Investigation on Applicability and Limitation of Cosine Similarity-Based Structural Condition Monitoring for Gageocho Offshore Structure

The key to coping with global warming is reconstructing energy governance from carbon-based to sustainable resources. Offshore energy sources, such as offshore wind turbines, are promising alternatives. However, the abnormal climate is a potential threat to the safety of offshore structures because construction guidelines cannot embrace climate outliers. A cosine similarity-based maintenance strategy may be a possible solution for managing and mitigating these risks. However, a study reporting its application to an actual field structure has not yet been reported. Thus, as an initial study, this study investigated whether the technique is applicable or whether it has limitations in the real field using an actual example, the Gageocho Ocean Research Station. Consequently, it was found that damage can only be detected correctly if the damage states are very similar to the comparison target database. Therefore, the high accuracy of natural frequencies, including environmental effects, should be ensured. Specifically, damage scenarios must be carefully designed, and an alternative is to devise more efficient techniques that can compensate for the present procedure.

The effects of pH, salinity, age of leaves, post-harvest storage duration, and psyllid infestation on nutritional qualities of giant leucaena fodder

Giant leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala subsp. glabrata) can be managed as a profusely branched bushy plant by repeated harvest of its foliage for use as fodder. The objective of this research was to determine the effects of soil pH and salinity, age of the leaves, post-harvest storage duration, and psyllid infection on the nutritional qualities of leucaena fodder. To determine the effects of soil pH and salinity on fodder quality, giant leucaena K636 plants were grown in large pots containing soils adjusted to different pH and salinity levels. The effects of age of the leaves, post-harvest storage duration and psyllid infection on fodder quality were studied using leucaena samples collected from Waimanalo Research Station. Among five pH levels tested, pH 6.0 was found to produce the highest amounts of protein and structural fibers in the foliage. Mimosine contents were highest at pH 6 and 7 and lowest at pH 5.0. The growth of giant leucaena was retarded and the nutritional quality were adversely affected under salinity conditions. Compared to young leaves, old leaves contained 18.5% less protein, 95% less mimosine, 30% less tannin and 40% more structural fibers. Post-harvest storage duration up to 72 h, at room temperature did not seem to affect protein, tannin and structural fiber contents of the foliage; however, mimosine content was reduced by 25%. These results will help to identify ideal soil pH, age of foliage, and post-harvest storage duration for obtaining high forage yield and nutritional quality for giant leucaena.

Enhancement of Soybean (Glycine max L.) Productivity through Sowing Methods and Seed Rates in Telangana State

Background: With the unparalleled growth in area and production, soybean has established itself as a leading oilseed crop of India. The crop is mainly grown under rainfed conditions, and the distribution of rainfall plays an important role in yield realization. The changed landform management with broad-bed furrow seed drill is gaining popularity as the system helps in in situ moisture conservation and draining out excess rainwater. A field experiment was conducted at Regional Sugarcane and Rice Research Station, Rudrur. The yield advantage by adoption of broad-bed and furrow (BBF) method over flat bed was 7.06%. Seed rate of 50 kg ha-1 recorded significantly higher mean seed yield of 2804 kg ha-1 over 75, 38, 20 kg ha-1. The total benefit from adoption of BBF method recorded net returns of ₹ 53,233 ha-1 and B:C ratio of 2.58 over flatbed planting. Seed rate of 50 kg seed ha-1 recorded the highest net returns and B:C ratio this was followed by 75 kg ha-1 seed rate. Methods: A field experiment was conducted for three years (2017-19) at Regional Sugarcane and Rice Research Station, Rudrur, situated at an altitude of 286.3 m above mean sea level at 18°49’41" N latitude and 78°56’ 45" E longitude. Indeterminate variety of soybean ASB 22 was selected. The experimental plots (6m × 6m= 36m2) were laid out with split plot design with three replications. Main plot treatments were methods of planting: M1- Flat bed, M2- Broad bed and Furrow, and sub plot treatments were : seed rates; S1- 75 kg ha-1 (30 × 10 cm), S2- 50 kg ha-1 (30 × 15 cm), S3- 38 kg ha-1 (30 × 20 cm), S4- 20 kg ha-1 (30 × 30 cm). Result: The grain yields, water productivity, harvest index and economics of soybeans under BBF method of planting (in-situ water conservation) and flatbed practices were studied. BBF method increased seasonal soil water storage by 5.37%, 5.78% and 6.20% respectively compared with flatbed planting for 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively. Seed rate of 50 kg ha-1 recorded significantly higher mean seed yield of 2804 kg ha-1 over 75, 38, 20 kg ha-1. The yield advantage by adopting seed rate of 50 kg ha-1 was 16.08%, 56.02% and 67.6% over 75, 38 and 20 kg ha-1 respectively. The total benefit from adoption of BBF method recorded net returns of ₹ 53,233 ha-1 and B:C ratio of 2.58 over flatbed planting. Seed rate of 50 kg ha-1 recorded the highest net returns and B:C ratio this was followed by 75 kg ha-1. Broad bed and furrow method of planting and optimum seed rate in soybean will enhance the soybean productivity.

