Enhanced Nutrient Uptake in Side-Row Maize and Improved Microbial Community Diversity in Wide-Strip Intercropping of Maize and Peanut

Background: Intercropping, a diversified planting pattern is currently the subject of major global research, but uncertainty remains about the rhizosphere interaction of intercropped maize and peanut, which increases nitrogen uptake. We explored the changes in soil physicochemical properties, nutrient uptake and use, and microbial community structure in wide-strip intercropped maize and peanut. Results: The results from three treatments, sole maize (SM), sole peanut (SP) and intercropping of maize and peanut (IMP), showed that intercropping maize (IM) had a marginal advantage and that the nutrient content of roots, stems and grains in side-row maize was better than that of middle intercropping maize (MIM) and SM. And the yield of intercropped maize was higher than sole cropping. Compared with SM and SP, the soil nitrogen content (TN) in IM and intercropping peanut (IP) was lower and increased the soil enzyme activities of nitrate reeducates (NR) and peroxidase (POD), showing a significant negative correlation with soil TN. And decreased the soil enzymes activities of Pro and DHO, showing a positively correlation with soil TN. The diversity and richness of bacteria and fungi was decreased in IM rhizosphere soil, however, that richness of fungi was increased in IP rhizosphere soil. The RB41, Candidatus-udaeobacter, Stropharia, Fusarium and Penicillium were correlated with soil enzyme activity. In addition, intercropping enriched the functional diversity of bacterial community and reduced the pathogenic fungi. Conclusion: IMP changed the rhizosphere soil bacterial and fungal community structure and composition, enriched nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the IP rhizosphere soil, promoted the nitrogen content of IM and provided a scientific basis for promoting IMP in northeastern China.

Conceptual Directions of Creating Digital Twins for Electrotechnical Systems of Rolling Mill Facilities

This article considers the development of digital twins (DT) for the mechatronic facilities of the coiling machine group in a wide-strip hot rolling mill. The analysis of Russian and foreign sources confirmed that a lot of attention is paid to the economy digitalization. All of the leading metal plant equipment and electrical engineering system manufacturers are working on creating DTs. The analysis of the literature showed that the authors lack a uniform understanding of the conceptual directions in the creation of DTs and there are many definitions of this term. Therefore, the first part of the article deals with the analysis of the digital twin concepts according to their application at industrial companies. The authors substantiate the feasibility of the DT de-velopment for the electromechanical and mechatronic systems of the most complex metal production components, i.e., rolling mills. This initiative development is relevant due to the reconstruction of the 2500 wide-strip hot rolling mill at Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works PJSC (MMK PJSC) that involves the installation of unique equipment. Due to this, the development of DTs to implement the virtual commissioning of the equipment becomes a priority. The virtual adjustment of automation and process control systems is also required. This problem can be solved through the example of three coiling machines, each of which has electric and hydraulic auxiliary equipment. These coiling machines are used for rolling the heavy hot-rolled bar and they feature a unique design. Therefore, the development of DTs for mechatronic facilities is a novel scientific problem. The authors propose the methods for the development of DTs used in the virtual commissioning of process control systems. They present the structure of the coiling section automation system and the structure of the DT imple-mented on the basis of programmable logic controllers (PLC). The authors provide the specifications for the Siemens PLCs installed at each of the coiling machines and the coiling machine master controller. To develop the control systems for electric and hydraulic drives, it is recommended to use the Matlab Simulink software package. The authors provide temporal dependencies obtained using DTs and other similar oscillograph charts produced during the operation of the coiling machine that can help model the operation of the mechanisms in question. The results of their comparison show that the processes correspond to each other. Thus, the use of the developed DT to adjust the electrotechnical systems of rolling mills is reasoned. The accepted concept of making digital twins for the electrotechnical systems of rolling mill components is relevant and technically feasible

Sintashta as a Cultural and Historical Phenomenon of the Bronze Age

The Sintashta culture is the most controversial ethno-cultural formation of the Bronze Age, formed in the Ural-Kazakhstan steppes. It appears suddenly and is located on the territory of the Southern Trans-Urals. Fortified settlements and burial grounds of this culture spread in a wide strip along the eastern slopes of the Ural Range. The specificity of fortified urban-type settlements, uncharacteristic for the steppe zone of Eurasia, allowed researchers to conclude that they were imported from other regions where they had been originally developed and canonized. In this regard, the most probable is the gradual migration of the population from the territory of Asia Minor, the architectural and planning standards of which demonstrate features of detailed similarity. The alleged migration took place through the Trans-Asian corridor connecting the Middle East and Central Asia to South Kazakhstan, from where paramilitary groups appear in the South Trans-Urals and create the Sintashta culture. Fortified settlements are accompanied by the appearance of burials with chariot attributes, presented in the form of an already established complex of objects and technologies. In archaeological sources, the chariot complex is represented by the remains of chariots, skeletons of draft horses, cheekpieces, as well as weapons of distance and close combat. In the steppes of Eurasia, the war chariot becomes the most formidable and powerful weapon of the Bronze Age. Keywords: Sintashta, migration, chariot, Southern Trans-Urals, Middle East

STRIP SEEDING. STATE, PROBLEMS, PROSPECTS

The article is devoted to the substantiation of the prospects for strip sowing as an effective means of increasing the yield of grain crops. The dynamics of growth of grain yield in Russia and in the world is given. The lag, archaic nature of the existing row sowing with a row spacing of 15 cm is noted. Increasing the yield is possible due to the provision of seeds with the necessary nutritional areas when sowing a wide strip. For such seeding, it was proposed to use spherical disc coulters capable of operating in conditions of mini and zero cultivation technologies. The developments in the design of seeders with spherical disc openers are presented. The problem remains the uniform distribution of seeds along the width of the strip with the provision of a nutritional area of at least 3x3 cm. Examples of the effectiveness of strip sowing as a means of increasing yields by 2-3 times in comparison with row sowing are given. Strip sowing of grain will allow solving the problems of increasing yields and food security of the country without the massive use of fertilizers.

THE EFFECT OF FLURIDONE ON ACCUMULATION OF CAROTENOIDS, FLAVONOIDS AND PHENOLIC ACIDS IN RIPENING TOMATO FRUIT

We examined the response of maturing tomato fruit exposed for 7 days to fluridone (1-methyl-3-phenyl-5-[3-trifluoromethyl(phenyl)]-4(1H)-pyridinone). Fluridone was applied in lanolin paste in the form of a 2–3 mm wide strip from the top to the base of the fruit. As a control, a similar stripe of lanolin was applied in the same way on the opposite side of the same fruit. The content of major carotenoids, as well as flavonoids, and free and bound phenolic acids were determined using a HPLC and HPLC-MS-MS methods. Fluridone almost completely blocked the biosynthesis of lycopene and substantial declined content of ß-carotene and lutein in the tomato fruit. The fluridone caused a decreased content of quercetin, rutin and naringenin, and increased level of epicatechin. The herbicide did not affect the content of p-coumaric acid, but reduced the level of caffeic acid, both free and ester form, and declined the content of free ferulic and chlorogenic acids. Changes in phenolics composition observed for the first time indicate that fluridone interferes with the biosynthesis of further products of the metabolism of p-coumaric acid, both flavonoids and phenolic acids.