Yield Assessment of Maize Varieties under Varied Water Application in Semi-Arid Conditions of Southern Mozambique

Maize is one of the most important staple food crops in Mozambique. Its production is country-wise dominated by smallholder farmers (more than 90%) under rain-fed conditions, where the risk of crop failure is high, especially under semi-arid conditions in southern Mozambique. Several maize genotypes have been developed for the broad agro-ecological zone adaptation but lack strong evidence about their productivity and yield stability to support decision-making in farming systems. In order to assess the yield and yield stability of maize genotypes under different environments, five identical on-station trials were implemented in the period 2017 to 2019, covering summer and winter seasons in the semi-arid region of southern Mozambique. The trials were established at the experimental station of the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) in Sábie and at the Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique (IIAM) in Chókwe. A strip-plot design in a randomized complete block arrangement with 15 maize genotypes, and three water application (rainfall plus irrigation) levels in four replications was followed in a line-source irrigation arrangement. The water application levels varied from 151 mm to 804 mm, covering different water regimes. Under well-watered summer conditions, the genotypes G6 and G12 showed high yield and high grain yield stability. In the drier conditions, either in summer or winter, the G2 and G11 genotypes produced higher grain yield but with low stability. Both groups of genotypes have a high potential to be included in technology transfer packages to smallholder farmers to address food security or large-scale commercial farmers differently.

A Variable Rate Drip Irrigation Prototype for Precision Irrigation

A new Variable Rate Drip Irrigation (VRDI) emitter that monitors individual water drops was designed, built, and tested. This new emitter controllers water application directly by monitoring the volume applied in contrast to uniform drip irrigation systems that control water application indirectly by pressure compensation and operational times. Prior approaches assumed irrigation volumes based on flow rates and time and typically did not verify the applied amount of water applied at each water outlet. The new VRDI emitter self-monitors the total volume of water applied and halts the flow once the desired total water application has been achieved. This study performed a test for a new VRDI emitter design with two inner diameters of 0.11 cm and 0.12 cm and two outer diameters 0.3 cm and 0.35 cm compared to a commercial drip emitter. Laboratory tests verify that the integrated volume measurements of the VRDI system are independent of pressure. Conversely, the flow rates of the commercial pressure-compensated drip lines were not independent of pressure. These results demonstrate that this form of VRDI is technically feasible and is shown to be energy efficient, requiring lower system operating pressures than pressure-compensated lines. The VRDI system can reduce water consumption and related water costs.

Assessing sprinkler systems performance with a novel experimental benchmark

Sprinkler systems are one of the most popular methods of irrigation worldwide. One of their key parameters is the so-called level of uniformity, i.e. every portion of the soil should be irrigated with the same amount of water. Assessing the level of uniformity is crucial for optimal design of sprinkler systems. In this manuscript, a novel experimental benchmark is presented in order to test irrigation sprinklers, assess their performance, and define their acceptable working conditions. Different sprinklers have been tested, their water application depth curves have been determined, and their performance has been evaluated using a combination of metrics. Results show that the majority of sprinklers are characterized by very good performance in terms of operating pressures in the range 2.0-3.0 bar and tend to decrease their efficiency for operating pressures outside of that range.

THE EFFECT OF HOT WATER APPLICATION IN PREGNANT WOMEN WITH RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME: A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED STUDY

Aim: This study was conducted to determine the effect of hot water application by immersion method to the legs of pregnant women with Restless leg syndrome (RLS) on their complaints about RLS. Methods: The study is a pretest-posttest randomised controlled. The study was performed with pregnant 29 women. The data were collected using Personal Information Form, International RLS Study Group Diagnostic Criteria, and the International RLS Rating Scale (IRLS). Hot water application was made of intervention group (IG). No application was made in the control group (CG) other than routine care and follow-up. The application was made for 20 minutes before bedtime for seven days. No application was made in the CG other than routine care and follow-up. Results: Descriptive and gestational characteristics of the pregnant women in both groups were similar (p>0.05). In pretest measurements, IRLS total score of the IG was 26.38±6.82, the score of the CG was 22.06±5.56 and the groups were similar to each other (p>0.05). While posttest total score was 8.23±6.84 in the IG and 21.18±6.32 in the CG and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (p<0.001). Discussions: Hot water application made to the legs of the pregnant women with RLS decreased the severity of RLS. Clinical trials name and ID: The Effect of Hot and Cold Water Application on Pregnant Women with Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS); NCT04786314