Study on the Roles of FWUA in Construction, Management and Maintenance of Small-Scale Irrigation and Water Conservancy

In recent years, China has been frequented by floods and droughts which has greatly evoked much concern from the Central Government about rural water conservancy construction. Irrigation is closely related to the "three rural" issues and concerns about the vital interests of farmers. To achieve a virtuous circle of agricultural water supply, it is necessary and urgent to establish Farmer Water User Association (FWUA) to participate in the construction, management and maintenance of small-scale irrigation system. Based on the survey on nationwide "Small-scale irrigation conditions", the roles of FWUA in the construction, management and maintenance of small-scale water conservancy have studied in this study.

Adoption of small-scale irrigation technologies and its impact on land productivity:Evidence from Rwanda

In an attempt to identify solutions to the effects of erratic rainfall patterns and droughts that limit agricultural production growth,the Rwandan government has recently increased investments in irrigation development.In this study,we analyze the adoption of small-scale irrigation technologies(SSITs)and its impact on land productivity using cross-sectional data from a sample of 360 farmers in Rwanda.The study uses the propensity score matching technique to address potential self-selection bias.Our results reveal that adoption decisions are significantly influenced by factors such as education,farm size,group membership,gender,extension services,access to credit,access to weather forecast information,risk perceptions,access to a reliable source of water for irrigation,awareness of rainwater harvesting techniques,and awareness of subsidy programs.In addition,the results show that the adoption of SSITs has a significantly positive impact on land productivity.The study concludes with policy implications that highlight the need to promote the adoption of SSITs among farmers as a strategy to improve agricultural productivity and food security in Rwanda.

Analysis and Innovative Strategies of Tax Preferential Policies to Promote the Sustainable Development of Small-Scale Individual Businesses

This study conducted an in-depth analysis of the current tax preferential policies for small-scale individual businesses and compared them with similar policies both domestically and internationally,aiming to reveal the advantages and disadvantages of the current system.After examining the impact of these tax preferential policies on the economic status of individual business owners and the broader social economy,this article proposes a set of innovative tax preferential strategies based on theoretical foundations.By developing these innovative strategies and clarifying their implementation paths,the aim is to promote the sustainable and healthy development of small-scale individual businesses,thereby fostering comprehensive socio-economic progress.The conclusion of this study not only summarizes policy recommendations with practical significance but also provides theoretical support for the optimization and innovation of future related systems.

Research on Management Mode of Small-scale Irrigation Works for Farmland Based on Self-governance

The paper analyzes the practical use of management mode of small-scale farmland irrigation works in China,and studies various problems existing in the present management mode.It puts forward a mode named Water-consumer Association which is the most practical one at present.It points out some rules which must be mastered in solving problems appearing in using this mode.

Field Performance Evaluation of a Small-Scale Drip Irrigation System Installed in the Upper West Region of Ghana

This study was conducted to evaluate the water application uniformity for a drip irrigation system, considering the water quality and the duration of usage. The uniformity parameters, Emission Uniformity (EU %) and Uniformity Coefficient (UC %) were determined for the drip irrigation system installed over a year of performance. The procedures are based on taking measurements of emitter discharge along selected driplines on a sub-main. The catch can be identified as L1A, L1B, L1C, L1D, same for L2A to L2D, L3A to L3D and L4A to L4D. This gave a total of sixteen (16) measurement positions as there were 4 driplines. Results indicated that the uniformity of water application was 90% indicating that the emitter was still good after a year of installation. The average discharge rate was 0.57 l/h. The uniformity coefficient (UC %) for the gravity-fed drip irrigation system was 78%, indicating good water application and was quite significant for the evaluation of the uniform distribution of water for the design. The expansion of this irrigation method in rural communities could contribute to relevant water savings in most areas of the Upper West Region of Ghana.

