Table of contents

Preface

Thanks to the support and contributions from participants of more than 30 countries, the 4th International Conference on Agricultural and Biological Sciences (ABS 2018) was held successfully from June 26th to June 29th in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.

The International Conference on Agricultural and Biological Sciences (ABS) is convened annually to gather related experts to exchange the newest ideas and experiences in Agricultural and Biological Sciences. The previous three ABS Conferences brought together a forum of renowned personalities from the fields of agriculture and biology from the leading research institutes to most of the universities making it a successful international gathering. Based on ABS2017, the main topics of ABS2018 will still be five parts with more specified sessions: Rice and Crop Productions and Physiology Studies; Plant Sciences including Metabolites, Stress Response, Systematics, Physiology and Application, Environmental Sciences and Toxicants, Diseases and Environmental Biotechnology etc.

All papers published in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the proceedings Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.

Receptor Activator of NF-κB (RANK) and RANK-Ligand (RANKL) are members of the Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF)-superfamily involved in bone homeostasis. In a tightly controlled interplay of this receptor and ligand, bone is continuously being remodelled. Several pathological conditions resulting from a misbalance between bone resorption and bone formation have been documented. Most frequently resorption gets the overhand resulting in a lower Bone Mineral Density (BMD), increased fracture risk and reduced mobility of patients. RANKL is expressed on bone producing osteoblasts whereas RANK is expressed on preosteoclasts, which can develop in bone resorbing osteoclasts. The binding of RANKL to RANK functions as a trigger for the formation of these bone resorbing osteoclasts. With the development of a monoclonal antibody directed against RANKL a new therapeutic strategy to interfere with bone remodelling has become available some years ago. In this manuscript we discuss the prospective of interfering with the RANK/RANKL pathway as a therapeutic target for bone diseases. We discuss the role of the soluble receptor osteoprotegerin (OPG) as a therapeutic in bone diseases. Then we focus on the possibility to develop antagonistic and agonistic variants of RANKL based on computational protein design and we discuss the development of antagonistic RANKL variants by changing the stoichiometry of the RANKL molecule.

Cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) is a starch degrading enzyme to produce cyclodextrin (CD), which can encapsulate compounds to remove flavors and aroma. However, the use of the enzyme is often limited due to the instability of the enzyme resulting in low production of CD. Immobilization technique has greatly improved the characteristics of the enzyme during the reaction. In this study, CGTase was immobilized on polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membrane by adsorption method. The stability and reusability of the immobilized CGTase were studied and compared with free form of the CGTase. Thermal stability of the immobilized CGTase able to retain 50% of the initial residual activity at temperature up to 70°C. While there was an improvement in pH stability with a wider pH range from pH 5 to pH 8. The reusability of the immobilized CGTase was able to retain up to 40% of the initial CD production after repeatedly used for 10 cycles. Hence, the immobilization of CGTase shows a good physical and chemical resistance, which may be advantageous to be applied in industry.

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) is a very useful tool in not only medical field but also in research field. However, the current cost of its production is very high as most mAbs are produced in mammalian cell system. Escherichia coli is a good alternative but has many bottlenecks. Recently, it was demonstrated that biological active full-length Immunoglobulin G (IgG) could be produced in the reductive cytoplasm of an engineered E. coli strain called SHuffle. In this study, we investigated the effect of temperature and induction level on the production of full-length humanized anti-Her2 and chimeric anti-VEGF IgGs expressed as cyclonal. The solubility as well as the assembly of the IgG molecules was examined by western blot analysis. It was found that expression at 30 °C with 0.1 mM IPTG induction was the most suitable for trastuzumab. In contrast, the full-length expression of chimeric anti-VEGF required induction with 1 mM IPTG at 30 °C., however, 1 mM IPTG induction resulted in more full-length IgG. In conclusion, the present study indicated that E coli could be successfully used for the full-length expression of IgG by suitably modifying the expression conditions.

Contamination of water resources by synthetic dyes causes many environmental and health problems. Fungal ligninolytic enzymes have been applied for dye decolorization due to its ability in degrading a wide variety of recalcitrant substances. Extracellular ligninolytic enzyme production by white rot fungus, Lentinus polychrous, grown in glucose containing medium supplemented with rice straw powder and soybean pomace was monitored. Optimum condition for remazol brilliant blue R (RBBR) decolorization was studied by varying initial RBBR concentrations, pH values, and initial crude enzyme concentrations. The result revealed that the ligninolytic enzyme dominantly produced was laccase with an activity of 0.095 U/ml on day 15, and a small amount of manganese peroxidase was also detected. The crude laccase produced from L. polychrous, effectively decolorized the dye within a short period of time, that was approximately 50% of 20 mg/l RBBR was decolorized within the first 2 hours. The optimal pH for RBBR decolorization was 3.0 which had an efficiency of 87% within 6 hours after incubation. Moreover, the best redox mediator of laccase was CuSO₄, whose decolorization efficiency was over twice than that of samples without this mediator. The decolorization intensified with increase of CuSO₄ concentration but higher concentrations of chromium tended to suppress decolorization.

