Influence of modified forms of urea and nitrogen levels on weed growth and grain yield of lowland rice

The growth of weeds and their subsequent reduction of rice yield as affected by N source neem cake coated urea (NCU), dicyandiamide coated urea (DCU), rock phosphate coated urea (RPCU), urea supergranules (USG) and prilled urea (PU) was studied on a clay loam soil at Coimbatore, India. Experiments were conducted in northeast monsoon (NEM) 1981, summer 1982, and southwest monsoon (SWM) 1982 seasons.The crop was associated with eleven weed species, and the dominant weeds wereEchinochloa crus-galli, Cyperus difformis andMarsilea quadrifolia. The weed flora varied between seasons. Deep placement of USG reduced the dry weight of weeds in NEM and summer seasons at 60, 90 and 120 Kg N ha^–1 whereas it increased the dry weight at 60 and 90 but not 120 Kg N ha^–1 in SWM season. The dry weight of weeds decreased with increased N rates for all N sources during NEM and summer seasons. In SWM season, dry weight of weeds increased with increased N rates for all N sources except USG. The grain yield of rice was drastically reduced with the deep placement of USG at 60 but not 120 Kg N ha^–1 in SWM season. The differential effect of the N sources between seasons was due to the change of the weed flora. Dominance ofE. crus-galli during SWM season had greater influence on weed dry weight and grain yield of rice.Nitrogen uptake by weeds was frequently greater in unfertilized plots, particularly in NEM and summer seasons. In SWM season, the apparent fertilizer N recovery by weeds was high for USG. It decreased from 53% for 60 Kg USG-N ha^–1 to 4% for 120 Kg USG-N ha^–1.Contribution from the part of Ph.D. work of the first author at Department of Agronomy, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, Tamil Nadu, India.     

Chemical Reaction Engineering and Research and development of gas solid systems

A general procedure is proposed for innovative research and development of gas-solid reactor systems, with a brief explanation of the significance of each step in the procedureBased upon the contacting mode between gas and solid phases, as well as the ways of supplying thermal energy to the reacting regions, various types of gas-solid reactor systems are classified by using tables of so called “matrix” form, for thermal cracking and gasification of heavy oils, gasification of coal, gasification of solid waste, calcination of limestone, clinkering of cement and reduction of iron ore.The importance of fundamental concepts is emphasized for successful research and development by presenting several examples; namely, calcination of limestone, thermal cracking of heavy oils and gasification of solid waste materials.In connection with the direction in which fundamental research should be oriented, four primary ways of thinking are proposed, which can be applied to obtain innovative ideas for further research and development in this field.One example of the author's practical experience was selected to show the role of the fundamental research in the course of large scale development. Finally the author outlines the role of chemical reaction engineering to innovate the novel gas-solid reactor systems which may be inevitable for simultaneous solution of the three big E's; namely, Energy, Environment and Economy.     

Solvent extraction of oil from soybean flour II— pilot plant and two-solvent extractions

The process of grinding soybeans to a fine flour and extracting the flour with hexane was studied on a pilot plant scale. The crude oil from the pilot plant study had 15 ppm phosphorus and was suitable for physical refining after a light acid pretreatment and bleaching. The refined oil showed a Lovibond color of 1.4 yellow and 0.3 red. The pilot plant study also showed that grinding of the soybeans and the separation of solid from miscella were the most difficult steps in solvent extraction with fine flour. A laboratory study on separation of miscella from meal by aqueous ethanol reduced the hold-up volume, but it did not remove all the miscella. A test with betacarotene showed that only the miscella outside the flour particles was displaced. Aqueous ethanol solutions used as a second solvent extracted additional nontriglyceride materials (primarily phospholipids) from the meal. Also, the free fatty acid content of the oil was increased with aqueous ethanol solution wash. The quality of the extracted crude oil was lowered by using a second solvent, but it had the advantage of needing only one centrifugation to separate miscella from meal.     

Olfactory coding in the perception of semiochemicals

Information processing in the olfactory pathway underlying the perception of semiochemicals by insects is discussed. Both the chemical message for mates and the message for food consist of blends of chemicals. Olfactory receptors in an insect species are tuned to the detection of those compounds which comprise such chemical messages for that species. The classification of receptors as specialists or generalists coincides with two concepts of information processing, i.e., labeled lines and across-fiber patterns, respectively. The olfactory code coming from antennal receptors inPieris brassicae larvae is a combination of labeled lines and across-fiber patterning. When antennae of adult Colorado potato beetles,Leptinotarsa decemlineata, are stimulated by binary mixtures of leaf odor components, the pattern of neural activities in the olfactory receptors shows some separation into two channels, quantitative versus qualitative detection. The separation is complete in the antennal lobe of this beetle.Presented at the Symposium on Insect Chemical Communications: Unifying Concepts. ACS 194th National Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, August 31, 1987.     

