[Short-term effect of different returning methods of maize straw on the temperature of black soil plough layer].

Clarifying the effect of different maize straw returning methods on soil temperature is crucial for optimizing the management of farmland straw and the efficient utilization of heat resources in the black soil region of Northeast China. To investigate the impacts of straw returning methods on soil temperature, we conducted a field experiment with four treatments during 2018 and 2020, including plough tillage with straw returning (PTSR), rotary tillage with straw returning (RTSR), no-tillage with straw returning (NTSR), and a control treatment of conventional ridge tillage without straw returning (CT). We measured soil temperature and water content at the 5 cm, 15 cm and 30 cm soil layer, and the straw coverage rate during the 3-year maize growth period.

Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Organ Water Content in Maize with Different Senescence Types.

Understanding the water status of specific organs can be helpful in evaluating the life activities and growth conditions of maize. To accurately judge organ growth conditions and thus design appropriate interventions, it is necessary to clarify the true water dynamics of each maize organ. Using multiple maize cultivars with different growth periods, spatio-temporal water dynamics were analyzed here in the leaves, stalks, and ear components.

Reducing plastic film mulching and optimizing agronomic management can ensure food security and reduce carbon emissions in irrigated maize areas.

Increasing crop yields to ensure food security while also reducing agriculture's environmental impacts to ensure green sustainable development are great challenges for global agriculture. Plastic film, widely used to improve crop yield, also creates plastic film residue pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that restricts the development of sustainable agriculture. So, one of those challenges is to reduce plastic film use while also ensuring food security, and thus promote green and sustainable development.

Improving maize quality from mechanical grain harvesting by matching maize varieties with accumulated temperature in northeast China.

Background: Global warming has led to methods of planting late-maturing maize varieties in northeast China that have hindered the development of physiological maturity (PM) at harvest and the use of mechanical grain harvesting (MGH). Under these conditions it is difficult to balance the drying characteristics of maize varieties and to make full use of accumulated temperature resources in such a way as to reduce grain moisture content (GMC) at harvest.

Results: The effective accumulated temperature (AcT) and the drying rates of different varieties vary.

The effects of photoperiod and temperature-related factors on maize leaf number and leaf positional distribution in the field.

Quantifying the effects of various environmental conditions on maize leaf number is essential to understanding the environmental adaptations and population structure of maize plants and for enhancing maize productivity. In this study, seeds of three temperate-adapted maize cultivars, each belonging to different maturity classes, were sown on eight different dates. Sowing dates ranged from the middle of April to early July, which allowed us to cover a wide range of environmental conditions.

Quantitative analysis of maize leaf collar appearance rates.

Phyllochron, the reciprocal of the leaf appearance rate, is a critical genetic parameter in crop models for predicting growth characteristics and yield. Previous studies have shown that existing observations and predictive algorithms do not adequately represent a broad range of cultivars and environments. Here, we conducted a series of experiments in the field to quantify and disentangle the effects of sowing date and cultivar on maize leaf collar appearance (LCA).

Evaluating how lodging affects maize yield estimation based on UAV observations.

Timely and accurate pre-harvest estimates of maize yield are vital for agricultural management. Although many remote sensing approaches have been developed to estimate maize yields, few have been tested under lodging conditions. Thus, the feasibility of existing approaches under lodging conditions and the influence of lodging on maize yield estimates both remain unclear.

Impacts of Heat Stress around Flowering on Growth and Development Dynamic of Maize ( L.) Ear and Yield Formation.

Heat stress around flowering is harmful to maize growth and yield. Ear traits are closely related to yield; however, the effects of heat stress before and after flowering on ear development and yield traits remain unclear for different heat-tolerant cultivars. In this study, field experiments were conducted in 2020 and 2021, including (i) three sowing dates, (ii) three temperature regimes: control (CK), heated before silking (V9-R1, TBS) and heated after silking (R1-R1 + 15 d, TAS), and (iii) two hybrids (ZD958: heat-tolerant; DH605: heat-sensitive).

Plastic response of leaf traits to N deficiency in field-grown maize.

Nitrogen (N) utilization for crop production under N deficiency conditions is subject to a trade-off between maintaining specific leaf N content (SLN) important for radiation-use efficiency versus maintaining leaf area (LA) development, important for light capture. This paper aims to explore how maize deals with this trade-off through responses in SLN, LA and their underlying traits during the vegetative and reproductive growth stages. In a 10-year N fertilization trial in Jilin province, Northeast China, three N fertilizer levels have been maintained: N deficiency (N0), low N supply (N1) and high N supply (N2).

Maize Lodging Resistance with Plastic Film Removal, Increased Planting Density, and Cultivars with Different Maturity Periods.