An analytical model for estimating rock strength parameters from small-scale drilling data

The small-scale drilling technique can be a fast and reliable method to estimate rock strength parameters. It needs to link the operational drilling parameters and strength properties of rock. The parameters such as bit geometry, bit movement, contact frictions and crushed zone affect the estimated parameters.An analytical model considering operational drilling data and effective parameters can be used for these purposes. In this research, an analytical model was developed based on limit equilibrium of forces in a Tshaped drag bit considering the effective parameters such as bit geometry, crushed zone and contact frictions in drilling process. Based on the model, a method was used to estimate rock strength parameters such as cohesion, internal friction angle and uniaxial compressive strength of different rock types from operational drilling data. Some drilling tests were conducted by a portable and powerful drilling machine which was developed for this work. The obtained results for strength properties of different rock types from the drilling experiments based on the proposed model are in good agreement with the results of standard tests. Experimental results show that the contact friction between the cutting face and rock is close to that between bit end wearing face and rock due to the same bit material. In this case,the strength parameters, especially internal friction angle and cohesion, are estimated only by using a blunt bit drilling data and the bit bluntness does not affect the estimated results.

Numerical Simulation for Accuracy of Velocity Analysis in Small-Scale High-Resolution Marine Multichannel Seismic Technology

When used with large energy sparkers, marine multichannel small-scale high-resolution seismic detection technology has a high resolution, high-detection precision, a wide applicable range, and is very flexible. Positive results have been achieved in submarine geological research, particularly in the investigation of marine gas hydrates. However, the amount of traveltime difference information is reduced for the velocity analysis under conditions of a shorter spread length, thus leading to poorer focusing of the velocity spectrum energy group and a lower accuracy of the velocity analysis. It is thus currently debatable whether the velocity analysis accuracy of short-arrangement multichannel seismic detection technology is able to meet the requirements of practical application in natural gas hydrate exploration. Therefore, in this study the bottom boundary of gas hydrates(Bottom Simulating Reflector, BSR) is used to conduct numerical simulation to discuss the accuracy of the velocity analysis related to such technology. Results show that a higher dominant frequency and smaller sampling interval are not only able to improve the seismic resolution, but they also compensate for the defects of the short-arrangement, thereby improving the accuracy of the velocity analysis. In conclusion, the accuracy of the velocity analysis in this small-scale, high-resolution, multi-channel seismic detection technology meets the requirements of natural gas hydrate exploration.

Weak wide-band signal detection method based on small-scale periodic state of Duffing oscillator

The conventional Duffing oscillator weak signal detection method, which is based on a strong reference signal, has inherent deficiencies. To address these issues, the characteristics of the Duffing oscillator＇s phase trajectory in a small- scale periodic state are analyzed by introducing the theory of stopping oscillation system. Based on this approach, a novel Duffing oscillator weak wide-band signal detection method is proposed. In this novel method, the reference signal is discarded, and the to-be-detected signal is directly used as a driving force. By calculating the cosine function of a phase space angle, a single Duffing oscillator can be used for weak wide-band signal detection instead of an array of uncoupled Duffing oscillators. Simulation results indicate that, compared with the conventional Duffing oscillator detection method, this approach performs better in frequency detection intervals, and reduces the signal-to-noise ratio detection threshold, while improving the real-time performance of the system.

Factors affecting technical efficiency of small-scale apple farms in Balochistan Plateau, Pakistan

In Balochistan, Agriculture is dominated by small-scale farmers and the apple production sector is confronted with the chronic constraint of low output per unit of input. Although some agricultural policies have been implemented in this province, studies on effectiveness and impacts of such policies over apple production and farmers' performance are still limited. This study is an effort to bridge the research gap on this potential crop in the plateau by investigating technical and scale efficiency of 181 officially designated small-scale apple farmers in mountainous district Mastung in Balochistan; then explored factors that underlie differences in production inefficiency. A two-stage input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA) methodology was employed to evaluate technical and scale efficiency followed by truncated bootstrapped regression framework to analyze the correlative determinants to efficiency. Average technical and scale efficiencies of larger landholders were higher than medium and small landholders. Analysis indicated that there is still ample scope for inefficient sample farmers to reduce the input use by 33% without compromising the given yield level. Maximum contributions to the total input savings were from the use of urea, farm yard manure(FYM) and labor-use. Farmer's experience, farm ownership, irrigation constraints, and farmer's access to trainings, credit and extension services significantly affected apple farmers' technical efficiency. Based on the findings of this study, strategies are suggested to enhancing efficiencies by farmers' capacity development through effective extension services and trainings and provision of adequate credit.