The antioxidant activity and biological compounds of ginseng root extracts were compared during pulsed electric field (PEF) and hydrolytic enzyme (HE) processing. The total ginsenoside content of ginseng root extracts by PEF (29.51 ± 1.67 mg/g) was higher than cellulase enzyme (HEC 23.74 ± 1.85 mg/g) and β-glucosidase enzyme (HEG 25.31 ± 2.34 mg/g) treatment. The ginseng root extracts obtained by PEF contained more total polyphenols (15.62 ± 1.07 mg/g) and flavonoids (16.58 ± 1.5 mg/g) than HEC (polyphenols 10.76 ± 1.22 mg/g; flavonoids 13.2 ± 1.63 mg/g) and HEG (polyphenols 14.09 ± 0.39 mg/g; flavonoids 15.37 ± 1.05 mg/g) treatment. Moreover, PEF processing showed more powerful scavenging activities against DPPH, ABTS radicals and FRAP activity of ginseng root extracts. Scanning electron microscopic examination of the ginseng root tissue with PEF processing provided direct evidence for the disruption of structure integrity. These results indicated that bioactive ingredients extraction with higher antioxidant activity could be obtained via PEF processing.

This paper aims to study halide under traditional drainage and ecological water treatment of saline-alkali soil through bulk density, porosity, moisture content, soluble and nutrient characteristics in Shaanxi, to analyze the different governance mode of different soil physical and chemical characteristics to provide scientific basis for saline-alkali land management. Saline-alkali land model test was set in Shaanxi Fuping, respectively set up traditional drainage and ecological water treatment, analysis soil bulk density, porosity, electric conductivity, total salt, organic matter, total N, available K, available P and fractal dimension of 0-30 cm soil layer; Analysis soil moisture content and reservoir capacity of 0-160 cm soil layer, and comprehensive analysis the average fractal dimension of soil and soil nutrient average correlation in 0-30 cm soil depth. Results show that: (1) in 0-30 cm soil depth, two kinds of mode, the soil bulk density and porosity appear consistent, the soil bulk density can be reduced, and ecological water storage mode can effectively increase the soil porousness compare with traditional drainage mode. (2) Under the same amount of water, in the 0-160 cm soil layer, the average soil moisture and average water storage capacity under the ecological water storage treatment were 4.47% and 2.57% higher than the traditional drainage treatment. (3) In the 0-30 cm soil layer, the traditional drainage and ecological water storage treatment significantly reduced the soil pH, conductivity and total salt content before the test, and the ecological water storage treatment decreased significantly; (4) In the 0-30 cm soil layer, the nutrient content of each treatment showed the same trend, which decreased with the increase of soil layer, and the average content of organic matter, total nitrogen, available potassium and available phosphorus under ecological storage treatment was higher than that of traditional drainage treatment. The height was 18.96%, 4.76%, 10.67% and 9.35%, and the difference between treatments was significant (P<0.05). (5) In the 0-30 cm soil layer, the fractal dimension of soil aggregates in dry and wet sieves showed opposite trend, and there was a good linear relationship with soil average bulk density, organic matter, total nitrogen, available potassium and available phosphorus (R² = 0.8006∼0.9499), the difference was significant (P<0.05). In summary, the ecological water storage treatment can effectively improve soil physical and chemical properties, improve soil stability and soil quality, and achieve good salinity treatment.

In this paper, we investigated the willingness of metropolitan residents to pay for low-carbon agricultural products. By developing low-carbon agricultural products, carbon emission would be reduced significantly. Using the contingent valuation method, this paper explored Shanghai residents' willingness to pay for vegetables with carbon labeling. The results of multiple regression model and logistic regression model are as follows: while 91% of respondents were willing to buy vegetables with carbon labels, they were only willing to pay an additional fee of 6% for low-carbon vegetables. Secondly, gender, education level, awareness of carbon labeling, habits to buy vegetables in a traditional market, large supermarket chains, and community supermarket would significantly affect the respondent's willingness to buy low-carbon vegetables. Thirdly, family structure, household disposable income, awareness of carbon labeling and habits to buy vegetable in large supermarket chains would significantly affect the respondent's willingness for an additional pay. It is necessary to increase publicity for promoting the construction of low-carbon agricultural products market. Appropriate channels must be selected for the sale of low-carbon agricultural products because of the effect of vegetation buying habits to "willingness to buy" and "willingness to an additional pay". Due to the low level of additional payment of low-carbon agricultural products, producers need to reduce production costs of low-carbon agricultural products by developing circular agriculture.