While plastic film mulching and proper high-density planting are important methods that can improve maize yield, years of accumulated residual film have created soil pollution and degraded soil, and thus has impeded sustainable agriculture development. Here, we compared the stalk and root lodging resistances of three maize cultivars grown at two planting densities both with (FM) and without (NM) plastic film mulch. Our aim was to provide a theoretical basis that may help assure a future of successful no-film planting with increased planting density.

Quantitative Relationship Between Solar Radiation and Grain Filling Parameters of Maize.

A quantitative understanding of the factors driving changes in grain filling is essential for effective prioritization of increasing maize yield. Grain filling is a significant stage in maize yield formation. Solar radiation is the energy source for grain filling, which is the ultimate driving factor for final grain weight and grain filling capacity that determine maize yield.

A method of assessing the depth of contaminated sediments that should be removed in lakes: a case study of Tangxun Lake, China.

The depth of contaminated sediments constrains the water environment of large shallow lakes and can affect shallow lake water quality through sediment resuspension and nutrient release. Although such effects can be avoided by sediment dredging methods, we still cannot precisely quantify the depth of sediment dredging. Therefore, we used organic index method, pollution index method and potential ecological risk evaluation to evaluate the contamination status of split samples of in situ sediments layer by layer, and established a comprehensive contamination index evaluation method for layer-by-layer sediments, then combined with the contamination release characteristics of split samples to assess the contamination degree of the sediments obtained.

Solar Radiation Effects on Dry Matter Accumulations and Transfer in Maize.

Solar radiation is the energy source for crop growth, as well as for the processes of accumulation, distribution, and transfer of photosynthetic products that determine maize yield. Therefore, learning the effects of different solar radiation amounts on maize growth is especially important. The present study focused on the quantitative relationships between solar radiation amounts and dry matter accumulations and transfers in maize.

Evaluation of maize lodging resistance based on the critical wind speed of stalk breaking during the late growth stage.

Background: The accurate evaluation of the stalk-lodging resistance during the late stage of maize growth can provide a basis for the selection of cultivars, the evaluation of cultivation techniques, and timely mechanical grain harvesting. In this study, the critical wind speed of stalk breaking, plant morphology, stalk mechanical strength, and lodging rate were investigated in 10 maize cultivars to identify the parameters evaluate lodging resistance during the later growth stage of maize. Clarify the relationship with the stalk mechanical strength, critical wind speed of stalk breaking, and natural lodging rate in the field.

Marginal superiority of maize: an indicator for density tolerance under high plant density.

Marginal superiority is a common phenomenon in crops, and is caused by the competitiveness of individual plant for resources and crop adaptability to crowded growth conditions. In this study, in order to clarify the response of marginal superiority to maize morphology and plant-density tolerance, field experiments without water and nutrition stress were conducted at Qitai Farm in Xinjiang, China, in 2013-2014 and 2016-2019. The results showed that no more than three border rows of all the cultivars had marginal superiority under high density, about 90% of all the cultivars had no more than two border row that had marginal superiority and a significant negative correlation was observed between marginal superiority and population grain yield (first border row: y = - 2.

Spatio-temporal characteristics of agro-climatic indices and extreme weather events during the growing season for summer maize (Zea mays L.) in Huanghuaihai region, China.

The stability of maize production is essential to global food security. Climate factors, such as temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation, directly affect the development of maize plants and hence the final grain yield. In this study, we investigated the spatial distributions and temporal trends of agro-climatic indices and severe weather indicators during the actual growing season for summer maize in Huanghuaihai region of China.

Association of GDF-15 and Syntax Score in Patient with Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Aims: GDF-15 is considered to be an important biomarker for cardiovascular events, but the differences in serum GDF-15 levels between acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients and non-AMI patients warrant further investigation.

Methods: A cohort of 409 subjects was enrolled in the current study. The Syntax score was calculated from the baseline coronary angiography results by using online methods.

Improving maize grain yield by matching maize growth and solar radiation.

Matching of maize growth with solar radiation is of great importance for achieving high yield. We conducted experiments using different maize cultivars and planting densities under different solar radiations during grain filling to quantitatively analyze the relationships among these factors. We found that a decrease in solar radiation after silking caused a drop in maize grain yield and biomass, with lower solar radiation intensities leading to worse grain yields and biomass.

Arterial switch for transposition of the great vessels and Taussig-Bing anomaly after six months of age.

Background: Indications and outcomes of the arterial switch operation in children who are older than 1 month of age and have transposition of the great arteries plus ventricular septal defect or Taussig-Bing anomaly were studied.

Methods: Arterial switch operation was performed in 68 children between January 2000 and December 2008. Thirty infants (1 to 6 months old) had transposition of the great arteries plus ventricular septal defect or Taussig-Bing anomaly (group A), and 38 children older than 6 months of age had transposition of the great arteries plus ventricular septal defect or Taussig-Bing anomaly (group B).