Actual Yield Research Articles

Estimating Yield Gap of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) using the Comparative Performance Analysis (CPA) Method in the Bam, Narmashir and Fahraj Counties of Kerman Province

Background: Yield gap is distance between potential yield and attainable yield (yield gap= potential yield-attainable yield) in order to increase the crop yield and the goal of sustainable agriculture. Methods: This study was conducted in Bam, Narmashir and Fahraj counties in 219 separate farms (79 farms in Bam, 72 farms in Narmashir and 68 farms in Fahraj) during the years 2019 and 2020 to investigate the yield gap of wheat and determine the limiting factors and their contributions to yield reduction, using the comparative performance analysis (CPA) method. All information related to soil factors, management factors, climatic factors and agronomic traits (53 variables) were measured and recorded. The relationship between wheat yield and all variables was examined using a stepwise multiple regression method. A production model was determined for soil and management factors. Result: The results showed a yield gap between actual yield and potential yield in the regions of Bam, Narmashir and Fahraj, which were 1770.8, 1817.61 and 1605 kg per hectare, respectively. Since the actual yield in these regions was 4248, 4228 and 3161 kg per hectare, the yield gap was observed to be 33.6%, 30% and 29.4%, respectively. The effective factors in reducing the yield in the Bam region included water shortage (19.48%), nitrogen deficiency (16.09%), delayed planting (15.40%), soil available phosphorus deficiency (10.14%), weed density (10.8%), soil organic carbon (13.59%) and inappropriate plant density (14.47%). In the Narmashir region, water shortage (26.68%), nitrogen deficiency (18.86%), soil organic carbon (11.78%), inappropriate plant density (12.43%), wheat aphid (19.58%) and weed density (10.64%) caused yield reduction. In the Fahraj region, water shortage (20.65%), nitrogen deficiency (19.62%), delayed planting (9.44%), soil available phosphorus deficiency (8.45%), weed density (12%), soil salinity (12.80%) and black stem disease (17%) caused a decrease in wheat yield.

Forage yield, competition, and economic indices of oat and common vetch intercrops in a semi-arid region

Intercropping of annual favorable legumes with grains to produce forage is utilized extensively worldwide to improve resource use efficiency. To identify the best intercropping system for a semi-arid region of China, intercrops of oat (Avena sativa L.) and common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) at five planting proportions and oat and common vetch monocrops were produced over the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons in Xifeng, northwest China. Several indices were used to evaluate yields, competitive interrelationships between the two crops, and economic returns. The oat mono-crop had the highest dry matter yield (6.51 t ha−1), while the oat–common vetch intercrop, with an 80: 20 planting ratio, produced the highest crude protein production (696 kg ha−1). The land equivalent ratio (1.167), relative crowding coefficient (2.445), and actual yield loss (0.750) were more favorable for the oat–common vetch intercrop at a seeding ratio of 20: 80. The oat–common vetch intercrop at a seeding ratio of 20: 80 showed the highest values for monetary advantage index (35.51). Overall, the autumn-sown 20: 80 oat–common vetch intercrop was more productive from resource utilization and economic perspectives.

Agrobio-economic return in radish–coriander intercropping under green manuring and population densities

Radish and coriander are vegetables that complement each other when intercropped under organic fertilizer and the ideal density of the component crops. In view of this, this study aimed to evaluate the treatments, similar amounts of green manure and population densities of coriander in the biological parameters of the radish–coriander intercrop and determine the interaction between these treatments that provides the greatest economic return in a semi-arid environment. The experimental design used was randomized blocks, with treatments arranged in a 4 × 4 factorial scheme with four replications. The first factor consisted of Merremia aegyptia and Calotropis procera biomass amounts in the proportion of 50% for each green manure at doses of 20, 35, 50 and 65 t ha−1 on a dry basis. The second factor comprised four coriander population densities of 400, 600, 800 and 1000 thousand plants ha−1. The radish and coriander cultivars planted were ‘Crimson Gigante’ and ‘Verdão’, respectively. Significant agro-biological returns from this radish–coriander intercrop were obtained at a land equivalent ratio of 2.00, intercropping advantage of 11.39, canonical variable Z score of 2.45, radish aggressivity over coriander of 1.04, and actual yield loss of 2.15 with the incorporation of 65 t ha−1 of hairy woodrose and roostertree into the soil using a coriander population density of 1 million plants ha−1. The greatest economic return from radish–coriander intercropping (107,278.10 BRL ha−1) was achieved with the application of 25.88 t ha−1 of green manure biomass to the soil and a coriander population density of 1 million plants ha−1.

