Knowledge about the response of root biomass and root system architecture (RSA) to soil conditions would increase efficiency in selecting high performance crop varieties and predicting the impact of rotations on long-term soil organic matter (SOM) stock. We evaluated the effect of variety and site on maize (Zea mays L.) root growth. Two-dimensional (2D) and 3D techniques were used to quantify changes

Low-input grasslands depend on the presence of grasses and legumes for the provision of nitrogen and a sufficient amount and quality of herbage for livestock. Increasing variability in the amount and distribution of rainfall, associated with climate change, is a major factor affecting production from permanent grassland and particularly grass-clover swards. Previous work has shown that introduction

Timely sowing is an important agronomic practice that ensures normal seed germination, stable seedling establishment and final yield formation for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). However, delays in sowing frequently occur due to uncontrollable limitations, especially under multi–cropping. Increased seeding rate is recommended to minimize the negative impacts associated with delayed sowing, but

Productive cropping systems like cereal-legume intercropping might contribute to feeding the ever-growing population. However, intercropping systems require adapted nitrogen (N) fertilizer management that better match temporal and spatial N supply with crop demand. On the basis of field experiment conducted in northwestern China from 2012 to 2014, the study evaluated three N management practices in

In tropical agriculture, maize (Zea mays L.) intercropped with palisadegrass (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu) is considered a highly relevant cropping system to deliver both residue and forage. However, the benefits of inclusion of palisadegrass in maize systems and its influence on fertilizer dynamics and nitrogen (N) budget as well as the period after maize harvest for which palisadegrass continues

Weeds are often solely considered with a negative viewpoint, but they may also provide services for agroecosystems. Especially, the residual weed flora that is tolerated by integrated crop protection may contribute to a reduction of nitrate leaching and soil erosion during the summer and autumn fallow. To date, the determinants underlying these environmental weed benefits are largely unknown. The present

Olive oil is highly valued by its nutritious and healthy function mainly due to its chemical composition. Oil chemical components are highly influenced by the cultivar and the environment, resulting in some cases in levels out of the limits set by the International Olive Council. In the present research, we used a multi-environment trial with five different agro-climatic conditions of Andalusia to

Critical nitrogen (N) dilution curves describe the critical N concentration in plant tissues during crop growth and they are used to estimate the N nutriton status of whole plants in potato. Little is known, however, about the critical N dilution curves in specific plant parts such as shoots and tubers. Our objectives were (i) to determine critical shoot and tuber N dilution curves; (ii) to compare

Planting date and cultivar selection are major factors in determining the yield potential of any crop and in any region. However, there is a knowledge gap in how climate scenarios affect these choices. To explore this gap, we performed a regional scale analysis (11 planting dates × 8 cultivars × 281 fields × 36 weather years × 6 climate scenarios) using the APSIM model and pSIMS software for Iowa,

Crop mixtures may decrease reliance on pesticides but reducing herbicide use might increase weeds. Individual-based crop models can provide management guidelines. In heterogeneous canopies, light availability of individual plants depends on their dominant or dominated position. Estimating nitrogen demand at the plant scale, independently of light environment, is a challenge for modelling. A relationship

Climate change in China would cause change into precipitation patterns and rise in temperature. The assessment of climate change impact on Chinese wheat production is needed for both rainfed and irrigated farming in order to maintain wheat self-sufficiency and to assure future food demand. The current study assesses the future trends of wheat yield in Guanzhong Plain, China by employing the calibrated

Winter chill, which temperate trees require in order to overcome dormancy, is expected to decrease substantially in the future in most deciduous fruit tree growing areas. Several mathematical models have been developed in different regions to quantify chill requirements of tree species and cultivars. The Dynamic model has emerged as the most plausible and reliable model, yet all chill models have been

Diversification of cropping is perceived as a strategy to simultaneously achieve high productivity and maintain environmental sustainability. In southern Africa, however, due to a lack of medium to long-term field trials, there is missing quantitative information. Utilising the capability of agro-ecosystem models to quantify the interactions of crop productivity with management and environmental variables