Epichloë Endophyte-Promoted Seed Pathogen Increases Host Grass Resistance Against Insect Herbivory

Plants host taxonomically and functionally complex communities of microbes. However, ecological studies on plant–microbe interactions rarely address the role of multiple co-occurring plant-associated microbes. Here, we contend that plant-associated microbes interact with each other and can have joint consequences for higher trophic levels. In this study we recorded the occurrence of the plant seed pathogenic fungus Claviceps purpurea and aphids (Sitobion sp.) on an established field experiment with red fescue (Festuca rubra) plants symbiotic to a seed transmitted endophytic fungus Epichloë festucae (E+) or non-symbiotic (E–). Both fungi are known to produce animal-toxic alkaloids. The study was conducted in a semi-natural setting, where E+ and E– plants from different origins (Spain and Northern Finland) were planted in a randomized design in a fenced common garden at Kevo Subarctic Research Station in Northern Finland. The results reveal that 45% of E+ plants were infected with Claviceps compared to 31% of E– plants. Uninfected plants had 4.5 times more aphids than Claviceps infected plants. By contrast, aphid infestation was unaffected by Epichloë symbiosis. Claviceps alkaloid concentrations correlated with a decrease in aphid numbers, which indicates their insect deterring features. These results show that plant mutualistic fungi can increase the infection probability of a pathogenic fungus, which then becomes beneficial to the plant by controlling herbivorous insects. Our study highlights the complexity and context dependency of species–species and multi-trophic interactions, thus challenging the labeling of species as plant mutualists or pathogens.

Formation Conditions And Debris Flow Regime In Jiangjia Ravine, Yunnan, China – Applicability Of Russian Methodology

The requirements of the debris flows’ parameters assessments vary from country to country. They are based on different theoretical and empirical constructions and are validated by data from different regions. This makes difficult comparison of the reported results on estimated debris flows activity and extent. The Russian normative documents for the debris flows’ parameters calculations are based on empirically-measured parameters in wide range of geological and climatic conditions at the territory of former USSR, but still not cover all the possible conditions of debris flow formation. An attempt was made to check applicability of the Russian empirical constructions for the conditions of the debris flows formation in Yunnan, China, where unique long-term dataset of debris flows characteristics is collected by the Dongchuan Debris Flow Observation and Research Station. The results show, that in general the accepted in Russia methodology of calculation of the parameters of debris flows of certain probability corresponded well to the observed in Dongchuan debris flows characteristics. Some discrepancies (in the average debris flow depth) can be explained by unknown exact return period of the actually observed debris flows. This allowed to conclude that the presently adopted empirical dependencies based on country-wide (USSR) empirical data can be extrapolated up to the monsoon climate and geological conditions of Yunnan province.

New High Yielding Mung Bean Variety Phule Chetak for Maharashtra

Background: Mung bean is one of the important pulse crop requiring low inputs. The productivity of kharif mung bean is very low. The present improved varieties have lower yield potential and disease susceptibility. There is a need to develop high yielding varieties combined with early to mid synchronous maturity, better quality and resistance/tolerance to major pests and diseases. Methods: The green gram var. Phule Chetak was developed by pedigree selection method from a cross between SML-668 X Naval at Oilseeds Research Station, MPKV, Jalgaon. It was tested over several locations and environments for its stability performance. Result: The results indicated a significant improvement in yield level under field conditions. The new variety Phule Chetak reported an average yield of 1003 kg/ha which is 26.96%, 36.46%, 29.42%, 21.72%, 17.58% and 13.21 per cent higher than the check varieties Vaibhav, BPMR-145, AKM-8802, BM-2002-1, BM-2003-2 and Utkarsha respectively. It is bold seeded having early maturity, moderately resistant to major diseases like powdery mildew, mungbean yellow mosaic virus under field conditions. Considering its consistent performance, the mung bean genotype PM-707-5 has been released for cultivation in the kharif season for Maharashtra under the name of Phule Chetak in Joint Agresco during 29-30 October, 2020 held at Dr PDKV, Akola.

