The bois noir (BN) disease of grapevines is widespread in German winegrowing regions. It is associated with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’, which affects not only grapevines but also other wild and cultivated plants. This pathogen has a complex epidemiology including different insect vectors and various host plants. A study was carried out to investigate the genetic variability of ‘Ca. P. solani’ in different winegrowing regions in Germany. Between 2017 and 2023, samples of grapevine, stinging nettle, bindweed, and other herbaceous plants as well as specimens of different planthopper species colonizing viticultural habitats were analyzed for infection with ‘Ca. P. solani’. All positive tested samples were further characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) based on the genes tuf, stamp, secY, and vmp1. The genetic variability was assessed by RFLP analyses of the tuf and vmp1 PCR products, coupled with sequencing of the stamp and secY amplification products. A total of 1274 grapevines, 35 bindweed, and 18 stinging nettle samples were infected with ‘Ca. P. solani’ but also five samples of other weed species. Among the known and putative insect vectors, specimens of Hyalesthes obsoletus, Reptalus spp., and Dictyophara europaea harbored the phytoplasma. In both plants and insects, two genotype combinations were predominantly associated with the classical bindweed and stinging nettle cycle, respectively. The MLST analysis revealed considerable differences between German isolates and data reported from other European regions and new genotype combinations were identified, indicating new host plant–vector associations.

Sugarcane is the leading feedstock for bioethanol in Brazil and worldwide, but its continuous cultivation can degrade soil through nutrient depletion and compaction. Integrating green manures such as Crotalaria and pigeon pea into rotations offers a sustainable way to improve soil structure, water infiltration, and nutrient cycling. When combined with sweet sorghum as a complementary crop, these species can mitigate soil physical constraints and strengthen the resilience of sugar–energy systems under rainfed conditions. This three-year field experiment evaluated the effects of green manure and sweet sorghum rotations on sugarcane yield and sandy-soil physical attributes. The treatments were arranged in a 3 × 2 factorial design with randomized blocks, including two green manures (Crotalaria and pigeon pea) and a fallow control, each combined with or without sweet sorghum rotation. Biometric traits and yields were measured for all crops, and soil physical properties were assessed after the sugarcane cycle. Green manure significantly increased the stalk yield and dry matter of both sweet sorghum and sugarcane. In sugarcane, rotations with Crotalaria and pigeon pea enhanced stalk and dry matter yields by up to 18%, while the highest increase (31%) occurred under the sweet sorghum rotation. Furthermore, green manures improved sandy-soil water retention, increased infiltration rates, and reduced penetration resistance. These results demonstrate that legume–sorghum rotations are an effective and low-input strategy to enhance crop yield and sandy-soil physical properties, contributing to more sustainable bioenergy production under tropical rainfed conditions.

Winter cover crops (WCCs) are effective at reducing N losses from temperate agroecosystems. Although extensive research on WCCs has demonstrated numerous benefits, overall adoption rates in the Midwest U.S. remain low. We evaluated an alternative to WCC’s ability to reduce nitrate (NO3−)-N leaching; that is, adding an inexpensive, easy-to-apply, form of labile carbon (C) as a soil amendment intended to immobilize N and mitigate leaching. In the autumn in a typical maize–soybean rotation, we added crude glycerol (a C-rich, biodiesel byproduct) and hypothesized that glycerol carbon (Cglyc) would immobilize N and have no effect on crop growth. More specifically, Cglyc was broadcast applied at three rates (0, 216, and 866 kg C ha−1 y−1) and combined factorially with six spring-applied fertilizer N rates (0, 56, 112, 168, 224, and 280 kg N ha−1) at two sites. In response, we measured: soil profile NO3−-N, leached NO3−-N, crop health (via SPAD), yield, and maize agronomic optimum N rate (AONR). Cglyc reduced spring soil profile NO3−-N by 14–24% across site-years, but had highly variable and non-significant effects on NO3−-N leaching. Cglyc had an inconsistent impact on crop SPAD and yield, with Cglyc increasing AONR by ~63 kg N ha−1 (or 31–40%) at one of two sites. Our results show promise for using labile C as a “liquid cover crop” soil amendment. Future studies should explore greater labile C application rates and alternate application timing in order to fine-tune the balance between environmental benefits and crop productivity.