To determine the quality difference in different varieties of leaf lettuces, we investigated the characteristics of 74 varieties of leaf lettuces (55 green and 19 purple varieties). Both domestic and foreign varieties of lettuce were included in this study. We determined six nutritional indicators of these varieties: such as total soluble sugar, starch, cellulose, proteins, and vitamin C. The grey correlation analysis was used to analyze the 74 varieties of leaf lettuces. Thus, the merits of these traits were compared. The results indicate that the purple leaf lettuce P-S23 had grey comprehensive evaluation value of about 0.8, which was the highest among all varieties. For green leaf lettuces G-S68 and G-S10, grey comprehensive evaluation values were less than 0.5. This indicates that nutritional quality and nutritional value of the purple leaf varieties were higher than that of the green leaf varieties. Furthermore, the quality of green varieties of G-S68 and G-S10 were of poor quality, whereas the purple variety P-S23 was most suitable for commercial production.

In this experiment, white seed pumpkin 'Shengzhen No. 1' was used as rootstock for the oriental sweet melon (Cucumis melo L.) 'Yumeiren'. The fruits of own-rooted melons were used as control. The objective of this experiment was to study the effects of grafting on the following parameters: content of free fatty acids and activities of synthetic enzymes (LOX, ADH, and AAT). These parameters were measured in the peel and flesh tissues of oriental sweet melon at different time-points. Due to grafting, the content of oleic acid and linolenic acid decreased in peel tissues of melons at early stages of maturity. Therefore, total contents of free fatty acids were lower than those of control. However, there was no significant difference in the content of three free fatty acids in flesh tissue; this content was lower than that in peel tissue. Due to grafting, enzymatic activities of ADH and AAT decreased in peel tissue of melons; however, these enzymes showed different activities in flesh tissues of melons subjected to grafting. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference in enzymatic activities of flesh tissues; however, these activities were lower than that of peel tissue. These results indicate that free fatty acid content and related synthetic enzyme activities decreased when grafting was included in the cultivation of oriental sweet melons. Consequently, the aroma of these melons decreased due to grafting.

This study explored the effects of drought stress on scattered leaf lettuce seedlings and the effects of different types of polyamines (PAs) on the morphological indexes and antioxidant enzyme activities of scattered leaf lettuce. The drought-sensitive variety "Victoria crispy" was used as the plant material, and 10% Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) 6000 was used to simulate drought stress. Foliar applications of 0.1 millimoles per litre of three polyamines [putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd) and spermine (Spm)] were performed at the seedling stage (the control group was sprayed with water). The morphological indices and antioxidant enzyme activity were recorded on the eighth day after treatment. The results showed that drought stress significantly decreased the morphological indices of scattered leaf lettuce, and spraying different types of PAs had a mitigating effect. Drought stress significantly reduced the ascorbic acid peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) activity, increased the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), and exogenous polyamine spraying significantly affected the antioxidant enzyme activity. Among the polyamines, Put showed the most noticeable effect of mitigation. Drought stress had a significant effect on the morphological and antioxidant enzyme activities of scattered leaves lettuce, and Put was the most effective PA to increase drought tolerance.

This research evaluates the nutrient management system of Nutrient Expert (NE) in winter wheat grain yield production and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in the Hebei Plain. Field experiments were conducted to check the yield effects, nutrient use efficiency (NUE) and GHG under NE (nutrient management based on Nutrient Expert recommendation) and FP (nutrient management based on farmers' practices). The results showed that NE significantly reduced N fertilizer input while maintain higher yield and nutrient use efficiency than FP. The total N₂O emission and GHG emissions for NE were about 0.69 kg N ha⁻¹ and 1686 kg CO₂ eq ha⁻¹ respectively, significantly lower than for FP (p < 0.05), which was about 1.85 kg N ha⁻¹ and 3329 kg CO₂ eq ha⁻¹, respectively. The NE system showed great potential to be easily used in smallholder farmers in the Hebei Plain.

Innovating the rural reform, development path and stimulating the endogenous of rural development are conducive to solving the problems lying in "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" comprehensively in the aspects of theoretical innovation and practical guidance. In this study, the research paradigm of "literature review + empirical analysis of investigation cases + theoretical framework analysis + countermeasures and suggestions" is used for analysing Guangdong rural development models and the influencing factors of the endogenous power of rural development. Firstly, the domestic and foreign studies on rural development models and endogenous power are summarized. Secondly, the current situation of Guangdong rural development is statistically analysed from the aspects of new rural construction, rural social service system, comprehensive rural reform and income increase of farmers. Thirdly, five Guangdong rural development models are classified and sorted out through the investigation by the research team for more than 1 year, and 9 typical cases in Guangdong selected from the investigated materials are empirically analysed. Fourthly, efforts are made to analyse the internal logical relations among rural property right system reform, modern agricultural management system and mechanism, and rural grass root governance innovation and to analyse their influencing factors by establishing the theoretical model and paradigm of "supporting foundation - key factors - guarantee mechanism". Finally, several countermeasures and suggestions are proposed for promoting rural development and accelerating agricultural modernization by integrating abovementioned factors from aspects of early and pilot implementation and expansion of the promotion of practical achievements.

