States, firms, and oil : British policy, 1939-54

New evidence from the records of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now British Petroleum) and Shell for the period, 1939-45 supplements accounts of British oil relations based on state archives. This historical account demonstrates the continuity between the interwar industry cartel and the Allied wartime collaboration orchestrated through industry committees. The companies made use of their quasi-official position to manage crisis of prewar arrangements aggravated by the war which presaged the rapid expansion of postwar Middle East production. The companies then shaped the Anglo-American Oil Agreements of 1944 and 1945, establishing a basis for remaking their position in the Middle East, expanding the web of interfirm relations. The nationalisation of Anglo- Iranian in 1951 threatened the web and the companies were able to embargo nationalised Iranian oil and thus bankrupt the state. This society of oil majors was constituted by shared understandings and interests cultivated by the companies. Structures of private governance may be quite significant factors for states allied to them. The United Kingdom was more closely tied into the system of private governance that prevailed in international oil in the middle decades of the century than was the United States and consequently was able to call on more resources to resist United States initiatives during this period. British influence persisted in the oil issue-area, in spite of greater United States resources overall, because of this close working relationship between state and companies. Close examination of the relationship reveals the extent of penetration by the companies into both the decision-malting and implementation of foreign relations. The `national' interest was thus articulated through an interplay of Governmental and corporate agendas, and this supports a general argument that `national' power is not exercised solely by the state, but by the state in cooperation with other powerful social institutions. Non-state actors and their archives may enrich the study of foreign relations

Irrigation and drainage in the new millennium

Presented at the 2000 USCID international conference, Challenges facing irrigation and drainage in the new millennium on June 20-24 in Fort Collins, Colorado.Includes bibliographical references.The introduction of canal irrigation in the semi-arid regions of the Haryana State of India underlain with saline ground water in early sixties led to the rise in water levels at an annual rate of 0.3 to 1.0 m and secondary salinization adversely affecting crop production. To develop feasible technologies for the reclamation of such areas, a pilot study on sub-surface tile drainage systems was undertaken in an area at the Haryana Agricultural University Farm having shallow water levels and high salinity. The drains with three spacings (24, 48, 72 m) were placed at a depth of 2.5 m. The water levels, drainage rates and soil salinity data from the study area growing vegetable crops (eggplant, tomato and potato) were used to calibrate the Field Agricultural Irrigation and Drainage Simulation (FAIDS) model for the period 1985-1989 and validate it for the period 1989-93. A number of simulations were also carried out to finalize optimum drain configuration (spacing x depth) under existing agrohydrological conditions. The drain configurations of 75 m x 2 m (1st option) and 100 m x 2.5 m (2nd option) performed equally well based on salinity in the root zone and crop performance. In both the options, relative evapotranspiration (ETa/ETp) of 0.81 was attained during the third year of operation of the drainage system under normal rainfall conditions. The occurrence of a maximum one-day rainfall event (1 in 10 years) during the fifth year resulted in the failure of one out of three crops in both the options in that year indicating the necessity of integration of a surface drainage system with the subsurface drainage under abnormal rainfall events. The existing inland basin drainage conditions did not permit the disposal of drainage effluent. The reuse system was therefore, integrated with the drainage system. A model RESBAL was coupled with the calibrated and validated model FAIDS and run for eight years to optimally design a series of connected reservoirs for the disposal of drainage effluent from an area provided with a subsurface drainage system. The possibility of the reuse of the disposed water for irrigation, aqua culture and salt harvesting was also studied comprehensively in order to maintain proper salt balance in the root zone. On the basis of this study, subsurface drainage systems coupled with surface drainage systems are being extended in Haryana to over 2000 ha of the farmers' land severely affected with waterlogging and soil salinity using a tile-laying trenching machine

Effect of different organo-mineral fertilizers on growth, yield and quality of Perlette grapeII. Effect on yield and quality

