Adaptive reaction of perspective spring rapeseed cultivars in conditions of the central zone of the Krasnodar region

We studied 18 perspective and already registered spring rapeseed cultivars of VNIIMK breeding. Impact of weather conditions in a period flowering – maturing on economically valuable traits was revealed. The cultivars were compared by calculated statistic parameters of adaptivity, environmental plasticity, stability in the conditions of the central zone of the Krasnodar region. The perspective linear cultivars which demonstrated the most stably yield in the different years were selected. The researches were conducted in the V.S. Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops, Krasnodar, Russia, in 2017– 2020. The most favorable weather conditions for cultivation of spring rapeseed appeared to be in 2017. Index of environmental condition (Ij) was 1.01. On average for rapeseed cultivar, yield varied from maximal in 2017 (2.83 t per ha) to minimal in 2019 (1.31 t per ha). Oil content in the different years varied from 40.9 to 46.34%, weight of 1000 seeds – from 2.22 to 3.85 g. Glucosinolate content was minimal (14.16 µmol/g) in 2017 and reached maximum (21.48 µmol/g) in 2020. The linear cultivars ВН-LР13, ВНDl 2, and ВН-Dl 1 are characterized with the highest environmental plasticity, having the indicators bi = 1.30; 1.24, and 1.21, respectively. The cultivars Amulet and Ruyan were the most stable: Si² was equal to 0.65 and 0.69, respectively, as well as the main applicant for being a cultivar: ВН-4801, ВН-191, and ВН2478 having the indicators 0.40; 0.62, and 0.80. The perspective cultivars ВН-4801 and ВН-906 (Kenar) are characterized with a valuable combination of increased and stable for years yield. Due to absolute indicator of adaptability, all the studied cultivars are ranking as following: ВН-4801 (113.6%), ВН-Dl 1 (106.3%), ВН-Dl 2 (105.9%), ВН-LР 13 (105.0%), ВН-XT (103.4%), Руян (102.9%), and ВН-906 (101.9%).

Ecological trial of the winter wheat varieties of the ARC “Donskoy” in the area of dark chestnut soils of the Volgograd region

The current paper has presented the trial results of the winter wheat varieties developed by the ARC “Donskoy” in 2018 -2020. Currently, the farmers have bred a lot of different wheat varieties, but they are not able to take into account all the peculiarities of their cultivation. The purpose of the current work was to study the features of the autumn and spring-summer vegetation periods of the winter wheat varieties developed by the ARC “Donskoy” in the area of dark chestnut soils of the Volgograd region. There have been selected 10 winter wheat varieties for the trials. The field trial was laid down on dark chestnut soils of the lands of the Serafimovichsky district in the Volgograd region. The study was carried out according to the generally accepted B.A. Dospekhov’s methodology. The field trials showed that the germination of winter wheat was influenced by a seeding depth, which was 7-9 cm. The best germination was found among the varieties ‘Asket’, ‘Etyud’, ‘Lilit’, ‘Donskaya Step’ and ‘Zhavoronok’. During the trials, the formation of a productive stand was greatly influenced by the weather (the length of a spring tillering period, precipitation in May), as well as the traits of the variety. The winter wheat varieties ‘Etyud’, ‘Shef’, ‘Donskaya Step’, ‘Krasa Dona’ were able to form a large number of productive stems under favorable weather conditions. Under insufficient moisture supply, the largest number of productive stems was formed by the varieties ‘Lidiya’ and ‘Lilit’. The highest tillering intensity during an autumn vegetation period was shown by the variety ‘Lidiya’ (4.7–6.2 shoots), including the varieties ‘Zhavoronok’ (4.2–5.4 shoots) and ‘Etyud’ (4.0–5.3 shoots). The largest productivity was produced by the varieties ‘Donskaya Step’ (4.97 t/ha), ‘Zhavoronok’ (4.95 t/ha), ‘Krasa Dona’ (4.90 t/ha) over three years.