Alien emergent aquatic plants develop better ciprofloxacin tolerance and metabolic capacity than one native submerged species

Antibiotic pollution and biological invasion pose significant risks to freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem health. However, few studies have compared the ecological adaptability and ciprofloxacin (CIPR) degradation potential between alien and native macrophytes. We examined growth, physiological response, and CIPR accumulation, translocation and metabolic abilities of two alien plants (Eichhornia crassipes and Myriophyllum aquaticum) and one native submerged species (Vallisneria natans) exposed to CIPR at 0, 1 and 10 mg/L. We found that E. crassipes and M. aquaticum's growth were unaffected by CIPR while V. natans was significantly hindered under the 10 mg/L treatment. CIPR significantly decreased the maximal quantum yield of PSII, actual quantum yield of PSII and relative electron transfer rate in E. crassipes and V. natans but didn't impact these photosynthetic characteristics in M. aquaticum. All the plants can accumulate, translocate and metabolize CIPR. M. aquaticum and E. crassipes in the 10 mg/L treatment group showed greater CIPR accumulation potential than V. natans indicated by higher CIPR contents in their roots. The oxidative cleavage of the piperazine ring acts as a key pathway for these aquatic plants to metabolize CIPR and the metabolites mainly distributed in plant roots. M. aquaticum and E. crassipes showed a higher production of CIPR metabolites compared to V. natans, with M. aquaticum exhibiting the strongest CIPR metabolic ability, as indicated by the most extensive structural breakdown of CIPR and the largest number of potential metabolic pathways. Taken together, alien species outperformed the native species in ecological adaptability, CIPR accumulation and metabolic capacity. These findings may shed light on the successful invasion mechanisms of alien aquatic species under antibiotic pressure and highlight the potential ecological impacts of alien species, particularly M. aquaticum. Additionally, the interaction of antibiotic contamination and invasion might further challenge the native submerged macrophytes and pose greater risks to freshwater ecosystems.

Use of pre-sowing soil microbiological analysis to predict the spread of sugar beet root rot

Aphanomyces cochlioides and Rhizoctonia solani are two of the main soil phytopathogens of sugar beet, which lead to substantial losses in yield and quality. Since disease control capabilities are complex and pathogen monitoring is important for predicting risks, it is of great importance in rural production to create available methods for preliminary field assessment. The purpose of the study was to introduce a predictive methodology for assessing the potential of soils for their suitability for growing sugar beet in the system of short-rotation crop rotations. As an indicator plant, sugar beet seeds were used, which are not characterised by genetic resistance against these diseases. The possibility of using the pre-growing disease index (PPDI), which has a gradation from 0 to 100 and covariance with the actual yield, sugar content and gross sugar yield per hectare, is tested. The pre-sowing PPDI value is compared with the actual yield from each specific field to really assess the possibility of using the PPDI index to characterise yield losses on production crops. It is determined that with an increase in the PPDI value, the gross yield of sugar beet, sugar content, and gross sugar yield decreased. The results of studies show that one unit of PPDI causes a loss of gross yield at the level of 0.24 t/ha and a decrease in the sugar harvest by 0.018 t/ha. That is why, to manage the risks of growing sugar beet, it is necessary to assess the phytopathogenic load of the soil. It is established that the most harmful and permanently identified phytopathogens are Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium ssp, which indicates the need to select hybrids that are characterised by resistance or high tolerance to these pathogens. The information obtained can be used for timely identification of infection risks, development of effective management strategies, and improvement of agricultural techniques for growing sugar beet to reduce crop losses and increase the efficiency of agricultural products

Enhancing Eritadenine Production in Submerged Cultures of Shiitake (Lentinula edodes Berk. Pegler) Using Blue LED Light and Activated Charcoal. Revealing Eritadenine’s Novel In Vitro Bioherbicidal Activity Against Chrysanthemum morifolium