Comparative Study of AMMI- and BLUP-Based Simultaneous Selection for Grain Yield and Stability of Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] Genotypes

Finger millet, an orphan crop, possesses immense potential in mitigating climate change and could offer threefold security in terms of food, fodder, and nutrition. It is mostly cultivated as a subsistence crop in the marginal areas of plains and hills. Considering the changes in climate inclusive of recurrent weather vagaries witnessed every year, it is crucial to select stable, high-yielding, area-specific, finger millet cultivars. Sixty finger millet varieties released across the country were evaluated over six consecutive rainy seasons from 2011 to 2016 at the Agricultural Research Station, Vizianagaram. The genotype × environment interaction (GEI) was found to be significant in the combined ANOVA. Furthermore, the Additive Main effects and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) analysis asserted that genotypes and the GEI effects accounted for approximately 89% of the total variation. Strong positive associations were observed in an estimated set of eleven stability parameters which were chosen to identify stable genotypes. Furthermore, Non-parametric and Parametric Simultaneous Selection indices (NP-SSI and P-SSI) were calculated utilizing AMMI-based stability parameter (ASTAB), modified AMMI stability value (MASV), and Modified AMMI Stability Index (MASI) to identify stable high yielders. Both methods had inherent difficulties in ranking genotypes for SSI. To overcome this, the initial culling [i.e., SSI with culling strategy (C-SSI)] of genotypes was introduced for stability. In the C-SSI method, the top ten genotypes were above-average yielders, while those with below-average yield were observed in NP-SSI and P-SSI methods. Similarly, the estimation of best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP)-based simultaneous selections, such as harmonic mean of genotypic values (HMGV), relative performance of genotypic values (RPGV), and harmonic mean of relative performance of genotypic values (HMRPGV), revealed that none of the top ten entries had below-average yield. The study has proven that C-SSI and BLUP-based methods were equally worthy in the selection of high-yielding genotypes with stable performance. However, the C-SSI approach could be the best method to ensure that genotypes with a considerable amount of stability are selected. The multi-year trial SSI revealed that entries Indaf-9, Sri Chaitanya, PR-202, and A-404; and VL324 and VL146 were ascertained to be the most stable high-yielding genotypes among medium-to-late and early maturity groups, respectively.

Evaluation of chemical composition of roots of three sugar beets varieties growing under different water deficit and harvesting dates in Upper Egypt

Field experiments were carried out at Shandaweel Agricultural Research Station, Sohag, Egypt to study the effects of deficit irrigation and harvesting date chemical composition of three sugar beet varieties. A split block design with three replications was used. Main blokes were assigned to three irrigation water regimes (100%, 85%, and 70% of water requirement). The sub blot was occupied by three harvesting dates (180, 195 and 210 days). Sub- sub plots comprised three sugar beet varieties namely (RAVEL, SV1841and SA1686). Results indicated that reducing water supply reduced alpha - amino N present in the second season, Na present in the second season, and K present and sugar lost to molasses, but increased sucrose present, extractable present, QZ present, purity present, extractability present. Increasing harvesting date increased K present, sucrose present, extractable present, QZ present, purity present, extractability present but reduced alpha - amino N present, Na present and sugar lost to molasses in the second season. Sucrose present, extractable present, QZ present purity present and extractability present of RAVEL and SA1686 varieties were almost comparable but higher than those of SV1841 variety.

Thermal indices in relation to crop phenology and fruit yield of apple

Field experiments were conducted on gravel sandy soil of research farm of Horticultural Research Station, Seobag in Kullu valley with ten varieties of apple for three seasons (2008-2010). In the first crop season all the varieties matured within 157-188 days, while in the second and third seasons the crop matured with 159-179 and 156-187 days, respectively. The mean GDD accumulation from bud burst to fruit set was from 382 to 419° D and to maturity 2310 to 2957° D. The varieties, Mollice and Starkrimson consumed the lowest and highest GDD for attaining physiological maturity in different seasons among all varieties. But Commercial and Tydeman consumed the lowest and highest GDD for fruit setting. The photo thermal index (PTI) in all the varieties and seasons varied from 7.2 to 16.8 and 13.2 to 18.4° D/day at flowering and reproductive stages respectively.