• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.136-145
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• 2020

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of most developing countries. In these countries, agriculture or farming is mostly done manually with little integration of machinery, intelligent systems and data monitoring. Irrigation is an essential process that directly influences crop production. The fluctuating amount of rainfall per year has led to the adoption of irrigation systems in most farms. The absence of smart sensors, monitoring methods and control, has led to low harvests and draining water sources. In this research paper, we introduce a 433 MHz Radio Frequency and 2G based Smart Irrigation Meter System and a water prepayment system for rural areas of Tanzania with no reliable internet coverage. Specifically, Ngurudoto area in Arusha region where it will be used as a case study for data collection. The proposed system is hybrid, comprising of both weather data (evapotranspiration) and soil moisture data. The architecture of the system has on-site weather measurement controllers, soil moisture sensors buried on the ground, water flow sensors, a solenoid valve, and a prepayment system. To achieve high precision in linear and nonlinear regression and to improve classification and prediction, this work cascades a Dynamic Regression Algorithm and Naïve Bayes algorithm.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.63-78
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• 1996

The main purpose of this research project is to monitor the present state of agricultural environment and to develope the countermeasures for the protection of the environment from the pollution by animal wastes. The results of this research were described largely 3 parts, 1) Monitoring of present state of environmental pollution by animal wastes, 2) Monitoring of animal wastes treatment technology, 3) Strategies for the protection of environmental pollution from animal wastes in future. The current most important problems from animal wastes are water pollution and air pollution commonly regardless of domestic or foreign country. Especially, intensive livestocks breeding pattern in restricted area is actually a real reason of eutrophication, soil acidification, ground water contamination, irrigation water pollution. As a result from this research project, authors recommend the 3 type of strategies for the protection of environmental pollution by animal wastes, 1 . Development of non-discharge type of wastes treatment technology 2. Manufacturing local structure for animal waste recycling system 3. Development of new international environmental program for transfer bioresource and soil environment prevention.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.129-133
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• 2003

Water is critically important for Tricholoma matsutake(Tm) growth because it is the major component of the mushroom by over 90%. The mushroom absorbs water through the below ground hyphal colony. Therefore, the objectives of our study were to investigate spatio-temporal water changes in Tm colonies. This study was carried out at Tm fruiting sites in Sogni Mt National Park, where the below-ground mushroom colonies have been irrigated. To identify spatial water status within the Tm soil colony soil moisture and ergosterol content were measured at six positions including a mushroom fruiting position on the line of the colony radius. To investigate temporal soil moisture changes in the soil colony, Time Domain Reflectometry(TDR) sensors were established at the non-colony and colony front edge, and water data were recorded with CR10X data logger from late August to late October. Before irrigation, whereas it was 12.8% at non-colony, the soil water content within Tm colony was 8.0% at 0-5cm from the colony front edge, 6.2% at 10-15cm and 6.5-7.5% at 20-40cm. And the content was 12.1% at 80cm distance from the colony edge, which is similar to that at the non-colony. In contrast, ergosterol content which is proportional to the live hyphal biomass was only 0.4${\mu}g$/g fresh soil at the uncolonized soil, while 4.9 $\mu\textrm{g}$/g fresh soil at the front edge where the hyphae actively grow, and 3.8 ${\mu}g$/g fresh soil at the fruiting position, l.1${\mu}g$/g at 20cm distance and 0.4${\mu}g$/g in the 40cm rear area. Generally, in the Tm fungal colony the water content changes were reversed to the ergosterol content changes. While the site was watered during August to October, the soil water contents were 13.5∼23.0% within the fungal colony, whereas it was 14.5∼26.0% at the non-colony. That is, soil water content in the colony was lower by 1.0∼3.0% than that in the non-colonized soil. Our results show that Tm colony consumes more soil water than other parts. Especially the front 30cm within the hyphal colony parts is more critical for soil water absorption.

• Water for future
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.20-24
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• 1977

43,000 shallow water wells have been installed as a part of all weather irrigation water supply project executed during 1969 to 1970 in all over Korea penninsula in order to solve water shortage problem of farming land by developing shallow ground water reserved in unconsolidated materials. But after 3 years later it was reported that 34% of the wells were abandoned by the reasons of artificial and natural defects. 48 wells distributed uniformly in the penninsula are selected to determine their well loss constants, relation between well loss and specific capacity, and tophographic classification of the well loss on the shallow water well. The results show that average well loss consatnt and the value of $CQ^2/S_w$ is ranged from $5.95{\times}10^{-5}\;to\;3.65{\times}10^{-8}Day^2M^{-5}$ and from 35.5% to maximum 68.48% respectvely and that relation between specific capacity and well loss constant can be approximately formulated as $C=0.61S_p2.246$ However this result indicates that most wells installed in this time have too high value of well loss constant $CQ^2/S_w$ in comparison with properly deseigned well. The most favorable and producable water bearing formation among unconsolidated deposits such as sand & gravel, boulderly gravel, clayey boulderly gravel, and sand formation in Korea is sand formation deposited in center of valley.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.337-343
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• 2016

