Spread Analysis of the Sustainability-Linked Bonds Tied to an Issuer’s Greenhouse Gases Emissions Reduction Target

Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) are a new type of general corporate purpose bond in which payments are tied to an issuer’s sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) with respect to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. The structure is complementary to green bonds. The Tesco SLBs are linked to the firm’s ability to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 60%. The priority is to reduce its reliance on nonrenewable grid electricity, which contributed 65% of Tesco’s global carbon emissions footprint. Tesco accounts for 1% of electricity demand in the UK. Failure to meet the goals will result in a coupon step-up by 25 basis points on the last three coupons. The aim of our study is to investigate the presence of, how we call it ‘ESG spread’, marked by negative yield difference between SLB and regular bonds. It is something similar to ‘greenium’, that is, a premium paid by bondholders for green bonds when compared to nongreen bonds. We compare the bid and ask yields of SLBs with the interpolated yields, calculated for the yields of Tesco and Carrefour notes. Then, we look into the SLB yields in coupon step-up scenario to answer the question if the issuer’s failure to keep up with KPIs results in changing of ESG spread from negative to positive.

Soil Chemical Properties and Maize (Zea mays L.) Yield influenced by Lime and Fern (Pteris vittata)

This study aimed to investigate the influence of liming and fern on reducing the absorption of arsenic (As) by maize and As content in the soil. The single-factor experiment was designed in a completely random block (4 treatments and 4 replicates). Treatments were followed: Treatment 1 (NT1) liming (3tons CaO.ha-1); NT2: Plant ferns alternately with maize (without liming); NT3: Plant ferns alternately with maize and liming (3 tons CaO.ha-1); NT4: Control (no liming or ferns). The results showed that the applications of liming and ferns have positive influences on the soil pH, EC, OM, yield, and yield components of the maize tested in this study. The yield difference between the application of liming and intercropped ferns was increased from 5.4 to 22.3 %. Moreover, the arsenic contents in soil, stems, and seeds were 25.7, 32.0 and 50 % lower than that of the control, respectively. soil to roots and stems, which significantly caused reduction of a large amount of As content in soils. Therefore, to reduce the production cost, and enhance soil and maize quality, application of lime (3 ton.ha-1) and intercropped ferns is recommended. HIGHLIGHTS Increasing pH, EC and organic matter by the lime application combined with ferns Decreasing the soil arsenic concentration by intercroping maizes and ferns The lime application combined with ferns raising the yield components and yield of maize The high As accumulation of stems and shoots of ferns intercroping maizes and ferns The lowest As accumulation of stems and seeds of maizes applying the lime combined with ferns

Assessing efficiency of seed hardening treatments in blackgram

Seed is a biological entity and its quality is improved through seed hardening. Seed hardening is a simple method to alter the physiological and biochemical nature of the seeds. Any successful technology could be performed well in farmer field and their feedback will be helpful for fine tuning of the technology. On farm trial was conducted in farmers field with two seed hardening treatments viz., (i) Seed hardening with Zinc sulphate @ 0.1g/lit for 3 hr and (ii) Seed hardening with Sodium molybdate @ 0.5g/lit for 3 hr along with untreated seeds as a control during Rabi, 2017-18. The results revealed that seed hardening with Sodium molybdate @ 0.5g/lit performed better interms of yield (678 kg/ha), net return (Rs.23,125/ ha) and benefit cost ratio (1.81) compared to seed hardening with Zinc sulphate @ 0.1g/lit and control and which was 669 kg/ha, Rs.21913/ha, 1.77 and 514 kg/ha, Rs.12159 /ha, 1.45, respectively. However, the minimum yield difference was observed between the seed hardening treatments but both seed hardening treatment were excelled over the control. Hence, seed hardening with Sodium molybdate @ 0.5g/lit or Zinc sulphate @ 0.1g/lit for 3 hr found effective in increasing the yield in blackgram. The knowledge level of farmers on seed hardening treatments increased from 13 to 70 per cent which was made through on farm testing programme.