Based on the traditional gene expression algorithm, the paper proposed an improved gene expression algorithm, adding "inverted string" and "gene extraction" operator. An improved GEP algorithm is used in the leafy vegetables prices forecast, create the mathematical model through the analysis and evolution of training data, realize the simulation and forecast of the price of leafy vegetables. Through several experiments, the results proved that the new type of gene expression programming algorithm has faster convergence rate and higher precision in predicting the price of leafy vegetables.

In this paper, the cultivars of Pinus koraiensis and Japanese larch varieties in Liaoning Province were studied. Aiming to solve the problem of data update difficulty and lack of information management, the Kriging interpolation method and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and GPS technology positioning method were used for fine positioning of the improved varieties of forest seed base. Using linear comparison and distributed comparison method for accuracy assessment, 100 Pinus koraiensises were sampled by liner comparison method among which 10 were selected to be tested by distribution comparison method. With the help of the high density total station, the samples were measured and analyzed by the coordination. It showed the positioning accuracy was less than 1m, which met the need of the production of the forest seed base. On this basis, the tree seed production management information base database was established and the database structure design and structure design was made. Therefore, the managers in the forest natural reserve could use the database to plan and do the daily management, measure the area, the circumference, and the coordination of the forest natural reserve. In this way, the field work was lightened and it also provided support for the seed base management and production.

The experiment was to study the correlations between gas production characteristics and Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) components of seven roughages, which shortened the experimental cycles. The ruminant fluid was collected and cultivated in vivo. The results showed negative correlations between cumulative gas productions at 12, 24, 36, 72 h (P < 0.05), 48 h (P < 0.01) and Crude protein (CP), but positive correlations between gas production at 12, 24, 36, 48, 72 h (P < 0.01) and Neutral Detergent Soluble (NDS)/CP, between gas production at 12 h (P < 0.05), 24, 36, 48, 72 h (P < 0.01) and (NDS-ASH(crude ash))/CP. Significant positive correlations were found between parameters a, b, a+b, c and NDS/CP (P < 0.01), as well as between parameters a, b, a+b (P < 0.01), c (P < 0.05) and (NDS-ASH)/CP. However, significant negative correlation was found between b, a+b, c and CP (P < 0. 05). The experimental results inferred a positive correlation between degradation rate of Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) (P < 0.01), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF) (P < 0.05) and CP, but negative correlation between degradation rate of NDF (P < 0.05), ADF (P < 0.01) and NDS/CP, (NDS-ASH)/CP.

Spent mushroom substrates (SMS) instead of peat for lettuce seedlings could reduce the costs of natural capital. SMS, peat and vermiculite were combined in various ratios. The effects of different mixed seedling substrates on lettuce seedling growth and nutrient content were investigated. The results show that, with increasing SMS content in mixed substrate, height, root length index of lettuce seedling increased, number of leaves was decreased, phosphorus and potassium content of lettuce seedlings was increased gradually. The root length, leaf number, shoots fresh weight, biomass of 50% SMS in mixed substrate was better than other treatments (T3). The above results indicate that SMS mixed substrate can improve the growth of lettuce seedlings, and 50% SMS in mixed substrate was suitable for lettuce seedlings.

The spectral data of different grades flue-cured tobacco sample have been determined by UV spectrometer. Their differences were compared. The spectral prediction models of nicotine content were established through correlation analysis between the content of nicotine and spectral data of flue-cured tobacco with the stepwise multivariate regression method. The statistical results showed that the nicotine content of flue-cured tobacco were very significantly correlated to their UV spectrum. There were also very significantly correlations between the predicted and experimental values. This indicates that it would be feasible to estimate the nicotine content in flue-cured tobacco by UV spectroscopy and UV spectroscopy can be used to determine conveniently and quickly nicotine content of flue-cured tobacco leave samples without pollution.

[Objective] The aim is to introduce a production processes for the preparation of chelating multi-metal chitosan selenite and its different dosage forms, which is suitable for the fields of food and feed chemistry, fertilizer chemistry or fine chemical technology, and also belongs to the field of biomedical engineering technology. [Method] Disperse chitosan in water, and stir it in water bath at 50-70°C under heating. Add trace elements and rare earth metal salts with matching ratio to make them dissolve, where ratio of chitosan and metal salts is 1:0.1-0.3 (W/W). After 2-5 hours of stirring, chitosan chelated by multi-metal can be obtained. Chelating multi-metal chitosan selenite can be made after adding selenium oxide aqueous solution. [Result] The same molecules of target products produced according to the process contain a variety of metal elements and selenium elements and have biological synergistic effect with its biological solubility and biological activity significantly improved. [Conclusion] Chelating multi-metal chitosan selenite presented in this paper is a kind of trace element and/or rare earth preparation, which is environmentally friendly, easy to absorb and rich in selenium without toxic side effects. Therefore, it could be used as a new preparation to supplement selenium and trace elements in medicine, health care products, cosmetics and agricultural fields.