Ipid bark beetle population assessment and threats to weaken pine stands in Central Russia

The data on the ipid bark beetle population growth in pine plantations of Central Russia in 2020 was recorded. The formation of favorable weather conditions for the development of this depredator in some regions was recorded, which greatly influenced the successful development of the insect population in plantations, in particular in the Pskov, Vladimir, Moscow, Bryansk, Lipetsk, and Ryazan regions. In some areas, a medium and low spread of the bark beetle was revealed. The influence of meteorological conditions on the flight activity of the insect and the probability of the mass reproduction foci formation under the 2020 weather conditions were analyzed. The results of the study formed the basis for the forecast preparation of the sanitary and forest health state. It is recommended to use the materials of the article to determine the optimal period for carrying out measures to protect pine plantations from the ipid bark beetle.

Comparison of the influence of two types of cold surge on haze dispersion in eastern China

Cold surge (CS) is considered a favorable weather process to improve air quality and is widely recognized. However, there is no detailed study on the differences in the dispersion ability of different types of CSs in relation to haze days in eastern China (HDEC). This paper uses the hierarchical clustering algorithm to classify the cool-season (November to February of the following year) CSs across eastern China into blocking CSs and wave-train CSs and compares their influences on the number of HDEC from 1980 to 2017. Results show that the wave-train CSs can significantly improve the visibility in eastern China and generally improve air quality for about 2 d longer than the blocking CSs, which indicates that the blocking CSs have a weaker ability to dissipate HDEC compared with the wave-train CSs. The CSs affect the HDEC by changing meteorological elements like thermal inversion potential, horizontal surface wind, sea level pressure (SLP), and surface air temperature (SAT). A period of 4 d after the outbreak of CSs, the variations of thermal inversion potential and horizontal surface wind of two types of CSs tend to be consistent. However, the negative SAT anomalies and the positive SLP anomalies caused by the blocking CSs lasted shorter than those caused by the wave-train CSs, forming favorable conditions for the rapid growth of HDEC. Furthermore, results show that in recent years, especially after the 1990s, the frequency of wave-train CSs has decreased significantly, while the frequency of blocking CSs has slightly increased, indicating that the overall ability of CSs to dissipate HDEC has weakened in general. This work may provide reference for the future formulation of haze control policies in East Asia.

Evaluation of Tourism-Climate Conditions in the Region of Kłodzko Land (Poland)

Kłodzko Land is one of the most important regions of Poland in terms of tourism and health issues. Numerous tourism attractions and health resorts make the region attractive for both tourist and bathers. The goal of this paper was to evaluate the impact of weather conditions on tourism-related conditions and their changes in the multiannual period. In the analysis, the indices of heat days, the UTCI (Universal Thermal Climate Index) and CTIS (Climate Tourism Information Scheme) tools were used. The research on heat days and the UTCI indicated a significant increase in the heat-stress frequency over the last decades. Simultaneously, the number of weather types related to cold stress has considerably decreased. Such trends were noticed in the entire region, in all the considered hypsometric zones. The rising tendency was also observed for strong and very strong heat stress (UTCI > 32 °C), which negatively affects health problems. The analysis showed that the most extreme thermal and biothermal conditions, in terms of heat stress, occur under southern and eastern anticyclonic circulation. The CTIS analysis showed that favorable weather conditions for most of tourism activities are noticed in the warm half-year. The usefulness of weather conditions for tourism can vary depending on atmospheric circulation.