The present study on grape nutrition was carried out with a view to find out the effects of different organo-mineral fertilizers on yield and quality of Perlette grape. The results obtained are summarized below.T15 (bonemeal 0.5 kg + neemcake 0.5 kg + bloodmeal 0.5 kg + calcium ammonium nitrate 0.990 kg + superphosphate 0.456 kg + muriate of potash 0.813 kg) gave maximum number of bunches per plant followed by T13 (bonemeal 0.5 kg + bloodmeal 0.5 kg + calcium ammonium nitrate 1.22 kg + superphosphate 0.487 kg + muriate of potash 0.825 kg) in the year 1973-74 while in the year 1972-73 they exchanged their positions. The same treatments also produced the longest bunches having maximum diameter in both the years. Mean weight of the bunches and volume of bunches were also highest under T15, closely followed by T13 and T12 (bonemeal 0.5 kg + neemcake 0.5 kg + calcium ammonium nitrate 1.014 kg + superphosphate 0.500 kg + muriate of potash 0.822 kg). As a conseqμence, maximum yield was recorded under T15, followed by T13. Maximum TSS content was observed under T15 and maximum acidity under T1 (calcium ammonium nitrate 1.22 kg + superphosphate 0.782 kg + muriate of potash 0.833 kg). Maximum total sugar content and reducing sugar content were noted under T15 while maximum non-reducing sugar content was observed under T16 (farm yard manure 8 kg+ bonemeal 0.5 kg + neemcake 0.5 kg + bloodmeal 0.5 kg + calcium ammonium nitrate 0.629 kg + muriate of potash 0.640 kg).Einfluß verschiedener organisch-mineralischer Dünger auf Wachstum, Ertrag und Qualität bei der Rebensorte PerletteII. Beeinflussung von Ertrag und Qualität Organisch-mineralische Düngergemische unterschiedlicher Zusammensetzung wirkten sich folgendermaßen auf den Ertrag und die Traubenqualität der Rebensorte Perlette aus:Im Versuchsjahr 1973-74 wurde durch Düngung mit T15 (0,5 kg Knochenmehl + 0,5 kg Zedrach-Preßkuchen + 0,5 kg Blutmehl + 0,990 kg Kalkammonsalpeter + 0,456 kg Superphosphat+ 0,813 kg Chlorkalium) die höchste Anzahl von Trauben je Rebe erzielt; an zweiter Stelle folgle der Dünger T13 (0,5 kg Knochenmehl + 0,5 kg Blutmehl + 1,22 kg Kalkammonsalpeter + 0,487 kg Superphosphat + 0,825 kg Chlorkalium), 1973-74 war die Düngerwirkung umgekehrt. In beiden Jahren wurden unter dem Einfluß dieser zwei Düngervarlanten auch die längsten Trauben mit dem größten Durchmesser gebildet. Bei Anwendung von T15 wurde auch das höchste Durchschnittsgewicht und -volumen der Trauben gemessen; nur wenig darunter lagen T13 und T12 (0,5 kg Knochenmehl + 0,5 kg Zedrach-Preßkuchen + 1,014 kg Kalkammonsalpeter + 0,500 kg Superphosphat + 0,822 kg Chlorkalium). Infolgedessen war der Höchstertrag bei T15, gefolgt von T13, zu verzeichnen. Der höchste Gehalt an löslicher Trockensubstanz wurde bei T15, der höchste Säuregrad bei T1 (1,22 kg Kalkammonsalpeter + 0,782 kg Superphosphat + 0,833 kg Chlorkalium) festgestellt. Die höchsten Konzentrationen des Gesamtzuckers und der reduzierenden Zucker wurden bei T15 beobachtet; die höchste Konzentration der nichtreduzierenden Zucker erbrachte dagegen T16 (8 kg Stallmist + 0,5 kg Knochenmehl + 0,5 kg Zedrach-Preßkuchen + 0,5 kg Blutmehl + 0,629 kg Kalkammonsalpeter + 0,640 kg Chlorkalium)

Improving Crop Growth Simulation in the Hydrologic Model DRAINMOD to Simulate Corn Yields in Subsurface Drained Landscapes

The primary goal of drainage research has been shifting from maximizing crop production to environmental impacts with the increasing concern related to the transport of nutrients, specifically nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) with subsurface drainage water from agricultural lands. It is becoming important to evaluate the impact of drainage design and its management not only on crop production but also on nutrients, primarily nitrogen transformation and transport from agricultural lands. The hydrologic models DRAINMOD and DRAINMOD-NII simulate subsurface drainage design and management, and its impact on N-transformation and transport from artificially drained soils. However, both models use a simplified yield reduction approach to simulate the crop growth, its production and impact on hydrology and nutrient dynamics of subsurface drainage landscapes. The objective of this study, therefore, was to integrate a deterministic crop model CERES Maize into DRAINMOD as an option for the simulation of detailed corn growth and development accounting for weather and soil water dynamics in field conditions. The integrated DRAINMOD and CERES Maize model was evaluated by comparing the simulations with observations from three (Readlyn; Kenyon and Floyd) soil plots located at the Iowa State University Northeast Research Center, Nashua (IA). The preliminary model results are encouraging showing a good correspondence with the observed soil water content, subsurface drainage and crop yields during the years from 1990 to 1992. The integration of detailed crop models into DRAINMOD would capitalize on their strengths, and enhance the capability of modelling the subsurface drainage systems

Influence of drip lateral placement depth and fertigation level on germination, yield and water-use efficiency of cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