Shock-induced fracture of dolomite rock in small-scale blast tests

This paper attempts to study dolomite failure using small-scale blast tests.The experimental setup consisted of a cylindrical specimen with a central borehole fitted with a detonation cord inside a copper pipe.The specimen was confined using lead material.During the test,acceleration histories were recorded using sensors placed on the lead confinement.The results showed that heterogeneity and initial cracks significantly influenced the observed failure and cracking patterns.The tests were numerically represented using the previously validated Johnson-HolmquistⅡ(JH-2)constitutive model.The properties of the detonation cord were first determined and verified in a special test with a lead specimen to compare the deformation in the test with that of numerical simulation.Then,the small-scale blast test was simulated,and the failure of the dolomite was compared with the test observations.Comparisons of acceleration histories,scabbing failure,and number of radial cracks and crack density confirmed the overall repeatability of the actual testing data.It is likely that the proposed model can be further used for numerical studies of blasting of dolomite rock.

Effect of high-or low-speed fluctuations on the small-scale bursting events in an active control experiment

Active control of a fully developed turbulence boundary layer(TBL) over a flat plate has been investigated with a statistical view. The piezoelectric(PZT) oscillator is employed to produce periodic input into the inner region of the TBL.A wall probe is fixed upstream of the oscillator to identify the high-or low-speed fluctuations as the detecting signals.Then, the impact of the detecting signals on the small-scale bursting process is investigated based on the data acquired by the traversing probe downstream of the oscillator. The results indicate that the small-scale bursting intensity is restrained more apparently at high-speed detecting fluctuations but less impacted at low-speed detecting fluctuations. Furthermore, the perturbed-scale fluctuations arrange the small-scale bursting process in the near-wall region. The detecting signals have an obvious impact on this arrangement, especially the high-intensity regions of the small-scale bursting events: the vibration enhances the intensity at high-speed detecting signals but weakens it at low-speed detecting signals in these regions, which gives a direct evidence on how detecting signals interfering the small-scale bursting process.

Small-Scale Tomato Cultivators’ Perception on Pesticides Usage and Practices in Buea Cameroon

It has been shown that farmers with limited knowledge of the use and safe handling of pesticides may suffer exposure which results in adverse health effects. In Buea, Cameroon, small-scale tomato farmers commonly use pesticides for pest control. Information was obtained from these tomato farmers to determine the extent and types of their pesticide use, their knowledge of pesticide use and effectiveness, and their perception of potential harm resulting from pesticide use. A standardized questionnaire, interviews, field observations and an analytical ranking game were used to describe the pesticide use of 93 tomato farmers. Many farmers (47.6%) used pyrethiod and organophosphorus insecticides and identified these chemicals as the most effective in pesticide control;these are WHO Class II pesticides which are the most hazardous to humans. Most farmers (83.8%) used knapsack sprayers to apply pesticides, with 76.3% using no or partial personal protective equipment (PPE). It was notable that 55.5% of farmers expressed no concern regarding the wind direction (pesticide drift) during spraying. The results showed a significant association between the method of pesticides application and farm size (P < 0.001). Most farmers (85.0%) reported at least one symptom of acute pesticide poisoning following spraying. This study revealed that the tomato farmers have a high exposure to pesticides secondary to inadequate knowledge of the safe and judicious use of pesticides. Strategies that provide training on the appropriate use of pesticides, how to reduce exposure to and health risks of pesticides and alternative options of pest management and control are required. The study also raised concerns that further control of the sale and distribution of pesticides may be indicated.

Processes of small-scale tidal flat accretion and salt marsh changes on the plain coast of Jiangsu Province,China

Large-scaled reclamation modifies the coastal environment dramatically while accelerating the disappearance of salt marshes,which causes the degradation of the coastal ecosystem and the biodiversity function.In this study,we explored the changes of tidal flat and salt marsh coverage in a small-scale tidal flat with an area of ~160 000 m^2 in the plain coast of Jiangsu Province,China.Human activities（e.g.,the construction of dikes） are a crucial contributor that benefits for the tidal flat accretions and the following changes of salt marsh coverage.Located in the front of the man-made ＂concave coastline＂,the study area is suitable for sediment accretion after the dike construction in the end of 2006.On the basis of the annual tidal surface elevation survey from 2007 to 2012,the sedimentation rates in the human influenced tidal flat varied from a few centimeters per year to 23 cm/a.The study area experienced a rapid accretion in the tidal flat and the expansion of the salt marsh,with the formation of a longshore bar,and a subsequent decline of the salt marsh.Breaking waves during the flooding tide brought much sediment from the adjacent tidal flat to the study area,which caused burial and degeneration of the salt marsh.The vertical grain size changes within a 66 cm long core in the study area also demonstrated the above changes in the tidal environment.This study indicates that the responses of small-scale tidal flat changes to reclamation are significant,and the rational reclamation would benefit for the new salt marsh formation in front of the dikes.Further research about the evolution of small scale tidal flat as well as the spatial planning of the polder dike should be strengthened for the purpose to maintain a healthier coastal environment.

