Analysis of Maize Planting Mode and Simulation and Optimization of Ridging and Fertilization Components in Arid Area of Northwest China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors- The topic of this manuscript is needs to be revised ‘Analysis of maize planting mode and simulation optimization of ridging and fertilization components in arid area of North- west China. I suggest
Analysis of maize planting mode, simulation and optimization of ridging and
fertilization components in arid area of North-west China
- The first sentence in the abstract is confusing, if the area belong to rain-fed area, why and how is water limiting. Is it that the rainfall is inadequate? it must be stated clearly
- Line 11, analyze maize yield should be replaced with predict. Aquacrop is for prediction of yield, soil-water and other growth components like CC
- It seems the abstract is more than 200 words, please summarize to ensure it is 200 words
- Line 43 – 48 are not followed systematically. They are highly disjointed…. Moving from insufficient rainfall to erosion – evaporation … please, provide a proper link
- With the development of agricultural technology, plastic film mulching is widely used in agricultural production in line 44 is not a complete sentence and should be with the development of agricultural technology like plastic film mulching …………..
- Line 96; It is a typical rain-fed agricultural area is too short for sentence in that line, link it with previous sentence with ‘and’
- Figure 2 may appear confusing to readers. I advise that authors position labels on the vertical axes
- Each figure must be labelled on both axes
- The BBD is a good design as presented in Table 4, but were the 17 treatments replicated and how many replicates ? When inputting values in the software for the BBD, were replicates entered for each treatment or the average value of replicate was considered. This must be stated in the Materials and Methods
- The coefficient of determination (r-square ) of the full quadratic equation must be reported together with the equation, to ensure the model is efficient…. For both equations 4 and 5
- I expect to see the interaction plot in section 3.3.3 Analysis of model interaction terms
- This plots is to show if there was actually interaction while tables 4 and 5 show if the interactions are significant or not
- Line 292 – 297
According to the analysis of the results of Table 5, among the three experimental factors, only the interaction between the forward speed of the full-film double-furrow sowing combined machine (X1) and the speed of the fertilizer dis- charger wheel (X2) had a significant effect on the qualified rate of seedbed tillage, and other interaction factors were not significant.
With this statement, how sure are you that there is interaction, this is only confirmed if their plots cross each other, while p-value tells if it’s significant or not. Please, revise it by presenting their interactive plots. This is not the response surface plot (3-D) or the 2-D as presented in this study
- I suggest authors pick one between the 3-D or 2-D plots as presented in this study
When the results and methodology as
Comments on the Quality of English Language- The topic of this manuscript is needs to be revised ‘Analysis of maize planting mode and simulation optimization of ridging and fertilization components in arid area of North- west China. I suggest
Analysis of maize planting mode, simulation and optimization of ridging and
fertilization components in arid area of North-west China
- The first sentence in the abstract is confusing, if the area belong to rain-fed area, why and how is water limiting. Is it that the rainfall is inadequate? it must be stated clearly
- Line 11, analyze maize yield should be replaced with predict. Aquacrop is for prediction of yield, soil-water and other growth components like CC
- It seems the abstract is more than 200 words, please summarize to ensure it is 200 words
- Line 43 – 48 are not followed systematically. They are highly disjointed…. Moving from insufficient rainfall to erosion – evaporation … please, provide a proper link
- With the development of agricultural technology, plastic film mulching is widely used in agricultural production in line 44 is not a complete sentence and should be with the development of agricultural technology like plastic film mulching …………..