Eritadenine from shiitake mushroom is a secondary metabolite with hypocholesterolemic, hypotensive and antiparasitic properties, thus promising for pharmaceutical and agricultural applications. Eritadenine is obtained from submerged mycelial cultures of shiitake, but the actual yields remain unsatisfactory to explore potential applications or industrial-scale production. In this study, green and blue LED lights were tested to increase yields of eritadenine in submerged cultures of shiitake. Notably, blue LEDs increased yields by 13–14 times, reaching 165.7 mg/L, compared to darkness (11.2 mg/L) and green light (12.1 mg/L) (p < 0.05, Tukey test). Nitrogen sources yeast extract (YE) and peptone (at 2 g/L) increased eritadenine production. YE promoted 22.6 mg/L, while peptone 18.3 mg/L. The recovery of eritadenine was evaluated using amberlite and activated charcoal (AC) adsorption isotherms. AC demonstrated the highest adsorption rate, with 75 mg of eritadenine per gram of AC, according to the Freundlich isotherm. The desorption rate reached 93.95% at pH 10. The extract obtained from submerged cultures had eritadenine content of 63.31%, corresponding to 87.86% of recovery, according to HPLC analysis. Furthermore, the novel bioherbicidal potential of eritadenine was tested on in vitro Chrysanthemum morifolium plants. The cultures extract containing eritadenine had a detrimental impact on plant development, generating mortality of 100% at 3%, 0.5%, and 0.25%. Moreover, pure eritadenine exhibited a phytotoxic effect similar than glyphosate on leaves, stems and roots. These findings highlight the significant bioherbicidal properties of eritadenine. Further studies are needed to understand the biosynthetic pathway of eritadenine and its bioherbicidal properties on weeds and illicit crops.

Different reactions of wheat, maize, and rice plants to putrescine treatment

Polyamines play an important role in growth and differentiation by regulating numerous physiological and biochemical processes at the cellular level. In addition to their roborative effect, their essential role in plant stress responses has been also reported. However, the positive effect may depend on the fine-tuning of polyamine metabolism, which influences the production of free radicals and/or signalling molecules. In the present study, 0.3 mM hydroponic putrescine treatment was tested in wheat, maize, and rice in order to reveal differences in their answers and highlight the relation of these with polyamine metabolism. In the case of wheat, the chlorophyll content and the actual quantum yield increased after putrescine treatment, and no remarkable changes were detected in the stress markers, polyamine contents, or polyamine metabolism-related gene expression. Although, in maize, the actual quantum yield decreased, and the root hydrogen peroxide content increased, no other negative effect was observed after putrescine treatment due to activation of polyamine oxidases at enzyme and gene expression levels. The results also demonstrated that after putrescine treatment, rice with a higher initial polyamine content, the balance of polyamine metabolism was disrupted and a significant amount of putrescine was accumulated, accompanied by a detrimental decrease in the level of higher polyamines. These initial differences and the putrescine-induced shift in polyamine metabolism together with the terminal catabolism or back-conversion-induced release of a substantial quantity of hydrogen peroxide could contribute to oxidative stress observed in rice.

ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ МИНЕРАЛЬНОГО УДОБРЕНИЯ С МИКРОЭЛЕМЕНТАМИ БИОЧАР-АГРО МАРКИ ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ НА ЯРОВОМ РАПСЕ

The research was carried out in order to study the effectiveness of mineral fertilizer with microelements of Biochar-Agro Technical grade on spring rape crops on gray forest soils of the Republic of Tatarstan. Field experiments were conducted in 2023 on the basis of Agrobiotechnopark LLC (Narmonka village, Laishevsky Municipal District of the Republic of Tatarstan), laboratory analyses were carried out at the Center for Agroecological Research of the Kazan State Agrarian University. According to the research results, it was found that the application of Biochar-Agro fertilizer of the Technical brand contributed to an increase in the safety of plants for harvesting by 0.8 % compared with the control variant. In addition, the studied complex fertilizer contributed to an increase in the duration of the growing season of spring rapeseed. In the 10.0 kg/ha variant, the growing season was increased by 6 days. The height of the plants increases from 116.6 cm at the control, to 123.4 cm in the last version of the experiment, which is 6.8 centimeters higher than the control. In the variant Background NPK + Biochar-Agro brand: Technical (seed application, 10.0 kg /ha), the number of weeds per 1 m2 was 8.2 pcs., which is less than the control variant by 3.2 w. or 31.7 %. The maximum number of productive branches (5.5 pcs./plant) was formed on the variant of the near-sowing application of Biochar-Agro fertilizer of the Technical brand 10.0 kg/ha. The increase in the actual yield of spring rapeseed from the application of the studied preparation ranged from 0.23 to 0.49 t /ha, depending on the rate of application of Biochar-Agro brand fertilizers: Technical.

