Efficacy, Energy Budgeting, and Carbon Footprints of Weed Management in Blackgram (Vigna mungo L.)

Weed management in blackgram is one of the most efficient ways to improve its yield, as uncontrolled weed growth causes a significant decrease in crop yield. A field experiment was performed at Berthin, Himachal Pradesh, India, to investigate the efficacy, energy use efficiency (EUE), and carbon footprints of weed management tactics. Twelve weed control treatments were tested applied alone or in combination at pre and post emergence stages. The most prominent weeds were Cyperus iria, Dactyloctenium aegyptium, and Echinochloa colona, which caused a 68.1% loss in unweeded conditions. The application of weed control treatments reduced the weed count at 60 DAS from around 50% to 90%. The most efficient weed control treatment was pre-emergence (PRE) use of ready mix imazethapyr 35% + imazamox 35% WG @ 80 g ha−1, which resulted in a minimum weed infestation (i.e., weed count and weed biomass) and consequently highest yield. Its efficacy in weed control treatment was on par with PRE use of ready mix imazethapyr (35%) + imazamox (35% WG @ 70 g ha−1. Maximum energy use efficiency was also obtained upon PRE use of imazethapyr (35%) + imazamox (35% WG) @ 80 g ha−1 (8.27), trailed by PRE use of imazethapyr + imazamox @ 70 g ha−1 (7.84), mainly because of the higher yield obtained in these treatments which shows their efficiency in energy conversion. The carbon footprints were observed to be the lowest in ready mix combination of imazethapyr (35%) + imazamox (35% WG) applied at 80 g ha−1 (0.11 kg CE kg−1 yield), followed by imazethapyr (35%) + imazamox (35% WG) applied at 70 g ha−1 (0.12 kg CE kg−1 yield), as it resulted in the lowest emission per unit output production.

ANALISIS USAHATANI DAN FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI KEUNTUNGAN USAHATANI CABAI MERAH DI KECAMATAN TULANG BAWANG TENGAH KABUPATEN TULANG BAWANG BARAT

This study aims to analyze farming and factors that affecting the profit of red chilli farming in Tulang Bawang Tengah Sub-District, Tulang Bawang Barat Regency. This research uses survey method. The research is located in Tulang Bawang Tengah Sub-Distric, Tulang Bawang Barat Regency, which was conducted in April-May 2019. The number of respondent are 57 farmers taken by random sampling method. Data are analyzed using quantitative and qualitative analysis. Furthermore, farming analysis is analyzed using income analysis and by counting the value of R/C to cash cost and total cost. Factors affecting profit function are analyzed by profit analysis UOP (Unit Output Price), which is a derived of the cobb douglas production function and normalized by output price. The results show that the average income of red chilli farming in Tulang Bawang Tengah Sub-District base on cash costs and the total cost is Rp47,486,701.79/hectare and Rp22,229,238.35/hectare, respectively. Red Chilli farming give a profit as the value of R/C to cast costs and total cost are 1,99 and 1,33. Factors of land area, seed price, SP36 fertilizer price, manure price, NPK fertilizer price, insecticide price, fungicide price and labor wages significantly affect to the profits of red chilli farming in Tulang Bawang Tengah Subdistric.Keywords : income, profit, and red chilli

Study on Renewable Energy Accommodation Capacity Assessment Method Based on Time Series Production Simulation

In order to solve the problem of low accommodation rate of renewable energy in a single region, considering the output characteristics of wind power and photovoltaic, grid constraints and cross regional power exchange, an optimization model of renewable energy accommodation capacity in a cross regional power grid year is established. This paper analyzes the factors restricting the accommodation capacity of renewable energy, and determines the access scale of renewable energy units according to the characteristics of different power grid scale, load and power supply structure. And then taking the annual maximum accommodation capacity of renewable energy as the goal, the time series production simulation model is established, considering the constraints such as regional load balancing, power transmission and output of the network cable, unit output, unit optimization power ramp rate and renewable energy output. To improve the renewable energy accommodation capacity, the three factors of power system interconnection level, power regulation performance and load characteristics can be considered.

Decentralized Voltage Regulation in Islanded DC Microgrids Based on a Modified Droop Control using Superimposed AC Voltage

The conventional droop control is a widely-used technique in load sharing among Distributed Generator (DG) units in islanded DC Microgrids (MGs). This method provides Plug-and-Play (PnP) capability for DG units; however, poor load sharing accuracy and unregulated voltage are two shortcomings of that. This article proposes a novel control system in islanded DC MGs to provide simultaneous regulated voltage and accurate load sharing. The method utilizes a modified droop control technique in a decentralized manner. The proposed control system injects a superimposed AC voltage to the network that carries a frequency proportional to the master DG unit output current. The injected voltage adjusts an added a term to the conventional droop control named as the voltage compensation term in order to cancel voltage changes. This term adjusts terminal voltage of DG units proportional to the frequency of the superimposed AC voltage. The performance of the proposed control system is validated via a set of simulation studies using PLECS, and the experimental results confirm the viability and feasibility of the proposed control system.

