Developmental Tendency of Dry Land Farming Technologies

The developmental tendency of dry land farming technologies in the semiarid area of China were reviewed based on the overview of recent progress in dry land farming researches from China and oversea. It was emphasized that conservation tillage, limited irrigation, genetic modification and chemical control are the important aspects for the dry land farming research and development of the future. In addition, some consid-

The Impact of Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria, Iron, and Zinc Foliar Application on Dry Land Yellow Mustard (Brassica juncea) Grain and Oil Production

The study, conducted at the Research Farm of the College of Agriculture, University of Tabriz in 2021, focused on the effects of various nitrogen-fixing bacterial isolates, biofertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as iron and zinc foliar applications on mustard growth under rainfed conditions. The results indicated that biofertilizers, whether used alone or in combination with chemical fertilizers, produced comparable grain and oil outputs compared to chemical fertilizers alone. Additionally, the application of iron and zinc through foliar spraying significantly enhanced both grain and oil production. These findings suggest that integrating nitrogen-fixing bacteria and biofertilizers could reduce reliance on chemical nitrogenous fertilizers, leading to decreased production expenses, improved product quality, and minimized environmental impact. This study highlights the potential for sustainable agricultural practices in dry land farming as a viable alternative to traditional chemical-intensive methods. Substituting chemical nitrogenous fertilizers with nitrogen-fixing bacteria or biofertilizers could result in cost savings in mustard grain and oil production while promoting environmental sustainability.

Monitoring the Cultivated Slope Land in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area Based on Remote Sensing and GIS

By means of combining auto-extraction with manual interpretation, the current distribution information about cultivated land is obtained. The distribution information of 1992 is extracted from the dynamic polygons of 2002. The monitoring mini-system of the cultivated slope land is established. In the system, detailed surveys, focused on the resources of cultivated slope land, are carried out. The results indicate that the area of the cultivated slope land is very large. Meanwhile, there are lots of cultivated steep slopes with gradient above 35°. The areas of steep land cultivated had been slowly reduced from 1992 to 2002. At the same time, the pressures of returning farm land to forestry are great in all counties. The conflicts between population growth, insufficient grain supply and stagnant economic development sharpen increasingly. It is inevitable to improve the agricultural structure.

Work Organization at Farm Level： A Process-Led Approach to Understand Land Use Changes

In the French Alps, some grasslands have been abandoned, others are invaded by scrub whereas they are still used by farmers What are the relationships between land use changes and other changes at farm level that lead to scrub invasion？ We hypothesize that they are linked by two work organization processes： process of changes （changes in the household and farm） leading to less intensive land use; and annual processes （sequences of activities during the year） and their repetition from one year to another, leading to insufficient land maintenance. In this paper, we present a study carried out in the Northern French Alps, based on surveys with livestock farmers. It appears that land use changes are often the consequence of other changes made to address work problems, and land use sequences are defined according to workforce and prioritization of tasks. This highlights the importance of considering farmers as workers in order to evaluate land use changes at the farm level and to link them to the human dimension within farming systems.

Assessment of Coffea Shade Value through Comparison of Mountainous Area with Farm Land Coverage,in Arsi Gololcha District,Oromia,Ethiopia

Coffea cultivation with shade tree is used for improving soil health,increasing coffea production,sustaining agro ecology.The study was attended in two kebele,on 36 farmers’fields,at Gololcha district of East Arsi zone.The study was intended to assess the influence of coffea shade trees on farm lands versus mountainous area.Household interviews were used to get imperative separately,i.e.from old farmers,middle age farmers and young farmers.Significant difference value was observed between farm land and mountainous area coverage.Based on this respondents’idea,before 25-30 years;the‘condition of tree coverage at mountainous’area in Arsi Gololcha district was‘medium condition’but not normal that means as deforestation of mountainous area have been starting before 30 years’time;while the condition of tree coverage at farmland area also has been starting before 30 years’time.The third respondents’idea was interpreted with the real situation of the district,that it gave us a constructive inspiration on the role of coffea shade tree to enable the farm land to be taken as regular natural forest.The existing coffea shade trees are Cordia africana followed by Erythrina abyssinica and Acacia senegal.Farmers accounted 95%of coffea shade users and 4.6%without shade users.The respondents said that even if the rainfall intensity is increasing at farmland rather than mountainous area occasionally due to shade tree effect.On the contrary side,mountainous area exposed to deforestation since the farmers have been shifting to hilly side for their livelihood dependency.

Physico-chemical Characteristics of the Soils in Three Church Forest of Central Ethiopia

positively or negatively depending on the condition.Vegetation has influence on the soil physico-chemical characteristics.Land use land cover changes are the main factors in the process of land resource degradation.The objectives of this study were to define the soil texture,bulk density and extent of organic carbon in church forests and adjacent croplands and to compare the values.Transect lines of 100 meter apart and plots of 20 m×20 m were established to collect soil samples in the church forests and individual farm plots.The distance between plots was 100 m.Horizon based soil sampling was undertaken.Soil samples were collected on a diagonal position from 2 edges and the center from 2 soil horizons(H1 and H2)for soil texture and soil organic carbon(SOC)analysis.For bulk density(BD)soil core samplers were used.The data was analyzed using one way ANOVA in SPSS v20.Mean separation was undertaken by least significance difference.The results revealed the%clay content was significantly higher in croplands than church forests and the%sand was higher in church forests than croplands at(p<0.05).The SOC was significantly higher in H1 than H2 and in church forests than croplands at(p<0.05).The better soil characteristics were obtained in church forests than in croplands.Hence,it is recommended to conserve the natural forests as in the church forests to maintain better property of the soil through enhancing soil organic matter,soil organic carbon and by decreasing soil bulk density.