Subfield crop yields and temporal stability in thousands of US Midwest fields

Understanding subfield crop yields and temporal stability is critical to better manage crops. Several algorithms have proposed to study within-field temporal variability but they were mostly limited to few fields. In this study, a large dataset composed of 5520 yield maps from 768 fields provided by farmers was used to investigate the influence of subfield yield distribution skewness on temporal variability. The data are used to test two intuitive algorithms for mapping stability: one based on standard deviation and the second based on pixel ranking and percentiles. The analysis of yield monitor data indicates that yield distribution is asymmetric, and it tends to be negatively skewed (p < 0.05) for all of the four crops analyzed, meaning that low yielding areas are lower in frequency but cover a larger range of low values. The mean yield difference between the pixels classified as high-and-stable and the pixels classified as low-and-stable was 1.04 Mg ha−1 for maize, 0.39 Mg ha−1 for cotton, 0.34 Mg ha−1 for soybean, and 0.59 Mg ha−1 for wheat. The yield of the unstable zones was similar to the pixels classified as low-and-stable by the standard deviation algorithm, whereas the two-way outlier algorithm did not exhibit this bias. Furthermore, the increase in the number years of yield maps available induced a modest but significant increase in the certainty of stability classifications, and the proportion of unstable pixels increased with the precipitation heterogeneity between the years comprising the yield maps.

GmNF-YC4-2 Increases Protein, Exhibits Broad Disease Resistance and Expedites Maturity in Soybean

The NF-Y gene family is a highly conserved set of transcription factors. The functional transcription factor complex is made up of a trimer between NF-YA, NF-YB, and NF-YC proteins. While mammals typically have one gene for each subunit, plants often have multigene families for each subunit which contributes to a wide variety of combinations and functions. Soybean plants with an overexpression of a particular NF-YC isoform GmNF-YC4-2 (Glyma.04g196200) in soybean cultivar Williams 82, had a lower amount of starch in its leaves, a higher amount of protein in its seeds, and increased broad disease resistance for bacterial, viral, and fungal infections in the field, similar to the effects of overexpression of its isoform GmNF-YC4-1 (Glyma.06g169600). Interestingly, GmNF-YC4-2-OE (overexpression) plants also filled pods and senesced earlier, a novel trait not found in GmNF-YC4-1-OE plants. No yield difference was observed in GmNF-YC4-2-OE compared with the wild-type control. Sequence alignment of GmNF-YC4-2, GmNF-YC4-1 and AtNF-YC1 indicated that faster maturation may be a result of minor sequence differences in the terminal ends of the protein compared to the closely related isoforms.

Temporal and regional performance of dual and triple premixes for soybean rust management in Brazil: A meta-analysis update

Soybean rust in Brazil is currently controlled with several commercial premixes composed of demethylation-inhibitors (EPOXiconazole, CYPRoconazole, PROThioconazole, TEBUconazole), quinone-outside inhibitors (AZOXystrobin, TriFLoXystrobin, PYRAclostrobin, PICOxystrobin), and succinate demethylation inhibitors (BENZovindiflupyr, BIXaFen, FLUXapyroxad). We updated results on the performance of eight premixes evaluated in 177 cooperative trials conducted in 46 locations across 10 states during six crop seasons (2015 to 2020). All treatments were sprayed three times starting at R1 or R2. Percent control (C, %), from back-transforming meta-analytic estimates of the log of the ratio ranged from 56.2% (PICO + CYPR) to 76.8% (BIXF + TFLX + PROT). Estimates of mean yield difference (D, kg/ha) between fungicide-treated and untreated plots were greatest for BIXF + TFLX + PROT (1,080) followed by PICO + BENZ (1,010), PYRA + EPOX + FLUX (981.5), AZOX + BENZ (910), TFLX + PROT (891), PICO + TEBU (682), TFLX + CYPR (646) and PICO + CYPR (600). Significant declines in both C and D in a time period as short as four years were detected for AZOX + BENZ (35.3%; 550 kg/ha) and PICO + BENZ (15.5%; 359.8 kg/ha). Variance in D was partially reduced by the inclusion of baseline disease as covariate. In trials where baseline disease was ≥70%, yield was 250 kg/ha greater compared to low baseline disease. Disease control and yield response were generally better in the Southeast, where the frequency of profitable scenarios was 30% higher on average than in the Northwest. Results of this meta-analysis are critical to support decisions during planning fungicide programs.