Effects of concentration and time of brassinosteroid treatment on growth and yield of soybean under drought stress conditions

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill.) is an essential food and industrial crop, but it can be heavily affected by drought, especially during the pod growth stage. Brassinosteroids (BRs) are reported to alleviate drought stress, but the effectiveness may depend strongly on BR concentration and timing of the application, and no research has investigated this issue. This study aimed to determine the suitable concentration of BRs and time of treatment to help soybean plants withstand drought conditions during pod growth. The experiment was conducted with a completely randomized design, with four concentrations of BRs: 0 ppm (water) (B0), 0.1 ppm (B1), 0.2 ppm (B2), 0.3 ppm (B3), and three-time points for the application of BR treatment: soaking before sowing (T1), leaf spray when 50% of plants flowered (T2), leaf spray when 50% of the plants had pod at least 0.5 cm in length (T3). The results showed that when treated with different concentrations and treatment times of BRs, there was no difference in plant growth and development. However, there were differences in the yield of soybean plants. Specifically, treatment B2T2 had the highest total number of firm pods and the highest number of firm seeds at 22.2 and 44.6, respectively, with the weight of 100 seeds reaching 17.9 g, leading to the highest actual yield of 97.0 g/plot. These results indicate that with appropriate concentration and timing (0.2 ppm during flowering), the application of BRs can significantly alleviate drought stress effects on soybean plants during pod growth, improving seed yield and quality.

Transcriptomic profiling reveals the contribution of Nitric Oxide to maintaining photosynthesis and antioxidant ability in Hylotelephium erythrostictum leaves under salt stress

Hylotelephium erythrostictum is a plant species with high garden value and notable salt tolerance, yet the salt tolerance mechanism is poorly understood. In this study, we treated the plants under salt stress with exogenous nitric oxide (NO) and discovered that the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased, while soluble sugar increased. The chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, such as the maximum photochemical efficiency of PS II (Fv/Fm), actual quantum yield Y(II), and the photochemical quenching coefficient (qP) increased, whereas the non-photochemical quenching coefficient (NPQ) decreased. Afterthat, we performed transcriptome sequencing on leaves treated with 200 mM NaCl after 0, 5, and 10 d. A total of 124,008 unigenes were identified and functionally annotated. Transcripts related to NO synthase exhibited increased expression levels, and transcripts related to superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were also significantly upregulated. In contrast, the majority of the differently expressed genes (DEGs) associated with photosynthesis and photosynthesis-antenna protein metabolic pathways were downregulated. Furthermore, the expression levels of HeSOD2, HeCAT2, HeCab1, and HepsaA were significantly upregulated. These results suggest that NO enhances the photosynthetic and antioxidant capacity of H. erythrostictum and improves salt tolerance. Our study will lead to a better understanding of how this plant responds to stressful conditions and potentially develop ways to enhance its salt tolerance by identifying salt-tolerance genes.

Enhancing Summer Soybean Yield through Evaluation of Herbicidal Weed Management Options

The farmers of Gujarat have turned to soybean cultivation as soybean demand is increasing promisingly. Improper weed management is one of the reasons for the large yield gap between the potential and the actual yield of soybean harvested by the farmers. So, the selection of different herbicides in soybean is necessary for effective management of complex weed flora. An experiment was plotted with an aim of enhancing summer soybean yield through evaluation of herbicidal weed management options on medium black calcareous soil at Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh during summer season of 2021. The experiment comprised 12 treatments that were arranged in randomized block design with 3 replications. The outcomes of the results revealed that following to weed-free treatment, pre-mix pendimethalin + imazethapyr 750+50 g/ha as pre-emergence (PE) fb hand-weeding (HW) &amp; inter-culturing (IC) at 30 days after sowing (DAS), HW at 15 DAS fb pre-mix propaquizafop + imazethapyr 50+75 g/ha as post-emergence (PoE) at 30 DAS, HW at 15 DAS fb pre-mix fluazifop-p-butyl + fomesafen 125+125 g/ha (PoE) at 30 DAS and pre-mix pendimethalin + imazethapyr 750+50 g/ha (PE) fb pre-mix fluazifop-p-butyl + fomesafen 125+125 g/ha (PoE) at 30 DAS enhanced growth parameters viz., plant height, branches per plant; yield attributes i.e., number of pods per plant and ultimately lead to greater seed yield and stover yield. These herbicidal weed management options also reduced population in addition to dry matter of weeds and had less reduction in yield due to better control of weeds, less crop-weed competition and higher weed control efficiency.

