Inhibition of arsenic transport from soil to rice grain with a sustained field-scale aerobic rice cultural practice

Role of ubiquitination in arsenic tolerance in plants

Arsenic (As) is harmful to all living organisms, including humans and plants. To limit As uptake and avoid its toxicity, plants employ systems that regulate the uptake of As from the soil and its translocation from roots to grains. Ubiquitination, a highly conserved post-translational modification (PTM) in all eukaryotes, plays crucial roles in modulating As detoxification mechanisms in budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), but little is known about its roles in As tolerance and transport in plants. In this opinion article we review recent findings and suggest that ubiquitination plays a crucial role in regulating As transport in plants. We also propose ideas for future research to explore the importance of ubiquitination for enhancing As tolerance in crops.

Double transplantation as a climate resilient and sustainable resource management strategy for rice production in eastern Uttar Pradesh, north India

-Enhancing the productivity of rainfed crops, especially rice, while coping with climate adversities and saving critical natural resources is essential for ensuring the food and nutrition security of a growing population. With this context, the present study was undertaken to validate promising farm innovation and adaptation practices used by small-medium landholding farmers for rice cultivation in eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP), north India, as well as to examine the sustainability of innovative practices for large-scale adoption. For this, a 3-year study comprising extensive field surveys and experiments was undertaken to compare single transplantation (ST) and double transplantation (DT) in rice along with organic addition (farm-yard manure, FYM) on crop growth, yield, climate resilience, soil quality, and overall sustainability i.e., social (women involvements and labour productivity), environmental (water productivity and nutrient use efficiency), and economic (benefit:cost ratio) dimensions of sustainability. Field experiments were conducted in triplicate using two local rice varieties (MotiNP-360 and Sampurna Kaveri) in two agroclimatic zones, namely the middle Gangetic plains and the Vindhyan zone, in the Mirzapur district of eastern Uttar Pradesh. The DT practices of rice with and without farm yard manure (FYM) (replacing at a dose of 25% NPK) were evaluated over conventional methods of rice cultivation (i.e., ST, as control) and analysis was done periodically. The DT practice improved growth (p < 0.05), percent fertile tiller and grain (p < 0.05), and rice yield (15-20% higher than ST), while also improving soil quality, yield indices, water and labour productivity, and the benefit-cost ratio. The DT practice also resulted in early maturity (10-15 days earlier than ST), created more labour days for women, decreased lodging and pest/disease incidence, as well as a subsequent reduction in the use of synthetic chemical pesticides and associated environmental costs. Importantly, the residual effects of FYM application significantly improved (p < 0.05) the grain yield in subsequent years of cropping. Optimizing DT cultivation practices, preferably with FYM input for various agro-climatic regions, is essential for large-scale sustainable rice production under changing climatic conditions.

Assessment of arsenic status and distribution in Usangu agro-ecosystem-Tanzania

This study was conducted to assess arsenic (As) status and distribution in Usangu agroecosystem-Tanzania, including three land use. About 198 soil samples were collected in ten irrigation schemes in three land uses. Total and bioavailable As were determined by acid digestion (Aqua regia (AQ)) and Mehlich 3 method (M3) to estimate status, distribution and bioavailability. Arsenic concentration were variable among land use and irrigation schemes where total arsenic ranged 567.74-2909.84 μg/kg and bioavailable As ranged 26.17-712.37 μg/kg. About 12-16% of total arsenic were available for plant uptake. Approximately 86.53% of studied agricultural soils had total As concentration above Tanzania maximum allowable limit. Bioavailable As were lower compared to total As and were within the acceptable threshold. Total arsenic concentration were variable among schemes and higher values were observed in schemes which are highly intensified and mechanized. Thus, this study provides essential site specific preliminary baseline information for As status and distribution in agricultural soils to initiate monitoring and management strategies for increased land productivity and environmental safety.

Resource-Saving Methods for Growing Rice in the Krasnodar Territory

The world practice of rice cultivation has shown that rice cultivation by traditional methods for Russia is labor-intensive, resource-intensive, ineffective with low profitability, and often unprofitable production. As a result, traditional methods of flooding rice paddies in Russia are faced with a shortage and high cost of irrigation water and a reduction in rice irrigation systems, i.e., areas suitable for rice cultivation. For solving the problem of unprofitable rice production, an analysis of the world practice of rice production has been implemented. The analysis showed that the most optimal solution for the natural and climatic conditions of the Krasnodar Territory is the cultivation of rice using sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation. Further analysis showed that drip irrigation is the most promising way of growing rice, which has many undeniable advantages. The main advantages of drip irrigation are the low irrigation rate, labor intensity, and energy intensity of rice production. Therefore, the article proposes a pioneering Russian ridge cultivation method for rice cultivation on the lands of the irrigated rice fund with drip irrigation under plastic and/or biodegradable perforated film. This method will make it possible to radically revise the principles of rice cultivation, form a new generation of rice crop rotations with the inclusion of melons and vegetables in them, and carry out rice production on previously rainfed lands. The implementation of the method has proven the effectiveness and feasibility of our research.