Using DHS and MICS data to complement or replace NGO baseline health data: an exploratory study

Background: Non-government organizations (NGOs) spend substantial time and resources collecting baseline data in order to plan and implement health interventions with marginalized populations. Typically interviews with households, often mothers, take over an hour, placing a burden on the respondents. Meanwhile, estimates of numerous health and social indicators in many countries already exist in publicly available datasets, such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), and it is worth considering whether these could serve as estimates of baseline conditions. The objective of this study was to compare indicator estimates from non-governmental organizations (NGO) health projects’ baseline reports with estimates calculated using the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) or the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), matching for location, year, and season of data collection. Methods: We extracted estimates of 129 indicators from 46 NGO baseline reports, 25 DHS datasets and three MICS datasets, generating 1,996 pairs of matched DHS/MICS and NGO indicators. We subtracted NGO from DHS/MICS estimates to yield difference and absolute difference, exploring differences by indicator. We partitioned variance of the differences by geographical level, year, and season using ANOVA. Results: Differences between NGO and DHS/MICS estimates were large for many indicators but 33% fell within 5% of one another. Differences were smaller for indicators with prevalence <15% or >85%. Difference between estimates increased with increasing year and geographical level differences. However, <1% of the variance of the differences was explained by year, geographical level, and season. Conclusions: There are situations where publicly available data could complement NGO baseline survey data, most importantly when the NGO has tolerance for estimates of low or unknown accuracy.

Is a Training Program Sufficient to Improve the Smallholder Farmers’ Productivity in Africa? Empirical Evidence from a Chinese Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center in Tanzania

The article aims to analyze the effect of training programs on the yield of smallholder farmers. The empirical analysis employed a sample of data collected from a rice farming household in the Mvomero district of Tanzania. The results indicate that the yield outcome among trained and non-trained farmers with water access for irrigation was significantly more than double; however, the yield difference between trained and non-trained farmers was insignificant in non-irrigated plots. Our findings have policy implications for agricultural development in developing countries where training programs alone may not be a panacea for smallholder farmers’ productivity improvement. Therefore, respective governments, policymakers, and other agricultural stakeholders, should consider both farm and non-farm factors altogether, which may increase agricultural training effectiveness to address the challenges of low yields.

Effects of Different Rates of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizers on Growth and Yield of Potato (Solanum tuberosum) under Mechanized and Traditional Cultivation

In the present study, half of the land was cultivated mechanically by tractor using a two-bladed mould board plough and nine tine harrow. The other half was cultivated by a local farmer who used a bullock and wooden plough. A single seed variety (Marabel) was sown across the entire trial site. Four separate identical fertilizer treatments were used across both the mechanized and traditionally cultivated sites. Phosphorous was applied in the form of diammonium phosphate. Nitrogen was applied in the form of Urea. FAO’s recommended rates for phosphorus (220kg/ha) and nitrogen (330kg/ha) were applied. In addition, additional rates below and above the FAO’s recommendations were also applied, with phosphorous being applied at 0 kg/ha, 110 kg/ha (50% of recommendation) and 440 kg/ha (200% of recommendation). Nitrogen was applied at 0 kg/ha, 165 kg/ha (50% of recommendation) and 660 kg/ha (200% of recommendation). Results on average revealed that across all four fertilizer rates, mechanized cultivation produced 60% higher crop yields (average 32.83mt/ha) compared with traditional cultivation (average 20.5 mt/ha) which resulted in an average of 12.33mt/ha higher yield for mechanized cultivation over traditional cultivation. This yield difference was highly statistically significant (P =0.99(. Additionally, the average gross margin per hectare was 74% higher across the mechanized plots (US$6,552/ha or 373,464AFN/ha) compared with the traditional plots (US$3,772/ha or 215,004 AFN/ha). These figures confirm that use of mechanized cultivation and the application of phosphorus at 440 kg/ha and nitrogen at 660 kg/ha will increase the potato yield and produce a higher cash value and a higher gross margin per hectare.

RESEARCH REGARDING THE EFFICIENCY OF SOYBEAN CULTIVATION IN DIFFERENT TILLAGE SYSTEMS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOIL COMPACTION, ACCUMULATION AND WATER STORAGE

In the last years there has been a slight increase in average annual temperatures, as well as a high fluctuation in the distribution of rainfall, thus the reduction of the effects of atmospheric and pedological drought is part of the reasons that determine the orientation towards new variants of soil tillage. The experiment conceived and performed at ARDS Turda includes four variants of soil tillage: plow with the turn of the furrow (CS), chisel (MT), disk (MD) and no tillage (NT), in a 3-year crop rotation of soybean - winter wheat - maize. The momentary water reserve was higher in the MD and NT system compared to the CS, MT. The specific resistance of the soil to penetration (Rp) in NT, MD are higher compared to the CS and MT systems. Soybeans can be cultivated in a MT, the yield difference compared to the CS is 107 kg/ha. Compared to CS (66.5 L/ha) significant reductions of diesel consumption are made in the MD system (21 L/ha) and in the NT (31.7 L/ha).