Unveiling constraints and cultivating potential: Optimizing spring sugar beet yield through boundary line analysis

To enhance crop yields, narrowing the gap between actual and achievable yields is crucial. One approach involves identifying yield-limiting factors and their optimal levels. Boundary line analysis (BLA), a statistical method, quantifies yield response to environmental or managerial factors while accounting for variable factors. In 2020, a study surveyed 180 spring sugar beet farms in Iran. The findings revealed a 50.7 % yield gap (11.13 t ha−1) between farmers’ average sugar yield (10.84 t ha−1) and potential yield (21.97 t ha−1). BLA implicated low plant density, soil organic content, lack of potassium (K)-containing fertilizers, and non-adherence to crop rotation principles in 81.3 %, 75.5 %, 53.4 %, and 51.1 % of farms, respectively. Optimal levels were estimated at 9.5 plants m−1, 1.15 % soil organic content, 100 kg ha−1 K fertilization rate, and 5–9.8 as the rotation numerical value. Other limiting factors included time from cultivation to thinning and sowing date. The optimal minimum time between planting and thinning stood at 38 days, with the latest sowing date estimated at 94 Julian days (May 5). Achieving attainable yield necessitates limiting root exposure to 4.9 days, keeping disease damage below 15.3 %, and increasing irrigation frequency to over 10 times. In the short term, increasing plant density to optimal levels, promoting K fertilizer use, and adjusting thinning and sowing dates can significantly boost sugar yield per unit area.

Competition Indices and Economic Benefits of Winter Wheat and Winter Peas in Mixed Cropping

Intensive wheat production, which produces high yields through the excessive use of chemical inputs and non-renewable energy, is unsustainable in the long term. Innovative cultivation methods such as intercropping can address emerging challenges. This kind of plant association offers the possibility of achieving a balanced yield with the use of a natural nitrogen source. An experiment was conducted for three growing seasons (2020/2021, 2021/2022, 2022/2023) with a combination of three winter wheat varieties (GK Szilárd, Cellule, GK Csillag) and a winter pea variety (Aviron) in three sowing densities to determine the species interaction and the economics of mixed plots. The intercropping systems were evaluated in terms of the land equivalent ratio (LER), aggressivity (A), competitive ratio CR), actual yield loss (AYL), monetary advantage index (MAI), and intercropping advantage (IA). In almost all mixtures, the values of partial A, CR, and AYL indicated that wheat was more competitive than peas due to the overconcentration of mixtures. For MAI, the mixture Cellule/Aviron 75:50 was more profitable than the others in the first two years. Our results draw attention to the influence of the seeding rate, which can contribute to new directions for current research.

Performance of UAV-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for Early Estimation of Rice Yield

Traditionally, the rice yield is measured after the harvest, which is too late then to revert any agronomic practices to improve yield. The aerial spectral reflectance images of crops captured by a multispectral camera mounted in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) are capable of quantitatively measuring the internal physiological condition of crops directly associated with their health status. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of UAV-multispectral image derived-NDVI as a method for estimating rice yield. Multispectral drone images including single band images were acquired from a controlled rice field at Rice Research and Development Institute (RRDI), Sri Lanka. Rice variety Bg 300 was cultivated in the Yala season under four levels of Nitrogen (N) fertilizer treatment plots. According to the regression co-relation analysis the derived NDVI values at 15 and 25 m flying heights from the rice crops at the booting stage were moderately (R2=0.65 and R2=0.67, p&lt;0.05, respectively) associated with the actual yield. The derived NDVI values indicated the rice crop vigor at the booting stage is a useful indicator for early estimation of the rice yield prior to actual harvest.