Effects of drip and flood irrigation on carbon dioxide exchange and crop growth in the maize ecosystem in the Hetao Irrigation District,China

Drip irrigation and flood irrigation are major irrigation methods for maize crops in the Hetao Irrigation District,Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,China.This research delves into the effects of these irrigation methods on carbon dioxide(CO_(2))exchange and crop growth in this region.The experimental site was divided into drip and flood irrigation zones.The irrigation schedules of this study aligned with the local commonly used irrigation schedule.We employed a developed chamber system to measure the diurnal CO_(2)exchange of maize plants during various growth stages under both drip and flood irrigation methods.From May to September in 2020 and 2021,two sets of repeated experiments were conducted.In each experiment,a total of nine measurements of CO_(2)exchange were performed to obtain carbon exchange data at different growth stages of maize crop.During each CO_(2)exchange measurement event,CO_(2)flux data were collected every two hours over a day-long period to capture the diurnal variations in CO_(2)exchange.During each CO_(2)exchange measurement event,the biological parameters(aboveground biomass and crop growth rate)of maize and environmental parameters(including air humidity,air temperature,precipitation,soil water content,and photosynthetically active radiation)were measured.The results indicated a V-shaped trend in net ecosystem CO_(2)exchange in daytime,reducing slowly at night,while the net assimilation rate(net primary productivity)exhibited a contrasting trend.Notably,compared with flood irrigation,drip irrigation demonstrated significantly higher average daily soil CO_(2)emission and greater average daily CO_(2)absorption by maize plants.Consequently,within the maize ecosystem,drip irrigation appeared more conducive to absorbing atmospheric CO_(2).Furthermore,drip irrigation demonstrated a faster crop growth rate and increased aboveground biomass compared with flood irrigation.A strong linear relationship existed between leaf area index and light utilization efficiency,irrespective of the irrigation method.Notably,drip irrigation displayed superior light use efficiency compared with flood irrigation.The final yield results corroborated these findings,indicating that drip irrigation yielded higher harvest index and overall yield than flood irrigation.The results of this study provide a basis for the selection of optimal irrigation methods commonly used in the Hetao Irrigation District.This research also serves as a reference for future irrigation studies that consider measurements of both carbon emissions and yield simultaneously.

Comparative Study of the Disinfection Effects of Three Types of Conjunctiva Sac Irrigations

Purpose:The antiseptic effectiveness of 5% anerdian Ⅲ, 0.016% gentamicin,and 0.5% tobramycin solutions in pre-surgical irrigation of conjunctival sac were compared. Methods:A total of 295 cataract patients (302 eyes) who had undergone phacoemulsification aspiration combined with intraocular lens insertion. (IOL).were recruited in this prospective study.Operative eyes were given 0.3% levofloxacin eye drops for 3 days and then were randomized into three treatment groups:anerdian. (A), gentamicin (B) and tobramycin (C).The patients received conjunctival sac irrigation using the respective solutions at 10 minutes preoperatively.Conjunctival sac sampling was performed before and after irrigation and the samples were used for subsequent bacterial culture and swab tests. The positive culture rate was used as the main outcome. Results:The positive rates of bacterial culture before conjunctival sac irrigationwere 17.31% (18 eyes) in group A, 13.86% (14 eyes) in group B and 17.3% (14 eyes) in group C.Post irrigation,the positive rates in the three groups decreased to 5.76% . (6 eyes),5.94% . (6 eyes) and 7.22% (7 eyes), respectively. The positive rates among the three groups did not differ significantly.However,the positive rate in group A only significantly differed before and after the irrigation (P<0.05). No toxic or allergic reactions were observed on the ocular surface of any patient after irrigation. Conclusion: The antiseptic effects of the three types of con junctival sac irrigations did not differ. (Eye Science 2013; 28: 20-23)

