4 research outputs found

    Reduction in nitrogen fertilizer use results in increased rice yields and improved environmental protection

    No full text
    <p>Overuse of nitrogen fertilizer represents a considerable environmental problem globally, but especially in China. Recently, a recent approach on an experimental scale based on the diffusion of the so-called Three-Control Technology (TCT) successfully alleviated the overuse of nitrogen fertilizer in southern China villages in the Guangdong Province, serving as a reference point for other rice-producing countries tackling similar challenges. Here, we assessed the correlation between rice yields and reduction in the use of nitrogen fertilizer following the introduction of TCT. Our study was based on the collection of primary data from 248 households randomly selected from four rice-growing areas of Guangdong Province, China. Our results show that TCT significantly improved the efficiency in the use of nitrogen. Crucially, participating farmers, including both full adopters and partial adopters, were found to fundamentally change their application practices of nitrogen fertilizer, resulting in major improvements in the local soil and water systems.</p

    Long- and Short-Term Health Effects of Pesticide Exposure: A Cohort Study from China

    No full text
    <div><p>Pesticides are extensively used by farmers in China. However, the effects of pesticides on farmers’ health have not yet been systematically studied. This study evaluated the effects of pesticides exposure on hematological and neurological indicators over 3 years and 10 days respectively. A cohort of 246 farmers was randomly selected from 3 provinces (Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Hebei) in China. Two rounds of health investigations, including blood tests and neurological examinations, were conducted by medical doctors before and after the crop season in 2012. The data on pesticide use in 2009–2011 were collected retrospectively via face-to-face interviews and the 2012 data were collected from personal records maintained by participants prospectively. Ordinary least square (OLS), Probit, and fixed effect models were used to evaluate the relationship between pesticides exposure frequency and the health indicators. Long-term pesticide exposure was found to be associated with increased abnormality of nerve conductions, especially in sensory nerves. It also affected a wide spectrum of health indicators based on blood tests and decreased the tibial nerve compound muscle action potential amplitudes. Short-term health effects included alterations in complete blood count, hepatic and renal functions, and nerve conduction velocities and amplitudes. However, these effects could not be detected after 3 days following pesticide exposure. Overall, our results demonstrate that pesticide exposure adversely affects blood cells, the liver, and the peripheral nervous system. Future studies are needed to elucidate the specific effects of each pesticide and the mechanisms of these effects.</p></div

    Estimated Long-term Health Consequences of Pesticide Exposure among Farmers in China, 2009–2011 (OLS Estimation).

    No full text
    <p>Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; Cr, creatinine; K, potassium; TNPCMAPA, tibial nerve proximal compound muscle action potential amplitude; TNDCMAPA, tibial nerve distal compound muscle action potential amplitude; WBC, white blood cell.</p><p>* and ** represent the levels of significance at 5% and 1%, respectively. Province dummy variables were included, but not reported.</p><p>Estimated Long-term Health Consequences of Pesticide Exposure among Farmers in China, 2009–2011 (OLS Estimation).</p

    Percentage of abnormal cases by Group H and Group L in 2009–2011.

    No full text
    <p>The eight bar charts showed that the percentages of abnormal cases of major health indicators, including blood routine, hepatic function, renal function, vitamins, glucose, C-reactive protein, TNSc, MMSE, conduction velocity and amplitude, were higher in Group H than in Group L.</p
    corecore