- Line 96; It is a typical rain-fed agricultural area is too short for sentence in that line, link it with previous sentence with ‘and’
- Figure 2 may appear confusing to readers. I advise that authors position labels on the vertical axes
- Each figure must be labelled on both axes
- The BBD is a good design as presented in Table 4, but were the 17 treatments replicated and how many replicates ? When inputting values in the software for the BBD, were replicates entered for each treatment or the average value of replicate was considered. This must be stated in the Materials and Methods
- The coefficient of determination (r-square ) of the full quadratic equation must be reported together with the equation, to ensure the model is efficient…. For both equations 4 and 5
- I expect to see the interaction plot in section 3.3.3 Analysis of model interaction terms
- This plots is to show if there was actually interaction while tables 4 and 5 show if the interactions are significant or not
- Line 292 – 297
According to the analysis of the results of Table 5, among the three experimental factors, only the interaction between the forward speed of the full-film double-furrow sowing combined machine (X1) and the speed of the fertilizer dis- charger wheel (X2) had a significant effect on the qualified rate of seedbed tillage, and other interaction factors were not significant.
With this statement, how sure are you that there is interaction, this is only confirmed if their plots cross each other, while p-value tells if it’s significant or not. Please, revise it by presenting their interactive plots. This is not the response surface plot (3-D) or the 2-D as presented in this study
- I suggest authors pick one between the 3-D or 2-D plots as presented in this study
When the results and methodology as
Author Response
RESPONSE LETTER (agriculture-3130300)
Title: Analysis of maize planting mode and simulation optimization of ridging and fertilization components in arid area of North-west China
Dear Editor and Referees:
Special thanks for the reviewer’s professional suggestions. The comments not only promote the quality of the manuscript, but also will play an important role in our later research work. Based on referees’ comments and editor’s decision, we have revised our entire manuscript. The corrections have been included in the revised manuscript and the details are listed as follows.
Reviewer:1
Comments 1:
The topic of this manuscript is needs to be revised ‘Analysis of maize planting mode and simulation optimization of ridging and fertilization components in arid area of North- west China. I suggest:
Analysis of maize planting mode, simulation and optimization of ridging and fertilization components in arid area of North-west China
Response 1: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. Therefore, I revised the title in the manuscript.
Comments 2:
The first sentence in the abstract is confusing, if the area belong to rain-fed area, why and how is water limiting. Is it that the rainfall is inadequate? it must be stated clearly
Response 2: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript. The first sentence of the abstract in the manuscript means that ' the northwest region belongs to the rain-fed agricultural area, and the lack of rainfall limits the development of agriculture '.
Comments 3:
Line 11, analyze maize yield should be replaced with predict. Aquacrop is for prediction of yield, soil-water and other growth components like CC
Response 3: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. Aquacrop is used to predict yield and aboveground biomass, etc. I have revised it in line 11 of the manuscript.
Comments 4:
It seems the abstract is more than 200 words, please summarize to ensure it is 200 words
Response 4: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. The abstract has been revised according to your suggestions and journal requirements.
Comments 5:
Line 43 – 48 are not followed systematically. They are highly disjointed…. Moving from insufficient rainfall to erosion – evaporation … please, provide a proper link
Response 5: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. In the manuscript, the 43rd line previously described the current situation of drought and less rain in the northwest region, and the 44th-47th lines described that plastic film mulching can effectively alleviate the impact of scarce rainfall on crops. It has been revised in lines 44-47 in the manuscript.
Comments 6:
With the development of agricultural technology, plastic film mulching is widely used in agricultural production in line 44 is not a complete sentence and should be with the development of agricultural technology like plastic film mulching …………..
Response 6: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. It has been revised in line 44 of the manuscript.
Comments 7:
Line 96; It is a typical rain-fed agricultural area is too short for sentence in that line, link it with previous sentence with ‘and’
Response 7: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. It has been modified in the manuscript.
Comments 8:
Figure 2 may appear confusing to readers. I advise that authors position labels on the vertical axes
Response 8: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. Due to my mistakes in the work, this error has been modified in the manuscript Figure 3.
Comments 9:
Each figure must be labelled on both axes
Response 9: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, which has been modified in the Figure 3.
Comments 10:
The BBD is a good design as presented in Table 4, but were the 17 treatments replicated and how many replicates ? When inputting values in the software for the BBD, were replicates entered for each treatment or the average value of replicate was considered. This must be stated in the Materials and Methods
Response 10: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. When designing BBD in the manuscript, 17 groups of experiments were repeated three times, and the average value of the results was taken as the data value. It has been explained in lines 206-210 of the manuscript.