Comparison of influence between two types of cold surge on haze dispersion in Eastern China

Cold surge (CS) is considered as a favorable weather process to improve air quality and is widely recognized. However, there is no detailed study on the differences in the dispersion ability of different types of CSs to haze days in eastern China (HDEC). This paper uses the hierarchical clustering algorithm to classify the cool season (November to February of the following year) CSs across eastern China into blocking and wave-train CSs and compares their influences on the number of HDEC from 1980 to 2017. Results show that the wave-train CS can significantly improve the visibility in eastern China and generally make the high air quality last for about 2 days longer than the blocking CS, which indicates that the blocking CS has a weaker ability to dissipate HDEC compared with the wave-train CS. The CSs affect the HDEC by changing these meteorological elements like thermal inversion potential, horizontal surface wind, sea level pressure (SLP), and surface air temperature (SAT). 4 days after the CSs outbreak, the variations of thermal inversion potential and horizontal surface wind of two types of CSs tend to be consistent. However, the negative SAT anomalies, and the positive SLP anomalies caused by the blocking CSs lasted shorter than those caused by the wave-train CSs, which forms favorable conditions for the rapid growth of HDEC. Furthermore, results show that in recent years, especially after the 1990s, the frequency of wave-train CSs has decreased significantly, while the frequency of blocking CSs has slightly increased, indicating that the overall ability of CSs to dissipate HDEC has weakened in general.

Testing of herbicidal systems for maize cultivation in the Steppe of Ukraine

Goal. To determine the agrarian and economic efficiency of different technological systems for herbicidal protection of maize depending on the weed harmfulness level and weather conditions. Methods. Field experiment — for the weeds and maize yield accounting, and calculation method — for determining of the technical and economic efficiency of herbicide systems. Results. We recorded a significant decrease in the inhibitory effect of soil herbicides without precipitation, at elevated air temperature and hot dry wind in the first 5—7 days after their application. Also we specified the best pre-emergence herbicide Acris SE containing the active ingredients: Dimethenamid P (280 g/l) + Terbuthylazine (250 g/l). The number of weeds was indicated according to the experiment variants before spraying crops and 21 days after the application of toxicants. The technical and economic efficiency of combined (pre-emergence + post-emergence herbicides) and mixture of post-emergence products for protection systems of maize was determined. Conclusions. Under arid conditions, within 5—7 days after the application of pre-emergence herbicides (in 2018, the average background weed infestation of crops — 37 pcs/m2), the chemical plant protection system based on a tank mixture of post-emergence herbicides was ahead in terms of technical efficiency, yield and profitability grain production: Frontier Optima CE (Dimethenamid, 720 g/l) + Stellar RK (Topramezone, 50 g/l + Dicamba, 160 g/l) + Metolat wetting agent. The manifestation of soil herbicide phytotoxicity in favorable weather (in 2019—2020, background weed infestation of crops 129—147 pcs/m2) was more effective when using a combined system for controlling harmful species in the maize production technology: Dual Gold KE (S-metolachlor, 960 g/l) — before sowing + Stellar RK (Topramezone, 50 g/l + Dicamba, 160 g/l) + Metolat wetting agent — post emergence application. The best pre-emergence chemical product was Acris SE (Dimethenamid P, 280 g/l + Terbuthylazine, 250 g/l).

Near Optimal Receding Horizon Control of Thermal Energy Storage

Efficient plant operation can be achieved by properly loading and sequencing available chillers to charge and discharge a thermal energy storage (TES) reservoir at optimal rates and times. TES charging sequences are often determined by heuristic rules that typically aim to reduce utility costs under time of use rates. However, such rules of thumb may result in significantly sub optimal performance on somedays. Rigorous optimization, on the other hand, is computationally expensive and can be unreliable as well if not carefully implemented. Receding Horizon Control (RHC) using the novel finite search algorithm is reliable and can reach ~80% of achievable energy efficiency and/or peak shifting capacity has been our target. A novel algorithm is developed to reliably achieve near optimal control for charging the stratified sensible cool storage reservoir of a chiller plant. The algorithm provides a constant COP (or cost per ton-hour) for 24-hr dispatch plan under which chillers operate during most favorable weather conditions. Analysis of four hot climates, ranging from humid to dry, indicates 2.4~2.6% energy savings under a flat electricity rate relative to the same plant operating without TES. Annual cost savings from 6% to 9% was found for electricity billed under a simple (10am-10pm) time-of-use rate with no demand charge and no ratchet component.