In order to provide consumers with more safe and edible fungus products and to create a faithful social environment of food quality, the edible fungus products quality safety events, as well as their evoked factors and effects on edible fungus industry were discussed in depth in this paper. The performance of edible fungus products quality management is a comprehensive reflection of technical effect, control effect and implementation effect. Among them, the implementation effect is the most important, which refers to the actual implementation effect of quality and safety rules by practitioners of edible fungus industry. Thus, the initiative implementation effect in quality management will be improved, and a quality assurance system in which practitioners are volunteered to participate and implement initiatively the quality standards and regulations so as to provide safe and high-quality products will be established, thereby achieving the best actual implementation effect in quality management.

In order to explore the effect of different improvement measures on saline-alkali soil, related experiments were carried out in the field with four treatments sand covering(SC), straw mulching(SM), saline-alkali land amendments(SG) and control group(CK). The results, compared with the control, showed as follows: Soil physical and chemical properties were improved, soil salt content reduced by 1.16-2.22 g kg⁻¹, soil pH reduced by 0.05-0.94, soil density declined by 0.03-0.10g cm⁻³ after improvement measures. Furthermore, the growth of ryegrass had been greatly improved, the ryegrass emergence rate increased by 18.4% to 31.7%, and the total yield of fresh grass increased by 35.24%-113.52%. The soil Hg, Pb, As, Cr contents and the plant Pb, As, Cr contents were significantly influenced by desulphurization gypsum. Whereas the heavy metal content in soil did not exceed Grade-II Soil National Standard for Agricultural Environment Quality, and the ryegrass Hg, Cd, Pb and Cr contents were within National Standard for Feed Qygienic Quality. This research suggested that the application of desulphurization gypsum, among the three improvement measures, produced the best effects. It was therefore recommended for wide application in similar saline-alkali soil conditions.

Based on the evaluation of data from agricultural operations of 60 enterprises in the period 2012–2016 on 339 516 ha, frequent increases in nutrient dosages for production are mainly in marginal areas where higher production than is equivalent to optimal production on the soil is required. In the production of crops, it is most manifest in the production of feed crops, which are often used for the continuous flow of livestock production and biogas stations. Because of the above-standard utilization of fertilizers, yields rise above the level corresponding to the standard conditions for soil–climatic conditions, but also to decrease the efficiency of fertilizer utilization and thus to overload the optimal soil productivity. In contrast, the standard use of fertilizers is reflected in winter wheat, grain corn, triticale, potatoes and rye. Because of the lower strength of the humus horizon in marginal areas, it can be assumed that by increased fertilization, the agricultural enterprises solve the lower sorption capacity of the soil. The overall finding is also a warning to the occupation of quality land for non-agricultural purposes because their intensification cannot be transferred into marginal areas with no environmental impact.

The current work envisages the use of Remote sensing,Geography information systems and Global positioning systems literature analysis of precipitation, field investigation and laboratory analysis to perform a comprehensive investigation on the present situation of wetland resources of Pingshan Wetland in Hebei Province. The results showed that there were 5 types of wetlands, including the riverine wetland, flood plain, reservoir and pond, water-conveyance canal, and paddy field, with a total area of 162.61 km². There were 311 species of wetland higher plants in Pingshan County, including 10 species of bryophytes, 296 angiosperm species, 5 species of ferns, and 81 phytoplankton species. There were 186 wetland birds, 35 species of fish, 5 species of amphibians, 14 species of reptiles, and 19 species of mammals in Pingshan County. In view of the present situation and the threat of wetland in Pingshan County, certain suggestions have been proposed to strengthen the protection and utilization of the wetland.

Since twenty-first century, the third revolution of science and technology as the core of the internet information technology makes society become more and more "smart". Under the guidance of the strategy of "smart planet", the concept and practice of "smart countryside" emerged. Using of energy and information & communication technology access to rural society to build a new "Smart countryside" in the 3I situations (Instrumented, Interconnected, Intelligent), which helps rural and poor areas out of poverty with a new form of poverty alleviation under the background of the internet. The paper analyses the mechanism of "smart countryside" poverty alleviation from the four perspectives: sustainable development of energy, social capital and knowledge, bridging the digital divide and promoting the information rights. Then, the paper investigates and summarizes seven kinds of innovation model of "smart countryside" poverty alleviation. The conclusion shows that the innovation model is conducive to the "multi-level" ecological interaction of poverty alleviation, which is "government-led, social participation, industry development and the poor benefit". It also brings environment, economy, service, the humanities, and the people's livelihood performance for poverty alleviation. Finally, the paper puts forward policies supporting system for "smart countryside" poverty alleviation from the aspects of technology, space, capital and people.

In order to evaluate the quality of newly cultivated land as for the land reclamation project of Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi Province, and to meet the requirements of seeking a simple and quick, convenient and accurate and universal method, this paper adopted the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The main evaluation index was selected to construct the judgment matrix. The weight coefficient of each index was determined. Each index was scored and the total score of new cultivated land was calculated. The quality of the new cultivated land was evaluated and the improvement suggestions were given. An analysis on quality of the new cultivated land - Longting Town in the land remediation project of Longting Town was conducted. After evaluation, the score of the new cultivated land was 62.8, which was a qualified level, and measures were proposed to improve the quality of the land and fertility. This method will provide a practical application for the evaluation of new cultivated land quality in other land reclamation project in temperate semi-arid plains.

