High spatial resolution seasonal crop yield forecasting for heterogeneous maize environments in Oromia, Ethiopia

Kindie Tesfaye Vakhtang Shelia Pierre C. Sibiry Traore Dawit Solomon Gerrit Hoogenboom (2023, [Artículo])

Seasonal climate variability determines crop productivity in Ethiopia, where rainfed smallholder farming systems dominate in the agriculture production. Under such conditions, a functional and granular spatial yield forecasting system could provide risk management options for farmers and agricultural and policy experts, leading to greater economic and social benefits under highly variable environmental conditions. Yet, there are currently only a few forecasting systems to support early decision making for smallholder agriculture in developing countries such as Ethiopia. To address this challenge, a study was conducted to evaluate a seasonal crop yield forecast methodology implemented in the CCAFS Regional Agricultural Forecasting Toolbox (CRAFT). CRAFT is a software platform that can run pre-installed crop models and use the Climate Predictability Tool (CPT) to produce probabilistic crop yield forecasts with various lead times. Here we present data inputs, model calibration, evaluation, and yield forecast results, as well as limitations and assumptions made during forecasting maize yield. Simulations were conducted on a 0.083° or ∼ 10 km resolution grid using spatially variable soil, weather, maize hybrids, and crop management data as inputs for the Cropping System Model (CSM) of the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). CRAFT combines gridded crop simulations and a multivariate statistical model to integrate the seasonal climate forecast for the crop yield forecasting. A statistical model was trained using 29 years (1991–2019) data on the Nino-3.4 Sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) as gridded predictors field and simulated maize yields as the predictand. After model calibration the regional aggregated hindcast simulation from 2015 to 2019 performed well (RMSE = 164 kg/ha). The yield forecasts in both the absolute and relative to the normal yield values were conducted for the 2020 season using different predictor fields and lead times from a grid cell to the national level. Yield forecast uncertainties were presented in terms of cumulative probability distributions. With reliable data and rigorous calibration, the study successfully demonstrated CRAFT's ability and applicability in forecasting maize yield for smallholder farming systems. Future studies should re-evaluate and address the importance of the size of agricultural areas while comparing aggregated simulated yields with yield data collected from a fraction of the target area.

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CROP MODELLING DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS FORECASTING MAIZE

Realidad virtual en fenómenos del espacio interestelar

Antonio Luciano Hernández Padilla (2024, [Tesis de maestría])

153 páginas. Maestría en Diseño y Visualización de la Información.

El proyecto es un prototipo que se distribuye en varias etapas y sigue un enfoque de diseño de videojuegos para crear una experiencia de realidad virtual (también conocida como VR Virtual Reality) organizada y coherente. Requiere una fusión de conceptos multidisciplinarios, incluyendo ingeniería, diseño tridimensional y programación, lo que demanda a los profesionales involucrados tener sólidos conocimientos y habilidades creativas. El diseño de videojuegos se valora como un proceso que exige dedicación y pasión, aunque también se destaca la importancia de establecer reglas y géneros para orientar el desarrollo del juego. En este proyecto, el juego se clasifica como una aventura en primera persona centrada en la exploración del espacio interestelar, donde el jugador debe seguir reglas preestablecidas para alcanzar objetivos. La ludología, como estudio académico de los juegos, resalta la constante esencia de jugar, aprender y socializar en los juegos. La construcción del mundo del juego se basa en un Game Design Document que describe la visión, género y objetivos del juego. "Space Travel" se centra en la exploración espacial y cuenta con una nave espacial minimalista y un exoplaneta rocoso y gélido. Las mecánicas del juego se centran en la recolección de objetos y su activación, con reglas que guían la interacción del jugador con el entorno. Este proyecto busca ofrecer una experiencia de VR inmersiva y atractiva, centrada en el usuario. El enfoque en los principios de diseño de videojuegos y la planificación a través del Game Design Document demuestran un compromiso con la creación de una experiencia gratificante y significativa. La atención a la inmersión y las mecánicas de juego respaldan la afirmación de que es un desarrollo centrado en la experiencia del usuario.

The ongoing project is a prototype in various stages, following a game design approach to create an organized and coherent virtual reality experience. It requires a fusion of multidisciplinary concepts, including engineering, three-dimensional design, and programming, demanding that involved professionals possess strong knowledge and creative skills. Game design is valued as a process that demands dedication and passion, while also emphasizing the importance of establishing rules and genres to guide game development. In this project, the game is classified as a first-person adventure focused on interstellar space exploration, where the player must adhere to preset rules to achieve objectives. Ludology, as an academic study of games, highlights the constant essence of playing, learning, and socializing within games. The construction of the game world is based on a Game Design Document describing the vision, genre, and objectives of the game. "Space Travel" focuses on space exploration, featuring a minimalist spaceship and an icy, rocky exoplanet. Game mechanics revolve around object collection and activation, with rules guiding the player's interaction with the environment. This project aims to deliver an immersive and engaging virtual reality experience centered on the user. The focus on game design principles and planning through the Game Design Document demonstrates a commitment to creating a rewarding and meaningful experience. Attention to immersion and game mechanics supports the assertion that it's a user experience focused development.

