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Absorbing aerosols, consisting of smoke (black carbon (BC) and other organics) and dust (from windblown sources), can have a strong warming effect on the climate and impact atmospheric circulation due to localized heating. To investigate the spatiotemporal and vertical changes of absorbing aerosols across Asia, collocation data from OMI, MODIS, and CALIPSO were used to compare two periods: 2006–2013 and 2014–2021. This study revealed a significant temporal and spatial contrast of aerosol loading over the study region, with a drop in total aerosol concentration and anthropogenic smoke concentration recorded across the Eastern China region (all seasons) and a concurrent increase in the Indian sub-continent region (especially in autumn). The range of aerosol diffusion is affected by the height of the smoke and aerosol plumes, as well as the wind force, and is dispersed eastwards because of the Hadley circulation patterns in the Northern Hemisphere. Smoke from Southeast Asia typically rises to a height of 3 km and affects the largest area in contrast to other popular anthropogenic zones, where it is found to be around 1.5–2 km. The dust in Inner Mongolia had the lowest plume height of 2 km (typically in spring) compared to other locations across the study region where it reached 2–5 km in the summer. This study showed, by comparison with AERONET measurements, that combining data from MODIS and OMI generates more accuracy in detecting aerosol AOD from smoke than using the instruments singularly. This study has provided a comprehensive assessment of absorbing aerosol in Asia by utilizing multiplatform remote-sensed data and has summarized long-term changes in the spatiotemporal distribution and vertical structure of absorbing aerosols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.), one of the most widely grown edible legumes in Asia, plays important roles in the improvement of agricultural cultivation systems as well as human diets. As an understudied crop, however, most mungbean varieties are characterized by unstable yields, poor disease resistance, and unsuitability for mechanical harvesting, thereby leading to a low production income. We, therefore, developed Jilv 20, a new mungbean cultivar with a dull seed coat, by crossing Bao 942-34 with Weilv 9002-341. After 11 years of selection and evaluation, Jilv 20 has shown wide adaptability, early maturity, high yield, halo blight resistance, and suitability for mechanical harvesting. The growth period of Jilv 20 is 79.5 and 66.7 days in the spring and summer sowing seasons, respectively, and the average plant height is approximately 56.4 cm. In this study, average yields were 1737.9, 1532.3, and 2045.1 kg/hm2 in northern spring-sowing, northern summer-sowing, and southern sites, respectively; these values were respectively 27.83%, 28.48%, and 6.96% higher than those of control cultivar Zhonglv 5, which has been popular in past decades because of its wide adaptability. The average protein and starch contents of Jilv 20 seeds were 25.0% and 49.56%, respectively. Further application and extension of Jilv 20 in China should contribute to mungbean production, breeding, and industrial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]