A comprehensive evaluation of phenotypic diversity, genetic structure, and marker–trait associations was conducted in a pea (Pisum sativum L.) collection of 184 accessions, using multi-environment field trials and genome-wide SNP data. Agronomic traits were assessed using best linear unbiased estimates, and statistical analyses included correlation, analysis of variance, heritability estimation, population structure, linkage disequilibrium, and genome-wide association study of 10,289 SNP markers. Phenological traits showed low variability, with flowering and maturity averaging 36.08 and 79.19 days (coefficient of variation of 6.17% and 3.79%, respectively), whereas yield-related traits varied more widely, with the number of pods per plant showing a coefficient of variation of 26.14%. Strong correlations were observed between plant height and height of the lowest pod attachment (r = 0.89, p < 0.001), while moderate positive correlations were found between flowering and maturity time (r = 0.43, p < 0.001) and between number of pods per plant and plant height (r = 0.44, p < 0.001); meanwhile, thousand seed weight exhibited significant negative correlation number of pods per plant (r = −0.42, p < 0.001). Heritability was highest for plant height (H2 = 0.925), height of the lowest pod attachment (H2 = 0.889), and thousand seed weight (H2 = 0.883), while yield showed lower heritability (H2 = 0.672) and strong environmental influence. Linkage disequilibrium decay was 1.78 Mb at r2 = 0.2. GWAS identified 163 quantitative trait loci, including 19 stable loci, with strong effects such as −19.27 cm for q.PH.5-1 and +24.62 g for q.TSW.4-2. Candidate genes associated with key biological processes were identified, thereby enhancing understanding of the genetic control of traits.

Accurate tomato ripeness detection is crucial for automated harvesting; however, complex greenhouse environments—characterized by dynamic light interference, foliage occlusion, and dense fruit overlapping—severely hinder detection performance and lead to frequent misdetections. This study aims to develop a high-precision, lightweight detection model that simultaneously addresses these three core challenges, thereby providing a technically deployable algorithmic foundation for resource-constrained agricultural edge devices. To this end, we propose CFD-DETR, a lightweight tomato ripeness detection model based on the RT-DETR architecture. The model incorporates a CAEfficientViT backbone for the lightweight extraction of multi-scale color and texture features. Furthermore, a Focused Efficient Additive Attention (FEAA) mechanism is integrated to capture fine-grained local ripening traits with minimal computational overhead. During feature reconstruction, a Deep Dynamic Upsampling (DwDySample) operator is utilized to preserve semantic integrity. Additionally, we designed the Wise-SIoU loss function, which dynamically penalizes low-quality samples to enhance boundary fitting and robustness against background noise. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that CFD-DETR achieves 90.2% mAP@0.5, outperforming the baseline model by 2.1 percentage points while significantly reducing the parameter count and computational complexity by 47.2% and 52.5%, respectively. Cross-dataset validation on the publicly available Laboro Tomato and RaUTD datasets confirms the model’s superior generalization capabilities. Overall, CFD-DETR provides a highly efficient and robust solution for real-time agricultural robotics.

In sub-Saharan Africa, intensive pesticide use in irrigated agriculture is threatening the quality of soil, water bodies and ecosystem services, yet integrated risk assessments remain limited. This study evaluated the environmental implications and risks of pesticide residues in soils (0–20 cm; n = 15) and irrigation water (n = 15) from off-season irrigation area of the Goulbi Maradi Valley, Niger. Twelve commonly used pesticides in Djiratawa, Maradi 3 and Tibiri, were quantified by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Variable Wavelength Detector (HPLC-VWD), revealing Tibiri as a contamination hotspot, where the total pesticide residues in soil and irrigation water reached 6.4 and 19.7 times the respective European Union soil and drinking water benchmarks, dominated by Cypermethrin, Emamectin benzoate and Chlorpyrifos ethyl in soils, and Emamectin benzoate and Dichlorvos in water. Multivariate analysis showed that soil particle size, particularly higher clay content, controlled the retention of strongly sorbing compounds, while pH and salinity governed the occurrence of more soluble residues in irrigation water. While non-carcinogenic risks for Adults and Children via soil and water exposure were acceptable (Hazard Quotient and Hazard Index < 1), ecological risks were unacceptable, with Folsomia candida and Daphnia magna the most affected organisms, driven by Emamectin benzoate (Toxicity Exposure Ratio < 2). Priority actions include phasing out Dichlorvos and Paraquat dichloride, tightening controls on Emamectin benzoate and expanding food-chain monitoring, particularly in vegetables and fish, to support multi-trophic risk assessment and safer irrigation management.

To elucidate the mechanisms by which the rhizosphere microbial community influences cold tolerance in maize, this study employed the metagenomic technology to systematically analyze the community composition, functional characteristics, and their association with host cold tolerance in the rhizosphere of maize genotypes with different cold tolerance (cold-tolerant material B144 and cold-sensitive material Q319, among others) (n = 3 biological replicates per genotype). The results revealed that the rhizosphere microbial community of the cold-tolerant genotype B144 exhibited higher species diversity and more complex genomic features. LEfSe analysis indicated that the rhizosphere soil microbiota of B144 was significantly enriched in two major phyla, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, as well as microbial taxa with stress tolerance potential, such as the Bacillus and Streptomyces. Further functional analysis revealed that the microbial community was specifically enriched in metabolic pathways related to glycan biosynthesis and metabolism, as well as coenzyme and vitamin metabolism. We hypothesize that the physiological stability of maize under low temperatures can be enhanced through mechanisms such as the synthesis of extracellular polysaccharides to reduce the freezing point and the provision of vitamins and antioxidant substances. In contrast, the rhizosphere microorganisms of the cold-sensitive material Q319 were more enriched in basic metabolic functions. The present study elucidates the pivotal mechanisms by which rhizosphere microorganisms facilitate maize resistance to low-temperature stress from a functional perspective. This provides theoretical support and new strategies for enhancing crop stress resistance by regulating the rhizosphere microbiome.