The present study aimed to determine the influence of various root restriction media on seedling quality and early growth of strawberry after transplanting. The root activity of the seedlings, measured 20 days after fixation, was considerably higher (0.096, 0.090, and $0.063mg{\cdot}g^{-1}{\cdot}h^{-1}$ at 420, 450, and 480 nm, respectively) in expanded rice hull (ERH) treatment than in the sandy loam and loamy sand treatments. The volumetric water content (VWC) of the root media tested across 3 irrigation regimes (15 d, 30 d, 45 d) in the nursery field was highest in sandy loam (65.0-66.8%), followed by 59.4-61.3% in loamy sand and 38.6-45.3% in ERH. When growth parameters of runner plantlets were compared, ERH treatment was found to result in the highest crown thickness and fresh weights of root and above-ground parts. This had a favorable influence on above-ground tissue growth after transplanting to plastic house soil. As mentioned above, ERH treatment resulted in the highest seedling quality and early growth after transplanting. The results of this study would serve as useful on-site data for the production of high-quality strawberry seedlings.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.309-315
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• 2009

Maintenance of adequate soil water content during the period of crop growth is necessary to support optimum plant growth and yields. A better understanding of soil water movement for precision irrigation would allow efficient supply of water to crops, thereby resulting in minimization of water drainage and contamination of ground water. This research reports on the characterization of spatial and temporal variations in water contents through three different textured soils, such as loam, sandy loam, and loamy sand, when water is applied on the soil surface using an one-line drip irrigation system and the soils are dried after the irrigation stops, respectively. Water contents through each soil profile were continuously monitored using three Sentek probes, each consisting of three capacitance sensors at 10, 20, and 30cm depths. Spatial variability in water content for each soil type was strongly influenced by soil textural class. There were big differences in wetting pattern and the rate of downward movement between loam and sandy loam soils, showing that the loam soil had a wider wetting pattern and a slower rate of downward movement than did the sandy loam soil. The wetting pattern in loamy sand soil was not apparent due to a low variability in water content (< 10%) by a lower-water holding capacity as compared to those measured in the loam and sandy loam soils, implying that the rate of water drainage below a depth of 30cm was high. When soils were dried, there were highly exponential relationships between water content and time elapsed after irrigation stops ($r^2$${\geq}$0.98). It was estimated that equilibrium moisture contents for loam, sandy loam, and loamy sand soils would be 17.6%, 6.2%, and 4.2%, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.197-206
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to examine the crops capable of growing and adapting to the external environment and various stresses of reclaimed agriculture land for the development of high value-added agricultural utilization technology based on reclaimed land through standardization and empirical study of cultivation environment for cultivating crops. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two crops namely turnips and beets were selected for the salt tolerance test of soil environmental conditions on reclaimed land. Turnip and beet seedlings were planted on the soil collected at the 'Seokmun' reclaimed land. There are five treatments such as non-treatment, 1.0, 2.0 (control), 4.0 and $8.0dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ of EC. The contents of betacyanin in beet roots was highest in control and decreased with increasing salt concentration. The GSL contents in the turnip roots waswere highest at EC 2.0 and decreased with increasing salt concentration, whereas those in turnip leaves waswere high both in the non-treated control and atthe EC 1.0-treatment. But, tThere was, however, no statistical differences among the treatments. CONCLUSION: The degree of salt tolerance of crops was examined, and the limit EC iswas expected to be $3.0{\sim}4.0dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ as reported to date. If the soil improvement is performed and irrigation systems are used in the actual reclaimed land, the EC of supplied irrigation will be low, and desalination effecttreatment by the lower EC of the supplied irrigation on the soil will lead to more favorable soil condition of the rhizosphere and cultivation environment offor the crops than those in the port experiment. Therefore, monitoring the salinity, water content and ground water level will enable prediction of the rhizosphere environment, and setting up irrigation management and supplying irrigation will lead to crop cultivation results that are close to normal.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.321-327
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• 2006

