Partially substituting synthetic fertilizer by animal manure has been proposed as a sustainable agricultural practice, from the perspectives of improving soil quality and mitigating climate warming. Previous studies showed that manure application combined with synthetic fertilizer (MACSF) also altered soil nitrous oxide (NO) emissions, while the magnitude varied substantially among experiments. We

Forage species are widely planted in arid and semi-arid agro-pastoral regions to increase livestock carrying capacity and thereby relieve excessive grazing pressure. The effect of grazing on forage yield and relevant soil CO emissions in sown pastures converted from cropland remains unclear. The main objective of the study was to investigate the effect of utilization methods (grazing vs. haying) on

Double rice cropping system are crucial for sustainable food and security and agricultural ecosystem balance in South China. However, intensive chemical fertilization has reduced rice productivity, and soil and ecosystem degradation. To develop a suitable organic fertilization scheme for double-rice cropping systems and explain its association with soil quality index (SQI), microbial diversity and

Substituting chemical fertilizers with biogas digestate can mitigate the negative impacts of fertilizers on soil quality to promote the recycling of livestock manure. This study aims to evaluate the effects of chicken manure biogas digestate as a replacement for chemical fertilizers in rice cultivation, assessing soil nutrients dynamics, bacterial communities, nitrogen (N) metabolism enzyme activity

ncreasing rice yield potential is an important strategy for meeting rising food demand and achieving global food security. was recently identified as a quantitative trait locus (QTL) in rice that increases panicle number and thereby sink size (the total number of spikelets per square meter). Under current climatic conditions, did not increase grain yield in a high-yielding cultivar in the absence of

Cover crop mixtures that include complementary species can increase resource use efficiency, total cover crop biomass, and agroecosystem benefits. In the northeastern US, farmers need information on how climatic, environmental and management factors influence the performance of various cover crop mixtures. The development of site-specific seeding rates may be necessary to optimize cover crop mixture

Intercropping plays a crucial role in promoting agricultural sustainability and offers an alternative way to enhance crop production and ensure food security. However, the yield benefits and stability of oat/soybean intercropping have rarely been assessed across multiple sites and years, especially in semi-arid regions with low and unevenly distributed precipitation. This study aimed to investigate

Conventionally, split nitrogen (N) applications at tillering and stem elongation enhance winter wheat yield, protein content, and nitrogen use efficiency. Vegetation indices, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Red Edge index (NDRE), and leaf chlorophyll content (LCC) can be used as crop N status indicators (CNSIs) to easily underline the N deficiency. The

The overall greenhouse effects of rice paddy fields are influenced by the balance between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and soil organic carbon sequestration (SOCS). Studies on how straw return impacts GHG emissions and SOCS under different water regimes—specifically, conventional irrigation (CI) and alternate wetting and moderate drying (AWMD)—are crucial for developing strategies to mitigate the

Wheat following rice manly distributed in the lower reaches of Yangtze River of China, its major challenge is to cope with simultaneous improvement in yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) without increasing the input of fertilizer. Controlled-release urea (CRU) offer several advantages in agricultural practices. However, the effectiveness of CRU was strongly affected by the application strategy

Zinc (Zn) deficiency and manganese (Mn) excess in wheat grains caused by high soil phosphorus (P) (>15 mg kg) in alkaline soil have been widely reported. How to identify the key factors influencing wheat grain Zn and Mn concentration in the areas with different soil available P (SAP) levels and meanwhile achieve high-Zn and low-Mn in grains needs to be resolved. In the present research, we collected

Agricultural production and climate change strongly influence each other and there are significant efforts to minimize negative impacts in both directions. In particular, breeding progress has succeeded in reducing the carbon footprint (CFP) of cereals over time. However, there is widespread certainty that climate change-related weather extremes have led to stagnation of cereal yields in many global

Facing the multiple objectives of increasing production, carbon sequestration, and nitrogen reduction in farmland, optimizing straw and nitrogen fertilizer management to achieve a balance between grain production and ecological safety in the wheat-maize rotation system has become increasingly critical and urgent. This study conducted a five-year field experiment in the Guanzhong Plain of China from

Uplandpaddy rotation can improve multiple-cropping index and crop yields; however, the mechanisms underlying the effects of dry-season crop diversification on rice yields and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under multiple rotation systems remain unclear. Here, we aimed to clarify the intrinsic mechanisms whereby rice yields and GHG emissions respond to the diversification of dry-season crops and lay