Espacio, realidad, virtual, interactividad, diseño, experiencia, usuario. Space, Virtual, Reality, interactivity, design, user, experience. Video games--Design. Outer space--Exploration. Video games--Programming. VRML (Computer program language) Three-dimensional display systems. Videojuegos -- Diseño. Espacio exterior -- Exploración. Diseño de sistemas centrado en el usuario. QA76.76.C672 INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS TECNOLOGÍA DE LOS ORDENADORES DISEÑO CON AYUDA DE ORDENADOR

Chapter 7. The climate–security nexus Securing resilient livelihoods through early warning systems and adaptive safety nets

Peter Läderach Paresh Shirsath Steven Prager (2023, [Capítulo de libro])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CLIMATE CHANGE CONFLICTS VULNERABILITY EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS

The input reduction principle of agroecology is wrong when it comes to mineral fertilizer use in sub-Saharan Africa

Gatien Falconnier Marc Corbeels Frédéric Baudron Antoine Couëdel leonard rusinamhodzi bernard vanlauwe Ken Giller (2023, [Artículo])

Can farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) boost crop yields and improve food availability without using more mineral fertilizer? This question has been at the center of lively debates among the civil society, policy-makers, and in academic editorials. Proponents of the “yes” answer have put forward the “input reduction” principle of agroecology, i.e. by relying on agrobiodiversity, recycling and better efficiency, agroecological practices such as the use of legumes and manure can increase crop productivity without the need for more mineral fertilizer. We reviewed decades of scientific literature on nutrient balances in SSA, biological nitrogen fixation of tropical legumes, manure production and use in smallholder farming systems, and the environmental impact of mineral fertilizer. Our analyses show that more mineral fertilizer is needed in SSA for five reasons: (i) the starting point in SSA is that agricultural production is “agroecological” by default, that is, very low mineral fertilizer use, widespread mixed crop-livestock systems and large crop diversity including legumes, but leading to poor soil fertility as a result of widespread soil nutrient mining, (ii) the nitrogen needs of crops cannot be adequately met solely through biological nitrogen fixation by legumes and recycling of animal manure, (iii) other nutrients like phosphorus and potassium need to be replaced continuously, (iv) mineral fertilizers, if used appropriately, cause little harm to the environment, and (v) reducing the use of mineral fertilizers would hamper productivity gains and contribute indirectly to agricultural expansion and to deforestation. Yet, the agroecological principles directly related to soil fertility—recycling, efficiency, diversity—remain key in improving soil health and nutrient-use efficiency, and are critical to sustaining crop productivity in the long run. We argue for a nuanced position that acknowledges the critical need for more mineral fertilizers in SSA, in combination with the use of agroecological practices and adequate policy support.

Manure Crop Yields Smallholder Farming Systems Environmental Hazards CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA BIOLOGICAL NITROGEN FIXATION LEGUMES NUTRIENT BALANCE SOIL FERTILITY AGROECOLOGY YIELD INCREASES LITERATURE REVIEWS

Closing the yield gap of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merril) in Southern Africa: a case of Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique

Siyabusa Mkuhlani Isaiah Nyagumbo (2023, [Artículo])

Introduction: Smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are increasingly producing soybean for food, feed, cash, and soil fertility improvement. Yet, the difference between the smallholder farmers’ yield and either the attainable in research fields or the potential from crop models is wide. Reasons for the yield gap include low to nonapplication of appropriate fertilizers and inoculants, late planting, low plant populations, recycling seeds, etc. Methods: Here, we reviewed the literature on the yield gap and the technologies for narrowing it and modelled yields through the right sowing dates and suitable high-yielding varieties in APSIM. Results and Discussion: Results highlighted that between 2010 and 2020 in SSA, soybean production increased; however, it was through an expansion in the cropped area rather than a yield increase per hectare. Also, the actual smallholder farmers’ yield was 3.8, 2.2, and 2.3 times lower than the attainable yield in Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique, respectively. Through inoculants, soybean yield increased by 23.8%. Coupling this with either 40 kg ha−1 of P or 60 kg ha−1 of K boosted the yields by 89.1% and 26.0%, respectively. Overall, application of 21–30 kg ha-1 of P to soybean in SSA could increase yields by about 48.2%. Furthermore, sowing at the right time increased soybean yield by 300%. Although these technologies enhance soybean yields, they are not fully embraced by smallholder farmers. Hence, refining and bundling them in a digital advisory tool will enhance the availability of the correct information to smallholder farmers at the right time and improve soybean yields per unit area.