In Korea, there is a growing competitive for water resources between industrial, domestic and agricultural consumer, and the environment as many other OECD countries. The demand on water use is also affecting aquatic ecosystems particularly where withdrawals are in excess of minimum environmental needs for rivers, lakes and wetland habits. OECD developed three indicators related to water use by the agriculture in above contexts : the first is a water use intensity indicator, which is expressed as the quantity or share of agricultural water use in total national water utilization; the second is a water stress indicator, which is expressed as the proportion of rivers (in length) subject to diversion or regulation for irrigation without reserving a minimum of limiting reference flow; and the third is a water use efficiency indicator designated as the technical and the economic efficiency. These indicators have different meanings in the aspect of water resource conservation and sustainable water use. So, it will be more significant that the indicators should reflect the intrinsic meanings of them. The problem is that the aspect of an overall water flow in the agro-ecosystem and recycling of water use not considered in the assessment of agricultural water use needed for calculation of these water use indicators. Namely, regional or meteorological characteristics and site-specific farming practices were not considered in the calculation of these indicators. In this paper, we tried to calculate water use indicators suggested in OECD and to modify some other indicators considering our situation because water use pattern and water cycling in Korea where paddy rice farming is dominant in the monsoon region are quite different from those of semi-arid regions. In the calculation of water use intensity, we excluded the amount of water restored through the ground from the total agricultural water use because a large amount of water supplied to the farm was discharged into the stream or the ground water. The resultant water use intensity was 22.9% in 2001. As for water stress indicator, Korea has not defined nor monitored reference levels of minimum flow rate for rivers subject to diversion of water for irrigation. So, we calculated the water stress indicator in a different way from OECD method. The water stress indicator was calculated using data on the degree of water storage in agricultural water reservoirs because 87% of water for irrigation was taken from the agricultural water reservoirs. Water use technical efficiency was calculated as the reverse of the ratio of irrigation water to a standard water requirement of the paddy rice. The efficiency in 2001 was better than in 1990 and 1998. As for the economic efficiency for water use, we think that there are a lot of things to be taken into considerations to make a useful indicator to reflect socio-economic values of agricultural products resulted from the water use. Conclusively, site-specific, regional or meteorogical characteristics as in Korea were not considered in the calculation of water use indicators by methods suggested in OECD(Volume 3, 2001). So, it is needed to develop a new indicators for the indicators to be more widely applicable in the world.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.187-192
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• 1997

We carried out a survey on tributary streams in some agricultural areas along Nakdong River to evaluate the effects of agricultural practices on pollution of stream water and groundwater. General properties, nutrient materials and heavy metals in water samples were measured. General physicochemical properties of tributary stream waters were at levels favorable for agricultural water. Heavy metals, except Zn, were mostly not detected. Total-N contents were much higher than the criteria of agricultural water, and nitrate-N accounts for more than a half of total-N. Phosphorus contents were higher than the lower level of P for algae growth and the contents were high especially in summer. In ground waters which are used for irrigation, P were mostly at same levels as those in streams, and nitrate contents were higher than 10mg/L in some samples. In these results only those N and P contents in stream and ground waters higher than pollution criteria are problematic and they are traceable to agricultural nonpoint sources-fertilizers, livestock farms and sewage. Further researches are needed to evaluate contributions of each nonpoint source on stream water pollutions.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.2262-2275
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• 1971

Fourteenes rervoirs maintained by the local land improvement associations in the province of Chullabuk-Do and 20 reservoir maintained by thos in the province of Chullanam-Do, were surveyed in connection with a correction between storage capacity and sediment deposit. In addition to this survey, 3,347 of small reservoir, that lie scattered around in the above-mentioned two provinces were investigated by using existing two provinces were investigated by using existing records pertaining to storage capacity in the office of City and country, respectively. According to this investigation the following comclusions are derived. 1. A sediment deposition rate is high, being about $10.63m^3/ha$ of drainage area, and resulting in the average decreasc of storage capaity by 27.5%. This high rate of deposition coule be mainly attributed to the serve denudation of forests due to disorderly cuttings of trees. Easpecially, in small reservoir, an original average design storage depth of 197mm in irrigation water depth is decreased to about 140mm. 2. An average unit storage depth of 325.6mm as the time of initial construction is decreased to 226mm at present. This phenomena causes a greater shortage irrigation water, since it was assumed that original storage quantity was already in short. 3. Generally speaking, seepage rates through dam abutment intakepipe, etc, are high due to insufficient maintenance and management of reservoir. 4. It is recommended that sediment deposit should be dredged when a reservoir is dry in drought. 5. Farmers usually waste excessive irrigation water. 6. Water saving methods should be practiced by applying only necessary water for growing stage of rice. 7. In are as where water defficiency for irrigation is severe, a soil moisture content should be kept at about 70% by applying water once in several days. 8. Tube wells should be provided so as to exploit ground water and subsurface current below stream bed as much as possible. 9. If an intake weir was constructed, a water collection well should be built for the use in drought. 10. Water conservation should be forced by converting devastated forests contained in the drainage area of reservoir to protected forests so as to take priority of yrefor estation, gully control, the prohibition of disorderly cutting of trees, etc. 11. Collective rice nurseries should be adopted, and it should be recommended that irrigation water for rice nurseries is supplied by farmer themselves. 12. Sediment desposit in reservoir should be thoroughly dreged so as to secure a original design storage capacity. 13. The structure of overflow weir should be automatic so as to freely control flood level and not to increase dam height.