiang and Shaanxi during 2015 -2016. The results showed, in severe saline-alkali soil of Xin-jiang ,after growing cotton by smashing ridging, total salt in soil decreased by 31.31 %, cotton production increased by 48.80%, and salinity level declined from severe to moderate; in mild saline-alkali soil of Shaanxi, after growing summer corn by smashing ridging, total salt in soil decreased by 42.37%, corn yield increased by 34.83%, salinity degree changed from mild desalination to normal farmland ; in Ningxia, Inner Mongolia 7 Gansu ,Jilin, Henan, Hebei, and so on, smashing ridging tillage practice in different types of saline-alkali land was conducted ; according to the salt reduction and yield increase effects of saline-alkali land after smashing ridging, the development prospect of smashing ridging technique in improvement and application of saline-alkali land was proposed.

The supporting capability of Water and land resources for sustainable increase of yield in North China Plain

The potential of yield increase in the North China Plain is about 30 billion kg by ameliorating the low yield and medium low yield farmlands and 4 billion kg by reclaiming unused land. Water shortage will be the main limitation to the further increase of grain crop yield. The amount of water shortage is 8 200 million m3 at present, and will be 17 720 million m3 in 2 000. Yield increase can not be realized by using more water in the future. Other factors such as decrease of the area of cultivated land and the grain crop growing area, deterioration of environment and destruction of resources will also affect the development of grain production. Some suggestions have been proposed in the paper for attaining sustainable increase of yield in the plain.

MONITORING, NURTURE OF THE FARMLAND SOIL & INCREASE OF GRAIN YIELD IN CHINA

In line with the author’s long-time experience on soil reconnaissance, monitoring and scientific probes, this article expounds the vital significance in systematic build-up of pedological data, protection of arable land, employment and renovation of the farmland soil in accordance with the local edaphic setting in a bid to increase the grain yield.

Effects of Subsoiling on Soil Moisture Under No-Tillage for Two Years

In order to improve the water use efficiency under conservation tillage, the effects of subsoiling on soil moisture under notillage were studied. An experiment of 40 cm subsoiling in a field kept under no-tillage for 2 years was operated from 2005 to 2006. Based on the data of the soil moisture and crop yield, the physical basis of subsoiling for water conservation and yield increase was analyzed. The results showed that the soil water storage under subsoiling, from the soil surface to a depth of 100 cm was more than that under no-tillage for the growth season. In the 0-100 cm soil depth, the soil moisture in 50-100 cm depth under subsoiling was more compared with no-tillage, which increased when it＇s drought and decreased when it＇s rainy with the increase in soil depth. Compared with no-tillage, subsoiling could reduce the water consumption of oats in the 0-50 cm depth and increase the water consumption in the 50-100 cm depth. Also, subsoiling increased the yield by 18.29% and the water use efficiency by 16.8% in a two-year average. The effects of subsoiling on water conservation and yield increase were affected by precipitation, and a well-proportioned rainfall was better to increase yield and water use efficiency. Meanwhile, subsoiling decreased bulk density, which increased with the available precipitation. Subsoiling under no-tillage is the effective rotation tillage to contain more soil moisture and improve water use efficiency in ecotone of North China.

Progress in super-hybrid rice breeding

1.Introduction To meet the food demand of the Chinese people in the 21st century,a super-rice breeding program aimed at increasing rice yield was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture of China in 1996.It is divided into four phases,with the following yield targets:10.5 t ha^(-1)(phase I,1996–2000),12 t ha^(-1)(phase II,2001–2005),13.5 t ha^(-1)(phase III,2006–2015),and 15 t ha^(-1)(phase IV,2016–2020)~[1].The average yield of super-rice should be verified in two locations of 6.7 ha each in two consecutive years.

Application of a catch-based method for stock assessment of three important fisheries in the East China Sea

Most fisheries in China do not have maximum sustainable yield（MSY） estimates due to limited and poor data.Therefore, finding a common method to estimate MSY or total allowable catch（TAC） for fishery management is necessary. MSYs of three important fisheries in the East China Sea were evaluated through a catch-based model.Estimates for intrinsic rate of increase（r） and five levels of process error were considered. Results showed hairtail Trichiurus japonicas（Temminck and Schlegel） and small yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis（Bleeker） fisheries experienced overfishing from the mid-1990 s to the early 2000 s, and the suggested TACs were 55.8×10^4 t and9.06×10^4 t, respectively. Decades of overfishing in wintering and spawning grounds of large yellow croaker Larimichthys crocea（Richardson） caused the fishery＇s collapse in the 1980 s, and it has not recovered until today.The Catch–MSY model generated similar estimated MSYs with other methods and may be a useful choice for the assessment of regional stocks in China.

Soil Fertility Is a Productive Capital Asset

In recent years, the understanding of human health has progressed considerably, through the study and understanding of the symbiotic role played by the myriad microorganisms that populate the gut and do the digesting, and populate the skin and keep it healthy, and even populate the lining of the lungs and do the same. In plant life, it is the microorganisms in the soil—which “are” the soil’s fertility—which fulfil a similar symbiotic role in a healthy plant’s life, but as yet this is a subject most visible by its absence from all scientific discussion of good farming practice. The science underlying this understanding is summarised in this paper. Understanding this and nurturing the fertility of impoverished soil by “seeding it” with the appropriate mix of microorganisms is transformational for plant health and productivity. Significant results are indicated from early trial examples of doing this in rice, oil palm and tobacco cultivation in Malaysia.