Straw return under rotary tillage has been used for two decades in the rice-rotated wheat cropping system in the lower Yangtze region of China, but it has become prone to reduce wheat emergence and yield in recent years, and alternative tillage methods are required to ensure the high wheat yields. To determine whether straw return under deep tillage can improve wheat yield and under what mechanisms

Topping and planting density are key agronomic management practices to optimize cotton plant structure for machine harvesting and light capture. However, modelling the effects of these practices on canopy light utilization in the field, in order to improve cotton management, remains challenging. Functional-structural plant modelling is a computational approach to explore the effects of agronomic practices

Current cultivation practices for field transplanted potato crops grown from nursery-raised hybrid potato seedlings are mostly borrowed from the tuber-based conventional system. Most studies on field performance of field transplanted seedling crops have largely reported the use of ridged rows and in exceptional cases, the use of beds. It is therefore critical to assess the feasibility of the use of

Straw incorporation improves soil fertility but also poses environmental challenges due to increasing methane (CH) emissions in paddy fields. Whether nitrogen (N) and water management can balance rice yield and CH emissions under different crop straw incorporation is still not well-documented. A three-year field experiment was conducted to probe the comprehensive effects of N application ratios and

Potato is one of the staple food crops in China. Optimized agronomic management could enhance potato yield, while the economic benefits of farmers depend on both the yield and marketable tuber rate (MTR) of potato. The key meteorological factors to the variation of MTR of potato and the relationship between potato yield and MTR remain unclear. The study aims to explore the key meteorological factors

Global warming's escalating severity necessitates sophisticated approaches for predicting rice yield. Combining crop models with data-driven techniques, such as machine learning, can more effectively grasp the complex interplay of variables influencing crop growth. It remains a significant challenge to balance accuracy and interpretability in such hybrid models. The research integrated the Decision

Sugar production in China is struggling to keep up with the increasing demand driven by rapid growth in sugar consumption. However, knowledge gap persists in terms of how to locate and concentrate the sugarcane production in advantageous areas to secure the production of high-quality sugarcane characterized by high sugar content, while also optimizing resource utilization. The objective of the study

Alternating wetting and drying (AWD) is an irrigation practice, alternative to continuous flooding, to improve the agro-environmental sustainability of rice cultivation. Benefits include reduction in water consumption, methane (CH) emissions and arsenic (As) concentrations in grain. However, drainage periods during AWD can negatively affect nitrogen (N) use efficiency by the crop and grain yields,

The use of non-destructive, continuous, and rapid canopy temperature (T) indices for crop stress diagnosis is of significant importance for improving crop water productivity (WP). However, the comprehensive applicability of the crop water stress index (CWSI), grounded in T, in diagnosing both single and combined water and salt stress, as well as characterizing physiological and growth traits, remains

Traditional critical nitrogen (N) dilution curve (CNDC) construction for N nutrition index (NNI) determination has limitations for in-season crop N diagnosis and recommendation under diverse on-farm conditions. This study was conducted to (i) develop a new rice ( L.) critical N concentration (N) determination approach using vegetation index-based CNDCs; and (ii) develop an N recommendation strategy

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is crucial for mitigating global warming and significantly impacts crop production. While the relationship between SOC and wheat yield is well-documented, its effect on wheat grain protein content, which is essential for food security and human health, remains unclear. This study gathered management data from wheat farmers and collected plant and soil samples in the Huang-Huai

Hybrid potato crops can be grown from true potato seeds or from seedling tubers. True-seed-grown plants produce lower marketable tuber yield than seedling-tuber-grown plants, because of their low early vigour and distinct growth and development patterns, notably in term of main stem number and stem branching. These differences are pivotal for yield formation but their impacts on crop performance and

Film mulching can significantly increase crop yields, but long-term continuous mulching will reduce the soil fertility and lead to soil quality degradation. Incorporating exogenous carbon (C) is widely recognized as an effective countermeasure for improving degraded farmland soil under mulching in semiarid areas. We compared the effects of straw and biochar on the accumulation of C and soil biochemical

Ultra-narrow row (UNR) cotton, a production system with rows spaced less than 40 cm apart, has been proposed as a system for earlier maturity without substantial yield loss. However, trials in the U.S.A. and Australia have found maturity benefits difficult to achieve consistently. Studies undertaken in high input cotton systems that compared UNR to conventionally (1 m) spaced cotton found yield differences

The rising demand for animal protein has intensified forage shortages and restricted pasture availability, underscoring the critical need for effective dual-purpose animal feeds. This study aims to evaluate the potential of vegetative soybeans as animal feed by assessing their nutritional value and productivity. Specifically, it explores the feasibility of using late-maturing soybean varieties, adapted

