The Effect of Microwave Soil Treatment on Rice Production under Field Conditions

doi:10.13031/trans.12125

Field Distance Effects of Fipronil and Chlorfenapyr as Soil Termiticides Against the Desert Subterranean Termite, Heterotermes aureus (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae)

Sociobiology ◽

10.13102/sociobiology.v67i1.4459 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 67 (1) ◽

pp. 94

Author(s):

Paul B Baker ◽

Javier G Miguelena

Keyword(s):

Spatial Pattern ◽

Soil Treatment ◽

Field Conditions ◽

Subterranean Termite ◽

Treated Soil ◽

Full Control ◽

Distance Effects ◽

Delayed Toxicity ◽

The Impact ◽

Desirable Trait

A desirable trait of termiticides is that they suppress termite activity at a distance from the site of application. Fipronil and chlorfenapyr are two non-repellent termiticides that display delayed toxicity and are therefore good candidates for yielding distance effects. We assessed their effects as soil-applied termiticides for the management of the desert subterranean termite, Heterotermes aureus (Snyder), under field conditions in southern Arizona. Our approach involved recording termite activity within field experimental grids consisting of termite monitoring stations at selected distances from a termiticide application perimeter. Fipronil-treated plots experienced large and significant reductions in termite presence and abundance relative to controls in stations immediately adjacent to treated soil. However, there was no evidence of reductions in termite activity in stations further away from the soil treatment. In contrast, termite abundance and presence in stations decreased relatively to controls after chlorfenapyr application in whole experimental grids and in several grid sections spatially separated from treated soil. These reductions were especially evident in the five central stations surrounded by the treatment perimeter and in the furthest set of stations. The spatial pattern of changes in chlorfenapyr plots was consistent with termiticide transfer as a mechanism behind distance effects. The impact of fipronil and chlorfenapyr on termite populations in our study suggests that they can both be useful for the management of H. aureus, although each might be suited for differentmanagement goals. Our results also suggest that perimeter treatments alone are not sufficient to accomplish full control of large H. aureus infestations.

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Microwave Weed and Soil Treatment in Rice Production

Rice Crop - Current Developments ◽

10.5772/intechopen.77952 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Muhammad Jamal Khan ◽

Graham Ian Brodie

Keyword(s):

Rice Production ◽

Soil Treatment

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Impact of Microwave Soil Heating on the Yield and Nutritive Value of Rice Crop

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture9070134 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 134

Author(s):

Muhammad Jamal Khan ◽

Graham Brodie ◽

Long Cheng ◽

Wenwen Liu ◽

Ravneet Jhajj

Keyword(s):

Nutritive Value ◽

Biomass Yield ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Soil Treatment ◽

Field Conditions ◽

N Accumulation ◽

Soil Heating ◽

Accumulation Pattern ◽

Dry Biomass ◽

The Impact

Microwave (MW) soil heating has been shown to deplete the soil weed seedbank and increase crop productivity. However, the impact of MW soil heating on the nutritive value of crops is unknown. In this study, two field trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of pre-sowing MW soil treatment with a duration of 60 s and an untreated control, which were assigned in a randomized complete block design with five replicates at two locations, on the yield and nitrogen (N) accumulation pattern of rice crops. At Jerilderie site, soil heating at up to 70–75 °C significantly (p ˂ 0.09) increased the rice biomass yield by 43.03% compared with rice biomass yield in untreated soils, while at Dookie site no significant increase in biomass yield was detected. Dry matter digestibility (DMD), ash, and N% did not change, whereas the N accumulation in dry biomass was significantly (p ˂ 0.09) higher at both sites (8.2% at Dookie and 43.4% at Jerilderie) and N use efficiency (10–40%) increased in response to MW soil treatment. The current study suggests that MW soil treatment can potentially enhance the crop productivity and N accumulation in dry biomass under field conditions. Future research is needed to understand the impact of MW soil heating on the productivity and nutritive value of different fodder crops under field conditions.

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