The Human Dimension in the UNESCO Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve:Integrating Livelihood Issues of Small-Scale Fisheries with the Conservation of Natural Resources

Fisheries management worldwide struggles to strike a balance between protecting resources,ensuring fair access to resources and promoting economic effectiveness and stability.The transition to a participatory democracy in South Africa in 1994 resulted in the transformation of government institutions and an extensive process of legislative reform regarding

Impacts of Small-Scale Water Management Interventions on Crop Yield, Water Use and Productivity in Two Agro-Ecologies of Malawi

A study was conducted in Malawi to compare the performance of improved agricultural water ma- nagement interventions with traditional water management practices to assess the impact of the interventions on crop yield and water use productivity. The study used questionnaires and focused group discussions to collect data from farmers and key informants. The results showed significant gains in crop yield, farmer income, and water use productivity using the regulated surface irrigation compared with unregulated surface irrigation. Treadle pump irrigation increased crop production by 5% - 54% compared with water can irrigation. Treadle pumps also increased gross and net incomes by >12% suggesting that farmers using the treadle pump were able to realize higher incomes across all crop enterprises compared with farmers using water cans. However, there is a dire need to improve the efficiency of the surface irrigation systems for rice production because the water applied was about 2 to 3 times the gross irrigation requirement (~10,780 m3·ha-1) which could result in environmental degradation through increased salinity and water logging.

Small-Scale Duplications Play a Significant Role in Rice Genome Evolution

Genes are continually being created by the processes of genome duplication （ohnolog） and gene duplication （paralog）. Whole-genome duplications have been found to be widespread in plant species and play an important role in plant evolution. Clearly un-overlapping duplicated blocks of whole-genome duplications can be detected in the genome of sequenced rice （Oryza sativa）. Syntenic ohnolog pairs （ohnologues） of the whole-genome duplications in rice were identified based on their syntenic duplicate lines. The paralogs of ohnologues were further scanned using multi-round reciprocal BLAST best-hit searching （E〈e^-14）. The results indicated that an average of 0.55 sister paralogs could be found for every ohnologue in rice. These results suggest that small-scale duplications, as well as whole-genome duplications, play a significant role in the two duplicated rice genomes.

Density disturbance of small-scale fieldaligned irregularities in the ionosphere heating experiments

A theoretical model which describes the small-scale irregularities excited by powerful high frequency （3–30 MHz） electromagnetic wave in ionosphere heating is investigated quantitatively in this paper. The model is based on the transport equation in magnetic plasma and mode conversion from electromagnetic wave to electrostatic wave in ionospheric modification.Threshold electric field for exciting small-scale （meter scale） irregularities and spatial spectra of irregularities are analytically calculated by this model. The results indicate that background electron density and geomagnetic field play an important role for the threshold electric field and the spatial scale of the electron density irregularities. The results demonstrate that the electric field threshold increases with the decrease of the spatial scale of the irregularities. For exciting meter scale irregularities, the threshold electric field is about tens of mV m^（-1）. The theoretical results are consistent with those of the experiments.

Impact of Small-scale Production Mode on Citrus Industry of Hunan Province,China——Based on the Investigation on Citrus Industry in Shimen County

Small-scale farmer is defined by the domestic and foreign experts and scholars.They point out that since the fragmentation of production and the diseconomy of scale in small-scale farmer is inconsistent with the characteristics of scale and technology of modern agricultural production,it is necessary to eliminate the adverse effects of existing mode in order to provide theoretical references for the relevant researches.Citrus industry in Shimen County,Hunan Province,China is introduced from the aspects of natural geographical condition and socio-economic benefit.Impact of small-scale production mode on citrus production in Shimen County is discussed.Firstly,blindness of small-scale production is the main reason leading to overproduction of citrus.Secondly,small-scale production mode has limitation on the acceptance of new technologies,restricts the operation of geographical trademark,and constraints the enthusiasm of enterprises in entering the agricultural field.Finally,suggestions are put forward,such as encouraging the circulation of rural land,improving the organization degree of farmers,changing the work function of grass-roots government and perfecting the agricultural financial credit system.