Many attempts/efforts have been made to cope with the fluctuated production performance in rice production in Malaysia. There is a crucial need in technological advancement to tackle the issue of environmental variability, decreasing productivity and the rising cost in rice cultivation. The use of variable rate technology has increased rice yield through efficient resource allocation. Notwithstanding, an evaluation of the feasibility of this technology is required in terms of economic and intangible benefits. Therefore, this study attempted to determine the potential benefits that could come out of the use of precision agriculture technologies in rice cultivation. A precision farming technology package was developed by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute. It consists of two components, namely a variable rate seed application system and a variable rate fertilizer application system. The study estimated the monetary benefits gained from the use of these two technology components at Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority Seberang Perak. The study also compared the performance of the technology package against the conventional practice. The Cost–Benefit Analysis exercise has been implemented to show the benefits and implications comprised in the study. It was found that there is an additional net income per hectare in between Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) 1109 to MYR 1333 due to the reduction in the production cost if the precision farming technology packages were adopted. The advancement in two cultivation stages showed a positive impact monetarily for both small-scale and large-scale farmers in the study. However, many challenges are to be faced for the technologies implementation since the existing rice cultivation recommended practices throughout all stages even yet to be practiced and taken seriously.
This study was performed to investigate the effect of periparturient body condition score on the occurrence of clinical endometritis and postpartum resumption of ovarian activity in dairy cows. Eighty-seven lactating Holstein cows, fed with a total mixed ration diet, were included into the study. Body condition scoring (using a 5-point scale with quarter-point divisions) was performed by the same investigator using the visual technique every 2 weeks, from 2 weeks before until 6 weeks after calving. Palpation of the reproductive tract and ultrasonographic assessment of ovaries for detection of corpus luteum using a rectal linear probe was also performed at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after calving. Cows with clinical endometritis had significantly lower body condition score (BCS) than normal cows at all weeks pre- and postcalving, and cows that did not ovulate until 45 days after calving had a significantly lower BCS pre- and postpartum. Cows that did not ovulate until 45 days after calving also lost more BCS from 2 weeks before to 4 weeks after calving. Besides, first ovulation after calving take occurred later in cows with clinical endometritis compared to normal cows (P?<?0.05). In conclusion, low BCS is a risk factor for postpartum endometritis and delayed cyclicity in dairy cows. BCS loss from dry-off to early lactation and occurrence of clinical endometritis can significantly affect postpartum ovarian activity. 相似文献
Utilization of microbes including white-rot fungi and bacterial strains for decolorization of synthetic dyes is one promising
strategy of an environmentally friendly and cost-competitive alternative to physico-chemical decomposition processes for treating
industrial effluents. In this study, the biodegradation ability of the white-rot fungi Polyporus sp. S133 that produce high laccase was investigated in order to decolorize anthraquinone-type dye. Parameter including pH,
temperature, and non-ionic surfactant were used to comparatively study the decolorizing effects on Remazol Brilliant Blue
R (RBBR). The purified laccase totally decolorized 200 mg L−1 initial concentration of RBBR dye when only 1.5 U L−1 of laccase was used in the reaction mixture. The optimal decolorization rates were achieved at pH 5 and at a temperature
of 50°C. N-hydroxybenzotriazole, a small molecular weight redox mediator, was found to accelerate the decolorization. Tween 20 inhibited
the decolorization while Tween 80 and Brij 35 showed no inhibition effect. Two compounds were identified as the intermediates
(m/z 304.3 and m/z 342.2). These results suggest that laccase from Polyporus sp. S133 is a powerful tool for the decolorization of anthraquinone dyes. A pathway for the metabolism of the RBBR by laccase
of Polyporus sp S133 was proposed. These proposed pathways could contribute to a better comprehension of the mechanisms used by oxidative
enzymes to transform organic compounds. 相似文献
In order to observe the variation in land use changes, satellite images from the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and the Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) for 1991, 2000, 2005, and 2008 were used to compare the differences between selected water quality parameters, including heavy metal (Cd, Pb, and Zn) content in both water and green mussels or Perna viridis (Linnaeus.) before and after the increase in land use activities beginning from 2006. The samples were collected at 11 points for water and 4 points for green mussels between the Second Link and the Causeway Link at the Johor Strait in 2009 and were analyzed for pH, temperature degrees Celsius), dissolved oxygen, ammoniacal nitrogen, and heavy metal (Cd, Pb, and Zn) content. 相似文献
Land use specific deposition velocities of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols—particularly of reactive nitrogen compounds—are a fundamental input variable for a variety of deposition models. Although the concept is known to have shortcomings—especially with regard to bi-directional exchange—the often limited availability of concentration data and meteorological input variables make it a valuable simplification for regional modeling of deposition fluxes. In order to meet the demand for an up-to-date overview of recent publications on measurements and modeling studies, we compiled a database of ammonia (NH3) deposition velocities published from 2004 to 2013. Observations from a total of 42 individual studies were averaged using an objective weighing scheme and classified into seven land use categories. Weighted average and median deposition velocities are 2.2 and 2.1 cm s?1 for coniferous forests, 1.5 and 1.2 cm s?1 for mixed forests, 1.1 and 0.9 cm s?1 for deciduous forests, 0.9 and 0.7 cm s?1 for semi-natural sites, 0.7 and 0.8 cm s?1 for urban sites, 0.7 and 0.6 cm s?1 for water surfaces, and 1.0 and 0.4 cm s?1 for agricultural sites, respectively. Thus, values presented in this compilation were considerably lower than those found in former studies (e.g., VDI 2006). Reasons for the mismatch were likely due to different land use classification, different averaging methods, choices of measurement locations, and improvements in measurement and in modeling techniques. Both data and code used for processing are made available as supplementary material to this article. 相似文献