The integration of the photovoltaic (PV) energy in the greenhouse farm has raised concerns on the agricultural sustainability of this specific agrosystem in terms of crop planning and management, due to the shading cast by the PV panels on the canopy. The PV greenhouse (PVG) can be classified on the basis of the PV cover ratio (PVR), that is the ratio of the projected area of PV panels to the ground

Our goal was to identify soil, plant and climate attributes that are most closely related to soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] yield variation in Pennsylvania. We studied 22 site-years over the 2016 and 2017 growing seasons in two regions. The average yields were 3.4 Mg ha-1 in 2016 (range 1.4 to 5 Mg ha-1) and 5.5 Mg ha-1 in 2017 (range 3.5 to 7.4 Mg ha-1). Solar radiation capture and water availability

This study was conducted in an orange orchard (Navelina ISA 315 cv) located in southern Italy. Leaf temperatures, Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD), and UV-B reached high values during many days in summer, causing photosynthesis (An) in the outer layers of the canopy to decrease. This reduction was caused due to depression of stomatal conductance (gs), photoinhibition, and damage to the photosynthetic

Grain legumes are known for their benefits to deliver ecosystem services on provisioning of protein-rich food and feed, reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the symbiotic nitrogen fixation function and diversification of cropping systems. Intercropping is an agroecological practice in which two or more crop species are grown simultaneously in the same field, thereby maximizing the use of resources

Nitrogen critical curves are frequently used to diagnose the N status of crops and grasslands. They play an important role in plant modelling and are frequently used in fertilizer management tools. During the last 20 years, a number of studies have been conducted for comparing critical curves obtained in various conditions (e.g., different cultivars) and understanding the origin of their differences

Different planting pattern affects the leaf senescence of maize under intercropping systems, which regulate the grain yield of maize plants. In this study, we observed that a narrow-wide-row planting pattern in maize soybean relay intercropping system (MS) improved the leaf greenness and green leaf area, delayed the leaf senescence process in maize and increased the photosynthetic rate of maize leaves

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of different cotton (Gossipium hirsutum)-based management systems in the Brazilian Cerrado on soil’s physical and chemical quality, using multivariate analysis techniques. The experiment was conducted in areas of cotton production in the state of Mato Grosso, located in the Cerrado biome and Cerrado/Amazon ecotone. Soil samples were obtained from

Intensive vegetable production in soil is often associated with large N losses to the environment. To contribute to improved N management of sweet pepper, this work developed a critical nitrogen curve (CNC). It also developed N recommendations and examined N use efficiency (NUE) and potential NO3− leaching loss in relation to increasing total available nitrogen (TAN). TAN is the sum of the soil mineral

Adaptation measures are required to enhance climate change resilience of agricultural systems and reduce risks associated with climate change at both regional and global scales. The Texas High Plains is a semi-arid region that faces major challenges from climate change risks and dwindling groundwater supply from the exhaustible Ogallala Aquifer for sustaining irrigated agriculture. The overall goal

In the face of climate change, the potential impacts of adverse weather conditions on the productivity and vulnerability of cropping systems (CS) worldwide constitute a key agronomic issue upon which global food security depends. To date, little information regarding how the diversity of CS or agricultural practices affect the long-term yield responses of winter barley is available. The aim of this

Sustainable development of livestock production is challenged by the shortage of forage resources on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (QTP). Common vetch-oat intercropping is used on the QTP and in other alpine regions to obtain substantial forage yield, but few common vetch cultivars have been evaluated in intercropping systems. A three-year field experiment in the eastern QTP was carried out to compare

Water stress in different maize growth stages has different effects on maize growth and development. Accurately simulating these effects with a maize model are important to agriculture water management and savings. The objective of this study was to improve the performance of the Crop-Environment Resource Synthesis Maize (CERES-Maize) model for simulating maize (Zea mays L.) growth and yield under

Managing the transition from conventional agriculture to agroecology needs to account for the diversity of farming systems. Here we evaluate whether indicators based on agrodiversity and implementation of agroecological practices can discriminate types of farms with different trajectories in the context of the agroecological transition. The indicators tested were coupled with production factor, performance