Increasing the efficiency of rice production through the introduction of resource-saving technologies on the example of rice systems in Krasnodar Territory

Rice cultivation is the most resource-intensive production in the Russian agro-industrial sector. Historically, the technology of flooded rice cultivation in thу Krasnodar Territory has remained virtually unchanged for more than 90 years. This is due not only to the biological but also to the technological features of its cultivation. In this connection, the issue of optimizing the production process of rice cultivation is becoming increasingly important every year. Global experience in rice cultivation has determined a further direction of research on optimizing rice cultivation technologies, namely the development of a resource-saving technology for drip irrigation of rice. The pioneering research done by domestic scientists to test drip irrigation of rice in Russia has proved the feasibility and effectiveness of their use. This article proposes a modern resource-saving drip irrigation project for rice, which was tested in OOO “Chernoerkovskoe” in the Slavyanskiy District of the Krasnodar Territory. The authors have proved the efficiency of the proposed rice cultivation technology, resulting in the reduction of irrigation norm, material, labour, energy and technical-technological resources in rice production and crops of rice rotation. The introduction of the new technology has improved not only the biometric indicators of rice, but also the ameliorative condition of soils. Drip irrigation technology makes it possible to cultivate rice outside the rice irrigation systems on land previously used for rain-fed agriculture, which will increase not only the potential area under rice cultivation, but also the geography of rice cultivation in Russia.

Development of new methods of rice cultivation for the reclamation and water management complex of the Lower Kuban

According to long-term studies of the influence of rice cultivation show that meadow-black soil, meadow, alluvial, meadow-swamp (heavy black soils) soils of the reclamation and water management complex of the Lower Kuban, with the beginning of their use for rice cultivation, lose their favorable physical properties and become degraded, merged, viscous and gleyed formations, which leads to a decrease in the yield and quality of the resulting grain, loss of soil fertility, as a rule, with the subsequent withdrawal of lands from the irrigation fund. In order to prevent these negative consequences, it is necessary to use the accumulated world experience of rice cultivation in a timely manner. For a number of reasons, many scientific achievements in the field of selective breeding and rice production technologies remain unpopular. Today, the level of information technology allows studying the advanced experience of rice cultivation in a short time. The world leader in rice production is the PRC, where for more than 10 years they have been practicing the cultivation of rice using drip watering under mulching film, considering this method to be one of the most effective and resource-saving. However, the rice-growing regions of the PRC are located in subtropical and tropical climates with the sum of active temperatures and solar activity during the growing season significantly exceeding the average values of these values for the rice-growing regions of the reclamation and water management complex of the Lower Kuban. Consequently, to implement this technology on the rice irrigation systems of the Krasnodar Territory, it is necessary to adapt them to the natural and climatic conditions of the region. Therefore, the paper proposes the technology of underground drip watering of rice, the introduction of which has proven its effectiveness and feasibility.

Development of resource-saving technologies for rice cultivation on rice irrigation systems in the Krasnodar Territory

According to the studies carried out by the US Geological Survey (USGS) under the project GFSAD30, Russia ranks fourth in the world in the number of fertile lands. However, today there are some problems that “slow down” the development of the Russia’s agricultural sector, including the rice-planting complex. One of the main problems of the Russian agro-industrial complex is unsustainable environmental management, which leads to inefficiency and sometimes loss of agricultural production. This is caused by the “rigidity” of the legal framework, the reluctance or inability of the economy to switch to new resourcesaving technologies, as well as the fear of partially or completely losing the crop when switching to new technologies. For the “soft” transition of the economy to new resource-saving technologies, we propose a resource-saving technology for cultivating rice on underground drip irrigation under mulch film on rice irrigation systems, the introduction of which proved its effectiveness, as well as the relevance of our study. The efficiency of proposed resource-saving technology of rice cultivation on drip irrigation is expressed in the increase of profitability of rice production by 26%, reduction of irrigation norm by more than 5 times, labor intensity of rice production by 42% and material costs by 24%. The proposed technology not only reduced the anthropogenic load, but also improved the land reclamation condition, including the situation in the rice irrigation ecosystem. Further development of drip technologies in the rice sector of Russia will allow developing fundamentally new, ecological-reclamative, balanced rice crop rotation with the inclusion of vegetable and cucurbits crops. The proposed technology will provide an opportunity to cultivate rice outside rice irrigation systems on previously rich lands, which will give agro-industrial workers new opportunities and prospects in rice production.