Decentralized Voltage Regulation in Islanded DC Microgrids Based on a Modified Droop Control using Superimposed AC Voltage

The conventional droop control is a widely-used technique in load sharing among Distributed Generator (DG) units in islanded DC Microgrids (MGs). This method provides Plug-and-Play (PnP) capability for DG units; however, poor load sharing accuracy and unregulated voltage are two shortcomings of that. This article proposes a novel control system in islanded DC MGs to provide simultaneous regulated voltage and accurate load sharing. The method utilizes a modified droop control technique in a decentralized manner. The proposed control system injects a superimposed AC voltage to the network that carries a frequency proportional to the master DG unit output current. The injected voltage adjusts an added a term to the conventional droop control named as the voltage compensation term in order to cancel voltage changes. This term adjusts terminal voltage of DG units proportional to the frequency of the superimposed AC voltage. The performance of the proposed control system is validated via a set of simulation studies using PLECS, and the experimental results confirm the viability and feasibility of the proposed control system.

The impact of consumption on economic growth in Chongqing based on the decomposition of input output table

This paper investigates the effects of Chongqing’s rural and urban residents and total resident population on economic development based on the residents’ consumption structure and analyses of economic development theories concerned by using the input-output table of Chongqing during 2002–2017 and SDA (Structure Decomposition Analysis) model. The study found that, compared with the previous years, the direct consumption of the primary industry’s unit output to the industrial products has decreased significantly in 2017, while the direct consumption to the tertiary industry has increased significantly; The direct consumption per unit output of the second industry is basically equal to that of the products of the industry, while the direct consumption of the products of the third industry has increased; The direct consumption per unit output value of the tertiary industry is basically equal to that of the primary industry. In the long run, the changes in consumption structure of rural and urban residents and total resident population and the increase in proportion of tertiary industry accelerate the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure. However, the effect of consumption structure on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) varies from year to year. On the whole, the changes of residents’ consumption have a positive effect on GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

How to Evaluate the Green Utilization Efficiency of Cultivated Land in a Farming Household? A Case Study of Shandong Province, China

The behavior of farming households is the most direct factor involved in the transition of cultivated land utilization from high-input/high-output to green and sustainable utilization mode. Improving farming households’ green utilization efficiency of cultivated land (GUECL) is of great significance in facilitating agricultural green development in China. However, there are few studies on GUECL based on the micro-perspective of farming households that cover the comprehensive benefits to the economy, ecology, and society. This paper builds a theoretical analysis framework of farming households’ green utilization of cultivated land and uses the super-efficiency EBM model and a questionnaire to conduct an empirical analysis of 952 farming households in Shandong Province to evaluate the green utilization efficiency of cultivated land. The results show that the GUECL of the farming households is generally not high, with an average value of 0.67, and can be further improved. The higher the GUECL, the lower the input and undesired output per unit yield and per unit output value. Tobit regression results show that a farming household’s per capita income is significantly positively correlated with the GUECL, while agricultural insurance, agricultural subsidies, cultivated land scale, cultivated land fragmentation, and regional economic level are significantly negatively correlated with the GUECL. In addition, recommendations can be made on promoting and innovating agricultural green development technology, popularizing and publicizing farming households’ thoughts on the green utilization of cultivated land, and ensuring and improving rural green life so as to provide a reference for promoting green transition of cultivated land utilization with diversified coordination and multiple measures.

Regional Forecast of China's Carbon Emission Peak in 2030 and Analysis of Influencing Factors

In this article, we firstly analyzed the historical development trends, regional economies, population, urbanization and carbon emissions of the four major regions which are the East, the Middle, the North-east and the West, respectively. Then we compared China's environmental Kuznets curve both in home and abroad, found that the relationship between economic development and pollution emissions varies from regions and countries. We used the IPAT model to design 48 peak CO2 emission scenarios in order to get to more comprehensive depict of future development path of China's carbon emissions. Furthermore, we used a centralized DEA to evaluate the allocative efficiency of scenario-based CO2 emission paths. As a consequence, we found that maintaining relatively high GDP growth (around 6%), reducing energy intensity by about 75% of average annual decline rate(around 4%); and increasing non-fossil energy to 21% to meet the Innovation plan of energy technology revolution 2016-2030 requirements is the most efficient low-carbon behaviors towards 2030 peak CO2 emissions of 10.57Gt. We also found that China can potentially reduce CO2 emission intensity (CEI) by up to 72.7% compared to the 2005 level in 2030, and therefore that official CEI reduction targets (60-65%) are well within reach. It is also found that in the future path of the predicted optimal scenario, only economic scale and low carbon per unit output value have a great contribution to the changes in carbon dioxide emissions.

The Importance of Merit Principles for Civil Service Systems: Evidence from the U.S. Federal Sector

Merit principles have served as central tenets of the U.S. civil service system since the late 19th Century, but in recent decades reforms have been proposed and implemented that weaken central aspects of merit. This makes it important to seek evidence about how government employees perceive the status of merit principles and to examine relationships that exist between adherence to merit principles and work in federal agencies. Analysis indicates that federal employees who perceive adherence to merit principles also perceive a better quality of work life, compared to employees who see their agencies as less supportive of merit principles. Employees who perceive greater adherence to merit principles in their organizations report greater general satisfaction with their agencies as workplaces, higher levels satisfaction with leadership and recognition received, lower turnover intentions, and better quality of work unit output.