Comments 11:
The coefficient of determination (r-square ) of the full quadratic equation must be reported together with the equation, to ensure the model is efficient…. For both equations 4 and 5
Response 11: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. The lack of R2 in the manuscript makes the conclusion incomplete. The R2 of the qualified rate of seedbed tillage was 0.82, which was close to 1, and the experimental value was highly fitted with the predicted value. The R2 of the qualified rate of fertilization was 0.99, which was close to 1, and the experimental value was highly fitted with the predicted value. It has been supplemented in lines 234 and 264 of the manuscript.
Comments 12:
I expect to see the interaction plot in section 3.3.3 Analysis of model interaction terms
Response 12: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion to the manuscript. In manuscript 3.3.3, there are interaction diagrams and detailed descriptions.
Comments 13:
This plots is to show if there was actually interaction while tables 4 and 5 show if the interactions are significant or not
Response 13: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. Through the analysis of the results of Figure 8 and Figure 9, there is an interaction. In Figure 8a, there is a certain interaction, but the impact is small. The interaction of the other groups had a greater impact on the results.
Comments 14:
Line 292 – 297
According to the analysis of the results of Table 5, among the three experimental factors, only the interaction between the forward speed of the full-film double-furrow sowing combined machine (X1) and the speed of the fertilizer dis- charger wheel (X2) had a significant effect on the qualified rate of seedbed tillage, and other interaction factors were not significant.
With this statement, how sure are you that there is interaction, this is only confirmed if their plots cross each other, while p-value tells if it’s significant or not. Please, revise it by presenting their interactive plots. This is not the response surface plot (3-D) or the 2-D as presented in this study
Response 14: Thank you very much for this point of valuable advice on the manuscript and I agree with this comment. The results of Figure 8a in the manuscript, as well as the regression equations, show that there is an interaction between the forward speed of the operator (X1) and the rotational speed of the fertiliser discharger chute wheel (X2), but there is a small effect on the seedbed tillage pass rate.
Comments 15:
I suggest authors pick one between the 3-D or 2-D plots as presented in this study When the results and methodology as
Response 15: Thank you very much for this bit of valuable advice on the manuscript and I agree with this comment. Changes have been made in Figures 8 and 9 of the manuscript.
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In addition to the above modifications, we have carefully checked and proofread this paper for many times, including grammar, punctuation, tenses, pictures and references. All modifications in the paper are highlighted in red.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards.
Yours Sincerely,
Fei Dai (daifei@gsau.edu.cn)
Jinwu Wang (jinwuw@neau.edu.cn)
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear Authors,
The manuscript entitled: "Analysis of maize planting mode and simulation optimization of ridging and fertilization components in arid area of ​​Northwest China" contains valuable research on the improvement and optimization of maize cultivation in drought conditions. Below I present my comments on the manuscript.
- Abstract - I have no comments
- Introduction - lack of information on maize cultivation, e.g. area of ​​cultivation in China, importance and role of this plant, etc.
- L: 80-86 - lack of research hypothesis
- Materials and Methods - 2.1. - lack of precise weather data (temperature and precipitation) in the years of the study. Please place them on a graph or in a table, lack of soil data (soil type, content of components, etc.)
- The manuscript has an incorrect layout, no chronological chapters and subchapters (after the Introduction there should be Materials and Methods with a detailed description of the research and a subsection with Statistical analysis (what program was used, what analyses were included, etc.). Then there should be Results and Discussion. This is missing in the work.
- Graphics - Figures and drawings are legible - I have no comments
- Conclusions - they describe in detail the most important results included in the work and the results of the research
Author Response
RESPONSE LETTER (agriculture-3130300)
Title: Analysis of maize planting mode and simulation optimization of ridging and fertilization components in arid area of North-west China
Dear Editor and Referees:
Special thanks for the reviewer’s professional suggestions. The comments not only promote the quality of the manuscript, but also will play an important role in our later research work. Based on referees’ comments and editor’s decision, we have revised our entire manuscript. The corrections have been included in the revised manuscript and the details are listed as follows.