Lodging resistance is a major desired trait in modern maize breeding. Identifying parameters to evaluate lodging resistance could help crop breeders develop maize cultivars with improved lodging resistance. Thirty-four summer maize cultivars currently planted in China were grown in 2017 and 2018 in order to identify relationships between stalk and root lodging resistance and to analyze the main reasons

Agroecological food web modelling, which models trophic relationships between the species present in agricultural fields, has significant potential uses in the fields of theoretical and practical agroecology, specifically regarding the planning and evaluation of integrated pest management and biocontrol strategies. However, the practical use of such models with field data has been hindered by their

Increased seed size has greater contribution in yield improvement in recent naked oat (Avena sativa L. subsp. nudisativa) cultivars than cultivars derived from landraces. However, the underlying grain-filling mechanisms associated with seed size and grain yield in naked oat have received limited study. Two field experiments and a pot experiment compared grain-filling mechanisms, seed size and grain

Broccoli crops are produced throughout the year. They are grown under a wide range of environmental conditions, which results in large variation in the time to head initiation and in head growth after initiation. Mis-scheduling broccoli crops has financial consequences. Models to predict the harvest dates of broccoli crops allow growers to adapt their commercial strategies to maintain an appropriate

Crop nitrogen (N) uptake is a key process in soil-crop models. This process affects crop growth and soil N cycling and determines crop quality. However, crop N uptake modeling remains uncertain because of the various N dilution curve approaches adopted in soil-crop models. In this study, four different representative N dilution curve approaches (i.e., DAISY, M1; CERES and RZWQM, M2; EPIC, M3; and CROPSYST

The aim of this study was to quantify site-specific levels of indirect nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from oilseed rape (OSR) cropping in Germany, resulting from ammonia (NH3) volatilization after organic fertilizer application and nitrate (NO3−) leaching based on measurement in field experiments and additional simulation modelling. In field experiments in three years (2012/13–2014/15) at five sites

The concept of soil nutrient availability is still widely viewed within the framework of crop yield responses to fertilizer applications as the intermediary variable linking the rate of application of a single nutrient to the absorption of this nutrient by plants according to the pioneer work of Boussingault (1855), von Liebig (1855), and Mitscherlich (1924). For interpreting the huge variability of

Nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) critical dilution curves and the N:S stoichiometry are useful tools for evaluating nutrient status in maize (Zea mays L.). Nutrient supply for both N and S impact plant nutrient uptake, consequently influencing the overall performance of fertilization diagnostic tools. Interaction between these nutrients has not been studied relative to their nutrient use efficiencies (NUE

The gap between scientifically sound nitrogen (N) fertilizer application rates and the actual rates used by farmers in maize is still significant. The improvement of nitrogen use efficiency in such a highly N-demanding crop is necessary to decrease the negative effects of N fertilization. The objective was to compare the performance of different N management treatments in maize grown under semiarid

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is crucial to establish efficient fertilizer application guidelines that balance crop yield, economic return and environmental sustainability. Although there are quite a few researches about the spatial and temporal variation of NUE, little work has been done on modelling NUE through deriving empirical relationships with explanatory environmental variables and exploring

Climate change is known to impact crop yields, mainly through increased temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and increasing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Although the potential effects of each of these factors have been discussed in a number of separate studies, no recent synthesis has been published to provide quantitative estimates of climate change impacts on crop yields, with or without

Frost damage significantly restrains global wheat production. Frost development is well documented at the landscape scale but inadequately studied at the sub-paddock scale. Particularly at sites with flat topography, which are where frost field trials are conducted. In these trials, wheat varieties are compared for frost resistance with researchers assuming minimum air temperature (frost severity)

Autumn-sown, non-bolting winter beets may show a faster canopy formation in spring. In order to estimate their yield potential, a dynamic model for winter beet was used to compare growth and yield of conventional, spring sown sugar beet (CB) with two non-bolting winter beet types at five representative sites across Germany. Non-bolting winter beets (WB) were parameterized according to available experimental

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.)/mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) intercropping could serve as a new cereal/legume planting pattern to increase crop production. However, how these two crop species compete for resources by stimulating root development and water uptake is unknown. An experiment was conducted at the Northwest A&F University experimental site in northwestern China from 2017 to 2019 to investigate

