Comparative analysis of rape seed production in Russia and Kemerovsk region

The purpose of the research is to conduct a comparative analysis of rapeseed production in the territory of the Russian Federation and the Kemerovo region. During 2011-2019, on the territory of the Russian Federation (RF) and the Kemerovo region, a comparative analysis of the sown area, yield, gross harvest of spring rape was carried out. The research results showed that over the past 9 years, from 2011 to 2019, the sown area, both in the Russian Federation and in the Kemerovo Region, has doubled. At the same time, there is a strong variation in this indicator. The variation coefficient ranged from 43.3% to 54.1%. On the territory of the Russian Federation and in the Kemerovo region, an increase in the yield of spring rape is observed by 1.13 times and 1.04 times, respectively. It was revealed that an increase in the gross harvest of spring rape seeds occurs on the basis of an extensive development of production due to an increase in the sowing area and yield.

Sustainability of Biodiesel Production and Usage: The Case of Romania

Background: This paper aims to evaluate the sustainability of biodiesel, a renewable fuel used as a blending component in diesel fuel. This study describes the current situation in Romania where the European Union (EU) settlement regarding the blending ratio of biodiesel and compliance with environmental protection specifications are applied. The evaluation covers the whole biodiesel value chain, from rapeseed production through biodiesel synthesis and combustion.Results: Our evaluation process takes into account three elements of sustainability: economic, environmental, and social. The overall result of this research is that, despite Romania’s high potential for biodiesel production and use, the sustainability of biodiesel is low as a result of the Romania’s government strategy, combined with biodiesel prices on the international market and the interests of Romanian refinery owners.Conclusions: Our prediction is that the current situation will remain over the next decade, owing to economic factors such as the decline in rapeseed crops, a key raw material for biodiesel manufacturing, and the higher cost of biodiesel produced in Romania. Another factor could be Romania's implementation of EU regulations aimed at replacing diesel engines with electric ones. If this decision is implemented, diesel fuel and, implicitly, biodiesel will be phased out of the vehicle fuel market.

Effects of Wheat and Rapeseed Production on Soil Water Storage in Mongolian Rangeland

In recent years, Mongolia has witnessed an increase in not only wheat fields, which have been present for a long time, but also rapeseed fields. This has led to increasing concerns about soil degradation due to inappropriate cultivation. This study aims to determine the impacts of rapeseed production on soil water storage in Mongolia. The soil water content and matric potential were measured in wheat and rapeseed fields and adjacent steppe rangeland for five years, including crop production and fallow years, and the soil water storages in the fields were compared. The results demonstrated that the matric potential below the root zone in the rapeseed field and both rangelands was drier than the wilting point, whereas the potential in the wheat field was usually almost the same or wetter than this point. The comparison of the amount of soil water storage during the fallow year with that of the adjacent rangeland showed it to be 5–10% higher for the wheat field and almost equal for the rapeseed field. Field management must consider the fact that rapeseed fields use more water than is required by wheat fields and that less water is stored during fallow periods.

Discussion on High-Yield Cultivation and Assembly Technology of Selenium-Rich Rice and Rapeseed Rotation in Taoyuan County

Taoyuan County is a large grain and rapeseed production county. Taking advantage of the resource advantage of soil rich in selenium in Taoyuan County [1], it promotes high-yield cultivation and assembly technology of selenium-rich rice and rapeseed rotation in one-season rice area, optimizing the aggregate structure of the soil, improving the soil ecology and reducing the content of heavy metals in the soil [2], laying the foundation for the continuous increase in agricultural efficiency and farmers' income. Through rice and rapeseed rotation, the overwintering base of rice field borers are reduced, and the incidence of pests and diseases in the coming year is effectively reduced [3]. The implementation of supporting technologies for rice-rapeseed rotation cropping and the widespread promotion of high-quality varieties and planting techniques have improved the level of farmers’ planting. After one season of rice harvesting, most of the farmland is left unused. Using winter fallow fields to develop selenium-enriched rapeseed industry can actually increase the income of farmers.

Insuring crops from space: the potential of satellite-retrieved soil moisture to reduce farmers’ drought risk exposure

Crop producers face significant and increasing drought risks. We evaluate whether insurances based on globally and freely available satellite-retrieved soil moisture data can reduce farms’ financial drought risk exposure. We design farm individual soil moisture index insurances for wheat, maize and rapeseed production using a case study for Eastern Germany. We find that the satellite-retrieved soil moisture index insurances significantly decrease risk exposure for these crops compared to the situation where production is not insured. The satellite-retrieved index also outperforms one based on soil moisture estimates derived from meteorological measurements at ground stations. Important implications for insurers and policy makers are that they could and should develop better suited insurances. Available satellite-retrieved data can be used to increase farmers’ resilience in a changing climate.

Design and Experimentation of an Aerial Seeding System for Rapeseed Based on an Air-Assisted Centralized Metering Device and a Multi-Rotor Crop Protection UAV

To improve the overall mechanization level of rapeseed production in China, especially in some hilly regions where ground machinery cannot enter the fields or can only enter with very low economic benefits, a special aerial seeding system for rapeseed based on a miniature air-assisted centralized metering device was designed and tested in this study. Unlike existing commercial aerial seeding systems, the proposed seed meter was a miniaturized version derived from the traditional air-feeding seed meter on ground planters. The new version contained a redesigned seed feeding component to overcome problems of serious air backflow to the seed box and difficult seed feeding after miniaturization. Three groups of experiments were designed and conducted to optimize the parameters of the seed meter and test its performance. Results from the orthogonal experiment showed that the seed feeding component performed best when the seed layer thickness was 45 mm, the rotational speed of the gear disc was 45 r/min, and the airflow pressure was 2450 Pa. Results from the static workbench test showed that the designed seeding system had a maximum average total sowing efficiency of 537.17 g/min, with the maximum values of the stability variation coefficient of total seeding rate (seven ports) and the consistency variation coefficient between each port was 2.37% and 4.89%, respectively. Field tests further proved that the designed aerial seeding system could work stably, uniformly, and efficiently, so that the agronomic requirements of rape crop planting could be well met.