Reviewer:2
Comments 1:
In recent years, the area of whole film double ridge furrow sowing technology in Gansu Province has been basically stable at 1 × 106 hectares. Corn is the largest food crop in China. Ensuring its production is of great significance to China 's food security, promoting the development of animal husbandry and increasing farmers ' production and income.
Response 1: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. Therefore, I added lines 57-61 in the manuscript. The whole film double ridge furrow sowing technology is not only suitable for corn planting, but this study is an analysis test based on corn as an example.
Comments 2:
L: 80-86 - lack of research hypothesis
Response 2: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. It has been revised in lines 85-92 of the manuscript.
Comments 3:
Materials and Methods - 2.1. - lack of precise weather data (temperature and precipitation) in the years of the study. Please place them on a graph or in a table, lack of soil data (soil type, content of components, etc.)
Response 3: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. It has been supplemented in the 108th line of Section 2.2 of the paper.
Comments 4:
The manuscript has an incorrect layout, no chronological chapters and subchapters (after the Introduction there should be Materials and Methods with a detailed description of the research and a subsection with Statistical analysis (what program was used, what analyses were included, etc.). Then there should be Results and Discussion. This is missing in the work.
Response 4: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. The missing meteorological data and the principle of AquaCrop model have been supplemented in Section 2.2 of the manuscript to make the structure of the article complete.
Comments 5:
Conclusions - they describe in detail the most important results included in the work and the results of the research
Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. The conclusion part of the manuscript has been perfected and revised.
-----------------------------------------------------
In addition to the above modifications, we have carefully checked and proofread this paper for many times, including grammar, punctuation, tenses, pictures and references. All modifications in the paper are highlighted in red.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards.
Yours Sincerely,
Fei Dai (daifei@gsau.edu.cn)
Jinwu Wang (jinwuw@neau.edu.cn)
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsHas the machine in Figure 3 been presented in more detail elsewhere? Can the authors provide a reference? The DEM simulations are for the rotary tiller and fertilizer dispenser.
In figure 13, the soil appears dump, sticking in small lumps. This contrasts with some of the simulation frames, such as Figure 6-b and c and 11-b where the soil particles appear to fly loosely. Have the DEM parameters been correctly set to match the experiment?
Further comments:
Figures 2 are missing labels and units over x and y.
use rpm instead of r/min
Line 34: Gansu Province does not have a continental monsoon climate (also known as Manchurian climate). Rather semi-arid continental climate (Koppen BSk).
Please crop the two figures 12 as shown attached. The urban setting detracts from the information these figures should convey.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Line 80: "The above research has done a lot of research" bad English
Line 95: "ground water is less than 10 m" should rather be "ground water is below 10 m depth"
Line 119: Figure. 3 "The whole structure." replace with "3D model of the machine showing principal components"
Author Response
RESPONSE LETTER (agriculture-3130300)
Title: Analysis of maize planting mode and simulation optimization of ridging and fertilization components in arid area of North-west China
Dear Editor and Referees:
Special thanks for the reviewer’s professional suggestions. The comments not only promote the quality of the manuscript, but also will play an important role in our later research work. Based on referees’ comments and editor’s decision, we have revised our entire manuscript. The corrections have been included in the revised manuscript and the details are listed as follows.
Reviewer:3
Comments 1:
Has the machine in Figure 3 been presented in more detail elsewhere? Can the authors provide a reference? The DEM simulations are for the rotary tiller and fertilizer dispenser.
Response 1: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion to the manuscript. The machine part of the manuscript is in Reference ' [10] Dai, F. ; zhao, W. ; zhang, F. ; ma, H. ; xin, S. ; ma M. Research Progress Analysis of Furrow Sowing with Whole Plastic-film Mulching on Double Ridges Technology and Machine in Northwest Rainfed Area. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Mach. 2019. 50 (05) : 1-16. ' A detailed introduction and design calculations were made.