The connection between research activity of higher educational institutions and productive institutions plays a special role in the economic development of local communities. The exploitation of research results in areas such as the primary sector enables the development of innovative projects in the rural economy, as well as in the energy sector. In the current study, the research activity in the field of medicinal plants as a dynamic form of cultivation is presented. Our research refers to the qualitative and quantitative composition of distillate aromatic plants (flowers).The results can be reflected in the primary sector of Western Macedonia, in order to apply appropriate soil and climatic conditions in the region and to develop new crops adjusted to the specific conditions, especially in the field of medicinal plants. The proposal in cooperation with the Local Cooperative of Aromatic and Medicinal Plants has been presented in a series of workshops and has been utilized appropriately to strengthen rural culture in the region. The need to deal with the particular crop stems from the fact that the final products (oil and water) are products that may have direct application in the food sector, cosmetics, aromatherapy, human and animal health.

Japan is in urgent need to reduce the production costs through increasing rice yield, which depends highly on soil fertility. This study aimed to investigate determinants of rice yield, from the perspectives of fertilizer nitrogen and soil chemical properties. The data were sampled in 2014 and 2015, from 116 paddy fields, on a large-scale farm located in the Kinki Region of Japan. The rice included Koshihikari and other seven varieties, cultivated in conventional, special and organic regimes. The nine soil chemical properties included pH, cation exchange capacity, ammonium nitrogen, effective phosphoric and silicic acid, saturation of base elements, exchangeable potassium, lime and magnesia. Multiple regression analysis indicated that positive effects were identified for silicic acid, exchangeable potassium, and ammonium nitrogen; while phosphoric acid affects the yield negatively, controlling the rice variety, cultivation regime, and field area. Finally, countermeasures were put forward to improve soil fertility and rice yield.

Mining resource is one of essential fundamental energy resources in China. In recent years, mining exploitation activities has been more frequently, which plays an important role in protecting the economic and social development of mining areas. However, it has led to severely destroyed land resources and environmental pollution. Considerable amount of mining wastelands have been appearing accordingly. Therefore, it is necessary to reclaim the mining wastelands and do the regeneration project. In the study, Shendong Mining Region across Shaanxi Shenmu and Inner Mongolia Erdos is the research site. The paper discussed the ecological restoration engineering measures suitable for the landform reconstruction, soil improvement, vegetation restoration and ecological restoration of the abandoned mining areas in Shendong Mining. Three new modes of development and utilization, including ecological agriculture model, construction land mode and mine park model, are proposed in order to rehabilitate the land resource and make a reference to the economic, social and ecological sustainable development in Shendong Mining Region.

In this study, pectin was extracted from aloe peel dried powder using acid extraction and alcohol precipitation method. The results showed that the amount of acid-insoluble ash, galacturonic acid, the loss on drying of pectin was 12.72%, 10.791% and 9.48%, respectively. There were several monosaccharides in the pectin, with the amount order of mannose > glucose > galactose > arabinose > rhamnose > fucose. This suggests that the method was suitable for the extraction of pectin from the aloe peel, but it still needs to be improved. Furthermore, the obtained aloe pectin had obvious ability of anti-oxidant, indicating that it might be a promising material for food and medicine. Our study will pave a new way for handling the aloe peel resource in the future.

Quinine is a dominant alkaloid in Cinchona ledgeriana. It is widely used in anti-malaria, anti-cramping, and anti-arrhythmia medication. In addition, it is commercially demanded for its bitter taste in certain soft drinks. The main source of quinine is the bark of Cinchona plant, which consists of 4-7% of the alkaloid. Land use shifting from perennial trees to cash-crops has resulted in a shortage of the plant material for quinine extraction. Plant cell culture has proven its success in producing secondary metabolites, including alkaloids. In principle, plant cells synthesize secondary metabolites when they are exposed to stress conditions. Therefore, in cell culture of C. ledgeriana, two stress-inducing agents i.e. abscisic acid (ABA) and paclobutrazol (PBZ) in combination with mannitol or sorbitol were applied to increase quinine yield. ABA and PBZ depressed the cells growth. Sorbitol caused more stress to cells than mannitol. Its combination with ABA 3 mgL⁻¹ or with PBZ 7 mgL⁻¹, mixed three weeks after culture, produced the highest concentration of quinine followed by mannitol with ABA 3 mgL⁻¹ or PBZ 7 mgL⁻¹ combined at the third week after culture. Cultured cells showed three different shapes: round, oval, and elongated. The elongated shape pre-dominated in the mature cells culture, while round cells pre-dominated in young cells culture. Those mature cells were found to contain alkaloids.