Low-light (LL) stress is a major abiotic limiting factor in protected cherry tomato production, adversely affecting vegetative growth, inducing oxidative damage, and disrupting fruit sugar metabolism. To clarify the regulatory role of exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) in mitigating LL stress, we examined the effects of varying ABA concentrations on plant growth, antioxidant capacity, and fruit sugar metabolism in cherry tomatoes under low-light conditions. A two-factor randomized complete block design, with two light regimes—normal light (NL, 100% natural sunlight) and low light (LL, 25% natural sunlight)—and three ABA concentrations (CK: 0 mg·L−1, T1: 10 mg·L−1, T2: 20 mg·L−1). Fruits were sampled at three typical ripening stages (green mature, breaker, and red ripe) to evaluate vegetative and reproductive physiological responses. The results showed that exogenous ABA application effectively suppressed LL-induced excessive stem elongation and alleviated LL-caused reductions in stem diameter and biomass accumulation. ABA treatment significantly increased peroxidase (POD) activity and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) accumulation, thereby relieving LL-triggered oxidative damage. In addition, ABA regulated key sugar-metabolizing enzymes (soluble acid invertase (SAI), sucrose synthase (SS), sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), and amylase (Amy)) and the transcript levels of related functional genes (HXK1, SPS, SS, AI), thereby mediating stage-dependent fruit sugar metabolism under LL stress. In conclusion, exogenous ABA effectively modulates vegetative growth, antioxidant homeostasis, and stage-specific fruit sugar metabolism, ultimately alleviating low-light stress damage in cherry tomato. Among the tested treatments, 20 mg·L−1 ABA exhibited the most pronounced mitigation effects, which can be recommended as an optimal foliar application concentration for cherry tomato cultivation in low-light protected facilities.

Summer cover crops can improve soil fertility and contribute to nitrogen (N) supply in temperate cropping systems, yet the effects of mixture composition and sowing timing remain insufficiently documented. This study evaluated biomass production and N accumulation of five multispecies cover crop mixtures grown in Estonia during 2024–2025 under two sowing dates per year. Aboveground biomass, botanical composition, and carbon (C) and nitrogen concentrations were measured to assess productivity, species contributions, and residue quality. Earlier sowing was generally associated with higher biomass and N accumulation, with first-sown mixtures producing, on average, 38.7% more biomass than later-sown mixtures. Mixture performance was strongly shaped by species composition and competitive hierarchies. Total N accumulation of the cover crop mixtures ranged from 42 to 275 kg N ha−1 depending on mixture composition and sowing time, with mixtures dominated by common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) achieving the highest values. Oat (Avena sativa) dominated and contributed substantially to biomass in mixtures lacking competitive legumes, whereas sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and maize (Zea mays) performed less well under delayed sowing. Low-growing species such as Persian clover (Trifolium resupinatum) produced little biomass when grown with highly competitive species. Legumes exhibited lower C:N ratios than non-legumes, while mixture-level values remained moderate, suggesting residue quality with potential for favourable decomposition and nutrient release in summer cover crop systems under temperate conditions.

Background: Cotton straw returning (CSR) is widely implemented in Xinjiang to achieve in situ residue utilization and ameliorate saline–alkali soils. However, its long-term efficacy in improving soil fertility without inducing secondary salinization remains poorly understood. Methods: This study evaluated the effects of different CSR durations on soil physicochemical properties and cotton yield across four major cotton-growing regions of Xinjiang, China (Shawan, Wusu, Manas, and Shihezi). Cotton fields with different CSR durations were classified into four treatments: CK (0 years), T1 (5 years), T2 (10 years), and T3 (20 years). Soil bulk density (BD), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), and key soil fertility indicators were measured to assess comprehensive soil fertility and soil secondary salinization risk. Results: CSR generally enhanced soil physicochemical properties, but responses exhibited spatial heterogeneity. Soil BD decreased in Wusu and Shihezi but showed temporary increases in Manas and Shawan. SFI increased continuously with CSR duration in Shawan and Wusu, whereas it peaked at around 10 years in Shihezi and Manas. Cotton yield was highest under the 20-year treatment in Manas but peaked under the 10-year treatment in the other regions. Notably, prolonged CSR (>10 years) elevated ESP in some areas, suggesting an increased risk of secondary salinization. Conclusions: A CSR duration of roughly 10 years appears optimal for balancing soil amelioration and salinity control in saline–alkali cotton fields of Xinjiang.