Control policies for an industrial acetylene hydrogenation reactor

This paper addresses the problem of finding optimal operational policies for an acetylene reactor for day to day operation. A lumped parameter model based on four main reactions is developed and used to examine the effects of the reactor manipulated variables on key reaction parameters. An optimal and a sub-optimal operational policy which minimize the ethylene loss over time are formulated and the solution techniques are presented. The results indicate that the reactor model is in good agreement with industrial plant data. The performance of the optimal control policy is very similar to the performance of the sub-optimal control policy. However, the sub-optimal formulation, while retaining the dominant features of the optimal response, reduces the computational requirements. Finally, some issues concerning the real-time implementation of an advanced acetylene reactor control scheme are presented. These include the estimation of the optimum regeneration cycle, a recursive model update algorithm, the process optimizer and their overall coordination. A preliminary analysis of the benefits associated with the advanced control scheme suggests a considerable reduction in the yearly ethylene loss.     

Adaptive relationships of epoxide hydrolase in herbivorous arthropods

Epoxide hydrolase catalyzes a simple hydrolysis of reactive cyclic ethers that may otherwise alkylate and impair critical proteins and nucleic acids required for life. Although much less studied than the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenases that produce epoxides, differences in subcellular, tissue, pH, substrate, and inhibitor specificities argue for at least three forms of insect epoxide hydrolase. Increasing numbers of epoxides are being identified as plant allelochemicals, antifeedants, and essential hormones or precursors for herbivorous arthropods, and in many cases an associated alkene to diol pathway of metabolism is found. A role for epoxide hydrolase in arthropod-plant interactions is strongly supported by species comparisons and by age-activity and induction studies. Two major limitations for study in biochemical ecology of epoxide hydrolase are the lack of an effective in vivo inhibitor and a range of commercially available radiolabeled substrates for the enzymes.     

Flavonoids released by carrot (Daucus carota) seedlings stimulate hyphal development of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the presence of optimal CO2 enrichment

Carbon dioxide has been previously identified as a critical volatile factor that stimulates hyphal growth ofGigaspora margarita, a vesiculararbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, and we determined the optimal concentration at 2.0%. The beneficial effect of CO₂ on fungal development is also visible in the presence of stimulatory (quercetin, myricetin) or inhibitory (naringenin) flavonoids. Sterile root exudates from carrot seedlings stimulate the hyphal development ofG. margarita in the presence of optimal CO₂ enrichment. Three flavonols (quercetin, kaempferol, rutin or quercetin 3-rutinoside) and two flavones (apigenin, luteolin) were identified in carrot root exudates by means of HPLC retention time. Flavonols like quercetin and kaempferol are known to have stimulatory effects on hyphal growth ofG. margarita.     

3种花卉在山区及平原越夏的效果评价

通过对金宝剑（Vrieseamarjolcin）、安祖花（Anthuriumandraeanum）和一品红（Euphorbiapulcherrima）3种花卉在萧山区海拔500m山区越夏与海拔9m平原越夏的比较试验,结果显示：山区越夏后,金宝剑的叶片数、叶片长度、叶宽、株高和冠径分别比平原越夏后增长了6．9％,28．6％,7．1％,7．5％和9．7％,叶色较深,生长好又快;安祖花的植株高,花蕾多,叶片深绿、有光泽,其平均株高和单株花蕾数分别比平原越夏后高3．2cm和多0．8个;一品红的平均株高55．8cm,每株最大苞片平均7．8cm,且完全转红,达到市场销售的要求,而平原越夏后则出现下部叶片掉落的现象（平均株高57．1cm,每株最大苞片平均7．2cm）,不完全转红,不能形成成品,达不到市场销售的要求。表明这三种花卉在山区越夏的生长情况都要好于平原越夏。     

Formation mechanism of subtrenches on cone-shaped patterned sapphire substrate

In this paper, the cone-shaped patterned sapphire substrates (PSS) were etched by an inductively couple plasma with BCl 3 as the reacting gas. The influence of the operating pressure and the RF bias power on subtrenches of the cone-shaped PSS and the formation mechanism of subtrenches were investigated. The profiles of patterns were characterized by FESEM (field emission scanning electron microscope). It showed that the subtrench size varied with the operating pressure and the RF bias power. As the operatin...     

Inhibitions of cotton seedling growth by volatile ketones emitted by cover crop residues

Low-input, sustainable agriculture (LISA) systems can include soil incorporation of residues of weeds and legume cover crop species. However, both seed germination and seedling growth of crops, including cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), are inhibited by volatile organic compounds emitted by these residues during decomposition. A cotton seedling-growth assay was used to demonstrate that C₄ through C₉ ketones released by decomposing legume residues significantly inhibited root and shoot elongation, root and shoot fresh and dry weight gain, and cotyledon expansion. Seedling root and shoot water relationships were relatively insensitive to those components of plant residue volatile emissions. Concentration (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0M/cm³ sterile greenhouse soil mix) and root-zone temperature (20 or 30°C) altered the activity of the more inhibitory ketones. Molecular weight (carbon chain length), carbon chain branching, and position of the carbonyl group also influenced ketone inhibitory activity.Mention of a commercial or proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.