Along with the industrialization, urbanization and globalization deepening, China's agriculture faced with the development bottleneck of "who farming and how farming". Back to the founding of new China era, the traditional agricultural organizations are difficult to achieve agricultural modernization, such as farmers' mutual aid group, agricultural cooperatives, the people's Commune and family contract management. Therefore, it is imperative to cultivate and develop new agricultural management subjects for the goal of Rural Revitalization and agricultural modernization in China. A review combined with related literatures, the paper combs and refines the mechanism of different types of new agricultural management subjects to promote modern agriculture. This is of great significance for eliminating misunderstandings of new agricultural management subjects and allowing full play to their driving roles in China. The paper elaborates and proposes to vigorously promote the development of new agricultural management subjects such as professional households, family farms, farmers' professional cooperatives, farmer' shareholding cooperation and agricultural enterprises, which can promote the specialization, institutionalization, organization and marketization of agriculture, and effectively overcome the problems of low efficiency, high cost and weak effectiveness of traditional agricultural operation organization, so as to speed up the process of agricultural modernization in China.

The rural E-commerce has become a hot spot in the current poverty alleviation in China. Suqian of Jiangsu Province took the lead in exploring the new path and has achieved good effects. Practice shows that the rural E-commerce mode "one village, one product and one shop" in Suqian has a favourable impact on increasing farmers' income. This paper firstly elaborates the theoretical mechanism of poverty alleviation through "one village, one product and one shop", then introduces a typical case: the "Party branch + E-commerce" poverty alleviation mode of Jidong community in Suqian, finally puts forward several enlightenments: Focus on "one product" to develop featured product brands; Strengthen "one shop" relying on multiple E-commerce platforms; Motivate "one region" by cultivating paradigms; Form "one chain" by integrating the policy resources. This paper not only can enrich the theoretical and case research of rural E-commerce poverty alleviation in China and abroad, it also can provide decision supports for government departments in targeted poverty reduction and make some suggestions for E-commerce enterprises to enhance operating efficiency.

The altitude of the Dieng plateau is between 1,500-2,500 meters above sea level (m ASL), with an average temperature of 14°C. During the dry season, the temperature in this area becomes very cold that reaches -2°C, therefore frost injury may occur in potato, which is often referred to as embun upas (frozen dew). Frost injury causes the production of potatoes in Dieng to decline. Frost injury in plants is characterized by spots symptom, which can be brown, yellow, or black on leaves surface with the chlorotic ring that surrounds them. The phenomenon of frost injury is thought to be related to the activity of ice formation by the Ice Nucleation Active (INA) bacteria and triggered by cold temperatures (-2°C). This study aimed to determine the number of INA bacteria and its correlation with frost injury spots on potato leaves and to discover the class of INA bacteria based on ice formation temperature. The sampling of the potato leaves used purposive sampling method. Leaves showed frost injury symptom with different severity were taken from a different altitude of ± 2,000 m ASL (Dieng Wetan village) and ± 2,500 m ASL (Sembungan village). Bacterial isolation was done by spread plate method on Nutrient Agar supplemented with 2.5% glycerol. The activity of ice nucleation was determined using tube nucleation method. Estimation of INA bacteria number was done by multiple-tube nucleation method 3.3.3. Correlation between the number of INA bacteria and percentages of frost injury spots was analyzed using SPSS bivariate. The results showed that the highest INA bacteria number i.e. >2.75 × 10⁴ was found on scale 3 of leave spots while the lowest value of 7.25 × 10³ on scale 1. Correlation between the populations of INA bacteria with the scale of frost injury spots showed 0.844. The correlation values ranging from 0.80 to 1.00 indicating a strong association between the INA bacterial number and the scale of frost injury spots of potato leaves. Based on the ice forming temperatures, INA bacteria were classified into three classes, i.e., class A that can freeze water at temperatures of -2 to -4°C, class B -5 to -7°C and freezing point of class C below -8°C.

The Logistic Curve eutrophication level comprehensive evaluation model was used to generate model samples and verification samples based on the evaluation grade criteria and uniform random numbers and was solved using an accelerated genetic algorithm The water quality monitoring indicators in July, August, September and October of 2017 were selected to evaluate the water environment quality of Darinol Lake and determine the eutrophication level. The results showed that the degree of eutrophication in Darinol Lake is close to five extremely eutrophic state, and the eutrophication grades in July, August, September and October showed a slowly decreasing trend.

Akebia trifoliata (Thunb) koidz contains a variety of active ingredients, exerting the promising pharmacological actions. Its stems and fruits are legally recorded as herbal medicines in the Chinese Pharmacopeia. However, different parts of Akebia trifoliate stems have different effects. In this study, the literature in the last decade was retrieved to summarize the pure compounds and pharmacological effects of Akebia trifoliata stems. It showed that Akebia trifoliata stems mainly contain a variety of oleanolic acids, ivy saponin-type triterpenoid saponins, which have antitumor, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and antibacterial actions.