Achieving high mechanical performance of the large-scale sand-casting Mg–4Y–x nd–y Gd–0.4Zr alloys by tailoring Nd and Gd contents

This research meticulously investigates the effects of varying contents of Nd and Gd, along with various heat treatment conditions, on the microstructure and mechanical characteristics of Mg–4Y-Nd-Gd-0.4Zr (wt.%) alloys within the commercial WE43 series, aiming to enhance mechanical performance while minimizing production costs. Findings reveal that Mg–4Y-1Nd-2Gd-0.4Zr alloy exhibits superior mechanical performances after undergoing a solution treatment at 500 °C for 14 h followed by peak-ageing at 200 °C for 120 h. Specifically, the ultimate tensile strength of 342.1 ± 4.9 MPa for the peak-aged Mg–4Y-1Nd-2Gd-0.4Zr alloy exceeds those of Mg–Y series alloys previously reported. The contribution of grain boundary, solid solution and precipitation strengthening is calculated to be 26.2 %, 17.3 %, and 56.5 % of actual yield strength in the peak-aged Mg–4Y-1Nd-2Gd-0.4Zr alloy, respectively, indicating that the precipitates β′ have an ascertainable influence on the yield strength. During deformation the basal slips could be effectively arrested by the prismatic β′ precipitates, leading to the augmentation of mechanical performance.

Large-Size ultrathin mica nanosheets: Reinforcements of biobased PEF polyester

Due to the superior physical properties and high-level alignment of the nanoscale building blocks, assembly of high-quality two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets into macroscopic engineering structure materials can achieve many unexpected performance. Natural mica nanosheets (MNSs) are abundant and with superlative properties, showing huge prospect for engineering structural materials. However, the difficulty of the mass production with large size and high aspect ratio are the current factors that limit this. Inspired by the well-known scotch-tape exfoliation, herein we develop a gummy-tape exfoliation (GTE) method by using liquid oligomers as mediums in ball-milling process to massively produce large-size and ultrathin MNSs. As a confirmation, the obtained MNSs show a record high aspect ratio of ≈1320 and a large actual yield of ∼ 80 %. A transparent biobased aromatic polyester nanocomposite film made of such MNSs and polyethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF) matrix possesses remarkably improved mechanical, barrier properties, and UV-shielding performances at an extremely low filler loading (≤0.5 vol%), making it a novel potential engineering material for packing fields in foods, drugs, and electronic products, etc.

Bayesian approach for evaluation of lactation curve in cross bred cattle based on monthly and bimonthly test day milk yield.

In field progeny testing program milk recording at monthly or bimonthly intervals and prediction of first lactation 305-day milk yield (FL305DMY) from these test day yields have been adapted as an alternative to daily milk recording. Wood's incomplete gamma function is the one of the commonly used nonlinear lactation curve model. In recent years Bayesian approach of fitting nonlinear biological models is gaining attention among researchers. In this study Wood's incomplete gamma function was fitted using Bayesian approach using monthly (MTDY) and bimonthly test day (BTDY) yields. The lactation curve parameters thus obtained were used for prediction of FL305DMY. Efficiency of prediction based on monthly and bimonthly test day milk yield were compared using error of prediction. It was found to be 5.78% and 7.59% as root mean square error (RMSE) based on MTDY and BTDY respectively.The Breeding values of 97 Karan Fries sires were estimated using BLUP-AM based on actual and predicted FL305DMY thus obtained. The RMSE was calculated as the difference between estimated breeding values based on actual and predicted yield. It was found that RMSE calculated based on MTDY showed only a marginal superiority of 0.79% over BTDY and showed high degree of correlation with actual yield. Therefore, recording at bimonthly intervals could be an economical alternative without compromising the efficiency.

Developing automated machine learning approach for fast and robust crop yield prediction using a fusion of remote sensing, soil, and weather dataset

Estimating smallholder crop yields robustly and timely is crucial for improving agronomic practices, determining yield gaps, guiding investment, and policymaking to ensure food security. However, there is poor estimation of yield for most smallholders due to lack of technology, and field scale data, particularly in Egypt. Automated machine learning (AutoML) can be used to automate the machine learning workflow, including automatic training and optimization of multiple models within a user-specified time frame, but it has less attention so far. Here, we combined extensive field survey yield across wheat cultivated area in Egypt with diverse dataset of remote sensing, soil, and weather to predict field-level wheat yield using 22 Ml models in AutoML. The models showed robust accuracies for yield predictions, recording Willmott degree of agreement, (d > 0.80) with higher accuracy when super learner (stacked ensemble) was used (R2 = 0.51, d = 0.82). The trained AutoML was deployed to predict yield using remote sensing (RS) vegetative indices (VIs), demonstrating a good correlation with actual yield (R2 = 0.7). This is very important since it is considered a low-cost tool and could be used to explore early yield predictions. Since climate change has negative impacts on agricultural production and food security with some uncertainties, AutoML was deployed to predict wheat yield under recent climate scenarios from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). These scenarios included single downscaled General Circulation Model (GCM) as CanESM5 and two shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) as SSP2-4.5and SSP5-8.5during the mid-term period (2050). The stacked ensemble model displayed declines in yield of 21% and 5% under SSP5-8.5 and SSP2-4.5 respectively during mid-century, with higher uncertainty under the highest emission scenario (SSP5-8.5). The developed approach could be used as a rapid, accurate and low-cost method to predict yield for stakeholder farms all over the world where ground data is scarce.