Steckel mill as a green steel strip and plate production technology

The Steckel mill,a long established solution for the economical production of relatively small volumes of hot rolled strip,has been rejuvenated in recent years by a range of new applications,boosted by the need of improving the energetic efficiency of the rolling process.The traditional advantages of the Steckel mill in terms of flexibility and reduced capital and operational costs are now enhanced by technological developments that have significantly expanded its application range into the combined production of strip and plate and improved the product quality.The increased awareness of the necessity of a sustainable growth in the steel industry has stimulated the development of process solutions with an improved efficiency in the use of natural resources,lower carbon emissions and increased yield.Modern Steckel mills are an adequate response to the trend towards low energy strip and plate production,in particular in their plate-Steckel mill variant.Siemens VAI have played a key role in the innovation and transformation of the Steckel mill concept,with a number of recent installations,presented in this paper from the point of view of their contribution to the development of greener steel rolling technologies.

Screening of Chemical Control for Potato Blight

To screen chemicals for controlling potato blight effectively, randomized block experiment was adopted, the control efficiency of five chemicals for Carbendazim, Metalaxyl, Dithane mancozeb, Curzate, Cymoxanil mancozeb was explored. The results showed that the efficiency of Metalaxyl was much better than that of other conventional chemicals in controlling potato blight, up to 70.59% ; the mean control efficiency of Curzate and Cymoxanil mancozeb was 68.76% and 67.05% ; the control efficiency of Carbendazim was lower, 55.76%. Big and middle tuber rate, tuber weight per hole, plot yield, unit area yield of potatoes in Metalaxyl treatment were the highest, 78.05%, 437.24 g/hole, 34.0 kg/21.6 m2 and 15 748.61 kg/hm2, 49.12% higher than the control yield. The indexes of potatoes in Cymoxanil mancozeb treatment were the second highest, 73.33%, 385.31 g/hole, 32.8 kg/21.6 m2 and 15 192.78 kg/hm2, 43.86% higher than the control yield.

Screening of Dominant Species of Triehogramma sp. and Evaluation of Field Control Effect

[Objective]The paper was to screen out the dominant species of Trichogramma sp.parasitized on Osirinia nub ilalis eggs and to evaluate the field control effect of Trichogramma sp..[Method]Six kinds of fresh egg masses of Trichogramma sp.parasitized on O.nubilalis were used to screen out three dominant species of Trichogramma sp.,and the single factor experimental design was used to evaluate field control effect.The dominant species were determined by combining yield,recovery yield loss rate and yield increase rate.[Result]T.osiriniae had the highest parasitic rate on O.nub ilalis;the parasitic rate of egg masses was 74.0%,and the parasitic rate of egg granules was 65.4%.The second was T.dendrolimi;the parasitic rate of egg masses was 62.0%,and the parasitic rate of egg granules was 59.5%.The parasitic rates of egg masses and egg granules of T.chilonis were 58.0%and 47.1%,respectively.The three Trichogramma sp.were the dominant bee species parasitized on O.nubilalis eggs.The average control effect of T.osirinae parasitized on O.nubilalis in the field was 73.86%;the average control effect of T.dendrolimi was 68.47%;and the average control effect of T.chilonis was 47.97%.The recovery yield loss rates was 9.58%,7.02%and 4.02%,and the yield increase rates were 9.65%,7.47%and 4.52%,respectively.[Conclusion]Considering the control effect and cost control comprehensively,T.dendrolimi should be used to control O.nubilalis in actual production.

Evaluation of District-Based Indigenous Farmers’ and Researchers’ Fertilizer Application for Optimal Maize Production

Most research-based fertilizer inputs proposed for small scale farmers to increase their productivity do not achieve the required results and should consider indigenous practices. This study evaluates the practices of nutrient fertilizer input by farmers and researchers and relates them to their corresponding yields and profit so as to establish the appropriateness of the practices in 13 districts of the Northern regions of Ghana. Soil nutrients assessment of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) contents used to evaluate the soil NPK status was based on previous studies. Data on fertilizer application by farmers and researchers were obtained from the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI). The amount of N, P and K fertilizer input in 13 Districts and its associated maize grain yields by both farmers (89) and researchers were calculated and compared using two-sample t-test. The t-test results indicated that average amount of fertilizer input by researchers was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the average amount of fertilizer input by the smallholder farmers, but the high fertilizer input did not significantly (p = 0.74) increase researchers’ maize yields and profits in all 13 study districts grouped together, but there was maize increment in only eight districts. On the average, farmers from five districts applied low fertilizer and recorded low yields. However, when researchers increased quantities of fertilizer applied in these five districts, yield significantly (p < 0.05) increased. The outcome showed that smallholder farmers in these five districts could increase maize yields by 36% in the region should they adopt the maize production strategy by the researchers. The study concluded that, for best options, recommended fertilizer doses to enhance maize yields should consider district-specific farmers’ practices and soil NPK status. The study could enable better implementation of location-based nutrient recommendation in the Northern Region of Ghana.