Appearance quality such as color, density, coverage, texture, mowing height and uniformity of turf in the Zhuhai Jinwan golf course were studied in the present investigation. In addition, the functional quality like elasticity, ball speed on the green and recovery ability were also studied. After evaluating the results, a maintenance protocol for the quality of the turfs of tees, fairways and greens of Zhuhai Jinwan golf course has been suggested. The study indicated a medium level of turf in respect to color, density, coverage, texture and mowing height and rather long recovery period. Tee had a composite score of 25 points and the evaluation level achieved was III. The coverage, density, texture, and mowing height of the fairway were evaluated as well, and the uniformity, color, and recovery cycle were generally evaluated. The comprehensive score was 25 points and the evaluation level has been given a score of level III. The uniformity, coverage, density and texture of green were basically good, and had a short recovery period. The score of mowing height was poor and ball speed was low. Green's composite score was 27 points with an evaluation level III. The overall turf quality of Zhuhai Jinwan golf course has been recognized to stay at an intermediate level.

Any agricultural farm enterprise is a complex undertaking. Physical, economic, social and technological factors demand equal attention if a farm enterprise is to succeed. To be successful a farmer needs to ensure the optimal use of farm inputs to achieve high productivity. Technological developments have dragged farmers into the digital age and have significantly altered the management of such inputs. This paper considers the disruption brought about by digital farming. Major technical, legal, policy and social challenges and opportunities are outlined in the context of digital farming in Australia.

Guangdong Province is a large province of rations consumption and the abnormal fluctuations in food prices will affect its steady development. In this paper, the largest grain product in Guangdong Province - Rice is selected as the research object, and the price fluctuation characteristics is analyzed by the time series decomposition method. We try to answer the following two questions: First, what are the characteristics of price fluctuation of rice in Guangdong Province? Second, what causes the rapid rise in rice prices in the short term? The paper identifies and analyzes the fluctuation rules and characteristics of rice price in Guangdong and summarizes main influence factors for short-term drastic fluctuation in rice price by time series decomposition method based on the monthly price data in 1998-2015. The results show that the rice price in Guangdong has the following characteristics for a long time: overall rising, short-term drastic fluctuation, obvious periodic fluctuation and weakened seasonal fluctuation; random shocks drive and restrain the rice price, where external factors have serious influences on price fluctuation in some years, while the influence of random components on rice price has been obviously weakened since the second half of 2012; main factors influencing the fluctuation in rice price include market supply and demand, production cost and grain policies. In view of this, it is suggested in the paper that future price fluctuation should be predicted by utilizing the long-term trend and the periodic characteristics of the rice price, attention be paid to such factors causing abnormal fluctuation in rice price, market monitoring be strengthened and effective measures be taken to mitigate short-term drastic fluctuation in rice price.

The price conduction and interaction in the circulation of agricultural products affect the development of the whole swine industry. In recent years, the imbalance between the conduction and interaction of the price of pork has caused the contradiction between residents' consumption and pig breeding enterprises. In this paper, Granger causality test, pulse function test and variance decomposition test were conducted on price fluctuations in the processes of production, wholesale and retail based on VAR model, it was found that the price fluctuation in the production, wholesale and retail of pig market in Guangdong obviously presents the characteristic of "demand driving and the tendency of "cost push" is not statistically significant.

In order to find a balance between livestock husbandry and environmental protection, a feasible, mutually beneficial, inclusive and win-win development system should be established. Taking Longxi County in Gansu Province for instance, the paper demonstrates how to establish livestock husbandry ecosystem in all directions by analyzing and studying the current situation of livestock husbandry development, environmental pollution and the relationship between them. The results show as follows: 1) The dialectical relationship between the total output of pollutants produced by livestock and the carrying capacity of the environment is the basis for formulating relevant macroeconomic policies in county administrative regions. The balance and unification of "water-land-grass-livestock" is the prerequisite for sustainable development of livestock husbandry; 2) Livestock husbandry should adjust the development direction within the safety range of critical points of environmental protection; 3) Livestock husbandry should adjust livestock species, breeding quantity, supporting anti-pollution hardware facilities according to local geographical environment and external carrying capacity, and increase input intensity in soft environment, so as to achieve the aim of reducing emissions. The results of this study can provide a powerful theoretical reference and administrative basis for the coordination of livestock husbandry and environmental protection in county administrative regions.

The validation research is the basis of application of remote sensing data. This study using soil surface measured data for 10 cm in Northeast China in 1992-2013 to verify the European space agency soil moisture data set (ESA CCI SM). In this study, two methods evaluating CCI data for revealing drought was used: common Pearson coefficient method and drought judgement method for coincidence degree of drought. This verification study is located in the main grain producing areas of Northeast China, which is dominated by rain-fed agriculture. After the result analysis, CCI remote sensing soil moisture is feasible for assessment research on agricultural drought. Through the evaluation of this study, this remote sensing soil water can be used as an effective indicator of agricultural drought in the main grain-producing region of Northeast China.