Decision Support Tools Digital Tools Site-Specific Recommendations CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS LEGUMES YIELDS SOYBEANS

Solar Irrigation Pump (SIP) sizing tool: user manual (Beta version)

Santosh Mali Paresh Shirsath (2022, [Libro])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA SOLAR POWERED IRRIGATION SYSTEMS PUMPS IRRIGATION WATER MANUALS

Seasonal climate forecasts (SCFs) based risk management strategies: A case study of rainfed rice cultivation in India

Nand Lal Kushwaha Paresh Shirsath Dipaka Ranjan Sena (2022, [Artículo])

FResampler1 Seasonal Climate Forecasts Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CLIMATE CHANGE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS YIELDS RICE RISK MANAGEMENT

Microbiological Analysis of the Air in a Popular Fish Processing and Marketing Area

Angélica Sinaí Quintanilla Martínez Lizet Aguirre Güitrón Luis Daniel Espinosa Chaurand MAYRA DIAZ RAMIREZ ALEJANDRO DE JESUS CORTES SANCHEZ (2022, [Artículo])

"Fish are marketed as a food and consumed worldwide. During the production of food, contamination by microorganisms is possible through the air, soil, water, surfaces, food handlers, etc. The air does not have a natural microbial composition, but it is a vehicle for the transmission of microorganisms of economic and health interest because they are associated with food spoilage and human diseases. The objective of this study was the microbiological analysis of the air in an area popular for the processing and marketing of fish products in the city of Tepic Nayarit. Using the passive or sedimentation method to collect microorganisms present in the air, the proportion of aerobic mesophile bacteria, coliform bacteria, fungi and yeast was determined at different locations in the fish processing and marketing area for four weeks. The results indicated that the aerobic mesophiles had the highest counts among all the microbial groups analyzed at the twelve different sampling points during the four weeks of the study; their numbers ranged from 2.44 to 2.95 log CFU/m3/h, followed by molds with counts from 1.44 to 2.75 log CFU/m3/h, yeasts with counts from 0.7 to 2.01 log CFU/m3/h and coliforms with counts that ranged from 0.7 to 1.68 log CFU/m3/h. We determined the proportion of the viable microbiological population present in the air at the different sampling points of the study area; several of these sampling points presented values above those recommended by various agencies around the world. Knowledge of the biological hazards transported through the air is important to establish and reduce the risk to the health of occupants and the contamination pathways of processed and marketed fishery products that may be associated with spoilage and foodborne diseases."

food safety, food quality, air pollution, airborne biohazard, environmental monitoring INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS TECNOLOGÍA DE LOS ALIMENTOS HIGIENE DE LOS ALIMENTOS HIGIENE DE LOS ALIMENTOS

Diseño de una red de dispositivos inalámbricos para monitorear la calidad del aire en interiores

FRIDA JENNY DE LA ROSA ANDRADE (2023, [Tesis de maestría])

No cabe duda de que la contaminación ambiental siempre a existido, y es una consecuencia

producida por las diferentes actividades que el ser humano ha realizado a lo largo de su

desarrollo y evolución tecnológica, por lo que conlleva a muchas repercusiones en la

integridad física del ambiente. Las actividades de desarrollo, como la construcción, el

transporte y la fabricación, no solo agotan los recursos naturales, sino que también producen

una gran cantidad de desechos que conducen a la contaminación del aire, el agua, el suelo y

los océanos, dando pie a los problemas más preocupantes del ser humano, tal es el caso del

calentamiento global, las lluvias acidas. Hoy en día la contaminación del aire se considera

un tema de gran importancia puesto que, es uno de los principales problemas en las zonas

más urbanizadas del mundo, y se encuentra presente tanto en los países desarrollados como

en los no desarrollados, por ello surge la necesidad de conocer que tan contaminado se

encuentra el aire que se respira.

El estándar de calidad del aire es una táctica para establecer las condiciones del aire desde un

grado de pureza, hasta una calidad critica perjudicial para el deterioro de la salud humana,

haciendo referencia a la cantidad de contaminación presente en el aire, definiéndola ya sea

de alta calidad con un nivel bajo de contaminación o una mala calidad con un nivel elevado

de concentración de contaminación en el aire.