Comparison of Land Suitability Methods for Estimating Quantity of Maize Yield in Calcareous Soils

ABSTRACT The modeling and assessment of land suitability is a prerequisite for land development and is one of the necessary needs to prevent land degradation. Maize is considered to be the most important crop, covering significant areas of agricultural lands in widely different regions across the world. However, not all available lands are equally suitable for maize cultivation. The main objective of this study was focused on identifying the potentials as well as the limitations of studied calcareous soils for maize cultivation in north Khuzestan province, Iran. Furthermore, some parametric models and multi-criteria land suitability evaluation methods for physical, chemical, fertility, and climatic factors (MC-LSE) were compared in estimating the maize yield. The required samples were taken from 23 land units by excavating control pedons. The necessary physicochemical parameters were then measured in the laboratory. The land indices were calculated by using different methods. The maize potential production of the investigated area was then obtained based on the climatic conditions. Finally, using land indices and the potential production, the estimated yield for each land unit was calculated and compared with the actual yield data. The obtained results indicated that the main limiting factors for maize yield in the region are high soil CaCO3 content, high salinity, high alkalinity and low organic matter. A comparison of predicted and actual yield indicated that the corrected square root method is accurate enough to assess land suitability and to estimate the maize yield with a high coefficient of determination (0.91) and a low RMSE value.

Improving Water Use Efficiency and Economic Benefits of Cropping System Through Intercropping in an Arid Climate

The sustainable increase of total productivity by improving resources use efficiency in arid agricultural farming areas is crucial, and intercropping may be a good practice to be implemented in these arid regions. For this purpose, a three-year field experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the research farm of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station of Gonabad, Gonabad, Iran to assess the agronomic and economic indices of intercropping patterns. The experiment treatments included C1: sole cotton, C2: sole sesame, and intercropping ratios (C3: 20:80, C4: 40:60, C5: 50:50, C6: 60:40, and C7: 80:20 cotton-sesame ratio). The results showed that the leaf chlorophyll content and leaf area index were significantly higher in the intercropped plants compared to the sole cropped plants. The yield components of both crops (such as branches per plant, capsules per plant, seeds per capsule, and 1000-seed weight for sesame, and opened bolls per plant, closed boll per plant, and seed cotton per boll for cotton) significantly improved under intercropping. However, the highest sesame seed yield (2703, 1979, and 1358 kg ha-1, respectively) and seed cotton yield (3749, 2179, and 3426 kg ha-1, respectively) in the three experiment years were observed in the sole cropping treatment. The implementation of intercropping significantly improved the water use efficiency of the cropping system, so that the highest values in the first to third year (0.67, 0.51, and 0.41 kg m-3, respectively) were recorded in the C4, C3, and C7 treatments. The intercropping evaluation indices revealed the advantage of intercropping compared to the sole cropping. The highest value of the land equivalent ration in the first year (1.28) belonged to the C4 treatment, while in the second and third years, belonged to the C7 treatment (1.40 and 1.10, respectively). The calculation of the aggressivity index revealed that in most of the intercropping patterns, especially in the first and second years, cotton showed greater competitive ability than sesame. The highest actual yield loss value in the first year (0.64) belonged to the C3 treatment, while in the second and third years, belonged to the C7 treatment (1.42 and 0.34, respectively). The highest economic advantage in terms of the monetary advantage index in the first year was obtained by the C4 treatment (1140.5), and in the second and third years, was observed in the C7 treatment (940.6 and 265.5, respectively). The intercropping advantage index in the three experiment years was highest (1.41, 3.38, and 0.80, respectively) for the C7 treatment. Eventually, the results of this research show that cotton and sesame are able to adapt well to the intercropping and this cropping system can significantly improve the resources use efficiency (especially water and land) in an arid area enjoying greater economic benefit than sole cropping