A field experiment was conducted from February to June for three years (2009-2011) to evaluate the response of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) under 0 (surface) (D00), 5(D05), 10 (D10) and 15 (D15) cm depth of lateral placement and four levels of fertilizer application with NPK in the ratio of 50:30:30, 100:60:60, 120:90:90 and 150:120:120 kg/ ha (F1, F2, F3 and F4). Uniformity of water application through subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system was assessed every year. Soil moisture content in root zone, germination percentage, vine length and yield per plot were recorded and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) was estimated.It was observed that soil moisture content was higher and moisture profile was more uniform under SDI. Shallower depths of lateral, D00 and D05, resulted in higher seed germination percentage (92.8 and 90.2 %). Increased moisture and nutrient availability under D10 and D15 resulted in higher vine length (2.49 and 2.36m). During 2011, treatments D10 and D15 recorded highest mean yields of 31.7 and 32.9 t/ha, respectively. Fertigation level F3 recorded consistently higher mean yields for three consecutive cropping seasons yielding higher mean IWUE under D10 (0.49 to 0.81 t/ha/cm) and D15 (0.50 to 0.85 t/ha/cm).The results showed that SDI maintained uniform moisture in soil profile, minimized the evaporative loss and consequently increased IWUE. The SDI system with lateral placement depth of10 cm and fertigation level F3 is recommended as an optimum practice for better yields and increased IWUE of cucumber cultivation. This record was migrated from the OpenDepot repository service in June, 2017 before shutting down

Evaluating a Drainage Model Using Soil Hydraulic Parameters Derived by Various Methods

Soil hydraulic parameters are often indispensable input in hydrological modeling. The required input parameters can be obtained by measuring soil texture, bulk density, organic matter content, soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity. To minimize soil measurements, information is needed on how well hydrologic models perform with varying levels of soil hydraulic parameters. The objective of this study is to determine which level of soil information would be sufficient to use with DRAINMOD in predicting subsurface drainage volumes. Three groups of parameters were obtained by various methods: 1) determining the soil texture and bulk density (BD) data from the Soil Survey Database, then inputting them into a pedotransfer function model (ROSETTA) to determine soil hydrauli c parameters (denoted as SP_1); 2) analyzing the soil texture and organic matter(OM) content in laboratory and deriving the BD, field capacity (? 33kPa ) and wilting point (? 1500kPa ) from literature, then inputting them into ROSETTA to determine soil hydraulic parameters (SP_2); and 3) calibrated soil hydraulic parameters based on initial inputs from the Soil Survey Database plus ROSETTA (SP_3). Parameters obtained from these three methods were used with DRAINMOD under the same weather, crop and soil conditions for 14 consecutive years at the subsurface drainage plots located in Pocahontas County, IA. Predicted subsurface drainage based on those three levels of soil hydraulic parameter inputs were compared to the observed ones through four statistical measures: Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Co-efficient of Mass Residual (CRM), Index of Agreement (IoA) and Model Efficiency (EF). The statistical results indicated that output from SP_3 had the best fit with respect to observed values during the calibration period (1990–1993) and that from SP_2 has the best fit when considering all 14 years. However, all methods provided reliable estimates of subsurface drainage. ROSETTA in combination with Soil Survey offers a quick and easy way to derive the soil hydraulic parameters, which were found reliable for DRAINMOD simulations to predict long-term subsurface drainage volumes for the site studied

Scale dependency of dynamic relative permeability curves in relation with fluid viscosity ratio and dynamic capillary pressure effect

Scale dependency of dynamic relative permeability curves in relation with fluid viscosity ratio and dynamic capillary pressure effec

Genome wide association studies and candidate gene mining for understanding the genetic basis of straw silica content in a set of Oryza nivara (Sharma et Shastry) accessions

Rice is a high-silica (SiO2·nH2O) accumulator. Silicon (Si) is designated as a beneficial element associated with multiple positive effects on crops. However, the presence of high silica content is detrimental to rice straw management, hampering its use as animal feed and as raw material in multiple industries. Rice straw management is a serious concern in north-western India, and it is eventually burned in situ by farmers, contributing to air pollution. A practical solution could lie in reducing the silica content in rice while also attaining sound plant growth. A set of 258 Oryza nivara accessions along with 25 cultivated varieties of Oryza sativa was used to assess the variation in straw silica content using the molybdenum blue colorimetry method. A large continuous variation was observed for straw silica content in O. nivara accessions, ranging from 5.08% to 16%, while it varied from 6.18% to 15.81% in the cultivated varieties. The O. nivara accessions containing 43%–54% lower straw silica content than the currently prominent cultivated varieties in the region were identified. A set of 22,528 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among 258 O. nivara accessions was used for estimating population structure and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). A weak population structure with 59% admixtures was identified among O. nivara accessions. Further, multi-locus GWAS revealed the presence of 14 marker-trait associations (MTAs) for straw silica content, with six of them co-localizing with previously reported quantitative trait loci (QTL). Twelve out of 14 MTAs showed statistically significant allelic differences. Thorough candidate gene analyses revealed the presence of promising candidate genes, including those encoding the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, Casparian thickening, multi-drug and toxin extrusion (MATE) protein, F-box, and MYB-transcription factors. Besides, ortho-QTLs among rice and maize genomes were identified, which could open ways for further genetic analysis of this trait. The findings of the study could aid in further understanding and characterizing genes for Si transport and regulation in the plant body. The donors carrying the alleles for lower straw silica content can be used in further marker-assisted breeding programs to develop rice varieties with lower silica content and higher yield potential