En este proyecto se diseñará una Red de dispositivos inalámbricos para el análisis y

monitoreo de la calidad del aire en interiores, con la finalidad de fungir como un medidor de

contaminación que le permita a las personas darse cuenta de que tan contaminados están sus

hogares. Por tal motivo en el desarrollo de este proyecto se hará uso de un microcontrolador

Arduino IDE, un Node-red y un phpMyadmin para el análisis y monotoreo constante de

diversos gases como CO, CO2, metano, nitrógeno y O2. Cabe mencionar que este escrito se

ha dividido en 4 capítulos en los cuales se explica detalladamente todos y cada uno de los

procesos llevado a cabo para la elaboración y el desarrollo de este proyecto.

There is no doubt that environmental pollution has always existed, and is a consequence

produced by the different activities that human beings have carried out throughout their

development and technological evolution, which leads to many repercussions on the physical

integrity of the environment. Development activities such as construction, transportation and

manufacturing not only deplete natural resources but also produce a large amount of waste

leading to pollution of air, water, soil and oceans, giving rise to to the most worrying problems

of human beings, such as global warming and acid rain. Nowadays, air pollution is considered

an issue of great importance since it is one of the main problems in the most urbanized areas

of the world, and is present in both developed and undeveloped countries, which is why the

need to know how contaminated the air you breathe is.

The air quality standard is a tactic to establish air conditions from a degree of purity to a

critical quality harmful to the deterioration of human health, referring to the amount of

pollution present in the air, defining it either high quality with a low level of contamination

or poor quality with a high level of concentration of contamination in the air.

In this project, a network of wireless devices will be designed for the analysis and monitoring

of indoor air quality, with the purpose of serving as a pollution meter that allows people to

realize how polluted their homes are. For this reason, in the development of this project, an

Arduino IDE microcontroller, a Node-red and a phpMyadmin will be used for the analysis

and constant monitoring of various gases such as CO, CO2, methane, nitrogen and O2. It is

worth mentioning that this writing has been divided into 4 chapters in which each and every

one of the processes carried out for the preparation and development of this project is

explained in detail.

BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA QUÍMICA Red de dispositivos inalámbricos, análisis monitoreo, calidad, riesgo, contaminación. Network of wireless devices, monitoring analysis, quality, risk, contamination.

How a holobiome perspective could promote intensification, biosecurity and eco-efficiency in the shrimp aquaculture industry

Eric Daniel Gutiérrez Pérez RICARDO VAZQUEZ JUAREZ FRANCISCO JAVIER MAGALLON BARAJAS MIGUEL ANGEL MARTINEZ MERCADO GRISEL ALEJANDRA ESCOBAR ZEPEDA Paola Magallón Servín (2022, [Artículo])

"The aquaculture industry faces many challenges regarding the intensification of shrimp rearing systems. One of these challenges is the release of excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus into coastal areas, causing disruption in nutrient cycling and microbial equilibrium, which are important for coastal productivity. Biosecurity within the shrimp rearing systems can also be compromised by disruption to the nutrient fluxes, and as consequence the microbiome of the system. In certain conditions, these changes could lead to the blooming of potentially pathogenic bacteria. These changes in the external microbiome of the system and the constant fluctuations of nutrients can affect the intestinal microbiome of shrimp, which is involved in the growth and development of the host, affecting nutrient absorption, regulating metabolic processes, synthesising vitamins, modulating the immune response and preventing growth of pathogenic bacteria. It has been suggested that specific changes in the intestinal microbiome of Litopenaeus vannamei may be an avenue through which to overcome some of the problems that this industry faces, in terms of health, growth and waste. Recent research, however, has focussed mainly on changes in the intestinal microbiome. Researchers have overlooked the relevance of other aspects of the system, such as the microbiome from the benthic biofilms; zooplankton, plankton and bacterioplankton; and other sources of microorganisms that can directly affect the microbial status of the intestinal and epiphytic communities, especially in rearing systems that are based on intensification and microbial maturation processes, such as a biofloc system. It is therefore necessary to place holobiome studies into context, including the ‘holobiome of the aquaculture system’ (microbiomes that make up the culture system and their interactions) and not only the intestinal microbiome. Thus, we describe factors that affect the shrimp microbiome, the methodology of study, from sampling to bioinformatic workflows, and introduce the concept of the ‘holobiome of the aquaculture system’ and how this enables us to promote the intensification, biosafety and eco-efficiency of shrimp farming. The holobiome perspective implies a greater investment of resources and time for research, but it will accelerate the development of technology that will benefit the development and sustainability of the aquaculture industry."

litopenaeus vannamei, microbiome, intensification, biofloc, holobiome of aquaculture systems CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS AGRARIAS PRODUCCIÓN ANIMAL NUTRICIÓN NUTRICIÓN