Comments 2:
In figure 13, the soil appears dump, sticking in small lumps. This contrasts with some of the simulation frames, such as Figure 6-b and c and 11-b where the soil particles appear to fly loosely. Have the DEM parameters been correctly set to match the experiment?
Response 2: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion to the manuscript. The soil in Dingxi, Gansu Province is sandy loam, and the parameters are consistent with the soil model in DEM.Due to the high rotation speed of the rotary blade, the soil particles will fly through the collision zone, so the phenomenon in Fig.7 appears. After the fertilization simulation is completed, the soil particles are deposited and similar to Fig.14.In the field experiment, the soil water content is large during the rainy season, but it does not affect the field experiment and the performance of the machine. The test results are sufficient to explain the problem.
Comments 3:
Further comments:
Figures 2 are missing labels and units over x and y.
use rpm instead of r/min
Response 3: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. It has been modified in the manuscript map.
Comments 4:
Line 34: Gansu Province does not have a continental monsoon climate (also known as Manchurian climate). Rather semi-arid continental climate (Koppen BSk).
Response 4: Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. It has been revised in line 34 of the manuscript.
Comments 5:
Please crop the two Figures 12 as shown attached. The urban setting detracts from the information these figures should convey.
Thank you very much for this valuable suggestion on the manuscript, I agree with this comment. Figures 13 in the manuscript was cropped and corrected.
-----------------------------------------------------
In addition to the above modifications, we have carefully checked and proofread this paper for many times, including grammar, punctuation, tenses, pictures and references. All modifications in the paper are highlighted in red.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards.
Yours Sincerely,
Fei Dai (daifei@gsau.edu.cn)
Jinwu Wang (jinwuw@neau.edu.cn)
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsAll concerns have been well addressed.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageOk
Author Response
Thank you very much for your valuable suggestions on the manuscript. I wish you a smooth work and a happy life !
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear Authors,
The authors have revised the manuscript according to my suggestions. I have no comments.
Author Response
Thank you very much for your valuable suggestions on the manuscript. I wish you a smooth work and a happy life !
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsMy criticisms have been addressed.
The authors should consider including references to websites of EDEM, AquaCrop and Design-Expert.
Comments on the Quality of English Language
"Design-expert" should be "Design-Expert"
"poisson’s ratio" should be "Poisson’s ratio"
"solids density" should be "density "
"kg·m-3" (missing superscript) should rather be "kg/m^3"
"r·min-1" (missing superscript) should rather be "rpm"
Author Response
RESPONSE LETTER (agriculture-3130300)
Title: Analysis of maize planting mode, simulation and optimization of ridging and fertilization components in arid area of North-west China
Dear Editor and Referees:
Special thanks for the reviewer’s professional suggestions. The comments not only promote the quality of the manuscript, but also will play an important role in our later research work. Based on referees’ comments and editor’s decision, we have revised our entire manuscript. The corrections have been included in the revised manuscript and the details are listed as follows.
Reviewer: 3
Reviewer Comments
The authors should consider including references to websites of EDEM, AquaCrop and Design-Expert.
"Design-expert" should be "Design-Expert"
"poisson’s ratio" should be "Poisson’s ratio"
"solids density" should be "density "
"kg·m-3" (missing superscript) should rather be "kg/m^3"
"r·min-1" (missing superscript) should rather be "rpm"
Response: I am very grateful to the reviewers for their comments and valuable suggestions on the re-evaluation of the manuscript. All the suggestions for you have been revised and improved, as well as other issues.
-----------------------------------------------------
In addition to the above modifications, we have carefully checked and proofread this paper for many times, including grammar, punctuation, tenses, pictures and references. All modifications in the paper are highlighted in red.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards.
Yours Sincerely,
Fei Dai (daifei@gsau.edu.cn)
Jinwu Wang (jinwuw@neau.edu.cn)
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