Chilean hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) industry has been recently experiencing a solid development and nut production is consistently increasing. Corylus avellana is subjected to strong inter-annual yield fluctuations, which raise the issue of price predictability. In alternate bearing, a high fruit load hinders flower initiation thus leading to a smaller fruits production in the following year. This

Maize is the third most cultivated food crop in the world. Therefore, the impact of climate change and the development of adaptation strategies for maize are crucial to agricultural production and food security. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of climate change and the development of adaptations strategies for maize in semi-arid environments using the Cropping System Model (CSM)-CERES-Maize

Integrating forage crops into traditional wheat and maize cropping systems is a potential alternative for increasing fodder supply while maintaining sustainable grain production on the Loess Plateau of China. This study was conducted to evaluate the biomass and crude protein production as well as the soil water balance and water use efficiency of oat (Avena sativa L.) and common vetch (Vicia sativa

We identified the most sensitive genotype-specific parameters (GSPs) and their contribution to the uncertainty of the MANIHOT simulation model. We applied a global sensitivity and uncertainty analysis (GSUA) of the GSPs to the simulation outputs for the cassava development, growth, and yield in contrasting environments. We compared enhanced Sampling for Uniformity, a qualitative screening method new

Quickly determining accurate crop genetic parameters for crop model applications can be difficult. In this study, we coupled the independent automatic parameter optimization tool PEST (Parameter ESTimation) with the crop growth model of DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) using the R programming language. A new DSSAT-PEST package was developed to perform automatic optimization

Removing solids from dairy slurry improves grass N response and reduces soil loading of P and organic N which makes this practice useful for sustainable farming. Therefore, it is important to understand the effects of long-term applications on grass of separated dairy slurry on the growth and N response of a subsequent corn crop. This two-year field study investigated the residual effects after 11

Forage grass canopies may be affected by the shaded microclimate in silvopastoral (SP) systems throughout the year. This in turn may affect forage plant characteristics. Our objective was to assess microclimate effects on the responses of Marandu palisadegrass {Urochloa brizantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) R. D. Webster [syn. Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Stapf.]} under continuous stocking

The area under oil palm in Ghana has expanded but average fruit bunch yields remained low, resulting in large yield gaps. This study assessed the potential for increasing yield with 'Best Management Practices (BMP)' on plantations and smallholder farms in southern Ghana, compared with current standard practices, i.e. reference (REF) yield. We evaluated short-term (≤1 year) yield increases with 'yield

The objective of this research was to analyse the potential effect of climate change on phenology and berry composition of the variety Tempranillo cultivated in areas of the Rioja DOCa (Spain) with different climatic characteristics. Three zones were selected within the DOCa, which were located at elevations between 325 and 650 m a.s.l. Phenology and the evolution of berry composition during ripening

A significant drop of 2.4–2.9 percentage-points (%-p) in crude protein content (on dry matter basis) in Danish grain crops was observed from around 1990 to 2015. The aim of the analysis was to quantify the effect of the change in N-response of varieties of winter wheat (WW) and spring barley (SB) under farmers’ conditions based on approx. 1000 fertilizer trials with WW and 500 with SB carried out in

This study determined how fall dormancy rating (FD2, FD5 or FD10) of lucerne genotypes affected crop yield and quality. One field experiment was measured for three growing seasons as a seedling crop and then three defoliation frequency regimes (DF) of 28 (DF28), 42 (DF42) or 84 (DF84) days were imposed (October 2014 to April 2017). Annual shoot dry matter (DM) yields ranged from 5.2 t DM/ha in DF28

Including legumes in winter, both as cover crop or for grain harvest, is recommended for avoiding long periods of bare fallow and supplying N for succeeding crops in the rotation. The aims of this study were to i) quantify the contribution of N derived from biological nitrogen fixation (N_BNF) in vetch (Vicia sativa L. or Vicia villosa L.) and field pea (Pisum sativum) in the Central Pampas region

Farmers facing the same production situation may have different farming objectives and thus farming practices. However, the latter are rarely precisely described since studies often use a unique indicator of soil use intensity, showing a weak explanatory value of biotic pressures. Our aim was to develop a framework to identify crop management strategies based on (i) 14 indicators of farming practices