High nitrogen rates are important to field-grown cotton ( L.) for recovering from stresses such as light restriction and alleviating its negative impact on yield. However, there is little information on its influence on fiber quality after shading. The objective of this study was to examine fiber quality responses to nitrogen fertilization of shaded cotton. Cotton plants were exposed to a 42 % reduction

Plant-available soil phosphorus (P) is commonly assessed by chemical extractions with the purpose of diagnosing and advising fertilizer P application. However, for a given crop, this approach only poorly predicts yields obtained from several experimental sites. To solve this major drawback, a functional and mechanistic evaluation has been developed to mimic dominant processes involved in the absorption

Straw retention could reduce phosphorus (P) application without decreasing seedcotton yield but related physiological mechanisms were unclear. Cotton root is the first organ to sense the changes in soil environment, and its growth and development, especially carbohydrate metabolism, significantly affected the formation of seedcotton yield. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the responses of cotton

As the frequency of intensive storm events increases in the U.S. Corn Belt, reduced stature maize hybrids could provide a new approach to improved climate resilience in maize production. We designed gene-edited (, ) maize germplasm with reduced stature to evaluate morphometric traits and grain yield. Four elite edited maize hybrids and their isogenic standard height hybrid comparators were evaluated

Increasing the cotton planting density can reduce irrigation while maintaining the seed cotton yield. However, the underlying physiological and ecological mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that increasing the planting density and reducing irrigation would promote dynamic consistency in the distribution of the roots, soil water, and nitrogen, leading to improved cotton water productivity and

Ecological factors affect maize growth and development, and induce stalk lodging. Studying the effects of ecological factors on the stalk lodging within dense planting maize is essential to develop field management strategies. To investigate the response of stalk lodging resistance to density and ecological site. To identify the key ecological factors affecting lodging. This study conducted field experiments

Timely and accurate plant growth monitoring is crucial for precision crop management. Traditional remote sensing methods use a single agronomic parameter to evaluate crop growth status (GST), limiting accuracy. To develop a comprehensive growth monitoring index (CGMI) based on multiple parameters. A two-year field experiment in the Mosuwan Reclamation Region of Xinjiang, China was conducted to collect

The concomitant quandaries of pedospheric health deterioration and diminishing factor productivity constitute the preeminent apprehensions within the realms of crop cultivation, particularly in the densely populated South Asian region. Conventional tillage practices, coupled with indiscriminate fertilizer application in wheat-based rotations, precipitate the degradation of natural resource bases, thereby

Plant growth retardants (PGRs) have been widely used to improve lodging resistance in crops like maize. However, unsuitable PGRs concentration and application stage always caused yield penalty. This study delayed PGR application time and increased the PGR concentration to simultaneously enhance lodging resistance and grain yield. We aimed to propose a model for maize production regulation and dwarf

The arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China play a pivotal role in the national cotton production. However, soil salinization poses a severe constraint on seed cotton yield in this region. Salt leaching by drip irrigation has become increasingly popular for ameliorating saline-alkali soils. Yet, the most effective approach for utilizing drip irrigation leaching to maximize cotton productivity

The major challenge for the rice–ratoon-rice system in cool-temperate environments is to ensure high ratooning ability from stubbles after harvesting of main rice crops. The choice of locally adapted cultivars with high ratooning ability is crucial for this system. We aimed at identifying modern ultrashort-duration cultivars with high ratoon rice yield in central Japan (35°N to 36°N), which represents

Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) is a biodegradable and non-toxic and harmless water retention agent, contributing significantly to in the sustainable development of agriculture. This study focused that investigated effect of γ-PGA on soil pore structure, maize growth, grain filling characteristics, maize yield and water use efficiency under mulched drip irrigation, and the optimal application strategy

Over half of the US's sugarcane production comes from the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) in Florida (USA). However, the loss of organic soils due to oxidation, which results in the gradual reduction of soil depth, poses a significant concern for the future of agriculture throughout the EAA. Understanding the relationship between soil depth and crop production in the EAA is critical to developing

Irrigated lowland systems contribute most to rice production in sub-Saharan Africa and play a critical role in meeting the increasing rice demand. However, in dry areas of West Africa, negative effects associated with climate change and widespread water scarcity hamper efforts to increase the productivity of irrigated rice. Quantifying rice yields and water productivity and identifying the drivers

Kernza intermediate wheatgrass is a new perennial grain crop with the potential to produce high nutritive value forage when intercropped with legumes. Understanding the potential benefits of intercropping systems requires considering the interaction between different legume species intercropped, intermediate wheatgrass row spacing, and environments encompassing spatial and temporal variation. We aimed

The utilization of crop nitrogen (N) status as an in-season diagnosis tool for predicting N needs to maximize grain yield (GY) is a well-established concept in agronomy. However, a cross-species comparison including the characterization of yield components, grain number (GN) and grain weight (GW), to understand the physiological basis behind the GY-crop N status relationship is still missing. The main

Maize production in Argentina has increased in recent years, following the global gain (GG) in grain yield (GY). The GG in GY depends on genetic progress (GP), which requires frequent quantification to detect potential plateaus and variations in its contribution to the GG. In this sense, hybrid adoption in Argentina shifted from double- and three-way to single cross (F1) hybrids in the 1990s, thereby

Productivity and benefits in intercropping systems are influenced by the overlapping period and competitive dynamics between species, which are contingent upon variety selection and planting schedules. However, there is limited research on improving the productivity of intercropping systems by adjusting sowing dates for combinations with minimal plant height differences. A two-year field experiment

Continuing to raise the potential yield of wheat through breeding is essential for global food security. Past progress has largely been associated with greater grains/m (GN), the critical period for the determination of which relates to spike growth, with GN often closely related to spike dry weight at anthesis (g/m). This focussed review outlines the importance of the critical period duration (Ds

As global temperatures steadily increase, the frequent occurrence of extreme high-temperature events has significantly hampered peanut ( L.) production in low-latitude regions. Previously, 24-epibrassinolide (EBR) was identified as a substance capable of mitigating abiotic stress damage in plants. However, it remains unclear whether and by what mechanisms EBR can diminish the yield loss caused by heat

In the context of increasing environmental change, monitoring crop conditions throughout the growing season is critical for agricultural management, risk mitigation and early assessment of food, feed, fuel and fiber production. Satellite Earth observations can provide frequent and spatially continuous measures of cropping systems to support informed agricultural decisions. However, current analysis-ready

Numerous studies have demonstrated that biochar application can increase crop yield by improving soil properties and health. Yet, these studies, however, neglected how biochar alters yield variability across years – reflecting the yield stability. This study aimed to investigate the effects of biochar application on crop yield variability. Published data from 38 experimental sites were collected from

Straw return to the field conserves soil moisture, but its effect on winter wheat growth varies, considering the return method used. Optimal irrigation can improve the effects of returning straw to the field. However, studies on the effects of the straw- return method and irrigation interactions on the physiological growth and yield of winter wheat are limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate

Including winter legumes during fallow periods in crop rotations may add nitrogen (N) to the agroecosystem through biological N fixation (BNF). This gain will depend on management practices and whether the crop is planted for grain production or as a cover crop. Despite many studies quantified the partial N balance of different legume crops, very few considered the contribution of BNF from belowground

Rice-based cropping system is a major anthropogenic source of direct greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, agricultural inputs also produces numerous indirect GHG emissions and environmental problems. Identification of rice cropping systems with lower GHG emissions and higher grain yields is of great significance to ensure food security while minimizing agricultural carbon footprint (CF). This study aimed

Smart nutrient management optimises chemical fertiliser application while maintaining crop yields. ® (NE) is a user-friendly smart nutrient management system designed to improve the productivity of smallholder farmers. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying the effects of nutrient management have yet to be fully understood. We analysed data from field experiments conducted in South and Northeast

Soil erosion is a global issue that poses a significant threat to agricultural sustainability, particular in northern of China, which experiences the most severe wind erosion worldwide. Conservation tillage is vital in arid regions for preserving soil, enhancing water retention, and sustaining agricultural productivity in the face of limited rainfall. However, the long-term impacts of conservation

In-season nitrogen (N) management tools are essential for optimizing N application rates, maximizing farmers’ economic returns and minimizing adverse environmental impacts. The primary limitation to developing such tools is the risk associated with uncertainties in weather forecasts and crop price projections required to estimate yields and returns for different N rates. Therefore, characterizing the

Optimizing assimilate partitioning to wheat grains is important to improve grain size and filling. Manipulation of gene expression of assimilate transporters is promising to improve uptake capacity and partitioning. The barley sucrose transporter has been ectopically expressed in winter wheat controlled by the barley promoter (HOSUT lines). In greenhouse experiments, HOSUT lines produced lager grains